Category: I-phone

Matt Neuberg over at Tidbits has noticed an interesting behavior in Lion: Occasionally, apps running without an active window on will disappear from the Command-Tab application switcher, and sometimes disappear from Activity Monitor completely. The culprit is a new “feature” in Lion called Automatic Termination, which will shut down and quit any (compatible) apps that aren’t active and don’t have any visible windows. Of course, most official Apple apps support Automatic Termination.

As Neuberg notes, this is obviously a hat tip to iOS and its background processes, in which you “close” an app simply by navigating away from it, leaving the system to shut it down when additional memory is needed. Neuberg suggests, however, that this implementation isn’t so much a feature as a problem. Obviously, a desktop computer has many more resources to run processes than a mobile device, and there several scenarios in which a user might need to access an app that’s been inactive for a while.

Granted, with Lion’s Auto Save and Resume features, you could argue that there’s no real difference to an app or a user between “inactive” and “closed,” but Neuberg says that there is, and he doesn’t like it. The feature is designed to keep the decision of which apps are open and closed away from the user, and while that might be a help on iOS, it’s a hindrance on the Mac. I agree — I’m perfectly capable of dealing with app management on my desktop, and it’s lame of Apple to take that away from me.

Of course you can’t opt out of Automatic Termination, short of simply avoiding compatible apps. There are certainly good reasons on both sides for having or not having this feature running, but in this case, it seems like bringing over this certain aspect of iOS app management might not be ideal for all Lion users.

Lion’s iOS-like Automatic Termination not ideal for some users originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may remember Edge, the iOS game that picked up a little bit of controversy for a disagreement over the name’s trademark. That disagreement has been settled, and the title is now coming out on Steam on August 11, and the Mac App Store a few days after that. To celebrate, Mobiegame and fellow developer Two Tribes are holding an “edging” contest with a very nice prize. Winners will receive each company’s entire game catalog, including Edge, Toki Tori, the popular 2D RTS Swords and Soldiers and plenty more. Plus, the winner will get their name included in the Steam release of Edge. You’ll be immortalized in the title forever.

To enter, you need to take a video of yourself “edging,” which is an activity similar to the recent fad of “planking,” where you try to hang on to any overhead edge for as long as possible. You can watch the contest announcement video for some goofy examples of how to (and how not to) do it. Seems simple enough to me.

Videos have to be submitted by August 15, so get edging right away. Good luck to everyone who enters!

Go edging and win free games, your name in Edge, coming soon to MAS originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ongoing London riots, now in their fourth day, have already caused significant damage across the city. Apple, a tempting target for thieves and vandals during the best of times, has reacted as any prudent and sufficiently cautious high-end retailer should during such a time. The Apple Store in Liverpool has entirely cleared out its inventory, and according to TNW several other stores have followed suit.

The Regent Street store has closed early with unconfirmed reports of armed police guards standing by, and many stores have police vans parked directly in front of the stores. Several London-area Apple resellers are also clearing stock from their shelves.

We’ve received several reports of 40 new-in-package iPhone 4 units available for sale on Craigslist, possibly related to the looting.

With reports on Twitter indicating that at least one of Sony’s London-area stores was looted yesterday, Apple’s reaction seems particularly prudent. Its products are obviously a high-profile target for would-be looters, and the fact that its storefronts are almost entirely glass could draw unwelcome attention from the vandals currently wrecking their way across London.

So far we have received no credible reports of any looting or vandalism taking place at any of London’s Apple Stores, with the possible exception of the Craigslist seller mentioned above.

None of our UK correspondents have been directly affected by the rioting yet, and we wish them and all of the UK a speedy return to order.

Apple reacts to London riots originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The MySaver is a Kickstarter project meant to keep our iOS device cables from fraying and pulling apart.

When it comes to iPod/iPhone/iPad cables, I’ve been one of the lucky ones. Mine have never frayed too badly. However I know plenty of people that have gone through five or more cables on a single device in a year. They swear it’s not their cats chewing up the cables either. They say Apple just doesn’t make them resilient enough. Whatever the case, if you go through iPhone cables like they’re going out of style, the MySaver could be for you.

The MySaver works by increasing the size of the casing covering the dock connector and adding a trail of flexible silicon to the first inch of cable that comes off the dock connector. Think of it as adding a flexible cast to your iPhone cable. It’s got a stronger backbone, which prevents it from fraying.

If they finally ship, the MySaver will come in two varieties. The MySaver:Pro will include docking and USB connectors plus an OEM-grade docking cable. The MySaver:DIY will include the sheath and connectors which you can add to your own cable(s).

As of this writing, MySaver is looking for US$15,000 in Kickstarter pledges. They already have $8,800, so they’re not too far off. If the product launches, the MySaver:Pro will cost $24.99 and the DIY variety will run you $10.99. Both models will be available in five colors.

[via TechCrunch]

MySaver keeps iPhone cable from breaking originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As we reported earlier today, Apple (AAPL) shares were up to US$367.91. At that price, for a few moments, Apple was “worth” $342 billion (overall market capitalization) while ExxonMobil (XOM) was at $341 billion with a $70.71 share price. That made Apple — briefly — the world’s most valuable company.

Once the market closed, however, Exxon was worth a whopping $352.90 billion, and Apple closed with a market cap of $347.10 billion. Not bad for either of them.

The markets have obviously been volatile this week and last, leading to large losses for both companies’ stocks, but Apple has managed to recover more today than Exxon, leading it to overtake the oil giant, if briefly. Apple is currently off about 8% from its all-time high of $404 a share, but ExxonMobil is off nearly 20% for its $88 high. Given that oil prices are continuing to fall, it looks like Apple could yet pull ahead for some time to retain the title “Most Valuable Company in the World.”

Apple briefly passes ExxonMobil for largest US market cap originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sometimes the market-research business can be tough. On the same day that a German court blocked sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in almost every EU country, a new report from Forrester Research arrives on the scene — and it says that if Apple competitors want to take on the iPad, Europe might be the right market. Hope they’ve got a healthy supply of correction fluid!

Forrester predicts that Apple will take over 80 percent of all tablet sales in North America this year. However, the odds are a little better for other manufacturers in Europe, where Apple will “only” claim 70 percent of the market.

That seems kind of a minor distinction to make (Apple is still obviously dominating, at least for this year), but it’s true — other tablet makers will probably have to go for every advantage they can get. In Europe, says Forrester, Apple doesn’t quite have the retail presence it enjoys in North America, and the culture (cult?) of Apple isn’t quite as engrained as it is this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Combine that with the fact that, according to both customer surveys and past sales, Europe is willing to buy tablets, and other tablet manufacturers may find more fertile ground there.

Who will sell tablets in Europe? Forrester isn’t saying who might top the market just yet, but says that price will be a big selling point, meaning low cost producers from Asia and elsewhere have a good chance as well.

Forrester: iPad may be (slightly) more vulnerable in Europe originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook has announced Facebook Messenger, a dedicated app for Facebook messaging. It’s already possible to send messages and chat within the standard Facebook app for the iPhone, but this new app hopes to streamline the process by putting the focus squarely on the chat interface.

Messages can be delivered through both notifications and texts, and you’ll have the ability to message back and forth with people in your iPhone’s Contacts list in addition to your Facebook friends.

Texts, chats, emails, and messages are consolidated in the same interface. Facebook hopes this will go a long way toward streamlining communication with your friends, particularly when trying to co-ordinate plans with large groups of people — something that traditional email, SMS, and even the standard Facebook app’s messaging interface all make much clumsier than necessary.

Facebook Messenger is not yet available on the App Store as of press time, but it should be showing up sometime soon. It will be a free download, but you’ll obviously have to be a Facebook member to get full use out of the app.

Update: Facebook Messenger is now available on the App Store.

Facebook announces Messenger app for on-the-go contact (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple announced today that is is expanding and updating its Reuse and Recycling Program. The updated service allows anyone to send their old computers and monitors to Apple to be recycled for free — regardless of brand. Previously Apple offered free recycling of old Macs and PCs for free for those purchasing a new Mac and for a US$30 fee for those not purchasing a new Mac. Now regardless of whether you buy a new Mac or not, Apple will recycle your old Mac, PC, and monitors for free.

Apple has also added the iPhone and iPad to the Apple Gift Card Trade-In program. The program originally let users trade in an old Mac or PC desktop or laptop and receive a “fair market value” amount for the computer via an Apple Gift Card for use in any Apple retail store or Apple’s online store. Now Apple is adding the ability to trade in iPhones and iPads for gift cards as well. Apple partners with PowerOn who pays for the trade-in (and later resells the used machines). If a trade-in is deemed to have no value, Apple will recycle the Mac, PC, iPad, or iPhone free of charge.

[via MacRumors]

Apple expands recycling options for old computers, mobile devices originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking for some classic arcade gaming action on your Mac? Pinball HD might just hit the spot.

Originally released for iOS, Pinball HD has made the jump to the Mac App Store bringing you three tables in one and upping the graphics to take advantage of modern Mac hardware.

Tables include Wild West, where you have to try and rob a bank and kill Dirty Harry; The Deep, which takes you down to the sea floor; and Jungle Style, which yes, you guessed it, takes you on a trek through the jungle, pinball style.

Pinball HD looks great either windowed or fullscreen, with three graphics modes and 2x and 4x anti-aliasing to suit every Mac (a 2011 15″ MacBook Pro didn’t even break a sweat with everything maxed out). You’ve even got the option of playing in 3D using some traditional color-based 3D glasses if you have them.

Game play is pretty good, with realistic physics and no detectable latency. Each of the tables have missions, which you unlock as you might expect, by hitting targets and fulfilling certain criteria. In Wild West for instance you first unlock the bank vault by hitting targets up top, then you can go rob it by firing the ball into the vault. It’s pretty easy to keep up with the action, as the three camera modes do a good job of keeping an eye on the ball.

For US$2.99 of your hard-earned cash, Pinball HD brings you enough pinball action to your Mac to keep you entertained on a rainy day.

Daily Mac App: Pinball HD originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You’ll get all the top stories of the day in three to five minutes, perfect for a quick review of what’s happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today’s Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. In the near future, you’ll be able to subscribe to a podcast feed for easy updates that you can listen to through iTunes.

Daily Update for August 9, 2011 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve just recently purchased an Apple AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule, you’re in luck. AnandTech has published a detailed review of the new devices showing that they have faster Wi-Fi capabilities than their predecessors.

The new devices are physically identical to the earlier versions, with the model numbers — MD031LL/A for the 5th generation AirPort Extreme and MD032LL/A for the 4th generation Time Capsule (2 TB) — being the only giveaway. As with previous models, the devices come with four gigabit Ethernet ports and one USB 2.0 port.

AnandTech found FCC documents showing the power output for the new and old devices, and in almost every case (with the exception of 802.11b on the 2.4 GHz frequency) power output has essentially doubled (see image above).

The tests performed by blogger Brian Klug show that the new devices provide faster throughput, with upstream file transfer speeds being more than doubled when used with a Mac with a current generation internal Wi-Fi card. Downstream throughput, measured with the Iperf network testing tool, was also impressively higher.

The TUAW blogging team often debates whether it is worthwhile to regularly upgrade network infrastructure, but the test results seem to show that in the case of the new AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule, the upgrade is definitely worth looking into.

Tests detail improved AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lion’s recovery partition is a wonderful idea, but doesn’t really help out if your hard drive fails. That’s why yesterday’s announcement of the Recovery Disk Assistant from Apple was welcome news to a lot of people who were trying to figure out how they could easily create a recovery disk on external media. Here’s how you can do make your own recovery disk using the assistant.

First, you’ll need to download the Recovery Disk Assistant app. It’s a small file — a little over a megabyte in size — and once it was downloaded I opened the disk image and dragged the Recovery Disk Assistant app into my Utilities folder.

Next, you’ll need media. The “disk” part of Recovery Disk Assistant is a bit misleading, since you can’t actually use a blank DVD. I’d recommend going to your local OfficeMax / OfficeDepot / Staples / Walmart / Target to pick up a 4 GB flash drive. They’re cheap — most outlets are selling them for less than US$10. If you already have one, realize that the Recovery Disk Assistant is going to reformat it, so make sure you take all of your files off of it.

Now fire up the Recovery Disk Assistant app. You’ll be required to agree to a software license agreement, so be sure to take some time and read every last word in the agreement (I am kidding). Click the Agree button, and now you’ll be asked to plug the flash drive into an available USB port. After noting that your disk is going to be erased, click Continue.

The process takes less than a minute, after which you’ll be instructed on how to use the recovery disk in the event of an emergency (below). Basically, if your boot drive is toast, connect the flash drive to your machine, restart while holding down the Option key, and then select the Recovery Disk. You’ll have four options available to you — restore from a Time Machine backup, Reinstall Mac OS X, Get Help Online, or Repair or Erase a disk using Disk Utility.

Under the Utilities menu are three more options — the Firmware Password Utility, the Network Utility, and everyone’s favorite, Terminal. It’s so easy and inexpensive to create a recovery disk for your OS X Lion installation that you should not only create one, but seriously think about carrying it on your keychain for those emergencies you encounter while away from home.

Mac 101: Creating a recovery disk using Recovery Disk Assistant originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the world continues to wait for a real Facebook iPad app (and not the hidden one), third-party developers have been hard at work making Facebook more tolerable on the iPad. Well, as much as one could make Facebook more tolerable to begin with… Here’s Friended, with options to view your messages, chat and see your feed each day. Handily enough you can shut off chat and peruse the feed and messages without being pinged every 5 minutes from the guy in high school who you owe two dollars for a Grit subscription.

Billed as the first “native” Facebook app for iPad, Friended looks mighty handy if you’re into obsessive Facebooking. Check out the video to see Friended in action.

Video App Demo: Friended originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay auctioneers unite! A new eBay app just became available on the Mac App Store to help you search for bargains.

The eBay app (free) doesn’t have seller capabilities, so if you’re planning on making your first billion by selling stuff online, you’ll still need to get another app like GarageSale or stick to using the horrific eBay website. The eBay app has very few reviews so far on the App Store, most of which are griping about the inability to sell items through the app.

The app is very useful for searching, saving searches, and watching auctions, and takes up very little real estate on your Mac desktop. I found it to be quick in terms of response time, much faster than what I usually see when using the eBay website with Safari.

The watch list under the My eBay tab in the app is quite interesting, as it updates about every five seconds and displays last minute bid changes without needing to manually refresh. If you’re a Mac-owning fan of eBay and love to pick up bargains online, the eBay app is definitely worth the download.

eBay app up for grabs in Mac App Store originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The indispensable Florian Müller at FOSS Patents relays a report from the German dpa news agency (translated version): sources close to the Apple-Samsung patent dispute in Europe say that a district court in Düsseldorf has issued an injunction barring sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 across the entire European Union, with the exception of the Netherlands. This follows last week’s official postponement of the Tab’s Australian launch due to the local version of the same infringement claims.

It may seem odd that an injunction in Germany could impact the entire EU, but a cursory reading of the relevant case law seems to support that — we’re inquiring with actual lawyers to find out. Also odd, though, is the fact that dpa cites Reuters as a source for this story, but there does not seem to be a corresponding Reuters piece out there. We’ll keep an ear out. The Telegraph has a few more details. [The reference to Reuters was a mistranslation on our part, our apologies. -Ed.]

Apple’s complaint is before the ITC, which could have much wider effects in the long run — although the lead time on a resolution is also much longer.

Update: Bloomberg News now has confirmation of the injunction from an Apple spokesperson.

German court blocks Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales across most of the EU (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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