Infinite Flight for the iPad is a flight simulator/game for iOS that offers several different kinds of aircraft and airport locations. While seemingly impressive, it has some serious problems compared to its competition. _______________ 30,000 ft. View Flight simulators on the iPad create a difficult proposition for the developer. While a full-blown simulator on the…
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Sprint Commits to Free 3G FaceTime, AT&T & Verizon Stall
“We are committed to our unlimited data and that means not charging for data consumption based on the application,” a Sprint spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.A dialog suggesting users will need to pay to use FaceTime over 3G connections in the beta version of iOS 6 has led to speculation that AT&T plans to…
Nielsen Shows Android & iOS Running Away in Q2
The company’s data was focused on total smartphone usage, as opposed to new sales. In that light, the company showed that in in June, Android had 51.8 percent of the market, while Apple’s iOS had 34.3 percent of the market. That left RIM with 8.1 percent, while everything else was fighting over table scraps. The…
TV Stations: Get a Clue About Adobe Flash
_____________ The recent fires in Colorado Springs and near Ft. Collins, Colorado have made it very clear that some TV stations that have websites have dropped the ball when it comes to serving the public interest. That’s because residents, in any geographical area, for any kind of weather emergency, are likely to be on the…
Apple Calls EPEAT Pullout Mistake in Open Letter
Apple VP Bob Mansfield Apple pulled its Mac product line from EPEAT last weekend. EPEAT measures recyclability in computers, and all of Apple’s Mac line had top EPEAT ratings, with the exception of the company’s new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Speculation is that because the battery in that model is glued in, it wouldn’t…
San Francisco Blocks Mac Purchases After Apple EPEAT Pull Out
EPEAT is an environmental organization that certifies products based on their recyclability, among other criteria. Apple was one of the founding companies that established those criteria in 2006, and EPEAT certification is now required for purchases by some institutions, including cities like San Francisco. The news that Apple had pulled its Mac products from EPEAT…
iTunes: Hiding Purchased Items
I’m using iTunes as an example here, but if you’re on an iOS device, you can also download previously purchased books (from iBooks) or apps (from the App Store).Once you’ve looked through your list, though, you may notice that an item keeps appearing when you wish it wouldn’t. Maybe, for example, you don’t want anyone…
NIAC Accuses Apple Stores of Racial Profiling
WSB-TV News Report Apple has not released a statement on the issue, and it has so far not commented to NPR, the above-mentioned Atlanta TV station, and other mainstream media outlets looking for comment. According to Sahar Sabet, the Atlanta resident who was refused sale of an iPad, the Apple Store employee cited Apple’s Export…
ThankYouPro App Creates & Mails Elegant Cards
ThankYouPro from Zendoa LLC is a new app, available from the iTunes app store. The app is free but there is a charge of US$2.99 for each card they mail for you. ThankYouPro iconIt is found in the Lifestyle category and was updated June 4, 2012. It is available in English only and requires iOS…
WWDC: FadingRed Finds Opportunity in Bad Backup Habits
Dave Hamilton: So…I think the best place to start is with what we were chatting about a little while ago, an app called Senuti. Brittany Tarvin: Sure. I met my co-founder, Whitney Young, who’s the original creator of Senuti when we were in college together. So, he was kinda doing that on the side. And…
Waze Gets in on Apple Maps Fun
Apple’s iOS 6 Maps app will get some help from WazeTechCrunch noted that Waze was listed in the legal notices in iOS 6’s code, as were several other mapping-related companies. Along with TomTom and Waze, Getchee, Localeze, Urban Mapping, DMTI, and MapData Sciences were also listed.Apple showed off its Google-free map system on Monday during…
TomTom: We Have a Map Deal with Apple
“TomTom has signed a global agreement with Apple for maps and related information. No further details of the agreement will be provided,” TomTom representatives said in a statement.iOS 6’s Maps app includes TomTom technologyThe company’s navigation-related technology is being used in the version of the Maps app that will be included in iOS 6 when…
Specs Claim to Show 2012 13” MacBook Pro Sans Retina Display
The image, which appears to be from the product box of the unreleased MacBook Pro, was supposedly provided to the poster by a “friend inside Apple.” The layout matches the design and style of Apple’s on-box technical specifications, but could also easily have been fabricated. Another difference between the claimed 2012 iteration of the 13-inch…
MobileMe Shutdown Coming at End of June
Apple to MobileMe users: It’s time to move to iCloudThe launch of iCloud on October 12, 2011, started the countdown to the end for MobileMe. iCloud replaces the service, although it doesn’t offer all of the features that were included with MobileMe.iCloud kept MobileMe’s me.com and mac.com email accounts, along with calendar and contact syncing,…
ITC Judge May Turn to Cheech & Chong in Apple/Samsung Case
Artist’s Rendition of Judges Cheech and Chong That’s a reference to sketch the comedians performed where they asked those questions. The judge was too polite to quote Messrs. Marin and Chong more extensively, but the punch line to to the gag is [PROFANITY TO FOLLOW]: Looks like dog shit, smells like dog shit, feels like…
Apple Stock Dips to 80-Day Low of $530
AAPL has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride during the last three months, as the stock rose to an all-time closing high of $636.23 on April 9th, only to give away most of those gains in the last few weeks. The chart below tracks Apple’s three month stock performance. Three Month Chart…
AirStation Router & Bridge Offers Fast 802.11ac Speeds
AirStation WZR-D1800H wireless router & WLI-H4-D1300 wireless media bridge 802.11ac offers theoretical maximum speeds of 1,300 megabits per second, or a little less than 1.3 gigabits per second. When demonstrated for The Mac Observer at CES, we saw functional speeds of 800 megabits per second, but the reality is that real-world applications are likely…
An Inconvenient Truth About E-books
I’ve been thinking about this in bits and pieces, but haven’t put it all together. Here’s my central thesis: Paper books, in some form, have been with us for thousands of years, albeit hand copied. With the advent of the Gutenberg press in the 15th century, we transitioned to type based printing presses. It’s only…
Apple Accuses Samsung of Destroying & Withholding Evidence
According to Apple, Samsung intentionally destroyed documents that the South Korea-based electronics giant was obligated to preserve because of the litigation between the companies. This is a very serious charge for Apple to levy, but according to the heavily redacted motion viewed by NetworkWorld, Apple said that Samsung has a history of such practices. TMO…
iTunes: Rename iDevices in iTunes Without Restoring
We had the iPad configured just the way we like it, except for the name, so restoring it was something we wanted to avoid if possible. And then, in one of those “it’s so simple, why didn’t we know this?” moments, we figured it out. To rename an iDevice without restoring it, simply connect it…
Claimed Apple Television Prototype Lacks Disruptive Character
Cult of Mac’s Apple Television Mockup (with a little commentary added by TMO) Why? Because, while we think the product described by Cult of Mac’s source will share much in common with an eventual Apple television, it’s what the mockup lacks that’s going to be the “killer feature” of Apple’s “next big thing.” Apple, under Steve Jobs’s…
TMO Workspaces: John Martellaro
This week, we’re taking a look at The Mac Observer’s Senior Editor, John Martellaro.John’s office is the central hub of his digital life, from which he brings us great weekly columns and reviews, keeps up with Twitter, and roams the internet looking for the next big thing. On the left is John’s 3rd Generation Verizon…
Steve Jobs Patent Exhibit to Open at Smithsonian
According to the Smithsonian’s Newsdesk on May 1, “The exhibit, a display of 30 4-by-8-foot panels made to resemble iPhones, showcases more than 300 patents and trademarks granted to Jobs throughout this career. Each panel displays facsimiles of the front pages of 12 patents granted to Jobs, totaling 312 of the 317 he acquired in…
Apple Drops Android Support in Chomp App Discovery
Apple Chomps Android Support… The decision to drop Android was expected—Apple has a long track record of limiting software and services that it buys to its own platforms. From Final Cut Pro to Quattro Wireless (which became iAd) to Siri, Apple either dropped support for other platforms or has limited development and implementation to OS…