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Boo Hoo! SimplifyMedia dropping products and changing direction

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The problem is, we just don't know where they're going. In a Saturday blog post, the company announced it is "...taking a new direction" and won't be offering their current apps to new users.

SimplifyMedia has been offering free software for computer-to-computer and iPhone-to-computer music sharing over the internet. Using the iPhone app, you could connect to your computer at home and stream albums, playlists or songs without any complicated firewall setups. A newer version of the software also allowed remote access to your iPhoto library.

It also looks like the company is going to slowly sunset current customer accounts but will continue to keep them functioning for at least another 3 months.

The Simplify iPhone app has been removed from the App Store, and the company says new account creation will be disabled soon.

I don't have any idea where the company is headed, but the current product will be missed. SimplifyMedia was offered for Mac, PC and Ubuntu.

[Thanks to Robert for the tip]

Boo Hoo! SimplifyMedia dropping products and changing direction originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Boo Hoo! SimplifyMedia dropping products and changing direction originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 13 March 2010 | 1:00 pm

iPhone backups a bit slow? Dump those images

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If your iPhone backups and restores are taking a ridiculously long time, Apple suggests you take a quick peek at your Camera Roll.

In a new Knowledge Base entry, Apple reminds users that photos are backed up each time you do a sync, even if there are no changes to the Camera Roll. The result can be a sluggish backup or restore.

If you already have the photos copied into iPhoto, you're good to erase them from the Camera Roll. Apple has some advice for getting the pictures back to your iPhone if you need to:

1. Ensure the iPhone is connected to your computer.
2. Open iTunes.
3. Select the iPhone in the Devices list in the left column.
4. Click the Photos tab.
5. Ensure that "Sync photos from" is enabled and choose the appropriate source from the adjacent pop-up menu. For example, if you imported your photos into an application (like iPhoto), you would select that application in the list. If you imported your photos to a folder (using Image Capture, Scanner and Camera Wizard, or Windows Photo Gallery), you would select Choose Folder and then the folder in question.
6. Click Apply or Sync.

The article details procedures for Macs, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

There are other things that can slow down backups. I've seen them be very slow one day and quite snappy the next. Explanations can sometimes be hard to come by, but regular backups will keep the times down. Also, if you've added a lot of new apps, your first backup after adding them can be pretty long.

For more details on the issues with a full Camera Roll check the Knowledge Base article, and don't let those photos on your phone get out of control.

iPhone backups a bit slow? Dump those images originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)iPhone backups a bit slow? Dump those images originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 13 March 2010 | 7:00 am

Quizarium the multiplayer trivia app is nearly ready for prime-time

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Quizarium [free], a multiplayer iPhone/iPod touch trivia game, arrived in the App Store today. I got a chance to look at a pre-release copy and I found some problems with the interface and flow of the game. Some problems will be solved either upon release, since an update is being approved right now, or within a few days after release. According to Anthony Almanza, one of the developers at Lithuanian software development firm On5, Apple has gotten much quicker with approving updates. I spoke with Anthony at length about the app and offered a number of suggestions that will be implemented quite soon.

Quizarium uses the Plus+ social play network which allows many players to compete against each other by answering trivia questions in a number of set category rooms, or in new rooms that can be created by users. A server problem was found yesterday (and a revision quickly submitted), so room creation may or may not be activated upon release. I really didn't get a great feel for how a multiplayer game would look since, at most, I played against two people from On5, but I can imagine that the action will be pretty intense.

To play, you flick the screen up to view the entire list of category rooms, and when you tap on a room, the game starts. You are shown with a trivia question for 60 seconds, or until someone gives a correct answer. You can see the minute tick down by watching a progress bar at the top of the screen. Hints are given as time passes, showing you how many letters are in the answer and, as time is running out, you'll see the first few letters of the answer appearing. If you are the first with the correct answer, you gain points and receive awards courtesy of the Plus+ network. Tapping the Plus+ button on the main screen shows you your awards and takes you to the leaderboard where you'll see just how well you've done. Weekly leaderboards will be updated every Monday night. There is also an overall Plus+ network leaderboard.

Continue reading Quizarium the multiplayer trivia app is nearly ready for prime-time

Quizarium the multiplayer trivia app is nearly ready for prime-time originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Quizarium the multiplayer trivia app is nearly ready for prime-time originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 12 March 2010 | 1:00 pm

GDC 2010: Fallen Earth comes to the Mac, brings an iPhone app

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Fallen Earth is a respectable postapocalyptic MMO -- I've never played it (one MMO is enough for me, and the gigantic World of Warcraft is still claiming my time), but it's grown pretty popular since release in September of last year. And now the game is set to pick up another chunk of audience, as the owner Icarus Studios has announced that they're releasing a Mac client for the game. It's currently in beta (and was made using Wine), but if you're interested in trying out a new MMO with a postapocalyptic twist, head on over, give the client a download (you'll need a game account, though there's a free trial available), and give the team a good Mac welcome.

That's not all, though -- Icarus is also working on their very own iPhone app, and I got to play with it this week at their GDC 2010 booth. For Fallen Earth players, it'll be a must-get, but even if you're not currently a player of the game, the app is a shining example of what's possible with a "supplementary" game application -- it allows for all sorts of in-game functions directly from Apple's handheld device.

Gallery: Fallen Earth iPhone app shots and concepts

Continue reading GDC 2010: Fallen Earth comes to the Mac, brings an iPhone app

GDC 2010: Fallen Earth comes to the Mac, brings an iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: Fallen Earth comes to the Mac, brings an iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 12 March 2010 | 12:00 pm

GDC 2010: Hands-on with Faraway

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Steph Thirion's first iPhone game was Eliss, a touchscreen-based arcade game that had you combining and maneuvering planets around one another, and trying to size-match them up with black holes to earn points. As he told us (stay tuned for an exclusive interview with the indie developer), it was pretty hard -- even more so than he actually intended it to be. So, for his second iPhone game, Faraway, he's gone much simpler. Inspired by the iPhone game Canabalt, Thirion has created a one-button game in which the goal is nothing less than to explore the universe. He has it running on a Mac at the show (so he can project the video onto a bigger screen), and we got to have some hands-on time with the new game.

You control a comet that flies around an inky black void speckled with dots and circles; the pixelated space aesthetic from Eliss is back. This time, however, there's only one control, and it's a tap anywhere on the screen. Doing so will cause your comet to gravitate towards the nearest static dot, which will then slingshot you around the star until you let go, and the comet flings off in a new direction. There's an arrow pointing off of the screen, and by timing slingshots correctly, you will face the comet in the direction of the arrow.

Continue reading GDC 2010: Hands-on with Faraway

GDC 2010: Hands-on with Faraway originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: Hands-on with Faraway originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 12 March 2010 | 7:00 am

More suggestions of multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0

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Developers have found further evidence of multitasking support for 3rd party iPhone apps in the latest beta (3.2 beta 4) of the iPhone SDK, and suggest that it will become a reality this summer.

9to5 Mac reports on a new line found deep within the latest iPhone SDK. Specifically, SpringBoard.js has a reference to a "multitasking dialog box" that did not appear in version 3.1.3 of the SDK; it seems that it's new to version 3.2. Of course, there's no assurance that this refers to 3rd party support for multitasking, but it is new.

Additionally, Appleinsider's souces with "proven track records" state that Apple has developed "a full-on solution" for 3rd-party multitasking which will be a part of iPhone OS 4.0. No specifics were given on how it will be pulled off or how it will address the two main concerns: battery life and security.

Let's assume that Apple's plan addresses the security issue, but battery life still presents a problem, one that was supposedly addressed by Push Notifications. Apple's remote notification service allows applications to offload polling processes to web servers. By keeping the update algorithms working off the device, the iPhone's battery is spared. Certainly the iPhone itself must take on the task of keeping all of those apps up and running.

It should also be noted that iPhone OS does not use a paged memory model. That means, multi-tasking applications must compete for the same memory space, making it more likely that apps will receive memory warnings and even crash when they use too much memory. That's not an issue in the one-app-at-a-time space, but a real problem with multitasking

Of course, the iPhone OS is already fully capable of multitasking. In order for non-Apple apps to participate, Apple must lift the current restrictions within the OS. That's something the company won't do until the iPhone engineers have devised the best and safest method. As for iPhone OS 4.0, Appleinsider notes that it's got "a ways to go." Hopefully we'll have an answer in July.

More suggestions of multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)More suggestions of multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 11 March 2010 | 1:00 pm

Review: Knights of Charlemagne card game is simply simple, and we like it like that

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The clever 2006 card game Knights of Charlemagne has made it to the iPhone and iPod touch as a simple little number placing app [$1.99, iTunes link]. We don't mean simple in that it's easy to beat or uninteresting. We mean that the game is clearly designed and plays quickly. While the beginner level (the Squire) is really only worth playing through once or twice with the tutorial minstrel on to learn the rules, getting to and beating the AI at Knight, and then the King level (which is supposed to be Charlemagne himself) is a good challenge and provides plenty of game for two bucks.

There's a whole lot of math and bluffing in the game. That is something which is better experienced in person and using real cards, but board games on the iPhone are their own experience. So, when you want some light brain-burning with a medieval theme, look no further than this simple app. Read on to find out more.

Gallery: Knights of Charlemagne game app

Continue reading Review: Knights of Charlemagne card game is simply simple, and we like it like that

Review: Knights of Charlemagne card game is simply simple, and we like it like that originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Review: Knights of Charlemagne card game is simply simple, and we like it like that originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 11 March 2010 | 10:00 am

GDC 2010: Canabalt postmortem

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"What kinds of games do you like?" Adam "Atomic" Saltsman asked of his panel audience at the Canabalt postmortem during the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. "Role-playing" was yelled out, as was "puzzler," and eventually Saltsman picked "platformer" as the genre. Without another word, he quietly went to work on a laptop. Then, his partner at Semi Secret Software, Eric Johnson, took the podium to tell us all about what it was like to make one of the App Store's most popular games.

He started by saying that the game was originally developed in just "five very long days," and was created for the Experimental Gameplay Project and based around simplicity -- it only uses six colors and, obviously, the one button. For a game that's so simple, it actually had a lot of complex influences. It drew from older games, like Another World and Flashback, as well as modern works, like Half-Life 2 and District 9.

Continue reading GDC 2010: Canabalt postmortem

GDC 2010: Canabalt postmortem originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: Canabalt postmortem originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 11 March 2010 | 9:00 am

Poynt for iPhone is a mixed bag

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Poynt has come to the iPhone, after having been a very popular free app on BlackBerry phones. Poynt provides local searches of individuals and businesses. It also shares a database with Open Table, so you can use it to make reservations at restaurants. Unlike the BlackBerry app, it has augmented reality, but is missing some features beloved by the Blackberry crowd.

Like some of the other iPhone search apps, you can enter the name of a business, and get a phone number, links to a website (if there is one), a mapped location, or directions. If you use the theater search, you'll find nearby movie houses. You can also search by movie genres, or get a list of the top 10 box office films. You can't buy tickets, but you can stream trailers. (Note: The developer says you can buy tickets if a ticket icon appears next to the distance marker. I didn't see any offering from my local theater when I checked the app.)

When you search for restaurants, you get similar results to those of the business search. Results include phone numbers, restaurant websites, maps, and directions. You can also narrow your search by cuisine, or by distance.

Continue reading Poynt for iPhone is a mixed bag

Poynt for iPhone is a mixed bag originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Poynt for iPhone is a mixed bag originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 11 March 2010 | 8:00 am

GDC 2010: How to develop an app with EA Mobile

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For the first panel of day two here at the 2010 Game Developers Conference's iPhone gaming track, Oliver Miao of Centerscore Studios took the stage to talk about working on Surviving High School for the iPhone as a part of Electronic Arts' Mobile division. As Miao made clear early on, he's an "insider outsider" at EA: his company was started with a few friends, purchased by Vivendi in 2006, created a hit mobile game called Surviving High School in 2007, and was bought by EA in 2008. Last year, they were commissioned to recreate their game for the iPhone. In one of the most interesting iPhone panels at the conference yet, he talked about the ins and outs of working with EA on an iPhone title, and explained both, what it was like to work with the company, and his own philosophies on game design, especially concerning in-app purchases and microtransactions.

Most users seem to believe that microtransactions and episodic content are, at the very least, a pain to deal with (and are, at worst, a scam), but Miao is convinced that they're actually necessary to having a successful game -- he said that every developer, going forward, "will need to have them." Read on to find out why.

Continue reading GDC 2010: How to develop an app with EA Mobile

GDC 2010: How to develop an app with EA Mobile originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: How to develop an app with EA Mobile originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 11 March 2010 | 7:00 am

Count The Beats: Inspiration... two apps for the musician on the move

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Recently I've been preparing to move home and finally did last weekend. Naturally I had to pack up all my musical gear, equipment and of course, my Mac. In the week leading up to the move, I've had my iPhone and nothing else. With no creative outlet and the pressure of looming project deadlines, I found myself scouting the app store for a fix to help me start fleshing out a few creative ideas.

This is what I found that worked well for me.

1. TonePad and TonePad Pro

The iTunes Store describes TonePad Pro as "...the easiest way to make music. Discover the inner musician in you. Create songs by simply touching." And this is exactly what I found. With a 16 x 16 matrix, and an easy-to-use user interface (literally start tapping your fingers and music is made), I found myself coming up with little melodies and tunes immediately. Although you only have the 16 x 16 matrix, to me, what initially seemed quite limiting soon became a boundary for creative focus.

You can save an unlimited number of tunes to listen back to, and upload them to a shared server where your buddies can check out what you've been musing. With the paid version, you can save your melodies into a ringtone that will sync back to your iPhone, too.

2. Flourish

Flourish is something a bit more immersive. While having a steeper learning curve, there's loads more to explore here. The user interface is really fresh and unique (especially for the iPhone), and presents a creative challenge in focusing your composition whilst giving you the space to try different approaches to what you are creating.

Basically Flourish represents musical phrases as physical loops:

-Record loops with expressive multi-touch keyboards.
-Generate percussive and melodic sequences.
-Build arrangements by ear or by eye.
-Select from a consonant collection of instruments.
-Sequence loops by connecting them in chain.

Check out the Flourish website for a few demo clips.

Let us know in the comments below what other apps for the iPhone / iPod Touch, or the Mac, that are inspiring you to make music.

Count The Beats: Inspiration... two apps for the musician on the move originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Count The Beats: Inspiration... two apps for the musician on the move originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 10 March 2010 | 5:00 pm

GDC 2010: Call of Duty: World at War Zombies postmortem

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Russell Clarke of Ideaworks Game Studio hosted a post-mortem report near the end of the first day of GDC 2010 about Call of Duty: World at War Zombies for the iPhone. The game was one of the first big brand hits on the App Store -- it successfully brought a game mode from one of Activision's Call of Duty console games (originally developed by Treyarch) to Apple's handheld device. After a quick joke about how a "post-mortem" was an appropriate exercise for a game about zombies, Clarke got into the nuts and bolts of how Ideaworks went about adapting the game for the iPhone.

The most major feature of the game's development, he said, was the decision last year around this time to sit down and work on prototyping for about six weeks. Nowadays, there are a few successful first person shooters around the App Store, but last year, FPSes were still a new genre for the iPhone, so the team decided to really brainstorm how one would work on a touchscreen.

Continue reading GDC 2010: Call of Duty: World at War Zombies postmortem

GDC 2010: Call of Duty: World at War Zombies postmortem originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: Call of Duty: World at War Zombies postmortem originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 10 March 2010 | 4:00 pm

GDC 2010: Interview with Street Fighter IV producer Takeshi Tazuka

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We stopped by the Capcom Fight Club party here at GDC 2010 last night, and in addition to playing the new game, we also got to talk to producer Takeshi Tazuka. Actually, we got to talk to his translator -- Tazuka only speaks Japanese, and I only speak English, so the interview was done with a middleman in between.

But even with the language barrier, we did get some good chat in about the new game, Capcom's future plans for the iPhone, and what Tazuka thinks about making a game like this for the iPad. Read on for more.

Continue reading GDC 2010: Interview with Street Fighter IV producer Takeshi Tazuka

GDC 2010: Interview with Street Fighter IV producer Takeshi Tazuka originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: Interview with Street Fighter IV producer Takeshi Tazuka originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 10 March 2010 | 3:00 pm

GDC 2010: Ngmoco justifies the freemium model

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As popular as Ngmoco and its games are, whenever we seem to post about them, the subject of their business model seems to rise to the top again. While they have emerged as one of the iPhone's top original developers, they've also lost a lot of fans by sticking with a model they call "freemium," even to the detriment of some of their most popular games. They release games for free, and then monetize the games by using microtransactions, selling both virtual items and virtual currency for real money.

We have a lot of questions for the company, and we'll be asking even more of them coming later this week. But first things first: we cornered Ngmoco producer Allen Ma here in their suite at GDC 2010 and asked him to try and tell us why Ngmoco is so insistent on "freemium," and how they feel about some of the adverse customer reactions to their model. Read on to hear why free-to-play, pay-to-play-more is the model that they're betting their business on.

Continue reading GDC 2010: Ngmoco justifies the freemium model

GDC 2010: Ngmoco justifies the freemium model originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: Ngmoco justifies the freemium model originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 10 March 2010 | 2:00 pm

GDC 2010: Ngmoco previews We Rule and GodFinger

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We stopped by Ngmoco's suite at GDC 2010 on the afternoon of the first day of the show, and got a chance to preview two upcoming titles they're working on testing and releasing soon. Both of the games follow Ngmoco's popular (and yet much-maligned) "freemium" model, in which you download the game for free with the option to buy in-game items or currency that can change up or speed your gameplay. Still, while the model might turn some players off, the games we saw were the kinds of games Ngmoco is slowly becoming known for: polished casual experiences that bring an established genre squarely into their business model.

The first game we saw was called We Rule -- it's currently "beta testing" in the Canadian App Store and will be available to users in other App Stores soon. It was described to us as "Farmville meets Age of Empires," but what we saw was much more like Farmville rather than the more combat-based RTS title. The game opens on a screen full of "realms," each one developed and grown by one of your Ngmoco Plus+ friends, and you can zoom into your own to start building it up.

Continue reading GDC 2010: Ngmoco previews We Rule and GodFinger

GDC 2010: Ngmoco previews We Rule and GodFinger originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: Ngmoco previews We Rule and GodFinger originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 10 March 2010 | 12:00 pm

Hack: The iPod serial library enables homebrew remote controls

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Warning: If you are baffled by people who think dismantling technology is fun, and completely fail to understand the excitement of building robots to battle other robots, this post may not be for you. Just so you know.

On the Make: magazine blog, they recently posted a piece about the evolution of a project. It was an iPod remote from last year that has gone from a "start and stop" only device to a full featured remote. It is a lovely piece of tech, powered by Arduino hardware. Arduinos are open-source circuit boards and software you can use to develop interfaces with all sorts of electronics.

I remember reading the first post about this remote last fall and being interested in where he would take this project, mostly because I love seeing what people do with Altoids tins. I have to admit hooking one up to a giant "Easy" button for my car never really occurred to me, though.

I really like the idea of building my own remote; partly so I can say I did it, but also because it would be a nicer way to get my iPod or iPhone (depending) working nicely with my car stereo.

Honestly I only understand about half of what he's talking about in this article, but I'm good at following instructions and I am reasonably handy with a soldering iron, so this doesn't look completely unreasonable. If I do end up building one I'll be sure to post all about it for you. In the meantime, have you built an unholy alliance between your Roomba and your iMac, or any other variety of Mac Tech Mashup? Tell me about it, I'd love to see what you all can do!

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/finsprings/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Hack: The iPod serial library enables homebrew remote controls originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Hack: The iPod serial library enables homebrew remote controls originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 10 March 2010 | 10:00 am

Don't trust the critics: Four Apple products they thought would fail

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Ever since the iPad's introduction a month and a half ago, the internet has been awash in criticism of the as-yet-unreleased device. "It's just a big iPod touch," many have said. "No Flash, no multitasking, no sale," others bemoaned. And a few have gone so far as to say, "It doesn't do a lot of things that a netbook that costs half as much will do." For these reasons and many more, many of the pundits and forum dwellers have but one prediction: the iPad is going to crash and burn.

Don't you believe it, because the critics have been wrong before. Several times, actually, according to The Week, which provides a list of five Apple products the critics thought would fail. Out of those five, only one, the Newton, failed to find mainstream success. The other four were industry-defining products which went on to sell millions of units each.

What did the critics have to say about these four "failed" Apple products when they first debuted, and which products were they? Click "Read More" to find out.

Continue reading Don't trust the critics: Four Apple products they thought would fail

Don't trust the critics: Four Apple products they thought would fail originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Don't trust the critics: Four Apple products they thought would fail originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 10 March 2010 | 9:00 am

GDC 2010: Street Fighter IV for the iPhone out now

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Tonight at GDC 2010, I went out and stopped by the Capcom Fight Club party here in San Francisco, and while there, Capcom projected the actual App Store interface for sending their Street Fighter IV app to the App Store on various screens around the room. We actually got to see them press the button on the release live and in person, and sure enough, the game is in the App Store right now for $9.99.

Before you go press buy, though, I'll also tell you that I got a chance to play the game, and while it is about as faithful a Street Fighter IV game as you can get on the iPhone, playing a fighting game without actual buttons is not really an ideal experience. While I was able to pull off a Hadoken and almost all of the other old moves after a few tries, the highest levels of competition in a fighting game require precision and subtlety, and this control scheme has neither of those. If you just want to play Street Fighter on an iPhone, sure -- be an early adopter, pick up the game, and enjoy a few rounds of Guile vs. Ryu. But if you're looking for the kind of in-depth fighting experience that Street Fighter IV on consoles and in the arcades offered, you probably won't find it here -- the controls are a little too inconsistent to really dig into the deep counter and powerup systems on display.

Continue reading GDC 2010: Street Fighter IV for the iPhone out now

GDC 2010: Street Fighter IV for the iPhone out now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)GDC 2010: Street Fighter IV for the iPhone out now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 10 March 2010 | 1:30 am

Black Swan brings Google Voice back to the iPhone without the App Store

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Google Voice on the iPhone has been something of a sore subject for me. If you need a full-recap of the whole sordid iPhone/Google Voice story see this story from December or more of our coverage. I even started a little site devoted to waiting for Google Voice on the iPhone called IsGoogleVoiceAvailableForTheiPhone.com.

It has been 6 months and 19 days since Apple claimed it had not "rejected" Google Voice but was "studying" it. During the course of Apple's "study" the company moved to purge all existing Google Voice apps from the App Store.

There were three reactions to this from developers:

Google revamped the Mobile Google Voice page so that it looks a lot nicer on the iPhone.

GV Mobile released its app for free on Cydia for those who have jailbroken iPhones.

The folks behind Voice Central went a different route. They decided to make a web app instead. I've been using it in beta for the past few months, but as of today it has been released to the public as Black Swan.

The difference between the Mobile Google Voice site from Google and Black Swan is that Black Swan is stored locally on your iPhone, like Pie Guy from Neven Mrgan of Panic.com. Riverturn calls this a "weblication," which is a fairly awful name, but apparently they aren't the first ones to use it.

Continue reading Black Swan brings Google Voice back to the iPhone without the App Store

Black Swan brings Google Voice back to the iPhone without the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Black Swan brings Google Voice back to the iPhone without the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 9 March 2010 | 5:00 pm

Slate comes to the iPhone, along with a lot of advertising

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I've always liked Slate Magazine on the web. It's sometimes sassy and irreverent, but always interesting -- an eclectic mix of politics, culture and tech news.

Now, Slate has come to the iPhone in a US$1.99 app that features all the articles from the site, as well as the blog posts, staff tweets and streaming video from the Slate podcasts. Once content is downloaded you can read it off-line, which is a worthwhile feature. Access to Slate on the web is free, and you can read Slate from any mobile browser by going to mobile.slate.com.

So why the charge for the iPhone app? Slate says it cost something to develop it, and it gives you a much richer experience in a portable form. I can't argue with that, but I can argue with the ads that appear absolutely everywhere. Even the splash screen popped up with an ad. I think that's a bit much after I've paid for the app, but I'm beginning to see a lot of this in other apps as well.

I do like the app a lot, and it is a better experience for me than reading Slate stories in Safari on the iPhone. I even prefer the app to reading the site on my desktop or laptop. I just think the constant intrusive ads are a turn-off that will keep some people from pulling the trigger on what is an otherwise laudable effort.

Slate works on any iPhone or iPod touch with OS 3.0 or greater. I expect we'll see an iPad version as well.

Full disclosure: In the dim, distant past I worked at the Washington Post Company, which owns Slate.

Take a gander at some screen shots below:

Slate comes to the iPhone, along with a lot of advertising originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Slate comes to the iPhone, along with a lot of advertising originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 9 March 2010 | 3:30 pm