Score one for Ashton Kutcher. Tired of being baited by paparazzi, Kutcher used his jailbroken iPhone 3G with live video streaming service Qik to immortalize the nastiness he and wife Demi Moore endure as they try to get through the airport.
You can see Kutcher’s video here, about 36 seconds into the rough, on-the-fly account, a cameraman calls Moore a “crazy little bitch.”
Zune software and hardware efforts are going separate paths, with Zune services expected to appear on non-Microsoft devices later this year, reports said Friday.
The Media Center/Mediaroom unit will take charge of the Zune services while Windows Mobile will direct Zune hardware.
Enrique Rodriguez, who heads the new Zune software efforts, told CNET his goal is to “make sure the service comes into every device.”
We start this week with The Belgian Constitution.
Yes, the *actual Belgian Constitution*. As in, the Constitution of the nation of Belgium. Not a joke app. The real thing. Look:
“One of the most important changes was the introduction of the Court of Arbitration whose competencies were expanded by a special law of 2003, to include Title II (Articles 8 to 32), and the Articles 170, 172 and 191 of the Constitution. The Court therefore developed into a constitutional court and in May 2007 it was formally redesignated Constitutional Court.”
See?
I think this goes some way to proving that Rule 34 applies not just to the internet, but to the App Store: if you can imagine it, there is (or there will be) an app for it.
Moving on.
More than a year ago, I was visiting my cousin in Sunnyvale. It just so happens she works at Apple, but that fact is not germane to this story, though I mention it for the sake of serendipity.
She had a little gadget called Perfect Guy or Perfect Man (I forget which) that, when you pressed a button, produced a computerized voice that said things like, “how about if we just cuddle tonight” and “we might be lost, i’ll ask for directions” and “i don’t know how to fix it” – that sort of thing.
I thought it was cute; my six year-old son couldn’t get enough of mashing the button.
Now, just in time for Valentine’s Day, iPhone developer Michael Hill has released Perfect Girl, an app premised on similar lines, available now in the AppStore for 99¢.
Follow after the jump for what you can expect to hear from the Perfect Girl.
Via Gizmodo
I don’t generally put up posts on every single thing that might compete with Apple products in the market place. After all, when you’re number one, everyone is always gunning for you.
But Samsung is a major player in the global mobile phone market and when the company floats an idea such as the Blue Earth Solar Powered phone, I have to sit up and take notice.
Designed to symbolize a “flat and well rounded shiny pebble,” according to the marketing material, Blue Earth features a full touchscreen front and charges up via a solar panel on the back of the phone, purportedly generating enough electronic power to make a call anytime.
What’s more, the case is made from recycled plastic water bottles and the thing has a built-in pedometer that calculates how many CO2 emissions you’ve reduced (and therefore how many trees have been saved) by walking as opposed to taking the car.
The handset and its charger are both free from harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardants, Beryllium and Phthalate. Screen brightness, backlight duration and Bluetooth can all be adjusted in an energy-efficient mode called “Eco mode”.
It would be pure speculation on my part to say whether this phone will pose a serious challenge to iPhone’s preeminence in the touchscreen smartphone market, especially as there’s no word yet on its OS and, as everyone knows, the iPhone’s hardware design is elegant and all, but it’s the OS that sets it apart from all others. So, until we know more, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Blue Earth is supposed to be available in the UK in the second half of this year; no pricing or full tech specs available at press time.
As the guys at SlipperyBrick put it, “this is a serious eco-hippie phone.” And even though I’m not a serious eco-hippie, I’m going to go pour myself a bowl of granola and ponder Blue Earth.
Via SlipperyBrick, via PocketLint
Somebody at the hospital was bored. In a good way, though. Since 2007, the Radiology Art project has been putting everyday objects under a CT scan, then turning them into art with the help of an iMac.
Here’s an iPhone. (You’re invited to contact them if you can help identify the components).
and an iPod.
What you see in the iPod: “The LCD screen is in pink. Behind the screen and to the most cephalic extreme of the body, a gray battery pack can be seen. Various other electronic components can be visualized including the control sensor array which is arranged in a circle below the LCD screen. Note the headphone jack in the upper right part of the image proximal to the battery pack.”
How do they do it?
After using GE CT scanner, they process the images in Osirix software on an iMac. Colors are assigned based on the varying densities of materials present in the object. Depending on the spread of densities within a particular subject, black or white backgrounds are chosen.
There’s a gallery of all the objects scanned so far, some of them can be bought as prints, the toys are especially cool.
Here’s an iPhone concept sent in by an anonymous Cult reader overnight. Looks pretty fly to me, but then I’m still on a PowerBook G4 and an original iPhone.
What say you, dear reader?
Two stories in the iPhone developers ecosystem Thursday illustrate the challenges of navigating the path to fame and fortune on the back of a cleverly written app and its AppStore sales.
First comes news from AppCubby, whose experiment with 99¢ pricing we reported on a few weeks ago, saying, indeed, selling apps for 99¢ and depending on voluntary donations to cover the gap between success and failure is, for AppCubby anyhow, unsustainable.
Blogger/developer Erica Sadun relates how Apple’s own Department of AppStore Security is quashing some innovative developer marketing efforts and refusing to approve any app that advertises a contest or promises prizes or awards in the app itself or in its AppStore description.
Sadun uses the example of iFartMobile’s currently selling app, which advertises a $5000 prize to one lucky user for submitting a winning video of the app in action, saying Apple’s lawyers want no part of being named in potential suits against developers who may fail to deliver on contest prizes advertised through the AppStore. Developers are now being told no app using contest or sweepstakes marketing will be approved.
With the news this week there are now more than 20,000 apps on iTunes, it’s clear a lot of people out there are hoping to strike it rich panning for AppStore gold.
One can hardly blame Apple for trying to police the panhandlers, though, as Sadun points out, it can be frustrating for developers when the policing lacks transparency.
In a bid to attract PC “switchers,” Apple has begun redesigning its retail locations to focus more on Mac OS X and iPhone applications, according to a report Thursday.
The retail facelift is part of Apple’s “Why You’ll Love a Mac” theme, complete with images designed to highlight the differences between Macs and PCs, according to the IfoAppleStore site.
Among the changes will be greater concentration on Apple’s iLife and iWork software packages. Stores will offer iPhone 3Gs and iPod touchs loaded with applications available for customers to try.
After several rounds of fruitless talks with China’s largest carrier, Apple may ink an iPhone agreement with another carrier May 17, reports said Thursday.
China Unicom, the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier, confirmed it and Cupertino were discussing iPhone distribution.
“Yes, we are in talks with Apple Inc.,” a China Unicom executive told China Business News. The talks have been ongoing since October, according to the report.
Apple executives voiced confidence in iPhone sales for the second quarter ending in March, according to an analyst Thursday.
Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi told investors Apple’s top executives “appeared confident” after speaking with operations chief Tim Cook, chief finance officer Peter Oppenheimer and product head Phil Schiller earlier this week.
Apple’s confidence ahead of its second quarter guidance is bolstered by news Mac inventory is “below target level,” action that could increase Mac growth, according to Sacconaghi.
The iPhone was also a reason for Cupertino to be happy. The executives were “most bullish” about its handset business and the possibility of increasing market share.
Ted Nugent wants to put a little “Love Grenade” into your iPod on Valentine’s day. There are three of his tracks on the V-day list, along with a little obligatory Otis.
The Motor City madman says: “Picking the right mood songs and placing them in proper order could change your destiny, and set your ship of life sailing on that stormy sea known as matrimony.”
Here’s The Nuge’s V-Day Playlist:
1. “Wang Dan Doodle” — Howlin’ Wolf
2. “The Flame” — Cheap Trick
3. “Whole Lotta Rosie” — AC/DC
4. “Wango Tango” — Ted Nugent
5. “When A Man Loves A Woman” — Percy Sledge
6. “I’ve Been Lovin’ You Too Long” — Otis Redding
7. “Feels Like The First Time” — Foreigner
8. “My Love Is Like A Tire Iron” — Ted Nugent
9. “Brown Sugar” — The Rolling Stones
10. “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” — Ted Nugent
There are relationships where saying “Wang dang, what a sweet poontang a shakin’ my thang as a rang-a-dang-dang in the bell” says it all…
Nugent is also promoting a “Valentine’s Couple Hunt” where you and your sweetheart can spend February 14 stalking wild boar or exotic rams “using guns or the preferred method of the god of love.”
Via Idolator
I’m one of those freaks who much prefers listening to radio than watching TV. Consequently, I like to have radios around me. I have one in my office, one in the kitchen, and one in the bedroom. I really need to get hold of one for the bathroom.
FStream and the BBC Streams web site have jointly come to my aid.
It’s not exactly Shazam for fonts, but WhatTheFont is a pretty cool new app in the AppStore that will identify or make pretty darn good suggestions for identifying almost any font you find in the wild.
Using the iPhone’s built-in camera, users can photograph the text in question (or choose an existing image from the camera’s photo albums). The app allows you to crop the image, focusing on only the important parts before uploading to the WhatTheFont web-based identification service.
After confirming which characters are used in the image, the app provides a list of possible matching fonts, which users can either e-mail a link to a MyFonts page with more info on that font, or open the page in the iPhone’s built-in Safari web browser.
iPod Touch users can even get in on the action by using any image saved from apps such as Safari and Mail.
The app is free in the AppStore.
Via MacMerc
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOdhudBl3Vc&eurl=https://macenstein.com/default/archives/2710&feature=player_embedded
The ever-amusing Dr. Macenstein has unearthed a pitch for a new Apple advertising campaign meant to counter the growing prevalence of lawsuits charging the company with misleading consumers.
The new angle would show real-world Mac users and how they use their Macs in the real world. Simple is brilliant, eh?
In this test pilot, author/evolutionist Richard Dawkins uses his PowerBook to read hate mail.
Who would you use out there, dear reader?
Is Justin Long over?
Om Malik, a notable technology blogger, gave up on his iPhone Wednesday.
Citing ongoing and ultimately insurmountable frustration with AT&T’s network, Malik decided to ditch the iPhone and opt for a T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8900 for email and SMS. “I also signed up for a plain-vanilla voice service from Verizon Wireless. And I already have a 32 GB iPod Touch for surfing and music,” he said.
Admitting all that is probably not an ideal solution, Malik – wiith over 1800 friends on Facebook and nearly 20,000 followers on Twitter – found solace in the fact his new devices “can all be charged using the USB port of my Macbook, thereby obviating the need for extra chargers.”
Given that his decision rested solely on the deficiencies of AT&T’s network in the San Francisco Bay Area – ungodly stretches of time “searching” for the network, slow download speeds of web pages, problems with email, static, dropped calls and shoddy call quality – and he professed love for the iPhone, it’s a wonder he didn’t just jailbreak it.
Apple may be putting the finishing touches on a new streaming video service that would allow iTunes users to access purchased video content without the need to download and store it on a local machine, according to a report Wednesday at AppleInsider.
iTunes Replay would let users stream content such as movies and TV shows directly from Apple-owned servers in a manner similar to Amazon’s Video on Demand (formerly known as UnBox) and the Instant Watch service from Netflix, and may also improve the experience of the company’s Apple TV set top box, allowing users to stream purchased media directly from Apple’s servers without syncing or copying files between Apple TV and a computer running iTunes.
The report is unclear whether Apple intends to move toward a “streaming only” distribution model for the typically large files created by video content, or if iTunes Replay would merely represent an option for consumers with fewer concerns about retaining physical control of their purchased media content (and less storage in which to keep it).
To the extent that media distributors such as Apple, Amazon and Netflix embrace the streaming distribution model, consumers may find relief from the need to maintain ever greater storage capacity for growing media libraries. Though the trade-off – and guaranteed consumer dissatisfaction – will arise over bandwidth limitations that already make even a YouTube-watching experience sub-optimal at peak demand times in some places in the US.
After a round of saber rattling that left Palm and Apple hurling threats of patent infringement lawsuits, the Sunnyvale, Calif. company Wednesday attempted to smooth any ruffled feathers.
Palm had “no issues with Apple” patents and is “very respectful of other companies” patent portfolios, Palm chief Ed Colligan told an audience at the Thomas Weisel Technology & Telecom Conference.
The comments follow a week of verbal sparring between Palm and Apple over the upcoming introduction of the Pre, a touch-screen handset from the Treo maker.
Users of Apple’s online MobileMe service are once again the target of false e-mails sent by phishers attempting to persuade Mac users to divulge private information.
The e-mail purports to come from Apple, offering some friendly assistance with renewing MobileMe subscriptions; all that’s needed is your credit card information.
“Attempts to charge your credit card have failed,” the false e-mail mourns.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6BrtXI9Da4
If you’re one of the many out there who lives wild and free with a jailbroken iPhone, this is a big week for you.
First we reported on the availability of some serious porn for you, and now it appears you can have turn-by-turn voice navigation, courtesy of the dev team at xGPS.
xGPS uses Google’s map data and driving directions, adding a real-time navigation readout and a voice engine.
If you expect you might lose your data connection during the drive, you can also select a map area to download ahead of time.
Watch the ModMyi video above to learn more.
The app also supports a number of external GPS units, so 1st-gen iPhone and iPod Touch bad-boys and girls can get in on the fun too.
Via Gizmodo
Apple’s App Store has reportedly crossed the 20,000 download mark, suggesting the popular site has added 5,000 iPhone and touch applications since mid-January.
Apple refused to comment on a report the figure was reached less than a month after the Cupertino, Calif.-based company announced 15,000 App Store entries. The update was reached Tuesday, according to the Apptism site.
As of Wednesday morning, the App Store held 20,410, according to Apptism.
Computer chip makers saw worldwide demand for microprocessors fall 17 percent during the fourth quarter – a dive that is expected to continue in 2009, a market research firm said Wednesday.
“After hinting at a decline last September, the market fell off a cliff in October and November,” IDC research director Shane Rau told Macworld.
Rau said microprocessor shipments fell 17 percent during the quarter and more than 11 percent compared to the same quarter in 2007.
Although much has been made about Apple’s decision to drop copy-protection from iTunes Plus, the option still keeps music lovers tethered to a limit range of media players, according to a Wednesday report.
Unlike unprotected MP3 files, iTunes Plus creates songs that won’t work on devices requiring Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, the Chicago Tribune reported.
In a survey of compatibility of iTunes Plus purchases with a number of non-iPod music players, Chicago Tribune’s Eric Benderoff found iTunes Plus songs use the AAC file format.
“The problem is that Apple’s ‘unprotected files’ are in AAC format, which Windows Media player does not support,” Benderoff wrote.
httpv://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jCHU4ZHq15Y
Oh, the fun you’ll have with Fracture. Created by Visuamobile, it finally gives you the chance to find out what it would be like to smash your iPhone to pieces – without actually doing so.
I very nearly put this in a WTF iPhone Apps Of The Week post, but then I thought – actually, no. This might be quite entertaining, especially for the kids. My son loves smashing stuff up (I blame Power Rangers, myself) so I think he’ll get a kick out of destroying my iPhone. Over and over again.
Fracture is, as they say, “Coming soon” on the App Store.
A few Apple fans have turned their love for the company, mixed with moments of frustration, into a (distracting?) hobby with cross-stitch projects.
One crafty fellow, who goes by the name Benjibot, started when his 4G iPod conked out. He needled out his pain by creating the following “dead iPod” cross stitch.
He has a few other clever Mac-related projects for sale in frames on Etsy that highlight some of the more ominous icons, including the bomb.