Category: I-phone

What’s Bruce? Aside from being a punchline to a rather silly Monty Python video, it’s also an amusing little testbed that I’ve been putting together to see how far I can push the Apple TV’s utility, whether for creating information kiosk installations or bringing rich information out from the office and into the living room.

Bruce is basically an image server. The images served are generated on the Mac side of the world and pushed through to a vanilla, unjailbroken Apple TV. Bruce currently offers two modes: a date/time/weather display that updates in real time and a screenshot mode that pushes updates to the Apple TV every few seconds.

The engine under Bruce’s covers is essentially the same one that powers my AirFlick application, which allows you to push videos and photographs to Apple TV. Bruce plays a different role in that the focus isn’t just on relaying pre-existing content but generating new content live.

It’s not just about creating smarter screen savers (which is, basically, what the weather report option is all about) — it’s also about thinking how to publish compelling information snippets to what is, otherwise, a passive public display. It’s all about pushing information to the Apple TV from the computer, rather than pulling requests by the Apple TV user. This is not an unexplored arena by any means, but for just US$99 for the Apple TV, it’s a newly affordable and hackable one.

If you want to give Bruce a try, I threw a build up on my website for you to play with. I’m particularly interested in hearing from readers as to how you think the Macintosh/Apple TV relationship can grow and what kinds of rich information the Apple TV would benefit from receiving passively.

Bruce: Moving Mac computing to Apple TV output originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to the Asian newspaper Digitimes, production of the CDMA iPhone 4 may climb as high as 15 million units for 2011. Pegatron Technology is reportedly delivering its first batch of CDMA iPhone 4 handsets to Apple and has originally projected internally that it would manufacture 10 million units in 2011. This internal estimate has been increased by 2 to 5 million units due to strong demand for this variant of Apple’s popular smartphone.

The CDMA iPhone 4 is expected to land on Verizon Wireless starting February 10, and it will be available for US$199 with a 2-year customer agreement. Ever since detailed rumors of the CDMA iPhone began surfacing, demand for the iPhone 4 on Verizon has been high. Due to this pent-up demand, analysts project that Verizon could sell up to 16 million units in 2011.

According to analyst Charles Wolf of Needham & Company, most of these new iPhone users will be former feature phone owners who will drop their brew phone for the iOS device. Other new iPhone owners may be customers who have left Sprint, T-Mobile or AT&T now that Verizon finally has the iPhone. The CDMA iPhone could also land globally on other carriers, such as China Telecom or India’s Reliance Communications, though a launch outside of the US has not been confirmed by Apple.

[Via AppleInsider]

CDMA iPhone 4 production increased to meet anticipated demand originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The good folks at Engadget have received pictures of what purports to be the inventory listing for Vodaphone in Germany, and in there you can see an entry for an iPhone 4 “weiß,” which you don’t have to have taken high school German to realize means white. That’s right, the legendary white iPhone 4 still isn’t dead — Engadget’s source says the phone should be available to the public “soon.”

We’d say that it’s all just a bunch of wishful thinking yet again, but who knows? If The Beatles can show up on iTunes, then maybe we will see an actual, non-modded iPhone 4 for sale officially.

White iPhone 4 seen in German inventory system originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest bit of digital entertainment based on a Reiner Knizia game to hit the App Store is your typical Knizia numberfest: a brilliant game design with a theme that could be anything. In this case, with Battleline, the theme happens to be ancient Greek military. In fact, the very first version of the card game was called Schotten-Totten, and it depicted elderly comic Scotsmen vying for nine stones; there was also a re-themed Narnia version (called the Prince Caspian The Shield of Courage Card Game) to coincide with one of the recent movies. If you’re looking to play with physical cards, you have a choice of theme, but on an iDevice, you’ve got ancient Greek armies. Luckily, this is a perfectly fitting theme, and since you’ll spend most of your time thinking about possible number combinations, you wouldn’t care if the game involved nothing but Smurfs and Garfield. Keep reading to find out why the new iOS version of the 2000 game Battle Line (yes, there is a space in the tabletop version, but not in the app) is worth checking out, even if you aren’t a math person. Hint: it’s more about poker than anything else.

Continue reading App Review: Reiner Knizia’s Battleline is numerically superior

App Review: Reiner Knizia’s Battleline is numerically superior originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wall Street was still reeling from Steve Jobs’ medical leave this morning, with Apple stocks taking a beating as a result. Techcrunch reports that roughly $20 billion of Apple’s market cap disappeared when the shares fell more than 20 points. But, $15 billion of that cap is back now, as investors apparently remembered that Apple’s quarterly earnings call is today, and that always bodes good news for the company.

Remember to join us at TUAW for a live discussion of the call when it begins at 2 PM PST/5 PM EST today.

Apple’s stock knocked down, but gets right back up originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The next time you are wheeled into the operating room, don’t be surprised to see the surgeon toting an iPod touch. Before you try to scramble out of your gurney, he or she will most likely be using the portable media player to assist with the surgery, not rock out to some tunes while you are under the knife. According to a report out of Welt Online, an iPod-based system has been developed by German doctors and is being used in surgical procedures that require the precision only a computer can provide.

The report notes that the iPod could replace conventional computer-based imaging systems that are wheeled into operating rooms. These older systems can be as large as refrigerators and cost a whopping 200,000 Euros. They require a monitor and can be cumbersome to use as the doctor has to shift his gaze back and forth from the patient to the monitor. With an iPod-based system, the handheld device can be held directly next to the surgeon and the patient. Not only compact and portable, the iPod-based surgical system is also much less expensive than the traditional systems, costing on average 50,000 Euros.

Orthopedist Holger Bäthisin is one of the doctors who has used the iPod during surgery and has this to say about the system: “The joint anatomy is recorded, digitized, the data will go to the camera system – the calculations are in milliseconds to me via iPod. It works wirelessly with wireless, so no more tripping over here in the operating room. ” He further adds, “We have achieved excellent results.”

According to the report, the iPod is being used in a pilot program at the Municipal Hospital of Merheim and at an unnamed hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Besides orthopedics, the iPod-driven system could also be used in neurosurgery, ENT and facial surgery where exact precision is required.

Thanks to reader el3ktro for sending this in!

iPods assist German doctors during surgery originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Aunt TUAW,

I want to jailbreak my 4th gen iPod touch, but there is something I’m unsure about. If I want to unjailbreak it (because of performance issues, etc.), is there any possible way for me to do that without losing all of my data? I have scoured the internet, and I haven’t been able to come up with a concrete answer. Thanks for your help.

Love & kissies,

Your nephew, Luke

Continue reading Dear Aunt TUAW: Will my jailbroken iPhone back up?

Dear Aunt TUAW: Will my jailbroken iPhone back up? originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This might not be a surprise to anyone. Research firm IDC reports that the iPad represented nearly 90 percent of media tablets shipped in the third quarter of 2010. This is a fairly big deal because the tablet market itself picked up by a whopping 45 percent, going from 3.3 million tablets shipped in the second quarter to 4.8 million tablets shipped in the third quarter. With an increase of 1.5 million units being shipped in just three months, that’s a sizeable increase in a growing market.

IDC restricts its study to tablets with screens larger than 5 inches but smaller than 14 inches. It also restricts the idea of “media tablets” to devices that run a “lightweight” operating system like iOS or Android. That’s a fairly tight definition of media tablet, but it probably includes most devices your average consumer would consider purchasing.

With all of the new iPad toys we saw previewed at CES, it’s fairly likely that the iPad will continue to be strong through 2011. It will be interesting to see how Apple measures up against all the tablet-come-lately competitors, and whether the iPad’s overwhelming dominance will continue.

[Via The Mac Observer]

Apple: The undisputed leader in the tablet market originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPad 2 rumor-fest continues unabated by the news of Steve Jobs’ health-related leave of absence. Today’s iPad 2 rumors are based on some alleged cases for the device, which show new and mysterious ports that aren’t on the existing iPad.

As displayed on MIC Gadget, the cases appear to have two new openings. Other sites have posted similar pictures of alleged iPad 2 cases. The current groupthink is that one of the ports, located on top of the iPad between the sleep / on-off switch and the audio jack, could be for an HDMI or mini-HDMI port. The other port is located on the upper left side of the case and might be for an SD card reader.

The SD card reader would eliminate the need to use Apple’s Camera Connection Kit to read image, video and sound files from many digital cameras and camcorders, while an HDMI port would serve as a way of pushing true HD video and audio from an iPad to HDTVs and monitors.

Then again, these could be case makers living in fantasy land. What’s your guess on the new ports? Leave your comments below.

[via Engadget, AppleInsider]

More iPad 2 cases show slots for SD card, video out? originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been looking for device-to-device AirPlay support, the free AirView utility that just debuted on the App Store offers a simple solution. Offering a no-frills AirPlay receiver, AirView allows you to watch AirPlay video streams from other devices or, if you have AirFlick installed on your Macintosh, from your primary computer.

As I’ve written extensively before, I’m not entirely sure why or when you’d use this option (e.g., “Hey, instead of watching that movie on my HDTV, why not use a 3-inch display instead?” or “Want to watch this YouTube video? Instead of handing you my phone or emailing you the URL, I’ll make both of us sit here while I serve the data to you live!”), but there you have it. It’s available for download from the App Store, and it works equally well on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Thanks, Steven TS

AirView brings AirPlay reception to iOS devices originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At the opening bell this morning, AAPL was down 5%, erasing about US$15 billion dollars of the company’s market value. As of this writing, Apple is trading at $336. It’s not time to get out on the ledges, however, as many experts think an expected blow-out earnings call later today could erase the losses.

Of course, the stock value picture is always most interesting over the long run, and will also be impacted by how long Steve Jobs is out on medical leave. Many investors are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see the results of the earnings call, and some are predicting Apple will announce a 50% increase in quarterly sales this afternoon. Other analysts expect lower earnings and revenue.

Apple made the announcement about the medical leave yesterday on a US holiday when American markets were closed. When Jobs announced his previous leave, the stock lost about 8% in two days. Last Friday, Apple stock was at a 52 week high of $348 per share.

Apple stock opens about 5% down, but most analysts remain calm originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The long-rumored iPad magazine, The Daily, is a big leap into the tablet market for News Corp. Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corp, has reportedly hired 100 journalists to work on this daily newspaper for the iPad and is working closely with Apple on this project. Expected to be introduced this week by Murdoch and Steve Jobs, the app launch has been delayed into next month as kinks with the subscription-based service are reportedly worked out. According to new information from Advertising Age, the iPad-based newspaper will be available as an App Store subscription costing 99-cents a day 99-cents a week. A two-week trial will be available for iPad owners who prefer to try before they buy.

AdAge also suggests the rumored newspaper will feature a multi-story front page with a magazine-style layout for other content. The Daily will support multi-touch gestures that let you rotate, zoom and swipe through the content. Though working closely with Apple, News Corp. will not be using iAds within the newspaper application. News Corp. has tapped New York-based Medialets to mange the ads and resulting metrics for this daily digital newspaper. Ads may be sold at a flat rate to businesses.

The Daily reportedly has the sponsorship of big name companies like Verizon Wireless, Land Rover, Macy’s, Pepsi Max and Virgin America. Not only sponsors, each company will reportedly promote the newspaper by offering incentives meant to entice customers to download and subscribe to the app. Verizon Wireless, which currently sells the iPad, could bundle a limited-time subscription with each iPad purchase, while Virgin America could offer frequent flyer miles for those that download the app.

Apple reportedly has a short-term exclusive deal to carry the daily newspaper on its popular iPad tablet. Over time, the app will be ported to other tablet platforms including Android, webOS and the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Update: AdAge has corrected the rumored pricing of The Daily from 99-cents a day to the much more reasonable 99-cents per week.

[via AppleInsider, 9to5 Mac]

More rumored details on The Daily originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey everyone, Ask TUAW has gone video to help you with all those questions you send in. Today we help Donna, who asks about removing installed apps from her Mac. Remember, you can leave us questions in the comments! The video is on the next page.

Mentioned in this video:

• Adobe uninstaller (included in CS installations), but you can also try the CS5 Cleaner Tool if you’re having issues with the Creative Suite.
• AppZapper

Also, check out our Mac 101 on uninstalling (a couple of years old now) and how to uninstall System Preference panes.

Continue reading Ask TUAW video edition: Uninstalling Mac apps

Ask TUAW video edition: Uninstalling Mac apps originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can check the full Apple press release after the break but today’s earnings call promises to be interesting on two fronts. First, for the past several years Apple has reported stellar sales in practically ever category, losing ground somewhat in the portable music player front to an extent, but showing steady growth in Mac sales and explosive growth in iPhone and iPad sales. We think the trend will continue.

The question of Steve’s health will no doubt be looming and will be a topic of conversation during the question and answer session at the end of the call. Yesterday’s announcement sent Apple’s stock tumbling in overseas markets and today, as of this writing, we’re seeing AAPL down around 4%. That’s actually not too bad considering the chatter about Steve being the sole visionary for the company. In terms of kneejerk market reactions, it could be much worse.

We’ll post the results and a wrap-up of the call later today. You can listen to the call here starting at 2 PM Pacific or 5 PM Eastern.

Continue reading Apple Q1 2011 earnings call today at 2:00 p.m. PST/5:00 p.m. EST

Apple Q1 2011 earnings call today at 2:00 p.m. PST/5:00 p.m. EST originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are a plethora of “launcher” apps out there. I’ve used LaunchBar ($35) since it was released for NeXTStep; other folks seem fond of Alfred (free, with additional powerpack for £12, or about US$20), Butler ($20), Keyboard Maestro ($36) or Google Quick Search Box (free). The venerable but now mostly-dead QuickSilver (cue moment of silence followed by someone yelling out “I’m not dead yet”) is being kept alive by a band of merry coders who hope to revive it. Heck, even FastScripts and OS X’s own Spotlight can serve as launchers.

I come not to replace your favorite launcher, but to supplement it, with an incredibly handy $3 app called Apptivate.

Read on for details

Continue reading Apptivate 2.0 adds keystroke sequence shortcuts

Apptivate 2.0 adds keystroke sequence shortcuts originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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