Category: I-phone

Dear Auntie TUAW,

I’ll admit it… I’m a news junkie. Podcasts, RSS feeds, the works!

RSS feeds are what I am wondering about today. You see, I like to skim my RSS headlines, read the feed items that catch my eye, and not have any items automatically delete or disappear. My current setup is using Mail’s RSS functionality and then manually deleting the articles I don’t want. I’m fine with that, heck, … I prefer it that way. But ever since I got my shiny, new iPad, I’ve been wondering if there is a better way. See, I like to read RSS feeds on my morning and evening commutes. (Don’t worry, Auntie, … I take the train.) Hence, my problem. I read and delete or read and save an article on my iPad, but then I have to manually reconcile my feeds with those on my home computer.

Ideally, what I’d like to do is have an RSS client “in the cloud” and then be able to access it from my iPad, my Mac, and maybe even my work computer and my BlackBerry. Basically have it function like an IMAP-push mail server, if you get my drift. I checked out Google Reader, but it seems lacking. Any suggestions?

Hugs and snuggles!

Erik

TUAWDear Aunt TUAW: RSS in the clouds originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iTunes 10 has a cool new feature that allows you to create a Smart Playlist based on whether or not your music has artwork. To use it, simply set “Has Artwork” to “is false” when creating the playlist. You can (optionally) add “Media Kind: is Music” if you want to avoid seeing podcasts, movies, and other items that don’t have artwork.

I recently decided to clean up my iTunes library. This involved taking all of the music out of the iTunes library and only adding back music that I knew I really liked. I was also making sure the metadata was accurate, including the artwork. I had been adding the artwork via TidySongs, but it had been acting a bit unreliably and claiming that iTunes was not responding (the developers tell me there is a new version available for Windows and a new Mac version is due “soon”). So, I started adding artwork manually.

Something very strange has happened that I can’t completely explain, so I’ll just describe it. I’ve found songs in my “No Artwork” playlist that had artwork (clearly visible when using Cover Flow), but if I examine the song individually using the inspector, the artwork is indeed missing. I’m not sure how this is happening, but I have noticed a pattern that might give a clue: all of the “phantom” artwork was added by dragging manually to the “Drag Artwork Here” area on the bottom left of the iTunes window while multiple songs from the same album were selected. If I examine the files in the Finder, some of them have the artwork, and some of them don’t.

Why is this happening? I have no idea. Frankly it makes no sense, and I suspect that there’s a bug in there somewhere. (Or maybe that fortuneteller actually did put a curse on me.) Whatever the reason, there does seem to be a workaround.

1. Select all of the songs that you want to apply the artwork to
2. Use command+i to call up the inspector
3. Drag the artwork to the inspector instead of the “Drag Artwork Here” area

I don’t know why, but that method has worked 100% reliably for me without leaving any “stragglers” lacking artwork. It’s a bit of a hassle, but that’s a trade-off I’ll take for something that works better.

Thanks to Guillermo Esteves for drawing my attention to the new iTunes feature.

TUAWAdding artwork to multiple songs in iTunes 10 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, you could just buy a “carrying solution” for the new square iPod nano, but where’s the fun in that? Wired shows you how to turn your old wristwatch into a nanowatch — just take the old strap off, and use the nano’s clip to attach it all together. Of course, it depends on your old watch strap, but even if yours doesn’t work quite as well as the one that Wired uses, I’m sure a weekend with some Crazy Glue and a few spare parts would probably do it right.

Brian Chen is exactly right — Apple should totally get behind this nanowatch thing. Add some apps and a camera to the nano’s little square touchscreen, and that’d turn it into the real Dick Tracy product. I think it’ll take a while (Apple likely doesn’t want to fragment the iOS line too much too quickly), but I think that, as more applications pop up for a small touchscreen device like this, we might eventually see Apple unlock a little more possibility with it.

TUAWHow to: Turn your old watch into a nanowatch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAWRegister now for MacTech 2010, $50 off for TUAW readers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re as excited as I am about the iOS 4.2 beta being released, you probably spent the majority of Wednesday paging through all of the tech blogs and/or neglecting your responsibilities as an adult. For those of you who aren’t able to experience Apple’s latest firmware until November, I’ve rounded up all the tastiest morsels and topped them with a delicious set of screenshots.

iOS 4.2 beta has some great new features for all three of the main touch devices, meaning that you can expect the following on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad come November:

• AirPlay: Demoed by Steve Jobs at the keynote on September 1st, AirPlay gives the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch the ability to stream music to the Airport Express and movies, photos, and music to the new Apple TV with the touch of a button.

• AirPrint: As wireless printing has been one of the most commonly requested features of the iPad since its launch, it’s no surprise that Apple has once again put pressure on the netbook market by granting consumers’ wishes for full over-the-air printing from Safari, Photos, Mail, and more (provided you have a printer that is part of the admittedly limited compatibility list). Your print queue can be managed from a new “Print Center” icon that appears in the multitasking bar. The biggest surprise? You’ll be able to print from your iPhone and iPod touch, too.

• Changing fonts in the Notes app: In what designers and artists may hail as the greatest single advancement ever made on the platform, Apple has given users the option to change the font that the included Notes app displays. Your choices now include Apple’s original “Marker Felt,” the equally ugly “Chalkboard,” and the wonderful, majestic king of typefaces known as “Helvetica.”

• ‘Find In Page’ Search in Safari: A small but incredibly useful feature makes its debut on all devices in iOS 4.2 beta. ‘Find In Page’ appears below the Google Suggest search results when the user activates the search box, and it works quite similarly to Safari for Mac.

Follow the gallery link below to get a closeup look at iOS 4.2, or click “Read More” to see the rest of iOS 4.2’s new features that are specific to the iPad.

TUAWWhat’s new (and gorgeous) in iOS 4.2 beta originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’d think that Consumer Reports, judges of all things good and bad in autos, electronics, frozen food, etc. (not to mention smartphones) could get its own app right.

After a late August update, the free app has more crashes than a bad day at the Indy 500. Want to see the problem? Just tap on “Electronics,” which is one of the categories at the bottom of the screen. Kaboom! I thought it was just me, but everyone I know with an iPhone 4 has had the same problem, and the iTunes store reader feedback is overflowing with bad reviews and complaints about this bad behavior. Your mileage my vary, but the bug is pretty widespread.

After almost a month, Consumer Reports should have gotten a problem like this one sorted out, but there it sits. The issues with the app have given it a measly one star rating. It might be a good idea for the company to issue a recall, or at the very least, just fix the app. For now, this stinker is “not recommended.”

TUAWConsumer Reports app ‘not recommended’ originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s another report of the iPad stealing attention and money away from more traditional computing. Best Buy’s CEO Brian Dunn tells the Wall Street Journal that the iPad has “cannibalized” sales of laptops by up to 50%, meaning that customers in the big box retail store have gone for Apple’s tablet rather than a traditional keyboard-and-screen computer. That’s pretty astounding, although if you think about the period Best Buy has just been through, with back-to-school students and parents shopping for consumer technology, it’s not surprising to think that lots of people would go for a brand-new iPad over a similarly-priced laptop.

Best Buy is also expanding its iPad coverage, bringing the Apple product to all of its over 1,000 U.S. stores by the end of this month. The big retailer is in the midst of a transition, moving away from previously huge libraries of DVDs and CDs and towards consumer electronics and end-user entertainment devices. It’s still projecting higher revenues, but one analyst says that Best Buy is really aiming for “tablets, e-readers and probably the higher-end digital cameras.”

That means that it makes a lot of sense for them to get in close to Apple and the iPad.

[via MacRumors]

TUAWBest Buy to expand iPad availability, sales cannibalizing laptops by up to 50% originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve covered Halfbrick’s later game Monster Dash here in this space (and it’s a good one — I’m still giving it the occasional run-through on my iPhone), but their great Fruit Ninja title has never actually been given this particular spotlight. Let’s fix that now. Fruit Ninja is a simple but well-polished title that has you hacking up fruit by slashing your finger across the iPhone’s touch screen. It’s only a buck on the App Store (the HD version on iPad is US$4.99), and if you haven’t bought it yet, you’ll find a fun pick-up-and-play game that looks great and runs smoothly.

If you have bought it (and considering that a few million people did, you probably have), then there’s good news for you, too. The game just got a free update that added Game Center integration to the mix, and Halfbrick included network multiplayer, which is something we haven’t seen a lot of yet. Load up the update, open up the game, and you’ll be able to jump in and play with anyone, or send one of your Game Center friends an invite directly.

And Halfbrick says more updates are on the way, including a “Secret Banana” mode and more Game Center functionality. So, if you haven’t given Fruit Ninja a shot yet, now’s a great time to do it.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Fruit Ninja originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s funny — for all of Microsoft’s blustery bravado and insecure jealousy, the company really seems to spread itself around pretty evenly. Microsoft blogger Paul Thurrott has tweeted that Microsoft is indeed working on apps for the iPad. So, despite Ballmer’s own complaints and the ongoing rumors of a competitor, there is apparently a team somewhere at One Microsoft Way working on apps for iOS.

We joke, but it’s not all that much of a surprise — Microsoft has already released a few apps for the iPhone (including a Bing search app). With iOS covering a quarter of the smartphone market, and even more of the tablet market, Microsoft would be stupid to not at least experiment with the kinds of offerings that it could create. We’ll have to see what they come up with for the iPad.

TUAWMicrosoft working on apps for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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About a month and a half after the introduction of the 27-inch Apple Cinema Display, it’s finally available on Apple’s online store. US$999 will get you a huge display with the following specs:

• 27″ diagonal display with 16:9 aspect ratio and in-plane switching
• 2560 x 1440 max resolution
• LED backlight with 1000:1 contrast ratio
• 178-degree viewing angle
• Built-in iSight with microphone
• Built-in 2.1 speaker system (49 watts)
• Three self-powered USB 2.0 ports
• One cable with MagSafe, USB 2.0, and Mini DisplayPort with audio support

The new 27″ Cinema Display replaces the extremely outdated 30″ model and has a shipping date of 1-2 weeks. If the visual quality is anything like what’s on the 27″ iMac, it’s sure to be a gorgeous display.

TUAWApple’s 27-inch Cinema Display now available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 05:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iH8Sn0w, the dev behind Sn0wbreeze, has managed to jailbreak iOS 4.2 beta on iPhone 3GS (old bootrom) with Sn0wBreeze. He tweeted about successful iOS 4.2 jailbreak on iPhone 3GS with old bootrom and that Cydia, Icy or Rock are not currently working on jailbroken iOS 4.2 beta . This is what he tweeted:

So I just jailbroke by 3GS (Old bootrom) on 4.2 and Cydia/Icy/Rock wont work… Icy just wont update but launches. I haz ssh though.

Another guy going with the name DinD7 has shared a video on YouTube which shows a jailbroken iPhone 3GS on iOS 4.1 with old BootRom using Sn0wBreeze.

Please note that all these Sn0wbreez jailbreaks for iPhone 3GS works for old bootrom only, for rest of you guys Greenpois0n is the only hope for now which is based on a new bootrom exploit and will jailbreak iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G, iPod Touch 4G, 3G, 2G and iPad.

We’ll keep you posted as soon and Sn0wBreeze and GreenPois0n jailbreaks are out. Stay Tuned at iPhoneHeat.

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I read a great article today about finishing making your game.  I found myself especially able to relate because like the author I too have left many games unfinished over the years.  I’ve also created some games that in the end just weren’t fun.  This article is about actually getting your game done, and making sure things work out.

The article is from an indie game developer who is currently working on a title, and this is one of the best written articles I’ve read about this topic.

Here’s a quick summary of  some of the tips which are covered in much greater detail in the article:

• Choose an idea that you would like to create, would love to play, and that you know you can make.
• Just get started
• Don’t create your own tech if you don’t have to
• Create a prototype
• Make sure the game is actually fun
• Choose the right partners
• Stop starting over
• If you dump a project, scale down

You can find the complete article at:
Finishing A Game

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©2010 iPhone, iOS 4, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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I’ve spoken a couple of times in the last week about Core Text in a tutorial, including an in-depth tutorial on manipulating text positioning in fancy text effects with core text, and in an article about an open source library wrapping Core Text functionality, and among other things allowing you to easily paginate  and separate text into multiple columns.  Core Text is a rather complicated library, and knowing how to use it is important, especially on the iPad where it appears many are developing apps with a reading component.

I found another tutorial which is a bit more accessible than the fancy text effects tutorial, designed to show you how to choose a custom font using Core Text.  This tutorial shows you how to load in the font using Quartz, convert the font to a CTFontRef (a Core Text font reference), and how to use that font in a CATextLayer.

The tutorial is from Nathan Eror and can be found on his site here:
Custom Fonts On The iPad

The code has been added to Nathan’s CA360 Github project At:
http://github.com/neror/CA360/blob/master/Classes/Samples/TextLayers.m

Looks like there’s really no excuse anymore to have boring fonts.

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©2010 iPhone, iOS 4, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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Design is one of those things that seems to come naturally to some, and unnaturally to others.  I find myself having difficulty grasping the importance of various design aspects, and I’m sure that many programmers can relate to that.  Designers just have a completely different thinking process.

Someone who doesn’t have trouble with understanding design is Josh Clark, author of the popular Tapworthy Designing Great iPhone Apps book.  Josh has put together an in-depth presentation where he attempts to cover the top-level ideas of his book.  What I really liked about the presentation is how Josh show’s some great interfaces, and covers many aspects of design that I’ve never thought about.

You can see the full presentation in this video:

The slides themselves can be found here:
http://www.slideshare.net/joshclark/oreilly-webcast-tapworthy-iphone-app-design

It was great to see all those fantastic interfaces.

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[Source: Josh Clark Via: Under The Bridge]

©2010 iPhone, iOS 4, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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