Category: Miscellaneous

Wall Street Journal: Borders to go out of business

July 18, 2011 /

The Wall Street Journal reports that bookseller Borders is giving up on its attempt to restructure under bankruptcy and will liquidate the remainder of its stores, as early as September.

A few years ago I would have thought it would be Barnes & Noble, and not Borders that would be going under. But B&N had the vision (and the willingness to take the risk) to expand into digital and develop the Nook, when much of the industry thought it was too little, too late. It may still be ultimately, but they’ve outlasted a major competitor.

Stagnate and die. Stagnate and die. (via Daring Fireball.)

Comic Life for iPad half price for 48 hours

July 14, 2011 /

From a press release by Plasq:

Our boss is away on vacation — so we’ve decided to go crazy! Starting at 12:00 am on July 15 and lasting until 12:00 am July 17th Comic Life for iPad will only cost USD $3.99! That’s right, for 48 hours you can get 50% off Comic Life for iPad at the iTunes App Store!

The perception of pricing on mobile apps (and iOS apps in particular) continues to fascinate me. At $8, I perceived Comic Life (a very well done program) as too expensive for me. At $4, though, I’ll probably grab it. What I still haven’t figured out why that’s the case. I think it’s less to do with the idea that mobile apps aren’t as sophisticated as desktop apps — there are certainly enough examples to disprove that idea. I think it’s more of a volume thing. I have dozens of apps (maybe) on my Mac; I have hundreds (easily) on my iOS devices.

There’s a lot of very interesting psychology going on here — I hope someone with more time that I have writes a thesis on it one of these days.

Gesture controlled helicopter via Kinect

July 5, 2011 /

This is very cool. A college student’s project involves rigging a Kinect to a radio-controlled helicopter. The result? Controlling the copter by hand movements, which as it turns out, creates something that looks like it came straight out of Harry Potter.

Indistinguishable from magic indeed. (via CrunchGear)

iWork apps get update; now work on iPhone, iPod touch

May 31, 2011 /

Apple’s iWork suite of productivity apps have been updated to work on the iPhone and iPod touch, according to a press release from Apple.

Keynote, Pages and Numbers are now universal apps that run on iPad and iPad 2, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, and iPod touch (3rd & 4th generation), according to Apple. The apps are available from the App Store for $9.99 each for new users, or as a free update for existing iWork for iPad customers. Keynote Remote is sold separately via the App Store for 99 cents.

It remains to be seen exactly how usable these apps will be on the iPhone, but the ability to create and edit iWork documents on small iOS devices is sure to come in handy.

Shameless

May 25, 2011 /

Photo courtesy of Engadget. Click to view the full article.

The phenomenon of other brands’ products “coincidentally” beginning to look like Apple products is nothing new, (think about cellphones before and after the iPhone or tablets after the iPad, for instance) so it’s not surprising to see that Dell’s new XPS 15z laptop bears a striking resemblance to the MacBook Pro. They’ve even copied Apple’s packaging, which includes a downright Freudian admission in the arrangement of photos of the laptop in an arrangement that practically screams “Mac OS X.”

But what’s particularly embarrassing is the pretense that it’s not happening. Dell described their new laptop as having an “innovative new form factor” for crying out loud.

I wonder if the PR flack who wrote that was even able to keep a straight face.

Absolutely embarrassing. (via Engadget.)

On the Apple’s 10th anniversary in retail, a look back at NJ’s first store

May 19, 2011 /

With today marking the 10th anniversary of Apple’s first brick-and-mortar store, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at how we covered the company’s first location in the Garden State, which opened in Tice’s Corner in 2001. Back then, of course, there were only five retail outlets, and the company had an ambitious goal of opening a total of 25 by the year’s end (there are over 300 now), and store openings were a big deal, not just among the Mac press, but the mainstream news outlets as well. Apple’s newest product, the “iPod,” wouldn’t even be available for another week after the opening.

RandomMaccess was given exclusive access to the store the night before the special pre-opening “press event.” Here’s how we reported our first look at Apple’s foray into retailing.

Continue reading

‘AT&T blocks BlackBerry Bridge from PlayBook users’

April 19, 2011 /

This is priceless: RIM’s new PlayBook has no email client. No, that’s not the priceless part. (Well it is, but it’s not the most recent priceless part.) RIM’s “solution” to this is BlackBerry Bridge, an app that lets you tether your PlayBook to your BlackBerry, using it’s email capabilities. Here’s the priceless part: apparently no one at RIM told the folks at AT&T about this, because they’ve blocked the app from working on its network, presumably because the carrier charges extra for tethering—this according to a post on The Loop.

Two CEOs, three COOs and none of them thought to check with AT&T about this before they launched? You just can’t make this stuff up. (via The Loop.)

‘RIM CEO calls a halt to BBC Click interview’

April 14, 2011 /

Catch the video here.

The whole situation with RIM swings between laughable and pathetic. Multiple CEOs and COOs — no wonder the company doesn’t seem to have a cohesive strategy anymore. The fact that RIM’s Board of Directors hasn’t tossed Mike Lazaridis out on his ear yet is baffling.

I can’t wait until Jim Dalrymple over at The Loop gets a look at this.

[Update: He already did.]

Navigon MobileNavigator gets 1.8 update, new features

April 14, 2011 /

I’ve long thought Navigon’s MobileNavigator is the best turn-by-turn GPS app available, (far) surpassing even standalone units. Now Navigon has released MobileNavigator 1.8 with updated maps, new features and new options available via in-app purchase. Try getting enhancements like that for free from your standalone unit.

Here’s what the press release has to say about what’s new:

  • Reality Scanner is a navigation industry first augmented reality feature for the iOS platform, providing an instant and effortless way of identifying destinations close-by. Users simply point the iPhone in any direction from where they are and instantly points of interest icons appear directly onto a live camera view, indicating the exact position of the location. Pedestrians won’t miss a beat while they are on foot, in a couple of taps destination such as restaurants, bars, hotels, and more are at their fingertips. Reality Scanner provides this information immediately, providing a quick overview of the immediate surroundings.

  • Safety Cameras alert drivers of upcoming static speed and red light cameras along the route, helping to potentially avoid costly tickets. The feature integrates the database from the industry’s number one safety camera detection company, RoadTraps. This database provides access to over 3900 speed and red light cameras in the US and is regularly updated to ensure the latest cameras are detected. NAVIGON Safety Cameras is available as a single In App Purchase of $4.99.

  • Traffic Check is an easy to read, at-a-glance gage graphic that appears after route calculation and inform drivers of current traffic conditions. The Traffic gage pop-up informs with a green, yellow, and red meter and disappears within a few seconds, indicating how the traffic situation is on the route ahead. If more detailed traffic coverage and alternate routes are needed for users who are not already using the built-in Traffic Live feature, a direct link to the In App Purchase is provided within the graphic. By tapping the “i”, the meter will flip directly to the apps extra menu where the In App Purchase can be made.
  • The Latest Maps by the leading map provider NAVTEQ.

I’m very interested in seeing whether the Reality Scanner is as cool as it sounds, and the Traffic Check feature looks very useful — particularly for users like me with long daily commutes. I also love the fact that MobileNavigator is universal app, optimized for both the iPhone and iPad.

The 1.8 update is free and available now for all versions (regions) of MobileNavigator via the App Store. (iTunes link to MobileNavigator USA Edition.)