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Backgrounder Goes svn.r553-1: Enable Multitasking on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Backgrounder, a jailbroken app that enables multitasking on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, has been updated to version svn.r553-1. Backgrounder description and complete list of new features in Backgrounder svn.r553-1 after the jump…
backgrounder

Backgrounder allows for total control of backgrounding on an iPhone/iOS-based device. With Backgrounder, *you* decide when an app should keep running, and when it should quit. Backgrounder provides true backgrounding; minimized apps can be made to continue to run as if they were still the foreground app.

New in Backgrounder svn.r553-1

NEW: Option to toggle forcing of fast app switching (iOS 4.0+ only).

  • This option is now OFF by default, as forced fast app switching can cause issues for some apps.
  • Note that this functionality was ON by default in the previous Backgrounder release (r521).

NEW: Option to enable/disable fast app switching altogether (iOS 4.0+ only).

  • If disabled, voip/audio/gps/task-continuation apps will still background, while apps that just take up memory will quit (and thus free up memory).
  • This option is especially useful for users of older devices, such as iPhone 3G.

MOD: Cleaned up preferences dialog.
MOD: The status bar icon is now shown for the “Fall Back to Native” case as well. (iOS 4.0+ only)
MOD: Added support for iOS 4.0.2.
FIX: When backgrounding was off or disabled, some apps failed to quit or would quit when reopened.

You can download Backgrounder from Cydia for Free.

backgrounder svn.r553

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The Best Resources In iOS Development August 16th 2010 (For 2 Weeks July 31-Aug 13)

It continues to be an exciting time to develop on the iOS platform, and in the last couple of weeks some interesting news has come out.  It appears that a new edition of Apple TV will be released later this year with support for iOS apps, and a new iPod Touch with front and back facing cameras.  While these are just rumors it does make sense and seems like a logical step forward.

Here are the most popular iPhone and iPad programming resources from this site in terms of sharing and visits for the 2 weeks July 31st to August 13th:

2 Great New Open Source iOS Apps: iStrobe and Ecological Footprint – Article about two new high quality apps that the creators have generously released as open source.

Beginners iPhone Action Game Programming Tutorial – An extremely in-depth tutorial on how to program the gameplay in an iPhone action game.

Getting Your App Made Even If You’re Not A Programmer – Article detailing do’s and don’ts for those looking to get an app developed without any programming skills.

Blocks – An Interesting Objective-C Addition In iOS 4 – A tutorial on how to utilize the blocks feature to shorten code in iOS 4 (aka. closures) x5

iTV – Another Platform For iOS Apps? – Article disclosing some of the details of Apple’s rumored iTV device.

Handling Z-Ordering In Cocos2D Map Based Games – A tutorial about creating two custom classes that easily enable correct Z-ordering in Cocos2D map based games.

Custom iPad UISplitViewController Adds Many Slick Features – Open Source – Article on the release of an open source project allowing you to easily implement a UISplitViewController with many useful features added.

Good Explanation Of Instruments In Xcode – A good overview of the instruments available in Xcode.

Interesting Info About iAds For Developers – Article including info  about how much iAds costs for developers and conversion rates.

How To Use Visio As A Level Editor – Tutorial on how convert Visio files into a .plist and then parse the resulting data as level data.

Hosting A Beta Test For Your iPhone and iPad Apps – Tutorial on the essentials of running an iOS app beta test such as ad-hoc distribution.

That’s it, thanks for reading.

Please share this by using the buttons below!

©2010 iPhone iOS 4 iTV iPad SDK Development Tutorials, Programming Tips, News. All Rights Reserved.

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Double Component Picker in iPad

This is the Double Component Picker example. In this example we will see how to worked it in the iPad.

Step 1: Create a View base application using template. Give the application name  ”DoubleComponentPicker_ipad”.

Step 2: Xcode automatically creates the directory structure and adds essential frameworks to it. You can explore the directory structure to check out the content of the directory.

Step 3 : Expand classes and notice Interface Builder created the DoubleComponentPicker_ipad class for you. Expand Resources and notice the template generated a separate nib, DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.xib, for the “DoubleComponentPicker_ipad”.

Step 4 : In the DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.h file , we have added DataSource and delegate protocol. Create an instance of UIPickerView class and add one IBAction method. So make the following changes.

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#define kFillingComponent  0
#define kBreadComponent  1

@interface DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController : UIViewController <UIPickerViewDelegate, UIPickerViewDataSource>
{
        IBOutlet UIPickerView *doublePicker;
        NSArray *fillingTypes;
        NSArray *breadTypes;
}

@property (nonatomic,retain)  UIPickerView *doublePicker;
@property (nonatomic,retain)  NSArray *fillingTypes;
@property (nonatomic,retain)  NSArray *breadTypes;

–(IBAction)buttonPressed;

Step 5: Double click the DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.xib file and open it to the Interface Builder. First drag the Picker view from the library and place it to the view window and drag round rect button from the library and place it to the view window. Select the picker from the view window and bring up connection inspector and drag from the datasource to the file’s owner icon, do the same thing for delegate protocol. Select the round rect button and bring up Connection Inspector and drag from the Touch Up Inside to the File’s Owner icon and select buttonPressed: action. Now save the DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.xib file, close it and go back to the Xcode.

Step 6: Open the DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.m file and make the following changes in the file.

–(IBAction)buttonPressed
{
        NSInteger breadRow = [doublePicker selectedRowInComponent:
                              kBreadComponent];
        NSInteger fillingRow = [doublePicker selectedRowInComponent:
                                kFillingComponent];
        NSString *bread = [breadTypes objectAtIndex:breadRow];
        NSString *filling = [fillingTypes objectAtIndex:fillingRow];
       
        NSString *message = [[NSString alloc] initWithFormat:
                                                 @"Your %@ on %@ bread will be right up.",filling, bread];
       
        UIAlertView *alert =[[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Thank you for your order" message:message delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"Great!" otherButtonTitles:nil];
        [alert show];
        [alert release];
        [message release];
}

// Implement viewDidLoad to do additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
– (void)viewDidLoad {
        NSArray *breadArray = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:
                                                   @"White",@"Whole Wheat",@"Rye",@"Sourdough",@"Seven Grain", nil];
        self.breadTypes = breadArray;
        [breadArray release];
       
        NSArray *fillingArray = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:
                                                         @"Turkey",@"Peanut Butter",@"Tuna Salad",@"Chicken Salad",@"Roast Beef",
                                                         @"Vegemite",nil];
        self.fillingTypes = fillingArray;
        [fillingArray release];
        [super viewDidLoad];
}

–(NSInteger)numberOfComponentsInPickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
{
        return 2;
}

–(NSInteger)pickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
numberOfRowsInComponent:(NSInteger)component
{
        if (component == kBreadComponent)
                return[self.breadTypes count];
        return[self.fillingTypes count];
}

–(NSString *)pickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
                        titleForRow:(NSInteger)row
                   forComponent:(NSInteger)component
{
        if (component == kBreadComponent)
                return [self. breadTypes objectAtIndex:row];
        return [self.fillingTypes objectAtIndex:row];
}

Step 7: Its all done, now compile and run the application in the Simulator.

You can Download SourceCode from here DoubleComponentPicker_ipad

Double Component Picker in iPad

This is the Double Component Picker example. In this example we will see how to worked it in the iPad.

Step 1: Create a View base application using template. Give the application name  ”DoubleComponentPicker_ipad”.

Step 2: Xcode automatically creates the directory structure and adds essential frameworks to it. You can explore the directory structure to check out the content of the directory.

Step 3 : Expand classes and notice Interface Builder created the DoubleComponentPicker_ipad class for you. Expand Resources and notice the template generated a separate nib, DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.xib, for the “DoubleComponentPicker_ipad”.

Step 4 : In the DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.h file , we have added DataSource and delegate protocol. Create an instance of UIPickerView class and add one IBAction method. So make the following changes.

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#define kFillingComponent  0
#define kBreadComponent  1

@interface DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController : UIViewController <UIPickerViewDelegate, UIPickerViewDataSource>
{
        IBOutlet UIPickerView *doublePicker;
        NSArray *fillingTypes;
        NSArray *breadTypes;
}

@property (nonatomic,retain)  UIPickerView *doublePicker;
@property (nonatomic,retain)  NSArray *fillingTypes;
@property (nonatomic,retain)  NSArray *breadTypes;

–(IBAction)buttonPressed;

Step 5: Double click the DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.xib file and open it to the Interface Builder. First drag the Picker view from the library and place it to the view window and drag round rect button from the library and place it to the view window. Select the picker from the view window and bring up connection inspector and drag from the datasource to the file’s owner icon, do the same thing for delegate protocol. Select the round rect button and bring up Connection Inspector and drag from the Touch Up Inside to the File’s Owner icon and select buttonPressed: action. Now save the DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.xib file, close it and go back to the Xcode.

Step 6: Open the DoubleComponentPicker_ipadViewController.m file and make the following changes in the file.

–(IBAction)buttonPressed
{
        NSInteger breadRow = [doublePicker selectedRowInComponent:
                              kBreadComponent];
        NSInteger fillingRow = [doublePicker selectedRowInComponent:
                                kFillingComponent];
        NSString *bread = [breadTypes objectAtIndex:breadRow];
        NSString *filling = [fillingTypes objectAtIndex:fillingRow];
       
        NSString *message = [[NSString alloc] initWithFormat:
                                                 @"Your %@ on %@ bread will be right up.",filling, bread];
       
        UIAlertView *alert =[[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Thank you for your order" message:message delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"Great!" otherButtonTitles:nil];
        [alert show];
        [alert release];
        [message release];
}

// Implement viewDidLoad to do additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
– (void)viewDidLoad {
        NSArray *breadArray = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:
                                                   @"White",@"Whole Wheat",@"Rye",@"Sourdough",@"Seven Grain", nil];
        self.breadTypes = breadArray;
        [breadArray release];
       
        NSArray *fillingArray = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:
                                                         @"Turkey",@"Peanut Butter",@"Tuna Salad",@"Chicken Salad",@"Roast Beef",
                                                         @"Vegemite",nil];
        self.fillingTypes = fillingArray;
        [fillingArray release];
        [super viewDidLoad];
}

–(NSInteger)numberOfComponentsInPickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
{
        return 2;
}

–(NSInteger)pickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
numberOfRowsInComponent:(NSInteger)component
{
        if (component == kBreadComponent)
                return[self.breadTypes count];
        return[self.fillingTypes count];
}

–(NSString *)pickerView:(UIPickerView *)pickerView
                        titleForRow:(NSInteger)row
                   forComponent:(NSInteger)component
{
        if (component == kBreadComponent)
                return [self. breadTypes objectAtIndex:row];
        return [self.fillingTypes objectAtIndex:row];
}

Step 7: Its all done, now compile and run the application in the Simulator.

You can Download SourceCode from here DoubleComponentPicker_ipad

Apple Profiling Tools – Shark is Out, Instruments is In

As we sat down today to do some performance profiling in Shark, we came to a sudden realization – it doesn’t work anymore with iOS4. After some quick Google searching I came across a thread in Apple’s developer forum (registration required) that indicated there were no plans to bring iOS4 support to Shark. What we have now is Instruments.

Instruments Icon

I’ll say it right off the bat – Instruments is better than Shark. It’s easier to use and easier to interpret the results. Shark always had a “dated” feel to it – probably because it’s a fairly old application now. Instruments has a much more cohesive user interface, allowing for simple switching between profiling a device, a simulator, or a desktop application.

Unlike Shark, getting Instruments to profile a device is a piece of cake. Once you launch it, you’ll be presented with a screen where you can choose the most typical profiling options.

Profiling Templates

Since we were interested in why a certain part of our application was taking so long, I chose “Time Profiler”, which will tell you where the CPU is spending most of its time.

The next thing you’ll have to do it select the application to target. You’ll want to go ahead and launch the application now. Since we’re working on Drop & Lock, I selected that.

Target Selection

All that’s left to do now is hit the big record button at the top to start and stop the profiler. When you’re done the results will be displayed much like any other profiler (including Shark).

Output

As you can see, most of our processing time is spent rendering the scene and might be a good place to start optimizing. An option that I found very helpful was “Show Obj-C Only”. This will remove items from the output that aren’t written in Objective-C. Since most of our app is written in Objective-C, this helps us find places in our code that can be improved. The option is located to the left of the results beneath the Call Tree options.

I haven’t had much time to see how powerful Instruments truly is, but at first glance, it looks to have a lot of capability. So if you app is running a bit slow, or using a bit too much memory, Instruments is a great tool for discovering why.

Interview With Digital Painter Samuel Pereira


Samuel Pereira is a very talented digital painter. His paintings range from futuristic scenery to calm and serene landscapes, this all comes from his love of art. In our interview, Samuel breaks down the creation of one of his impressive paintings and talks about why he chose to be a digital painter. Let’s get started!

Q Welcome to Psdtuts+, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field?

Hi, my name is Samuel Pereira, I am 23 Years old, I’m from Portugal and I’m finishing my degree in marketing. I started in the field of design doing signatures and wallpapers, about 2 years ago I started to notice a lot of digital paintings and matte paintings, so one day I tried to paint digitally and I really loved. I saw a lot of pieces and some tutorials and after that it’s just practice.

QWhat made you first start doing digital and matte paintings? If you can recall what did your first painting look like? How have you evolved since then?

Well I think it was the work of great digital painters out there that inspired me and made me think this might be my chosen path. I have a folder on my pc that is called “the Digital Painting Cemetery,” where it’s all my initial paintings, the ones that only a few have seen.

I think my first painting was a river in the forest and some mountains on the background, typical right? I remember the first painting I uploaded to my Deviantart Page, it’s called “Bridge” I used a reference from a game on this one, the upload date is October 5, 2008, so I usually use this date as a reference, my birthday as a Digital Painter. It’s Fantastic when you see your own evolution, I have learned a lot so far and I have even more to learn.

QA lot of your illustrations are shots of scenery in futuristic, and foreign lands. What exactly draws you to painting these types of scenes?

I love Science fiction and that is a big source of inspiration, but isn’t the only one, I love the medieval era, nature, and a lot of other themes. This isn’t easy to explain, I don’t think a lot about what I’m going to paint so it’s hard to say. Sometimes it all comes up with a simple sketch at school, a book scene, just a landscape near my house, or a place where I have already been.

QMost designers in your field use PC Tablets, what exactly do you use and how is it more efficient compared to the other products out there?

I use a modest Wacom Bamboo, this is only a hobby and my Wacom is more than enough, for now at least. I’ve never tried another one so it’s hard to compare it with others, what I can say is that my next one will still be a Wacom, and the next one, and so on. I have owned this one for at least 4 years and I didn’t have a single problem, so I can say I’m really happy with it.

Q“Haiti 7.0″ is a great piece that you and designer Ed Lopez did, please talk about the creation of the illustration and the special cause you were working for.  

Well, that was supposed to be part of a poster project to raise awareness of the happenings and the bad living conditions in Haiti, unfortunately the project failed. But we still tried to help those people; I really hope we did in any way. About the piece, like you said it’s a collaboration artwork between me and my friend Ed Lopez, I honestly think we did a great job on this one, Ed is a great artist and it’s easy to work with him.

QWhat is one of the most important lessons you have learned that you have applied to your paintings and designing?

I have to be honest, I’m a bit lazy, this could be a cliché but the most important advice I can possibly give, is work a lot. If you work really hard you will see results soon. There are a lot of techniques that you will learn in the process, like using a reference picture or applying textures.

QWhat are some of the current projects you are working on? And what can we see from you in the next year?

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At the moment I’m an Artist in the SlashTHREE art community and I’m working on a game as a conceptual artist, beside that, I’m finishing my degree, and some personal projects I have on my mind. Other than that there’s nothing big happening on my life.

Q Thanks again for providing Psdtuts+ with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers?

Thank you for the opportunity to show my work. This websites work is admirable and it’s very important to provide free knowledge for those that are starting in design. For our readers, like I said before, everything in life needs a lot of work and you will need to be willing to work if you want to be an artist.

Where to find Samuel on the Web

Open Mic: Tell Us How You Keep Track of Your Inspiration

When inspiration strikes, how do you keep track of it so you don’t lose it?

Each weekend we open our mic to readers and lurkers alike to come out of the woodwork and tell us your thoughts and opinion, your experiences and mistakes, what you love and what you hate. We want to hear from you, and here’s your chance.

I love looking through the art journals and Moleskines of graphic artists, web designers and other creative people. They use them not just to remember their creative ideas, but also to develop them.

In the past, composers like Beethoven kept track of their inspiration in a similar way: notation. These days technology has brought us a lot more options.

How do you keep track of your inspiration? Do you use the written word, some sort of musical notation, record some audio, or something else?

How does it help? How often do you go back and look at your ideas? Do they ever lead to a finished work? How happy are you with your system? Do you have any advice for others?


Blog Coverage Tips For Small Business Owners

Getting coverage from blogs for your business or product isn’t easy. Bloggers get too many pitches nowadays and there is every chance of your pitch getting ignored even if your product is a genuine fit for the readers.

If you are a small business owner looking for some online press, you should read this guide on blog coverage. Written by Lisa Barone on the Small Business Trends blog, the article has useful tips on things to follow and avoid while pitching bloggers.

My personal favorite is the second point about creating relationships. As a blogger, I would always respond to those who cared to strike a conversation with me first instead of sending a blind pitch. Building relationships and rapport should always come first.

5 Dos & Donts For Getting Blog Coverage

The Importance of Vacation Time

Many of us have an aversion to using our vacation time. This seems to be more prevalent in the United States than in the rest of the world, and I’m not sure why, since we get fewer days off than most other countries. For some of us, we just feel too guilty about taking days off. We think our workplace will shut down if we’re not there to pull our weight. Others get a similar vibe (either real or perceived) from their managers or co-workers. In any case, think about how many times you’ve heard yourself or one of your colleagues say “I have too much to do and can’t get away” as you bury yourself further into another project.

This article from Information Week says that less than half of America’s workforce use all of their vacation days. I know folks who proudly say “I haven’t used my vacation time in years!” It’s true that many of us may not be able to use the whole two weeks every year. But for some (and you know who you are) shutting down the laptop or Blackberry, leaving the cell on vibrate (or—gasp!—leaving it at home), or letting the paperwork go for a even few days is unthinkable. But for our own physical, mental, and emotional well-being, it’s important to get away for a few days and recharge those batteries.

Signs That You Need a Vacation

You say you can keep going without any time off? If you regularly put in 10 or 12-hour workdays, it’s going to catch up with you after a while. If you keep up that pace for weeks or months, your body will simply start wearing out. You’ll also have to take a look at the work you’ve been doing in that time—is it really your best effort?

Think people won’t notice that you’re starting to get burned out? The next time you’re stuck at the office for what seems like days on end, see how many co-workers, friends, or good old Mom ask you “Are you okay? You look tired”. Or, if you’re starting to notice any of these symptoms, you may want to pencil in a few days off to decompress:

  • Irritability
  • Fatigue
  • Insomnia
  • Inability to concentrate
  • Memory loss
  • Eye strain (from staring at a computer screen for a long stretch)
  • Dark circles under your eyes from lack of sleep

Too much stress or overwork without time off can lead to more serious health problems in the future. The short list includes:

  • High blood pressure (which can lead to a stroke or heart attack)
  • Weight gain (from eating quick, easy, but usually unhealthy meals on the run)
  • Bouts of insomnia
  • Hair loss
  • Depression
  • Digestive problems
  • Skin problems such as eczema

If you suffer from any of these conditions already, prolonged stress can make them worse. Though it’s admirable to plow through the mountain of work on your desk day in and day out, if you have any of the above symptoms, you have to ask yourself if risking your health for the sake of your job is really worth it. Wrap up any current projects and tell your boss that you’ll be unavailable for a few days next week. Chances are your work performance and those who’ve been putting up with your grumpy moods will thank you.

What to Do on Days Off

It sounds hard to believe, but I know people who just don’t know what to do with themselves when they get a little bit of free time. High-energy folks who always need to be doing something might see vacation days as the kiss of death. But relax! It’s not a crime to take a day or two off to just do nothing. For me, every vacation day I’ve used in the past year was to go on a trip of some kind. My holidays off have been filled with visiting family and friends, with very little down time for myself. My random vacation days were spent getting caught up on freelance assignments. Finally, my July 4th holiday this year was reserved for me—I purposely did nothing all day. I got my picnicking, fireworks, and obligatory quality time with friends and family out of the way early in the weekend, and that day was just for myself. Try it sometime. Lay around in your pajamas all day. Read a book. Organize your closet. Go shopping. Really take the day off.

But if you don’t want to have a totally open calendar for your vacation days, here are a few ideas:

Plan a full-fledged vacation.

Think big. Drive across the state or country. Go on a cruise. Hike the Himalayas or go rafting on the Colorado River.

Visit friends in another state.

Combine two of my favorite things—road tripping and seeing friends you don’t see that often. Check out what’s happening where they are. Or book a flight and meet them in their nearest big city.

Play tourist in your hometown.

If a big trip isn’t in your budget (or if you don’t have the days to spare), look around you—you can probably make a perfectly nice vacation out of your local landmarks, tourist attractions. Go camping in your nearest state park. Convince your friends or family to take a few days off and visit an amusement park. Check out the historical attractions near you. Chances are you haven’t been to the places with history and character galore that are literally steps away from where you live. And if you’re in a city—even better. You can cover more ground in a day than most visitors since you know your way around.

What about you? Do you use all of your vacation time? Do you have enough vacation time? Why or why not?

PGA Championship app pushes latest scores, includes buy-up live video

The set overlap between “iPhone owners” and “fans of professional golf” isn’t trivial, so it’s worth mentioning that the free app for the 92nd PGA Championship is available in the App Store. You can follow along with the action at Whistling Straits this weekend in glorious Retina Display detail, and with a $1.99 in-app purchase you can get live video of marquee players through their entire rounds, or see the entire field play the course’s par 3 holes. Of course, live coverage is also available at pga.com or on television.

Even without chipping in for the live streaming, there’s plenty of video in the app: highlights, course overviews and instructional clips are all included gratis. The app includes customizable push notifications, so you can keep abreast of the latest news or zero in on particular players, round schedules or exceptional events (double bogeys, birdies/eagles, etc.).

If you like the PGA Championship app, there’s more around the corner; the 2010 Ryder Cup App will be in the store in September.

Check out the gallery below for more views of the app.

TUAWPGA Championship app pushes latest scores, includes buy-up live video originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World rejoices as Photoshop Express for iPad is fixed

Well, that didn’t take too long. After a rather horrible debut Friday Adobe has fixed Photoshop Express so it can now open in the landscape mode.

How exactly was this app tested by Adobe and Apple? You’d think since most photo editing is done in the landscape orientation it would have been operated that way. I’d expect that kind of bug to be discovered immediately. Since Adobe is a premier graphics company you’d also think they would choose a logo for the product that doesn’t resemble a roll of toilet paper.

Anyway, the app now works properly and it’s free. You can crop, sharpen, blur, make frames and do other basic adjustments and send your edited pix to Photoshop.com or to Facebook.

The app also works on an iPhone and an iPod touch. Have at it, and unlike the iPhone 4 antenna, you can hold your iPad anyway you want.

TUAWWorld rejoices as Photoshop Express for iPad is fixed originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPad as an art gallery tour guide on Celebrity Cruises

As a bona fide fan of cruise ships and iPads, I was happy to see a short note from CruiseInd.com today outlining what Celebrity Cruises is doing with the iPad on their Solstice Class ships.

Starting tomorrow (August 15th), iPads will be available on the Celebrity Solstice, and the sister ships Eclipse and Equinox will see a group of iPads on board starting August 21st. Guests can launch a custom app to be able to view the collection of art on their particular ship. The Solstice class ships currently in service, Solstice, Equinox, and Eclipse, have a total of 14,000 original contemporary art works between them that decorate the various decks. Deck plans are displayed on the iPad, and guest can touch artworks represented on the plans to see the exact location, title, artist’s name, medium, a description, and an image of the work.

This isn’t the first time that iPads have been used on Celebrity’s ships — the cruise line uses the devices to display the menu and wine list at the Qsine specialty restaurant on the Celebrity Eclipse. Celebrity also features the Mac-centric iLearn program on the Celebrity Solstice, Equinox, and Summit, a series of classes that mimic the One-to-One experience available in Apple retail stores.

It’s refreshing to see Celebrity embracing Apple technology on their ships, as most other cruise ships seem to feature old PCs running Windows XP in their Internet lounges.

TUAWThe iPad as an art gallery tour guide on Celebrity Cruises originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple manager held on kickback charges

The Mercury News is reporting that Sunnyvale, CA resident Paul Shin Devine, a 37-year-old Apple manager in global supply, has been arrested and charged with accepting kickbacks from Asian suppliers. In return, he provided confidential information that allowed these suppliers to negotiate more advantageous contracts with Apple.

Devine, and his alleged co-conspirator Andrew Ang of Singapore, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on 23 counts including wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. Devine is being held by the US Marshals Service.

Apple’s statement on the matter comes from PR lead Steve Dowling: “Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business… We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company.”

Devine is alleged to have collected over $1 million in funds from various suppliers in China, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea during the scheme; the companies involved have not yet been named publicly. Devine opened bank accounts in several countries in his wife’s name to disguise the bribes.

[via Apple 2.0]

TUAWApple manager held on kickback charges originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dragon Search now available for medical professionals

Here’s something that will be welcomed by the health community. Nuance Communications has released a free, medical version of Dragon Search called Dragon Medical that lets mobile physicians and other health workers search a variety of medical publications on their iPhone or iPad by just speaking search phrases.

Information on drug interactions, latest medical news and diagnoses are available from the app, as well as a search though Google.

The original Dragon Search allows general information lookup using several search engines. Nuance is now moving toward more specialized apps for professionals.

The app is free for a limited time, and Nuance intends to bring out more apps for health workers, including a version of Dragon Dictation so patient notes and other information can be turned into text and saved.

You can watch a video of the app in action here.

TUAWDragon Search now available for medical professionals originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s discussions site redirected for some

Reports are coming in that people visiting http://discussions.apple.com have been seeing the cryptic message “for fun, by tojen” rather than the index of discussion forums they were expecting.

We’ve managed to reproduce this here at TUAW, but only haphazardly. I saw it earlier in Safari under OS X, but since clearing my cache I cannot reproduce it. Firefox doesn’t do it, but lynx (a command line browser) on my Linux server does. Steve Sande has seen it under Safari but not on his iPad. Other people have reported seeing it on their iPhones.

This mixture of affected devices and operating systems that show the message suggest it is neither an OS X nor a Safari hack of any kind. If you have seen it, your computer has not been compromised. Rather, it’s something server-side; either on Apple’s servers themselves, within the Akamai caching network (this would be my guess based on some quick tests), or some sort of DNS hijack.

For the time being I’d suggest being cautious and steering clear of discussions.apple.com. However, don’t panic. If this was a hack aimed at stealing your accounts then it wouldn’t put up the message at all, it would show you the normal page and sit quietly in the background accumulating data.

Nevertheless if you’ve seen this message and are worrying about the implications, you should consider changing your iTunes account password, if only for peace of mind. It is just about possible that your session cookie will have been intercepted by “tojen” for nefarious purposes and changing your password will protect you against that.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Update: the whole discussion forum is now closed, replaced with the cheerful “we’ll be back soon” sticky note normally reserved for the Apple Store. Presumably a number of system administrators just had their Saturday evening plans cancelled. (Thanks to commenters snoanim and John for pointing this out.)

TUAWApple’s discussions site redirected for some originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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