Cult of Mac

If you’re interested in maximizing your iTuneage, Onkyo’s less-than-memorably named CS-545UK micro hi-f doesn’t just boast excellent sound quality, bass control and treble in a compact form factor… it also boasts a built-in dock capable of piping tunes from any iDevice north of the Shuffle into your living room.

Otherwise, we’re looking at a pretty high range micro hi-fi, including two 50 watt speakers, a DAB/FM tuner with RDS with 30 presets each, alarm clock functionality and support for CDs, Auxiliary and even USB.

The CS-545UK isn”t exactly a cheap piece of kit at £349, but if you’re looking for something beefier than your standard iHome dock, Onkyo’s latest is a room-filling piece of kit. It’ll be available from September.

FaceTime is one of the absolutely best features of iOS 4, but you already have to be sitting in a phone call with someone to use it. A new app called FacePlant aims to change that, though, by bringing something of an iChat-style contact list to FaceTime.

Here’s how it works. On first load, FacePlant asks you to sign up for a free account, using your name and telephone number. Then it combs through your contacts and tries to match them against other FacePlant users. If it finds them, it then keeps track of their online status, and allows you to easily kick off a FaceTime video chat with them.

Contact offline? No problem. You can leave them a video message, accessible even through 3G.

It looks fantastic. FacePlant should be coming to the App Store soon.

[via hat tip to TUAW]

While it sounds like it might provide hands-free texting, currently, Text’nDrive doesn’t — although the developer says that’ll change when support for texts arrives in October.

What the app does right now though, is make emailing a completely hands-free affair, by reading each incoming email and allowing the user to reply by dictating an email back to the app, which it then translates into text — kind of like having your own personal secretary. The app also supports Bluetooth devices, which should reduce garbled emails.

Even with the price slashed in half to $10 yesterday — the app was $20 when it was launched on Tuesday — it’s still a pretty big leap to take, so there’s a free version that limits the text-to-speech function to 45 words per email; unfortunately, it also drops the speech-to-text function completely, so there’s no way to test how well the app’ll interpret your speech.

Long seen as a consumer-focused computer company, Apple reportedly now plans to use popularity surrounding the iPhone and iPad to go after small businesses. As part of the new drive, the Cupertino, Calif. company intends to hire more engineers at its Apple Store retail stores, along with offering conference rooms for local businesses, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Already Apple has begun searching for small business sales staff that could help local companies create computer systems, similar to what HP and Dell now offer. Apple stores that have created teams aimed at small business have seen revenue double, according to the newspaper. Small businesses in North America will spend $328 billion in 2011, up from $310 billion in 2010, according to Gartner.

You may want to mark today as a turning point in the long-running rivalry between Apple and Microsoft. The Cupertino, Calif. company will likely emerge from Microsoft’s shadow, earning more revenue this quarter than the software giant, according to an independent analyst.

“It’s likely that Apple will have surpassed Microsoft in revenue for the first time in the company’s recent history – and that it will continue to do so in the future,” Andy Zaky writes at AppleInsider. Tuesday, Apple announced $15.7 billion in quarterly revenue. Microsoft is expected today to announce $15.26 billion in revenue, according to Zaky.

AT&T has had a love-hate relationship with the iPhone. Today, however, the mood at Apple’s exclusive U.S. carrier probably is unadulterated adoration for the iconic handset. Along with announcing $30.8 billion in second-quarter revenue, AT&T said it activated 3.2 million iPhones during the financial quarter just ended. As the late-night infomercials often say – ‘But, wait! There’s even more.”

Despite the chatter about reception problems, AT&T said demand for the iPhone 4 was ten times that of the iPhone 3GS when it was released last year. Additionally, nearly a third (27 percent) of those were new subscribers. “That is, Steve Jobs and company helped AT&T bring in another 860,000 customers,” wrote All Things Digital’s Peter Kafka.

Don’t giggle at professional boxer Floyd Mayweather’s bling: a diamond-encrusted, solid platinum iPod Classic. It cost him $50,000, and if you mock it, he’s liable to hit you so hard your whole family would die.

[via Gizmodo]

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9b8NlMd79w

The iPhone’s software keyboard is not always kind to we, the booze addled. Opaquely blurred vision, a wildly pirouetting universe and fingers fraught with wild jactitations are not the most wieldy of typing instruments, and after that sixth beer of the evening — or, more accurately, that sixth Grey Goose chaser — it would be nice if the iPhone would step in and make an executive decision or too about what the heck it is we’re trying to say.

Enter BlindType, which I hereby rechristen BlindDrunkType. The software employs a wonderfully accurate prediction algorithm that can transform your rotgut-induced glossalia into prose worthy of H.L. Mencken.

It seems to work quite well, and might, perhaps, have saved my “boy’s night out” from the discovery of an inamorata convinced I was spending the evening with a slim volume of poetry instead of pounding back duck farts after my goodnight “I love you, dear” text was rendered as “Q BLORPX POTRZEBIE.”

They are making it for Android and the iPhone, but naturally, the iPhone version won’t work on anything besides jailbroken phones, although apparently, the developers are hoping it will “put pressure on Apple to finally allow [replacement software keyboards].” Fat chance, but I wish them luck.

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N-3D DEMO from aircord on Vimeo.

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Japan’s Aircord Labs have taken the iPad and brought its IPS display into the third dimension not by the usual methods — replacing the display or donning some red-and-blue glasses — but through a custom programmed app and a neat trick of crystallography. Placing a special glass pyramid on top of the iPad’s display, three separate app-generated images are merged into an animated, three-dimensional hologram.

It looks incredibly neat, even if it’s not exactly practical. Practical or not, though, it’s got me feeling some sort of primeval upgrade tug… an insistent doubt that causes me to look at my own iPad and go, “And here I am, using it in two-dimensions like some kind of sucker.”

[via MacStories]

When things on your Mac go kablooie, the incredible AppleJack repair utility is the single best pro tip you can be given. Developed by Kristofer Widholm, AppleJack is run when you boot into single-user mode and will repair your disks and permissions, flush your caches, validate your preference files, and — in general — give your Mac something of a software tune-up.

The only problem with AppleJack is that it wasn’t compatible with Snow Leopard, but lo, from the tech support angels come an update, giving AppleJack the same license to plunge inside the honeycomb of your Mac’s recesses and fiddle with its digital junk under 10.6 as it did under 10.5.

If you’re worried about your Mac’s health and want to give it a colonic, download AppleJack now.

Apple usually updates its iLife and iWork suites at roughly the same time, so yesterday’s discovery of an iLife ’10 For Dummies book to be published on September 22nd necessarily hinted at an update iWork 2010 to hit around the same time… providing those dummy guys knew what the hell they were writing about.

Today, though, independent confirmation: an iWork 2010 guide called iWork ’10: From Zero To Hero has popped up on Amazon Germany.

Of course, without any confirmation from Apple, iLife and iWork ’10 are mere speculation, but it’s been seventeen months since the last update, and it certainly seems, at least, that the software guide industry knows that something is afoot. Maybe they’re not dummies after all.

What improvements would you guys like to see in iWork ’10?

[via TUAW]

Gameloft’s popular iOS shooter N.O.V.A. has just been updated and now includes a new gyroscope control system for the iPhone 4.

First impressions are fantastic! I’ve only given it about 15 minutes, but I love the gyroscope control system and since it’s introduction in games like ngmoco’s Eliminate: Gun Range, I’ve been looking forward to seeing other shooters with this functionality. It takes a bit of getting used to, and you’ll need some room to play, but it’s incredibly fun.

As well as gyroscope support, N.O.V.A.’s graphics have been updated and optimized for the iPhone 4’s Retina display.

If you don’t already have this game, I highly recommend it. Check it out in the App Store.

Unfortunately, Second Life definitely ain’t what she used to be. There have been more than a few headline-grabbing scandals in recent years, user numbers have fallen off a bit and the newest official Linden Labs viewer software hasn’t exactly gotten rave reviews.

However, there is still a very large and very loyal SL contingent that is eager to access their digitized world wherever and whenever they can. Those people have been begging and pleading for a reliable Second Life viewer for the iPhone since day one. Those same people really began clamoring for something more mobile when the iPad came on the scene.

Pocket Metaverse Pro ($2.99) is just that app. With versions for the iPad and iPhone (and free versions to boot), Pocket Metaverse is more than adequate for accessing Second Life and other similar Open Grid virtual worlds while on the go.

Would you like to ask Jason Fried, founder and CEO of 37 Signals, a question? Tomorrow is your chance.

Tune in at 11AM, Thursday, July 22, to a livestream of an interview with Fried, courtesy of HP’s Input|Output series.

Fried’s 37signals is behind the popular, Web-based workgroup services Basecamp, Highrise, and others. But in addition to Web apps, Fried is also an expert on the modern workplace, and how “the new workplace in the new normal.”

Fried is becoming well-known for his strong opinions about the inefficiencies of the typical workplace and how it’s designed for distractions. His ideas are spreading via his popular blog and Twitter feed. This story from Inc. magazine — The Way I Work: Jason Fried of 37Signals — serves as an introduction to Fried’s approach.

I’ve been invited to live tweet during the webcast with Fried, and would like to invite you to submit your questions. Fried will be discussing everything about the modern workplace, from physical layouts to management practices and what tech-tools are indispensable.

The interview will be livestreamed on Thursday at 11 AM PST or 2 PM EST. Tune in using this link.

To ask a Jason a question, post it in the comments below or on Twitter. Address your question to @lkahney with the hashtag #hpio, or do it yourself during the webcast using the #hpio hashtag.

HP’s Input|Output series has featured Chris Anderson of Wired; Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class; and John Battelle, Federated Media. Coming up soon is Clay Shirky, the renowned author and teacher.

Nice parody of an expensive Apple accessory (which makes a flaw into a feature) from designer Aaron Draczynski, aka @papermodelplane.

Via OS X Daily.

Note to crooks: the grab-and-snatch iPhone tactic just got a little more risky now that GPS apps can tell police exactly where you are after you take it.

Horatio Toure, a 31-year-old crook in San Francisco, learned this the hard way.

He pedaled up on a bike, snatched a woman’s iPhone, then rode away. He didn’t know the victim was part of a company’s demonstration of a real-time GPS tracking program called Alert & Respond from Covia Labs,  SF Gate tells us.

Just 10 minutes later and only a half-mile from the scene of the crime, police nabbed him.  He was booked into jail on suspicion of grand theft and possession of stolen property.

Of course, this is great publicity for the new service, but as we reported Apple’s Find my iPhone program for MobileMe subscribers has also already tracked down another unlucky iPhone thief in much the same manner.

It’ll be interesting to see if these apps become widespread enough to deter thieves in quick-grab operations, which some police accounts say are on the rise.

Via SF Gate

Perhaps it took a little longer than expected, but promise of background VoIP via the Giant Blue S has finally been fulfilled: With the Skype app’s 2.0.1 update, it’ll now run in the background (on any iPhone updated to iOS4, of course). Launch it, leave it running, and it’ll function just like your AT&T account — as long as the incoming call is from a Skype account, or you’ve paid for a Skype online number.

It also means that you’ll be able to switch the screen off or mess around with other apps on your iPhone while gabbing away on Skype.

The update arrives barely a week after Fring users suddenly lost the ability to make calls with Fring using their Skype accounts.

T-Mobile USA is very close to getting the iPhone in the fall, ending Apple’s exclusive relationship with AT&T, according to a highly placed source at the wireless company.

Talks between Apple and T-Mobile are at an advanced stage, our source says, and it’s 80 percent likely that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile in Q3.

The source works at T-Mobile but asked not to be quoted directly and to remain anonymous because they aren’t authorized to talk to the press.

T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, which carries the iPhone in Germany, was able to influence, the source said. T-Mobile USA is the fourth-largest U.S. carrier with 33.7 million customers.

As if their already prodigious line of cameras wasn’t enough, Panasonic has bolstered it with five new models today, including two with a paparazzi-worthy 24x zoom lens, and another built for covert-op, low-light situations with an f2 lens and a high-sensitivity sensor.

Samsung have just announced two new mid-range compact digicams with a novel twist: a screen embedded in the front to assist with your subjects’ posing, activated with a simple tap.

Called the ST100 and ST600, both cameras feature 14MP sensors, ISO levels up to 3200 (you’ll be lucky to get acceptable images at a fourth of that) and come with KREUZNACH lenses featuring optical and digital image stabilization, as well as five degrees of optical zoom.

Those lenses are the only thing that really distinguish the ST100 from the ST600: the 27mm ST600 has a wider-angle lens than the 35mm ST100, and is also a bit more sensitive to light thanks to the ST600’s f4.9 aperture, compared to the ST100’s f6.3.

Both the Samsung ST600 and ST100 will be available in September and are, of course, fully Mac-compatible. Expect the ST600 to cost $349.99, while the ST100 will cost just $20 less.

We start the day with a deal on a 2.66GHz MacBook. This Core 2 Duo machine has a 13.3-inch screen – all for $759. We also take a look at Textfree, a texting application for the iPhone or iPod touch available from the iTunes App Store. We wrap up our featured deals with a sale on various Capcom games for the iPhone.

Details on these and many other items (such as Radio Gaga and MYOB’s Checkout Point-of-Sale application) are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

You may prefer to roam the highways on your BMW bike alone, but thanks to an iPhone app you’ll always have help at hand if you need it.

Every BMW motorcycle comes with BMW Motorrad USA Roadside Assistance for three years, with the free iPhone app you can get help whether you’ve run out of gas, need a tow, have a flat or are looking for a dealer or need access to your service records.

It can hold info for up to four bikes — you can ID them with nicknames, photos or vehicle identification numbers — and is compatible with any BMW Motorrad model in the US from 1981 onward.

Developed with Allstate enterprises, BMW also provides similar service for BMW cars and Mini drivers.

Here’s hoping the concept will trickle down to the humble Vespa.

Via motorbiker

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

Unable to walk and chew gum at the same time, I’ve always admired how musicians can play and turn the page on sheet music without losing the plot.

They may need a little less coordination now thanks to a new iPad app and a Bluetooth foot switch called BT-105.

Still a prototype, maker Airturn says this Bluetooth version of their wireless, hands-free automatic page turner will be compatible with Bluetooth-enabled computers including the iPad.

With the tap on a foot switch, you turn to the page forward, if you hit it too soon, another tap turns the page back.  On the demo, the musician flips the switch using a third-party app with a zoom feature,  moving the sheet music half a page at a time.

Expect to see start seeing this page-turning app in late 2010.

Via Wired

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKxMuwq22sM&feature=player_embedded

With its excellent 720p video recording capabilities, the iPhone 4 is sure to gain a proper third-party steadicam sooner or later, but if you’re as impatient as Spencer Watson, you can build yourself a perfectly functional rig out of spare parts you’ve got lying around at home… or buy them straight from his online store. Looks steady enough to shoot my Evil Dead fan film, that’s for sure.

Apple has just been named co-dependent (along with nearly three dozen other companies) in a patent infringement lawsuit yesterday relating to spam filtering technology.

“Email as we know it would essentially stop working if it weren’t for InNova’s invention,” said InNova’s lawyer “More than 80 percent of email is spam, which is why companies use InNova’s invention rather than forcing employees to wade through billions of useless emails. Unfortunately, the defendants appear to be profiting from this invention without any consideration for InNova’s legal patent rights.”

And what is this amazing invention Apple stole from InNova? InNova came up with the idea of using a contextual database to identify emails a user wants from unsolicited ones according to conditions like whether or not a “From” address had been emailed before.

Spam filtering’s an amazing invention, no doubt, but it takes more to invent something than being the first to register they had the idea with the government. This is a totally scurrilous case, filed by parent troll InNova Patent Licensing in the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, well-known as a friendly court for pursing patent infringement cases. The list of defendants include Google, Dell, HP, IBM, Yahoo… as well as the likes of JC Penney, Snapple and Dr. Pepper. Really. Dr. Pepper!

Let’s hope Apple destroys these bozos.