Air Users Blog:
A week after starting I had to tell her that I was unable to complete the project. I had more chance of growing tits than giving her an album worth pressing.
Mixing an album takes a lot of talent even if the artist is good, but if they’re not…
MG Siegler has the scoop:
Again, the device is a 7-inch tablet with a capacitive touch screen. It is multi-touch, but from what I saw, I believe the reports that it relies on a two-finger multi-touch (instead of 10-finger, like the iPad uses) are accurate. This will be the first Kindle with a full-color screen. And yes, it is back-lit. There is no e-ink to be found anywhere on this device.
I think Amazon’s tablet will be successful because of the brand. People trust Amazon, so they’re likely to buy.
IndustryGamers:
Developers seem confident that Apple will be just fine without Jobs steering the ship. In fact, the timing may have been just right for Jobs to step down, in advance of the iPhone 5 likely being revealed.
Glad to see that iOS game developers share the same confidence I feel that Apple is in good hands with Tim Cook and the rest of the executive team that Steve assembled.
I love Jackson guitars. I currently own two Dinky models, one with EMG pickups and the other with Seymour Duncans. Jacksons have a really flat neck, which seems to suit me for playing metal. The company released 12 new models in all — here are a few.
Macworld:
One in six Macs now runs Apple’s latest operating system, a Web metrics company said Thursday.According to California-based Net Applications, Mac OS X 10.7, aka Lion, accounted for 1 percent of all desktop operating systems that were used to connect to the Internet last month.
We’re just over a month since the release of Lion. Lots of people like audio engineers, musicians and other creative pros hold off on upgrading to a new OS until all of their apps are throughly tested. I still haven’t upgraded the Mac Pro in my studio and probably won’t for some months to come.
What a great looking app. This is what I would expect from Apple if they made iChat for the iPhone. Verbs is $0.99 on the App Store.
SFWeekly:
Dangerfield says that, after conferring with Apple and the captain of the Ingleside police station, he has learned that plainclothes SFPD officers went with private Apple detectives to the home of Sergio Calderón, a 22-year-old resident of Bernal Heights. According to Dangerfield, the officers “did not go inside the house,” but stood outside while the Apple employees scoured Calderón’s home, car, and computer files for any trace of the lost iPhone 5. The phone was not found, and Calderón denies that he ever possessed it.
Does anyone know what’s going on over there?
Florian Mueller:
I just provided a detailed update on the current state of affairs in the ITC investigation of Apple’s first complaint against HTC, and I saved a true gem for this separate blog post. It’s a story that’s remarkable per se — allegedly, Android started at Apple — and it could also have major legal implications for a future Apple lawsuit against Google or possibly even for Apple’s dispute with Motorola Mobility after its proposed acquisition by Google.
Classic argument by Apple.
Peter Jamison for SFWeekly:
If accurate, his account raises the possibility that Apple security personnel attempting to recover the prototype falsely represented themselves as police officers — a criminal act punishable by up to a year in jail in the state of California — or that SFPD employees colluding with Apple failed to properly report an extensive search of a person’s home, car, and computer.
Uh oh.
So many talented people on Dribbble. Here’s a client for the iPhone called Balllin.
The Next Web:
There has been a misquote being passed around the net like wildfire this morning. According to the quote that is being reported widely by tech and Apple blogs, Eric Schmidt said that he stayed on Apple’s Board of Directors until he “couldn’t stand the board anymore.”But that quote is incorrect, Schmidt actually said: “I was on the board until I couldn’t stay on the board anymore,”
The SF Chronicle has corrected its original story, but the error is still echoing over the blogosphere.
Earlier this year famed Halo game creator Bungie announced the formation of Bungie Aerospace, a new venture aimed at publishing mobile games. The first fruit of that labor, Crimson: Steam Pirates, is now available for the iPad on the App Store. It’s free to download, with unlockable content available through a $1.99 in-app purchase.
The game features eight voyages, two “pass-and-play” multiplayer scenarios, more than a dozen different unit types, and more than 20 different crew members, each with special abilities. The game’s stats integrate with Bungie.net and Facebook.
Although there’s additional content for purchase, this isn’t a “freemium” game – Crimson: Steam Pirates comes with eight missions playable as soon as you download. A second “chapter” with mission packs costs you $1.99.
Crimson: Steam Pirates was made by Harebrained Schemes, a developer helmed by Jordan Weisman, creator of MechWarrior, Crimson Skies and Shadowrun.
[Updated 3:02PM PT with info about second chapter]
Tricky Software has announced the release of Emma and the Inventor for the iPad. It’s a free download, though unlocking the full game requires a $4.99 in-app purchase.
Emma and the Inventor is a “hidden object”-style puzzle adventure game that was originally released for Mac and Windows earlier this year. The game features more than 40 individual screens, dozens of environmental puzzles and achievements that you can unlock and share with your friends using Game Center.
Tricky Software, the game’s original developer, has created an iPad version of the game with gameplay and controls optimized for the iPad. Emma and the Inventor requires iOS 4.0 or later.
AllThingsD:
In fact, the creation of a $20 million investment kitty that Arrington has dubbed CrunchFund is simply the formalization of a long-standing arrangement that has already been going on since he founded his popular tech blog.That is to say, in which the basic standards of journalism are first warped by calling it newfangled truth-telling and then endlessly corroded by using a wily and unusually aggressive combination of favors and threats to extract, from start-ups and VCs in need of press, both exclusive access and information.
TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington was given his walking papers by AOL this week (at least as head of TechCrunch, though he appears still to be employed by AOL Ventures) after it was revealed that he started a venture capital fund; the move violates generally accepted journalistic standards (and indeed goes against AOL’s policy). AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher, already an outspoken critic of Arrington, assembled her thoughts in a particularly vituperative editorial that, for maximum effect, should be read while listening to Gerald Fried’s music from the original Star Trek episode “Amok Time.”
I’m proud to know him; he’s a poetic fellow, an artist and a businessman. Just because he’s been extremely busy, that doesn’t mean that he and his wife, Laurene, have not been thinking about these things. You don’t have to be a friend of his to know what a private person he is or that he doesn’t do things by halves.
Patrick Moorhead for TechPinions:
My assumption is that Apple will find a business model the content providers will find advantageous or tempting enough to cross the cable and satellite companies. If not, then you would expect them to declare war and do everything in their power to circumvent this by investing in the “pipe” or content companies themselves. This market is too huge and too big an opportunity for the most valuable company on the planet to pass up. I know, this sounds impossible, but when Napster arrived on the scene, how plausible did iTunes sound? How plausible did downloadable movies sound with bit-torrent around?
I know the naysayers are convinced an Apple television will never happen, but I’m not so sure. What I do know is that Apple will enter a product category when it feels it can change the market, the same way it has done in the past.
The iPod, iPhone and iPad are perfect examples of how Apple has entered existing markets with fresh ideas and dominated. With iTunes selling movies, videos and TV shows, and iCloud on the way, I wouldn’t count Apple out of this market just yet.
Earlier today, Mac Rumors noted that Apple was once again selling Final Cut Studio to people that called the company’s sales line. Apple tonight, explained what’s going on.
“As we’ve done before with many end-of-life software products, we have a limited quantity of Final Cut Studio still available through Apple telesales to customers who need them for ongoing projects,” an Apple spokesperson told The Loop.
Apple released Final Cut Pro X in late June, replacing the $999 Final Cut Studio.
BusinessInsider:
Because we’ve licensed so much other great content, Starz content is now down to about 8% of domestic Netflix subscribers’ viewing. As we add a huge more content in Q4, we expect Starz content to naturally drift down to 5-6% of domestic viewing in Q1. We are confident we can take the money we had earmarked for Starz renewal next year, and spend it with other content providers to maintain or even improve the Netflix experience.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings notes that they have licensed more network and cable shows, as well as more first run movies from big studios. Maybe Starz just wasn’t worth the money to them anymore.
Bloomberg:
Starz LLC, the premium cable channel controlled by billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp., said it ended contract renewal talks with Netflix Inc. (NFLX) after failing to come to terms. Netflix shares fell.
Terrible news. I watched a lot of Starz movies on Netflix.
IndustryGamers:
Dave Castelnuovo – Owner, Bolt Creative“I would like to see a personal anti-grav device built into the ipad 3 so that I could sit on it and allow me to hover around instead of walking. Kind of like of like a Segway, but without the Segway. Seriously though, I’m not even sure what else they can add to the iPad.”
Other suggestions include Flash support, 4G data support, “retina display” and more. Regarding Flash, I think Castelnuovo’s hoverpad idea has a better chance.
As a result, we’ve put a location switch on the compose screen for each message or comment, so the user will have full control in its use, message by message. And when you add your location, its not only private to that board, but its specific to that moment in time. Glassboard does not track your position over time, and no one else will have access to this information.
I definitely think Sepia Labs is taking the right approach here.
ZDNet:
Mind you, there is one word in that previous paragraph that really caught my attention, “suspected.”It leads me to wonder whether these organizations can really say with authority that the manufacturing organizations and sites that it is targeting are actually working with Apple, or whether they are making an educated guess based on Apple’s voluminous supply chain. No one really knows, and that is part of the problem.
Apple gets in the crosshairs of environmental organizations because they are a high-profile organization. Saying “Apple” draws attention to their cause. The SEO sure can’t hurt their Web traffic, either.
Apple has released Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 3.8. The software is available for download from Apple’s Web site and through the Software Update system preference.
This update is to the system software Mac OS X 10.6.5 and higher (including Lion) uses to manage input from cameras that produce digital “raw” files – the digital equivalent of a film negative. The software is used by both Apple’s Aperture 3 and iPhoto ’11 applications.
The 3.8 release adds compatibility for the following cameras:
Griffin Technology on Thursday announced its Stylus + Pen + Laser Pointer, a three-in-one device. It costs $49.99.
This isn’t new territory for Griffin; the company has also released a line of styluses for capacitive touchscreen devices as well as ColorStudio HD, a stylus product and software app for the iPad for kids, developed in conjunction with Crayola.
Navigon AG on Thursday announced the “second generation” of navigation apps for iOS (and Android), coming this fall. Current users will be eligible for free upgrades to the new versions, according to Navigon.
Gerhard Mayr, Navigon vice president, said that the new generation of apps caused his company to “go back to the drawing board” with new, better ways to manage and update maps and a more intuitive user interface.
The new MyMaps function is one of the cornerstones of the new product design philosophy. Users will be able to pick which map regions are downloaded to their device. This frees up storage capacity on the target device, since you’re only loading maps for the areas you want (say, the USA). The company offers quarterly map updates through a service called “FreshMaps,” and that includes updated Points of Interest from NAVTEQ – through a one-time fee, for the life of the product.
The simplified user interface of the iPhone product lets users switch between different pages with animated menus. Map zoom and rotation is easier and Points of Interest can be added to a map by tapping them.
This is the first significant change to Navigon’s product roadmap since Garmin completed its acquisition of Navigon earlier this year.
Hogrocket has announced the release of Tiny Invaders on the App Store, a new game from a development team comprising former members of the award-winning game console developer Bizarre Creations. It costs $3.99.
Tiny Invaders is an action puzzle game in which you control alien germs as they invade Earth. The tiny germs have aimed to take over the leader of the free world, but instead of the White House, they end up up the nose of a hick farmer. You must guide the aliens through their new host where they can take over his body, then infect new hosts, traveling from person to person.
In Tiny Invaders, your germs move around the bloodstream of the infected host. You tap the junctions of blood vessels to change paths, collecting orbs to infect humans, avoiding white blood cells.
The team behind this game includes the creator of the famed game Geometry Wars and lead level designer of James Bond 007: Blood Stone.
Other World Computing has announced the release of a Mac-native firmware updater for its SandForce-based Solid State Drives (SSDs). The updater works with select OWC Mercury SSDs made since January 2010.
OWC bills it as the first and only Mac-compatible firmware updater for SandForce SSDs. It’s something of a big deal for SSD owners because up to now, you’ve needed Boot Camp or the creation of a specially-designated drive partition in order to upgrade the firmware on these devices.
AllThingsD:
Here’s new Apple CEO Tim Cook’s first org chart move: He has given media boss Eddy Cue a promotion, pushing him up from vice president, iTunes to senior vice president, Internet Software and Services.
Eddy Cue previously took over MobileMe following its launch – and Steve Jobs’ infamous dressing-down of the MobileMe team. In his expanded role, Cue assumes responsibility for iAds, filling a slot vacated by Andy Miller, who’s become a partner at a Boston-based venture capital firm.
Parallels has announced the release of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac, a new version of their virtualization software that enables OS X users to run Windows and other non-Apple operating systems side-by-side along with OS X. It goes into general circulation on September 6 for $79.99, but existing customers can upgrade now for $49.99.
Among the new features is support for and integration with OS X Lion. Lion’s LaunchPad and Mission Control can display Windows applications. Lion can also operate as a guest operating system. iSight and FaceTime HD cameras work in both Mac and Windows apps, and users can allocate up to 1GB of video memory.
Graphics performance has been improved with up to 45 percent faster 3D graphics rendering, and Windows start, stop and resume functions are up to 60 percent faster in the new release, according to Parallels. The company also claims that file copying within Windows is up to 120 percent faster than its competitor.
Parallels Mobile, the app that lets you access Parallels Desktop content through your iOS device, has also been improved, with copy and paste support, audio, and other new features.
The Loop turned two years old in June and this is by far the biggest change the site has seen since its launch. I wanted to take a couple of minutes to explain the changes and why they were made.
In April, I started looking at the site the way a reader would see it, not the way the owner would see it. To be blunt, I didn’t like what I saw and knew that something needed to change.
The site looked cluttered, and it was hard for a reader to enjoy a story. This is the last thing I wanted for The Loop.
So, we spent the last few months coming up with a solution that would be better for the reader, better for our sponsors, and still allow us to make a living.
I’ve had many people come to me over the past two years and offer to send me money to help support the site. I want to thank you all for doing that. While I never took anyone up on the offer, it made me feel like I was on the right track with what I was delivering.
Now, I am offering a membership to The Loop. It costs $3 per month and can be billed to your PayPal account or your credit card (You don’t have to be a PayPal member).
So, what do you get if you become a member? Well, the most important thing is that you support the great writing you’ve come to expect from Peter and me, but in a cleaner, easier to read format.
I will also give each subscriber a full text RSS so you can read the site in your favorite news reader, at your leisure.
All of the content will remain free on The Loop. There will not be any walled-off areas and there will still be a truncated RSS feed available to everyone for free.
RSS Sponsorships are the only way for companies to directly reach The Loop’s readership. More information on the sponsorships is available elsewhere on the site, so I won’t get into a lot of detail here.
From the homepage, you can click on any of the icons next to a story to view its page. There you can leave a comment or use one of the social media buttons to share the story with your friends.
The only story type that is different from the rest is the “Linked” story. With these stories you click on the headline and you go to the external Web site. The icon next to these stories is a link, so it’s easy to recognize.
First, I have to give a big thanks to all of my advertisers over the past couple of years. Companies like Pixelmator and Marketcircle have been with me since day one and others like SecureMac and Mac Game Store have been around for a long time.
Sincerely, thank you all.
Instead of packing The Loop with ads, I am partnering with Fusion Ads to have one small ad on the site. This tile is in the sidebar and will show on every page. This leaves the content of the story free from any type of advertising at all.
That is the only image-based advertisement that will be on The Loop.
Chris Bowler, the owner of Fusion, and I completely agree on what advertising should be and how it should be implemented. I’m looking forward to a long relationship between Fusion and The Loop.
I owe a huge thanks to Phil Letourneau who built the new site from the ground up. He put up with my nitpicking and said “no” on many occasions to my silly design ideas.
Much respect for the design and code, Phil.
You may notice that some of the posts on the site resemble John Gruber’s Daring Fireball linked list posts. I actually spoke with John on several occasions about having these types of posts and lots of other things to do with the site. Thanks John.
Shawn Blanc answered quite a few questions on his membership model, which I adopted for The Loop. Thanks Shawn.
Rick Fillion from Oomph has written so much code for the site over the last couple of years, I’m sure he cringes when he sees my number calling. Much respect Rick.
Last, but not least, I’d like to thank you, the reader. I truly appreciate every single comment, share, and retweet for The Loop. Never underestimate how much spreading the word about your favorite Web site means to the people who run it. It means a lot.