It’s hip to be square. Announced today, the newly introduced iPod nano finally dispenses with the wheel as a control surface — because now the control surface is the iPod touch. The new model is so small that like the newly announced iPod shuffle, it has a clip that allows it to be worn and has a 24-hour battery life.

What isn’t there: the video camera that was included in the last release of the nano a year ago.

Other features include:

• VoiceOver
• FM radio
• Nike+ and pedometer

It comes in six colors, two more than the shuffle. It will cost $149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB.

The new nano can be preordered today, and will be released next week.

Edit: The just-released tech specs show that not only is the camera gone, so is video playback entirely.

TUAWNew iPod nano dumps scroll wheel and video for square screen originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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During today’s press conference, Steve Jobs announced the release of iOS 4.1. The new operating system for iPhone and iPod touch comes with the following features:

• High Dynamic Range photos: The phone will take three photos in rapid succession — one at what the phone thinks is the normal image, one underexposed and the third overexposed. The image is then combined to create the high dynamic image. Mel Martin demonstrated the power of this type of program in July.
• Bug fixes including those relating to the proximity sensor, Bluetooth and the iPhone 3G.
• High-definition video upload over Wi-Fi.
• TV show rentals and purchase
• Game Center debut

The OS will be available next week through iTunes.

TUAWApple announces the release of iOS 4.1 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAWSeptember 2010 Apple media event liveblog originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, yes. We know! The store is DOWN! Thank you everyone who sent in a tip to let us know. And now it’s once again time to play our favorite waiting game: Guess What’s Gonna Be New In The Store Before It Comes Back Up.

You know where the comments are. Let’s play!

Update: Back up, now with preorders for all the goodies.

TUAWThe US online Apple Store is down, and back up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not much of a surprise, but nice to have some details: Cult of Mac cites a source close to Apple saying that the live stream of today’s iPod event will be used to put some real-time load on Apple’s new North Carolina data center. The facility isn’t all the way operational quite yet, but it’s apparently ready enough to play a major role in today’s festivities.

The NC datacenter is five times the size of Apple’s similar facility on the West Coast and is officially intended to support the iTunes music and app stores. Obviously there’s a lot more horsepower needed for streaming content, so here’s where you’ll find it.

As noted last night, today’s live stream is intended for Intel Mac OS X 10.6 users in Safari, iPhone/iPod touch users running iOS 3.1 or higher, and iPad users. Support for the HTTP Live Streaming methodology is included in the current version of the ffmpeg open source library, so in theory apps like Mplayer should be able to handle the stream; VLC may also work.

TUAWEvent streaming to stress-test new datacenter originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ALK Technologies today is releasing a new version of the CoPilot Live app with a feature called ActiveTraffic. It uses real time traffic flow information that mates with dynamic routing technology to get you to your destination by selecting alternate routes, then accurately estimating your new arrival time.

The traffic information comes from INRIX, which is a leading provider of traffic data. I tried the new app, and it certainly showed some traffic snarls. But here in southern Arizona, things don’t get too dicey even at rush hour, so there wasn’t any need to select a new route. I could see very detailed information in Phoenix, where traffic can be downright hellish.

The ActiveTraffic feature is US$9.99 for a 12 month subscription. Current owners of CoPilot Live v8 US Traffic subscribers will get upgraded to TrafficLive for free.

TUAWCoPilot GPS nav app adds ActiveTraffic originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Aunt TUAW,

I have a late 2008 MacBook Pro and a 4 year old MacBook Pro that I will be taking to Romania next month to give to my in-laws so we can video conference with them. Seeing as they are not very computer literate, I want to be able to perform remote control / screen sharing in case the need should arise.

I know that OSX has built-in screen sharing capabilities on a local network, but over the Internet is something else altogether. I know that there are several services, such as LogMeIn, that provide this service for a fee, but I was wondering if I could do this without paying for a service.

Can you direct me to some documentation as to how to set this up? ssh configuration, port forwarding on the firewall, etc…. that might be able to get me started? Or make a recommendation that would be how you would do this.

Love,

Your Nephew Chris M.

TUAWDear Aunt TUAW: From Earth to Romania originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Fighter X2 is a brand new App Store release that actually started development way back at the 360iDev Game Jam that I attended in April. Developer Dan Byers originally began the game as a tank combat title, but with the help of some other programmers and artist Mike Berg of We Heart Games, it’s become Star Fighter X2, a two-player iPad space combat game that has you trying to shoot down real-life opponents with the help of power-ups and health drops.

You can check out the video above to see how it works. You just use one touch to control your ship (two, if you turn on the manual aiming), and then it’s just a matter of maneuvering in and out of the way to try and grab goodies and/or avoid opposing fire for as long as you can. The first ship to run out of health loses the battle.

The game is simple, but the cool graphics and smooth, intuitive gameplay make it worth a look if you’ve got some ready and willing players around. Plus, it’s pretty interesting that the foundation for the title came from that all-night party a few months ago. If you have an iPad and an opponent to shoot at, the game is on the App Store right now for US$1.99.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Star Fighter X2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most of you noticed something a bit… oddly specific about Apple’s streaming announcement for the 9/1 event:

Apple(R) will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac(R) running Safari(R) on Mac OS(R) X version 10.6 Snow Leopard(R), an iPhone(R) or iPod touch(R) running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad[TM]. The live broadcast will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT on September 1, 2010 at www.apple.com.

What’s missing from this picture? About nine-tenths of the Internet; specifically, anyone using a Windows PC. As pointed out on ReadWriteWeb, there is no QuickTime X for Windows yet and no client supporting HTTP Live Streaming. I’m not sure why RWW’s Adrianne Jeffries is convinced that it’s up to Microsoft to implement QuickTime X (hint: it’s not), but Apple’s engineering team is still working to flesh out the new QuickTime stack on the Mac — no surprise that the Windows version is lagging behind.

Yes, HTTP live streaming is an open standard, but that doesn’t help much without a working implementation (as Adobe’s John Nack is pointing out). Having a fallback stream of plain old RTSP wouldn’t just be a nice gesture for the rest of the world — it’d also be welcomed by the millions of PowerPC Mac users who won’t be able to watch the stream, either. Yep, that requirement specifies Safari on Mac OS X 10.6 — no Intel, no joy. Of course, even if you can’t tune in for the video goodness, you can still come here for our lively and informative liveblog.

Update: MacRumors points to this test stream and also suggests that VLC may be able to watch the stream, at least in fits and starts.

TUAWDid you catch that? Event livestream is Mac and iOS only originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As a Dropbox fan, I am always looking for new uses for the ubiquitous cloud storage service. Matt Fisher, whose videos have been featured on TUAW before, has produced a new video chock-full of great Mac OS X Dropbox tips.

In this 10-minute clip, Matt shows:

• How to copy the Mac clipboard to a Dropbox text file by creating an Automator service
• A demo of AirDropper, an excellent way of securely requesting files from others and having them delivered via Dropbox
• How to email files to Dropbox using Habilis
• A quick way to access your Dropbox using a Chrome Extension (also available for Firefox)
• Start torrents from any computer or device connected to Dropbox
• Add PDFs to iBooks
• Edit files from anywhere using Droptext

Some of these tips are rather straightforward, while others are incredible “why didn’t I think of that” ideas that can really help make you more productive. What are your favorite things to do with Dropbox and your Mac? Leave us a comment.

TUAWFound Footage: MacOSXTutorials explores Mac Dropbox tips originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like Apple has decided that it’s finally time to let the public in on their press events — the company will be streaming live footage from the event tomorrow on its website. Traditionally, the company has depended on third parties (like, ahem, us — we’ll still be metaliveblogging the event here on TUAW, don’t worry), but it looks like tomorrow’s event is free for everyone to watch.

That’s assuming things all go to plan, of course — it’ll likely be tough for even Apple to keep up with the demand of streaming out live video to what must be millions of people around the world. Apple’s PR release says that the stream will be up on Apple.com tomorrow at 10am PDT, and that it will be viewable on Macs with Safari and Snow Leopard installed, or iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads running iOS 3.0 or higher.

So tune in tomorrow morning — we’ll see if Apple can handle the demands of its hungry customers on live streaming day. And even if not, we’ll be here with all of the information you need anyway.

TUAWApple to stream video of tomorrow’s live event originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TV shows and iTunes go back several years now, to October 2005. If iTunes TV show sales have not been as brisk over those five years as Apple and the studios might have hoped, perhaps a less expensive rental solution might introduce vigor to the TV market.

This afternoon, the Wall Street Journal has confirmed with “people familiar with the matter” that Apple is set to announce $0.99 rentals during tomorrow’s media event. Rumors of iTunes TV rentals have been widespread over the last month.

With Hulu Plus waiting on the sidelines for $10/month (and ads, for that matter) and Netflix hyping digital streaming to mobile devices, it seems like a good time for Apple to dip its toes into new and more flexible revenue streams. While Apple is willing, it seems like the studios had to be convinced. WSJ sources say that studio participation in the rental scheme is contingent on broader Apple participation in digital development deals.

I know that I have rarely re-watched any of my iTunes purchases — and that most of those purchases were based on pre-Hulu availability after my EyeTV system failed to record shows. But with Hulu as a major player these days, not to mention the promise of Hulu Plus‘s mobile streaming service, and with a growing recession, will consumers be willing to pay extra just to skip ads?

Update: Engadget points to the Bloomberg BusinessWeek report claiming Netflix streaming will also be on deck for a revamped Apple TV.

TUAWWall Street Journal confirms iTunes TV show rentals [Update: Netflix on Apple TV claimed by BusinessWeek] originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, there’s not really a patent on our metaliveblog, it’s just the way we’re rolling until Apple’s media team acknowledges our existence and puts us on the invite list. Or, at the least, acknowledges the existence of the iPhone 4 in Mexico. Tomorrow at 1PM Eastern in the US we’ll be liveblogging right here. Bookmark that link, and join us for the mayhem, and watch along with us with Apple’s live feed.

Who knows what we’ll see? Not us! Although, we love to make educated guesses. Meanwhile, the latest rumors include the iPad showing up on sale in Target stores, and Bloomberg chiming in that Netflix playback will be included on the next-gen Apple TV.

TUAWJoin TUAW September 1 for our patented metaliveblog of Apple’s Fall event originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With all of the speculation flying around about tomorrow, a few people are poopooing any idea that Apple will mention the iTV at all. The invitation doesn’t say anything about it being “show time.” Images like the guitar are usually reserved for iLife and the iPod, and it’s unlikely that Apple will put a brand new iTV into that somewhat crowded mix. But there’s something about the iTV that makes me think we’ll see it after all, and it’s the persistent rumor that Apple is chasing down TV deals for iTunes. News Corp is reportedly the latest holdout, but we’ve heard for a while now that Apple is running around trying to quickly hammer out deals for 99-cent TV rentals in iTunes (a system that will supposedly compete with the ever popular Netflix and Hulu services).

None of this has been officially confirmed — not by Apple or by any of the media companies that it’s supposedly negotiating with. And of course, nothing is true until we see Steve talking about it on stage tomorrow. It’s totally possible that he’ll simply show off an updated iPod touch or a new version of iLife and then bid us good day.

But I’m standing by my predictions! I think the time for a new iTV is now, and even if Apple goes on stage tomorrow and says that it’s currently got deals with just a few companies, and there are more to come, a foot in consumers’ doors is certainly better than nothing.

TUAWNews Corp reportedly holding back iTunes rentals originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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