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Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, Mac Software

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for April 30, 2010:

• Macintosh
• iPod

Macintosh

• Zevrix Solutions today announces LinkOptimizer 4.2, an update to its popular workflow automation solution for Adobe InDesign. Awarded 4 out of 5 starts by Computer Arts magazine, LinkOptimizer allows to reduce InDesign job size and speed up processing by eliminating excess image data, performing essential image adjustments and converting file formats. The new version gives users access to two more Photoshop resampling methods and addresses a compatibility issue.
• Remo Software wants to tell you how to recover lost photos using their REMO Recover (Mac) – Media Edition software. The software serves to recover accidentally deleted, lost digital photos, audio and video files from camera memory cards, USB drives and other flash memory storage devices. With all the digital data around these days it’s very common to hear “I lost my data”.
• Yazsoft has released Speed Download 5.2.16, an important update to their popular download manager for Mac OS X. Speed Download 5 redefines the Mac OS X download manager by combining four amazing products: a turbo-charged download manager, a fully featured secure FTP client, a file sharing utility with full encryption, and complete .Mac/iDisk/WEBDAV connectivity, into one small and easy to use application. Version 5.2.16 offers optimized performance, better compatibility and more.
• Independent Macintosh developer Luther Fuller has announced MailWing, an organizer and archiver for Apple’s Mail running Leopard or Snow Leopard. MailWing organizes Apple’s Mail by moving messages from linked mailboxes to matching Finder folders located with a project, account, interest group or client folder. These messages open in Mail or with Quick Look. A Dock Menu provides instant access to MailWing, the Help document, the Mail-Safe Archive, MailWing’s commands and all linked folders.
• Mac users who have long been at the mercy of arcane permissions from Mac OS X’s Unix underpinnings can now regain mastery of their Macs with Take Control of Permissions in Snow Leopard, the latest title in the Take Control library about Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Written by Unix guru and Mac aficionado Brian Tanaka, the 91-page ebook mixes practical how-to details and troubleshooting tips with just the right amount of theory as it explains permissions in relation to how to keep files private, copy files to and from servers effectively, work with accounts and groups, configure ACLs, set the Ignore Permissions option for external disks, repair default permissions, and delete those files that just won’t die.
• Aspyr has drastically marked down their Civilization content on gameagent.com. Civ IV and the expansions are each $10 off, while Civilization III: Complete is $20 off.

iPhone/iPod/iPad

• Appular is giving away 1,000 copies of Hand of Greed, 100 $1 apps of the winners’ choice, 15 iTunes Gift cards with a value of $10 each and, one (1) Wifi iPad. The full rules are located on Appular’s facebook page.
• Players of Haypi Kingdom—a new massively multiplayer online game for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad—get ready for the upcoming PVP server competition where an iPad and other prizes will be awarded every 15 days. The game offered by Haypi Inc., an innovative developer and publisher of entertainment software, is described as most addictive because it was created in accordance with the company’s aspirations to provide gripping and fascinating products.
• Independent developer Robert Chitoiu has announced Budget, Bills and Balance Forecasting 3.0, an update to his finance app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Designed to provide answers to the many practical “what if” questions which arise in home finance, Balance Forecasting requires the user to simply input their repeating bills and income, and one-time bills and income. The app is then ready to accurately forecast your finances. It now includes optional push reminders.
• ContactsPlus gives you the ability to easily create, organize and delete groups of contacts in your address book. Since the original release, developer Jonathan Teboul has been very busy upgrading ContactsPlus with so much stuff that it’s bursting with features: ContactsPlus XL is not just an upgrade, it’s a leap forward including a brand new layout and design.
• In today’s economy it has never been more important to keep a close eye on your income and spending. KashBook from Artefacto Estudio does just that. With this app you have the ability to monitor your account(s) status anywhere and everywhere. KashBook allows you to control multiple accounts and allows you to enter your spending in multiple categories including food, home, transportation, utilities, paycheck / income and even allows you to create your own categories. All movement in the categories can be summarized in annual reports allowing you to analyze how much you are spending on each. KashBook gives you complete control over what you wish to see on the screen: the interface can be tailored by totals, by category, date, description and a lot more. You also have options to control which currency should be used for all totals, and even password protect the application from unwanted eyes.
• MaxNick has announced iCurling 1.0.1, their new 1 or 2 player game for the iPhone and iPod touch. The game follows the excitement of the 2010 Winter Olympics, where the sport of curling generated world-wide enthusiasm. Similar to shuffleboard, the game is played on a flat ice curling sheet, roughly 15×150 feet. Players slide round stones of about 40 pounds towards bull’s eye targets at either end. Two teammates may use brooms to sweep the ice in front of the moving stone.
• Refreshingly blue, Blue Jeans is the perfect colour to start into the summer with style. The collection is as comprehensive as the range of vacation destinations. The URBAN TOOL pocket line is the perfect accessory for a city trip, keeping city map, iPod and camera within reach at all times while the URBAN TOOL accessories line stores money and sunglasses during a drink at the beach bar. And if—despite the summer heat—there should still be an office meeting, you can have your laptop ready in style anytime thanks to the URBAN TOOL notebook line.
• I Wonder Phone has released Voodo 2, a big upgrade of its GTD/todo app for iPhone and iPod touch, with a 50%-off celebrating price. Voodo stands out in the App Store as the most simple GTD app with so many powerful features including Sync with Google Calendar and a wonderful Tag System. Voodo 2 maintains the simpleness but brings more Todo Magics such as Non-intrusive Auto Sync, Task Search, Quick Add, Contacts Integration, Geo Locations, Nearby Tasks, and other improvements.
• Game studio BeiZ has announced Mandy and Andy – The Seasons 1.0, their new children’s iPhone-book. Mandy and Andy – The Seasons continues interactive Mandy and Andy book series. In this book cuddly Mandy and Andy cats present the seasons of Northern Hemisphere together with their friends. With the help of animated story children can experience what one can do in summer, autumn, winter and spring.
• PhatWare Corporation has announced WritePad for iPad 3.3, an advanced handwriting recognition software for iPad devices. WritePad lets users take notes in their own handwriting with an iPad stylus pen or their finger. The state-of-the-art handwriting recognition software will adapt and learn while it is being used, improving the recognition quality overtime. Version 3.3 offers customizable styles, improved recognition and spell checker, inline gestures, and support for external iPad keyboard.
• Similar to the way trends in art and style evolve over time, the progression of Speck’s Artsprojekt line breaks new ground today with four new limited-edition Fitted Artsprojekt case designs for iPhone 3G and 3GS. As part of their unique collaboration, Speck and Artsprojekt are excited to unveil these original new pen and paint designs created by members of Artsprojekt’s international legion of artists.
• iKit have announced the Tribal Case, the latest edition to a long line of iPhone 3G products that should leave consumers itching at a mere chance to purchase one. It combines a carved hard shell with a durable soft-grip border that provides the ultimate protection for your iPhone. The slim impact-resistant case is form-fitting which allows full access to all controls.

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Taking screen captures in OS X is pretty simple and powerful. Today I’ll explain how to use the built-in screen capture functionality, the included application Grab, and a couple of third-party options that offer extra functionality.

Built-in OS X Functionality

• Command + Shift + 3

  This keystroke results in a full screenshot and saves the resulting file as a PNG, to your desktop. The file is named with the date and time it was captured.

• Command + Shift + 4

  Pressing these keys initially brings up a cross hair on screen that displays the coordinates of the cursor. Click and drag to select the area you want to capture. When you release the mouse button, the capture will be saved to the desktop as previously mentioned.

  If you press the spacebar while the crosshairs are visible, it changes into a camera icon that you can position over a specific window that you may wish to capture. (That window must be visible when you initiate the keystroke.)

  During both modes you may hold the Control key at the time of capture. Doing so will save the resulting shot to the clipboard rather than a file on the desktop.

Grab

The Grab application resides in the /Applications/Utilities folder. It’s pretty simplistic, and essentially duplicates the functionality of the built-in OS X feature, albeit, with a couple of small differences. After you’ve taken the screenshot, it is displayed for you to review at which time you must explicitly save it, if it is indeed what you wanted. This also allows you to choose where you’re going to save the file. There’s a Preferences window where you can choose from eight cursor images to be captured in the resulting image. Otherwise, things are pretty much the same. The keystrokes are different, as you’ll see next.

• Command + Shift + A

  This keystroke results in a crosshair on screen that displays the coordinates of the cursor. Click and drag to select the area you want to capture.

• Command + Shift + W

  This keystroke allows you to move windows around to select the one you’d like to capture.

• Command + Z

  This keystroke results in a full screenshot.

• Command + Shift  + Z

  This keystroke results in a full screenshot after a 10 second timer elapses.

Skitch

Skitch is developed by the rockstars at Plasq. It’s super powerful and really easy to use. You get to edit size, crop, draw nondestructively, there’s multi-format export, web upload, copy to clipboard, review history and much more. The best part is, it’s 100% free to use!

• Command + Shift + 5

  Pressing this keystroke brings up the (now familiar) crosshairs to select the region of the screen you wish to capture. The image is then opened into Skitch for further editing and use — this is the same for each key combo.

• Command + Shift + 6

  This keystroke results in a full screen capture.

• Command + Shift + 7

  This keystroke brings up a frame that you can resize to capture a portion of the screen. Initially this may seem to be the same as the crosshair — the difference is, the frame retains its dimensions each time, allowing you to capture uniform shots multiple times.

LittleSnapper

LittleSnapper is developed by RealMac Software. It approaches screenshots from an iPhoto perspective, allowing you to catalog, group, and tag your shots for later use. There’s a built-in browser for grabbing all or a portion of a webpage. The export feature allows you to save a webpage to a PDF file, or any screen capture to multiple image formats. There’s also an editor for tweaking the shots once you’ve captured them. With all this functionality comes a price — it’s $39. There’s also a free trial to see if it’s a good fit for you.

• Command + Option + 3

  This keystroke produces a full screen capture. Once captured, it is loaded into the LittleSnapper gallery for further editing and use — this behavior is consistent with all key combos.

• Command + Shift + Option + 3

  Similar to Grab, this gives you a short timer before the full screen image is captured.

• Command + Option + 4

  This keystroke gives you the crosshairs to choose the region of the screen to capture.

• Command + Option + 5

  This keystroke captures a specific window on screen. At least a portion of the window must be visible before initiating the keystroke.

So depending on your screenshot needs, there’s an app for that (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). The built-in tools are great and produce nice results. I personally opt for Skitch almost daily as it provides the level of control I need, but can see where something like LittleSnapper would be ideal for the designer types. There are plenty of other options out there too, if you want to get your Google on. But hopefully we’ve armed you with a little more knowledge today, to get that perfect screenshot the next time you need one.

FROM GAMERTELL – Gamertell’s casual game update for April 24 – 30, 2010 includes Deadtime Stories (PC), Fashion Fortune Deluxe (PC, Mac), Mystery Cruise (PC) and eight other new games.
MORE »

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The latest indication that Apple is trying to strong-arm publishers to adopt HTML5 and H.264 came today, as Steve Jobs reportedly claimed by email that a patent pool was being assembled to “go after” Ogg Theora and other open source codecs. That news comes just a few weeks before Google is expected to release its VP8 codec as open source, and could come as a big blow to the search giant’s plans to offer an alternative to H.264.

The whole thing began today after Hugo Roy, an intern at the Free Software Foundation Europe, published an open letter to Steve Jobs. In that letter he responded to Apple CEO’s “Thoughts On Flash,” in which Jobs wrote that the future of web video would be driven by HTML5 and H.264. Roy argued against Apple’s adoption of H.264 because the codec is not open, but covered by patents and licensed by MPEG LA.

Well Jobs wrote back, warning that open source codecs like Ogg Theora may soon be taken to court for infringing on others’ patents:

“All video codecs are covered by patents. A patent pool is being assembled to go after Theora and other “open source” codecs now. Unfortunately, just because something is open source, it doesn’t mean or guarantee that it doesn’t infringe on others patents. An open standard is different from being royalty free or open source.”

The email comes as a fight is brewing between major players over the future of web video. For Apple, that future is driven by HTML5 and H.264 encoding, in contrast to Adobe, which is pushing its proprietary Flash player for video playback. However, while most browser makers agree with HTML5 support, not everyone is fully on board with H.264 encoding.

Apple’s Safari, Microsoft’s IE9 and Google’s Chrome all support H.264 encoding for HTML5 video, but the Firefox and Opera web browsers refuse to get behind it, due to potential licensing issues. Even though H.264 licensing body MPEG LA announced in February that it was extending its royalty-free licensing for web video using H.264 through 2016, that was little consolation for Mozilla and others that are committed to supporting open standards.

Google was hoping to stem that divide by making VP8 open source and thus providing a high-quality and open alternative to existing codecs. Google’s plans to open-source the codec have been widely expected ever since it announced plans to acquire On2 in August 2009, and speculation intensified after the deal closed.

But without Apple and Microsoft on board, Google may have a tough time getting VP8 adopted by media publishers. And now that Apple’s CEO has confirmed plans for patent infringement suits against Ogg Theora and other open source codecs, Google may have even more issues to deal with.

Related content on GigaOM Pro: What Does the Future Hold For Browsers? (subscription required)

FROM GADGETELL – Heck yeah, it’s time for another go round of the moves in the tech world that seem so outlandish, only illegal narcotics could fuel their insanity.  This weeks nominees for rehab include: Apple v. Adobe – sour grapes? Android’s hot Flash Your webOS is in my iPaq Shake it like… MORE »

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Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPad, iDevice Apps, Reviews

Category: Games
Seller: NewToy
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.2 or later
Compatibility: iPad
File Size: 4.1MB
Version Reviewed: 3.11
Price: $4.99
Age Rating: 4+

Scrabble. There, I said it. Words with Friends HD is very much like the popular word game entitled Scrabble. What’s the difference? Honestly, not much that you’d notice except its fresh take on graphics. Words with Friends HD is a very good alternative to Scrabble if you want to save a few dollars or if you want fresher graphics.

Words with Friends HD is nearly identical to Scrabble in terms of gameplay.  The rules are basically the same, and they even say the game rules are “simple and familiar.”  The biggest difference is the placement of tile multipliers on the board (the corner is no longer the place to be).  The game allows you to play up to 20 games at the same time.  That means you can challenge potentially over 50 other people and take turns playing your words on each individual game board.  I’m not sure who wants to play more than one game of Scrabble Words with Friends HD at a time, but the feature is there.  It could be useful if you play this game over the course of a few hours or days.  You can set the game to notify you when it’s your turn, so you don’t have to keep the app open to know when to play.  You can invite players over Twitter or Facebook, or even challenge a random opponent if all of your real friends have poor vocabularies or a lack of Apple products.  Plus, there’s an in-game chat feature that makes it easy to communicate between players virtually.  But I think most often this game will be played with people who are physically right next to each other.  This is called “Pass and Play,” and it is quite fun.

The larger screen of the iPad makes the whole game much more enjoyable than its equivalent on iPhone.  There’s no need for zooming, as the whole board can be clearly seen at all times.  The graphics of the game are quite nice, as well.  You can really tell they didn’t just throw this game together in a few minutes.  Unlike Scrabble, all played tiles are fused together into one large crossword puzzle piece.  This is, of course, purely cosmetic.  Still, I really like the color scheme and the way everything looks.  And looks do matter, because who wants to play an ugly game?

While there are some issues here, it’s nothing that really concerns me in the long run.  When you pass and play, opponents can see your letters after your word is played and before you actually pass the iPad.  I’m not sure how many of you out there devise your strategy for this game based on opponents’ letter racks, but it’s potentially a concern for hardcore wordies.  That said, if your opponent takes this game that seriously, you’re probably screwed anyway.

Also, I’m uncertain as to why developers are not making their apps universal instead of specifically for the iPad and iPhone (separately).  You’ll have to buy both if you have both devices, and I just don’t see most people doing this.  It would be a geat way to incorporate a Tile Rack mode into the iPhone app to keep your letters private and use the iPad as the central game board.  I realize that’s a very expensive way to play Scrabble, but hey, if you already have the hardware…  Oh well.  The app is pretty cheap already, so I’m done complaining/pitching ideas now.

Overall, Words with Friends HD is a very good alternative to Scrabble.  Some might be bothered that this game technically is Scrabble and therefore will want to buy Scrabble’s own iPad app, but others will be perfectly happy with the more pleasing graphics and lower price of Words with Friends HD.  Then again, Scrabble has more features—such as the Tile Rack app for iPhone and the fact that it’s official, which is worth something, right?  I’m thinking you’ll still have a hard choice picking between the two.  But if you do choose Words with Friends HD, you won’t regret it.

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Announcing just release of the new app for iphone, ipod touch and ipad called 8 bit rebellion- new game created by rock band LINKIN PARK, game developer Artificial Life, Inc. and Warner Bros. It is a big surprise for music fans and gamers!

The main idea of the game is to retrieve the band’s brand new, unreleased music track – Blackbirds, that is stolen. In the end, after completion of all missions during the game you can unlocked the song which was made exclusively for the game by Linkin Park. App offers adventurous game with six unique districts each demonstrating the bend’s members specific style.

The game includes8-bit remixes of several Linkin Park tracks. Idea and actually production of the game started more then a year ago. Linkin park 8-Bit Rebellion is a result of Close cooperation of Linkin park, Artificial life and Warner bros. Bend members avatars were designed by Mike Shinoda the vocalist of linkin park.
For iPad’s larger screen the user interface has been specially redesigned. The iPad app also includes two control schemes, allowing players to choose the setting that best suits their gaming style.

Additional game features include:

• Personalization of players’ avatars and apartments provide a unique community experience
• Non-player characters (NPCs) inhabit the world, adding drama to the gaming experience
• Shopping for virtual items with coins awarded by winning fights and completing missions
• Earning trophies for adding friends to the rebellion
• A news feed to stay up-to-date with Linkin Park
• Facebook and Twitter integration connecting millions of social network users worldwide

The iPad app features include:

• Enhanced graphics to allow players to see their avatars and the six districts come to life in great detail
• Optimized user interface for the larger screen makes menu items easy to access at all times: equip weapons and change music tracks without ever leaving the main screen.
• Multiple controls so gamers can choose between two control schemes to best fit their playing styles. The iPad-specific D-pad setup has been implemented for players more comfortable with button-oriented controls.

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, Originals

This week was a bit quiet. But it is also the week of the iPad 3G, so perhaps next week we’ll see some more location-enhanced iPad apps make their way to the App Store . Even still, there’s a new app from the guy who made Tweetie, and we see some other great stuff too. Check it out.

• Textie Messaging – What do you get when you mix Tweetie and Text messaging?  This app.  It’s from the makers of Tweetie and Boragne, and it’s the best looking SMS replacement app I’ve seen.  This app works best when text messages are sent between users of the app, but will work just fine with dumbPhones too.  This app is ad supported, but you can buy your way out of them for $1.99.
• Urbanspoon for iPad – Everyone’s favorite restaurant decider for iPhone now has an iPad version.  It’s great; all you do is shake your iPad, haha, jk.  You tap to get a random restaurant after possibly narrowing down the choices.  Data is even kept on your iPad when you’re not online, so you can continue to be indecisive.
• Beat the Traffic HD – View local traffic data on your iPad quickly and easily.  You can even find out what’s causing traffic jams, if the data is available.  This app stays pretty up to date, so you can trust the traffic conditions.
• Panda Earth – You’re a panda and you have to avoid tractors by jumping over them on your tiny little world while planting bamboo to help combat air pollution.  Make sense?  Nope.  But let me ask you this, what is the name Mario Bros?  See, it doesn’t have to.
• Free Push – This app sends you push notifications pertaining to your Gmail account for free.  Normally, this sort of thing costs about a dollar or so.
• Free Full Screen Private Browsing – I have no idea why you need to browse in private mode, but this app will do it on all iDevices, iPad included.  That is all.
• BlueCam PRO – This app nearly has it all when it comes to camera apps.  It has a larger shutter button, 5X digital zoom, a timer, a burst mode and even remote control functionality (requires an extra iDevice).  This app is normally a paid app, but they’re letting it be free until their iPad version comes out.  I have no idea if this app will become universal, but we can only hope.
• Ghostbusters: The Other Side Issue 1 – Who you gunna call when you need a free comic from IDW?  Well, Ghostbusters, for the first issue anyway.  This is 1 of 4, and it’s free because IDW wants you to buy the rest.  Still, it’s Ghostbusters, how can you not be happy?

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If you were patient enough to hold out on the wave of iPad releases, and if you specifically wanted to grab a 3G capable model, then today is probably already clearly marked on your calendar. That’s because it’s April 30, the official release date of the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G in the U.S.

Customers who originally pre-ordered before Apple’s recent cut-off date should expect their iPads to arrive in the mail today, or you can try your luck with retail stores, which are going to be selling the new iPads beginning at 5 PM. today. Pre-orders for the Wi-Fi + 3G models were originally lower in volume than those for the Wi-Fi, so it’ll be interesting to see what the response is like at brick-and-mortar retail.

I personally am also very interested in seeing how soon unofficial sales start across the border here in Canada. Following the launch of the original Wi-Fi model, you could buy one the same day at a not completely ridiculous markup, so I predict the same thing this time around. Of course, international iPad users won’t yet be able to get 3G service, since no deals or pricing have been announced with carriers yet, but presumably the devices will work fine with those networks late in May when the Wi-Fi + 3G iPad ships worldwide.

Don’t just show up at the Apple store this morning expecting to pick up a new iPad, though. The launch is scheduled for 5 PM, and Apple stores across the country are closing down between 4 and 5 specifically to set up for the launch. It’s odd timing, and will no doubt cause some confusion at retail sites in terms of people coming by too early, but Apple must have a reason for not just starting the shopping day with the iPads on the shelves. Whatever the case, expect a lot of confused customers being ushered out the doors at 4 PM who are oblivious to the product launch.

The 3G capability is a killer feature for the iPad, in my opinion. Undoubtedly the iPad’s UI is a hit with consumers, as is the user experience in general, but the ability to remain connected while traveling, be it just around town or internationally (as international providers become available) elevates the device from being an amazing entertainment and media player to a lifestyle changer, in terms of both work and play.

Are you getting one? Does your local Apple Store have stock? Is there a lineup? Are you upgrading from a Wi-Fi only model? Let us know your thoughts on all things 3G iPad in the comments.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: How AT&T Will Deal with iPad Data Traffic

FROM GADGETELL – A new day for Palm is dawning and it’s trusty webOS.  The target of a HP acquisition, we’ll hopefully quickly get to see what HP values in the buy.  Is it a good start into the mobile phone category or is a proprietary OS for it’s Slate computers allowing HP… MORE »

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