Written by Jim Dalrymple
Although Adobe is no longer actively developing the [Flash] player for Android, Blackberry or Symbian devices – and never released it for Apple iOS or Windows Phone handsets – it has said it would continue to offer security updates and bug fixes for existing versions until September 2013.
Not as successful as they said it would be.
Written by Shawn King
Gadling:
How far would you go to get a bird’s-eye city view while swimming? If you’re staying at the Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao, you’ll get to take a dip in their glass-bottom pool, which appears to be suspended in mid-air as it partially hangs over a 24-story drop.
Easy answer to the headline question. HELL NO.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Harry Marks:
Business Insider, CNet, ZDNet, eWeek, Gizmodo, and the rest (there really are too many to name) aren’t news organizations, they’re the online equivalents of 24-hour cable news noise networks with half the facts and one-third the personalities. These websites perpetuate a myth that they are well-informed, knowledgable news outlets that tell the world what it needs to know. What I’ve learned, however, is just the opposite: they’re ad-driven FUD machines that run on pageviews stolen from attention-deficient readers who would rather digest a shocking headline on a digital tabloid than read thoughtful commentary provided on an actual news site.
Harry brings up so many great points. Read it.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Joe Caiati:
For many, the lure of an exclusive social network and the lust for reaching the masses will keep most attached to both services; including myself. As much as I would rather just be navigating to one unified service, App.net has the potential to disrupt my social experience. A disruption that can turn out to be pleasant surprise or another failed startup.
Joe brings up some good points about App.net. It’s intriguing, but right now people are splitting their time between the two. Until it gains critical mass, we really won’t know how it will do. But the price — any price — may stop that in its tracks.
Many have asked if I supported App.net. I tried but something happened during the sign-up process. I contacted them via the support email and tried on Twitter to get a response, but never heard back. So, no I didn’t pay for the service, but I would have.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Gruber dives deep into the iPad mini.
Feral Interactive has announced the forthcoming publication of a Mac version of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, slated for release on Thursday, September 6. The game will cost $29.99 and will be available in the Mac App Store and through other download sites.
This new title features characters from the DC Comics universe beside just Batman – it also features Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Robin, as well as bad guys like the Joker and Lex Luthor. Batman and his super hero allies must team up to save Gotham City from the Joker’s latest evil plans.
Each super hero has unique powers and equipment – Superman has super strength and freeze breath, while Wonder Woman is equipped with her golden lasso and Green Lantern has his power ring. Batman and Robin, predictably, have an array of gadgets to help them too.
The game features an “open world structure” that lets players explore Gotham City however they’d like. And like recently LEGO games, LEGO Batman 2 sports a single-player mode and a cooperative multiplayer mode that lets other players drop in or drop out whenever they want.
August 14, 2012
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Greg Price has been doing Ozzy’s live setup for a lot of years, so he knows what he’s talking about. He lists the mics used and the plugins he uses on each channel. He even gives you the presets to download for each plugin. I’ve known Greg for a number of years and he is an incredibly talented audio engineer.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
The ‘460 patent protect elements of email and photo browsing in a camera-equipped device. Specifically, it covers three different functions: sending a text-only email, sending an email with an attached photo, and stepping through different photos in a gallery mode. According to Dr. Yang’s testimony, the iPhone 4, 3G, and 3GS — along with the iPad 2 and fourth-generation iPod touch — all infringe the patent on both iOS 4 and iOS 5.
It’ll be interesting to see how Apple argues this.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
A Samsung Electronics designer testified on Tuesday that she didn’t copy Apple when creating the icons for the Galaxy line of products. “Not at all,” senior user experience designer Jeeyuen Wang said, through an interpreter.
Oh, okay then, let’s just cancel this trial and move on because they look NOTHING LIKE APPLE’S.
After writing about how iPads and YourTeacher helped raise math scores by 49%, I decided to speak with YourTeacher CEO Charlie Hermes to find out more about his company, and what it’s like to publish textbooks on the iBookstore.
“iBookstore is a game changer,” Hermes told The Loop. “We have a depth of high-quality content and the iBookstore allows us to be on a level playing field with the big publishers. No other platform would allow us to have our textbooks on that level and give users a choice.”
YourTeacher has been around for a decade, specializing in helping students learn math, but it wasn’t until Apple released iBooks Author that they entered the digital publication market. Using their existing content, Hermes said they put together textbooks they thought would help kids learn in a better way.
While it would have been difficult, or nearly impossible, for a small company like YourTecacher to compete with the big textbook manufacturers, iBookstore has opened the door for companies of all sizes.
With a company tagline of “Your Personal Math Teacher” Hermes and business partner Mike Maggart took the idea of an interactive textbook and added a teacher. Using video in the textbooks, students can get help whenever they have a problem, and practice widgets let them know how they are doing as they make their way through the book.
“We don’t dwell on how interactive or how cool it is,” said Hermes. “We’ve just taken the teacher and built it into the textbook. It’s not about this incredible layer of interactivity, it’s about having a teacher there to help you if you need it.”
Of course, using technology in the classroom is not new. School districts have been buying laptops for students for over a decade, but they never lived up to the promise based on the feedback Hermes received.
“I think the whole iPad thing is different for kids and schools,” said Hermes. “The response has been so overwhelming and different from what we got with laptops. This is really changing things.”
With the iPad and iBookstore leading the way, Hermes believes we’ll see even more small publishers entering the market over the next 3 or 4 years.
“Apple took a sledgehammer to the old model,” said Hermes. “Now the consumer or school can test a free chapter from iBookstore and decide for themselves what they want to buy.”
Written by Peter Cohen
Dan Pearson for Gamesindustry.biz:
EA’s answer to Steam, digital distribution service Origin, will be coming to Mac, Android and Facebook soon, as well as smart TVs.
The news came from Peter Moore, EA’s COO, during his keynote speech at Gamescom, the annual video and computer game show in Cologne, Germany.
Origin lets users buy and download EA video games directly from EA, rather than going through another game store. At the moment it supports PC and console platforms, but EA is planning to expand its reach.
EA games are already available for the Mac through the Mac App Store and through other online stores; the company has worked extensively with TransGaming to produce Mac versions of some of its titles, which TransGaming sells through its own GameTree Mac online service. It’ll be interesting to see how or if EA expands its offerings with this move.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
An interesting look at dots and pixels as John Gruber makes his way from a Pac-Man coin-op machine to a Retina MacBook Pro.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
No idea how I’d ever use this, but it’s really cool.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
A classic comic from Joy of Tech.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Global BlackBerry sales tumbled 43 percent last quarter as RIM’s aging lineup of devices failed to match the consumer appeal of Android phones and Apple’s iPhone. BB10 will change RIM’s fortunes, Heins said today. “We’re here to win,” he said. “We’re not here to fight for third or fourth place.”
Maybe RIM is tired of Samsung getting all the attention and says stupid things to turn things around.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Rene Ritchie:
No one can look at Samsung’s mobile products over the last decade and not consider them anything other than a ruthless, relentless copy of everything popular that’s came before. It’s not that Samsung doesn’t continuously push the limits of hardware specifications and capabilities as much if not more than anyone else. They do. But they do so by systematically, institutionally copying what other vendors have already done first.
Rene just goes off on Samsung.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
A really nice message from Om Malik to John Gruber, congratulating him the 10 year anniversary of Daring Fireball.
Apple on Tuesday updated its retail store pages in Canada noting the opening of two stores on Saturday, August 18. One store will open in Coquitlam, British Columbia and the other in my hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Halifax store is located at the Halifax Shopping Centre and will open at 9:30 am. The Coquitlam store is located at the Coquitlam Centre and will also open at 9:30 am local time.
The two openings this weekend will put Apple’s total Canadian retail stores at 25. The company’s total retail stores worldwide will stand at 375.
The new stores will continue Apple’s tradition of offering personalized service for customers purchasing products from the company. Services like Personal Setup, where Apple store employees help set up your iPhone, iPad, or Mac with email, iTunes accounts and other apps will be part of the store experience.
Apple has greatly expanded the number of services it offers customers since opening its first store. I’ve attended a number of store openings over the years, including New York’s 5th Avenue and SoHo locations, and the Palo Alto and San Jose stores. Since then Apple has added things like its $99 One to One program, allowing customers to get personal, group or open training sessions for a year.
Of course, both new stores will also feature the Genius Bar, a hallmark of Apple’s retail experience.
Update: The number of stores in Canada is 25, not 24 as previously stated.
Written by Peter Cohen
Klint Finley for TechCrunch:
But a new project called TOS;DR wants to change that. The site aims to give more power to users by summarizing terms of service, flagging potential issues and rating apps on a scale from A (the best) to E (the worst).
This is a great idea and I’m surprised it hasn’t been done before.
August 13, 2012
Written by Jim Dalrymple
iNeedHelp sends your location via text message and email at the push of a button to your HelpList.
Seems ideal for children or senior citizens.
We’ve all heard how using an iPad in the classroom improves a child’s literacy scores and now a new study is showing the same is true for math students as well. Tools like an lcm calculator can greatly enhance this learning experience by providing instant and accurate solutions to complex problems. With just a few taps, students can quickly compute LCMs, helping them grasp mathematical concepts more efficiently. This real-time feedback fosters a deeper understanding, allows for more personalized learning, and gives students the confidence they need to excel in their mathematical studies.
App developer YourTeacher teamed up with KIPP Academy to test grade 8 students to see if their scores would improve after using an iPad. Students were provided with an iPad and the Algebra 1 iBook, available on iBookstore, to replace the traditional textbook.
The program is referred to as a flipped classroom — 80% of the iPad usage was outside the classroom, allowing teachers to focus on more advanced training and one-on-one help in the classroom.
The students were then tested using the KIPP Spring Common Assessment Test. The scores were compared to the students who didn’t have access to an iPad and the results speak for themselves.
“Overall, the percentage of students who rated either proficient or advanced (the ‘passing’ rate) was 49% percent higher in the ‘flipped classrooms’ using the iPads than in the traditional classrooms with no iPads,” according to the report. “The difference was most pronounced in the percentage of students rated as ‘advanced,’ which was 150% higher in the ‘flipped classrooms.’”
