Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts

In case you haven’t had enoughlocation-based news tonight, here’s another very interesting bit. It looks like Apple has very quietly bought an online mapping company, Seth Weintraub of Computerworld reports tonight.

Apple’s purchase of Placebase actually took place this past July, and a founder of a partner company that was using Placebase maps tweeted about it. But it slid under most people’s radars as that was the only news out there about it. But Weintraub dug up Placebase CEO Jaron Waldman’s LinkedIn profile tonight, and sure enough, he is now part of the “Geo Team” at Apple.

Here’s why this is very interesting: It could well signal yet another rift in the relationship between Google and Apple. At the very least, the fact that Apple bought a Google Maps competitor, was probably yet another reason why Eric Schmidt had to step down from Apple’s board of directors (which he did in August). But the bigger picture is that such a purchase could potentially allow Apple to move away from its dependency on Google Maps, which it uses on the iPhone and also its iPhoto computer software.

Obviously, much has been made about Apple’s rejection of the Google Voice app, but remember too that they also rejected (or did not approve, whatever) Google’s Latitude app, forcing Google to make a browser-based version. The reason Apple gave for not approving it was that it would confuse users with the built-in Maps application on the iPhone — the one that runs, yes Google Maps.

And Google actually helped Apple build the entire Maps application, aside from just letting them use their mapping data. So this whole episode has been bizarre, to say the least. But it may be over soon with the Placebase purchase.

Or maybe not. It is certainly possible that Apple simply realized the importance of geolocation, especially in the mobile space, and wanted to acquire talent in that field. While Placebase was a competitor to Google Maps, it also was slightly different, focusing on different layers and customizations.

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Apple released the iPhone 3.0.1 software update, patching the SMS vulnerability revealed Thursday at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. The release notes of the 3.0.1 update were short and to the point: "Fixes SMS vulnerability" for the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

Apple Inc. recently showed off their new family of MacBook Pro laptops, boasting longer battery lives and faster processors with lower prices.

Macbooks are now available in 13, 15 and 17 inch sizes. The baby of the family, 13-inch sells for $1199, the 15-inch for $1699, and the 17-inch for $2499.

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The SIRIUS XMiPhone application has been downloaded by more than 1 million users since its release on June 18th. The title quickly became the top free app in the music category during its brief two-week stint on the App Store. The free app delivers sports, comedy, commercial-free music, and talk radio channels to an iPhone or iPodtouch.

SIRIUS XM requires a Premium Online subscription, enabling access to exclusive radio channels from SIRIUS XM's satellite radio service such as Oprah Radio, MLB Home Plate, Martha Stewart Living Radio, and Blue Collar Comedy Radio, among others. Streaming content also includes Internet-only channels such as Bootlegs, Talk Showcase, Music Showcase and Comedy Showcase.

The SIRIUS XM application requires at least a $13 subscription to the Sirius or XM services, while existing satellite-only customers can add the streaming option for $3 per month.

Call of Duty Deluxe Edition combines the original Call of Duty with its expansion pack, called United Offensive. Call of Duty is an award-winning first-person shooter that puts you in the front lines during World War II, in the European theater of operations.

Call of Duty lets you play through 24 single-player missions in four interconnected campaigns: playing through D-Day, the Russian charge at Stalingrad and the Battle for Berlin. You can also play online against other players, taking the sides of either the Axis or Allies. United Offensive adds 13 new single-player missions, 11 new multiplayer maps and three new modes.

When it was originally released for the Mac, Call of Duty was available only for PowerPC-based Macs, and it was only available for purchase on disc. This download release marks the first time the game has been developed to run natively on Intel-based Macs. Aspyr said it’s working on a Universal binary patch for the retail version of Call of Duty Deluxe as well.

Call of Duty Deluxe Edition is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

System requirements call for Mac OS X 10.4.11 or Mac OS X 10.5.7, G5 or Intel 1.6GHz or faster, 256MB RAM, 2.5GB hard disk space, ATI Radeon 9800 or Nvidia GeForce 5200 or better 3D graphics (Intel integrated video chipsets not supported).

SQLabs has announced the availability of SQLiteManager 3.0, an application used to manage memory databases, AES-128 encrypted databases, and REAL Server databases utilizing sqlite 2 and sqlite 3. Version 3.0 includes a bug reporting tool that automatically opens when a crash bug occurs as well as a database recovery feature that replicates the previous database in a new file if there is a serious database issue. The update lso expands the application's print options, utilizing new print engine that enables users to customize and preview all files that are being printed.

SQLiteManager allows users to insert, delete and update records which can then be viewed by generating reports and can be exported in almost every kind of format. The chart panel enables reports to be viewed in a variety of forms including bar graphs, pie graphs, Venn graphs, radar, and QR code. The application has a built-in scripting language based on RBScript that enables users to write their own plug-ins.

SQLiteManager 3.0 requires Mac OS X 10.4 and is immediately available. The application can be purchased from the SQLabs online store for $50.

The iPhone 3.0 update has lots of goodies for end-users. But the update's real treasure trove may be the thousand or so programming tools Apple has added for app makers. With these programming enhancements, developers can add new features and built-in capabilities to their apps, further swelling the ranks of useful App Store offerings. Just a few days after iPhone 3.0's official release, we're already starting to see the arrival of apps that take advantage of these newfound tools. Here's a sampling of some of the iPhone 3.0-enhanced apps that have caught our eye.

An Australian University is warning its faculty and students about some potential adverse health effects of using Apple's notebook and other products with high gloss screens, saying prolonged use could lead to injury if precautionary measures aren't adopted.

The advisory, published a few months ago by Brisbane, Australia-based Queensland University of Technology on its Health and Safety website, specifically addresses Mac users with Apple 'glass' or high gloss monitor screens and urges them to assess the manner in which those products are positioned and used.

"Reflections and glare on high gloss monitor screens and their relation to the angle of the monitor screen, could cause the operator to adopt awkward postures when viewing the monitor screen and using related equipment," the advisory says. "These reflections on the screen can be from internal and external sources such as the overhead lighting and/or position of windows."

Queensland recommends that users of such products conduct an assessment of the area in which those products are to be used to ensure the sources of reflections and glare are eliminated or minimised to reduce the potential for injury. It advises users to close their blinds or window shades and place the glossy displays at a 90 degree angle to any overhead lighting to minimise glare and reflection.

The surging popularity of the Twitter messaging service has broken at least one Twitter client application and affected another as a part of what is being called “the Twitpocalypse.”

Apple said Friday that more than 11 million copies of its new Safari 4 web browser have been downloaded in the first three days of its release, including more than six million downloads by users of Microsoft's Windows operating systems.

A new and extensive screenshot gallery taken from the near feature-complete build of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard distributed at this week's Apple developers conference shows off a more polished operating system nearing its final stretch of development.

1. It's faster

Apple launched the iPhone 3G S by announcing it has a faster processor, more memory and "snappier performance". Although the iPhone 3G is no slouch, it can be a little sluggish when opening and closing applications. If Apple's demo videos are anything to go by, the iPhone 3G S will be a much zippier smartphone.

2. It has more memory

Apple will sell two models of the iPhone 3G S: 16GB and 32GB. There original iPhone came with 4GB, 8GB or 16GB of storage.

3. Video recording

Wow! A smartphone in 2009 that can record video? No way! Apple critics will point to the fact that the iPhone 3G can't record video as an example of a phone that lacks some basic features, but for potential iPhone owners the addition of video recording is a real plus.

4. Improved camera

The iPhone 3G S has a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, compared with the iPhone 3G's 2-megapixel, non-autofocus camera. It still lacks a flash, but the increased megapixel count should slightly improve photos and tapping an area on the screen to focus on is a cool feature that should make mobile photography easier.

5. You can talk to it

The iPhone 3G S introduces what Apple calls Voice Control, a voice recognition feature that allows you to make a call and play music by speaking. Voice Control can find any entry in your contacts list, and users simply have to say a name or phone number to make a call. For music, you can ask what song is playing and hear the iPhone 3G S answer, tell it to play your favourite album, or play similar tracks to the current one.

6. It has a built-in compass

A built-in digital compass is another new feature of the iPhone 3G S. We aren't sure exactly how often anyone would use this as a standalone app, but when combined with Google Maps, the compass will rotate maps to always match the direction you're facing. Now that is pretty cool.

7. Internet tethering

The iPhone 3G S can now be used as a modem, connecting to a Mac or PC via USB or Bluetooth. Although AT&T in the US won't be supporting this feature, Optus is one Australian telco that has confirmed it will be. Telstra and Vodafone are yet to announce whether they will offer tethering capability.

8. Accessibility features

Apple has included a number of features that help people with disabilities use the iPhone 3G S. These include Apple's VoiceOver function, which reads aloud what is on the screen, a zoom function that magnifies up to five times, and a white on black display option that provides increased contrast.

9. Nike+ iPod integration

Previously only available for selected iPod nano models, Apple's Nike + iPod is a fitness system that involves a Nike shoe communicating wirelessly with an iPod. The iPhone 3G S will be compatible with the system, which displays real time walking or running statistics.

10. New headphones

The iPhone 3G S will include Apple's remote headphones in the sales package. The new headphones have a multi-button remote and volume control keys, as well as a microphone to handle voice calls.

For the latest on the iPhone 3G S check out our iPhone Centre.

Placing a Single Image

Of course the basic method for placing an image is to simply hit Command-D, which invokes the Place command from the File menu. This brings up a dialog box to choose your image, loads the Place Gun, then places the image at 100 percent wherever you click the loaded Place Gun on the page. However, unless you've already pre-sized the image, you're likely going to have to do some resizing and cropping.

Holding the Shift key down while dragging the loaded Place Gun will allow you to create a frame of any shape, and scale the image inside it. However, the image will only scale to fit either the width or height of the frame, depending on the orientation of the image being placed.

To get around this shortcoming, click and drag your loaded Place Gun on the page. InDesign will create a frame with the image placed inside it sized proportionally to fill the frame. As you're dragging the Place Gun, InDesign will show you the scaling percentage of the image (as shown on the right). If you want to see the measurements of the image being placed as you're dragging, tap the Shift key and the percentage indicator will show you the width and height dimensions instead.

Placing Multiple Images

You don't have to place images into your document one at a time. InDesign offers you a few ways to quickly place many images at once, the easiest of which is to select the images you want to place in the Finder, and simply drag them into your InDesign document window. While this is certainly quick, it's not exactly painless. Your images will be placed in cascading fashion at 100 percent--requiring a lot of work cropping and resizing.

Instead, use the method I've already described above. Invoke the Place dialog box (Command-D), and either Shift-click or Command-click to select the images you want to place. Once the Place Gun is loaded with your images, hold down the Shift and Command keys and start dragging the Place Gun. Once the proportional grid of image frames appears, you can release the Shift and Command keys (keep the mouse button held down) and continue dragging the frame grid out to your desired size.

InDesign will place your images in a 3-by-3 grid by default, so if you have more than nine images loaded, you'll have to drag-out more than one grid. While handy, this isn't ideal.

If you have a specific grid in mind, you can customize the grid on-the-fly by using the Shift-Command-and-drag method described above, but when you let go of the keys, you can use the Up and Down arrow keys to increase or decrease the number of columns, and the Left and Right arrow keys to increase or decrease the number of rows.

Though you'll have to go back and size each image inside the frames if they're not scaled to fill the frame, placing your images in this manner creates a nice even grid with equal spacing between each image frame. But what if you don't want equal spacing? Let's say you want the images to have more space below each image frame so you can add a text box below each image. No problem.

Using the method described above, just hold the Shift key down while hitting the arrow keys to increase the amount of space between each row or column as seen in the image to the right.

These methods of placing images in grids can be of particular value to designers working on product catalogs, contact sheets, or any project that requires image grids.

One final tip: As you may know, InDesign offers Import Options when placing images into your document. In the Place dialog box, you'll find a checkbox at the bottom that allows you to turn on and off the Import Options. I prefer to have this feature turned off, as more often than not I'm placing a single image. However, you can temporarily invoke the Import Options dialog box by holding down the Shift key while hitting the Open button. This is particularly useful when you want to place on a single page of a multipage PDF file, or adjust which color profile an image includes when placed.