Category: I-phone

Iphone ,Apple I-Phone Tutorials,Jailbraik,3g,3gs,2g, 3gs untethered ,3.1.2,3.1.3,geohot

Samsung’s Lawyers want to see the iPhone 5 and iPad 2

In a bold move Samsung’s lawyers have requested to see the iPhone 5 and iPad 2 after they were recently ordered to show Apple pre-production samples of their products. Here is what Nilay Patel has to say from This Is My Next:

Now, the key difference between the two requests is that Samsung had already announced its products, while Apple has maintained its traditional iron silence about future devices. But there’s some additional nuance involved as well, as well as some bigger-picture implications — let’s walk through the entire situation, shall we?

  • Last week, Apple asked the court to order Samsung to hand over samples of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, the Galaxy S II, the Infuse 4G, and the Droid Charge so Cupertino could figure out whether they should be part of the lawsuit — and whether to ask for a preliminary injunction preventing Samsung’s products from going on sale.
  • The court sided with Apple, in large part because Samsung had already released review units and photos of everything listed. In fact, the ruling came just days after Samsung handed out thousands of Galaxy Tab 10.1s at Google I/O, so really the only unreleased product on the list is the Tab 8.9 — a product that was announced in March and has been handled on video.
  • The court imposed one important condition on Apple in order to protect Samsung’s competitive edge, however: only Cupertino’s outside lawyers are allowed to look at Samsung’s pre-release hardware, not anyone from Apple itself. (Of course, there’s nothing stopping someone at Apple from running out and picking up a Droid Charge or Infuse 4G at retail, but pre-production samples that come from Samsung under this order are protected.)
  • Apple hasn’t yet filed for that preliminary injunction, nor has it said it’s going to anytime soon.

You can read the full article here.

Tutorial: Native iOS Apps With Lua Using iPhone Wax For Beginners

I have mentioned the free open source iPhone Wax project several times in the past.  What the iPhone wax project allows you to do is automatically bridge Lua and Objective-C allowing you to access anything written in Objective-C using your Lua code automatically.

The project has evolved considerably over time, and many of the resources have become out of date.  Recently I came across an excellent, up-to-date tutorials from Alec George using the latest version of Wax and Xcode 4 made for those getting started with iPhone Wax.

You can find the tutorial here:

Building Native iOS Apps with Wax: Creating a Sample Application 1/2
Building Native iOS Apps with Wax: Creating a Sample Application 2/2

If you have been looking for a way to program apps in Lua while still having access to all the features available in the iOS SDK then take a look at these tutorials and see if it’s for you.

©2011 iPhone, iOS 4, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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Best Resources In iOS Development May 30th 2011

It is almost WWDC time which will no doubt bring a rush of iOS related news, and uncover many new resources.

That doesn’t mean that it was not another great week, with some great open source iOS libraries undergoing major updates, and many different tutorials and tools featured on this site.

And here are the most popular postings from the last week:

Open Source: Easy To Use Library For Image Manipulation And Saving – A great library for those looking to do any sort of image modification within their apps – very efficient.

Tutorial: Turn Illustrator EPS Files Into A Core Graphics Path – A tutorial demonstrating how to take the data in an Adobe Illustrator EPS file and turn that into a Core Graphics path for easy importing of vector graphics into Cocoa apps.

Open Source: OpenEars Speech Recognition And Text-To-Speech Library Undergoes Significant Updates – The OpenEars library has undergone a major update greatly improving performance, and accuracy.

OpenGL ES Tutorials Beginner Through Advanced – A terrific set of tutorials covering many different OpenGL ES 2.0 topics extremely useful for anyone looking to get into graphics programming on iOS devices.

Accessorizer Objective-C Code Generation Tool Dropped To $1.99 For WWDC – This is a terrific time saving tool for anyone using Xcode and programming in Objective-C, there is a significant price drop until WWDC.

Open Source: Sparrow Framework Game Engine Updates To 1.2 – Big update to the Sparrow Framework adding new features, fixing every single reported bug (not that there were many), and adding improvements to shorten coding time.

Tool: CocosBuilder Drag And Drop Scene Builder For Cocos2D – An excellent tool for anyone using Cocos2D allowing you to build game scenes with a WYSIWYG style interface.

Thanks for reading, please bookmark and share this post!

©2011 iPhone, iOS 4, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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ButtonView in iPhone

This is the ButtonView example. In this example we will see how to mewView will come after pressing button. So let see how it will work.

Step 1: Open the Xcode, Create a new project using View Base application. Give the application “ButtonView”.

Step 2: Xcode automatically creates the directory structure and adds essential frameworks to it. You can explore the directory structure to check out the content of the directory.

Step 3: We need to add three ViewController class in the project. So select the project -> New File -> Cocoa Touch ->ViewController class and give the class name “PickerView”,”SoundView” and “ImageView”.

Step 4: We need to add images in the resource folder.

Step 5: Open the ButtonViewViewController.h file , make the following changes in the file:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@class PickerView;
@class SoundView;
@class ImageView;

@interface ButtonViewViewController : UIViewController {

PickerView *pickerView;
SoundView *soundView;
ImageView *imageView;

UIButton *pickerbutton;
UIButton *songbutton;
UIButton *imagebutton;
}

@property(nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet  PickerView *pickerView;
@property(nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet  SoundView *soundView;
@property(nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet  ImageView *imageView;

@property(nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet  UIButton *pickerbutton;
@property(nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet  UIButton *songbutton;
@property(nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet  UIButton *imagebutton;

–(IBAction)FirstButton:(id)sender;
–(IBAction)SecondButton:(id)sender;
–(IBAction)ThirdButton:(id)sender;

@end

Step 6: Double click the ButtonViewViewController.xib file and open it to the Interface Builder. First drag three Round Rect Button and place it to the view window.Give the button name PickerView, SoundView and ImageView (See the figure 1). Select PickerView button from the View and bring up Connection Inspector now connect Touch Up Inside to the File’s Owner icon and select FirstButton: method, do the same thing for other two button and select SecondButton: and ThirdButton: method. Now save the .xib file, close it and go back to the Xcode.

Figure 1

Step 7: In the ButtonViewViewController.m file make the following changes in the file:

#import "ButtonViewViewController.h"
#import "PickerView.h"
#import "SoundView.h"
#import "ImageView.h"

@implementation ButtonViewViewController
@synthesize pickerbutton,songbutton,imagebutton,pickerView,soundView,imageView;

–(IBAction)FirstButton:(id)sender
{
pickerView = [[PickerView alloc]initWithNibName:@"PickerView"bundle:nil];
[self.view addSubview:pickerView.view];

}
–(IBAction)SecondButton:(id)sender
{
soundView = [[SoundView alloc]initWithNibName:@"SoundView"bundle:nil];
[self.view addSubview:soundView.view];

}
–(IBAction)ThirdButton:(id)sender
{
imageView = [[ImageView alloc]initWithNibName:@"ImageView"bundle:nil];
[self.view addSubview:imageView.view];

}
– (void)dealloc
{
[super dealloc];
[pickerView.view release];
[soundView.view release];
[imageView.view release];
}

– (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
// Releases the view if it doesn’t have a superview.
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];

// Release any cached data, images, etc that aren’t in use.
}

#pragma mark – View lifecycle

– (void)viewDidUnload
{
[super viewDidUnload];
}

– (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation
{
// Return YES for supported orientations
return (interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait);
}

@end

Step 8: Open the PickerView.h file and make the following changes in the file:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
@interface PickerView : UIViewController
{
IBOutlet UIPickerView *singlePicker;
NSArray *pickerData;
}

@property(nonatomic , retain) UIPickerView *singlePicker;
@property(nonatomic , retain) NSArray *pickerData;

–(IBAction)buttonPressed;
–(IBAction)BackButton:(id)sender;

@end

Step 9: Double click the PickerView.xib file and open it to the Interface Builder. First drag the Picker View, Navigation Bar and Round rect button from the library and place it to the view window (See figure 2). Select the Picker View from the view window and bring up Connection Inspector connect dataSource and delegate to the File’s Owner icon. Connect File’s Owner icon to the Picker view and select singlePicker. Drag the Round Rect button place it on the Navigation Bar. Select the button and bring up Attribute Inspector and select “backbutton.png”.  Now select the back button and bring up Connection  Inspector connect Touch Up Inspector to the File’s Owner icon select BackButton: method. Now save the .xib file, close it and go back to the Xcode.

Figure 2

Step 10: In the PickerView.m file and make the following changes in the file:

#import "PickerView.h"

@implementation PickerView

@synthesize singlePicker;
@synthesize pickerData;

// The designated initializer. Override to perform setup that is required before the view is loaded.
– (id)initWithNibName:(NSString *)nibNameOrNil bundle:(NSBundle *)nibBundleOrNil {
if (self = [super initWithNibName:nibNameOrNil bundle:nibBundleOrNil]) {
// Custom initialization
}
return self;
}

–(IBAction)BackButton:(id)sende
{
[self.view removeFromSuperview];
}

–(IBAction)buttonPressed
{
NSInteger row = [singlePicker selectedRowInComponent:0];
NSString *selected = [pickerData objectAtIndex:row];
NSString *title = [[NSString alloc] initWithFormat:
@"you selected %@!", selected];
UIAlertView *alert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:title
message : @"Thank you for choosing."
delegate:nil
cancelButtonTitle :@"You are Welcome"
otherButtonTitles :nil];
[alert show];
[alert release];
[title release];
}

// Implement viewDidLoad to do additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
– (void)viewDidLoad {
NSArray *array = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:@"Luke",@"Leia",@"Han",@"Chewbacca",@"Artoo",
@"Threepio",@"lando",nil];
self.pickerData = array;
[array release];
[super viewDidLoad];
}

// Override to allow orientations other than the default portrait orientation.
– (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation {
// Return YES for supported orientations
return (interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait);
}

– (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning {
// Releases the view if it doesn’t have a superview.
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];

// Release any cached data, images, etc that aren’t in use.
}

– (void)viewDidUnload {
// Release any retained subviews of the main view.
// e.g. self.myOutlet = nil;
}

– (void)dealloc {
[singlePicker release];
[pickerData release];
[super dealloc];
}

#pragma mark Picker data source methods
–(NSInteger)numberOfComponentsInPickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
{
return 1;
}

–(NSInteger)pickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
numberOfRowsInComponent:(NSInteger)component
{
return [pickerData count];
}

#pragma mark Picker delegate method
–(NSString *)pickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
titleForRow:(NSInteger)row
forComponent:(NSInteger)component
{
return[pickerData objectAtIndex:row];
}
@end

Step 11: Open the SoundView.h file and make the following changes in the file:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
@interface SoundView : UIViewController {

IBOutlet UIButton *Soundstart;
}

@property(nonatomic,retain)IBOutlet UIButton *Soundstart;

–(IBAction) soundplay:(id) sender;
–(IBAction) soundstop:(id) sender;
–(IBAction) BackButton:(id) sender;

@end

Step 12: Double click the SoundViewxib file and open it to the Interface Builder. Drag two Round Rect Button and Navigation Bar on the view window. Give the Round Rect button name “Play Sound” and “Stop Sound” . Now select “Play Sound” button and bring up Connection Inspector, connect touch Up Inside to the File’s Owner icon and select soundplay: method, do the same thing for another button and select soundstop: method. Drag the Round Rect Button and place it on the Navigation Bar. Select the Round Rect Button and select “backbutton.png”(See figure 3). Now select the back button and bring up Connection Inspector and connect Touch Up Inside to the File’s Owner icon and select  BackButton: method. Now save the .xib file, close it and go back to the Xcode.

Figure 3

Step 13: We need to add two framework in the FrameWork folder. So add “AudioToolbox.framework” and “AVFoundation.framework”.

Step 14: In the SoundView.m file make the following changes in the file:

#import "SoundView.h"
#import <AVFoundation/AVFoundation.h>

@implementation SoundView

@synthesize Soundstart;
AVAudioPlayer *player;

–(IBAction)soundplay:(id)sender
{

NSString* resourcePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath];
resourcePath = [resourcePath stringByAppendingString:@"/sound.wav"];
NSError* err;

//Initialize our player pointing to the path to our resource
player = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:
[NSURL fileURLWithPath:resourcePath] error:&amp;err];

if( err ){
//bail!
NSLog(@"Failed with reason: %@", [err localizedDescription]);
}
else{
//set our delegate and begin playback
player.delegate = self;
[player play];
}
}

–(IBAction)soundstop:(id)sender
{
if (player != nil &amp;&amp; [player isPlaying])
{
[player stop];
}
}

–(IBAction) BackButton:(id) sender
{
[self.view removeFromSuperview];
}

– (id)initWithNibName:(NSString *)nibNameOrNil bundle:(NSBundle *)nibBundleOrNil
{
self = [super initWithNibName:nibNameOrNil bundle:nibBundleOrNil];
if (self) {
// Custom initialization
}
return self;
}

– (void)dealloc
{
[super dealloc];
}

– (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
// Releases the view if it doesn’t have a superview.
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];

// Release any cached data, images, etc that aren’t in use.
}

#pragma mark – View lifecycle

– (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
// Do any additional setup after loading the view from its nib.
}

– (void)viewDidUnload
{
[super viewDidUnload];
// Release any retained subviews of the main view.
// e.g. self.myOutlet = nil;
}

– (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation
{
// Return YES for supported orientations
return (interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait);
}

@end

Step 15: Open the ImageView.h file and make the following changes in the file:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
@interface ImageView : UIViewController {
UIImageView *image;
}

@property(nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet  UIImageView *image;
–(IBAction)BackButton:(id)sender;
@end

Step 16: Double click the ImageView.xib file and open it the Interface Builder. First drag the navigation bar and image view from the library and place it to the view window. And drag the Round rect Button and place it on the Navigation bar. Select the Button and bring up Attributes Inspector and select “backbutton.png”. Select the Image view and bring up Attribute Inspector select the “image006.png” file (See figure 4). Now save the .xib file, close it and go back to the Xcode.

Figure 4

Step 17: Now compile and run the application on the Simulator.

You can Download SourceCode from here ButtonView

Viber: Free Calls and Texts from Your iPhone

VoIP clients (Voice over Internet Protocol) have been all the buzz really since Skype made its debut in 2003. When developers realized the potential behind mobile platforms and VoIP there was a race to see who could get the best quality services out there. Skype introduced its iPhone version in 2009, and while there have been other apps like Nimbuzz that offer ‘package’ IM services, Skype had the most success on the iPhone.

Then came applications like WhatsApp that offered free texting – BBM style. This was hugely popular because it was cross-platform free texting, simply using (a very small amount of) your phone Internet. Further, instead of using a separate account that you have to set up like Skype does, it relied purely on your phone number, and synced with everyone in your phonebook, so anyone who had the app could contact you without having to add them again.

Well what would happen if you combined the glory of free calling that Skype offers and the free texting and use of your mobile number that Whatsapp brings – the answer is Viber.

Getting Started

Viber setup

Viber is a free application that, once installed, will ask for your number and send you a confirmation PIN which you will then have to enter into the app. That’s it, you’ll then have a Viber account. No logging in! The app will use your number as your ‘ID’ and will immediately check your contact list to show you who else has Viber showing a little ‘Viber’ icon next to anyone who has the app installed. Simply tapping on the contact and pressing the “make a free call” or “free text” button will do just that.

While this offers ‘free’ calls and texts, it uses your data plan and although it uses a very small amount of data, it could potentially cost large amounts of money. Check what your service provider offers when Data Roaming is on – be cautious.

Replacing the Dialer app, Forever

Native Phone app on left, Viber on right – showing just the Viber contacts

Viber’s design mimics that of the native dialer app for the iPhone to a tee, so much that they’re almost indistinguishable from each other apart from the purple theme that Viber has. This is because they want you to use this app as a replacement to the native app, and want to make the transformation as simple as possible.

Showing you the Free Call, Free Text and Regular call/text

When you click on a contact that has Viber on their phone you are given to option to place a “free call” as I have already explained, but you also have the choice to place a normal call, and this is what you do when you go to a contact who doesn’t have Viber. Choosing these contacts will place a normal call, launching the native app and using your normal credit (the same is also the case with texting). That is what makes this app so useful:in addition to providing you with the ability to call people from across the world for free, you can use it as your everyday dialer to call and text people who don’t have Viber.

Usability

In terms of usability, I don’t really have many complaints to speak of; the app is pretty quick, definitely quicker than when it originally launched.  It can occasionally be a tiny bit slow when you are making a ‘normal call’ (i.e not using Viber’s free calling) to actually launch the native app, but speed has definitely been improving as the app has been updated and I am sure we will see that ‘lag’ vanish soon.

As for call quality I have found it to be pretty much crystal clear – as good as you are likely to get from a mobile VoIP app. Occasionally you get a poor quality line, more often than not it’s when you get a bad 3G connection but occasionally it happens on wifi and Viber indicates with a little icon telling you about your call quality. In my experience, call quality is better than using the iPhone Skype application both on 3G and wifi, but why don’t you just give it a try. After all – it’s free.

The little icon at the top right tells you of your call quality

Background notifications

As you have come to expect with iOS 4 and the ability for apps to run in the background, Viber does not let you down. You get a notification when you get a text message from Viber or a missed ‘free call’ just like you would a normal call/text, so you don’t have to worry about missing a text or call, as long as you have an Internet connection you can receive calls/texts wherever you are.

Background notifications at its finest

Room for Improvement

After Viber added the greatly desired ‘free texting’ service in the Viber 2.0 update, it had addressed its biggest ‘downfall’ and for me there’s not much to complain about, but there are a few requests that I have.

The main complaint I have with the app is one that is likely impossible to address due to the limitations of the what Apple allows developers to control. If I have been having a few conversations with a couple of friends about something and some have been on Viber and some have been regular texts, then I have to keep switching from Viber to the native messaging client. It would be nice to have all of the communication run through Viber.

As I said, this is is unlikely because I don’t think Apple will let anyone take over texting and calling completely, but I might be wrong. Also it would require Viber having a free voicemail service as well which might be a long-shot.

While some users have reported success on the iPod Touch and iPad, Viber is not fully optimized for them so it may or may not work for you. This is also some thing I would like to see.

Conclusion

Viber is a free app that combines the beauty of free calling that Skype offers along with the ease of phone number ID of WhatsApp to make a super useful utility that can rid you of those expensive international calls and texts.

Simple to set up and even easier to place free calls and texts, it’s really a wonder that you don’t already have it. With constant updates and a great support team you know you are in safe hands, I can not recommend this app enough. After all, the more people that have it, the more money you can save on keeping in touch with your friends.

Ask the iPhone.AppStorm Editor #4

Today is our fourth post in a series titled “Ask the Editor”. This is a great way for you to ask questions and get help for all things iPhone. Whether you’ve just purchased your first iPhone and need help setting it up or are a pro with an advanced technical question, I’ll tackle your problem and see if I can help!

We’ve had some great questions submitted since last time, so read on to find out what my responses are and how you can submit your own questions for the next article.

Is there a fitness app that allows you to manually enter exercise without using GPS?

Doug Rydal

Great question Doug. There are plenty of really stellar apps like Runmeter that use your phone’s GPS to track your exercise activity, be it running, cycling, skating, etc. The problem with GPS is apps like these is that they don’t take into account that many of us use treadmills and other machines in our home or at the gym. Because we’re technically staying in one place, our activity can’t be tracked!

Fortunately, RunKeeper, one of the best and most popular free exercise tracking apps on the market, recently added the ability to manually enter activity. RunKeeper has lots of great features and is an unbeatable value considering that you don’t have to pay a single cent for it!

screenshot

RunKeeper

Is there an app that allows me to draw on maps?

Whammy

You’d think that this would be a popular request, but it’s actually quite difficult to find an app with this functionality. A note to developers, I think this is a prime niche that someone could jump into and easily take over.

That being said, I was able to find one app with the functionality you’re looking for: GeoDoodle. It’s free and essentially just lets you draw shapes and lines of various colors right on top of an interactive map. It hasn’t been updated for over a year so it would seem development has gone stagnant, but it just might get the job done. With a free app, you lose nothing by giving it a shot!

screenshot

GeoDoodle

Where’s the best place to find high quality app developers? There’s so much listed out there that it’s hard to sift through the chaff and zero in on the best.

Nathan Patrick

I think Nathan has hit on a question that lots of people struggle with. You have an idea for an app, where do you go to get it developed? The app gold rush means that a Google search will yield more results than you can possibly sift through, making it almost impossible to know where to start.

The first piece of advice I have is to judge developers by their site. A great-looking website doesn’t mean they can make a quality app, but an ugly website does mean that they’ll probably deliver an ugly app. If the company’s in-house designers can’t even make their own brand look good, what will they do to yours?

Also, run searches for criteria that you find important. If budget is your main concern, search for “affordable app development”. Nathan seemed to want the best so I did some research on “award-winning app developers”.

If you want the best and you’re concerned with quality, find and hire a developer that worked on some apps that you’re actually familiar with and have used. For instance, my research led me to XCubeLabs, an iPhone development company that worked on titles such as Mario Cooks, Tap Defense and Tap Zoo, solid apps that each earned a decent amount of recognition. They might be a good developer to hit up if you’re working on a food-related or game app.

screenshot

XCubeLabs

I also found BottleRocket Apps, who worked on NRP, ESPN and Fuel Finder. If you want something news or location-based, you might check them out. Here are a couple of others that seemed pretty good!

Didn’t See Your Question?

If you asked a question but didn’t have it answered today, don’t worry! I’ll do my best to get to it in a future week. If you’d like to submit a new query, you can do so here:

Online Form – AppStorm > Ask The Editor

Talkcast tonight, 4pm HI/7pm PDT/10pm EDT: Memorial Weekend Edition!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, kids! I’ve checked and double checked and it’s Talkcast time! Since you’re most likely off tomorrow, you have no excuse not to stay up late and join me for this week’s Talkcast! We’ll be spending a bit of time discussing the Lodsys Kerfuffle, developments on the current and future editions of Mac OS, and of course we’ll be paying a visit to my house to discuss the latest on another operating system, iOS 5.

Remember: When Kelly hosts the show, it means we have an aftershow! TUAWTF covers all manner of topics. Come for the show, stay for the aftershow.

Your calls and questions help make the show the best it can be, otherwise I’m just talking to myself! To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 — during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you’ve got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Blink or X-Lite SIP clients, basic instructions are here. (If you like Blink, the pro version is available in the Mac App Store.) Skype users with SkypeOut credit can call the main Talkshoe number; it’s also a free call with the Google Voice browser plugin. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 4pm HI/7pm PDT/10pm EDT: Memorial Weekend Edition! originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 19:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Latest build of Mac OS X 10.6.8 hints at Lion upgrade path through Mac App Store

Yesterday we told you that Apple released a third build of Mac OS X 10.6.8 to developers. At the time there were no known issues with the build and developers were asked to focus on AirPort, Networking, Graphics Drivers, QuickTime, VPN, and the Mac App Store. Now it turns out that the Mac App Store may be the biggest component of that 10.6.8 upgrade.

German site fscklog was the first to point out that the release notes for the 10.6.8 build specifically notes that this point upgrade to Lion will “Enhance the Mac App Store to get your Mac ready to upgrade to Mac OS X Lion.” The release notes all but confirm that Apple will be pushing the Mac App Store as the primary upgrade mechanism for Mac users. Also, if 10.6.8 is released before WWDC, which starts on June 6, it could be a signal that Apple is set to release Mac OS X 10.7 Lion sooner than most people expect — which is something we’ve heard they might do.

[via Electronista]

Latest build of Mac OS X 10.6.8 hints at Lion upgrade path through Mac App Store originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick and clean Funnel news app is free today

Funnel is a quick way to scan the Google News headlines. It has a simple interface. Sections are color coded, and the size of the headlines gives you a quick visual idea of the importance of the story based on the number of related articles.

The app supports news from the US, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the U.K. You can set the app to display in the appropriate language for the country selected.

If you touch an item, you get the first paragraph. Tap ‘read more’ and you get the content in the built-in browser. You can’t search, or see related stories. In the app preferences you can select the kind of news you want in broad categories. I don’t think Funnel is a substitute for more feature-rich apps such as Pulse, but it’s nice for a quick dive into the news. The app worked reliably, but was a little slow at times to load the full stories into the viewer. The app is free today only and requires iOS 3.2 or later. It also runs on the iPod touch and the iPad but it is not iPad native.

Quick and clean Funnel news app is free today originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stats of the Union brings American demographic data to the iPad

If you have an interest in American demographics and statistics, you need to check out the Stats of the Union iPad app. Statistics are only useful when you have a clear way of organizing and viewing the data. Without being able to do that, you can’t glean any useful information from the numbers. What Stats of the Union does is take a host of data from the Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) report and present it on an interactive, color-coded map.

Stats of the Union allows you to visualize any number of statistics for the entire country, all the way down to the county level. There are multiple subcategories in the seven prime categories including Summary, Demographics, Births, Deaths, At-Risk Groups, Diseases, and Risk Factors. For example, with a few taps I can see that in the county where I grew up (St. Louis County), life expectancy is 77.4 years, and population is 991,830. 20 percent of those people are at risk of health issues from smoking, and 102,548 people under the age of 65 (over 10 percent of the population) lack health insurance.

Those stats are only a small fraction of the information I can examine in the app. Stats of the Union is one of those apps that shows just how powerful of a learning tool the iPad can be. For those of you wondering, the app isn’t political; it just presents a lot of complex data in an easy-to-view form and asks users to make their own conclusions about America’s health. Stats of the Union is a free download.

Stats of the Union brings American demographic data to the iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The most expensive iPad apps

Are you rich? Or just can’t control your spending habits? If you answered “yes” to either of those questions and own an iPad, I’ve got some apps to show you. Most-expensive.net has compiled a list of the ten most expensive iPad apps. The apps range in price from US$299.99 all the way up to $999.99.

The top three most expensive apps all cost $999.99.

The thing about these $1000 apps is they actually do perform very useful functions for a limited audience, unlike other apps that cost a grand.

[via Business Insider]

The most expensive iPad apps originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A complete iPhone solution for reverse caller lookup

Number Guru gets you information when caller ID doesn’t. This free iPhone app allows you to input any phone number and figure out who is calling you. It’s particularly nice when you get spam telemarketer calls, because the app has some crowdsourcing features that can provide more information than just a company name.

The app covers 100 percent of listed US landlines and about half of US cellular numbers. The app will also identify the carrier the call came through, although it can get confused over ported numbers. I saw that myself, because I’m on AT&T after originally being on Verizon, and Number Guru misidentified my carrier. Verizon doesn’t supply any caller information, so a Verizon call won’t be identified.

Number Guru asks (but does not require) you to upload your contacts. According to the developer that information is not shared with anyone else, but will be part of some future enhancements to the software. (I opted out.) The app also has one of the longest and foggiest terms of service agreements I have ever seen. It’s a long scroll on your iPhone, and you can’t use the app without agreeing. I couldn’t see anything evil in the TOS, but it’s available online if you want to read it yourself. The developer says it’s going to work on shortening the TOS and making the terms clearer.

Number Guru does what it advertises. There are similar services on the web already, but some of them cost money. This app has a comprehensive database, and in my tests it worked well. If you’re constantly wondering who is calling you, this is a handy app.

A complete iPhone solution for reverse caller lookup originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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President Obama gets an iPad 2 filled with Polish pride

President Obama is on a European tour, and one of his stops included Poland. Before parting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave President Obama several gifts, a usual custom for visiting dignitaries. One of those gifts was an iPad 2. President Obama already has an iPad 2, but TUAW reader Darek points out this iPad 2 was just a “container” for other Polish goodies, including some masterful Polish movies.

“One of them was ‘Cathedral’ by Tomasz Bagi?ski, which got Oscar nomination several years ago,” Darek says. “There was also a masterpiece ‘City of Ruins’ — a digitally recreated aerial panorama of post-war Warsaw, almost totally destroyed during WWII.”

Darek also told us President Obama received another gift, the hot video game “The Witcher 2,” which is made in Poland.

President Obama gets an iPad 2 filled with Polish pride originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Consumer PC sales growth declines for first time ever: iPad the culprit?

Business Insider has posted a chart that tracks consumer PC growth from June of 2007 to March of 2011. According to the chart consumer PC sales have grown by at least 10 percent every quarter, until December 2010 when it remained flat. In the quarter ending March 2011, consumer PC sales actually went down 4 percent.

Business Insider says that “Microsoft’s consumer PC sales growth has pretty much never declined. Not even when Microsoft released Vista. Not even when the economy went in the toilet. But suddenly, the growth of sales is about to go negative.” Business Insider attributes this coming negative slump to the iPad. While you can present the same data in many different ways and draw different conclusions about what’s causing a particular decline, I do think Business Insider has a point.

For many consumers an iPad is more than enough. If you only need a computer to browse the net, why buy a rigid box you need to sit at a desk to use? Why not just get a tablet you can use from the comfort of your couch? Do you think the iPad causing a decline in consumer PC sales? Let us know in the poll below.

View Poll

Consumer PC sales growth declines for first time ever: iPad the culprit? originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s lawyers want access to the iPhone 5 and iPad 3

Here’s a big case of “Good luck with that.” Samsung’s lawyers are demanding to see the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, according to ThisIsMyNext. Samsung says it needs to see Apple’s upcoming devices because its iPhone and iPad competitors, the Droid Charge and Galaxy Tab 10.1, will likely be on sale around the same time. Samsung wants to make sure it can spot any possible similarities so it can be ready for any potential legal action from Apple.

Last week a judge granted Apple access to Samsung prototypes of the Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Infuse 4G and Droid Charge. This will allow Apple to identify elements that could confuse customers into thinking the Samsung devices are the same as Apple’s devices. As MacRumors points out, only Apple’s lawyers will be able to see the prototype Samsung gear. Similarly, if Samsung were granted access to the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, only the company’s lawyers would be able to view them. Still, since it’s Samsung that is on the defensive, it’s not likely that Samsung will be granted access to Apple’s prototypes.

Apple first filed suit against Samsung in April, claiming the Samsung Galaxy line too closely imitated the look and feel of its iOS devices.

Samsung’s lawyers want access to the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 29 May 2011 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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