Category: I-phone

As if Adobe Flash didn’t have enough going against it already. Now it appears that, according to tests done by Ars Technica, having Flash installed on your laptop can reduce your battery runtime by a third. Ars Technica was running battery tests on the new 11-inch MacBook Air. With the Flash player plug-in installed, the 11-inch Air got just 4 hours of battery life. Once they deleted Flash, the Air’s battery life rose to a whopping 6 hours.

Ars Technica speculates that this is another reason that Apple decided to leave Flash off MacBook Airs (instead of just to make sure that users would download the latest version). It’s important to note that Ars Technica isn’t saying simply having the Flash plug-in installed on the Air reduces battery time, but that when visiting the same websites in Safari with Flash installed and then with Flash uninstalled, Flash ads became static ads, thus resulting in the higher battery life. In the end, Ars found that “Flash-based ads kept the CPU running far more than seemed necessary.”

While Ars only tested the Flash battery drainage on a MacBook Air, it seems logical to assume that similar battery runtime results would be seen on other MacBooks and PC laptops. I’m about to test this out myself by removing Flash from my 15-inch MacBook Pro and seeing if my wireless web surfing time increases.

Besides uninstalling Flash completely from your machine, there are a number of Safari extensions that allow you to disable or enable Flash with a click.

Having Flash installed on your MacBook can reduce battery runtime by 33% originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Moviegoers love the free IMDB apps for iOS. Between the huge, searchable database of movies and actors, the reviews, and the ability to look up movie showtimes in the US, it’s no surprise that the app is downloaded over a million times per month.

Things just got even better for IMDB users. A new update of the apps for iPhone and iPad released today now expands movie showtimes to a dozen more countries: UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina. The home screen now shows the latest available trailers for upcoming and newly released movies, as well as expanded entertainment news coverage.

Hard core professional IMDB users with IMDB Pro accounts can now log into their accounts from the apps to access contact and representation info, and the iPhone app will be able to dial those contacts. IMDB has included social network integration into the apps by letting Facebook users log in using their accounts and enabling Facebook and Twitter updates from the apps.

The updated version of the IMDB app is available in the App Store now, and will show up as an update if you already have it installed.

[via TechCrunch]

IMDB apps updated with social network integration, global movie showtimes originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Box.net has released the final video covering their project to set up a company called D7 Consulting with 20 iPads to implement in their day-to-day business. It sounds like the whole thing has been a rousing success — back when the project first kicked off, D7 said they wanted to use the iPad to track statements and reports directly from their construction work sites, and according to this video, that’s exactly what they’ve done, reducing paperwork and serving as a great example of how to put Apple’s consumer technology to use in the workplace.

There’s also some information in the video about Box.net and their service, and of course the whole project was developed partly as a demonstration of what’s possible with Box.net’s filesharing software. But what’s really impressive about this for everybody is that with the ubiquity of powerful, connected devices like the iPad, almost every kind of business can benefit from having access to files and all of the other features that the iPad brings to the table.

Stay tuned — we’re aiming to do one more visit with D7 Consulting to see how the project went and what they learned from putting the iPad to work in their office. TUAW originally helped kick off this project with Box.net by helping them choose someone from our readership to start using these iPads, and there’s definitely more to learn from what Box.net and D7 have done with this project.

Final Box.net iPad campaign video originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Retro games continue to make their way to the iOS platform. One of the latest early-’90s games about to make its way to iOS is Trilobyte’s FMV adventure/puzzle game, The 7th Guest. The company says it is due to come out sometime early next month.

When it debuted in 1993, The 7th Guest was one the first computer games to come out on CD (CD!) and was originally priced at US$79.95. For the iOS version, you’ll only have to fork over $3.99. It seems this won’t be a universal app, as it’s labeled as an “iPhone” game. Perhaps an HD version will be in the works if the iPhone version is a winner.

Are you a newcomer to The 7th Guest and interested in picking this one up? Or are you an old 7th Guest veteran who wants to try the app out on your iPhone next? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

[via Joystiq]

The 7th Guest coming to iPhone in December originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hot on the heels of today news that Apple is building a New York City office for the iAd team, MacRumors is reporting that Apple has begun to deploy iAds on a global scale. Previously, iAds were limited to the North America and the United Kingdom, but now iAd impressions are appearing from other countries as well.

MacRumors notes that of course this is only a good thing for developers who use iAds, as their ad revenue will grow from increased global impressions.

iAds begin to roll out globally originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple has launched a 2010 Holiday Gift Guide in their US online store. The guide this year is designed to spotlight three segments: buying entertaining gifts, buying gifts for creative minds, and buying gifts for yourself.

Entertainment gifts include the Apple TV and Civilization V, while creative gifts include iLife ’11, the Magic Trackpad, and Microsoft Office 2011. Gifts for yourself include a $400 Cole Haan Messenger Bag and a number of iPod docking speakers.

While all the items are marked at regular price, Apple typically offers Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts at the end of November.

Apple Store Holiday Gift Guide now live originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Following an update last week to fix data loss and corruption, this latest bug fix adds some additional print product options and fixes what Apple calls “overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues.”

The 9.1 update gives users photo calendars back, and adds some holiday card options. The first release of iPhoto ’11 about 2 weeks ago caused some users to lose their photo libraries. That issue seems to have quieted down, but many users are very upset about how this new iLife app works. It’s good to see Apple jumping on these issues quickly, although this latest iPhoto has been a rough ride for many users.

The update is about 65 MB, and can be downloaded from the Software Update option under the Apple Menu. After you upgrade the app will rescan and update your photo library, so take a deep breath.

Apple pushes out yet another iPhoto ’11 update originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Crashkit is an Open Source Library for better crash handling and reporting. It is made by Praveen Kaler. It helps you understnad why your iOS App crashed out on you.

Although Apple has improved crash reporting a lot, there is a decent open source library that goes beyond Apple’s built in functionality in helping you understand why your App crashed. Basically this library will catch uncaught exceptions and trap signals.

Then it will go back to the main run loop until it can send you an email that contains a detailed report about the crash – or alternatively it can place the crash information and log into your database.

This very handy library, called CrashKit must form a part of every iPhone developers arsenal. It can be found over at – CrashKit: Helping Your iOS/iPhone Apps Suck Less.

I recently started using Microsoft Outlook 2011 Mac as my email client (on a trial basis), and wanted to have Growl notifications whenever I received a new message; it’s pretty simple via AppleScript. Here’s how. First, make sure you have Outlook and Growl installed. Then download this AppleScript. It’s editable, so you can have a […]

Google’s Instant search service is now up and running on its mobile sites as well — when you hit up google.com on your iPhone or iPad’s Mobile Safari browser, you’ll see search results appear as you type your query in. As you probably know from using instant search in other browser, this is more of an average time saver than anything really revolutionary (and in some cases, I’ve even been bothered by early search results that weren’t anywhere near what I was actually looking for). But anyone who really dislikes it can turn it off, and fans of the service should be happy to see it running on Mobile Safari.

When they use the actual site, anyway — note that since this is only a feature on Google’s site and not actually built into the browser, you still won’t get instant search results when searching from Safari’s own title bar search field. Still, if you happen to be searching Google after that initial search, it will probably be helpful to save that second and a half or so while you’re still typing the query in.

Google Instant beta now available on iOS devices originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

A new Apple patent describes several interesting ideas for playing games with others in an augmented reality space. The patent, called “Interactive Gaming with Co-Located, Networked Direction and Location Aware Devices,” describes an iPhone app that would network up a series of devices in the same real-world space and use the phone’s hardware to track and show other players as the game is being played.

For example, players could use their devices as a “gun,” and the GPS, gyroscope, and accelerometer in the iPhone would all work together to figure out if shots “fired” from one device would actually hit another. Consider a wireless, high-tech form of laser tag on a large scale.

The patent also describes using accessories to play the game (such as a gun grip handle to place your iPhone in as you play), or even using the accelerometer to do other things like steering a virtual vehicle around. The whole thing sounds pretty wild — it’s hard to believe that Apple is actually working on a full-featured game like this, but given that we know they’re already working on “co-located,” collaborative apps, it’s not much of a stretch to think that a patent like this originates from that kind of thinking.

Plus it just sounds fun. Apple hasn’t released a game themselves since Texas Hold’em back in the early days of the App Store, but I wouldn’t mind giving this one a try.

New Apple patent suggests advanced iPhone gaming originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

What goes up must keep going up apparently: Apple’s stock hit an new, intraday high today of US$320.18 and is trading up $6.24, or 1.99%, as of this writing. These numbers knock out Apple’s previous intraday record of $319.00, set just a little while back on October 18, 2010.

Apple’s survival of the USA’s economic downturn has been almost supernatural. In the past few months, we’ve seen Apple grab nearly 50 percent of handset industry profits, post its first $20 billion quarter, break $300 in the stock market, surpass Microsoft’s market cap and set record after record after record.

And it all started with two geeks in a garage.

An all-time intraday high for Apple stock originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In a private report to clients, the Gartner research firm is urging CEOs to clear any obstacles preventing IT departments from taking advantage of the iPad.

Stephen Prentice, a VP and Gartner fellow, said in the report: “It is not usually the role of the CEO to get directly involved in specific technology device decisions, but Apple’s iPad is an exception. It is more than just the latest consumer gadget. CEOs and business leaders should initiate a dialog with their CIOs about if they have not already done so.”

That’s quite a turn around for Apple in big business. Often IT departments shun Apple products. However, when the iPhone launched, CEOs around the world told their technical staff that they wanted their corporate infrastructure to work with the iPhone. The same thing appears to be happening with the iPad.

Gartner is urging companies to work out a plan for widespread iPad support by mid 2011. Pentice added: “While there are no certainties, the iPad looks set to become a market-disrupting device, like the iPod before it. Even if you think it is just a passing fad, the cost of early action is low, while the price of delay may well be extremely high.” Quite a vote of confidence, eh? Is the iPad sneaking into your company, or has it been invited? Share your thoughts and stories below.

[Via MacNN]

Gartner report tells corporations to get moving on the iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cupertino may not be ready to offer us USB 3.0 quite yet, but LaCie is. The company has announced the availability of both the USB 3.0 PCI Express Card and the USB 3.0 ExpressCard/34 with Mac compatibility.

To get things working, just install the free driver and pop in your card of choice. You’ll be able to use any USB 3.0 compatible device with your Mac at will. Of course, your existing USB ports will continue to run at their default speed. These aren’t magic cards, after all.

The PCIe card will run you US$49.99 while the ExpressCard costs $59.99. But hey, if you’ve got $2,499 for a base Mac Pro, fifty bucks won’t break the bank.

[Via Engadget]

LaCie offers USB 3.0 to Mac users originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Business Insider is reporting that Apple has begun construction on a New York City-based office for members of the iAd team. Referring to information attained from “multiple sources,” Dan Frommer says that the building will be in Manhattan near Union Square.

The new digs will be a step up from the team’s current location in SoHo, where they’re using a former Quattro Wireless building that was never meant to hold “more than 30 people.”

Since Apple is building this space, we can only assume it will be one darn good-looking office.

[Via MacDailyNews]

Apple is building a NYC office for the iAd team originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments