∞ Avid releases Eleven Rack Expansion Pack

Avid on Tuesday released the Eleven Rack Expansion Pack. As the name suggests, its an add-on for the company’s Eleven Rack amp and effects processing systems. (more…)

∞ Three new FileMaker Go Starter Solutions debut for mobile users

FileMaker on Tuesday released three new Starter Solutions for FileMaker go for iPhone and iPad. They’re bundled with a free 30-day trial of FileMaker Pro 11. (more…)

∞ Firefox 4 arrives

Mozilla on Tuesday released Firefox 4, the next generation of its Web browser. (more…)

∞ Review: Audioengine A5 & S8 combination speaker system

The Audioengine A5 & S8 combination is an impressive speaker system that’s worth every penny, but you will need a lot of pennies. (more…)

∞ Apple sues Amazon for using 'App Store'

Since Apple first launched its iPhone App Store, companies have set about to copy the concept and the name. It seems that Apple has had enough. (more…)

∞ Using Apple's Backup software

I use MobileMe to sync my contacts, calendars, and other information, but I also use Apple’s Backup application to quickly make a backup of the same information in case I need it. This morning, my friend Dave Caolo posted the third installment in his series on using Apple’s Backup application. If you’re new to Backup or just want some tips, it’s certainly worth a read.

Backup is a piece of software that Apple offers to MobileMe customers. A predecessor to Time Machine, Backup’s main purpose is to back up data in your home folder, though it can be customized to do more. Of course, even the most flexible backup solution is useless if the restoration process stinks. Fortunately, restoring with Backup is a breeze. Here’s how.

Restore with Apple’s Backup [52 Tiger]

∞ Court orders Steve Jobs to answer questions in iTunes antitrust

A federal judge has ordered Apple CEO Steve Jobs to answer questions in an iTunes antitrust case that alleges Apple had a music downloading monopoly. (more…)

∞ BlackBerry PlayBook to ship April 19, starting at $499

Research In Motion (RIM) announced Tuesday that its long-discussed PlayBook tablet will begin to ship on April 19, 2011, at prices starting at $499. (more…)

∞ Mac OS X 10.6.7 fixes Mac App Store bugs, improves Back to My Mac

Mac OS X 10.6.7 is now available for download from Apple’s Web site and through the Software Update system preference. (more…)

∞ Marketcircle giving Billings and Billings Touch revenue to Japan

Marketcircle on Monday said it would give 100 percent of its revenues on sales of Billings and Billings Touch from Monday until Wednesday, March 23 to the Red Cross. All sales including those sold through the company, the App Store, and the Mac App Store will be included. The money is being earmarked to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, according to Marketcircle.

The devastation in Japan can not be described with words. Although Japan is a wealthy country, the sheer magnitude of the damage and destruction implores us to help our Japanese friends as best we can.

Together we can help Japan [Marketcircle]

∞ Apple, RIM, Motorola sued for patent infringement

Apple is among seven companies being charged with patent infringement, according to court documents filed last Friday. All of the products allegedly infringing the patents are phones. The product named from Apple is the iPhone. (more…)

∞ Warren Buffett wary of Apple

Billionaire Warren Buffett said he has an aversion to technology companies like Apple, instead favoring companies like Coca-Cola. (more…)

∞ 88,000 sign petition against 'gay cure' iPhone app

More than 88,000 people have signed a petition asking Apple to remove the so-called “gay-cure” app from its App Store. (more…)

∞ A look at Apple's design guru, Jony Ive

If there’s one thing that sets Apple’s products apart from the competition, it’s the design. The man responsible for that is Jony Ive. (more…)

∞ AT&T acquires T-Mobile for $39 billion

AT&T on Sunday said it has entered into a agreement to purchase T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash and stock deal worth an estimated $39 billion. (more…)

∞ Real Racing 2 budget hits multimillions

While the original Real Racing was produced on a more modest scale, indie iOS game developer Firemint went into seven digits to make the iPhone version of its new game, Real Racing 2 HD – one of the first games to feature optimizations for the iPad 2.

“The iPhone version of Real Racing 2 cost $2 million to develop over a period of 18 months, according to a new interview with Australian developer Firemint.”

Real Racing 2 HD debuted on the App Store the same day that the iPad 2 hit stores. Firemint hasn’t revealed how much more went into development of the iPad-specific HD version.

iPhone hit Real Racing 2 cost $2 million to make [IndustryGamers]

∞ Valve marketing VP dishes on 'worthless' agency marketing

Valve, makers of the soon-to-be-released game Portal 2, has a dim view of the value of ad agencies. Marketing VP Doug Lombardi says:

“With the Portal 2 ad, we play tested it and were able to make changes during production. With an agency, those types of tests are too often left to a post-mortem – at which point, the value of those realizations is pretty close to worthless”

Portal 2 is expected out in April for Mac, PC and consoles. PlayStation 3 users who buy the console edition of Portal get the Mac and PC versions for free.

Valve disappointed in ad agencies for marketing, ‘almost worthless’ [IndustryGamers]

∞ Mac App Store makes developers money

As if on cue with our previous article, PCWorld.com, (by way of Macworld.com), discusses a report that shows strong sales of Mac apps sold through the new Mac App Store.

“Despite the small number of available titles, the average Mac app is generating half the sales revenue of iPad software among the top 300 apps for both stores, according to Distimo.”

This stands in stark contrast to Nintendo’s position with their systems. They’re interested in protecting their turf and building bulwarks against the barbarian hordes. Apple’s almost incapable of operating in any other way besides empire building mode.

Mac App Store good for developers and gamers, study finds [PCWorld.com]

∞ Nintendo to 'hobbyist' devs: No thanks

Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime is giving the shrug off to part-time developers – the bread and butter of Apple’s vast App Store and a driving force behind Google’s Android Market. He dismisses them as “hobbyists” and says they have no place in the Nintendo ecosystem.

“Where we’ve drawn the line is we are not looking to do business today with the garage developer. In our view, that’s not a business we want to pursue.”

An interesting juxtaposition to the heat and light of the recent Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, plainly on mobile – and not Nintendo’s version of mobile. That’s a very large chunk of software talent that Nintendo is turning its back on.

That speaks volumes about Nintendo’s lack of preparedness to expand their business. Reminds me of Sony getting spanked by the iPod and the iTunes Store.

Nintendo draws line between “indie devs” and “hobbyists” [Gamesindustry.biz]

∞ AT&T cuts price of iPad 3G by $100

AT&T on Friday slashed the price of the original iPad 3G by $100 throughout its U.S. retail stores. (more…)

∞ Mac Games For Japan Relief Bundle announced

Macgamestore.com has put together a bundle of 15 Mac games to give gamers a way to give money to help those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. (more…)

∞ Microsoft claims credit for disabling huge spam network

Microsoft claims it has helped disable a “botnet” network purportedly responsible for sending billions of spam e-mails daily – at its peak, nearly half the spam afflicting computers worldwide. Microsoft worked with law enforcement officials to disable the computers responsible for controlling the network. (more…)

∞ Apple's iPhone tops customer satisfaction list, RIM is last

For the fifth consecutive time, Apple’s iPhone has topped J.D. Power and Associates list of smartphone customer satisfaction. (more…)

∞ Gruber on why Nitro isn't available outside Mobile Safari

Earlier today a study that compared the iPhone to Android for Web browsing speed was found to be flawed. The company doing the test didn’t realize the embedded browser didn’t have the faster Nitro JavaScript engine, which was recently released as part Mobile Safari. Daring Fireball’s Jon Gruber has a look at why. This is where Gruber excels — a great read.

Web apps that are saved to the home screen do not run within Mobile Safari. They’re effectively saved as discrete apps — thin wrappers around the UIWebView control. (That’s why they show up individually in the task bar, just like apps from the App Store.) Home screen apps may well eventually get access to the Nitro JavaScript engine — Apple simply hasn’t yet done (or perhaps finished?) the security work to allow it. It is not an oversight or a bug, or the result of a single person at Apple wishing to hinder the performance of web apps.

Why the Nitro JavaScript Engine Isn’t Available to Apps Outside Mobile Safari in iOS 4.3 [Daring Fireball]

∞ A look back at the Atari Lynx

Boy Genius Report has a weekly feature called Throwback Thursday and this week’s was just too good to pass up — the Atari Lynx. For the time, it was pretty advanced, but unfortunately for Atari, it was released the same year as the GameBoy. Even though it had a color screen, it went away.

As the world’s first portable gaming device to boast a color display, the Lynx packed a host of other innovative features — including the ability to be held with the D-pad on the left or right for ambidextrous gameplay.

Throwback Thursday: The Atari Lynx [BGR]

∞ Visiting RIM’s offices with my iPad 2

I know that some people think I’m being mean to RIM, calling them out on not shipping any products and not really having a tablet strategy other than following Apple. I decided to change that and visit RIM. (more…)

∞ BlackBerry is the new Palm Pilot

I have had my share of rants about how RIM has handled its PlayBook introduction and the fact that they can’t seem to ship anything, but the non-existent tablet isn’t the only problem the company has. (more…)

∞ Steve Jobs emails employees affected by earthquake in Japan

Apple CEO Steve Jobs emailed Apple employees in Japan offering support of the company after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country last week.

If you need time or resources to visit or care for your families, please see HR and we will help you. If you are aware of any supplies that are needed, please also tell HR and we will do what we can to arrange delivery.

Steve Jobs Offers Support to Apple Employees Affected by Earthquake [MacRumors]

∞ Study comparing Android to iPhone Web browsing speed flawed

A Canadian software company, Blaze Software, released a report today of what it calls the “largest ever research study of smart phone browser performance.” The problem is, the study is flawed. (more…)

∞ Podcasting on an iPad 2

I had an interesting Twitter chat yesterday with a fellow that wanted to do Podcast recording on his iPad 2, but couldn’t find the right software to do it. He said he was excited about the thought of GarageBand for iPad, which was just recently released, but it didn’t really do what he wanted. Ultimately, he may have found a solution and I wanted to make sure I shared it with everyone.

My ideal podcasting situation is one that uses my MacBook the least. I envisioned myself recording the show on an iPad 2 connected to my mixer. Since I do no post production, I’d save it to Dropbox wirelessly, grab the public URL, and post it to iTunes. If I wanted the intro and outro, I’d throw those files onto my iPhone and use that as an input. Boom. If I needed to use the laptop at all, I’d be able to remote in via Screens for some quick edits.

The Perils of Podcasting on an iPad & Your Face [ballsmoke]