I can definitely see how this would be useful. I like the look of the templates too—that’s a nice idea.

Superior Drummer is one of my favorite drum samplers on the market. This new expansion pack was recorded at The Warehouse Studio by Randy Staub (Metallica’s “Black Album”, Nickelback’s “Silver Side Up”, Avril Lavigne’s “Under My Skin”), so you know it’s going to sound good.

This is an important step in Apple’s move to expand their reach into the gaming universe.

The MOGA Ace Power iOS game controller requires an iPhone with a lightning port. It includes a battery pack, so you can charge your iPhone while you play (or at least limit the drain on your iPhone’s battery).

Interesting that all the buttons are analog.

The biggest initial surprise of the MOGA Ace Power is that nearly all of the buttons are analog. Following rumors, and just how controllers typically work, I think we all expected the only analog controls to be the actual dual analog sticks themselves and maybe the outmost triggers. It turns out all of the buttons are analog. All of the triggers, the face buttons, even the D-Pad. In fact, the only non-analog gaming control on the whole thing is the pause button.

Unfortunately, as with all early adopter technologies, this device is ahead of developer testing cycles.

However, with surprise comes disappointment, and the main source of that disappointment is how incredibly obvious to us that all of the developers out there releasing updates to add iOS 7 controller support are doing so without actually testing on a controller. For instance, Dead Trigger 2 [Free] comes with default sensitivity settings that were so high there’s no way any human could play that way. Similarly, LEGO Lord of the Rings [$4.99] has controller support, but you can only move using the D-Pad, not the analog stick. Strange little inconsistencies like that are everywhere, and I’ve yet to find a game that recognizes analog button presses.

I expect this will change as developers get their hands on the controller. I can’t wait to get my hands on one.

Thinking of taking advantage of Apple’s Reuse and Recycling program? You now have the option of trading in a water-damaged iPhone or iPad. If you’ve never been to the site, take a minute to dig into the options. Interesting to see the range of devices Apple will take in trade. To Apple’s credit, even if your device has no value, Apple will send you a shipping label so you can return the device to Apple and keep it out of the landfill.

Have a Windows machine? No problem. Apple will take trade-ins on some models. And for those machines Apple can’t repurpose, they’ll point you to a free recycling solution.

Would be nice to see this in a museum somewhere. The opening bid was set at €180,000 (about US$243,000), which is relatively low compared to recent bids for a working Apple I. Goes to show how tricky the classic computer market can be.

Paula Borowska put together a guide for creating iOS 7 icons.

Universal Audio released two new plug-ins on Monday: the Maag EQ4 and the Classic Fairchild 660 and 670 Tube Limiters. I love the Fairchild—can’t wait to get my hands on these.

Alex Vollmer takes you through one of the most classic solos of all time. I love playing this Jimmy Page solo.

As part of a settlement announcement on Monday, Google has agreed to pay out $17 million to 37 U.S. states, as well as the District of Columbia, for ignoring anti-tracking protocols baked in to Apple’s Safari Web browser.

I’m willing to bet they made a lot more than $17 million.

Guillaume Ross takes a look at the popular use of URL schemes in iOS and some security concerns he has with them.

It’s not necessarily an easy thing to do.

This week MightyDeals is offering a great deal on MotoPress. It’s a WordPress plugin that replaces the default WP editor and makes content editing a snap. It uses a super easy drag-and-drop method, that works on all devices thanks to its responsive design. If you use WordPress, you’ll love this. See how it works.

These are the tuners Gibson used for its Robot guitars, but these look improved, and they are available for a wide range of guitars. I’m going to get a set for one of my older guitars and see how they work.

Squarespace released “Blog” and “Metrics” and released iOS 7 updates for its existing apps.

Katie Fehrenbacher for GigaOM:

Apple’s two solar farms and one fuel cell farm near its data center in North Carolina are now all live and generating power. The projects are unprecedented in the industry and have helped usher in real change.

What a fascinating read.

The headline link is to the North American version of the FAQ. Here’s a link to the EU version of the FAQ.

Any maths geek will certainly recognize the term fractals, the set of numbers that are infinitely recursive and self similar. This short film gives you the chance to meet the father of the fractal, Benoit Mandelbrot.

Anand Lal Shimpi compares the new Mini with both last year’s model and the new iPad Air.

Increasing the storage density of batteries is one problem. Extending the lifespan of a battery is another. This Stanford linear accelerator lab work may have just made a leap forward in both of these areas.

Researchers have made the first battery electrode that heals itself, opening a new and potentially commercially viable path for making the next generation of lithium ion batteries for electric cars, cell phones and other devices. The secret is a stretchy polymer that coats the electrode, binds it together and spontaneously heals tiny cracks that develop during battery operation

Researchers worldwide are racing to find ways to store more energy in the negative electrodes of lithium ion batteries to achieve higher performance while reducing weight. One of the most promising electrode materials is silicon; it has a high capacity for soaking up lithium ions from the battery fluid during charging and then releasing them when the battery is put to work.

But this high capacity comes at a price: Silicon electrodes swell to three times normal size and shrink back down again each time the battery charges and discharges, and the brittle material soon cracks and falls apart, degrading battery performance.

”We found that silicon electrodes lasted 10 times longer when coated with the self-healing polymer, which repaired any cracks within just a few hours.”

Roadtrippers:

You’ve never seen hot air balloons like this before! A couple of weeks ago, Albuquerque, New Mexico held its 42nd annual International Balloon Fiesta. It’s a 9-day event where over 700 balloons see liftoff. It’s the largest hot air balloon festival in the entire world and we were on hand to capture the action.

I crossed “going up in a hot air balloon” off my bucket list a few years ago but a trip to the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico is still on it.

Heh. These are pretty well done.

Did you know you can customize the tab bar at the bottom of the iOS Music app? By default, it offers tabs labeled Radio, Playlists, Artists, Songs, and More. Want to replace the Radio tab with a Genre tab? Easy. Follow the link and Kirkville will show you how.

The TwoHands iPad stand from Felix is like a long, thin hair clip. Squeeze the short end and the legs grasp the sides of the iPad. Works on most tablets, in portrait and landscape. Love this design. Also love the domain name. Presumably felix.com was already taken. This is a good second choice.

Scenarios like this one are becoming more and more common as location tech gains a foothold in retail:

You’ve just tossed a jar of peanut butter in your grocery cart when your smartphone buzzes. You glance down at the screen to see a message that seems downright clairvoyant: Buy some jelly. Get $1 off.

Convenient? Certainly. Creepy? Maybe.

In September, Apple introduced the iBeacon. But retailers are exploring many other options for indoor positioning and tracking, including low-power Bluetooth (used by the iBeacon and others), videocameras, sound waves, and magnetic fields. The goal is to enhance the brick and mortar experience to rival that of online retailers.

The technology could eventually give retailers capabilities rivaling those of online stores. On the Web, behavioral ads use records of a person’s browsing history to propose products. Now pharmacies or home improvement stores wanting to sell Kleenex or two-by-fours could soon do the same thing (see “It’s All E-Commerce Now”).

“Not much is known about what shoppers do in stores until they check out at the cashier,” says Todd Sherman, chief marketing officer for Point Inside, a Bellevue, Washington, startup that’s among a score of companies that have raised venture capital funding to perfect indoor tracking and advertising techniques. “This way, you can see what they’re interested in [and] see where they’re going.”

The data culled from shopper cell phones can be incredibly useful.

Forest City Enterprises triangulates on cellular signals to monitor foot traffic in most of the nearly 20 shopping centers it owns or manages. It says the data helped it decide where to move an escalator that was interfering with an entrance. The company also measures how long visitors stay after a fashion show or concert. Stephanie Shriver-Engdahl, Forest City’s vice president of digital strategy, says the company wants to know, “Do they get one soda, hop in the car, and leave? Or are they staying longer?” In the future, foot-traffic data could be used to set lease prices, she says.

There is an obvious convenience to buying online. But brick and mortar has benefits as well and traditional retailers are focusing on enhancing the experiences storefronts offer that cannot be matched by online merchants.

There’s been a lot of coverage on the Apple Samsung patent retrial. This article does a good job of boiling down both the numbers and the arguments being put forth by each side.

Samsung’s expert’s key argument:

An expert hired by Apple had determined the company was due $114 million in lost profits because of Samsung’s use of technology under Apple’s patent No. 7,844,915, also known as “pinch to zoom.” The ‘915 patent covers technology that can distinguish whether a user is scrolling with one finger versus using several touch points at once for a pinch-to-zoom action.

However, Michael Wagner, an accountant and lawyer hired by Samsung, said there’s no evidence from either company that shows consumers bought Samsung devices because they liked that particular touch-screen feature. As a result, he believes Apple should receive no money for lost profits.

“I believe people bought these phones for other features,” Wagner said. That includes bigger, AMOLED screens; faster processors; and 4G LTE.

And from Apple’s side:

One expert, MIT professor John Hauser, estimated three Apple patents, including the ‘915 patent, adds about $100 in value to a $199 smartphone or $90 in value to a $499 tablet. [Apple’s accountant, Julie] Davis said Apple lost out on $114 million in profits because of the Samsung copycat devices. She also calculated Samsung’s profits to be $231 million, and said reasonable royalties owed to Apple total $35 million. Apple estimates it would have sold 360,000 devices if Samsung hadn’t released infringing rivals.

The article also covers the “lost profits” aspects of this precedent setting case.