PlayBook gets email, but it’s still a piece of shit

Written by

Roger Cheng: While RIM touts the ability to get e-mail, it’s actually using Exchange ActiveSync, and not the company’s own secure BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Without RIM’s secure network, the PlayBook’s e-mail access isn’t any better than what can already be … Continued

Microsoft Office for iPad

Written by

Matt Hickey for The Daily:

Word, Excel and PowerPoint files can be created and edited locally and online. But it’s unclear if Microsoft will support other Office apps at launch or at all.

More crap from RIM

Written by

Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for RIM:

PlayBook OS 2.0 benchmarks better than any other mobile implementation (just point your PlayBook at HTML5Test.com), and better than every desktop browser, except Chrome 16. It also includes WebGL for accelerated 3D graphics, and with WebWorks, we can free HTML5 code from the browser, let you upload it to AppWorld, and turn that HTML5 website into a revenue generating HTML5 application. How ‘bout them apples?

Two things:

  1. Make sure you’re near a Wi-Fi connection before pointing your PlayBook at any site because it doesn’t have 3G.

  2. You think it’s a good idea to allow developers to sell an app based on an HTML5 Web site? That’s not a plus. People want real apps, not fake shit.

Whitney Houston, Charlie Chaplin items being auctioned

Written by

Highlights of items from Whitney Houston that will be auctioned include a Whitney Houston black velvet dress owned by Houston. The floor length long-sleeve dress has a high collar and is embellished at neck and waist with metallic silver ribbon, black and clear stones giving the illusion of a necklace and belt. (Est: $1,000 -$2,000), a Whitney Houston vest worn by Whitney Houston in the blockbuster film “The Bodyguard,” (Warner Bros. 1992). The fitted vest has a floral pattern in gold, blue and pink, two exterior pockets, shawl collar and four button closure. Purchased by the end of production sale by the film’s set costumer Janet Sobel (Est: $400-$600), and a pair of pearl drop earrings also worn by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard (Warner Bros. 1992), faux pearl with silver tone bead cap and euro clip with scallop (Est. $600-$800). Other items include jewelry and costumes from Houston’s appearance in film and on stage.Highlights include a Charlie Chaplin iconic cane (Est. $20,000/$30,000) and Charlie Chaplin film worn suit (Est. $20,000/$30,000) and a number of his own personal items including his personal drivers license (Est. $2,000/$4,000) originating from family members and the Estate of Charlie Chaplin. Other highlights include Clark Gable’s riding jacket from “Gone With The Wind,” (Est. $10,000/$15,000), a tuxedo jacket worn by Judy Garland in “A Star Is Born,” (Est. $4,000/$6,000), a Charlton Heston screen worn robe (Est. $30,000/$50,000) and screen worn staff (Est. $20,000/$30,000), screen used tablets (Est. $40,000/$60,000) from “The Ten Commandments,” Marilyn Monroe pantaloons worn in “River of No Return (Est. $20,000/$30,000) and a vintage Christian Dior gown worn by Grace Kelly, known more famously as Princess Grace of Monaco (Est. $10,000/$20,000)

The new Microsoft, Apple OS war

Written by

Tim Bajarin:

From Microsoft and their partners point of view, they are really hoping that history literally repeats itself. Just as Windows was used to bypass Apple in the past, they are “praying” that Windows 8, with its ability to deliver a similar OS and touch UI experience across multiple devices can revive their fortunes and make them relevant again.

I don’t believe it’ll happen this time. Apple is different than the company that fought with Microsoft in 1984 for desktop operating system supremacy. In a way you could say that Microsoft has been trying to build a tablet OS for years and failed. Apple reinvented the way people think about tablets and mobile operating systems and in the process they have won the mindshare and market share of consumers. It seems clear from Windows 8 that Microsoft doesn’t even understand the war they are fighting.

Sandboxing

Written by

Longtime Mac developer Daniel Jalkut writes a great article on Gatekeeper and Sandboxing.

A case for Siri on the Mac

Written by

Lex Friedman:

But whatever the reason, I hope Apple changes its thinking quickly. I’m a fan of Siri on my iPhone, and I can imagine plenty of ways Siri could deliver awesomeness on the Mac.

Lex makes his case for why Siri should come to Mountain Lion and some ways it could work. I don’t know if I’d use Siri that much on my Mac. It seems quicker for me to just use the built-in data detectors to add an appointment or open an app using Spotlight.

Auto-pairing MarsEdit and TextEdit using TextExpander

Written by

Brett Terpstra:

It’s designed to add auto-pairing for bracket and quote characters to MarsEdit, and it’s based on a bit of information that I hadn’t been aware of before.

Smart people doing smart things.

Clusterfuck

Written by

Shadoe Huard talking about Windows 8 Developer Preview: I could waste a few thousand words describing every bewildering detail of this clusterfuck but I can talk about one thing that will sum it all up for you: The Windows logo.

The Piracy Threshold

Written by

Matt Gemmell: Let me make this perfectly clear: piracy is your own fault. You’ve got the whole situation almost exactly backwards. There’s so many great quotes that I could have used from Matt’s story, but this sums it up nicely … Continued

OMG iOS is being OS X-ified

Written by

I’m going to use the same faulty logic that some people have used to claim that OS X Mountain Lion is being iOS-ified to show how iOS is being Mac-ified. Calendars: On the Mac first as iCal, clearly Apple added … Continued

Mac Rumors says it confirmed the iPad 3 display

Written by

Eric Slivka at Mac Rumors:

MacRumors has now been able to obtain one of these iPad 3 displays and examine it under a microscope in an effort to determine whether it is indeed an ultra-high resolution Retina display. Physically, the purported iPad 3 display is the same size as the current iPad 1 and iPad 2 display at 9.7″ in diagonal, and looks quite similar to the naked eye.

‘Item is currently being modified’

Written by

Tyler Tschida:

If you’re not up to speed on this issue, let me explain. About two weeks ago something terrible happened in the App Store, and we’re still not sure what. Apps that received any type of price change, whether it was a small discount or a short term free period, started randomly displaying this absolutely maddening message: “This item is currently being modified. Please try again later.”

I’ve never seen this error.

Apple launches 25 billion app download promotion

Written by

Apple launched a new promotion on Friday as it nears 25 billion app downloads on its App Store. As of today, nearly 25 billion apps have been downloaded worldwide. Which is almost as amazing as the apps themselves. So we … Continued

iPad improves Kindergartners literacy scores

Written by

Apple has been involved in the education market for decades, but the release of the iPad could be the most significant contribution the company has ever made. A new research study shows that Kindergartner students using iPads scored better on literacy tests than students that didn’t use the device.

I spoke with Mike Muir, Auburn School Department’s Multiple Pathways Leader, about the program and specifically about the focus on the iPad initiative. […]

Tips for creating feminine designs

Written by

Tara Hornor:

So, what makes a design feminine? Can you really design something that is naturally attractive to the female eye? With the right fundamentals applied, anyone — even those of the more macho persuasion — can successfully design for a female audience.