Nicole Martinelli - page 36

The iTunes store is pulling off and putting on sexy apps faster than you can stuff a dollar bill in a g-string.
Case in point: the Hooter’s girls are back in bikinis to “clean” your iPhone screen. Hooters Calendar Screen Wash was quietly reinstated Feb. 24 and is now back on sale. The $0.99 app is for a +17 audience, though it doesn’t seem to be any more prurient or wholesome than some of the babes-in-bikini apps that were yanked over sexual content. Another five Hooters-related apps, from several different app makers, also appear to have been reinstated.

No one seems more surprised than the creators, On the Go Girls, who remarked on the company blog:
“Wow! Surprising! We are shocked!  Our Hooters Calendar Sexy Screen Wash was restored to the App Store last night 2am PST.”

No-name bikini apps still seem to be AWOL from the iTunes store, which makes me wonder whether it’s more a question of brand-name franchises like Playboy and Sports Illustrated flaunting their stuff than one of women complaining about them.

At least with this iPhone you don’t have to worry about managing or forgetting its cookies.  A Japanese bakery called Green Gables whips up these handmade smart cookies — the “camera” on the back is an especially nice touch — but fortunately they spared us the glossy black frosting and made them out of what looks like gingerbread instead.

If you’re looking for a more slavish copy to sink your teeth into, there are other options.

Fashion designer Kosuke Tsumura wove old iPods, mice and keyboards into a series of artworks on show at Nanzuka Underground in Tokyo until March 20, Japan Trends reports.

We’ve seen a few artistic reincarnations of defunct iPods but love the way he’s turned that tangle of useless cables we all have in a drawer into something more: the work is intricate enough that it takes awhile to spot the NSFW element in at least one of them.

Nice that it looks like Apple will give some lucky punter $10,000 in iTunes gift card on Steve Jobs’ birthday.

The counter looks close to reaching the magic number today — remember you can also enter the contest without buying anything here.

Just check to make sure your country is eligible — outside the U.S. about 20 are including Canada (parts), Mexico, Japan Australia and a handful of European countries.

Downloaders seem to be buying at alarming rates, if the ticker is accurate, and all of the top downloaded songs are a lot more recent that seven-year-old iTunes. The top five right now : “I Gotta Feeling” (Black Eyed Peas) followed by “Pokerface” (Lady Gaga) “Boom Boom Pow” (Black Eyed Peas) and “I’m Yours” (Jason Mraz) and “Viva la Vida” (Coldplay).

Via Yahoo

Let’s face it: crushing disobedient flesh into a Dolce & Gabbana corset dress is easier than getting into one of their runway shows.

So the dynamic fashion duo has decided use the iPhone to broadcast 2011 women’s winter looks at two shows during fashion week in Milan. You can follow them with your iPhone here or, if you don’t have an iPhone try your buffering luck with Facebook, too.

iPhone fashionista followers won’t get that neck nasty cramp caused by gazing upward from first-row seats like D&G darlings J-Lo or Victoria Beckham, but you may have to get up early or sneak a peek at work.

In the competitive rush to win over students and parents by providing the latest technology, one university is letting freshmen decide between an iPad and MacBook Pro.

First-year students at George Fox University in Oregon have been handed personal computers along with their orientation packets for the last 20 years. The devices are included with tuition.

School officials admit they don’t know how much help an iPad will be for trig or anthropology homework.

“The trend in higher education computing is this concept of mobility, and this fits right in,” Greg Smith,  the university’s chief information officer, said in a press release.

“At the same time, we realize there are a number of uncertainties. Will students struggle with a virtual keyboard? Can the iPad do everything students need it to do when it comes to their college education? These are the kinds of questions we really won’t know the answer to until we get started.”

So the school will offer both in fall 2010. Some majors, like film or engineering, may need the extra power from a MacBook pro. But the school also reckons that if the student already has a laptop, an iPad might just be the ticket.

“How the numbers work out will be interesting, but no matter what I think we will see many iPads, iPhones and iTouches throughout the undergraduate population,” Smith said.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the iRush to get students involved with the iPad before it even comes out — tech-happy Abilene Christian University, where the students already go to iPhone dev classes and have been given iPod Touches since 2008, is already working on an edition of the school paper for Apple’s latest device.

This one puts the “cult” back in “cult of mac:”  someone is auctioning off a broken piece of glass from Apple’s Fifth Avenue store on eBay.  It’s a step from the retail locale’s elegant glass staircase, to be precise.

“They replaced it with a new one after a customer dropped a Snapple bottle on it and cracked it. I picked it up before it could be thrown out over a year ago, figuring it’s a collectible.

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Apple’s policy on what constitutes content too risqué for the iTunes store vacillates more than one of those iBoob apps.

Case in point:  developer Jon Atherton says he received a letter that Apple pulled his wildly popular Wobble iBoobs app because Apple “decided to remove any overtly sexual content from the App Store” following customer complaints.

Now we’re really confused. Many of the apps that wiggled, jiggled or writhed past Apple censors in our last iSmut app story have been pulled (Bikini Ispector, Peek-a-Babe, Crazy Eights with Hooters Girls). But if they’ve put a firm hand on iJiggles, there’s plenty of exposed flesh still available on iTunes.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LQNNv7MFLE

Lots of folks have proposed at Apple stores or even had Apple-inspired wedding cakes, but do you love Apple enough to say iDo there?

This might be the first couple to get hitched at an Apple retail without permission, flash-mob style, by a celebrant dressed like Steve Jobs who pronounced the solemn vows from an iPhone. The news was first tweeted by an Apple employee of New York’s Fifth Avenue store.

Tough times for Julie McCoy: who will take disco lessons when there’s an Apple reseller on board the ship?

The iLounge, aka a cruise director’s worst nightmare, will be making waves on a new Celebrity Cruises fleet launching in April. The upscale cruise ship company already offers onboard computer training as well as wine tasting courses and art auctions.

This new seafaring iLounge will be kitted out with 26 workstations for passenger use.  It’s also an Authorized Apple Reseller where you can check out the latest MacBooks, iPods and accessories. (No word on whether it will also have iPad, yet). It also has a classroom plus an “enrichment center” where trained staff offers tips.

Easy to imagine promising your beloved a true holiday with a computer fast, then being caught sneaking off the sun deck to get a monitor tan in the iLounge.

Some devices are more versatile than others.

Though the 2002 iLamps were declared “obsolete” by Apple in 2009, the repurposed stainless steel base plate of this iMac G4 makes a nice wall clock.

It’s the handiwork of a Japanese Apple fan, who published a step-by-step DIY project.

It’ll go nicely with your G4 iLamp Lamp, too, and probably won’t take more than half an hour to make.

Not to be trusted with a drill? There’s a ready-made version on Etsy for $30.

Via Blog! NoBon

Now you can carry around quotes like “The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall,” from Che Guevara on your iPhone. (Irony not included.)

Guevara, launched Feb. 12 for $0.99 or €.79, is the latest app in the iTunes store to capitalize on lightning rod figures. Not to be confused with iChe, another Italian-developed app released four days later, Guevara features notable quotes from the Argentine revolutionary and guerilla war tactician in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

All of these apps were approved first for the Italian iTunes store but are for sale in others, including the US store, too.

The first of its kind was iMussolini, an app featuring famous quotes and speeches of the Fascist ruler. Despite a storm of complaints, iMussolini was only yanked for a week over copyright issues.  Once ranked no. 2 in the Italian app store, developer Luigi Marino tells us his creation has been dowloaded 8,000 times so far. It is once again for sale, along with another similar app of Mussolini’s speeches.

It seems there is a kind of double standard for quote apps of controversial figures: the US iTunes store features six apps of Dalai Lama teachings and quotes, but these were all removed from China’s iTunes store leading to cries of censorship.

The Guevara app, given a +12 rating for “mild or infrequent horror/ fear /violence themes”  was developed by two 30-something Italian IT consultants who have created another five apps on the iTunes store.

As far as we know, there have been no formal complaints to Apple about the El Che quote app. (Apple has not responded to our requests for comment).

Cult of Mac talked in exclusive with one of the developers of Guevara, Marcantonio Magnarapa, about an iPad version, the approval process and iMussolini.

Cult of Mac: How did you come up with the idea?

Marcantonio Magnarapa: We came up with the idea of a Che Guevara iPhone app while talking about the man behind the revolutionary –  inspired by the Steven Soderbergh movie, actually.

However you might feel about his actions, there is no doubt that his words strike a chord in every one, independent of the era or place. His thoughts are as relevant today as they were back in his day.

A report by a UK insurance company says phony claims for iPhones soar every time a new model launches.

Since the November 2007 launch of the first gen iPhone in the UK to the iPhone 3gs, claims on iPhones increase by 50% during the month after a new model is launched, Supercover Insurance director Carmi Korine said in a statement. Her company estimates that four out of 10 of those increased claims are abruptly-mangled iPhones that owners hope to have replaced with the latest model.

“While most customers take out insurance because they value their iPhone, we started to notice increases in claims as new and upgraded iPhones were launched.

“For short periods around new model or upgrade launches, claims for lost, stolen or damaged iPhones go through the roof.

“The issue appears to be that most iPhone owners can only go for so long realising that they’re a generation behind the latest must-have spec before they resort to extreme measures.”

It might be worth faking the break: Korine notes that although 40% of the claims received after a new iPhone model launch were suspicious the company  rejected about 25%.

Just don’t be too obvious: the insurer requires that you send in the phone. One over-zealous early adopter claimed the phone had been “dropped” when he or she had evidently driven a car over it.

Via Press Association

“Toy Story 3” director Lee Unkrich gave something for his seat mate to gawk at as he sat at 36,000 feet editing the latest animated tale of plaything adventures.

With not a second to waste — the release date is June 18, 2010 —  Unkrich worked on a MacBook Pro, with what looks like shortcut color codes for Avid Media Composer.  (Crane as I might, all I ever see are Excel spreadsheets. Need to get upgraded from Economy more often, perhaps.)

Apple products often feature in Pixar movies (perhaps in a nod to history?), the trailer for Toy Story 3 already has a nice bit of iProduct placement.

Highlighting another awkward portability problem the iPad may have — like that condom case — these prototype pants give one that dangerous did-you-just-mess-yourself look?  But worn this way, the iPad would provide excellent lumbar support.

Via Alltop

Tech writer Leo Laporte didn’t quite buy the story that South Korean iPhone owners adopt snack-sausage stylus sticks to use their devices with gloves on in winter.

In the time-honored tradition of investigative journalism, he decided to check it out for himself. He didn’t happen to have a meat stick handy, so he tried an appropriately stylus-shaped cheese stick instead. (For the record, it was “chilly” and string cheese).

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_LLj4_3ZRA

If you’re inclined to chop that much, you could charge your iPhone with 2,380 orange slices.

Anita Bryant probably wouldn’t approve.

Via lindenitzan

This waterproof case for the iPad will probably provide more consumer protection against unnecessary purchases than traditional spending prophylactics.

When the iPad was unveiled, many of us at Cult of Mac who are bag/case junkies wondered just how you’d best carry the device around.

With enough time, cool cases are sure to come. But the iPad is a somewhat oddball size to protect and serve — swaddled in cloth cases it’ll probably look, well, even more pad-like and hard to use on the go, with rubber or plastic border protection like a cell phone it’ll be an awkward size.

This clear envelope style with blue or purple border costs $19.99 from the ironically-monikered TrendyDigital Design. It can also be worn around your neck or shoulder with adjustable strap and was originally designed for the Kindle or Sony e-readers.

Insert joke here.

British thieves have realized it’s more profitable to snatch the iPhone from your hand than risk breaking into your home for a no-name DVD player.

Ten years ago, there were an estimated 1.28 million domestic burglaries in England and Wales, according to the British Crime Survey (BCS).   By, 2008/09 that number had fallen to 744,000 burglaries.

The drop, one researcher says,  is due to expensive portable gadgets and cheap home electronics.

“While DVD players for example, got cheaper, certain consumer items became smaller and were very, very expensive and sought after,” said James Treadwell, a lecturer at the University of Leicester’s Department of Criminology.  So the latest mobile phone, or the latest iPod, which people carry about them, have become targets for robbers.”

UPDATE: See interview with iMussolini dev below.

Controversial iMussolini app was yanked from the Italian iTunes store a week ago, not for ongoing protests but for possible copyright violations of material from Italian state archives Istituto Luce.

The grim jawline of Il Duce has been reinstated in the iTunes store — now iMussolini, a mobile compendium of fascism, features  speeches,  a video selection (with a disclaimer), plus a section on fascist architecture and songs from his 20-year heyday.

It costs more than the previous version €1.59 (was €0.79. ) It’s also available in the US iTunes store for $1.99, in Italian only.

Cult of Mac asked developer Luigi Marino on how the app made a comeback.
Cult of Mac: So the copyright-contested video segments are still in the iMussolini app?
Luigi Marino: Yes. The videos are still there, my lawyer evaluated them in terms of copyright violation and advised me to keep them but add a disclaimer.

CoM: What does the disclaimer say?

LM: It says that the video footage is property of Istituto Luce. It also says that in no way does the app intend to praise fascism but is just a vehicle for recounting historical events.

CoM: What made you decide to put the app back in the store?

LM: I also made a few other new additions to the content in the meantime, too.

CoM: What do you think about the Holocaust suvivors’ protests of the app?

LM: I’m sorry to hear about the protests, I don’t think they understand what the app is really about. I hope they may take a closer look at the content and change their minds.

Vampire scribe extraordinaire Anne Rice just agreed to make a video-enhanced book or Vook for the iTunes store.

Her effort may provide a necessary lifeblood to the genre, even though she’s not risking much by giving video treatment to a 1984 story first published in Redbook magazine. Set in 1888,  “The Master of Rampling Gate”  is a vampire tale of two siblings and a foreboding mansion that has already been published as an audio book.

Rice’s Vook, priced at $6.99, will launch with iPod Touch and iPhone versions on March 1, a strategic move before the iPad hits the scene.

Apple topped a survey of brands that Europeans are “passionate” about.

Some 10,000 Old Continent dwellers of 15 nations were asked to reveal their passions for online research agency Panelteam.

Consumer electronics all got Euro-folks hearts racing: the top five brands are Apple, Sony, Coca-Cola, Samsung and Adidas. (And this despite the relative high cost of Apple products — compared to US prices — and without the benefit of ad campaigns like “Get a Mac” in most countries.)

German-based sportswear maker Adidas was the only European company in the top five, though regional passion preferences turned up local companies for each country.

Australian retailer Woolworths is buying time in the latest Apple logo dispute.

At the core of the corporate tussle is a “W” logo of a peeled apple with leaf filed back in August 2008 for the 80-year-old supermarket chain.

The new logo was supposed to symbolize fresh produce, but speculation was that Apple opposed it because the retailer might also slap blanket trademark on “fresh” computer products and home electronics, causing confusion for customers. Woolworths already sells own-brand credit cards and mobile phone plans.

Perhaps in a bid to become the world’s leading iCollege, Abilene Christian University will publish an edition of the school paper designed for iPad.

The Texas institution — where the IT studies department was rechristened iSchool — started equipping freshmen with iPhones and iPod Touches back in 2008. The iSchool also started prepping iPhone devs of the future with a 2009 programming course.

Since 2007, they’ve also published the twice-weekly school paper dubbed “The Optimist” (a commentary on future journalists?) for the iPhone.

“The faculty as a whole and the department discussed it, and we said we have to do this,” Dr. Cheryl Bacon,  chairwoman of the department of journalism and mass communications told The Daily Orange. “It’s just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCRijF7lxzI

Steve Wozniak recounts a nice bit of Silicon Valley folk lore in this excerpt from the Discovery Forum interview where he talks about how he got the idea of bringing color to the Mac after staying up four nights in a row to meet a deadline for Atari.

Wish sleepless nights brought me that kind of inspiration…