It seems that OSes are always on a roller coaster. First, we get something really good, but then the developers mess with it or load up too much agenda. It sucks. There’s customer push back, and the developers relent. Then the OS gets good again. One TMO reader commented that he thought Lion was Apple’s…
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3 Free iOS Arcade Quarter-Wasters
Old School games, on the other hand, tend to rely less on graphics and more on puzzle solving and quick reflexes. Here we might include Dig-Dug, Burger Time, Space Ace and a gazillion others. You get the idea. There are those who have an affinity for Old School games that’s not fueled by nostalgia. Great…
Carrier IQ Collects Everything on Android Phones [Update]
A piece of software called Carrier IQ has apparently been installed on more than 141 million phones from Samsung, HTC. While the same is true of a lot of software, CarrierIQ is loaded without the permission of users, always runs, doesn’t show up in the list of running apps on those devices, and—this is the…
iPhone 4S: OtterBox Defender Case is Ultimate Protection
If you’re looking for an iPhone 4/4S case that can handle fairly extreme conditions, the OtterBox Defender may just fit the bill. It encapsulates the iPhone with a dual layer system and even includes a built-in, clear plastic display protector. Many of the less often used ports have flaps or silicone buttons to protect them.…
The Last Particle Debris
What will be different is that it’ll be a named column. And what that will do is give me the freedom to create better, longer titles. After all, what other column has the name and date embedded in the title itself? So you’ll have to watch for the column by it’s badge in the red…
iPhone 4S: Incase Metallic Snap Case: Minimal & Stylish
The Incase Metallic Snap Case is just like the Snap Case that Apple offered to iPhone 4 customers in 2010 to help with user grip and antenna problems. That one was clear. This case, however, is opaque and metallic, and it’s so minimal that it can probably still be used with your current belt holster.…
Faces iMake: Playful iPad Collages for Kids
Faces iMake – Right Brain Creativity (US$1.99) from iMagine machine is a terrific app for the iPad that taps the creativity of both young and old artists by using everyday objects to make whimsical collages. The whole vibe of the app is upbeat and happy, making great use of sound and color. A canvas is…
3 Free iOS Apps for Just Messin’ Around
It occurred to me a while ago that that was a lot of watching and very little doing. It was also a lot of money spent to keep me watching and not doing. This is odd since I see myself as a fairly active person. So, I quit collecting movies and seldom watch TV anymore.…
Online Spending Up Even in a Down Economy
Chart by The Mac Observer from comScore dataWhile the fourth quarter is the biggest quarter of the year, this year has shown strong, steady growth from 2010. Gian Fulgoni, the chairman of comScore, which released the data Wednesday, said “As we approach the critical holiday shopping season, we are optimistic about the continued health of…
iOS Security Exploit Gives Apps Hidden Access to User Data
Charlie Miller’s iOS Exploit Makes Every App a Potential Threat. Although he plans to further discuss this vulnerability in Apple’s platform at the SysCan conference in Taiwan next week, Mr. Miller has already exploited the flaw by planting an app that takes advantage of the vulnerability in Apple’s App Store. The App, now removed, was…
Apple Creative Services Video for Steve Jobs’s 30th Birthday
The video was posted to Facebook the day Mr. Jobs passes away by Craig Elliott, an Apple employee who worked at the company from 1985 to 1996. Chris Espinoza, a member of the original Mac team, tweeted a link to it the same day, but as we mentioned it didn’t get much attention. It was…
Push Your Hot Buttons with Lion Tweaks
Apple, in its OS design, is constantly balancing ease of use and simplicity against disclosure and control. For example, in OS X Lion, Apple has hidden the user’s Library folder. Lion Tweaks allows the user to quickly bring it back to visibility along with a many other useful changes to Lion’s default preferences. Lion Tweaks,…
Steve Jobs is Gone. Will Our Dreams be Next?
How it Started There was a time, right after World War II, when technology was cobbled together with vacuum tubes, copper wire, solenoids, electric motors and a soldering iron. For a long time, the best we could do was to build rather large, brute force devices: vacuum tube computers, aircraft carriers, radars, rockets. Even so,…
Siri: Please Dispose of my Mouse and Keyboard
I think it was 2004 when I was on the Apple campus for a meeting. Dr. Kim Silverman and I had bumped into each other in the lobby of 1 Infinite Loop, and he wanted to show me the latest in voice recognition technology at Apple. I had some time, so I accompanied him to…
Life After Steve Jobs: Apple University for Execs
When Steve Jobs was alive, people in Mr. Jobs’s confidence didn’t speak out. That was basic decency, courtesy, friendship and respect. However, now that he’s no longer with us, the floodgates will start to open. Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs is due to be published on October 24. Pre-publication excerpts from that book hav…
TMO iOS 5 Upgrade Guide
Deciding whether or not to upgrade right away is a no-brainer for some, but for others it may not be a clear cut choice. Either way, planning ahead will help cut down on surprises and headaches when you make the jump to iOS 5.iOS 5 is loaded with new features Should You Upgrade? Even if…
The End of Movie Extras?
The first thing that greeted me upon loading Hanna in my DVD Player was the following message: “This disc is intended for rental purposes and only includes the feature film.” Rental-specific DVDs are not especially new. In particular, I had noticed for several months that many of the DVDs I received from Netflix seemed to…
Tech Press Gets It Wrong on iPhone 4S
We’ve seen this Apple did this once before. It released a somewhat modest upgrade from the first iPhone model called the iPhone 3G. But you see, Apple called the new phone an iPhone 3G instead of an iPhone 1S. And its shape was a bit different, so that must mean it’s new! Later, Apple upgraded…
Watt to Know About iPhone & iPad Power Adapters [UPDATED]
1. Apple started out with the classic iPods, that used FireWire 400, using a power adapter called the “Apple iPod Power Adapter.” It’s model number A1003, and the output is 12 watts (12 volts x 1 amp). It’s about 6 cm. on a side, and should be used with older iPods that use FireWire 400.…
3 Free Graphic Novels for iPhone & iPad
At the end of the day, however, it’s the story and artwork the fans of both mediums shell out the bucks for. Now that tablet devices are widespread the two mediums seem inconsequential. Both comics and graphic novels can look the same on these new devices. They offer new ways to present the images and…
On Fat Phones, Lame Phones & a Little LeVar Burton
Apple and Web apps: Old New School If things go the way Apple originally intended them to go, Apple could get hurt. That’s one possible read of a bit of analysis from Sanford Bernstein research analyst Toni Sacconaghi. Computerworld has the Sack-Man saying that the widespread adoption of HTML5 for Web apps could cut Apple’s…
RIM Smartphones & Tablets Miss Estimates, Stock Drops 18%
In the after hours-session, the stock was trading at US$24.08, down $5.46 (-18.48%). In the chart below, you can see that the stock traded in a narrow band throughout the day, and then dove off a cliff in the after hours session. After hours trading historically represents a more exaggerated reaction to both good news…
Fear & Envy Drive iPad Competitors
If there were any questions about the importance of the Apple iPad in the future of, dare I use the term, personal computing, they’ve long since been put to rest. Apple figured out what the PC industry refused to admit because they were mired in Windows. Namely, no mere mortal needs 40 millions lines of…
iPad Competitors: Begging for a Black Eye
Don’t Cross the Streams Apple, earlier this week, released an iTunes beta to developers that included “Scan and Match,” the service that scans a users music library, matches it to music it’s already got stored in the cloud, then makes it available for multiple computers and iOS devices for US$25 a year. All of that…