Microsoft’s controversial Laptop Hunter ads were probably conceived, pitched and perhaps created on Macs, if these office snaps of the ad agency behind them are anything to go by. They show the desk of Alex Bogusky (with two Macs) at Crispin Porter + Bogusky plus the surrounding office space, also full of Macs.
I wouldn’t mind getting paid to sell PCs, as long as I didn’t have to work on them, too.
Via rixstep
Cult of Mac received this image tonight from a trusted contributor – and we just had to share.
We have more images that will take time to process and details about the provenance of this device we must parse, so bear with us until all can be revealed.
To advertise it’s recycling chops, a Canadian home improvement company has cleverly recycled a giant Apple billboard in Montréal.
Canada’s version of Home Depot, Rona, hung a banner underneath an Apple billboard with a line of multicolored iPods dripping colored paint.
Rona’s banner shows the paint being collected in paint buckets. The clever mashup advertises the company’s paint recycling program.
“Nous recuperons les restes de peinture,” the tagline says, which translates to: “We collect leftover paint”
Link to Cyberpresse report in French.
Thanks Hypersky.
Following rumors that Apple and Verizon are wooing each other, Wired.com is asking, “Which cellphone network is the best?”
To answer that question, Wired.com is asking for your help testing the speed of U.S. cellphone’ networks.
The test is open to all smartphones on all networks. Simply:
1. Ensure Wi-Fi is turned off and 3G is enabled on your smartphone (not the slower EDGE connection).
2. Load your smartphone’s browser and visit https://inetworktest.com/wired.*
3. The test will run automatically as the page loads. When it’s done loading, tap your carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint), and your results will appear.
4. Add your details to Wired.com’s results map here: https://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/3gstudy
Wired.com’s study follows up on an iPhone-only survey last year, which concluded connection problems were AT&T’s fault, not the iPhone’s.
As Wired.com notes, “A carrier’s network performance is a dealbreaking factor for consumers shopping for a smartphone, whether it’s the iPhone, the HTC G1, or a BlackBerry Storm.”
The test is .
UPDATE: Reznor states on Twitter that the app has now been approved—unchanged.
Once again, the App Store is in the news for the wrong reason. We recently covered its bewildering rejection of the South Park app, but things really came to a head with Tweetie, which had an update booted because some App Store approval person found a rude word in that day’s Twitter trends.
Well, Apple’s at it again. Trent Reznor of NIN fame posts that the ‘nin: access’ app has been rejected on the grounds that it enables access to a podcast that has a song with a rude word in. As Reznor notes, using rather colorful language, Apple’s own Mail app lets through emails with rude words, and Safari can be used to access questionable content. But his app, which enables access to a podcast that can be streamed to the app, featuring the song The Downward Spiral, apparently enables access to external content that Apple thinks will warp fragile little minds.
It warms the cockles when we hear of games coming to the Mac, but a more recent addition is older than most. Qwak, released late last week, has a lengthy pedigree, having first appeared on the BBC Micro way back in 1989. Now, 20 years later, this indie production has made it to Mac OS X, and we tracked down the game’s developer, Jamie Woodhouse, to ask him about the conversion.
The original version of Qwak, running on a BBC Micro home computer.
Cult of Mac: What is Qwak?
Jamie Woodhouse: Qwak is a super-playable, cute, arcade coin-op-style puzzler/platformer. The current version is the fourth incarnation of the game—it was preceded by BBC Micro, Amiga, and Gameboy Advance versions.
The object of Qwak is to make your way through the game’s 70 levels, spread across six visually unique worlds, collecting fruit, gems, and power-ups as you go. On each level, you collect all the golden keys, and then calmly make your way to the exit door! Simple, huh? But look out for baddies (you can throw eggs at them) and raining spikes of death as you go!
You can play alone, or with a friend. In two-player mode, you can co-operate and work as a team, or be more aggressive, throwing eggs at each other, leaving your teammate at the mercy of the baddies. Some levels feature secret areas that require a good portion of problem-solving skills to get to, pulling levers, collecting coloured keys, and opening gates in just the right order.
Qwak for the Commodore Amiga ramped up the quality of the graphics and depth in the gameplay.
What inspired the original game, and why did you create it? Why have you regularly ported Qwak to various platforms over the years?
I love making the kind of game that I personally like to play. With Qwak, I guess the combination of skill, puzzles, and problem-solving are what I like. I always thought Qwak was a cool game concept, and something I could improve on and take to the next level. So that’s my excuse for repeatedly making the same game over and over!
Reaction to this latest version of Qwak has been really good. Though most people say it’s not easy, it’s not so hard as to put people off—it’s often described as being ‘challenging’ with ‘one more go’ appeal. In today’s gaming climate, games seem a lot more sedate and easy, and so I guess Qwak’s at the ‘challenging’ end of the spectrum! That’s a good thing though, I hope!
Why did you decide to create a Mac version of Qwak and how did you go about doing so?
Quite a few people asked about a Mac version. I had all the source and assets for the game, so figured it wouldn’t be a big job to port from PC to Mac. It was quite painless in fact—only four weeks from getting my lovely Mac mini to finished product. That was the first time I ever had or used a Mac, and I have to say I’m getting along quite well with Macs so far. So, yeah, in terms of hardware, I just got a Mac mini, and used the official Apple development environment (IDE), Xcode.
The Mac OS X conversion is a fast-paced two-player action game.
What are your future plans regarding games? Any plans for an iPhone Qwak?
I’m certainly going to have a play with the iPhone development tools and SDK—they’re already installed on my Mac. Unsure if I’ll do an iPhone version of Qwak, although I am very tempted. I can certainly see myself making more games for the Mac, and will do something for iPhone too, I’m sure.
What advice do you have for anyone considering porting a PC indie game to the Mac?
The main thing, early on, is to make sure you have a network of support. This can be other game developer friends, or game development communities and online forums such as idevgames.com and indiegamer.com. Most people making indie games are quite passionate about that they’re doing and are always happy to give advice. Other than that, dive in and give it a go—the Apple documentation for developers is generally quite good, and the development tools are free.
Later levels of Qwak are stacked full of features and foes, and you need quick reactions to survive.
Qwak is available for £12.99 (about $19) from qwak.co.uk; the same site also hosts a free demo that you can download.
Back in February, Rapid Repair began supersizing iPods (30GB, 60GB and 80GB original iPod video) with new 240GB hard drives for $300. (Null any warranty, however).
In the first two hours the service was available, Rapid Repair received 300 orders – more than its inventory could handle. A month later the company had solved its supply problem and upgraded 500 iPods, though the drives are again out of stock.
The 1.8-inch Toshiba hard drives are roughly the same size as regular iPod hard drives. Thanks to advances in storage technology, the company tapped into a market for expanded iPods that the computer giant isn’t serving, Fortune reports.
Image courtesy Rapid Repair.
Via Fortune
A vocal cadre of iPhone app developers is none too pleased with the treatment they receive from Apple and may be considering a suit for breach of contract, according to a report at TechCrunch.
Examples of complaints on developer forums indicate that some developers remain unpaid for sales of their products on the App Store dating back to last fall and the report cites email exchanges between at least one developer and and the finance department at Apple in which the developer is informed his complaints about not being paid “border on harassment.”
Whether any actual lawsuits are in the offing is purely speculative at this point, but the discord is curious in the light of Apple’s recent recession-beating revenue performance and the stunning, widely publicized success of the App Store.
Adding iPod connectivity as standard equipment on their vehicles could save American automobile manufacturers from extinction, according to recent research by Jacobs Media.
The study conducted among 21,000 listeners of rock-music radio stations from around the US suggests high-tech features play an important role in the vehicle-purchase decision and that carmakers should not miss key opportunities to include and market such features to consumers.
The study asked prospective vehicle purchasers to rate the most desired features and options relating to entertainment, music, and information. Nearly half (47%) of the respondents said iPod and other MP3 player connectivity was “very important” to them, ranking above satellite radio, GPS, DVD player, and HD Radio.
The finding that a large percentage of consumers are considering American cars – coupled with the fact that so many respondents want iPod connectors, – presents opportunities for American carmakers to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, according to Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs.
“The automakers are struggling to generate sales in a challenging economic environment,” Jacobs said. “but outside of KIA’s new commercials for their Soul, iPod connectors are not in the sales proposition. It’s a missed opportunity. Satellite radio and GPS won’t move the needle – but iPods will.”
[MarketingCharts; Thanks Dave]
Police in Allentown, Pennsylvania don’t mess around with iPod thieves. When a woman had an iPod stolen after meeting a potential buyer for it from craigslist, they sent an undercover agent to bust two teen theives.
Police contacted the same 17-year old through craigslist and set up a meeting for him to buy an iPod. He showed up with the same friend about 6:30 p.m. and met with the female detective. The teen snatched the iPod from the detective and he and his accomplice tried to run.
Both were charged with robbery, theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, resisting arrest and criminal use of a communication device. (This last charge, it seems, has to do with illegal activity on craigslist. )
Via The Morning Call
Via The Morning Call
Photo of anti-iPod theft poster in London used with a CC license, thanks weegeebored.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJSuduTrPs
To answer Microsoft’s controversial “Laptop Hunter” series, Landline TV parodies the series by sending homeless Frank out to seek a computer. (NB: put your headphones on, some of the language/images are NSFW.)
He loves the Macs (“these are beautiful”), finds the PCs insulting and wants to take the cash instead of getting a PC. Doubt it would ever fly with Apple execs, but it’s a lot more convincing than the latest “Get a Mac” ads.
Via Newton Poetry
Chalk up one more exhibit for the case that Apple and its ecosystem refuse to participate in the global economic meltdown.
WWDC sold out Tuesday, the earliest date on record for which the annual conference devoted to Apple’s development community has reached capacity. Tickets went on sale just a month ago, and were no bargain — even the early-bird special was well over $1,000.
Interest in this year’s event is great for a number of reasons. Developers and presumably the audience at the keynote will get the first public glimpse of OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard.” The new OS has been in testing with developers for a while now, but many of the expected user interface changes remain under wraps. WWDC may be the first time anyone gets a real look at those.
Even bigger than Snow Leopard, however is the possibility that Apple could unveil a new version of the iPhone, even a touchscreen netbook or tablet. The rumor mill on all of these ideas has been active for months.
And of course there is the ever present shadow of Steve Jobs. Will he make an appearance, even tough he’s not scheduled to return from his sabbatical until the end of June? Could he possibly bear – health permitting – to let someone else introduce a major OS upgrade and potentially game-changing hardware?
The Jobs factor aside, the real takeaway from WWDC’s full house next month is the clear evidence that interest in Apple’s technology remains very strong. The idea that someone could found a career or hit the jackpot on the strength of learning how to develop applications that work with Apple technology seems to be one of the few – and one of the brightest – lights of hope on the economic horizon.
Gary Go will perform with an iPhone as his backing band at Wembley Stadium.
The 24-year-old Go, born Gary Baker, will open for boy band veterans Take That in July. He’ll stand in front of thousands (90,000 if it’s a full house) with only his device for some tracks, a live back-up band for others.
“The fact we’re going to see someone playing an iPhone at Wembley is something I don’t think even Apple thought would happen,” said Stuart Dredge, of industry site Music Ally.
“The software started out as a gimmick, but now we are seeing real musicians producing real music with it. Of course, you still need talent, but the phone means you can make and record anywhere.”
(Unfortunately, none of the stories I saw on Go mention which virtual four-track app he used to write his songs, some are lush ballads far from the brittle synth-pop of yesteryear.)
“My biggest worry is that my phone will ring mid-song,” Go said.
Via Evening Standard
Barely 19, Muscovite Vera Uvarova landed herself in the hospital after a car crash that left her immobile, save for one arm.
Four days after the accident, a friend gave her an iPhone. The device became Vera’s visual connection with her beaten body and the resulting pictures are showcased in an exhibition at Moscow Gallery Na Solyanke.
“This transformation was important to me…” Uvarova told the Moscow Times. “Unable to lift my head, the only way I could see my legs, for instance, was through the lens of my iPhone.”
She was restricted to hospital life for close to three months, but the exhibition focuses on the first transformative 800 hours, hence its title, “800 Hours on My Back with an iPhone in Hand. How I Was Born Again with the Help of Photography.”
You can view some of them online here.
Images courtesy, ©Vera Uvarova
Via Moscow Times
In Bridgewater New Jersey, the police blotter reports (between rock-throwing incidents and credit card theft) that someone managed to walk out of the local Best Buy with a MacBook from a display. Anyone else come across scenes of attempted five-finger discounts?
Here’s the report:
THEFT, 5:41 p.m. March 31: An employee of Best Buy reported that someone was able to remove a MacBook computer, valued at $1,800, from a display and leave the store undetected.
Image used with a CC license, thanks jaypen_g
Via My Central Jersey
Number Seven Hundred and Thirty Six on the list of things that really torque me off are people who intentionally and knowingly mislead folks for fun and profit. And to this list of Mortgage Brokers, Right Wing Talk Radio Hosts, and Tobacco Lobbyists, we can now add Roger L. Kay president of Endpoint Technology Associates (aside — people who are ‘president’ of companies employing 50 or less people, are number 977 on the list of things that annoy the crap out of me.)
El Presidente Roger authored a white paper at the behest of Microsoft titled: “What Price Cool” which serves to illuminate us all as to how we all have been paying some imaginary “Hidden Apple Tax” all these years.
Of course, a younger man might shrug this drivel off, yet as I grow older I find my patience for such things eroding. While I’m not quite at the yelling at kids to get off my lawn stage, I am quite crotchety enough to spend my Saturday night debunking this garbage.
Follow me after the jump where we reveal the obviousness with which Le President Kay sold his credibility.
Apple lost a patent infringement lawsuit Thursday in Texas, when a jury awarded Opti Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif $19 million in damages. The plaintiffs argued Apple willfully infringed on Opti Inc.’s patent covering a computer operation that enables a “snooping” function designed to help computers more easily retrieve previously accessed data.
The jury in the courtroom of Judge Charles “Chad” Everingham IV of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, rejected Apple’s contention that Opti Inc.’s patent should be declared invalid and awarded the verdict as fair and reasonable compensation to Opti for Apple’s willful patent violation, according to the verdict form.
No word a yet on the status of Apple’s intent to appeal the verdict in the case.
The lucky downloader of the billionth app from iTunes (winner of a MacBook Pro, a 32GB iPod Touch, a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card and a Time Capsule wireless hard drive) is reportedly a 13-year-old who hit the jackpot with a free app called “bump.” Apple reached the billion mark with apps in just nine months.
All-time top paid downloads include:
Koi Pond
Engimo
Pocket Guitar
Touchgrind
iShoot
Monopoly
All-time top free apps include:
Facebook
Google Earth
Pandora Radio
Tap Tap Revenge
Shazam
Pac-Man Lite
Light Saber Unleashed
Virtual Zippo lighter
More on the Apple site
Call it hacking, or just common sense: getting into actress Salma Hayek’s Mobileme account was apparently as easy as knowing her birthday and her favorite starring role.
An anonymous post on imageboard 4chan.org provided MobileMe login details for Hayek:
Go to me.com, forgot password, type shayek@mac.com
Her //snip//
Answer to change password question is: //snip//
Voila : a peek at Hayek’s iPhone apps downloaded from iTunes — including restaurant finder Urbanspoon, Shazam and the Say Who voice recognition dialer — plus emails from uber-magnate husband Francois-Henri Pinault and an invite to America Ferrera’s 25th birthday party.
Wonder if iPhone loving twitterer Ashton Kutcher’s next…
Via Electronic Pulp
updated to delete credentials
Were you aware there is an annual conference devoted to the Apple II computer? And that it’s been held for 20 years?
Make plans now to be at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO from July 21 – 26 for, yes, the 20th annual KansasFest, a computer hoedown all about Apple’s iconic Apple II computer.
The keynote speaker will be Jason Scott, webmaster of
TEXTFILES.COM, director of “BBS: The Documentary”, and caretaker of Sockington, the cat on Twitter with over 300,000 followers.
KansasFest 2009, the world’s only annual Apple II conference, invites any and all Apple II and Macintosh users, fans, and friends to attend what oganizers call the “summer camp for geeks.” For photos, schedules, presentations from past year’s events, and inquiries, visit the event’s Web site.
It took two days of people complaining, but Apple finally yanked Baby Shaker from the App Store on Wednesday – though the screaming and crying over why it was ever approved in the first place has probably yet to reach a fever pitch.
With nearly umpty-thousand applications now in the App Store and Apple fast approaching a billion downloads, it’s not unreasonable to expect that some things might slip through the cracks.
But, seriously, Baby Shaker?
Think I could slip my Shoot the President app past ’em somehow?
Commercial artist Sam Morrison made these cute brown paper bags for taking a break in style.
$3 for five bags on Etsy.
The Better Business Bureau is warning Facebook users to read the fine print when responding to ads.
A recent BBB press release stated that an estimated $1.3 billion will be spent on social networking advertising this year. The large print on ads featured on social networking sites, like Facebook and Myspace, do not always tell the entire story.
The warning about MacBook Air scams is a hoot:
Also common on Facebook are ads to get a free MacBook Air claiming that the company is seeking laptop testers. The ads lead to an incentive marketing program at https://www.colormyrewards.com/ where participants must sign up for various products and services in order to earn their free laptop.
The Fine Print: Customers must complete two options from each of the three tiers, Top, Prime and Premium before receiving their “free” MacBook. Example offers listed in the Top and Prime tiers include signing up for credit cards or trial offers for subscription services such as for vitamin supplements or DVD rental services. In some cases, the participant will need to pay for shipping, and if they aren’t vigilant about canceling the trial offers they signed up for, they’ll begin being billed every month.
Examples of the Premium offers listed on the Web site that must be met in order to get the MacBook are much more expensive and include paying as much as $1,500 for furniture or purchasing a travel package with a minimum value of $899.00 per person.
BBB Warns: Incentive programs can be extremely costly in the long run and the fine print shows that the customer might have to pay a significant amount of money in order to get their “Free” items. It is also a red flag that Apple does not even make MacBook Air in purple, red, pink, or green. (Emphasis mine.)
And as flickr user 4braham noted (image used with a CC license) the Mac in the scam pic isn’t a MacBook Air. Sheesh!
Via News & Tribune
The folks over at life hacker tracked down Steve Wozniak on his, well, life hacks.
A few choice excerpts from a long interview worth the read:
What gadgets and software applications do you use on a day-to-day basis?
Steve Wozniak: I have such a crowded life and crowded schedule. When people send me a link with a gadget, I’ll look at it and buy it if it looks interesting, but I don’t have time to check out everything I’d like to.
I do have a Nixie Tube watch… The biggest benefit in my life comes from my Segway, which I use everywhere I am. If I’m going to San Antonio, for example, I’ll load it in the car and just go everywhere with it. The other crucial thing is my Verizon wireless card, which I have to have because hotel Wi-Fi is just so unreliable.
What are you using to manage your email?
Steve Wozniak: Eudora….The reason I do is, it has an incredible feature that every single mail client should have.
Any feature in the menu list, any action there, can be added as a button. I changed it so I have a vertical menu bar, so I can have tons and tons of pre-made buttons saved right where I want them up top, and I learn where those place are. You can script actions to the buttons, too, so I can quickly copy messages to my assistants. There are scripts I wrote for joke lists so I can forward a message, remove the brackets and formatting, and make sure all the original attachments are included, to a pre-defined “joke” group. Apple’s Mail app just isn’t scriptable enough to really handle my mail buttons.
Some of the buttons will re-direct mail with quote marks, or not. I’ve got another script that will actually customize a mail forward, like my own version of mail merge. So even if something’s going out to 400 people, I can set it to single out certain people and take away all the forwarding markings, so it looks like I singled out someone to send them mail. Which is, I hope, a nice little moment for them.
The near-term economic horizon appears to be surprisingly bright in the Apple/Mac universe, according to a survey released Tuesday by MacTech Magazine.
Despite recent dismal numbers from many sectors of the economy, 90% of respondents in “the Apple market ecosystem” polled by surveyors from MacTech believe 2009 will be “almost as good as or better than 2008”; 62.8% reported feeling good or great when asked about the Apple/Mac segment.
“The MacTech team decided to survey those in the market after seeing two significant trends starkly contrasting the general U.S. economic news,” said Neil Ticktin, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher, MacTech Magazine. “It’s been easy to get wrapped up in the bad news of the U.S. economy, but the reality is that for the Mac and Apple markets, things are strong and expected to get stronger.”
MacTech’s own advertising results and forecasts appear to support Ticktin’s optimism, with the magazine seeing a 13% increase in ad revenues 1Q09 over 1Q08.
A news editor from another well-known technology-focused magazine told Cult of Mac Tuesday, “after an abysmal holiday season, ad sales for the June issue look to be the best EVER!” MacTech’s Ticktin added “our staff has heard from many MacTech advertisers how well they are doing despite the economy.”
The sunny outlook from Apple-land certainly contrasts with anecdotal sentiment Cult of Mac gathered Tuesday night at an AdTech after-party in San Francisco, where several attendees reported a very down-beat vibe from the bellwether digital advertising conference.
Yahoo also reported Tuesday plans to cut 5% of its workforce in the wake of a nearly 80% drop in profits in the first quarter of 2009, and media guru Shelley Palmer said at the post-AdTech gathering in San Francisco he gives the economy 10 months to show its hand as far worse than anyone believes it is today.
