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July 30 2010
Civil War: America's Epic Struggle comes to the iPad and iPhone
Filed under: App Review
Civil War: America's Epic Struggle (US$4.99) from MultiEducator Inc. is a full history course in an iPad and iPhone app. It contains at least as much information as most textbooks on the Civil War at a fraction of the cost, while adding elements that no textbook can. There are 24 multimedia presentations, some as long as nine minutes, a nice selection of music popular during the Civil War, and a wonderful navigation system that just makes sense. When starting the app, information can be sorted 18 ways, from a changing Categories bar including Battles (sorted either chronologically or alphabetically), Multimedia Presentations, Statistics and topics like Navy, Economics, Railroads, Music, etc. Depending upon where you are in the app, tapping on Categories brings up a contextual listing of what you can see. For example, tapping on Major Battles Chronologically changes the bar to a listing of battles grouped by year. Tapping on a battle such as Bull Run, brings choices of a text summary of the battle, a five minute multimedia summary, seven text articles on aspects of the battle, 20 photos or drawings, most of them taken from the Matthew Brady Archives, and full color maps. Depending upon the battle there is more or less information available, but this is done for 26 battles in total; clearly, there's a phenomenal amount of information in the app, plenty for even a Civil War buff to peruse.
TUAWCivil War: America's Epic Struggle comes to the iPad and iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ballmer: Microsoft-Powered Tablets Are 'Job One Urgency'
Steve Ballmer demoing Windows-based HP slate at CES in January 2010
CNET reports on comments from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer today at the company's conference for financial analysts revealing that Apple's longtime rival is continuing ...
Apple ditched Skyhook and Google, rolled their own location database
TechCrunch went through the fine print and noticed that, with iOS 3.2 (iPhone 3.2 for iPad) Apple switched from using Skyhook and Google’s location database to using their own, home spun, solution.
When reached for comment, Skyhook wouldn’t specifically talk about their relationship with Apple, but they did say that “everyone who has a platform wants to own as much of the location stack as possible. Location data is going the be huge and owning it is going to be the next big war in mobile.“
Indeed. Now roll Apple-acquired PlaceBase and Poly9 Map layer brain-trusts into the equation, and what will we get?
Apple ditched Skyhook and Google, rolled their own location database is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Unboxing: Apple's mid-2010 iMac has changes on the inside
Top 5 Free iPad Travel Apps
The iPad can be a handy to have on your next vacation, whether you need to research flights for a quick escape from your cousin’s wedding, keep the kids entertained on the plane or figure out which road is the least congested in a strange city.
Here are five free iPad apps we wouldn’t leave home [...]
Rumor: Sprint working on iPod touch-friendly 4G hotspot called "Peel"
Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch
And now Sprint is apparently looking to piggyback one of these devices on Apple's iPod touch. Macrumors reports on new filings to the FCC that show a device that's almost a case; it's designed to be attached to the back of Apple's handheld, providing local Wi-Fi service anywhere you happen to be. It's called The Peel, and it doesn't connect to the iPod touch at all except physically -- it's just a case that wraps around and sets up a Wi-Fi spot whenever it's hooked up.
It's worth nothing that this isn't the first time Sprint has tried to pair up their 4G service with an Apple device -- you might remember the iPad 4G case that came out a while back. Makes a lot of sense -- Apple's devices need a connection, and Sprint has a much better chance of making you get one if you've already got a device to use it with. We'll keep an eye out for an official release of The Peel.
TUAWRumor: Sprint working on iPod touch-friendly 4G hotspot called "Peel" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Fallout From Financial Reform Bill May Hamper Angel Investing
Throughout the spring, we covered the financial reform legislation as it wound its way through committee and Congress. The final version - Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act - was signed into effect by President Obama on July 21. And while some of the provisions that were most troubling in earlier versions were axed before the final bill was passed, there is still a sense that the repercussions from the legislation might dampen investment, particularly at the early stage and particularly from angel investors.
Sponsor
Liz Fries, a partner at Goodwin Proctor explained to ReadWriteWeb today what some of the implications of the financial reform bill might be.
Income Requirements for Accredited Investors
When the Senate Banking Committee approved an early version of the bill, it increased the income thresholds for "accredited investors" would have required the SEC to revisit these regularly "to reflect the percentage increase in the cost of living." These numbers - $1 million in net worth or an annual income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years - were adopted in the early Eighties, and adjusting these for inflation would have changed that dollar figure dramatically. Many experts estimated that these changes could have eliminated over half of current angel investors. The National Venture Capital Association, the Angel Capital Association, and others voiced their protest.
In the final version of the bill, the net worth threshold has been raised, and while the dollar figures for income stay the same, the value of the investor's primary residence is now excluded from the calculations. Fries contends that this will likely disqualify some angel investors, but "only at the margins."
Focus Shifts from Legislation to Regulation
Fries calls this "Stage 2" of the financial reform efforts, and says that the focus will shift now from Capitol Hill to regulatory agencies. The SEC in particular will be tasked with writing and reviewing some 95 new rules and conducting over 70 studies. In particular, the agency will be revisiting the definitions and requirements, both for investors and for funds.
While Fries seemed optimistic that these definitions are out of the hands of legislators, the verdict is still out on how the changes introduced in the Dodd-Frank bill will impact investors and entrepreneurs - as well as the overall economy.
Discuss
Lab tested: 21.5- and 27-inch Core i3 iMacs/3.2GHz
Death Threats Against Iranian Atheist Blogger: This Week in Online Tyranny
Death threats aimed at Iranian atheist blogger, Fariboz Shamshiri.
"One electronic threat was that someone would 'cut his throat.' In another message they wrote 'the death is coming to you soon soon.' He says he still doesn't know who send these messages (they're all anonymous), but he suspects -- based on past experience -- range from Basij militia, Revolutionary Guards Corps Cyber Affairs Division and/or some mullahs or students of seminary schools."
His main blog is Rotten Gods and he is the editor of Stop Torturing Us. Iran's lucky to have him. And seriously. Maybe he'll have to explain himself before G-d, but he sure as hell shouldn't have to do so before a mob of sloe-eyed nitwits.
Sponsor
Singapore bans critical YouTube video.The Asian city-state of Singapore has "banned a YouTube video of ex-political detainee Dr Lim Hock Siew delivering a speech, shot by local filmmaker Martyn See, claiming it was 'against the public interest.'" The ban has made his harassment a cause célèbre and directed huge amounts of attention to it via alternative video sharing sites. How you like Dr. Lim Hock Siew now?
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez buys TV station. Not contented with censoring others, throwing people who disagree with him in prison, and talking on Twitter, he has now announced the government would be buying a majority stake in Globovisión. That's the station that has been consistently critical of him. ¡Qué sorpresa! The leadership of the station vows to fight him.
Using https to frustrate censorship. CPJ has a great post on using https to frustrate censorship efforts. It makes it more difficult, though not by any means impossible, to eavesdrop on a site. Additionally, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has worked with the Tor group to produce an easily-downloadable plugin called HTTP Everywhere that will help protect your search queries from a lot of eavesdropping.
Uighur blogger sentenced to 15 years in prison. Uighur blogger and journalist Gheyret Niyaz has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for "endangering national security" In reality granting an interview to foreign media last year about the riots in the area is the more likely reason behind this rubbish ruling.
Iranian photoblogger arrested. Hamed Saber was arrested this week for no announced reason, but was probably his photographs. Truth is the enemy of the government, especially of Iran. Although it could have been Access Flickr, the plugin he developed to circumvent Iran's blocking of the photosharing site.
Friends and colleagues aren't sitting still, and that's heartening. There's a Free Hamed Saber blog and a Flickr discussion forum. These are both in Persian so if you don't speak it, you'll have to use a translation service.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act takes a hit. Or two. A recent U.S. district court "fair use" ruling has made it legal to jailbreak a phone. That's if the ruling holds up against future court cases. A separate court case has ruled that DMCA takedown notices have to be spot-on. If they are not complete, and in a form that's usable to the target (in this case Google) they are liable to be ignored, and legally so. DMCA has been at the center of a number of copyright disputes, one side arguing that pointing is the same as publishing (and search engines, for instance, are culpable if a site they include in results is breaking the law) and the other side arguing that, well, it's not.
Censorship graphic by Andréia Bohner
Discuss
July 29 2010
Introducing the Apple Magic Trackpad [First Look]
It only makes sense that the company who brought us the first mouse would try to re-invent the way desktop computers are used. Apple is attempting to bring multi-touch to the masses with its new Magic Trackpad. While this might seem like just a trackpad, this could be a sneak peek on how Apple plans [...]
Google search blocked in China, again; other services partially blocked
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Google search blocked in China, again; other services partially blocked originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New Xbox 360 4GB's packaging shows off 250GB HDD upgrade option
New Xbox 360 4GB's packaging shows off 250GB HDD upgrade option originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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20 great, free iPad comics
Filed under: iPad
CNET's Crave blog compiled a great list last week of twenty great, free comic books to read on your iPad. For me, more than anything else, the iPad seems perfect for a visual, interactive medium like comics. Movies are better on my big screen, and books can be read on a Kindle (or just on paper -- weird, I know), but for the iPad, having the ability to zoom in on a great piece of comic art or download new comics straight to the device to be read on that big, colorful screen seems perfect.Enter this list, which has some great free samples from both the DC and Marvel comics apps, or a few other free Comics reader apps available on the store. There's some really good stuff out there for the low price of absolutely nothing, from some classic books that are hard to find in print to some newer promo books for current series or comics that have been made into movies.
Man cannot live on free alone -- if you're really into comics, you'll probably want to buy a few from their official apps (though it's a shame that pricing and selection isn't quite there yet, but hopefully Marvel and DC will eventually figure that out). And this article doesn't even mention the tons of great single-app books you can find on the App Store, for both the iPhone and the iPad. The iPad was designed for consuming media, and comic books are one of my favorite media around.
TUAW20 great, free iPad comics originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iBooks Store adding increasing number of multimedia titles
Filed under: iPad
It was earlier this week that Jeff Bezos, father of the Kindle and CEO of Amazon was saying that "A color screen doesn't make an Ernest Hemingway novel any better."True enough -- the Kindle has a beautiful sharp screen that is a pleasure to gaze at. Not all books, however, are Hemingways, and we're starting to see so-called multimedia titles showing up in the Apple iBooks Store.
One example is the 'Enhanced Edition' of Nixonland, by Rick Perlstein, a chronicle of our 37th President. The book contains the full text of the book first published in 2008. It also includes 27 videos of the former President and newsreels that put those turbulent years into perspective.
TUAWiBooks Store adding increasing number of multimedia titles originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
CrossOver, CrossOver Games 9.1 released
Ballmer pushes slates but reveals few details
Why Do You Need a Computer to Use an iPad?
One of the first disappointments a brand new iPad owner often faces is the fact they can’t use their magic new toy right out of the box. New iPad users turn on their device and what greets their eyes? An iTunes activation screen; the same screen iPod touch and iPhone users see. To setup an iOS device, whether iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone, you need a computer running a compatible version of iTunes.
But why?
Other smartphones, tablets, and media players don’t require a connection to a computer before you can use them. Moreover, iPad users learned recently what iPhone and iPod touch users already know: to upgrade their device’s OS, they again need a computer. Other devices can do updates over the air. Software updates on a Mac or PC don’t require a second computer, so why should iOS devices?
The initially obvious answer is the fact you need an account with iTunes to fully use an iDevice. That account manages the purchases you make on your iOS device. Since many users already have an iTunes account, this argument doesn’t make sense. A new iOS device owner should simply be able to enter their account info (or create an account on the spot) when turning on the device for the first time. Instead, new owners have to hook up to a “real” computer.
Again, why?
Of course, having a computer synced with your iOS device is handy. You can back up your data and quickly sync data from your computer. Documents, music, movies, pictures, calendars and contacts all easily get transferred from the desktop. However, with our lives existing more and more in the cloud these days, transferring this data via a computer running iTunes seems to defeat the independence of the iPad. With the camera connector kit, the argument has even less relevance. We can use the iPad anywhere, but we have to race to a computer with an Internet connection to do updates or move content back and forth.
Why? Why? Why?
Cynics would say that it’s about making sure that iPad sales don’t cannibalize traditional computer sales. With Apple’s market share though, sales shifting from desktops and laptops over to iPads is actually a benefit to Apple as evidenced by the recent earnings conference call when this issue was discussed.
There are probably a lot of PC users with older Windows machines who would be happy to replace their old PC with an iPad, which would handle almost all their computer needs. Apple’s “walled garden” approach really shines through for these users. No worries about competing browsers and email clients, downloading and installing software (even in the Mac universe, how many times do you see people running apps off the disk image rather than dragging it to the Applications folder?) Malware isn’t currently a concern, and the parental controls are quite handy. The price helps bridge the digital divide, making powerful computing accessible to everyone. That goal was one the motivators of the netbook movement. Apple changed the rules and added a new one: this magical and revolutionary device still needs a traditional and mainstream copy of iTunes running somewhere for setup and maintenance. Again…why?
Because Steve said so, that’s why!
Ultimately the iPad will probably gain independence. But for now, regardless of logic, market conditions, or technology, Steve Jobs sees the iPad as a companion rather than a replacement for the traditional desktop or laptop. It’s both something more and something less than the typical computer. Will we see the day when the umbilical cord between traditional operating systems and the iOS devices is cut? One can dream.
Do you think iOS devices should require a separate computer? Why or why not?
Related GigaOM Pro Research (subscription required): Can Anyone Compete With the iPad?
iPhone 4 launch may be cancelled in New Zealand, confusion reigns down under
Intel on Thursday landed a crucial victory in a private lawsuit that accused it of unfair pricing [sub. required]. Special Master Vincent Poppiti recommended to the US District Court in Delaware that the judge deny the lawsuit any class action status as there was no proof PC shoppers as a group were price gouged by alleged Intel price dumping meant to exclude AMD from the market. As Intel only set its own pricing, computer builders were free to drop their own stickers rather than simply widen their profit margins, Poppiti said....
New iMac Is Editors’ Choice
Maybe Soup is currently being updated? I'll try again automatically in a few seconds...
