Cult of Mac

A documentarian shooting a film about the impact of Haitian poverty filmed more than he was expecting when a calamitous earthquake hit Port-au-Prince nine days ago, crushing him under rubble. His life was ultimately saved not just by rescue workers or foreign aid… but by his iPhone.

The filmmaker, Dan Wooley, first used his DSLR camera to illuminate the wreckage of the building he was in. Finding a relatively safe elevator shaft, Woolley then used the Pocket First Aid and CPR app to make a bandage for his leg and to staunch the bleeding from a head wound, which proved so serious he even used the iPhone’s built-in alarm clock to prevent himself from going to sleep.

An amazing story, but perhaps everything’s best summarized by Wooley’s own five star review of Pocket First Aid and CPR, posted on its iTunes App Store page: “Consulted this app, while trapped under Hotel Montana in Haiti earthquake, to treat excessive bleeding and shock. Helped me stay alive till I was rescued 64 hours later.” Now that’s the kind of review that sells an app.

Until now, Amazon has stood largely unchallenged in the e-publishing arena – some put its dominance at 80 percent of e-book sales and 70 percent of e-book readers. Now, in a bid to counteract a hurricane of hype surrounding Apple’s as-yet unseen tablet device, the giant online bookseller is making some last-minute changes to the Kindle, it’s e-book reader. Amazon Thursday announced it will open its device to software developers, a concession to Apple’s popular App Store.

However, Amazon isn’t uttering the word “app” in describing its move to open the doors to software programming. Instead, “active content” is the label the company uses to define anything from calculators to video games for its e-book platform.

The latest iPhone photo app to grab my attention and that of a handful of Flickr users is Phototropedelic.

The techno-sweatshops of Beijing have never seen an Apple design they weren’t willing to ineptly rip off, but these MacBook Air knock-offs spotted by M.I.C. Gadget are the first I’ve actually liked.

Basically, what we have here is a white plastic simulacrum of the MacBook Air’s aluminum unibody chassis, crammed with the innards of your stock, last generation netbook: an Intel Atom N280 processor with up to 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive.

I love it, right down to the lid’s pulsing, multichromatic logo! If Apple ever introduces a plastic unibody Air, this is exactly what I would imagine it looking like. It’s unfortunately a Windows machine, but at around $249 I’m tempted to pick one up anyway, just to see if it’s as easily Hackintoshable as my Asus Eee PC 1000HE. What a coup one of these MacBook Air netbooks with Snow Leopard installed would be for my gadget cred next time I showed up at the blogger’s hall at CES.

Apple’s troubles with their 27-inch iMacs just never seem to come to an end.

In December, Apple notified its authorized resellers that new volume orders would be pushed out about two weeks, following numerous complaints about screen flickering and yellowing issues with the showcase Mac, as well as numerous complaints from customers who received broken iMacs in shipping.

Just last week, Apple finally started shipping replacement 27-inch iMacs back to their authorized resellers… but today, Apple Insider is reporting that those same machines now have an estimated three-week ship time when ordered through Apple.com.

In truth, it seems like there’s a load of issues here: while the 27-inch iMac indisputably has some screen issues that need to be further investigated, mostly, it’s just a victim of its own success: it was the best-selling desktop system in America last quarter.

Still, it’s got to be frustrating both for prospective customers and Apple themselves that they just can’t quite seem to squelch the last of their 27-inch iMac issues. Let’s hope this is the last one.

Apple is in talks with the music industry about the advantages of a streaming music service that lets people listen to their tunes from anywhere an Internet connection is available. The report appears to jibe with another suggesting Apple could launch the ‘cloud’ service by June.

The Cupertino, Calif. company is telling publishers such streaming would reinvigorate sluggish sales from music downloads, according to CNET. The service reportedly will be called iTunes.com and is integral to Apple’s new strategy of boosting iTunes sales via numerous linked Web sites, according to the Wall Street Journal.

With the recent release of Song Summoner for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Square Enix basically cemented their commitment to the App Store as a gaming distribution platform, so it’s no surprise that a mere few weeks later, the JRPG makers have announced through their Facebook page that they will be bringing Final Fantasy I and II to Apple handhelds sometime soon.

There’s no official word on pricing or release, but the first two Final Fantasy games have been endlessly re-mastered over the last twenty years (despite — or perhaps even because of — the fact that they are remarkably simple, plotless yet addicting games). The iPhone version seems to take the graphical remastering of the games to a new level: although I’ve played the remastered Final Fantasy I and II package on Sony’s PSP console recently, the crisp, colorful, super-deformed sprites on display in the iPhone version are an improvement of several orders of magnitudes. Final Fantasy I and II on the iPhone looks like it’ll quickly become the new standard for retro-gaming fans of the series.

As the days tick off before Apple’s “latest creation” announcement Jan. 27, its much-rumored tablet is taking shape in a steady stream of leaked interviews. The over-arching theme seems to be that Apple sees its tablet reshaping publishing the way the iPod was a game-changer for how we buy and listen to music. However, unlike previous media gadgets, Apple could be hoping to attract families – even entire classrooms – with its tablet.

The family was Apple’s focus when developing the tablet, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. “The company envisions that the tablet can be shared by multiple family members to read news and check email in home,” the paper wrote, citing ‘people familiar with the situation.’

We’re down to a week until Steve Jobs reveals the latest something or other from Apple at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Arts Center. Most believe it to be some manner of tablet, of course (which the rounded corners in the above teaser image support), or a widget, gadget, or even a doodad.

With such a major whatsit being announced one week from today, speculation is running rampant. The Wall Street Journal periodical publication today revealed an exclusive, courtesy of an anonymous informant: Apple’s tablet will be amazing for reading books playing games reading magazines communicating with your family video-conferencing ALL OF THE ABOVE!

In a breathless run-down, writers Yukari Iwatani Kane and Ethan Smith essentially list off nerds’ every dream feature for the magical device, citing partnerships with the New York Times, EA, Conde Nast, TV channels, the launch of web-based iTunes and, AHEM, Microsoft’s Bing as clear evidence that the Cupertino Craftsmen will be transforming every industry they don’t already dominate.

And the weirdest thing about it? None of it seems implausible. Not one hyperbolic assertion. If Apple’s doing something beyond the iPhone, it should be the world’s most killer video-watching, game-playing, web-surfing, video-chatting, computer-displacing new platform ever conceived. It should actually be beyond what most of us can dream of. I’m just wondering how Steve’s going to introduce it. “Today, we have 17 new revolutionary products to introduce. But they’re all one product. It’s a washer, a dryer, a thimble, a salad, a painkiller, a television, a TV network, a shoelace, a hamster, a handkerchief, a fax machine, a zipper, a bicycle, a foie gras, a US Senator, a secret lover, and your grandmother’s meat loaf. We call it iPad.”

It’s going to be a wild one on Wednesday, folks. Keep those rumors flying.

Wall Street Journal Via Engadget

More than 20% of Apple fans would buy the upcoming tablet “sight unseen,” according to a poll by 9to5Mac.

That’s a pretty big number, given that the tablet might turn out to be a Jobsian brainfart like the Cube.

But then again, Apple does have a great record of innovative products.

The majority of 9to5Mac readers say they’ll likely buy the tablet (33%), but wait until they see it before parting with their cash.

Only 6% of the 7,454 voter said they wouldn’t buy the tablet.

9to5Mac’s poll is here: Are you gonna buy one of them Apple tablets?

Today’s the day to buy some Mac or iPhone software in support of Haitian relief efforts.

The Indie+Relief one-day charity sale includes well-known titles like Delicious Library 2, Instapaper Pro, MarsEdit, Moneydance, Things and Tweetie — as well as lesser-known but highly-rated apps such as Gas Cubby and Today.

Hardware makers are also getting involved. Twelve South promised to donate $5 for every BassJump Subwoofer for MacBook ($79.99) and BackPack Shelf for iMac ($29.99) sold directly on twelvesouth.com.

“We expected people would be interested, but the response has been overwhelming and amazing,” said Garret Murray, one of the organizers. “I’ve always known the Mac community is very supportive, but even this blew me away.”

All proceeds from the sale will be donated to charities working in Haiti, including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, the Red Cross, and others.

We reach mid-week with a variety of deals for Mac fans, including 6 bargains on Apple iMacs, starting at $849 for a 20-inch desktop with a 2.66GHz processor. A few steps up the food chain, Apple also offers several Mac Pro Xeon workstations, including a 3.2GHz unit for $3,299. Finally, if you liked the Grammy’s and want to relive the great music, lala.com has an MP3 album of this year’s nominees.

Along the way, we look at a new batch of App Store price drops, new games for your iPhone and various hardware bargains. As always, details on these items and many others are available on CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

At this point, conventional wisdom firmly places the stateside release of the forthcoming Apple Tablet in March, with the possibility of a delay to June. That’s a long enough wait for Yanks, but what about the rest of the world? According to The Guardian, Britons can expect a delay of at least a few months.

The Guardian’s sources claim that Apple has only just started looking for a carrier partner in the UK who will be willing to bundle a 3G contract along with the subsidized Apple Tablet. It’s the absence of a British partner that will ultimately delay the Tablet’s release.

Of course, this presumes that the Tablet is only going to be solely available in the UK with a carrier contract… but I highly doubt that Apple is going to make that a consumer requirement for a non-phone device. In that case, I would assume that this delay only faces customers who want to pick up subsidized devices, while people willing to pay full price and supply their own 3G SIM will be able to buy the Tablet will be able to pick it up sooner. Or at least I hope.

Although Bluetooth headsets are a regrettable fashion choice for everyone short of the cyberpunk-enthused Secret Service agent, the Jawbone line has always been one of the more interesting brands out there. They were the first guys to use bone conducting technology to minimize background noise, and they are still one of the few Bluetooth headset manufacturers out there that don’t make their customers look like The Last Starfighter extras when chatting hands-free.

Jawbone’s latest headset, the ICON, continues the company’s trend of attractive, full-featured, understated designs, but also adds some really impressive iPhone compatibility into the mix. The main addition is that when the ICON is paired with an iPhone, its battery meter will display in the status bar, just like Apple’s Blueooth headset did.

Additionally, the ICON allows users to set custom tones and change the voices of incoming call alerts, as well as featuring software called MyTALK that allows you to voice-control mini-apps and assign button.

The ICON is available now in colors including black, gold, pearl and red, but weirdly, you’ll have to pick it up from Verizon for now, although AT&T is supposed to follow shortly.

Okay, Apple’s a couple of weeks in making its self-imposed deadline, but no matter: Apple has just released update 3.1 to their Boot Camp software, enabling official support for Windows 7.

The update comes in two separate flavors — one for 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and one for 32-bit versions — and require official DVD copies of Windows 7 or Windows 7 upgrade to function.

Curiously, not all Intel-based Macs support the update, but only Intel-based Macs released after 2007. That means that my own 2006 MacBook Pro won’t run Windows 7 through Boot Camp. I have a netbook that runs Windows 7 happily, so I assume this is a driver issue, and not because of 2006 models’ paucity of horsepower.

You can grab the Boot Camp updates now over at Apple’s official Boot Camp support page.

‘Minor issues’ with Apple’s tablet could force the Cupertino, Calif. company to delay shipping the highly-expected device until June, suggests an analyst. If correct, the three-month lag would dispute previous claims a tablet would ship by March.

Issues with battery life and durability are suspected culprits of any delay, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu told investors Tuesday. The holdup would put the tablet, which Wu calls the “iSlate” into a more traditional pattern for Apple. When the company introduced its first iPhone in 2007, it announced the iconic handset in January and began shipping in June.

My inamorata likes, on occasion, to wistfully pine for an alternate reality in which her grade school predictions of Apple’s future success had been funded by a benign patriarch and made her a plutocrat. Instead, she got a cynical ‘C’ from her teacher for her “implausible” stock pick, and now blames this woman every day for her daily diet of bread crusts and dry Ramen.

The point is, it’s foolish to bet against Apple’s stock rising, but could analyst Gene Munster be taking it to far? He told Henry Blodget at The Business Insider that Apple stock could someday be worth $1,000 per share.

Munster’s reasoning is that Apple is well underway towards being the global smartphone leader and that Cupertino will be able to maintain its incredible growth rate. As the iPhone gets cheaper over time, there’s room for explosive growth. In the meantime, Apple seems ready to revisit its iPhone success with the forthcoming Tablet, which will expand Apple’s media profits in bold new directions.

Understandably, it seems like people took Munster’s comments as a reason to pick up Apple stock, as it closed at an all-time high yesterday of $215.04 per share. If you’ve got a few bucks rubbing together, you may as well get in: it’s just only going to go higher.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” It’s an ancient proverb being revived amid reports Apple is turning to its old foe Microsoft to blunt the growth of Cupertino’s newest rival, Google. Apple is mulling making Microsoft’s Bing the iPhone’s default search engine as it increasingly competes with the Mountain View, Calif. Internet giant.

The BusinessWeek report cites two people “allegedly familiar” with the discussions between Apple and Microsoft. The publication says the Redmond, Wash. software giant “is now a pawn” in the struggle between Apple and Google over handsets, browsers, operating systems and advertising.

Leander posted yesterday about rumoured features for iPhone OS 4.0, including multi-touch gestures OS-wide, background apps, UI changes, and more.

Today, on TechRadar, Gary Marshall outlined his thoughts on 10 ways to make iPhone OS 4.0 damn near perfect, offering ideas such as disabling orientation, deleting default apps, home-screen widgets, document sync from a Mac (or PC), Mail filters, and one I’d love to see—touchable wireless icons (so you can disable Wi-Fi without accessing Settings).

I commented on that article with ideas of my own about what I want to see in iPhone OS 4.0:

Mail needs an optional unified inbox that can be set as the default view. Forcing me to go in and out of each inbox is dumb.

All default apps should be removable, with a suitably chunky warning if you decide to do so. If Apple only hides them, I don’t care. Perhaps there should be a show/hide list in Settings.

The Springboard needs serious work, because while it was great pre-App Store, it’s now a nightmare to arrange/organise apps. One might argue you should do this in iTunes, but plenty of people only use their device, ignoring iTunes in the main.

I’d like to see an app list, available by swiping left of Spotlight to access an app launcher that lists every app on the device, but that can be filtered as per Spotlight. I did a mock-up of this for Cult of Mac back in October.

On deleting an app, you should be able to optionally store its settings, which should (again, optionally) be available when reinstalling the App via iTunes at a later date. In other words, if I’ve spent 20 hours getting 90% of the way through Myst or Peggle, but delete the app, I shouldn’t have to start from scratch on reinstalling it. As it stands, Apple’s decided iPhone and iPod touch gaming should be akin to cheapo Nintendo DS carts, as opposed to something with a battery back-up. Such a system would benefit apps, too.

Also, Apple should fire/beat to within an inch of their life whoever came up with the sync UI in iTunes and get someone with some actual talent to redesign it. I don’t appreciate ‘film’ titles being truncated after about 25 characters, forcing me to check a tiny thumbnail to see if I’m syncing the right one. And the Applications tab is a disgrace, coming across like an interactive Flash website from 1999, not a robust system for organising your apps.

So, what are your wishes for iPhone 4.0? Tell us in the comments!

What it is:  BumpTop for Mac is OS X software that gives you a whole new way of looking at and using your desktop, one that brings your computer screen into the realm of 3D imaging and instantly grows your monitor’s real estate – no matter how large or small – into a more productive palette than anything you’ve seen before.

Why it’s cool:  BumpTop represents a total re-thinking of the 20 year-old design artifact that is the standard desktop UI.

Now you can view your computer screen as a real desk, or more accurately perhaps, as the floor of a four walled room – and use all the space to put your stuff in piles, tack important things on the walls and slap sticky notes on everything – just like in real life.

Desktop minimalists are hereby free to skip the rest of this post.

Console emulators have been a firm fixture of the software grey market practically since the dawn of the Internet. A legal loophole regarding back-ups means that emulation software itself is on solid legal ground (to the degree that Steve Jobs once demoed a PlayStation emulator for Mac during a keynote over significant protest by Sony).

Unsurprisingly, emulation is one of the most popular reasons to jailbreak the iPhone. One (former) console-maker has realized that it’s usually smarter to provide a legal alternative rather than try to squash the bootleg edition. According to Gizmodo, Sega is on the verge of launching Ultimate Genesis, a free emulator that includes Space Harrier II and will enable in-app purchases of what will soon be a large library of titles from the dawn of the 16-bit era. It hasn’t shown up in the App Store yet, but based on Sega’s existing iPhone titles, from Sonic the Hedgehog to Super Monkey Ball 2 means it will be worth waiting for.

Ultimate Genesis: Sega’s Official Console Emulator for iPhone [Gizmodo]

The organizers of the Indie+Relief one-day charity sale have been overwhelmed by the response from Mac software developers.

After accepting more than 140 developers in the Wednesday January 20th sale — all proceeds of which will be donated to Haiti — the organizers are now turning down offers to add more companies to the program.

“We expected people would be interested, but the response has been overwhelming and amazing,” said Garret Murray, one of the organizers. “Personally, I thought we’d probably have 20 or so companies. And in under a week we’re already having to stop taking submissions. I’ve always known the Mac community is very supportive, but even this blew me away.”

To contribute, all you have to do is buy some of the Mac or iPhone software listed on the Indie+Relief webpage. All proceeds will be donated to charities working in Haiti, including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, the Red Cross, and others.

The sale includes well-known titles like Delicious Library 2, Instapaper Pro, MarsEdit, Moneydance, Things and Tweetie — as well as lesser-known but highly-rated apps such as Gas Cubby and Today.

Hardware makers are also getting involved. Twelve South promised to donate $5 for every BassJump Subwoofer for MacBook ($79.99) and BackPack Shelf for iMac ($29.99) sold directly on twelvesouth.com.

The effort began five days ago when Mac/iPhone software developer Justin Williams suggested on his blog that software publishers should donate a day’s sales to relief efforts. The idea spread quickly and Williams and Garrett soon had dozens of volunteers. They spent the weekend creating a single page listing all the software for sale.

The pair are now calling on everyone to spread the word via Twitter, Facebook, blog posts or by adding Indie+Relief banner to websites and blogs.

“The more awareness there is, the more software will be bought,” said Williams on his blog. “The more software that is bought, the more is donated to charity. I realize we won’t be making nearly as much money as the text messaging campaigns or other telethons, but it is refreshing to know the Mac & iPhone community has the opportunity to at least make a dent in the Haitian relief effort. Thanks for being a part of that.”

I just conducted a quick IM-terview with Murray. Full text after the jump.

The iPhone OS 4.0 will feature multitasking (the ability to run apps in the background), multitouch gestures system-wide, and several changes to the UI, according to Boy Genius Report, citing “one of our trusty Apple connects.”

According to BGR, the update to the iPhone OS, which may come as soon as the special Apple next Wednesday, will include:

There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)

“A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.

Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.

The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”

The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

Half of this is pretty vague, but the UI changes to make the OS “easier and more efficient,” ring true. One of the biggest complaints against Google’s Android is the occasionally kludgy interface. Version 4.0 of the iPhone OS is a major milestone — and it sounds like it’ll be miles ahead of anything else out there.

Today we look at some very practical Apple deals, including a way to keep your iPod safe; always be prepared for a quick road trip with your iPhone; and a cookbook with recipes to make meals from whatever (or whomever) is on hand. The iPod mobile security lock from Targus encases your music collection in a three-digit combination lock. The traveling kit includes an FM transmitter, screen protector and skin for your iPhone 3G. Lastly, the Zombie Cookbook is an iPhone or iPod touch app that teaches you to make delicious meals from ingredients such as brains, hearts, eyballs and guts.

For details on these and many other bargains, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

Samsung Monday unveiled five new ultra-slim point-and-shoot cameras with improved graphics, HD video support and greater image control.

The TL110 (pictured above) features a 14.2-megapixel image, a 5x optical zoom, a 27mm wide-angle lends, 2.7-inch LCD screen and records 720p HD video at 30 fps. Available in February for an unknown price, the camera measures 0.65-inches wide. “Consumers want portability in a point and shoot,” said Samsung CEO SJ Park.