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Here’s an iPad mod of questionable usefulness, but it looks nice. Artist Jonas Damon built an enclosure for his iPad that resembles an old cathode-ray television (just like grandma used to have). He only used parts he found lying around his apartment. Even the rear of the case has been built to resemble those old TV’s case design, where it bulged to accommodate those huge tubes.

Topping it all off is the video of “snow” that the iPad is playing. Of course, such a case limits the iPad’s portability to say the least, but now it’s a great video/game station. You’ll see that the dock connector cable is protruding from the back so I can still be connected to a computer for synchronization.

Someone pass the Yoo-Hoo and Little Debbie snack cakes. I want to watch a little TV.

TUAWiPad mod recalls old TV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the addition of the Safari Extensions Gallery to Apple’s website, TUAW will be highlighting extensions that we think are special, useful, or just plain fun.

Today we’re highlighting two extensions that restore functionality to Safari that’s been lost: the reload button and the snapback arrow.

Reload Button is a Safari extension that puts a big, healthy reload button back into your toolbar. Safari 5 moved it inside the address bar, and many users (myself included) liked it better in the toolbar.

SnapBack adds a button to your toolbar that emulates the old snapback function. It’ll let you jump back to the first page in a tab or window’s browsing history, or let you designate which page should be the snapback point. Give it a click to jump back, or right-click to bring up a helpful contextual menu.

If you aren’t an old fuddy-duddy like me who fears “the new ways,” you probably won’t try these out. But the rest of us will be happy to. Now get off my lawn.

TUAWSafari extension highlight: SnapBack and Reload originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the first iPad applications, USA TODAY (free), has been updated to version 1.5, which adds the long-awaited crossword puzzle and customizable market and stock information.

I’ve been waiting for the crossword puzzle to go live for a long time, and now that it’s here I’m not disappointed. You’ll find it in the app’s Life section. Give it a tap and the day’s current puzzle appears. It looks good in both landscape and portrait orientation, but I prefer landscape (at right).

The puzzle grid is in the center of the screen, flanked on either side by the down and across clues. To enter an answer, tap the beginning square once for across and twice for down. The row or column you’re working on will be highlighted in purple.

At the top of the screen you’ll find a hints button and an archive of the previous two weeks worth of puzzles. There’s also a timer for those who like to see how quickly they can finish. Finally, the settings let you hide or display the timer, show your mistakes (there’s no eraser with the iPad!) and skip filled squares.

I’ve always enjoyed newspaper crossword puzzles, and it’s nice to see one migrate to the iPad so successfully.

Additionally, customizable stock information has been added to the app’s money section. Tap the Markets box to pop that section out. You can quickly search for a company you’re interested in or tap Edit Stocks to re-order the market listings or add and remove particular companies. The next time the app is launched, it will remember your settings.

Version 1.5 is a nice update to an app I’ve used consistently since buying my iPad. Let us say, “Well done” to everyone on USA TODAY’s iPad team.

TUAWUSA TODAY for iPad adds crossword, stocks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Microsoft decided to drop the rather interesting Courier slate concept, some of us here at TUAW expected to see a parade of Windows Mobile Phone Whatever tablets coming out of Redmond. Instead, in a manner somewhat akin to putting lipstick on a pig, manufacturers are preparing a bunch of Windows 7 tablets to compete with the iPad.

In this video, you’re seeing one of the competitors, a rather thick slate made by Hanvon, going head to head against a stock iPad. The extra chunkiness of this tablet, which appears to boast a 16 x 9 aspect ratio, is due to the addition of a USB port, SD card reader, and … a camera. For some odd reason, the manufacturer also chose to add a trackpad, which seems redundant considering the device already has a touch screen.

On the one hand, the device is fast. It bests the iPad in many of the side-by-side comparisons. On the other hand, it uses the patented Microsoft method of putting all programs into the Start menu, which appears towards the end of this video and looks like it would be impossibly frustrating to navigate.

Between the expected flood of Win 7 and Android tablets, not to mention some webOS-based tablets from Palm HP, it looks like there will be plenty of competition in the tablet space. Me? I’m sticking with my iPad.

[via Gizmodo]

TUAWFound footage: The inevitable Windows 7 tablet vs. iPad video originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While most of the apps making use of the iPhone 4’s gyroscope have centered around augmented reality, here’s one doing something different. Gyro Air Drums is an app that supposedly lets you use your iPhone as a “virtual drumstick,” waving and tapping it on a virtual drum. You can move your iPhone in a 300 degree rotation in real life, hitting various drums on upper or lower levels. And when you move the iPhone, your screen will rotate along with the movement, viewing all of the various instruments, from the snare and hi-hat to more fun things like a cowbell or a taiko drum.

As you can see above, it’s only one drum hit at a time, but presumably if you have two iPhone 4s, or a quick and accurate wrist, you’ll be able to play a full drum beat. But at least it’s a cool idea — I was hoping we’d see more inventive uses of the gyroscope like this. The app is US$2.99 on the App Store right now, or there’s a free lite version with a limited number of drums if you just want to play around.

TUAWGyro Air Drums makes rhythmic use of the iPhone 4’s gyroscope originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dimensions is a pretty interesting idea for an iPhone app. It’s a set of 3D tools that you can actually use in real life, all put together by making use of the iPhone’s hardware in various ways. There’s a caliper, a ruler, a couple of tape measures for various sizes, a measuring wheel for even longer distances, and a pedometer. There are a few other surprises, too, including a lightning distance calculator, and a level, both likely included just for fun.

Unfortunately, while the tools work well, the app doesn’t actually provide any instruction on how to use them. If you don’t know how to use a caliper or a level already, you’re going to be on your own — the app doesn’t have a lot of polish or documentation, which is too bad. It’d be great to have a Tapbots-level version of an app like this, with as much thought given to the interface as to the functionality.

Still, Dimensions will provide a serviceable ruler, measuring tape, or any of the other tools when called upon. It’s available in the App Store right now for US $1.99.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Dimensions originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Brazilian site named MacMagazine claims to have heard from a source within Apple that the company’s annual back-to-school iPod press conference might be held as soon as next week. This is simultaneously pretty likely and somewhat hard to believe. On the one hand, MacMagazine isn’t really a well-known vanguard of the reporting community — you have to wonder why they’ve heard about this event when no one else yet has.

But on the other hand, Apple of course runs a back to school program every single year, and considering that it’s about that time, and that we’ve had a year chock full of innovation with the iPad and the iPhone 4, it’s probably a pretty good guess that yes, sooner rather than later, Apple will hold an event to show off this year’s iPod offerings.

And what might those be? Why, we’re going with the perpetual rumor of a camera-equipped iPod touch. MacMagazine also suggests a new iPod touch would see other iPhone 4 features, including a gyroscope and possibly a Retina Display. It’s gotta be true eventually, right?

[via Cult of Mac]

TUAWRumor: iPod event next week originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Useful Fruit Software has released Pear Note 2.0, a new version of the very powerful note-taking app for the Mac. Sang wrote a great post about the app late last year — personally, I like just sitting down with a pad of paper and taking notes, but Pear Note helps you capture everything about a presentation, from syncing up slides and audio to your own typed-in notes. It will even keep a “timeline” of what you’re noting when, so that you can go back and see where in the audio you typed what, reviewing your notes and the actual lecture audio at the same time.

The new version completely revamps the user interface, which allows you to navigate both the app and your lectures more quickly and smoothly. It also brings to the table a web sharing feature, so that anyone online can view your notes and lecture content when shared. And there are a few other improvements as well, including speed playback control, and the ability to bring multiple slide files in on a single note.

The app is available for $39.99, and version 2 is a free upgrade for all previous Pear Note users. Especially for students heading back to school in the next few weeks who need a good note-taking workflow, Pear Note seems like a huge help.

TUAWPear Note 2.0 out now, features web sharing and a revamped UI originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s an interesting tip from The Apple Blog about hiding sensitive data in plain sight. In this instance, Dave Greenbaum explains how he uses an app like Apple’s Address Book to plainly display a credit card number. The catch is that, upon first glance, the record looks like any other collection of contact info. Only Dave knows how to read the data “hidden” inside.

It’s not uncrackable, of course, but still a clever idea. Perhaps you could use it to obscure less sensitive data if you’d rather not do it with a credit card. Alternatively, apps like Knox and 1Password offer true encryption and are relatively inexpensive.

Dave’s solution is free and something we hadn’t thought of. Head over to read the whole post. Nice thinking, Dave!

TUAWTip: ‘Hide’ sensitive data in Address Book originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Students and educational institutions already get some nice perks from Apple in the form of hardware discounts, and from some development firms (such as Microsoft) in software discounts. Imagine being able to get an educational discount when you buy an iOS app in the App Store.

Developers are informing us today that when they log into iTunes Connect, they’re being prompted to accept a new paid application contract. The contract includes an amendment that gives developers the opportunity to offer educational discounts when multiple copies of the same program are purchased. Developers must accept the new amendment in order to continue placing their apps in the App Store, and they can turn discounts on and off in the app management area of iTunes Connect.

The amendment enables developers to offer a 50% discount to educational institutions on multiple copies of apps. They can apply it to individual app titles, or to all apps that they currently offer in the App Store.

As of yet, Apple hasn’t noted when the discounts will be available for educational institutions, but this could be a nice treat for budget-strapped school systems in the near future.

TUAWSchools: Get your discount at the App Store (some day) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft is slamming Apple with a new web page filled with comparisons. The company believes Windows PCs are better for having fun, simplicity, working hard, sharing, compatibility and choice. In the process of highlighting differences, the Microsoft team delivers some howlers; check out the Compatibility tab, for instance, and see if you can find the slightest mention of the company’s own soon-to-be-revised Office suite for Mac.

While all these issues are debatable, it’s another round fired in what has been a continuing artillery barrage originating from Apple (with the I’m a Mac ads) and Microsoft (I’m a PC, Seinfeld, Windows 7 was my idea, etc.) via their respective advertising agencies.

Most of these shots at Apple are quite lame, like ‘Macs don’t like to share’, (Bonjour anyone?) but some hit closer to the mark (no Blu-ray drives on the Mac).
Dive in and find your own wacky claim! It’s fun for the whole family.

Another day, another battle. Microsoft may be worried about recent reports that Apple is making big gains in higher education, or maybe the iPad and the iPhone have Redmond feeling jittery. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just good competition, which makes everyone better.

TUAWMicrosoft taking on the Mac again originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are hints this week that the iPad, iPhone and Apple TV will be updated in early 2011. It’s isn’t really a risky guess, since they’re all likely to be updated within the next nine months (heck, September is nearly here, so let’s toss in the iPod, too). Still, here’s what the crystal ball revealed this week.

First, the tea leaves have predicted that an iPhone bearing Verizon branding will soon be upon us. Manufacturer Pegatron* is supposedly poised to mass-produce the new handsets in December for an early 2011 rollout. The CDMA phones will feature a metallic back and internal antenna, according to DigiTimes.

TUAWRumor mill: iPad, iPhone, Apple TV and T-1000 updates in 2011 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has expanded its iAds advertising platform a bit to allow for in-app downloads. According to 9to5, the ads resemble a page in the App Store. When tapped, users are given a description of the app being advertised, as if they were browsing the App Store. If they choose to buy, they can do so and even download that app without leaving the host app.

We assume this could provide another way for companies and developers to promote their own apps.

Apple introduced iAds, its targeted, integrated iOS advertising network at WWDC 2010. The only iAd I’ve seen so far was a nice interactive for the Nissan Leaf. It offered an overview of the car and an option to join an email list. The reception has been largely positive with a few questions.

We’ll see how this continues to grow.

[Via iPodNN]

TUAWiAds now allow in-app downloads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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