IR-909 brings old school beatmaking to the iPhone
Filed under: Audio, iPod Family, Multimedia, Software, iPhone
Back in 1984, Roland released the TR-909 drum machine as a successor to their legendary 808. Over the years, the 909 became one of the most influential and widely-used instruments in the history of electronic music, right up there with the Minimoog and the AKAI MPC sampler.
Now you can pick up IR-909, a free iPhone / iPod Touch version of the 909 over at roventskij.net. It has the 909’s 16-step sequencer, eight drum sounds, and four pattern storage.
The minimal, lovely interface is close enough to the 909 for aficionados of the original hardware without sacrificing usability on the iPhone / iPod Touch’s small screen.
IR-909 may not be a full-fledged replacement for your software sampler or old-school hardware 909…but I’m betting it’s fun to play with on the bus or the train. Or hook it up to a pair of portable speakers and get your “Planet Rock” on anywhere and everywhere. ‘Cause I know you got the funk in you.
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SynchStep: musical speedometer
Filed under: iPod Family, Software, iPhone
Here’s an iPhone app with some potential. Greg Elliot of Poke has released SynchStep, an app for iPhones and iPod touches that chooses songs based on your walking pace. The project began before the iPhone, conceived as a self-contained MP3 player with the necessary hardware. Upon the advent of the accelerometer-toting iPhone/touch, it became more feasible to bring the idea to the masses.
The app has a simple, good-looking interface. I couldn’t get it to work very well, though, after about 20 minutes of building and analyzing playlists followed by many carefully paced steps. Quite a few people witnessed me walking quickly by, only to see me pass a while later at a much slower pace, repeated ad nauseum with an increasingly frustrated look on my face.
I love the concept, though. I want it to work and I’m hoping I’m just doing something wrong. Maybe you should give it a try. I’ve always wanted a real-time, personal soundtrack. Coincidentally, the previous name for the project was PersonalSoundtrack, which I mention only because I like the former moniker slightly better for its more intimate connotations. Now, back to walking around like I’m in a Monty Python sketch.
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Apple wins two D&AD ‘Black Pencil’ awards
Filed under: Apple, Graphic Design
As reported elsewhere, Apple today won two Black Pencil awards from D&AD, a British organization (or “organisation,” I suppose) that promotes the very best of design around the world.
This year, the iPhone and aluminum iMac both took home the top award. The iPod touch received second prize (a Yellow Pencil), and the iPod nano and aluminum keyboard were each nominated. Apple has won six Black Pencils since 1999.
This year, six Black Pencils were awarded, though some years D&AD hand out zero (Graphic designers, for example, were a little miffed this year that none of their work was good enough). Sixty-four Yellow Pencils were handed out, among 143 total nominations.
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Orange snags 3G iPhone distribution deal for Europe, Mid East, Africa
Section: iPhone + Communications, Carriers, iPhone
After sealing a distribution agreement with Asian telecom company Singtel and Swisscom of Switzerland, Apple has sealed another distribution agreement for the iPhone, this time with Orange, the exclusive provider of the iPhones in France. Interestingly, whereas it was not indicated whether the iPhones to be distributed in the Asian market is the 3G model or the non-3G ones, for Orange it was clearly stated that the 3G iPhones will be the models to be sold in the European countries. The agreement between Orange and Apple will expand to other European countries, the Middle Easy and some parts of Africa.
The two companies have also agreed that Orange shall be the sole distributor of iPhones in Belgium and Romania, while for other European countries including the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and as well as in some African markets, Orange will either have co-exclusive or non-exclusive deals with other local telecommunications companies. This is in addition to other distribution deals that Apple has agreed upon with America Mobil for the iPhone’s distribution to Latin America and Vodafone for Australia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.
Meanwhile in Italy, Telecom Italia mobile has snagged the distribution of the iPhone to the Italian market and Rogers has it in Canada.
Via [Apple Insider]
Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
Erykah Badu: Freestyle Mac
She hadn’t released a new album in five years. But that spell ended dramatically when singer/songwriter Erykah Badu sat down in front of her MacBook and fired up GarageBand. The music surged. “I learned how to use GarageBand by trial and error,” Badu says. “It’s like somebody stuck a plug in the back of my neck and uploaded a program to learn how to use GarageBand. It was automatic. Everything on that Mac was automatic.”
No commentsFastMac releases external charger for Mac notebook batteries
Filed under: Accessories, Macbook Pro, MacBook
FastMac announced a new line of Mac notebook chargers today. FastMac found a work around for Apple not licensing the MagSafe chargers. TruePower U-Charge allows you to charge your notebook’s batteries externally. Note that this does not power the Mac, it only charges batteries.
This charger will charge iBook G3/G4 12″, PowerBook, MacBook, and MacBook Pro batteries without skipping a beat. FastMac also has plans for a 14.4V charger that would charge batteries for the clamshell iBook, iBook G4 14″, and Ti PowerBook 15″.
The TruePower U-Charge comes in 2 different colors (black and white) to match your machine better. The prices for these chargers start at $69.95. You can purchase the U-Charge on the FastMac website.
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Breakaway 1.7
Filed under: Audio, Software, Freeware
If you frequent the library (or quiet places) then Breakaway could be a god-send. You’ll never be afraid of your headphones becoming unplugged when you have John Mayer playing loudly in iTunes. If you have ever used an iPod, then you know that when you unplug your headphones while playing a song it is automatically paused; Well, Breakaway does this for your Mac and iTunes.
You can choose from many different settings in Breakaway, including setting triggers and fade in/out speeds. The only downside to this application is that it doesn’t work with USB headphones, only ones plugged into the audio out port on your Mac. However, this freeware is handy to have around.
You can download Breakaway for free from the developer’s website.
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WWDC schedule: Ajax to iCal
Okay I promise this is that last time I’m talking about the WWDC schedule (I can’t speak for my confreres). Earlier today Brett posted on a nice Ruby script to convert the data to a readable PDF. Yesterday when we first noted that the WWDC schedule was available I complained about the lack of iCal compatible files and apparently Adrian Kosmaczewski agreed. He proceeded to cook up a little script to make the necessary conversions. You can download iCal format ics files for the iPhone, Mac, and IT tracks at his website.
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iPhone’s distribution spreads through gray markets
Section: iPhone + Communications, Carriers, iPhone
It looks like the grey market for the iPhone is getting widespread as observed by a study of cellphone advertiser Admob. Admob noticed that the iPhone has managed to move up to the top 20 devices which received quite a number of ad request to Admob. The company has also managed to serve most of these requests coming from Germany and the US, where the iPhone was already released officially. Interestingly though, Admob has noted that many of the requests it received are coming from other countries where the iPhone was not yet officially available. These countries include Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the Netherlands and especially Hong Kong which ranked high in terms of iPhone advertising.
Hence, it is but logical that the iPhones were indeed being marketed in the gray markets of those countries. And if there’s anything that these data show, is the fact that those iPhone units are being exported by individuals “illegally” from either the U.S. or Germany.
Nonetheless, it is not to say that iPhone is not aware about this. This might even be one of the driving factor as to why Apple has been aggresively coordinating with telcom carriers internationally to distribute the iPhone worldwide. Interestingly again, the two countries which have widespread “unofficial” availability of the iPhone, have not even started negotiating with Apple regarding the official distribution of the iPhone in their respective countries. These are China and Russia, which both have large shares in the gray market for iPhones.
Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
FlyTunes Brings Free Streaming Radio to iPhone & iPod Touch
Filed under: Audio, iPod Family, Freeware, iPhone
One of the features of a lot of iPhone wannabes is a built-in FM radio so you can listen to your local stations. Why limit yourself to local stations? FlyTunes is a free streaming radio service that gives you access to over 375 channels of music, news, and sports on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Most of the channels are EDGE-friendly, so there is no need for a WiFi connection. To sign up for the service, all you need to do is point Safari on your iPhone or iPod Touch to flytunes.fm, and then follow the on-screen instructions to sign up.
How well does it work? Pretty darned good! It took me a minute to figure out that I needed to tap on the play button twice - once to bring up a small arrow and another tap to bring up the QuickTime player and start the stream. It only took about 5 seconds for the stream to queue up and start playing, and I didn’t hear a hiccup once during about 5 minutes of listening over an EDGE connection.
Head on over to flytunes.fm and get your fill of free tunes today!
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Google’s App Engine Launcher goes to the Mac OS X
Section: Mac + Computers, Software, Operating Systems, OS-X
The Google Application Engine Team and the Google Mac team have released a new App Engine Launcher made specifically to run on Mac OS X. For those not in the know, Google App Engine is Google’s way of providing users a platform to run their web applications on Google’s infrastructure. Developers don’t have to maintain any servers and are provided with some Google hosted storage and bandwidth for free. Just by uploading their applications to Google’s server, developers can let their users access their applications on the web.
With the new Google App Engine Launcher for Mac OS X, Mac application developers can improve their App Engine development experience by managing their list of applications. Developers can run, browse, deploy and view logs for their applications with few simple clicks. Even better is the the App Engine Launcher’s drag and drop, editor integration and quick links to local developer console features. Developers will also have their own live application dashboard.
The Google App Engine SDK can be freely downloaded from http://code.google.com/appengine/downloads.html.
Via [The Apple Blog]
Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
Bento: beautiful in design and easy to use
Like many small business owners, RealSimple’s Erin knew that “databases can simplify life and work, but until now, I’ve never been able to design them myself.” Until she began using Bento, that is. “Bento looks, feels and works like other Mac applications. Organizing your information into collections in Bento is much like organizing songs in iTunes,” she writes. It’s “just another reason to consider a Mac.”
No commentsWWDC schedule: Ajax to PDF
Filed under: Cool tools, WWDC
Developers and other WWDC attendees looking for a simple printout of the sessions and labs at the conference may be disappointed with the results when printing out Apple’s (very slick) Ajax calendars. You could save the pages to PDFs and have a calendar format, but for the purposes of a nice, list-format printout, I can’t find a printable version. It’s entirely possible I’m not looking hard enough, but at least one other person had the same problem … and was resourceful enough to come up with a solution. Johannes Fahrenkrug is making available a Ruby script that will make a PDF with a nicely formatted table of all the sessions and labs offered at WWDC.
You can grab the script at his blog and running it is a simple matter of unzipping and executing the wwdcpdf.rb file from Terminal (or wherever you like to do such things). The output is a simple table format with some classic Helvetica action. Those familiar with FPDF may be able to get more artistic with it, or simply build off of the existing code to output in other print or screen-friendly ways. Given that it’s based off of an XML file, you can even do some sorting and filtering with a little bit of Ruby magic. Johannes states that he’d be happy to see the script enhanced!
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Orange bringing iPhone Europe, Africa, and the Middle East
Orange has just pumped out a press release today detailing its plans to carry the iPhone. They will be providing the iPhone in such countries as the Dominican Republic, Austria, and Switzerland. They are also bringing the device to several African markets. The press release is brief, and lists only the countries that Orange will provide the iPhone in.
Orange today announced a new agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Orange customers in Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and Orange’s African markets later this year. -From Press Release
It seems to be the common consensus across the internet that they are talking about the 3G iPhone. Many of these markets already have iPhones being sold in them, so it is very likely that yes that is what they are talking about. The press release does not say explicitly 3G iPhone, new iPhone, or any other alias we know it by.
[Via SlashPhone]
Is a new MacBook coming our way on Q3 2008?
Section: Mac + Computers, Laptops, MacBook
If that brief news tidbits coming from Commercial Times of Taiwan is any indication of what may come for the MacBooks, we may well be looking at a new MacBook model soon. According to the report, AU Optronics (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoeletronics are splitting up their orders of LCD panels from Apple. Those LCD panels are apparently for Apple’s “new MacBook consumer notebook PCs.”
The report also mentioned that the said new MacBooks are slated for release in the third quarter of 2008 and are expected to shoot up MacBook shipments this year by around 3 million units.
I know this may not be enough reason to get excited about a new MacBook, especially since we haven’t heard any slight hint coming from Apple about this the past few days. Aside from the fact that Apple has been busy prepping up the rumored release of a 3G iPhone. But if ever a new MacBook will come out later this year, I wonder how Apple will brand it this time? MacWind?
Via [Digitimes]
Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
Mail Unread Menu 3.1
Filed under: Software, Freeware
We’ve all been there: you have the Dock set to auto hide and you miss the Mail.app notification telling you there’s new mail. Well, don’t miss that presidential e-mail again with Mail Unread Menu. This little app sits in your menu bar awaiting your e-mail.
This menu bar application can replace right-clicking on the Mail.app icon in the dock. You can check for new mail, compose a new message, and view the new messages broken down by mail boxes. This application did, however, seem a bit laggy in updating the unread mail count.
You can download Mail Unread Menu 3.1 for free (donations accepted) by visiting the developer’s website.
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Orange offers up iPhone for EMEA
Filed under: iPhone
In a short press release today, Orange announced it would bring the iPhone to “customers in Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and Orange’s African markets later this year.” The company offered no other details.
For some of these countries, it means that many carriers will be providing service for iPhone.
Thanks to everybody who sent this in!
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John Mayer found cheating on Apple, again
Filed under: Cult of Mac, Apple
John Mayer has been closely related with Apple for years. He has played after multiple keynotes and he got his MacBook Air earlier than anyone else. I wonder how Apple feels about his latest blog posting? Yeah, that’s right, his new cell phone is a… erm, how should I put this nicely… a Blackberry? Seriously, John, did you ever even consider that your friend Steve might give you an iPhone?
We first noted John’s two-timing tech ways when Blackberry/RIM sponsored his concert tour in the summer of 2007, but we always held out hope that his heart was in the right place. So much for our shattered popstar dreams.
[via Gizmodo]
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Ecamm releases renamed PhoneView
Filed under: iPod Family, Software, iPhone
Gallery: PhoneView
Remember iPhone Drive? And MegaPhone? Well, Ecamm’s pretty sure they’re (finally) not going to get sued with their newly renamed “PhoneView.” Along with the new name for the iPhone/iPod touch data access tool, PhoneView delivers an overall software refresh.
You can now add and edit notes without rebooting after each change — wait until you’re done and tap “Apply Changes” for a single reboot instead. There’s also undo/redo support for the notes editor. There’s a new search feature for music, contacts, SMS, etc.
Read on for more details.
Continue reading Ecamm releases renamed PhoneView
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The iPhone in new countries
Orange has just announced that they will provide the iPhone is new countries such as: Austria, Belgium, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland. Vodafone has announced back on the 6th of May that they will deliver the iPhone in those countries: South Africa, Australia, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, New Zealand, Portugal, Turkey and Czech Republic.
Apparently we’re going to see some competition in several countries around the iPhone, let’s see if it makes the price going down…
Tags:australia belgium iphone italy orange Switzerland vodafoneaustralia, belgium, iphone, italy, orange, Switzerland, vodafone
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Another step towards iPhone world dominance comes in the form of a patent
Section: Apple, iPhone + Communications, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps, Mac + Computers, Wireless
A new patent from Apple this week could greatly help in expanding what an iPhone can do for you. This patent expounds upon the service that allows Starbucks customers to purchase coffees from their phone and is extremely interesting. Basically, this patent implies that Apple would have services like this in businesses and various locations all over the world. For example, an airport could show flight schedules right on your phone or you could save your dining preferences and wirelessly order with a digital menu at any restaurant involved with it. Even better yet, if a concert used this you could be able to buy the bands tracks wirelessly right then and there. It would work by connecting to a local wifi network that contained specific instructions on how to handle wireless devices that connect and are made by Apple.
This whole idea is actually pretty fascinating and I can see it becoming popular sometime in the future. People carry their wireless devices everywhere and if Apple manages to get more of a market share or this extends to all wireless devices someday, it could become extremely handy. Imagine simply walking into a restaurant and pulling out your phone to check the menu or being greeted with a tourist map when arriving in a new city. If Apple ever does put this into effect some way or another, I can really see it taking off.
Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
Will WWDC make your ISP angry?
Section: Apple, Apple News, Updates, Conferences, WWDC, Operating Systems, Leopard, OS-X
According to AppleInsider, build 9D32, which will become Mac OS X 10.5.3, is on track to be ready for release at this years WWDC. With over 220 bug fixes and various updates, this download is going to be a pretty large file, 416MB to be exact. However, this isn’t the only rather large update expected. There is also an update anticipated for the iPhone that will bring the App Store to the device as well as the normal bug fixes. I presume that this file will be relatively large itself, at least for an iPhone update. With all this updating going on who knows, there may even be some sort of update for other iPods also. We will have to wait and see, but I’m excited either way.
With all these software updates expected from the conference, I’m sure there is going to be a lot of traffic in the bandwidth from people downloading the new products. I got to say, I sort of feel bad for my ISP when it comes to events like this. I usually do the normal web surfing, podcast downloading, bandwidth non-intensive sort of downloading that probably makes my ISP happy with me. However, when updates like this come around me, along with many others, head over to Software Update as quick as we can click to get the new software, potentially causing a major plug in the pipes. I look forward to seeing what happens. Let’s hope you don’t get throttled!
Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
AT&T prepares for 3G iPhone by ramping up network, limiting sales
Section: Apple, iPhone + Communications, Carriers, iPhone
Apple isn’t the only one preparing for the launch of the 3G iPhone, AT&T is also undertaking some steps of it’s own. The first of these actions came from a memo that AppleInsider got a hold of. According to the memo, starting on May 14th AT&T customers will only be able to purchase one iPhone at a time which is down from the limit of three that was originally in place. Furthermore, there will have to purchase the device with a credit or debit card, ruling out cash or checks. This is most likely to assure that they have some stock left until the 3G version is launched.
The second step is probably the bigger of the two. On Wednesday, AT&T said it plans on having its 3G wireless network up to speeds of 20 megabits per second by 2009. AT&T’s mobility leader, Ralph de la Vega, says, “It’s clear to us that we are in the very early stages of what I would call a wireless data revolution.” Better yet, he adds that this upgrade will hopefully not require as many hardware modifications as usual in these sorts of updates.
Its clear that AT&T realizes they really need to improve their network in preparation for the iPhone and other new devices such as the Blackberry 9000. If they want to stop people from jailbreaking their iPhones and simply using another carrier, they need to give them a reason to stay. This would be the first step in that direction.
Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »
I Love Stars
Potion Factory brainiac Andy Kim has just unleashed a new free app on the world - I Love Stars.
This little app does two things very well. First, it displays your iTunes rating (from zero to five stars) in the menu bar for the song that is currently playing, and second, I Love Stars lets you change the rating. All this is done without having to flip between programs. Just glance at the menu bar to see the current rating, or drag across the stars to change your rating.
While Alton Brown may frown upon tools that don’t perform a multitude of functions, this is one little app that any iTunes fan could love.
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Two new eBooks focus on Apple’s Mail.app
Filed under: Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, Troubleshooting, Leopard, Books
Take Control Books, the digital delivery brainchild of long-time Mac authors Adam and Tonya Engst, has announced the publication of two new ebooks in their Take Control series.
Author Joe Kissell has written a 95-page tome titled Take Control of Apple Mail in Leopard that describes the 14 new features in the latest version of Apple Mail, details how to use its hidden power, and provides troubleshooting tips in case things don’t work just the way they should. Joe’s companion ebook, Take Control of Spam with Apple Mail, helps you to keep the wave of ED pharmaceutical ads in your inbox to a minimum.
The ebooks are $10 each and are downloaded immediately for your reading pleasure.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have authored two Take Control eBooks — not this particular pair, though.
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