Apple ends $30 MobileMe and iWork rebate program

An internal memo suggests Apple is ending the US$30 MobileMe and iWork rebate program. The program offers customers a $30 discount on a $99 MobileMe subscription or the $79 iWork suite when they buy a new Mac. According to the memo, Apple has told all resellers to end the program on April 18th. All references to the rebate must be removed by the end of that business day.

This change is stirring up the persistent rumor that MobileMe is undergoing a major overhaul. Apple recently stopped selling boxed copies of MobileMe leading to speculation that some or all the cloud service may be offered for free. This change may be announced in the upcoming months, possibly at WWDC and may be tied to Apple’s iOS 5 update.

The termination of the iWork rebate program is not tied to MobileMe, but it does hint an update to the productivity suite is on the way. The desktop version of the suite was updated in 2009 and is in need of a refresh. Much of the changes to iWork in 2010 focused on bringing the applications to the iPad. iWork 11 was expected to debut with the roll out of the Mac App store, but that rumor failed to materialize.

Apple ends $30 MobileMe and iWork rebate program originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sonos music systems now support AirPlay, but there’s a catch

Sonos, creator of a well-reviewed, multi-room, wireless music system, has updated its software to support Apple’s AirPlay. It means a Sonos music system owner can wirelessly send music from an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to any room that has a Sonos Zone Player. The catch is that you have to buy a US$99 AirPort Express to plug into one of the Zone Players to get it working.

It’s understandable that Sonos has to do this. AirPlay support is a hardware and software solution, and Sonos is not building AirPlay hardware into its Zone Players. I’m not sure this will be a big deal to many Sonos owners. The company already provides a wireless dock with iPhone support that allows the phone to stream to any Sonos device. That dock needs to be plugged into AC power, but the connection into the Sonos system is wireless.

The Sonos software update also includes support for multitasking for its iPad and iPhone app. That means it will run in the background and not force a relaunch, which will speed up operation of the system from any iDevice. Those updates are available on the App Store for free. The Sonos system has become very popular over the years, and feature updates have included even the earliest devices the company has made. Supporting AirPlay is a nice addition to the feature roster, and for those who already have an AirPort Express to dedicate to this task, it will be welcome.

Sonos music systems now support AirPlay, but there’s a catch originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TUAW’s Daily App: Circus Pain

Circus Pain is a physics puzzler in the vein of Angry Birds and Ragdoll Blaster. The goal across each of the game’s 55 levels is to toss a little circus performer into an on-screen basket while trying to hit as many obstacles as possible along the way. It’s a pretty standard affair for the touchscreen at this point, but the excellent premise and art style of Circus Pain make it stand out from other App Store titles. The game is sometimes tough, but still very interesting, and you can move at your own pace as you navigate through the game’s four worlds.

Plus, at a price of just 99 cents for a universal version, it’s tough to turn this one down. If you’re not willing to invest the buck right away, there’s a lite version to try as well. But if you like tossing ragdolls around for a little bit of physics-based gameplay, Circus Pain is an enjoyable romp.

TUAW’s Daily App: Circus Pain originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nokia releases Ovi Maps 3D beta plug-in for Safari

Nokia has just released a Safari plug-in for its browser-based Ovi Maps 3D mapping software, and it is beautiful. The new mapping software renders lifelike 3D textured buildings in a level of detail that is unparalleled. The image above is from London, and as you can see, not only are the buildings rendered in photorealistic 3D textures, but bushes and trees are as well.

As of now, Nokia’s 3D textures are limited to London, Oslo, New York and other big cities, with other cities to follow later. To view the 3D beta of Ovi Maps 3D, you need to download the 19 MB Safari plug-in here. Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether Nokia plans to release an iOS app for Ovi Maps 3D; given the competition in the smartphone market between Apple and Nokia, it’s doubtful. However, Apple has been rumored to be overhauling the Maps app in iOS for quite some time, and it would be great if it could come close to this level of 3D textures in a future version of Maps.

[via Electronista]

Nokia releases Ovi Maps 3D beta plug-in for Safari originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Portal 2 out now

Thanks to the hard work of the folks who purchased Valve’s Potato Sack promotion, the Portal 2 alternate reality game has finished, and the long-awaited sequel is now available on Steam. The game officially releases tomorrow for consoles and PC, but since the Steam version is compatible with SteamPlay, it’s also available for the Mac from day one.

Portal was one of the best games of the past few years, and every indication is that the sequel will be just as inventive and fun. If you’ve been waiting for it, the wait is over. Go and enjoy!

Portal 2 out now originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

How to Jailbreak 4.3.2 Untethered with Sn0wBreeze 2.6

These are the steps to jailbreak iOS 4.3.2 untethered with Sn0wbreeze 2.6. Sn0wbreeze 2.6 can jailbreak iOS 4.3.2 untethered on iPhone 4, 3GS, iPod Touch 4G, 3G and iPad. iPad 2 jailbreak is NOT possible ATM.

Sn0wbreeze 2.6, just like PwnageTool, creates custom iOS 4.3.2 to jailbreak iPhone 4, 3GS, iPod Touch and iPad. Sn0wbreeze 2.6 also preserves iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS baseband so you may unlock iOS 4.3.2 with UltraSn0w later.

How to Jailbreak iOS 4.3.2 Untethered with Sn0wBreeze 2.6

Step 1

Download the required stuff linked below and put them on your desktop.

Step 2

Run the Sn0wBreeze.exe. Hit Ok and then Close Credits button. and then hit the next button.

Step 3

Either drag & drop the iOS 4.3.2 firmware file in the given drop-box on Sn0wbreeze window or hit the Browse button and select the downloaded iOS 4.3.2 IPSW file for your iDevice.

Sn0wBreeze will identify the IPSW firmware file. When done, hit the next button.

Step 4

Now select the Expert Mode and Hit next button.

Then select General.

Step 5

iPhone Users:
**If you depend on unlock make sure Activate The iPhone [Hacktivate] option is checked/selected.
Then keep hitting Next.

Step 6

Now select the Build IPSW option and hit next.

Sn0wBreeze will start building custom firmware to jailbreak your iPhone 4, 3GS, idevice. Since the building process takes several minutes to complete, you can either choose to play PacMan or stick with the Spinner.

Once Done! Hit the OK button. (Custom firmware can be found on desktop)

Step 7

Now follow the on screen instructions to put your iDevices into Pwned State. Sn0wBreeze instructions are important to follow because this will put iDevice into Pwned DFU state NOT the simple DFU mode.

Hold Power + Home buttons for 10 seconds
Now release the Power button but keep holding the Home button for 10-30 more seconds
Your device should now be in DFU mode

Sn0wBreeze will prompt you once you’re into Pwned DFU state.

Step 8

Now open iTunes, Hold down the Shift key and hit the Restore button.
Browse and select the custom firmware that we just created, from the desktop.

iTunes will start restoring iOS 4.3.2 on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch/Apple TV 2G. Once the restore process is complete, your device will be running iOS 4.3.2 jailbroken.

How to Jailbreak 4.3.2 Untethered on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch with RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14

Redsn0w 0.9.6rc14 can jailbreak 4.3.2 untethered on iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad, iPod Touch 4G, 3G. These are the steps to jailbreak iOS 4.3.2 untethered using RedSn0w 0.9.6rc4. No iPad 2 support.

Dev-team released RedSn0w 0.9.6rc12 to jailbreak 4.3.2 earlier, however, it was a tethered jailbreak. Now, Dev-Team has released RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14 which features i0nic’s untethered jailbreak exploit.

WARNING: If you depend on UltraSn0w unlock, you must STAY AWAY from RedSn0w and stock iOS 4.3.2, use Sn0wbreeze or PwnageTool instead.

How to Jailbreak 4.3.2 Untethered with RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14

Step 1

Download the required stuff:

Step 2

Restore iOS 4.3.2 on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and keep it connect to your computer via USB.
*You can skip this step if you’re already running iOS 4.3.2.

Step 3

Execute the Redsn0w 0.9.6 rc14

Step 4

Hit the Browse button and select official iOS 4.3.2 firmware (downloaded in Step 1). RedSn0w will recognize your IPSW file. Then hit Next.

Step 5

Now check mark “Install Cydia” and hit Next.

Step 6

Now make sure your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch is turned OFF and Plugged in to your computer. Hit Next.

Step 7

Now you’ll be instructed to put your iDevice into DFU Mode. Follow the on screen instructions.

Once you’ve successfully entered into DFU mode, RedSn0w will start jailbreaking iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS on iOS 4.3.2 tethered. When done! your iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS will be jailbroken untethered on iOS 4.3.2.

You can follow us on Twitter, Join us at Facebook, and Subscribed to RSS Feed to receive latest updates.

Download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14 – iOS 4.3.2 Untethered Jailbreak

Dev-team has released RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14, the iOS 4.3.2 untethered jailbreak for iPhone 4 (GSM), 3GS, iPad, iPod Touch 4G, 3G. You can download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14 from the link below.

Only a few weeks after the iOS 4.3.1 untether created by @i0n1c was released, Apple pushed out firmware 4.3.2. Thankfully, it appears Apple didn’t have a chance to fix the hole used by @i0n1c’s untether, so he ported his code over to 4.3.2’s kernel. Today’s redsn0w has been updated to include it.

The iOS 4.3.2 untether jailbreak works on all devices that actually support 4.3.2 except for the iPad 2:

iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4 (GSM)
iPod Touch 3G
iPod Touch 4G
iPad 1

Download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14

You can download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc12 for both the Windows and Mac OS from the link below:

Download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14 for Windows [Mirror 1][Mirror 2]
Download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc14 for Mac [Mirror 1][Mirror 2]

You can follow us on Twitter, Join us at Facebook, and also Subscribed to RSS Feed to receive latest updates.

Download Sn0wBreeze 2.6 – iOS 4.3.2 Untethered Jailbreak

Sn0wbreeze 2.6, the iOS 4.3.2 untethered jailbreak is now available for download. Sn0wbreeze 2.6 can jailbreak iPhone 4, 3GS, iPod Touch 4G, 3G and iPad. You can download Sn0wbreeze 2.6 from the link below.

Sn0wbreeze 2.6

Supports iOS 4.3.2 (Except iPad 2).
Updated to support i0n1c’s 4.3.2 untether.
Multitasking Gestures enabled as usual.

ERROR 3194+

Close down any TinyUmbrella‘s.
Remove Cydia’s SHSH caching server from your hosts
(C:\WINDOWS\system32\driver\etc\hosts)
Reboot

Download Sn0wbreeze 2.6

You can download Sn0wbreeze 2.6 for Windows from the link below:

Download Sn0wbreeze 2.6

Detailed step-by-step instructions will be posted shortly. Stay Tuned!

You can follow us on Twitter, Join us at Facebook, and also Subscribed to RSS Feed to receive latest updates.

Jailbreak iOS 4.3.2

How to: Jailbreak iOS 4.3.2

Calculating Lifetime Value For Freemium Gamers: Finding the Revenue Per Daily Active User RPDAU

Matt Tubergen heads Recharge Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary of W3i that invests in the development and marketing/distribution of freemium mobile games. W3i is a market leader in distributing and monetizing apps with over 500 million apps distributed for W3i clients. Recharge Studios is actively seeking new investment opportunities, if you have a great idea for a game contact us.

Last week we wrote about the importance of understanding the lifetime value of a freemium game user. You can roll out all the right game mechanics and do all the right things but if you don’t understand what value a user is providing you long-term, it’s challenging to build a successful business model around your game.

In last week’s post we identified two key metrics in calculating lifetime value, Retention and Revenue per Daily Active User or RPDAU. This week we dive deeper into arriving at an RPDAU value.

What is RPDAU?

Simply put, the RPDAU is a key data point, based on a calculation that allows you to extrapolate a value for each active user. That value can then help in forecasting long term revenues. Basically, how much money are you making divided by your daily active users.

Arriving at RPDAU

The key theme from the above statement, how much money, can be further broken down to: from where? In other words, to calculate an RPDAU most freemium games will look at two revenue streams

In-app purchases (IAP)
Advertising (Such as an offer wall like the W3i Ad-Funded Payment Platform)

Understanding how users convert at each revenue stream is key to arriving at the RPDAU. It is worth noting that how a user converts in one stream, say in-app purchases, may not be the same as how they convert in the other, advertising.

In order to arrive at the RPDAU, you have to add the average revenue a user generates from both streams. So if the average conversion for IAP is 1.5 cents and the average conversion for advertising is 2 cents the RPDAU would be 3.5 cents.

Once you have that value, you can begin moving forward on calculating a lifetime value and take into consideration retention, the subject of next week’s blog.

Do you have a question about freemium gaming or a topic you’d like us to explore? Let us know in the comments or catch us on twitter @rechargestudios or @w3i.

Freemium Game Blogs are published in partnership with the series on W3i’s corporate blog.

Tight Typography Tips #4 – “Choose Your Next Move Wisely”

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Ten Tight Typography Tips

In the book “Creating Motion Graphics” by Chris and Trish Meyer, Chapter 14 talks about the camera and they say it’s generally a good idea to animate your subject or animate your camera, but if possible, not both. This just helps you keep your sanity as the composition progresses and the movement gets more complex. The more values you have keyframed, the harder it’s gonna be to go back and altering things later.

When dealing with text, I try to move the camera as little as possible. The further you get away from it’s original default Position/Rotation/Orientation values, the harder it’ll be to control especially when you you find your position is 37 thousand pixel away from your starting point… . Typically, If I do find myself wandering “far from home”, I’ll often look for a way to PreCompose what I’m working on and transition into a new comp with a fresh camera.

Unless you’re really planning on doing 3d rotation or camera movement, there is no need to switch your text to 3d. Instead of using the text’s z position to have it zoom toward the camera, try just using scale instead… you’ll get the same motion blur and you might find it easier to control. Another reason I’d encourage you to leave things 2d when you’re able is because of the “Align” feature that isn’t an option with 3d layers. If you have 6 text layers with a “centered” justification, all you need to do is go down to the align window and with one click you’ll have perfectly centered words… either as an average of all the layers you have selected or centered to the composition as a whole. You’ll notice when you flip on 3d, this is no longer available to you because After Effects is looking for just X and Y values alone, throwing a Z value in their screws it up.

All that said, my basic point is keep things as simple as you can whenever possible… Now certain effects are going to entail some pretty thick and chunky timeline markup, but if you don’t have to complicate things…. don’t….

Tutorial

Download Tutorial .mp4

File size: 85.2 MB

Tight Typography Tips #3 – “Give Me Some Space & Stay In Line”

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Ten Tight Typography Tips

At the end of the day, there are many aspects of animation (and all video production for that matter) that really can’t be entirely taught… good composition is one of those areas that CAN be learned, but requires God-given talent and a lot of practice to perfect.

When you begin putting your text into place, try to maintain equal spacing between words. It’s easy to let things slip, especially with words poppin’ up in all different sizes and angles, but in general be sure your spacing is relatively even across the board.

Additionally, there is something aesthetically welcoming when the invisible lines created by the letters are aligned. I’ll often create a quick null object and stretch or rotate it as needed to give me an accurate reference. When you look at the composition of your current frame there is a general principle that if you have an even number of elements, it will convey more symmetry and structure… whereas if you have an odd number of elements, it will convey more creativity and fun.

Tutorial

Download Tutorial .mp4

File size: 38.4 MB

Puppet Type with KeyTweak

Mathias Moehl published a new tutorial on Mamoworld on working to bring type to life with the Puppet tool, Bring Your Letters to Life. Mathias shows how to use his KeyTweak script to modify several Puppet Pins at once and several keyframes of each pin at once.

For much more, see Puppet tools overview and resources in AE Help. Here’s Mathias:

After Effects Tutorial: Bring Your Letters to Life with the Puppet Tool! (english) from Mathias Möhl on Vimeo.

$0.99 Premium Memberships!

Want to join Tuts+ Premium for just $0.99!?

Tuts+ is providing a discount code so you can sign up to Premium at massive discount for the first month.

There are an extremely limited number of these available, first in best dressed.

Instructions

Go ahead and Join Now. When you see the coupon field, add in the coupon code below and it will automatically calculate the price of the membership for you!

Conditions of Sale

1. Discount memberships are non-refundable.
2. These Memberships are recurring, though you are able to cancel at anytime.
3. Discounts are not available to current members.
4. Only the $9 monthly subscription is available for this price.
5. After the first month the subscription will default to the standard $9/Month

Coupon Code: 073C5AA830

Why Join Premium?

Create a Snow Covered, Coastal, Mountain Town Matte Painting – Ed Lopez

By joining Premium you get access to all Member’s Only tutorials, and all of the source files for the free tutorials we regularly provide you. You’ll be taught by experts how to make the some of the most photorealistic, beautiful images you will have ever seen. Such as those by Ed Lopez and Mark Mayers.

If you’re not looking to fine tune your Photoshop skills, but you do want to stay up to date with the latest and greatest web technologies, then Nettuts+ is for you.

Create a Web-Based Drawing Application Using Canvas

Learn from Alex Moore to take advantage of the new canvas tag alongside JavaScript to make an entirely browser based Drawing App.

If you’d rather create the illustration rather than build the app behind it, check out Vectortuts+ bevy of Illustrator focused content, such as this illustration by Tuts+ Veteran Iaroslav Lazunov.

Create a Japanese Ukiyo-e Style Print

Find out what you need to know in the studio from Industry Professions like Bobby Owsinski

Things You Don’t Think About During Mixing

“Push up the faders, balance the mix, add some EQ, adjust the pans, add some effects and you’re finished. Those are usually the only things that many of us think about when we’re mixing, but there are a number of additional items to keep in mind during mixing besides the mixing process itself. ”

Have you ever watched a movie and wondered how certain shots were created behind the scenes? With Aetuts+ you can learn how its done and start making these for yourself! Dave Scotland takes you through a recreation of a scene from iRobot.

Compositing a CG Building Leap – Dave Scotland

Consider yourself to be more of a gamer? Maybe you have always wanted to create one but never got around to it? Carlos Yanez will show you how to develop a shooting game in AS3!

Design and Develop a Fantastic Flash Shooting Gallery Game – Carlos Yanez

Perhaps you dont want to make a game, but you would create the models that are in one? Cgtuts+ offers extremely in-depth training on software such as Maya and 3Ds Max. Check out this Fifteen Hour Long tutorial on how to model the Bugatti Veyron in Maya.

Modeling the Bugatti Veyron in Maya

But, maybe you more enjoy getting out into the fields with your camera. You can learn the best Photography skills from people who do it for a living over at Phototuts+. It’s not every day that professions share their secrets with you.

The Complete Behind-the-Scenes Guide to a Commercial Shoot – Zach Andrews

Using Design Principles to Create Exceptional Vector Illustrations

Making an image is fairly straightforward, but making an image that stands out from the crowd is more science than it is luck. With the right combination of aesthetic and design, you can turn a good idea into a great piece of illustration. Today we will take a look at nine different design principles and how to apply them to the world of illustration.

Continue reading “Using Design Principles to Create Exceptional Vector Illustrations”