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Apple Now Accepting iPad Apps, Planning “Grand Opening” of iPad App Store

Apple is now accepting iPad apps for a “grand opening” of the iPad App Store, according to an email just sent to registered developers.
“iPad will begin shipping soon and your opportunity to be part of the grand opening of the iPad App Store starts today,” the email says.
There’s no details about when the store’s grand [...]

Security Expert: “Mac OS X Is Safer, But Less Secure”

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Tech site H-Online has an interesting story today, quoting security expert Charlie Miller about his forthcoming talk at the CanSecWest conference next week.
He says OS X is full of security holes. There are lots more than in Windows, he claims.
And yet: OS X is a safer system to use. Why? Because, in the words [...]

Apple Devotes Entire Home Page To Jerome York Obituary

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If ever you needed a sign that Apple was a different kind of technology company, this is it.
What other computer manufacturer would remove its top-selling, hype-inducing, industry-altering new product from the prime spot on its website home page, and replace it with an obituary to an investor?
This is one of those “Here’s to the [...]

Coming Soon: Steve Jobs, the Sitcom

Fake Steve creator Dan Lyons just signed a deal to bring Steve Jobs to another small screen near you.
The half-hour series called “iCon” is billed by the presser as “a savage satire centering on a fictional Silicon Valley CEO whose ego is a study in power and greed.”
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Famous Cheat Code Surfaces in iPhone Puzzle Game

The Contra Code is the most famous video game cheat code ever – Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left Right, B, A. eBattalion, developers of the puzzle game FLIP, have built it in to their iPhone and iPod touch app, allowing savvy players to unlock all the levels in FLIP’s “Puzzle” and “Speed” modes.

Full disclosure: I got off the video game train shortly after it pulled out of the Pong station. I think I was trying to get someone with ID to buy me a beer in the PacMan station, and I turned around and all of a sudden, the train was gone and I just never got back on. I know. That makes me both old and non-conversant with something like 80% of the people on the planet.

But I came across this at Macenstein and I think it seems like something that could maybe be built into more than just one of the AppStore’s thousands of games.

So tell us, Cult of Mac gamers, is FLIP the only iPhone/iPod Touch game that can be unlocked using the legendary Contra Code?

Surely there are other hidden gems and “easter eggs” out there, for Apple-oriented developers are nothing if not whimsical and versed in the historical arcana of game and software lore.

Let us know what you’ve found in comments and we’ll feature the best bits in another post.

This post has been edited to correct the author’s error transcribing details of the Contra Code in the original. Thanks to commenters who pointed it out.

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About the author

Lonnie Lazar

Lonnie Lazar is a writer, musician, web designer attorney. He writes about Apple for Cult of Mac and Mac|Life, and about VoIP and telecommunications for Voxilla. Follow Lonnie on Twitter @LonnieLazar, join the Cult of Mac on Facebook, and find Lonnie's photos on Flickr.

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5 comments

    it will also work on the Bolt game on the iphone (Bolt (iPhone) – Pressing “up switch”, “up switch”, “down switch”, “down switch”, “left switch”, “right switch”, “left switch”, “right switch”, “BOLT” unlocks a hidden “Party Mode” which causes the bolts to randomly change colors and flash).

    Technically it’s Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A…

    Bolt for the iPhone does have something similar but it’s not really the Contra Code since there is no “B, A” at the end. As far as I know FLIP is the first game that had the Contra Code drawn on a touch screen.

    Lonnie there is an error in your blog, there are actually two “Left, Right” before the “B, A”, as shown in the video and as is in the original Contra Code.

    @Michael, @Dorgo – see? I told you I didn’t know squat about gaming. Thanks for pointing out my error.

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