A quick bit of news today to let you know that Nettuts+ has joined the Smashing Network which means you’ll now be able to see Nettuts+ posts appear on Smashing’s awesome Web Design Post Network section! The quality of sites in the network is simply phenomenal, and I’m thrilled that Vitaly and the crew are letting our tutorials reach even more people through their network.

If you’ve not ever flicked through the Smashing Network, I highly recommend heading over. The only downside is you usually end up with way more awesome articles than you could possibly read!

Dimensions takes important places, events and things, and overlays them onto a map of where you are.

Type in your postcode or a place name into the search to overlay at BBC Dimensions.

(via @ianvisits)

So after removing Mac support from there enterprise version with the release of Windows Server 2003, Microsoft add it back in again.

Does this mean an end to Microsoft policy of becoming market leader by simply doing anything in a none standard way. This new way will of corse becomes standard, as a result of the number of Windows machines out there. So everyone else starts to support that new standard, then they will change it.

Well bad luck Microsoft, Apple can now play that game too and they are better at it.

Next Windows Home Server adds Mac support

"Mac support is a customer requested scenario in Windows Home Server," Microsoft community program manager Jonas Svensson said in a statement. "We are glad to be offering it in the upcoming version of Windows Home Server and look forward to getting early feedback from users."

Among the features in the new test version of Vail are support for machines running Mac OS X Leopard or higher, remote Web access, support for add-ins, and alerts.

Microsoft has not said when to expect final versions of either Aurora or Vail.

Ina Fried

Slide offer Social Media Slide Show service to Facebook and MySpace, as well as;

Bebo, FriendSter, hi5, Orkut and lots more!

Google and Slide: building a more social web

...Slide has already created compelling social experiences for tens of millions of people across many platforms, and we’ve already built strong social elements into products like Gmail, Docs, Blogger, Picasa and YouTube. As the Slide team joins Google, we’ll be investing even more to make Google services socially aware and expand these capabilities for our users across the web...

Posted by David Glazer, Engineering Director

Google have announced that they will stop development of Google Wave.

Update on Google Wave

We have always pursued innovative projects because we want to drive breakthroughs in computer science that dramatically improve our users’ lives. Last year at Google I/O, when we launched our developer preview of Google Wave, a web app for real time communication and collaboration, it set a high bar for what was possible in a web browser. We showed character-by-character live typing, and the ability to drag-and-drop files from the desktop, even “playback” the history of changes—all within a browser. Developers in the audience stood and cheered. Some even waved their laptops...

...But despite these wins, and numerous loyal fans, Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked. We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects. The central parts of the code, as well as the protocols that have driven many of Wave’s innovations, like drag-and-drop and character-by-character live typing, are already available as open source, so customers and partners can continue the innovation we began. In addition, we will work on tools so that users can easily “liberate” their content from Wave...

Posted by Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President, Operations & Google Fellow

That's it, all Mobile Browsers other than the Windows Mobile browser are WebKit based, Apple have made a great browser engine.

In an uncharacteristic move, Research in Motion held a media event Tuesday in New York City to generate buzz for its new BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone, an AT&T handset with a multi-touch screen and slide-out keyboard.

The new BlackBerry Torch has a 5 megapixel camera and 8GB of internal memory -- 4GB flash and 4GB MicroSD. The hardware also includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and optical trackpad, and has support for 802.11n. The touchscreen is a 480x360 pixel display.

The Torch features BlackBerry OS 6, the latest mobile operating system, which packs a completely revamped Webkit-based Web browser with multi-touch input gestures. The new operating system offers integrated connectivity with social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, and has integrated search and a new user interface.

The name of the product came from the company Torch Mobile, which RIM acquired. That company's Iris mobile Web browser laid the foundation for the new BlackBerry 6 OS browser.

Eliminating some of the surprise RIM hoped to generate, however, were a number of leaks that occurred before Tuesday's event, including approval by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for the device, and posting of the handset on AT&T's site moments before RIM's event. Videos, pictures and details on the smartphone were available on AT&T's official site before the announcement was made official.

RIM showed its first glimpse at BlackBerry OS 6 in April, revealing that the software will include multitouch input for its Web browser, e-mail, media player and more. The mobile operating system also has iPhone-like features such as pinch-to-zoom.

By Katie Marsal Published: 11:10 AM EST

Microsoft has added official notice of a variety of key features in the upcoming release of its Office 2011 suite for Mac users.

The feature roundup on Microsoft's Office Blog includes a brief video of developers talking about the new release, along with four primary features:

• A new Template Gallery "allows you to quickly and easily pick a template from the built-in designs to the thousands of templates online -allowing you to create a great-looking document right from the start."
• The new Outlook for Mac" includes a Conversation View to easily sort emails" and uses a new database format designed to support Spotlight search and Time Machine backups.
• A Vista-like Ribbon UI "designed as an evolution of the Office 2008 Elements Gallery," still retains the familiar Mac menu bar and Office toolbars, providing a hybrid UI that melds Windows and Mac features. The ribbon and toolbar can both be minimized "for more screen space or for the more advanced users who rely on keyboard shortcuts."

Microsoft officially unveils key Office 2011 for Mac features By Daniel Eran Dilger

Extensions are a great way for you to add new features to Safari 5.0.1. Built by developers, Safari Extensions use the latest HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript web technologies. And they’re digitally signed and sandboxed for improved security. You can install extensions with one click — no need to restart Safari.

Click here to start installing extensions now!

Apple's iLife '11 suite will launch in August for $79, with all included applications being 64-bit, including a new "mystery" addition, a rumor suggests.

French Apple website Mac4Ever (via Google Translate) reported last week that iLife '11 will launch soon, on Saturday, August 7. The updated application suite is said to include improvements in the Faces and Places features in iPhoto, and will reportedly add greater integration with social networking sites.

Citing a "well informed" source, the site also said that iWeb will be brand new, and iLife '11 will include a new "mystery" application. It also said that iDVD will not be included, and instead will be downloaded like iMovie HD. Finally, the update will also reportedly include a MobileMe gallery beta with Faces and Places.

The iLife suite currently includes iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand and iWeb. The software is included on every new Mac. The last update, iLife '09, launched in January of 2009, with major upgrades to all of its applications, including the Faces and Places features in iPhoto, and the addition of the Precision Editor to iMovie.

In January, Apple was rumored to introduce iLife 2010, a report that didn't pan out. Instead, the Cupertino, Calif., company held a special event to introduce the iPad.

By Katie Marsal Published: 10:20 AM EST

We'll be leaving Demon Broadband then!

We're paying over the going rate because of Demon's high quality of service and unlimited downloads, my peak personal usage is between 18:00ish and 22:30, and mostly HD video streaming and iTunes content, unless Demon start not counting iPlayer and other streaming services as part of your cap, we'll be going to someone else.

Demon Internet has introduced a fair use policy for its small business broadband packages, putting a cap on the previously unlimited data it offered on certain products.

Announced on Thursday, the new policies involve a 200GB cap on Demon's Business 2+ and 2+ Pro packages and a 100GB cap on the Business 2000, 4000 and 8000 packages. The caps only apply between 8am and midnight, leaving unlimited usage available in the early morning.

"We've recently seen quite an increase in the amount of heavy users on our business broadband products, and as a result we can't continue to support completely unlimited use on these services, so we need to introduce a fair usage policy with peak hour usage restrictions," Demon chief Matt Cantwell wrote in a Thursday blog post.

By David Meyer, ZDNet UK, 26 July, 2010 16:41

via engadget.com
Found via @MaxShelley.

Are Apple finally tell us what is up with the iPhone 4 or are they going to announce a product recall?

What ever, all Apple Fans and iPhone owners will be watching Cupertino campus on Friday.

Apple to hold iPhone 4 press conference on Friday

On Wednesday afternoon Apple invited several journalists, including one from Macworld, to its Cupertino campus on Friday for a "press conference about iPhone 4." Presumably the company will use the event to publicly address all the controversy swirling around this product, most notably reports of antenna interference issues.

Discussion of iPhone 4 reception issues kicked into a higher gear this week with Consumer Reports withdrawing its endorsement of the product, despite otherwise higher ratings.

Jason Snell Macworld.com

On Friday below was posted on "The Twitter Engineering Blog".

It confirms that analytics are on the way and explains why twitter has had a lot of fail whales, recently.

Cassandra at Twitter Today

Friday, July 9, 2010

In the past year, we've been working with the Apache Cassandra open source distributed database. Much of our work there has been out in the open, since we're big proponents of open source software. Unfortunately, lately we've been less involved in the community because of more pressing concerns and have created some misunderstandings.

We're using Cassandra in production for a bunch of things at Twitter. A few examples: Our geo team uses it to store and query their database of places of interest. The research team uses it to store the results of data mining done over our entire user base. Those results then feed into things like @toptweets and local trends. Our analytics, operations and infrastructure teams are working on a system that uses cassandra for large-scale real time analytics for use both internally and externally.

For now, we're not working on using Cassandra as a store for Tweets. This is a change in strategy. Instead we're going to continue to maintain our existing Mysql-based storage. We believe that this isn't the time to make large scale migration to a new technology. We will focus our Cassandra work on new projects that we wouldn't be able to ship without a large-scale data store.

We're investing in Cassandra every day. It'll be with us for a long time and our usage of it will only grow.

Posted by @rk at 5:44 PM

Gaming giant Activision Blizzard Inc. today said it has abandoned plans to force commenters to use real names when posting on its World of Warcraft and StarCraft forums after loud protests from its users and others.

In a message posted on the company's Web site shortly before 1 p.m. EDT today, Activision Blizzard CEO Mike Morheieme said the company changed the plan announced earlier after receiving a raft of feedback, much of it criticizing the move, from users posting to the company's forums.

(read more via MacWorld UK)

Below is the statement from Blizzard

Hello everyone,

I'd like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. We've been constantly monitoring the feedback you've given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we've decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.

It's important to note that we still remain committed to improving our forums. Our efforts are driven 100% by the desire to find ways to make our community areas more welcoming for players and encourage more constructive conversations about our games. We will still move forward with new forum features such as the ability to rate posts up or down, post highlighting based on rating, improved search functionality, and more. However, when we launch the new StarCraft II forums that include these new features, you will be posting by your StarCraft II Battle.net character name + character code, not your real name. The upgraded World of Warcraft forums with these new features will launch close to the release of Cataclysm, and also will not require your real name.

I want to make sure it's clear that our plans for the forums are completely separate from our plans for the optional in-game Real ID system now live with World of Warcraft and launching soon with StarCraft II. We believe that the powerful communications functionality enabled by Real ID, such as cross-game and cross-realm chat, make Battle.net a great place for players to stay connected to real-life friends and family while playing Blizzard games. And of course, you'll still be able to keep your relationships at the anonymous, character level if you so choose when you communicate with other players in game. Over time, we will continue to evolve Real ID on Battle.net to add new and exciting functionality within our games for players who decide to use the feature.

In closing, I want to point out that our connection with our community has always been and will always be extremely important to us. We strongly believe that Every Voice Matters, ( http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/mission.html ) and we feel fortunate to have a community that cares so passionately about our games. We will always appreciate the feedback and support of our players, which has been a key to Blizzard's success from the beginning.

Mike Morhaime
CEO & Cofounder
Blizzard Entertainment

The DAB system was designed in the late 1980s, and its main original objectives were to provide radio at CD-quality; to provide better in-car reception quality than on FM; to use the spectrum more efficiently; to allow tuning by the name of the station rather than by frequency; and to allow data to be transmitted. DAB fulfills most of these objectives, but with one rather important exception: DAB sounds worse than FM.

Why is the sound quality so bad?

The main reason why there is a problem with the audio quality on DAB is due to the broadcasters using bit rate levels that are too low to provide good audio quality. The reason why they're using insufficient bit rate levels is due to DAB using the inefficient MP2 audio codec, which needs to be used at bit rate levels of at least 192 kbps to provide good audio quality -- FM provides an audio quality which is equivalent to 192 - 224 kbps MP2. Unfortunately, 98% of all of the stereo stations on DAB in the UK are using a bit rate level of 128 kbps, hence the audio quality is poor. This problem of using low bit rates doesn't only affect the UK, either, because the handful of other countries that are trying to promote the old DAB system -- Denmark, Norway and Switzerland -- are also using low bit rate levels.

The reason why such low bit rate levels are being used is because the broadcasters have decided to launch quite a lot of new digital-only stations, but as there is only a limited amount of spectrum available for DAB to use, the broadcasters decided to use low bit rate levels in order to fit these new stations onto DAB even though they knew full well that the audio quality would be lower than on FM.

The broadcasters and Ofcom try to make this out as being a "trade-off", but the reality is that audio quality was sacrificed in order to provide more stations. For example, the broadcasters decided to use 128 kbps for stereo stations, and this allows 9 stations to be carried in a DAB multiplex. If they reduced the number of stereo stations to 8 rather than 9 then half of the stations could transmit at a bit rate of 160 kbps, which would provide a significant improvement in quality, albeit that it would still sound worse than on FM.

(read more)

A row has erupted after Blizzard - the publishers of the popular online game World of Warcraft - announced that users on its site forums would have to post under their real names.

The firm say the move is to put an end to heated online arguments and topics started purely to cause trouble.

But users reacted angrily, citing concerns about safety and privacy.

Blizzard said they would start implementing the changes over the next few months.

A post, by Vameras - one of the site community managers - said that the forums had become

" a place where flame wars, trolling and other unpleasantness run wild".

"Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven't been connected before,"

the post continued.

(read more via BBC News)

The campaign against the Digital Economy Act took a new turn with reports from the BBC that BT and Talk Talk are jointly mounting a legal challenge against the act.

The two companies consider there is a case for a judicial review as they believe that the Act received insufficient debate and that the proposals harm basic freedoms, according to the BBC. The Act was pushed through in the last days of the outgoing Labour government after a very truncated debate and despite a vocal minority of MPs against it and despite a massive campaign run through blogs, Twitter and email from outside parliament.

(read more via MacWorld UK)

The Bluetooth 4.0 low-power wireless networking specification has been approved, and the technology will start appearing in devices such as smart meters and laptops later this year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group said on Wednesday.

Chips with the Bluetooth 4.0 standard have gone through a rigorous testing process, and the technology is being certified and licensed for use in chips and devices, said Mike Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, the standards-setting organization. Companies can now start designing and manufacturing devices using the standard.

The Bluetooth 4.0 standard is an update to the previous Bluetooth 3.0 wireless technology, which was announced in 2009. The new standard adds a low-power specification for transmitting small bursts of data over short ranges. The standard will also include the high-speed data transfer capabilities introduced with Bluetooth 3.0, which allows devices to jump on Wi-Fi 802.11 networks to transfer data at up to 25M bps (bits per second).

(read more via MacWorld UK)

Mozilla Corporation on Tuesday released the first external beta of Firefox 4.0 for Mac users, the latest version of the firm's popular web browser built atop its new Gecko 2.0 layout engine.



The 20.2MB update introduces crash protection that kicks in when there is a crash in the Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins, allowing users to continue their browsing session unfettered.

It also delivers a new Addons Manager and extension management API, WebSockets support, a new HTML 5 parser, a Web Console analysis tool, native support for the HD HTML5 WebM video format, and more responsive page rendering using lazy frame construction.

Cosmetically, Firefox 4 jettisons the individual stop and reload buttons for a single unified button, replaces the Bookmarks Bar with a Bookmarks Button, and places tabs at the very top of the browser window in a newly designed interface theme.

The latter change isn't fully implemented in the Mac distribution just yet, however, as the development team continues to work on the Mac theme. "Although you can customize Firefox to show tabs on top for OSX, it really doesn't look good," the team said in a set of release notes. "We suggest you wait."

Other changes include partial support for CSS Transitions, full WebGL support (currently disabled), support for more HTML5 form controls, and a Core Animation rendering model for plugins on Mac OS X.

(read more via AppleInsider)

Knock Knock, which makes humorous paper products, has come up with the perfect gift for those who are too analog to have discovered Twitter: Paper Tweets.

It's also not a bad backup idea for when the inevitable fail whale emerges.

Photo by Ina Fried/CNET

Caption by Ina Fried

(via CNET News)

In the ongoing debate over whether to use Flash or HTML5, Google has weighed in heavily in favour of using HTML5. The engineers at the Google-owned YouTube, however, still prefer Flash, if a company blog item posted Tuesday from the company is any indication.

"While HTML5's video support enables us to bring most of the content and features of YouTube to computers and other devices that don't support Flash Player, it does not yet meet all of our needs,"

said YouTube software engineer John Harding in the post.

"Today, Adobe Flash provides the best platform for YouTube's video distribution requirements."

In short, HTML5 still lacks many of the features needed for video presentation. And, as it happens, Flash provides all these features.

"We need to do more than just point the browser at a video file like the image tag does -- there's a lot more to it than just retrieving and displaying a video,"

he wrote.

(read more via Macworld UK)

In keeping with Google's enthusiasm for the emerging HTML5 standard, many upcoming features of the company's Gmail Web-based e-mail service will be rendered in HTML5, said Adam de Boor, a staff software engineer working on the service.

"We have things that we can do much more efficiently in HTML5," said De Boor, speaking Thursday at the Usenix WebApps '10 in Boston.


"HTML5 is exciting to me insofar as to how many browser makers are adopting it," he said, adding, "I have high hopes for IE9."

One of the chief benefits he pointed to is how the standard could speed the loading and execution time of Gmail.

(Read more via Macworld UK)

The BBC has been given the go-ahead for a project which could kick-start demand for internet TV.

Project Canvas is a partnership between the BBC, ITV, BT, Five, Channel 4 and TalkTalk to develop a so-called Internet Protocol Television standard.

The BBC Trust - the corporation's governing body - made its decision after extensive consultation.

The trust's Diane Coyle said the partnership "will deliver significant public value for licence fee payers".

The trust will review the BBC's involvement against the conditions of its approval, 12 months after Canvas launches to consumers.

The service will see a range of set-top boxes available to access on-demand TV services such as iPlayer and ITVplayer.

Project director Richard Halton said he was "delighted" by the trust's decision.

"This brings the benefits of next-generation TV to all consumers, including those who choose not to subscribe to pay-TV,"

he said.

"We look forward to rising to that challenge."

(read more via BBC News)

A government report into cybercrime has recommended that internet service providers (ISPs) force customers to use antivirus and firewall software or risk being disconnected.

Committee chair Belinda Neal said in her introduction to the 262-page report titled

"Hackers, Fraudsters and Botnets: Tackling the Problem of Cyber Crime"

that due to the exponential growth of malware and other forms of cybercrime in recent years,

"the expectation that end users should or can bear the sole responsibility for their own personal online security is no longer a tenable proposition".

Some of the other 34 recommendations in the report include that the:

• Government should establish an "Office of Online Security" headed by a cybersecurity coordinator with expertise in cybercrime and e-security located within the Department of Prime Minster and Cabinet, with responsibility for whole-of-government coordination;
• Development of a single national online cybercrime reporting portal and helpline;
• Establishment of an agency to oversee all collection of data and establish agreements on how government agencies and industry will share and protect information for research;
• Government should provide free access to antivirus software;
• Australian domain name register industry be subject to an anti-phishing code of conduct; and
• Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy send out "public health" style campaigns in the media informing the public of certain cybercrime activities.

(read more via ZDNet Australia)

Apple's iPhone iOS 4 Software Update should be available today, in time for the launch of the iPhone 4 this Thursday 24 June.

iOS 4 promises over 100 new features including multitasking, folders, iBooks, improved Mail, spell checker, wireless keyboard support and the ability to change home screen wallpaper.

(read more)

(via MacWorld UK)

Long-lost UK ISP Demon Internet has relaunched itself with a new focus on SMEs and high-end home users.

Now part of Cable & Wireless, which acquired it when it bought parent outfit Thus in 2008, Demon 2.0 plans to sit somewhere above premium home user broadband and full-scale business connectivity services offered by C&W and BT.

Unique selling points are tricky for an industry built on commodity bandwidth and, contentiously, bandwidth management, but Demon claims its distinctiveness will be built around guaranteed bandwidth, generous usage allowances and UK-based support.

The SDSL-based Premier Business tariffs offer 1Mbit/s or 2Mbit/s downstream bandwidth on ultra-low contention ratios of 1:1, with 512Kbit/s, 1Mbit/s and 2Mbit/s upstream links, 24/7 support, a single free domain name and choice of AP address assignment, and unlimited usage. This costs £175 per month. A cheaper business tariff based on ADSL comes in at £65 per month.

Mid-level SMEs will be pointed towards the Business 2000 and Business 8000 tariffs, which feature 2Mbit/s and 8Mbit/s download, static IP addresses, 24/7 support and traffic prioritisation. Upload speeds are 832Kbit/s. These cost £30 and £35 per month.

At the bottom of the SME scale are the Business 2 and Business 2+ tariffs, which cost £19 and £23 per month respectively, based on a 24-month contract. These offer 8Mbit/s and 24Mbit/s download and 1Mbit/s upload, static IP addresses, 24/7 support, and claimed traffic prioritisation.

High-use homeworkers can choose from one of four tariffs, depending on how many PCs are likely to be using the connection at one time. The key stats here are the relatively high 50GB and 60GB download limits – rivals’ ‘pro’ services often cap this at around 20GB – and 1Mbit/s upload speeds. These cost from £15.28 (inc VAT) per month, to £20.56 per month, again with the 24-month tie-in.

(read more)

(via Macworld UK)

Apple unveils all new Mac mini
15 June 2010

Introducing a completely redesigned Mac mini, featuring up to twice the graphics performance, a new HDMI port and a new SD card slot, all in an amazingly compact aluminium enclosure. “The sleek, aluminium Mac mini packs great features, versatility and value into an elegant, amazingly compact design”, said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With twice the graphics performance, HDMI support and industry-leading energy efficiency, customers are going to love the new Mac mini”

(from Apple Hot News)

In March, we launched the Blogger Template Designer on Blogger in Draft, our experimental playground where you can try out the latest features Blogger has to offer. Today we’re excited to announce that the Blogger Template Designer has graduated from Blogger in Draft and is now available to everyone by default.

Blogger Template Designer is a way for you to easily customize the look of your blog without knowing any HTML or CSS. You can select from a variety of templates, images, colors and column layouts to make your blog an expression of you. See our post on Blogger Buzz for the highlights on this new tool.

(from The Google Official Blog)

Adobe Flash 10.1



The new version of Flash does seem to respond faster on Flash heavy sites such as Honda Insight - Let It Shine on Vimeo.

So get it here now.

'Huge release'
The security update came in the release of version 10.1 of the Flash player.
"Don't let the version number fool you! Flash Player 10.1 is more than a 'dot upgrade'," said Paul Betlem of Adobe's Flash Player engineering team.
Mr Betlem said the update was a "monumental undertaking" that made significant changes to the architecture of the software."

(from BBC News - Adobe fixes 'critical' Flash flaw)

Adobe AIR 2.0



Adobe also resealed Adobe AIR 2.0

Get it here.

Look at Google, is this just me?

Fourteen hours into a 24-hour experiment with background imagery, Google's homepage is once again stark white.

Design guru Marissa Mayer confirmed that Google was ending the experiment early due to what she called a "bug". The bug erased a link underneath the search bar on google.com that explained why Google's famously spartan home page had taken on a colourful look. Apparently many searchers on Thursday morning missed the company's blog post on Wednesday, and were confused and annoyed at the change, turning "remove google background" into the seventh-most-popular search on Google on Thursday.

(quoted from Google removes homepage image experiment on ZDNet UK)

A god send if you develop against an api http://api-status.com/ -- a sort of 'is my site up or is it just me'

(via @loghound)

Apple has unveiled the latest version of its smartphone, the iPhone 4, and UK operators are lined up to release the device on 24 June.

The iPhone 4 was shown off on Monday by Apple chief Steve Jobs at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2010. Orange, Vodafone and O2 will carry the handset in the UK, although local pricing has not yet been announced. In the US, the device's cost will start from $199 (£138) on a two-year contract.

(read more)

(via ZDNet UK)

Apple Releases Safari 5

SAN FRANCISCO—June 7, 2010—Apple® today released Safari® 5, the latest version of the world’s fastest and most innovative web browser, featuring the new Safari Reader for reading articles on the web without distraction, a 30 percent performance increase over Safari 4,* and the ability to choose Google, Yahoo! or Bing as the search service powering Safari’s search field. Available for both Mac® and Windows, Safari 5 includes improved developer tools and supports more than a dozen new HTML5 technologies that allow web developers to create rich, dynamic websites. With Safari 5, developers can now create secure Safari Extensions to customize and enhance the browsing experience.

(read more)

(via Apple PR)

What is Modernizr?

Have you ever wanted to do if-statements in your CSS for the availability of cool features like border-radius? Well, with Modernizr you can accomplish just that! The syntax is very intuitive, too:

.multiplebgs div p {
/* properties for browsers that
support multiple backgrounds */
}
.no-multiplebgs div p {
/* optional fallback properties
for browsers that don't */
}

Modernizr is a small and simple JavaScript library that helps you take advantage of emerging web technologies (CSS3, HTML 5) while still maintaining a fine level of control over older browsers that may not yet support these new technologies.

Modernizr uses feature detection to test the current browser against upcoming features like rgba(), border-radius, CSS Transitions and many more. These are currently being implemented across browsers and with Modernizr you can start using them right now, with an easy way to control the fallbacks for browsers that don’t yet support them.

Additionally, Modernizr creates a self-titled global JavaScript object which contains properties for each feature; if a browser supports it, the property will evaluate true and if not, it will be false.

Lastly, Modernizr also adds support for styling HTML 5 elements. This allows you to use more semantic, forward-looking elements such as <section>, <header> and <dialog> without having to worry about them not working in Internet Explorer.


(read more about Modernizr)

Go there now.

(via @CrabCreative)

On the heels of a report that Google will phase out Windows in its workplace over security concerns, Microsoft on Tuesday stood up for its operating system.

Microsoft 's counterattack was a turnaround from earlier in the day, when the company declined to comment on a story published Monday by the Financial Times . The newspaper cited several unnamed Google employees who said the company is dumping Windows because of worries about security.

Google has reason to fret about security. In January, Google announced that Chinese hackers had broken into its network and stolen confidential information, an incident that led the company to move its Chinese search operation to Hong Kong and out of reach of Chinese government censors. Security researchers later said hackers had targeted Google and other companies with an exploit of a then-unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 .

Rather than Windows, Google is offering workers the choice between Macs running Apple 's Mac OS X and PCs running Linux , the Financial Times said.

"When it comes to security, even hackers admit we're doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else,"

said Microsoft spokesman Brandon LeBlanc in a post Tuesday afternoon to the company's Windows blog .

"And it's not just the hackers; third party influentials and industry leaders like Cisco tell us regularly that our [security] focus and investment continues to surpass others."

LeBlanc added.

(read more)

(via MacWorld)

Mac software security specialists Intego has warned Mac users of a potential new threat. Intego claims to have discovered a spyware application that is installed by a number of freely distributed Mac applications and screen savers found online, without specifying the details.

The spyware - OSX/OpinionSpy - reportedly performs a number of malicious actions, from scanning files to recording user activity, as well as sending information about this activity to remote servers and opening a backdoor on infected Macs.

While distribution is limited, Intego warns Mac users to pay careful attention to which software they download and install, and rates the threat risk as 'high.'

The Press Release: Preliminary List of Applications that Install OSX/OpinionSpy Spyware

Intego announced earlier today that the OSX/OpinionSpy spyware has been found in a number of applications and screen savers that are distributed on several web sites. This spyware performs a number of malicious actions, from scanning files to recording user activity, as well as sending information about this activity to remote servers and opening a backdoor on infected Macs.

As we said in our initial security alert, the spyware itself is not contained in these applications, but is downloaded during the installation process. The information provided with some of these applications contains a misleading text that users must accept explaining that a “market research” program is installed with them, but not all of these specify this. Some of these programs are also distributed directly from developers’ web sites with no such warning.

The spyware is installed as an application named PremierOpinion.

Below is a list of the screensavers and applications that we have found so far which install this spyware.

Screensavers: all these screensavers are made by the same company, 7art-screensavers, and are available from their web site, http://7art-screensavers.com.

Secret Land ScreenSaver v.2.8
Color Therapy Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
7art Foliage Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Nature Harmony Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Fiesta Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Fractal Sun Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Full Moon Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Sky Flight Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Sunny Bubbles Clock ScreenSaver v.2.9
Everlasting Flowering Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Magic Forest Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Freezelight Clock ScreenSaver v.2.9
Precious Stone Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Silver Snow Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Water Color Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Love Dance Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Galaxy Rhythm Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
7art Eternal Love Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Fire Element Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Water Element Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Emerald Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Radiating Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Rocket Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Serenity Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Gravity Free Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Crystal Clock ScreenSaver v.2.6
One World Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Sky Watch ScreenSaver v.2.8
Lighthouse Clock ScreenSaver v.2.8
Applications: so far, Intego has only found this spyware in one application:

MishInc FLV To Mp3, http://www.mishinc.info/mac_flv_to_mp3.php
Intego is continuing its search for other applications that install this spyware. We will post more information regarding this spyware here as it is uncovered.

(read more)

(via MacWorld)

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs took the stage at D8 Tuesday evening to discuss his company's opposition to Adobe Flash on the iPhone OS, as well as the prototype fourth-generation iPhone that turned up in a high profile exposé by Gizmodo.

Jobs was interviewed Tuesday evening by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher of of The Wall Street Journal. The talk served as the opening event for the annual D: All Things Digital Conference.

Jobs' segment was preceded by an introduction given by News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch, who went overtime speaking about the future of content creation and the iPad while, somewhat ironically, speaking from notes written on letter sized paper.

(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

CUPERTINO, California — May 31st, 2010 — Apple today announced that iPad sales have topped two million in less than 60 days since its launch on April 3rd. Apple began shipping iPad in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK this past weekend. iPad will be available in nine more countries in July and additional countries later this year.

“Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do”, said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone”.

iPad allows users to connect with their apps, content and the Internet in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface. iPad is 0.5 inches thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds — thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook — and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

Developers have created over 5,000 exciting new apps for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch user interface, large screen and high-quality graphics. iPad will run almost all of the more than 200,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone or iPod touch.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

(Read more)

(via Apple Hot News)

Engadget on Friday revealed alleged details on a forthcoming update to the Apple TV set top box, which will reportedly be based on iPhone OS 4, will be powered by Apple's custom-built A4 processor, and will offer 1080P cloud-based streaming content -- all starting at just $99.

Editor Joshua Topolsky said the information came from a tip and was confirmed by a source "very close to Apple." The new hardware will reportedly have just 16GB of storage, but will be capable of full 1080P HD video.

"Not only will this be priced to sell (like hotcakes), it seems that Apple is moving away from the model of local storage and will be focusing the new ATV on cloud-based storage (not unlike Amazon's streaming scheme, though we're talking instant-on 1080P, a la Microsoft)," the report said. "For those still interested in keeping their content close, there will be an option to utilize a Time Capsule as an external storage component, but the main course will be about streaming."

(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

The Apple iPad tablet computer is going on sale in the UK, after one million were sold in the first 28 days after its launch in the US.

Some Apple stores will open an hour earlier, at 0800 BST, to allow fans to get their hands on the device.

There are warnings that some customers who pre-ordered the device by post, in order to get it on the launch date, may be disappointed due to delivery delays.

But others have told the BBC that their iPad had actually arrived a day early.

(read more)

(via BBC News)

The BBC has unveiled the latest version of its online TV service iPlayer, incorporating new features such as social networking and chat functionality, automated downloads and the BBC's new sign-in system.

The third generation of iPlayer, launched on Wednesday, now includes the option for users to personalise its interface through the use of the BBC's iD sign-in technology, allowing individuals to access their iPlayer settings from a variety of devices.

The BBC will follow uptake of the service and, if it proves successful, will look to integrate chat applications from other companies in the future.

For more on this story, see BBC unveils iPlayer 3.0 with chat, social networking functionality on silicon.com.

(read more)

(via ZDNet UK)

Google has announced the first stable release of Chrome for Mac users, now available for download.

Mike Smith, the product manager of Google's Chrome Team, said in a blog announcement, "Today, I’m happy to announce that Google Chrome for Mac is being promoted out of beta to our stable channel.

"We believe that it provides not only the stability, performance and polish that every Mac user expects, but also a seamless native Mac application experience that Mac users will feel instantly at home with."

The new release can be downloaded from google.com/chrome. It requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later, and only supports Intel Macs.

Chrome is based on the WebKit rendering engine and APIs maintained by Apple, but in contrast to Safari, it offers a variety of unique features such as extension plugins that can modify how the browser works.

(via AppleInsider)

Microsoft has issued a third release of its private beta program for Office 2011 for Mac, which is expected to reach production by the end of the year.

The new release overhauls the suite's icons, which haven't significantly changed since Office v.X appeared in late 2001 with bubbly translucent icons intended to reflect the Aqua appearance of Mac OS X.

The new 2011 icons are toned down and more serious looking (below). Also refined are the splash screens for each app.

The new suite works to bring more visual harmony between the Mac and Windows versions; Microsoft just released Office 2010, the Windows equivalent of the upcoming 2011 Mac version.



(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

As expected, the first day of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference will include a keynote from Steve Jobs, when it is believed the chief executive will introduce the fourth-generation iPhone.

Apple announced on Monday that Jobs will deliver the keynote on Monday, June 7 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. WWDC 2010 runs from June 7 to June 11 at Moscone West in San Francisco, Calif. The five-day conference will include the first-ever iPad development sessions and hands-on working labs for iPhone OS 4, as well as Mac OS X core technology labs.

Apple said Monday that the event will focus on providing advanced content for skilled developers in five key technology tracks: Application Frameworks, Internet & Web, Graphics & Media, Developers Tools, and Core OS. Apple's engineers will deliver over 100 solutions-oriented technical sessions and labs, and the primary focus will be iPhone OS 4, suggesting an advanced preview of Mac OS X 10.7 may not be a part of the event.

(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

Google Celebrate 30 years of PAC-MAN, click here to go there now!

Google on Thursday announced Google TV, a new platform that aims to integrate both Web browsing and cable TV with one device running its Android operating system, set to arrive this fall.

As with Android smartphones, Google TV hardware will not be made by the search giant. Instead, hardware partners and HDTV makers will create devices that will run Google's operating system.

Google said that TV today is too complicated, with too many channels and a poor interface for finding the shows you want to see. They said many people these days end up watching videos on the Web, because it's much easier to find what you're looking for and watch it on your own schedule.



(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

Google will make its Wave collaboration and communication tool available to anyone who wants to try it out on Wednesday at its I/O developer conference.

The announcement should dispel conjecture that Wave, which generated a lot of buzz when it was unveiled as an early stage product at last year's I/O, would never be released widely but rather have its technology carved up and implanted in other products.



(read more)

(via Macworld)

Google have made two huge announcements today. One of these concerns the Google Fonts API. Simply by linking to a particular font, stored on Google’s servers (save on bandwidth + caching benefits), we now have access to a wide array of custom fonts. Quite literally, you can integrate these fonts into your project in about 20 seconds. It’s as simple as that. Further, due to the operations being performed behind the scenes, these custom fonts will even be recognized back to Internet Explorer 6. I, for one, and am extremely excited about the possibilities, and the font catalog is surely to continue expanding over the coming years.

(read more)

(via net.tutsplus)

$spyed reports

We know that every pixel counts when it comes to exhibiting your work and take great pride in knowing that you’ve chosen deviantART to share your art. With the launch of deviantART v7, we’re solidifying our place as the best way to exhibit your art on the Internet.

With all this talk about HTML5 not being complete until 2022, many people disregard it entirely – which is a big mistake. In fact, there are a handful of HTML5 features that we can use in all our projects right now! Simpler, cleaner code is always a good thing. In today’s video quick tip, I’ll show you a handful of options.

(via net.tutsplus)

Any personal data from Wi-Fi hot spots collected by Google's Street View cars in the U.K. will have to be deleted.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

The fallout from Google's Wi-Fi data collection gaffe continues, with the U.K. government ordering it to destroy personal data collected through the Street View project.

The Information Commission's Office in the U.K. issued the order Tuesday, according to the Guardian, following Google's disclosure Friday that it had inadvertently collected personal data from Wi-Fi hot spots as part of its Street View mapping project. Google has said that it collected random packets of Internet traffic sent over unsecured hot spots as part of its bid to use Wi-Fi hot-spot triangulation for geolocation services, which several companies have done without collecting the personal data.

Google has offered to open up its databases to outsiders to review the information and ensure it is properly destroyed. The ICO decided that since Google hadn't collected full streams of Internet traffic from users there was no requirement for Google to keep the data as evidence in any future proceeding, according to the report.

However, privacy advocates in the U.K. were disappointed that the ICO took Google at its word. Google initially told the German government--and the public--that it didn't collect this type of personal data before backtracking on that claim following an internal review of its software.

(read more)

(via CNET News)

A new layout, called Vector, will become the default, replacing the current one, MonoBook, and is intended to make core functions easier to find on Wikipedia pages. Users who dislike Vector can switch their layout back to Monobook.

The navigation scheme has been modified to make it clearer when a user is on reading or editing mode on a page. Controls that are used less often have been moved to a left-hand sidebar that users can have either open or closed.

The editing toolbar has been revamped to simplify formatting of pages and the creation of tables. A new wizard walks users through the creation of links to Wikipedia or external Web pages. In addition, the search engine now features improved search suggestions.

Wikipedia now also features a "book creator" feature which lets people pick articles and assemble them into a book in PDF format.

"We kicked off this effort in April 2009, and immediately went to work to figure out how to make Wikipedia easier to use for everyone,"

wrote Naoko Komura, from the Wikimedia User Experience team, in an official Wikimedia blog.

(read more)

(via MacWorld)

Adobe on Thursday responded to Steve Jobs' "Thoughts on Flash" with an open letter of its own, and also began a new ad campaign in which the company says it "loves" Apple -- but dislikes "anybody taking away your freedom" to use the Web freely.

In a letter from Adobe cofounders Chuck Geschke and John Warnock, the chairmen asserted that a "single company" does not control the Web. They argued that Adobe's Flash technology is the market leader "because of the constant creativity and technical innovation" of the company's employees.

"We believe that Apple, by taking the opposite approach, has taken a step that could undermine this next chapter of the web -- the chapter in which mobile devices outnumber computers, any individual can be a publisher, and content is accessed anywhere and at any time,"

they wrote.

Warnock and Geschke said that fragmentation of the Web into "closed systems" with content applications "behind walls" will result in the loss of the creativity and innovation that has made the Internet a global revolution.

"We believe that consumers should be able to freely access their favorite content and applications, regardless of what computer they have, what browser they like, or what device suits their needs," the letter reads. "No company -- no matter how big or how creative -- should dictate what you can create, how you create it, or what you can experience on the web."

Starting Thursday, Adobe began a new advertising campaign based on its beliefs, and intended to counter Apple's attack on Flash. Banners across the Web with the Adobe logo display in big, bold letters "We [Heart] Apple."

It continues:

"What we don't love is anybody taking away your freedom to choose what you create, how you create it, and what you experience on the web."

The ads feature a "Learn More" button that takes visitors to a page on Adobe's Web site that says "We [Heart] Choice" and links to the letter from Warnock and Geschke.

"We believe open markets that allow developers, publishers, and consumers to make their own choices about how they create, distribute, and access content are essential to progress," the promotional site reads.

"That's why we actively support technologies like HTML4, HTML5, CSS, and H.264, in addition to our own technologies."

In addition to advertisements on major tech blogs like Engadget, Adobe has also bought a full-page print ad in Thursday's Washington Post.

(read more)

(via Apple Insider)

I always run Google Maps with some of the Labs Features turned on, and this lunchtime I noticed a new feature to play with.

"Distance measurement tool"



Feeling ultra geeky today.



Oo it changes to a selection menu!



Wow uber nerd moment! Nerd out time!

Apple is advertising the iPad in a new spot that breaks from previous iPod an iPhone product ads to present the new device as magical and revolutionary.

The new spot, which Apple today posted to YouTube, asks "What is iPad?"

It then portrays users interacting with the thin new tablet, noting that it is "thin, beautiful, goes anywhere, and lasts all day."

The ad ends with the line,

"It's already a revolution, and it's only just begun."

(read more)

(via Apple Insider)

NEWS: Microsoft has released Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 to volume-licensing enterprise customers, ahead of the software's retail launch in June.

In addition, the 2010 updates to Visio and Project are now available to businesses, the software maker said in its announcement on Wednesday.

The new features of Office 2010 include easier embedding of video and audio in PowerPoint presentations, the embedding of relevancy links in OneNote notes, a new menu structure in Word and new formatting options in Excel. Documents can also be saved directly into SharePoint or online sharing services such as Skydrive.

People will want to upgrade from previous versions of Microsoft's suite because the new version provides "an even better and more productive experience across the PC, browser and mobile phone", said Jeff Teper, the head of Microsoft's Office Business Platform group.

"There's just a whole host of everything from the new presentation features in PowerPoint to the Outlook Social Connector that brings your email and social connections together," Teper told ZDNet UK on Wednesday. "SharePoint brings a whole host of new capabilities for business intelligence, content management and social networking that really light up best with Office 2010."

About 8.5 million people and organisations have downloaded the beta version of Office 2010, according to Microsoft.

(read more)

(via ZDNet UK)

PHOTO
On Monday, Mozilla's Firefox director Mike Beltzner presented a webcast in which he outlined the future of the popular web browser.

Beltzner showed some concept shots of Firefox 4, which is scheduled to ship in October or November this year. He stressed that everything about Firefox 4 remains open to change between now and its release.

From what Beltzner showed, Firefox 4's tabs system will be similar to that of Chrome, in that tabs will appear above the address bar. The home button is also replaced by a tab.

(read more)

(via ZDNet UK)

Monday evening, my dinner cooking was disturbed by someone who claimed to represent the California League of Conservation Voters.

She boasted that this league pressured politicians into supporting pro-environment policies. She was self-righteous. She assumed I was on her side. And, within 30 seconds, she asked for money. ("You see," she said, "your neighbors have already contributed.")

I asked her whether she could give me something to read, so that I could better understand her slightly fascist overtones. "Well, we prefer to just take a check donation," she replied. Preferring that she leave my surroundings, I immediately thought of Facebook. Just as this woman had made assumptions about her righteousness, so has Facebook.

Are we really living in an era of quite thrilling gall, one in which everyone stands by while a few who claim to hold the keys to the future march along like a rather fun May Day Parade in Moscow? You see, for days I have been wondering about Facebook's sleight of mind in introducing Like buttons, sharing your personal information, and complicating its opt-outs to the degree that even Craig Newmark blogged that he didn't quite understand it all.

I have an extremely minor presence on the site. Facebook still hasn't worked out if I'm male or female. Yet I wondered whether the site's simultaneously aggressive and passive behavior might have stimulated a reaction amongst real people, as opposed to the tech community.

Strangely, this thought coincided with a very interesting analysis by Search Engine Land. Without any malice, Search Engine Land happened upon the Google search "how do I..." And there, seventh on this list of Google's suggestions, was "how do I delete my Facebook account."



(read more)

(via CNET News)

Apple is finally enabling UK customers to pre-order the iPad from the Apple Store.

The long-awaited device was first announced by Steve Jobs at a launch event on 27 January. Pre-orders were initially supposed to be available in March, but following a series of delays the device will now go on sale to UK customers on the 28 May.

(read more)

(via MacWorld)

As I said earlier tonight, code doesn’t lie. Facebook has now confirmed their location-based feature, which is apparently due to launch shortly if the code found on their touch.facebook.com site is any indication. Of course, they only confirmed it so they could clarify something else.

“There are currently no plans to add marketing partners to this product. We may consider working with marketers to enhance the experience in the future, but have no plans to do so at launch,”

a Facebook spokesperson tells us in response to our story. You’ll notice two key words in there, “product” and “launch.” So Facebook is acknowledging the “product” that we found. And you have to believe they wouldn’t bring up a “launch” or know details about it if it weren’t happening soon.

(Read more)

(@alexpuig)

Valve's highly anticipated release Mac OS X release of Steam, its cloud-based game store and service, is set to be released as a public beta this week. AppleInsider offers a first look at the software with hands-on impressions and screenshots, including the first available titles: Portal and Team Fortress 2.

Steam comes to Mac OS X

A longstanding criticism of Apple's Mac OS X has been the limited availability of games for the platform. While some major franchises have seen ports to the Mac, they often come months -- and sometimes years -- after their PC counterparts.

Boot Camp has allowed Mac users to install Windows in order to run their favorite titles, but the cost of buying the operating system at retail along with the hassle of rebooting to switch to another OS has made the option less than ideal. And there are emulators, such as Crossover, Parallels and VMWare Fusion, but they offer mixed results with game performance and reliability. What Mac gamers have longed for is major support from a first-rate publisher to bring games natively to the Mac.

Enter Valve, who just a few months ago announced that not only would many of its popular titles be coming to the Mac, but it was also bringing Steam, its digital game distribution platform which has more than 25 million users and offers access to 1,100 games on the PC. The release of Steam for Mac could potentially pave the way for other publishers to release their content for the Mac, with a popular and established platform readily available for all Intel Mac users. In fact, Valve has said it has already received interest from other publishers who want to bring their titles to Steam on the Mac.

Valve has also promised that it will treat the Mac as a "first-tier" platform, meaning major new titles developed for the PC will release day-and-date with the Mac. In other words, no more waiting months and perhaps years for the latest major titles.



And in what is perhaps the biggest benefit to the Mac gaming community, Valve has done something unprecedented: All Valve-made titles that gamers already own on the PC can also be played on the Mac for free. That means gamers won't have to buy new licenses for a title to play it on the Mac. In a way, this would be like if a publisher were to offer users who buy a game on Xbox 360 a free copy of the title for the Playstation 3, a competing platform. Valve could have easily charged full price for Mac titles and followed the status quo, but this move will allow PC users to more easily make the switch to Mac without having to re-invest in their favorite games.

The games

About those games: Valve is renowned for making some of the biggest titles in PC history, with the Half-Life series its biggest accomplishment. The company is also behind some of the best-reviewed games of all time, including Portal, Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead. And with Valve treating the Mac as a first-tier platform, new titles are on the way.



One of the most anticipated games of 2010 is Portal 2, which will ship simultaneously for the Mac this holiday season. Other popular titles like Left 4 Dead 2, released last fall for the PC, are said to be coming to the Mac, but are not yet available on Steam.

Steam for Mac has a new feature called "SteamPlay," that allows Mac users to play against PC gamers. That means online fragging in Team Fortress 2 isn't restricted to one operating system: Mac and PC users can play with or against each other with no discernible differences.



In March, John Cook, director of Steam development at Valve, told AppleInsider that that Valve worked closely with Apple as the developer became more acquainted with the Mac platform. He called Apple a "great partner" in the process of bringing Steam to Mac.

Valve's games are built on the Source engine, which has been modified to support OpenGL on the Mac. Valve has worked with Apple and GPU suppliers for Macs to make sure its titles take full advantage of the hardware capabilities on Macs, including giving feedback on opportunities to extend OpenGL to better support not only Source games, but also third-party games that are expected to come to the Mac.

Steam for Mac: the beta

The beta release of Steam for Mac will look familiar to anyone who has used Steam on the PC. The main window is divided into four categories: Store, Library, News and Community. Users can easily view their Friends list to see what games others are playing, what achievements they have unlocked, or quickly join them in an online game.



Still, this does not feel like a PC application ported to the Mac. This is a true, native Mac application. For example, the software also features Growl support, with notifications displayed on the screen while in a game. Steam also has its own notification system for when downloads have been completed; these display in the same manner as Growl.

The Steam Store is currently nonexistent with no titles available for the Mac, though Valve expects that to change in the future, with its own games being ported along with third-party titles. A note in the storefront placeholder currently says the Mac game store is "coming soon," once the Steam beta ends.

While Valve has said all of its games will support SteamPlay, allowing gamers to access their titles on either the Mac or PC with just one purchase, other developers who sell their titles through Steam may not opt to offer this feature. To help Mac gamers know which titles will offer this feature, a SteamPlay symbol for Mac and Windows will be featured when shopping in the Store.

Like Steam on the PC, running the client on the Mac makes sure all of your games are up to date. Patches and updates for titles are instantly downloaded when Steam is launched, ensuring that all users have the latest version of a title.

In addition, users can also access the Steam in-game overlay, by pressing Shift+Tab. The in-game Steam Community offers notifications for users when their friends sign on, and allows them to initiate text or voice chat with others on their Friends list.



(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

For more, see AppleInsider's additional coverage:

Valve, Apple worked closely to bring Steam natively to Mac
Game developers eye the Mac after Steam's jump to Apple
Valve sets public Mac Steam release for May 12, 2010
Valve announces Steam for Mac, games will allow Mac-PC online play

Apple announced earlier today that the iPad will finally be available in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Switzerland on Friday 28 May 2010. Customers can pre-order all iPad models, including 3G models, from Apple’s online store in all nine countries beginning next Monday, 10 May.

Apple's iPad is available in the UK for a suggested retail price of £429 for 16GB, £499 for 32GB, £599 for 64GB for Wi-Fi models and £529 for 16GB, £599 for 32GB and £699 for 64GB for Wi-Fi + 3G models. All prices include VAT. The iPad will be sold through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorised Resellers. The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download from the App Store on 28 May. O2, Vodafone and Orange will all offer 3G data plans.

(read more)

(via MacWorld UK)

Starting Wednesday, Google users will see something very different on search results pages as the world's leading Internet search company trots out one of its most significant redesigns in years.

Google search result pages will get a lot more colorful as Google formally introduces a redesign it has been testing for several years. It's not a huge surprise since Google has been actively testing the design with users for several months, and testing for this particular revision dates back even further, said John Wiley, senior user experience designer for Google.

(read more)

(via CNET News)

Tickets to Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference have sold out just eight days after the company announced the date and began selling tickets last week.

The conference, held in San Francisco's Moscone West center, can only accommodate around 5,000 attendees. This year, the event's ticket prices rose from $1295 to $1599, and the dates were announced about a month later than the previous year, despite WWDC being scheduled for the same second week of June.

Apple's marketing graphics for WWDC 2010 and scheduled sessions indicate this year's conference will focus on iPhone OS 4, likely delaying any advanced preview of the next version of Mac OS X 10.7.

This year's annual Apple Design Awards will also focus exclusively on iPhone and iPad apps, without even a category for Mac entries. The event's IT track has also been discontinued to focus upon entirely software development.

In addition to releasing iPhone OS 4, Apple is expected to debut the next version of the iPhone at WWDC, with new iChat features supported by a front facing camera.

(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

What has made this General Election different from ones in the past, is the amount of Social Media associated with analysing who we have or are going to vote for.

Is this the end of the opinion poll?

Also encouraging / reminding us to vote. Both Facebook and @tweetminster are looking at this years turn out.



@tweetminster would like you to tweet like this;

This map visualises voter turnout (of Twitter users at least) When you head out to vote, tweet #ukvote alongside the first half of your post code (for example #ukvote SE1) and we will plot turnout in real time on a map.

The goal of the experiment is to inspire more people to vote and to help get a sense of turnout during the course of the day and across the country.

Click here to see the Map

A rare relic from Apple's past surfaced this week, when a prototype Apple Interactive Television Box from 1995 -- a primitive device tested more than 10 years before the release of the Apple TV -- was sold on eBay for $46.

Stickers on the internal components of the Apple Interactive Television Box, which was listed for sale on eBay, show that it was manufactured in 1995. It features chips from Motorola, Texas Instruments, and the now-defunct VLSI Technology. The back of the unit features a composite video and audio output, serial and S-Video ports, an Ethernet network input, and RF coaxial input and outputs.

"A friend who is a former Oracle employee gave this to me in the late '90s, and I just came across it again after going through some boxes that were in storage for 10 years," the seller, "macdeals," wrote. "Does it work? I don't know. Back in the day, I kept it on a shelf as a conversation piece. It is supposed to come with a remote, but I was never given one."

Development of the interactive TV set top box began in partnership with British Telecom in 1993, according to The Apple Museum. In 1994, the companies launched a trial of the product in Britain with about 2,500 households, followed by a six-state trial in 1995. The product was eventually canceled later that year.

The device included 4MB of RAM, 2MB of ROM, an MPEG-1 decoder, and a operating system that was a subset of Mac OS with QuickDraw and QuickTime. The hardware was also compatible with a remote control, mouse, and CD-ROM drive.

The Apple Interactive Television Box was part of a subscription data service that would allow users to connect to a server and download content to show on their TV.

(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

Which party leader are people searching Google for most? Which issues are going up and going down in Google News searches? Get a new insight into the election with our search trends below, then explore other election resources from Google.

(read more)

What exactly is new in BlackBerry OS 6? Well it almost doesn’t matter, given that most BlackBerry devices are still running OS 4.x and few users have any opportunity to upgrade their mobile software due to that problem of aligning the planets of the carrier, vendor, and phone model that plagues the upgrade potential of most cell phone platforms. But based on RIM’s video, it appears the new features are:

• a new Home screen that looks like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• iPod-like media playback that looks like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• CoverFlow features and song shuffle icons that are identical to the iPhone (possibly blacker);
• YouTube features that look like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• text messaging that looks like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• and onscreen keyboard that looks like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• phone call management features that look like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• rich email with attachments that looks like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• a photo gallery that looks like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• Spotlight search that looks like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface;
• and a WebKit browser that looks a lot like the iPhone, but with a lot of black in the interface.

You might say BlackBerry 6 is “so 2008, it’s so (yawn) something thousand and late.” Not even an erratic drum machine and excessive use of Auto-Tune can make this seem like it belongs in 2010, not with iPhone OS 4.0 around the corner. Also, there’s way too much virtual keyboarding in the video to be anything more than embarrassing to Lazaridis and his company’s famous thumb keypads.

(read more)

(via RoughlyDrafted Magazine)

The browser statistics on W3Schools are now reporting that the number of users Internet Explorer 6 and 7 have fallen below 10%.

Does this mean I can stop supporting it, please?

I want to say good bye to [IF IE 6]/[IF IE 7]!

Earlier on Thursday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs published an essay in which he took Adobe to task over its Flash software, which Apple does not support on its mobile products, such as the iPhone and iPad. The squabbling between Apple and Adobe has been getting increasingly personal, with Adobe executives and employees angered in particular by Apple’s decision to block Adobe software that would allow developers to produce programs in Flash that would then be converted to work on the iPhone.

(read more)

(via WSJ BLOGS)

Hewlett-Packard will purchase Palm for $1.2 billion, the companies announced Wednesday.

That works out to $5.70 per share for the company that invented the PDA and was instrumental in kicking off the smartphone craze. That's a 23 percent premium over the Wednesday closing price on Palm's stock of $4.63. The deal has been approved by both companies' boards of directors and is expected to close by the end of July.

(read more)

(via CNET News)

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference

Set in the Moscone West conference hall in downtown San Francisco, CA, WWDC 2010 is scheduled for June 7-11. Tickets are $1,600, and judging by the way WWDC has been selling out in recent years, we don't recommend sitting on the fence for very long.

Are you going?

(see more)

The days of the 3.5-inch floppy disk are now officially numbered.

Sony, which boasts 70 percent of the anemic market, announced Friday that it would end Japanese sales of the ancient storage medium in March 2011, according to a report in the Mainichi Daily newspaper.

The 3.5-inch floppy was a ubiquitous and necessary component for storing and transferring files between personal computers for nearly three decades. Sony pioneered the 3.5-inch floppy disk in 1981, eventually replacing the 5.25-inch floppy disk that had previously been the popular storage format.

(read more)

(via CNET News)

While many people celebrated Earth Day on Thursday, NASA had its eye on the sun.

The space agency released stunning new images of the sun that have been sent back by its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which was launched into space on February 11.

The craft is just beginning its five-year mission, which will help scientists learn more about our sun's dynamic processes, examining the sun's magnetic field and researching the role the sun plays in Earth's atmospheric chemistry and climate.

This full-disk multiwavelength extreme ultraviolet image of the sun was taken by the SDO on March 30. The false colors denote different gas temperatures. Reds are relatively cool (at least in terms of the sun) at about 60,000 Kelvin, or 107,540 degrees Fahrenheit, while the blues and greens are hotter, at more than 1 million Kelvin, or 1,799,540 degrees Fahrenheit.

(read more)

(via CNET News)

Photo by NASA/Goddard/SDO AIA Team

The D&AD has announced that with over 30 per cent of judging complete, 154 entries have been selected to go into the D&AD Annual - representing the best creative work of the year. Of these, 32 have been nominated for a D&AD Pencil. The winners will be announced at the D&AD Awards Ceremony & Dinner on 3 June at The Roundhouse, London.

Click on the links below to see the Nomination and In-Book results for the following categories.

Book Design
Magazine and Newspaper Design
Mobile Marketing
Outdoor
Press
Radio
TV & Cinema Communications
Typography
Writing for Design

(via MacWorld)

iFixit co-founder Kyle Wiens discusses the impact of careless e-waste and what we're doing to help.

New photos of an alleged fourth-generation iPhone surfaced over the weekend, with a handful of reports claiming the device is indeed a prototype device that somehow slipped away from Apple, sporting dual cameras with flash, a high-resolution screen, and a slot for a MicroSIM card.

Though Engadget showed initial skepticism when it received photos of the device, editor Joshua Topolsky filed another report hours later, claiming "proof" that the photos of the device -- allegedly found laying on the floor of a San Jose bar -- being an authentic fourth-generation prototype iPhone. That proof is the same information AppleInsider's own sources provided in February: a leaked photo of the iPad before the device was revealed also shows the forthcoming iPhone model inside Apple's top-secret labs.

The discovered device sports a front-facing camera, 80GB of storage, and aluminum sides. Daring Fireball's John Gruber spoke with his own sources who reaffirmed to him that the device is legitimate, and "Apple is very interested in getting it back."

"I am not certain this is the actual production unit Apple intends to ship to consumers," he wrote. "I think it's a testbed frame -- thicker, with visible (un-Apple-like) seams, meant to fit into 3GS cases so as to disguise units out in the wild. It's hard to tell from the photos. But i think it is the real deal in terms of the internals and the display being next-gen hardware, and the new glass back."

He also went on to mention a patent AppleInsider covered in 2006 regarding radio-transparent zirconia CE casings. Such casings could allow wireless signals to pass through an enclosure uninhibited and could improve reception on future iPhone models. Gruber theorized that the glass-looking back seen on the iPhone prototype could be a "high-durability" ceramic enclosure, similar to what was mentioned in the patent, as having glass on both sides of the new iPhone would make it very fragile if dropped.



(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

Apple will introduce the next generation of iPhone on Tuesday 22 June according to the latest rumors.

In line with recent Apple iPhone announcements, the company has reportedly booked the Yerba Buena Center for Arts, located by the Moscone Center in San Francisco, to unveil the new iPhone.

The event would be later in the month than previous Apple iPhone announcements, and after the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which runs between 8-12 June at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

(read more)

(via MacWorld)

Why do the BBC always use totally out dated picture when talking about technology?

It gives the impression that they don't know what they're talking about. Or they're making a point about the law this article is about.

(read the BBC News article)

Cupertino, CA — Time to make room for baby. Looks like the iPhone family is about to expand.

A Chinese parts manufacturer for Apple claims to have seen a working version of a new, microscopic iPhone with a form factor identical to the bestselling iPod shuffle. Dubbed iPhone shuffle, this model significantly scales back on the feature set of the bigger iPhone.

“It has no features whatsoever,” says our source, clearly smitten by Apple’s prowess. “It’s breathtaking how little it can do. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and have still yet to discover a single feature. They’ve streamlined it down to a home button and earphone port.”

iPhone shuffle is designed first and foremost as a phone. It syncs automatically with your computer contact list. With its single button, iPhone shuffle provides two ways of making calls. In Sequential mode, it calls the numbers in your contact list in order, from A to Z. In Shuffle mode, it calls contacts randomly.

Maximizing the use of its earphone port, iPhone shuffle will offer a scaled-back version of Safari (audio only), a scaled-back DVD player (audio only) and a scaled-back version of iPhone OS 4.0 (startup chime only).

iPhone shuffle will launch on June 22 and retail for only $59. Earphones are optional.

(read more)

(via Scoopertino)

Twitter has said it will allow advertising on its site for the first time.
The social networking site said advertisers would be able to buy "Promoted Tweets" that will appear on Twitter's search results pages.

It has been reluctant to allow advertising in the past.

However, co-founder Biz Stone said they would not be traditional adverts. They must be Tweets that "resonate with users" and be part of conversations.

Twitter has already signed up a raft of big name organisations such as Sony Pictures, coffee chain Starbucks and US retailer Best Buy.

It describes the Promoted Tweets as "ordinary Tweets that businesses and organisations want to highlight to a wider group of users".

Only one Tweet will show up on each search results page, the company said.
It is the first toe in the advertising water for the social networking site, which has yet to make a profit and has only just begun to do deals to raise revenue from the high profile service.

It is an approach that the company described as a "stubborn insistence on a slow and thoughtful approach to monetization".

(read more)

(via BBC News)

Adobe on Monday formally announced Adobe Creative Suite 5, the latest release of its design and creative workflow software that delivers full-version upgrades to all of the company's flagship creative tools in order to offer workflow enhancements to designers and developers.

Featuring integration with online content and digital marketing measurement and optimization capabilities for the first time, Creative Suite 5 products include access to Omniture technologies, to capture, store and analyze information generated by Web sites and other sources. Additionally, a brand new component, Adobe Flash Catalyst, joins the Creative Suite, ushering in the ability to design interactive content without writing code and improve the collaborative process between designer and developer.

"While Creative Suite 5 continues Adobe’s storied history of delivering astonishing new creative features, this release puts us front and center of the big issues facing publishers and creatives worldwide – how to build businesses around digital assets and content," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer, Adobe. "With Omniture Web technology we’re integrating critical business analytics directly into the creative process, shortening the time it takes to create and deploy high-impact content."

Due to to ship within the next 30 days, the Adobe CS5 product family also enables the creation of content and applications for Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2, which Adobe says are optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device capabilities for a richer, more immersive user experience.

(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

Steve Jobs is expected to take the stage at 10:00 am PST (6:00 pm BST) and demonstrate some of the features to be included in the next update to the iPhone software. Typically this software update is pushed out to all iPhone owners afterwards and the event previews the software, and prepares developers for upcoming features. We do not expect the software itself to be available for download after the event, instead we expect it to be delivered alongside the next generation of iPhone, dubbed the iPhone HD, this summer.

It is hoped that the software update will include some of the following features:

Multi-tasking
Global inbox and improved Mail app
GPS navigation
Overhauled Maps app, possibily replacing Google Maps with Apple's own offering
Redesigned interface for application sorting
Improved contacts app including ability to add contacts to home screen

(read more and see the feed)

(via MacWorld)

Yes folks -- the world is turning upside down. Apple has announced an iPhone OS 4 event on April 8th at 10AM for a "sneak peek of the next generation of iPhone OS software." So if you're wondering about the future of the platform... your answers will appear sooner than you think. The team collectively dropped an "OMG" when we saw this news, as it's pretty unusual to see such a big event coming from Apple right on the heels of something like the iPad launch. Of course we'll be there -- at Apple's Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino -- live and direct, providing the liveblogging coverage you know and love.

(read more)

(via engadget)

Would anyone ever sit through a 30-minute ad for the iPad?

Wednesday, quite a few people did. One whole episode of the critically acclaimed ABC show "Modern Family" was dedicated to the deep and desperate desire associated with becoming one of the first to own the magic and revolutionary item that launches before your hangover disappears on Saturday morning.



(read more)

(via CNET News)

While it isn't officially released until June 15, we thought now might be a good time to prepare everyone for what they might expect when Outlook 2010 hits the shelves. It's been quite the ride since we learned the latest version of Outlook, just like its predecessor, would be using Word to render HTML emails. Thanks to all of you, the fixoutlook.org campaign was hugely successful at putting this issue on Microsoft's radar.

Microsoft said they were listening, but like most of us feared it was just too late in their development cycle for a change this significant to be made. Today I chatted with Dev Balasubramanian from the Outlook team to confirm if this was the case. Here's what Dev had to say:

"At this point, our plans for email authoring and rendering in Outlook 2010 are unchanged. However, I can tell you that this is a significant topic of discussion as we plan our business going forward, and something we will definitely be thinking about for future releases of Outlook."

This is definitely a good thing, and I can't thank Dev enough for going on the record and letting me share it publicly. While future versions of Outlook will likely have far superior web standards support, where does that leave email designers today?

(read more)

(via Campaign Monitor)

The iPhone HD would basically mean a phone with a higher-power camera, apparently a front-facing camera for video conferencing, and a new high-res screen.

Although the second point does tally with forthcoming tariff changes to allow video calling on an iPhone, the rest just seems a bit fanboy-friendly to be taken seriously.

But it does solve the problem of what the next iPhone will be called (iPhone 4G would be too confusing ahead of the actual high speed 4G services coming in a few years) and iPhone HD has a very Jobs-y ring to it.

Have a look at the video below and tell us what you think - accidental leak from Apple or someone getting a bit over-excited with iMovie?



(read more)

(via Techradar.com)

On Tuesday, Freeview officially launched its high definition (HD) service.

Freeview HD currently offers three HD channels: the BBC HD channel, ITV1 HD and Channel 4 HD.


Freeview said the service, which initially began broadcasting on 2 December last year, will be rolled out to 4.5 million new homes, ensuring that 50 percent of the UK had access to the service in time for the World Cup, which begins on June 11 and will be shown on both the BBC and ITV HD channels.

Viewers will need a set-top box that can accept the Freeview HD signal to access the service.

"High definition television comes of age today with the launch of the new HD service from Freeview, the UK's most popular digital TV platform,"

Freeview said.

"Millions of TV lovers will benefit from free HD channels without installation, offering the quality viewers have come to expect from HD - up to five times more detail than standard definition and the possibility of stunning 5.1 surround sound."

(read more)

(via MacWorld)

Apple is now shipping iPads to those people who placed an order on the first day. Don't get too excited though, Apple has instructed UPS to hold the iPads until 3 April 2010.

UPS is under strict orders to only deliver the Wi-Fi model of the iPad to US customers on 3 April. Whether a few models slip through the net remains to be seen though, our experience is that once they're out in the wild a few start to turn up.


The 3G models are still set to appear at the end of April. Apple still has not announced a ship date in the UK, and is not currently taking pre-orders. We expect the iPad to go on sale in the UK at the end of April.

(read more)

(via MacWorld UK)

Brightcove's partnerships with The New York Times and Time magazine will allow HTML5 to seamlessly replace Adobe Flash video content on the publications' Web sites for compatibility with Apple's iPad.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based online video platform announced Monday its new Brightcove Experience for HTML5, a framework for publishing and delivering interactive and advertising-supported Web video. The platform is available free to the more than 1,000 Brightcove customers in 42 countries.

Two major clients of Brightcove are The New York Times and Time magazine, both of which are reportedly already using the product. The platform provides support for intelligent device detection, playlist rendering, and playback of H.264 encoded video content.

(read more)

(via AppleInsider)

Square Group Ltd, the highly successful Apple reseller based in London, Midlands and Home Counties has today announced its acquisition of certain assets of national Apple reseller Computer Warehouse, including its brand name.

Computer Warehouse has been supplying Apple products and services for over 23 years, by way of mail order, web and retail. Computer Warehouse has built a reputation of first class service to its 250,000 strong customer base over the years.

(read more)

The TechCrunch50 conference is going on right now, and despite whatever you may think of tech titan Michael Arrington, this particular gathering has become a fascinating stage for up-and-coming startups. One startup in particular, AnyClip, should be of great interest to movie fans. They aim to create a search engine to find “any moment from any film ever made.” From their demo (see the video below), it certainly appears that their technology works—the only question is if Hollywood will go for it.

The key to AnyClip’s accuracy is their wide variety of sources for information about films. They pull from public sources (e.g., digging through closed captions and subtitles), but they also have an easy to use interface for manually plugging in data for any film in their database (similar to Youtube’s annotation feature). Right now the manual work is being done by AnyClip workers, but I could see them potentially crowdsourcing it down the line and using data inputted by general users.



(read more)
(read even more)
(via /Film)

(view on YouTube)

One of the biggest requests we get of Photoshop is to make adding, removing, moving or repairing items faster and more seamless. From retouching to completely reimagining an image, heres an early glimpse of what could happen in the future when you press the delete key. How might you use this new capability in your workflow?

While Twitter seems to have the market sewn up when it comes to the public sharing of snippets of information, the competition is heating up for offering similar services inside a corporation.

Microsoft, for example, is testing OfficeTalk, a microblogging service that's a sort of Twitter for businesses, while Google has been using an inside-the-company version of its Google Buzz feature to allow co-workers to share information with one another.

"We've had it internally for Googlers for a really long time," Google's Brett Slatkin said last week at Microsoft's Mix10 event in Las Vegas. "Being able to have broadcast as a medium inside your organization is awesome."

Slatkin said tools like Google's Internal Buzz help break down bureaucracy and get attention for things that might otherwise get lost in the shuffle. Slatkin said Google plans to allow businesses using Google Apps to also host their own versions of Buzz, though he didn't offer a time frame.

Microsoft's OfficeTalk started last year as a side project for a couple workers on the Office Labs team, evolving fairly rapidly into a tool used by thousands of workers within the company. Redmond broke its silence on OfficeTalk a week ago, mentioning it in a blog posting and noting that it was expanding its testing outside Microsoft. (read more)

(via CNET News)

The innovative Folding Plug designed by South Korean student Min-Kyu Choi has won the top prize in the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Awards...

Choi's radical redesign of the humble three-pin plug came about after his Macbook Air (the world's thinnest laptop) suffered scratches from its bulky plug that he had placed in his laptop bag (the UK plug is the world's largest, apparently).

The UK plug has in fact changed little since it was designed in 1946. Choi's design allows the plug to be folded down to a width of just 10mm. It is currently on show as part of the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year show at London's Design Museum. A recent graduate of the Royal College of Art's Design Product MA, Choi has also turned his hand to designing a folding suitcase.

Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum said, "It's great to see such a practical but elegant demonstration of what design can do to make everyday life so much better. Min-Kyu Choi is a designer just setting out on his career and he clearly has a great future ahead of him." A short video on Choi's plug is on YouTube, here.



(read more) (via CR Blog)

It seems that when it comes to the company's sweetly controlling nature, Apple has slipped a Xanax into its perfectly still martini and let the online show begin.

Figures from those delightfully modern bean counters at Visible Measures suggest that the new iPad TV spot--you know, the one in which thighs play a leading role--has become the second-most-watched piece of viral footage after the E*Trade Super Bowl ad in which Lindsay Lohan most definitely does not appear.

More than 2.4 million people have already feasted their tired but excited online eyes on an ad that covers the basics and makes you wonder whether, beneath the thighs, there might be some Asics.

you saw the apple ipad ad at the oscars, but everything was so fast that you couldn't even tell if the machine in the video was an ipad or a black photoframe? well, here is the solution for you: we slowed down the entire ad to revealing 15% of its speed, and voila! enjoy the ad in super slow motion and discover the secrets of the apple ipad ad with us!

The chaps at Visible Measures say on their blog that they were initially skeptical that Apple would allow this ad to spread virally to unknown parts of the Web. Apple hasn't exactly been at the forefront of using its YouTube channel, preferring that people waft straight to Apple.com, where they might just lose all semblance of reason and immediately dedicate their excitable credit cards to a purchase.

It seems the company is now thinking different. Visible Measures says Apple allowed the ad to be seen in 100 different areas of the Web, with evidently visible results.

Because you have likely seen the official iPad ad many times--even online, perhaps--I have embedded a slowed-down, slightly peculiar analysis of it created by artist Neil Curtis.

(read more)

(via CNET News)

Apple this summer will go a long way towards silencing critics and catering to one of the most prevalent demands of its iPhone user base, when it introduces a multitasking solution through the handset's 4.0 software update that will finally allow several third party apps to run concurrently and in the background.

People with a proven track record in predicting Apple's technological advances tell AppleInsider that the Cupertino-based company has developed a "full-on solution" to multitasking on the iPhone OS but offered no specifics on how the technology would optimize resource conservation and battery life -- two of the most critical issues surrounding the matter, alongside security.

From a user-facing perspective, Apple plans to deliver a multi-tasking manager that leverages interface technology already bundled with its Mac OS X operating system, according to those same people. It was requested that specifics be withheld at this time, as the iPhone Software 4.0 remains under development and reportedly has a quite 'way to go' before it's ready for prime time.

Today's iPhone 3.x software is a fully preemptive multitasking operating system, but it artificially restricts apps (other than specific ones bundled with the system by Apple) from running in the background.

(read more)

via AppleInsider

Getting on the train today, Couch D, 19.00 First Great Westerns HST from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. A surprise awaited me, Gadgets to play with. What luck to be on one of the first trains to have these Volo:TV .

Second segment of ten looking at fallacious criticisms of Apple's new iPad multitouch tablet computer. Daniel Eran Dilger of RoughDrafted Magazine: roughlydrafted.com

RoughlyDraftedVideo — February 17, 2010 — Ninth segment of ten looking at fallacious criticisms of Apple's new iPad multitouch tablet computer. Daniel Eran Dilger of RoughDrafted Magazine: roughlydrafted.com

Locus OS is a user interface concept for portable devices. It changes aspects of its UI based on the user’s location.

Locus OS Interface from Barton Smith on Vimeo.

The idea of organizing files into projects seems interesting. The movie doesn’t show much of how this works - it seems users can either interact with their files in a spatial way, or using a timeline, but the timeline is never shown. Files do not seem to be associated with specific applications.

The system seems a bit disjointed, switching from a rich graphical user interface to a kind of text-based menu structure at one point. But it certainly contains some neat ideas.

via ignore the code