Nicole Martinelli - page 45

After our story on peek-a-boo apps, sexy content OK’d by Apple despite the smut ban, a reader wrote in to say we missed a whole genre: sex game apps.

(You can read a Q&A about how sex games get approved with James Miller of Trichotomy Media about their Naughty Loaded Dice app here).

Sexy dice are full-contact party games that — much like the real-world equivalent — are intended to boost lagging passion or tease friendships beyond platonic lines.

While the premise is as old as spin-the-bottle, the apps are feather caress away from violating Apple’s policy about “no inappropriate content” apps for sale on iTunes.

Surprisingly, of the half-dozen sexy dice apps available, some are deemed suitable for ages 9 and above for “infrequent/mild/mature/suggestive themes,” others are rated 17+ for “frequent/intense/mature suggestive themes.”

More details and screen shots after the jump.

Naughty LOADED Dice is a sex dice game, one of the “foreplay” apps that nudged past Apple censors (see our round-up here). There are half a dozen similar sex games available on iTunes, but Naughty LOADED Dice may be the only one to exploit iPhone technology for sexual content — allowing users to secretly control the roll of the dice.

The game (whose title excludes the word “loaded” after download) has a secret menu that allows him or her to select their preferred combination. When playtime comes, the user can play normally with his partner, or press a secret hidden “button” to activate a fixed roll of the dice. The ruse makes use of the iPhone touchscreen, which allows developers to create buttons on screen that are invisible.
Despite rumors that Apple censors would nix the app — in part for its menu trickery — it was approved for sale in the iTunes store July 3.

Cult of Mac spoke to James Miller, Director of Marketing for Trichotomy Media, about the murky process of getting the app approved, Apple’s ambiguous stance on promo codes for +17 apps and why his company’s next apps won’t be for adult audiences.

CoM: What was your experience in getting your app approved?
JM: Getting Naughty LOADED Dice approved wasn’t the trial by fire that it seems other apps with “racy” material had, but it sure seemed to have something fishy to it. I read that other developers who submit apps with very simple functionality get their apps approved in a few business days, a week at most.

Ours has very simple, self-contained functionality and it took more than a month (to get approval). I had already talked to my PR contacts about how we submitted our application, expecting it either to have taken only a week or just get rejected outright for the content.

Full interview and pic of the app’s secret screen  after the jump.

Hell is other people’s karaoke, or maybe it just seems that way if you’ve had too much to drink.

An inebriated man in Seattle got himself kicked out of a sing-a-long bar for heckling — so fast he left his Mac behind.

Here’s how the sorry tale is recounted on the Seattle Hill Blog police blotter:

“A man contacted the police complaining that a tan American Eagle bag which contained “a Mac laptop and several novels” had been stolen from inside the Crescent Lounge. The man was extremely inebriated and had been thrown out of the bar after cursing at patrons performing karaoke. Police and staff could not find the bag.”

Who’s sorry now?

Via Seattle Hill Blog:

Macs continue to live on, long after they’re on the scrap heap – these vintage Apple logo earrings or pin are made by a woman whose family runs an electronic scrap business.

She plucked little plastic Apple logos (like the ones decorating the front of the 128K, though other Apple products had the rainbow logo, too) from devices bound for the dump.

This isn’t the first time we’ve run across ways to adorn yourself with Macs — including silver power button cuff links or earrings or, similarly pricey rings and pendants from keyboards — the ones above go for a modest price of $13.99 (earrings) or $8.99 (pin).

What’s the verdict: geek chic or unwearable e-waste?

Via Etsy

Nothing like a heartwarming story of triumph despite abuse: Wired.com scribe Charlie Sorrel chucked his 2G iPod Nano into the washing machine along with his fuggy gym clothes and socks. Oops!

Waterlogged and not responding to the touch of its frantic owner, instead of going for CPR Sorrel opted to follow reader advice and let the drenched device dry out.

A few days later? Well, it’s now responding to its owner, despite the fact he was all thumbs when it came to taking care of it.

My own negligence once led to waiting anxiously while a two-person rescue team pulled my second-gen device from under Milan’s metro tracks (where it fell as I was running to catch a train) — one reset and it kept on ticking for a few years, as if the fall had never happened.

Any success in rescuing your iPod from accidents?

When boy meets girl in comedy 500 Days of Summer, he’s wearing an iPod. She hears The Smith’s “There is a Light that Never Goes Out” emoting from his headphones and they’re off.

That’s nothing new: the iPod crops up in plenty of movies. But this may be the first time a director used one to coach actors.

Director Marc Webb, who comes to the big screen from the music video world, gave actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel iPod Minis to help them prep.

Webb packed the devices with songs that he listened to while breaking down the script. The actors also had a playlist designed to  convey the mood he was going after on each day of shooting. Deschanel told the WSJ she particularly liked day 44, dominated by Regina Specktor.

UPDATE: According to today’s reports, Apple will not recall iPod Nanos in Korea, but exchange faulty batteries.

An Apple Korea spokesman denied the recall, telling  Joong An Daily the problem iPod Nano products were sold between September 2005 and December 2006. These products are no longer being sold in any of Apple Korea’s stores.

Apple will recall first-generation iPod Nanos in Korea after complaints that faulty batteries cause the MP3 devices to overheat and explode.

Since December 2008, four users filed complaints with the the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards over bugged iPod Nanos — three of them were for battery meltdowns while recharging.

The agency prodded Apple to recall first-gen iPod Nanos; Apple agreed to accept the recall recommendation but refused further comment.

Reports of iPod Nano battery meltdown have cropped up before, Japanese government launched an investigation into battery snafus in 2008.

Ever had an iPod battery overheat and liquify? Any success in getting a replacement?

Via Korea Herald, WSJ

This is the latest in a series of keen, green-leaning Apple accessories, like the iPhone stands made of wood or the steampunk-esque iPod case.

Josh Darrah, an Australian graphic designer, crafted this iPod Mini case entirely in wood — with a nifty matching charger dock.

Darrah told Stuff he spent about four weekends to craft the case out of just $12 USD in materials — Australian red cedar for the main shell and Camphor Laurel for the click wheel and base.

He used screws instead of glue, making it a little greener (he did employ some double sided tape to secure the clickwheel).

More pics after the jump.

Love the Exploded 128 Mac tee but find there are only so many places you can wear it? You can hang up your Apple love with Garry Booth‘s take on the inner workings of this milestone Mac, it’s part of a trio of retro-Mac posters.

You can also deck your halls with “Macronaut,” Ray Frenden’s space-age voyager who looks like he’s lost Command or create a den of antiquity with  Gary Gao’s “Mac Ghosts,” specters of computers past.

This is a limited run of fewer than 100, offered at a package price of $39,  so if you’re interested in the Mac Poster Trilogy, make a move.

Feel slightly bad for the folks at Marshall Aerospace out on the tarmac, using forklifts or putting planes together who got used to listening to ambient or Vegan-a-Go-Go podcasts while on the job.

Following the advice of a health and safety expert,  the 1,500 employees of the Cambridge, UK company have been banned from using iPods at work.

“There have been no particular incidents,” said an unnamed spokesman in a press release. “But on our site there are aircraft, forklift trucks and so on moving around – and we are a precision engineering firm. We feel that people should always be concentrating fully.”

He added: “We don’t get middle-aged employees wearing iPods but we do see employees in their 20s who listen to music while working.”

Comforting to know the young ‘uns won’t be distracted on the job.

What other professions should be banned from using iPods at work?

In a move to bring the gospel to the mobile masses, Honolulu-based New Hope Christian Fellowship is claiming to be the first church to broadcast its weekend services live via iPhone.

Though some remain skeptical about the live streaming capabilities of iPhones, even the 3GS, New Hope Christian Fellowship officials say they did a successful test church service run “with hundreds of users” and have enough faith in it to  launch regular live video of services on Saturday, July 4.

“We are always looking for ways that we can leverage technology to reach people where they are at,” said New Hope’s Interactive Developer Peter Thourson in a press release.  “Through live streaming video on iPhone and iPod touch, users across the globe will be able to continue to attend church regardless of where they are.”

Over 12,000 people regularly attend the five weekend services held in six locations in Hawaii, the church says.

This is not your analog, snooze-inducing service coming from a place of fire and brimstone — check out the goofy “money rap” video and the cheerful-looking celebrants who wear leis.

Some freshmen at the University of Florida are required to start school with an iPod Touch in hand.

Officials recently put “important notice” up red text on the College of Pharmacy website to warn the fall class of 2009 that they must show up for class with an iPod touch or an iPhone.

The 8G model, which will set freshmen back $229 unless they get it with the back-to-school offer, meets the minimum requirement.

The Florida decision comes a couple of months after the University of Missouri journalism school first said they required the Apple device for new students, then backed down on whether the requirement was, uh, really a requirement  or simply recommended after criticism that they were pushing Apple products and bumping up student expenses.

Via Apple Insider

Halitosis and letting them see you sweat are so old school: the social paranoia du jour is gadgetiquette, especially the use of smartphones at work.

A survey of 2,000 UK 18-24 year olds found that at over half know an iBore, reports techradar, though less than 30% will admit to plaguing the rest of the populace with their Apple devices, iPhones in particular.

Annoying, apparently, is not in the hand of the beholder.

The NYT also recently ran a story on smartphone etiquette, opening with an anecdote about a client fiddling with his iPhone for the first half hour of a meeting:

Someone peeked over his shoulder. “He was playing a racing game,” Mr. Hobbs said. “He did ask questions, though, peering occasionally over his iPhone.”

But, Mr. Hobbs added, “We didn’t say anything. We still wanted the business.”

Having been on both sides of the boardroom/boredroom, it’s a tough call: there’s no point in competing with someone who’s thumbing away while you speak, but during the occasional stultifying soliloquy it’s nice to be able to firm up later plans for reinvigorating drinks.

What makes an iBore, exactly?

In a move that’s a bit like thumbing his brush at the lawyers who sent a nastygram when we mistakenly reported David Hockney’s gallery artworks were created on his iPhone, the artist is offering free downloads of three wallpapers made on his device.

The unsigned trio of flower paintings from the 72-year-old pop artist maestro — painted with the Brushes app on his iPhone (it’s revealed  for certain this time) — do sort of look like something you could  do yourself.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk51XP-KZMg

So you don’t really need a MacBook that morphs into an unmanned aerial vehicle to get your express letter delivered, but kudos to the folks who made this video showing that the French postal service might be capable of  movie-like transformer special effects.

Via The Register

iTunes is hosting a free month-long concert series — 31 nights, 62 bands — at  London’s  Roundhouse in July.
With that many acts, there’s bound to be something to tickle your eardrums, the line-up so far includes Oasis, Madeleine Peyroux, Kasabian, The Hoosiers and Franz Ferdinand.

Tickets for the third iTunes Live concert series are give-aways, only, drawn from a pool of friends of the free music fest on Facebook.  (And just like your real friends,  the organizers have will access to your profile information, photos and your friends’ info).

If you can’t make it to London, you can check out live broadcasts and video highlights, before the concert recordings are sold at 22 iTunes stores worldwide — again, if you become an Tunes EU fan on Facebook .

Via MacWorld

According to local news reports, hundreds of people camped outside a discount store in San Marcos, California hoping to buy 8G iPod nanos for $0.99 cents.

Matt Roberts told TV station San Diego 6 he waited 26 hours to be the first of the lucky nine customers who got the device at a $148 discount as part of grand opening celebration for a 99¢ Only Store.

The eight guys behind him eyed each other  for stamina; if none dropped out after the overnight vigil, the rest of the folks in the parking lot got scooters, DVDs and computer mice for a buck.

If you’ve got the staying power and are short on cash, check out the openings of 99¢ Only Stores or follow their Twitter feed, they’ve been running the iPod scheme to celebrate new stores for months now.

Wonder if people would do that for a Zune…

Via San Diego 6

Not saying I’d proudly adorn myself with it in public, but on days like today when that spinning beach ball of death has threatened to freeze the faithful MacBook several times, I’d kind of like to have it nearby to recover something like a sense of humor.

Made by a “guy in his mid-twenties born, raised, and terrified of economic collapse in West Michigan” who also has a cute Mac addict button, both cost $1.00 on Etsy.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qbWjaW25mQ

Just how badly most iPhone owners wanted video may be seen in the spike in YouTube upload traffic  — 400% since last Friday when the phone came out.

The surge, attributed to the iPhone 3GS, follows the general pattern of upload increase from mobile phones, some 1,700% in the last six months, YouTube noted in a press release:

“This growth represents three things coming together: new video-enabled phones on the market, improvements that make it easier to post a video to YouTube from your phone, and a new feature on YouTube that allows people’s videos to be quickly and effortlessly shared through social networks.”

iPhone 3GS uploads (most are tagged “testing the iPhone 3GS,” which is how we’re guessing they culled the numbers, since they didn’t specify) range from baby Kaylee at Grandma’s to kitchen table trials and one dropped into a pool above — with a fairly surprise ending…

The vids are pretty good, content aside, clear and not too shaky. Got something interesting?
Add your upload link in the comments…

In a twist on the “I’m a Mac” ads, this sticker shows a PC playing solitaire while waiting for the Mac to load a witty retort. Or maybe the PC just froze.

The 4″ x 2.75″ sticker costs $1.50 and, according to the description, was made on a PC.

Via Nerd Approved

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9E2D2PaIcI

“Objectified” the indie documentary film about industrial design that gives you a rare peek into Apple designer Johnathan Ive’s studio is out in movie theaters now — with a limited number of screenings from Stockholm to San Francisco.

The 90-second trailer is punctuated with Apple products (iPhone, MacBook) and a nice-close up of Ives.

At least one reviewer said Ive’s contribution — where he explains how a laptop emerges from just about one piece of metal — is a highlight of the effort by director Gary Hustwit.

If you catch it, let us know what you think.

In a bid to preserve some of the best modern industrial design for future generations, Smithsonian’s National Design Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt, is asking Apple fans to donate their old and not-so-old devices.

Aptly, webmaster William Berry calls the request a “wish list:”

Newton Message Pad (1993)
iBook (2001, white)
iPod, 1st generation (2001)
iMac G5 (2004)
Macbook Pro (2006)
iPhone, 1st generation (2007)
Macbook Air (2008)

While you can get rid of something that has given up the ghost, your device should still be in excellent (external) condition, with original parts and power cords or batteries.  All donors will be listed on the credit line whenever the works are displayed or published.
The  generous-minded can get in touch with Cynthia Trope, Associate Curator of Product Design and Decorative Arts, at [email protected].

What, if anything, would you be willing to part with for a museum?

Help plant a tree to offset carbon emissions from your iPhone or iPod is the green idea behind AcornHq, a London-based company.

The brainchild of a couple of New Zealand transplants, John and Sarah Lewis, the company asks 20 Apple device owners to give $3.50 per device — iPhone or current and older iPods — to plant a tree to counteract the effects on the environment from manufacture and use.

Those oak trees take root on a New Zealand planting farm, where Lewis hopes Acorn donors willing to trek that far will be able to visit soon.

After the jump, details on how it works from John Lewis.

A 14-year-old British girl owes her life to her iPod earbuds, which took a 300,000-volt surge when lightning struck.

Sophie Frost and her boyfriend huddled together under a tree near Essex during a storm when a bolt of lightning hit. Doctors say that Frost and her beau were saved because the massive surge took the shortest route to the ground — through her earbuds.

The four-day-old iPod (a gift from her grandmother), may have saved her life, but she still suffered severe burns that left tie-dye like  patterns down her torso and legs and a perforated eardrum.

The teens were knocked unconscious by the jolt and hospitalized for burns but doctors believe they may heal without permanent scars.

Dr. Ian Cotton, a reader in electrical engineering at Manchester University, told the Daily Mail Sophie could have been saved by her iPod:

“If lightning hits a person it can do one of two things. It can go down the outside of the skin, which is more likely if someone is caught in a storm and their body is wet. Or it can puncture the skin and go into the body. Potentially a metal wire, which is highly conductive could divert the electricity away from the heart and save someone’s life.”
There have been some reports of iPods directing currents and harming wearers in storms, this seems to be the first time it saved someone’s life during a blitz.

Via Daily Mail, BBC

Art students at Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha, Wisconsin have hung out their works as iPhone wallpaper to help fund arts education.

The student art gallery, at the moment a little sparse with just 10 works, is available as wallpaper for $0.99 on iTunes. The CMHS app was created by Start Mobile, the folks behind many wallpaper apps from Shepard Fairey to Drop Dead Sexy Devils, who agreed to donate the proceeds.

“Raising the money to fully fund our school’s budgets is increasingly difficult in this challenging economy,” said Kathleen Hanlon Sampon, an art teacher at CMHS. “The added income from this innovative opportunity will help to ensure the ongoing strength of our department.”

The school’s 770 students are currently able to choose from 15 art courses per year ranging from studio arts to digital imagery.