Yet another game in the store this week by me (Gary, the host and producer of MacMost). This week it is Free Style. I’m particularly proud of this game because it is an original design that I came up with years ago and a truly unique game. You move along a row of red and green blocks, trying to get them all to change to green while avoiding a marked block that changes. As you play, your moves mimic jazz improvisation, creating a little melody. Give it a try!
Bookmarking a Web page is easy. But getting to that bookmark again can be tough if you have filed it away inside a bookmark subfolder. You need to choose Bookmarks, Show All Bookmarks, and then go find it. You can make them more accessible by creating subfolders in your Bookmarks Bar. There are many ways to do this, but one is to right+click or Ctrl+click on the bookmarks bar, and then select New Folder. These folder then act like pull-down menus in Safari, giving you easy access to the bookmarks stored within.
Apple shook up the iPhone App Store and the developer community this last week with the removal of about 5,000 apps that it deemed too overtly sexual. In messages sent to these developers, Apple cited complaints from customers as the reason for removing the apps.
For the most part, these apps did not include any nudity, as that was not allowed in the app store. Instead, many of them featured women in bikinis or other revealing clothing.
The controversy over this move comes from three areas. First, the developers were given little or no warning of the change in policy. Second, apps like the one from large companies like Playboy and Sports Illustrated were left in the store. Third, many non-sexual apps were caught in the dragnet, including at least one eBook and the shopping app SimplyBeach which included bikinis in their app-based catalog.
This sort of action also scares developers outside of that genre as it shows how quickly a business built around iPhone app development can be destroyed by a single decision inside of Apple. Many app developers are small and single-person companies.
In other news, the iTunes Music Store served up its 10 billionth song this week. Since its launch in 2003 iTunes has become the world’s largest music retailer.
A school district in Pennsylvania has been accused of spying on students and their families through the iSight cameras of MacBooks given out by the schools. One family filing a lawsuit against the schools says they have proof that pictures were taken in their home by the school district using the cameras. Each MacBook has anti-theft software installed that enables the use of the cameras this way. The irony here is strong, considering the original announcement of the Macintosh in 1984 used an anti-big brother theme.
Looks like Apple spent this week cleaning up some dusty corners. First, they released a Mac Pro update to fix a nasty bug in 2009 Mac Pros that made the processor go wild when playing some audio. The update has been long-awaited by many.
Next, Apple gave the gift of a free update to iPod Touch users. Touch users have had to pay for their OS updates, unlike iPhone users who apparently pay by having a mobile phone contract. These $10 updates have been skipped by many users, leaving Apple having to support older versions of the OS. So this week Apple suddenly made the 3.0 OS update available for free via the regular update channels. Those with an iPod Touch who stuck with version 2.0 of the OS apparently only need to check for updates through iTunes while their Touch is connected. But reports of this working are sporadic, as it would require someone who hasn’t updated yet.
Then Apple decided to deal with a rare hard drive issue that affects some MacBook users who purchased in 2006 and 2007. Apple is reportedly offering a free repair if you have the issue, even though your warranty is long gone. If you think you might be affected, check out this page at the Apple site.
Outside of the mothership, an interesting third-party software development took place this week when Dragon acquired MacSpeech. Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the leader in speak-to-type software for Windows. MacSpeech used Dragon’s engine in their Mac software. I guess Dragon decided that MacSpeech was doing well enough for them to enter the Mac market again by simply acquiring the company. So soon MacSpeech won’t just be “close” to NaturallySpeaking, it probably will be NaturallySpeaking.
We record the MacMost video podcast straight into a Mac Pro, skipping tape. The way to do this is to use a Firewire camcorder. But this is a dying breed as the hard drive and SD card camcorders take over. The pinnacle of the MiniDV/Firewire camcorder will likely be the Canon VIXIA HV40 HD HDV Camcorder. We picked up one of these for less than $700 and it works great with our Macs. It is full 1080 high def, directly into the Firewire port. A great camera for video podcasting or taping your kids soccer game.
We’ve been on a roll here producing iPhone games. So we’ll keep featuring them. Hope no one minds. The next one is Add It Up. This is a math puzzle game that is not only fun to play, but deceptively challenging as well. Plus, it keeps your mind sharp as an added benefit. Take a break from Sudoku and try this faster-paced game.
Have an unusual speaker setup for you Mac? Sometimes you may need to switch left and right speakers without physically changing the location of the boxes. You can do this by running Audio MIDI Setup on your Mac, and then choosing your output device, and then choosing Configure Speakers. You can then set channel 2 to left and channel 1 to right to reverse your speakers. You can also switch from Stereo to Multichannel for even more control if you have a surround sound system.
Also see the MacMost Mac Virus and Malware Information Center.
Typically, the week of MacWorld Expo is the biggest week of the year for Apple news. But not this year. Without Apple’s participation there is little to report, in fact. The Expo is about half the size it was last year, taking up only one hall in San Francisco’s Moscone Center instead of two. And the press releases and announcements are more of the side-show variety, with new iPhone cases, apps, third-party Mac software updates, and a few new gadgets.
Apple’s only major announcement this week is the release of a new version of Aperture, their professional-level photo management and editing software. This new version catches up with the cheaper iLife application iPhoto by adding Faces and Places. Aperture is more in line with Adobe’s Lightroom software, also meant for the professional crowd. Also new in Aperture 3 are a set of new slideshow creation features that produce HD video slideshows.
CleverMedia (MacMost’s parent) has been busy taking some of its most popular Web-based games and bringing them to the iPhone and iPod Touch as apps. The next one to check out is Word Spell. You get six letters and have to make as many words from those letters as you can.
If you want to automatically have your most recent photos on your iPhone or iPod Touch, there are several ways to do it. The easiest is to select your iPhone in iTunes when it is connected, and then click on the Photos tab. You can choose to sync all of your photos, or specific albums. When you choose the later, you can also add all events, some of the most recent events, or events that have occurred within a period of time. With that setting, you don’t even need to mess around with albums in iPhoto. It is all done from iTunes.
With so much hype built up around the iPad before its launch, it is not surprising that the device couldn’t live up to it. Many Apple fanboys turned against their favorite company this week, complaining that the iPad doesn’t live up to their expectations. Specifically, many wish it had a camera, multitasking, longer battery life, and support for Adobe Flash.
Other articles are pushing back against this backlash, pointing out how the iPhone was a success and it didn’t have a ready-to-go App Store like the iPad will have at launch.
A pair of updates came out this week for iTunes and the iPhone OS. iTunes 9.0.3 fixes a bug where iTunes forgets what you specify for “remember password for purchases.” It also reportedly fixes bugs having to do with smart playlists and podcasts. The iPhone OS update, version 3.1.3 improves battery reporting and fixes a number of bugs and security issues.
