TUAW

Filed under: Education

Apple, through the Apple II, served as the gateway to computing for me; my third grade classroom had two Apple IIs neatly tucked away in metallic lock cases. With them, I was exposed to word processing, printing and, most importantly, Carmen Sandiego.

Education is deeply ingrained in the Apple ethos. During his keynote at Macworld 1997 -- where he made his return -- Steve Jobs, in a not so understated way, said that "Apple is the largest education company in the world" and that this provided the company "an incredible foundation...and legacy to build off of." This legacy lives on, as Apple, through its retail stores, offers a variety of mediums to teach kids about and expose them to computing and content creation.

Last week, Apple opened up spring registration for field trips to its retail stores. Breaking with the tradition that students are to bring apples to their teachers, Apple provides a way for teachers to their students to the Apple...store, that is. During these field trips, K-12 students can create a variety of digital masterpieces: a photo album using iPhoto, an edited video using iMovie, or a song in GarageBand, among them. When complete, students can showcase their creations with others in the store. Now that's a class act.

[hat tip to The Loop]
Field trips to the Apple store are offered every fall and spring, and registration is currently open for weekday events February 22 through May 1. Apple states that field trips are limited to 25 students (if you have more, you can make arrangements with the store), and can last anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes.

Unlike field trips, in which those up to 12th grade can participate, Apple Youth Workshops are geared toward a younger crowd and toward specific applications. Kids ages 6 to 13 can participate in workshops in which they can work on photos, music, movies, and even presentation skills. You can check which workshops that are being offered at a particular retail store at the Apple Youth Workshop page. From my checks of various stores in California, there were no upcoming workshops scheduled at this time.

Lastly, there's Apple Camp. Like Apple Youth Workshops, Apple Camp is geared toward younger audiences (8 to 12 year-olds). Campers get to make movies, put together iPhoto photobooks, and compose songs at the Apple Store. At the end of the day, their keepsakes include a spiffy free t-shirt and a DVD of their creations. The Apple Camp site is currently not up, but Apple says that it will open up registration beginning in May.

To learn more about Apple's youth programs, visit the Apple Youth Program site here.

TUAWApple preps 2010 school field trips originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone

I just tried out PhotoNest, a cool new way to view just the images posted to your Twitter stream. It picks up just the photos, and presents them in a slide format, captioned with the tweet they were posted with. You can quickly flick through and see what your friends are up to (based on the photos they post).

Given that Twitter doesn't have a genuine photo-posting mechanism, this seems like a grand idea to me. I've done something similar to collect and expand just the links posted to my stream, but this app does a great job of pulling photos posted with multiple services and presenting them in an easy-to-navigate format.

The only trouble I ran into with PhotoNest was a login issue: when I mistyped my password on the first try, it gave me an error and took me back to the login screen. After that, though, a correct password just kept landing me back at that screen without any message. However, quitting the app and starting it again logged me in automatically without a hitch, so I assume it's a small bug that will be squashed in the next update.

The app will also let you post photos (with a tweet) to your Twitter account, and you can filter your view based on favorite contacts. PhotoNest is available on the App Store for $1.99US. If your Twitter friends post a lot of photos (and people with iPhones tend to), it's a fun way to keep up and worth checking out.

TUAWPhotoNest: your Twitter stream, in pictures originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: App Store

Earlier this week, Wired posted a story about what they call "App Store Payola" -- the practice of sites that solicit cash payments (or other compensation) in order to expedite or publish app reviews. This isn't anything new. Ever since the App Store first went online, there have been sites that have offered developers a chance at the spotlight in return for behind-the-scenes payment. Apparently, it is still going on, and Wired's piece takes a good look at what's under the table.

It should go without saying, but for the record: TUAW isn't involved in this practice, and never has been. We will use promo codes for reviews rather than buying the apps directly, but a promo code doesn't guarantee a review and it definitely doesn't influence our stated opinions on the products we cover. Informally, our editorial team gives a thumbs up to the OATS standard, although TUAW hasn't officially joined the sites promoting the 'code of conduct' for app reviews.

Nevertheless, this is an interesting issue. My main question actually revolves around whether or not this practice actually "works" for the developer -- do devs who pay the $25, or whatever these "Reviews R Us" sites are charging, actually see returns in their product's sales or downloads?




We know (based on detailed reports from multiple developers) that apps we review or mention here often see boosts in sales and performance in the App Store. We presume that's due in part to the fact that we don't do "payola" -- our readers trust us to post about worthwhile apps, and thus give their business to the ones we cite. Do these App Store review sites that are charging for their services see the same effect? Are these developers that are pouring $25 into "Joe's Review Shack" for an "expedited review" getting their money back in sales and/or downloads?

If they are, something is wrong -- either there's just not enough trusted outlets for apps out there, or even the App Store just isn't big enough for its own demand. If people are downloading and buying apps just because they see them mentioned anywhere (even on a site that they can't trust), then maybe there just aren't enough quality apps to go around. Payola doesn't work in the case of film reviews, because there are enough trusted reviewers and enough good films that you have the option to pick and choose the ones you like, paying attention to reviewers you agree with. But it does work in the case of old-school radio, where you only had one station to choose from, and you listened to (and bought) whatever songs they played.

Of course the first question is whether these sites work or not. If the $25 invested in one of these payola sites actually pays off for an app that clearly doesn't deserve it, then there might be a bigger issue with the App Store ecosystem as a whole.

TUAWApp Store payola, and what it means for the app ecosystem originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone

Silicon Alley Insider has posted an interesting chart that shows the total number of apps available across various mobile platforms. As you can see from the chart, Apple's iPhone leads the pack by a longshot with 170,000 apps according to AppShopper.com. AppShopper typically lists more apps than Apple publicly states it has because AppShopper updates its numbers on a daily basis. As of today's count, AppShopper says Apple has approved 198,924 apps with 171,722 available to download. The discrepancy between the numbers accounts for apps that either the developers or Apple have removed from the App Store. Apple officially states that it currently has 150,000 apps.

A distant second after Apple's App Store is Google's Android Marketplace with 30,000 apps. RIM's Blackberry trails with only 5,000 apps, while Palm has a paltry 2,000. Windows Phone 7 Series Applications were announce a few days ago with a limited number of developers signed on. Of course, these numbers don't take app quality into account at all (100,000 fart apps is still just a bunch of junk), but clearly in terms of available downloads, Apple has a huge lead.

TUAWApple leads the App Store race with 170,000 apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone

Sprint has released an ad that features the iPhone with its Overdrive 3G/4G Hotspot mobile router. The Overdrive allows you to use Sprint's 4G network with any WiFi capable device.

The ad features "Matt" and the appropriately-named iPhone-owner "Steve."

"My friend Steve's iPhone is cool, but it's limited to AT&T's 3G speeds," Matt says. "So I'm going to use the Overdrive 4G mobile hotspot to make it up to ten times faster. And while that's happening, I'm going to enjoy this tasty snack," at which point Matt pulls out an apple and takes a bite. Steve connects to the Sprint 4G WiFi network on his iPhone and quickly begins streaming a music video which leads him to exclaim, "Whoa. Done." The ad ends with Matt asking, "What can you do with 4G?" before the narrator chimes in, "Whatever you do, do it up to ten times faster than 3G with 4G from Sprint."

Sprint was one of the first to attack the iPhone but now, like most wireless providers, wants to be an official iPhone carrier. Last September Charlie Rose asked Sprint CEO Dan Hesse how the Pre was stacking up against the iPhone, to which he replied, "It's... it's doing well, but you can almost put the iPhone, to be fair, in a separate category. The Apple brand and that device have done so well, it's almost not... it's like comparing someone to Michael Jordan."

Well, if you can't beat the star, why not make some sweet accessories to go along with those Air Jordans?

TUAWSprint features iPhone in 4G ad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

MacRumors reports that Apple has begun offering iPad 10-packs to educational institutions at discounted rates. The discounts are relatively minor: $20 off of each iPad in a set of 10, or $40 off per iPad if they are ordered with AppleCare. The iPad 10-packs are shipped in a single box, which eliminates individual packaging. In addition to the ten iPads, the packs contain ten power adapters, ten USB-to-Dock cables, and one set of documentation. Currently, only the WiFi models are available in the educational 10-packs. Like the iPhone, there are no iPad educational discounts currently available to students or teachers.

Many believe that the iPad can revolutionize the tools for education. This educational 10-pack could be an early sign that Apple will aggressively pursue the iPad as an educational tool.

The iPad 10-packs begin shipping in April.

TUAWEducational institutions: Get your discounted iPad 10-pack originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: OS

Charles Miller, a computer security researcher who's worked with the NSA, is planning to reveal 20 zero-day security holes in Mac OS X at CanSecWest, a digital security conference, in Vancouver BC next week. A zero-day security hole is a weakness in software that neither the makers of the software nor other individuals have any knowledge of. Hackers then take advantage of the exploit on the day it becomes general knowledge. Miller revealing that Mac OS X has twenty of them makes Apple look like they didn't do the job right the first time and also suggests Apple needs glasses to see what they've missed - and he's not wrong.

"Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town," Miller said, suggesting that while both OSes have their security flaws, the Mac OS is safer because of the lack of people threatening to exploit it.

But software is software, and no matter how much more secure Mac OS X is than Windows, it's still bound to have some security issues. I'm all for Charles Miller digging around the OS to find flaws, but come on, if you find them, why announce them to the world and open up a potential new round of attacks? Wouldn't it be better to report them to Apple instead of to the host of hackers that pay attention to CanSecWest? There's no question about it, Apple should have caught these holes in the first place and Miller is right in calling them out on it. But while I understand that public outings go a long way to ensuring that people or companies don't make the same mistakes again, you can call Apple out without showing people - especially the wrong people - the specific cracks in the system.

TUAW20 zero-day security holes in Mac OS X to be revealed originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming

Do you need a weapon that's not as clumsy or random as a blaster, or perhaps, an elegant weapon from a more civilized age? Soon, there will be an app for that. THQ Wireless, the maker of several Star Wars-themed iPhone apps including The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: Trench Run, will release a new app called Lightsaber Duel early in April. Overall, the app sounds similar to another app called Lightsaber Unleashed, which allows you to swing your iPhone around and make "vvvmmm, vvvmmm, tssshh!" noises come out of the speaker.

Lightsaber Duel will expand on that idea. Rather than merely going all Star Wars Kid with your iPhone, you'll actually be able to engage in duels with your fellow wannabe Jedi or Sith via a Bluetooth connection with their iPhone. You'll also be able to play music during the duel. However, we're not yet sure if that means only music bundled with the app, or if you'll be able to play your iTunes music. "Duel of the Fates" and "Battle of the Heroes" are fine lightsaber battle tunes, but the übernerd in me wants to be able to mix it up and throw in a little "One-Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII or "Burly Brawl" from Matrix: Reloaded.

THQ hasn't released pricing info yet, but assuming it isn't heinously expensive, this is an app that's likely to hit the top of the App Store charts within hours of its release.

[Via Mashable]

TUAWComing soon: Lightsaber duels on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

Thursday's Macworld article from Jason Snell on the relative merits of waiting for the 3G iPad sets out a good case for the superiority of the more flexible -- and expensive -- AT&T-enabled units. If you can keep your powder dry during the interminable wait through most of April, while your friends are flaunting their WiFi-only units, you might be better off. For the investment of $130 up front, mobile users get GPS capability plus the wireless broadband equivalent of a reserve chute; whenever you find yourself without solid WiFi access, you can buy into the 250 MB on-demand plan and surf as needed.

He also points out one of the undersung prizes of the AT&T plans; they give unlimited access to the company's WiFi infrastucture across the country, including thousands of Starbucks hotspots and former Wayport networks (lots of hotels and airports, where the daily fee for broadband could quickly add up to the $14.95 you'd pay for a month of 3G). That alone is a noticeable benefit.

I agree with Jason's main point: unless your iPad use model is restricted to known hotspot zones, it makes good sense to consider the 3G units. It's only at the end of the post, in the crystal ball 'n tea leaves department, that I wonder if he's right: anticipating a relatively near-term scenario where the iPad product line unifies to an all-3G offering, and the WiFi-only iPad simply goes away.

It's certainly true that "Apple is a company that prefers simplicity in its product lines," as Jason says. To say that the presence of six SKUs for the iPad is going to "chafe a whole lot of people in Cupertino," however, seems to be a stretch. Would three iPad models be more to the company's liking? Well, sure -- but there are six pocket products for iPhone OS (eight, if you count the white and black iPhones as different SKUs, which technically they are), and that seems to be working out fine so far.

You might say "But that's six SKUs across two different products!" (which is pretty much what Jason did say). Yes, the iPhone and the iPod touch have some powerful differentiators, like the presence of 3G and GPS on the iPhone (sound familiar?), and of course the fact that one makes phone calls and the other one mostly does not. Despite those differences, what unifies them into a single product family is that they share the same OS & application suite, the same UI, and the same ability to use the App Store; if they were living creatures, they might be two closely related species in the same genus. Give an iPhone user an iPod touch, let them sync up their apps and content from iTunes, and off they'll go -- in much the same way that a Mac mini owner could migrate to a MacBook without worrying about rebuying all the software and learning new ways of doing things.

Given that we're already looking at a 6-8 SKU population in the "pocket touch" family of devices, a six-SKU gaggle of iPads doesn't seem like too much to manage, nor does it bust Cook's Product Postulate ("everything we sell could probably fit on a conference table"). That brings us to Jason's second forecast: ubiquitous WLAN connectivity on everything. "Embedding cellular connectivity in devices is the future," he says. "I'd imagine that, by this time next year, every iPad Apple sells will include cellular-data access." The emphasis is mine, and that's because that forecast time is relevant.

There are several reasons why Apple might not choose to sell every iPad with a cell antenna, SIM slot and radio chipset; cost, weight, battery life, and potential regulatory hurdles outside the US all come to mind. What's also interesting to me is that April 2011 target and how it matches up with the LTE rollout from Verizon -- yes, you remember them -- as we're hearing more and more whispers of a V-iPhone, presumably ready for both CDMA and LTE-based 4G, coming in the third quarter. If Verizon keeps to its schedule, there will be 30 markets and more than 100 million US consumers covered by the new high-speed wireless network by the time 2010 rolls to a close, with more coverage rolling out through 2011.

In April of 2011, the lure of selling an iPad with 4G on board would be most compelling to Apple's engineering and marketing teams. It would be unstoppably fast in covered areas and finally begin to deliver on the two-way video future we're all looking towards. The catch: 4G chipsets will still be at a premium, and 4G service will still be putting a drag on battery life... so I'm betting there will still be room for a (relatively) bargain-priced iPad without it when the calendar rolls around. I do believe Jason's right in principle and that the unified iPad theory is eventually going to be proven out, but my guess is that we won't see full-4G across the iPad line until Q4 2011 or even the beginning of 2012.

If I'm wrong, I'll buy Jason a beer. And pay for it using my iPad.

TUAWTo wait, or not to wait? Macworld weighs in on the lure of the 3G iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone, Music

Earlier we were hearing that Apple might get involved in location-based ad-hoc social networking, and now it looks like Plastikman might beat them to the punch. That's the DJ, not the superhero -- he's released an iPhone app that's designed to be used at his concerts this summer, giving you some personal involvement on your iPhone while the music and video of the show goes on around you.

It's a free download, and while at a concert on a free Wi-Fi network, the app will receive real-time information about the music and video during the show, and even give access to some of the samples being used. Outside of shows, the app says it will work as an "atmospheric location shifter," using the iPhone's microphone and headphones to wrap users "in a Plastikman environment." Whatever that means.

The point here is that this is an app actually built for a specific location, adding in specific funcationality when you're on a certain Wi-Fi network. That's a very cool idea. Even if you don't have Plastikman tickets (looks like he's only playing Coachella and one show in Detroit here in the US), the idea of location-specific software is one we'll probably see come up again in the future.

TUAWPlastikman releases SYNK, an app for his tour originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: OS, TUAW Business

It's time again for another Dear, Apple letter from the readers of TUAW. In our first series (part one, part two, part three) you told us what you want to see in the next iPhone OS. Now we need your help again to tell Apple what you want to see in the next version of Mac OS X.

Think the Finder needs a makeover? Does Mail need improvements? Address Book not cutting it for you? If you have ideas for the Dock, Finder, Dashboard, DVD Player, Exposé, Quick Look, Terminal, Image Capture, Preview, Spotlight, Spaces, Safari, Mail, iCal, Address Book, iChat, QuickTime X, Photo Booth, System Preferences, or Time Machine -- make yourself heard! Tell us what you would change in any of the featured apps in Mac OS X and we'll tell the world (and Apple) for you.

If you're dreaming of what Mac OS X 10.7 should be like, dream big. If you think Linux or Windows does something better and want the Mac OS to have it, tell us. Even if a mobile OS, like iPhone or Android, does something you think the Mac OS can benefit from, don't be afraid to say it.

Email your suggestions to me at tuawmacosx [at] me dot com by next Thursday, March 25th. Please note that only suggestions emailed to the address above will be included, but feel free to hash out your thoughts in the comments below. Also note that this series will not deal with iTunes, iWork or iLife (that's still coming up though). For the iPhone series I received thousands of emails; for the sake of my eyes (and sanity) bulleted lists are much appreciated. Don't be shy about sending in concept drawings or mock-ups either!

TUAWWhat do you want to see in Mac OS X 10.7? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

In his panel at GDC last week, Ngmoco's Neil Young dropped the news that his company was going all out with their freemium business model -- not only are they releasing twenty iPhone titles by the end of this year, but they're planning on having six iPad titles ready to go right away at launch. Touch Arcade has done a little digging, and they've come up with what they think the six iPad titles will be. Here we go:

• GodFinger
• We Rule (both of these were previewed last week)
• Flick Fishing (probably re-created as a freemium app)
• NBA Hotshot (also likely remade into Ngmoco's model)
• CastleCraft (an MMO strategy/wargame)
• WarpGate

As you may have noticed, two of those are Ngmoco originals, and four of those are Freeverse titles that were either planned for the iPad or are being remade for the new platform; again, presumably free-to-play, along with microtransactions and freemium resources in the Ngmoco mold. That's definitely a sizeable library going into the new platform, and if Ngmoco really does have these ready to go on April 3rd (and I don't see any reason why they wouldn't -- even if they haven't gotten one of those test iPads from Apple, their model is designed to release early and make updates quickly if needed), then they'll be positioned to grab iPad app space very early on.

TUAWSix Ngmoco iPad titles revealed originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: OS

Here's one for the freak occurrence archives. A TUAW reader e-mailed us after running Software Update on his new 2.8GHz i7 iMac last night. Something odd popped up.

"I got a new 27-inch iMac earlier this week," he wrote. "Last night I checked for updates and it starts 'Downloading **PRERELEASE** Mac OS X Update...' I figured what the heck and let it go. Now my iMac is on 10.6.3 which as far as I know isn't available yet?! I am not a developer or anything so I am not sure why this happened."

digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/cool-weird-stuff-tuaw-reader-accidentally-downloads-10-6-3-pre/'; tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/cool-weird-stuff-tuaw-reader-accidentally-downloads-10-6-3-pre/'; tweetmeme_source = 'tuaw'; Just in case you're thinking that Apple employee access was to blame, here are some basic facts: The reader bought the iMac online from the Apple Store and was never in a retail store with it. The reader who sent us these screen shots is not an Apple employee nor does he have access to Apple's RSA Secure ID or VPN. He performed his update at home and not at an Apple retail store.

This kind of update does not normally appear in the wild on Software Update. Prerelease, and specifically "**PRERELEASE**", updates refer to Apple-internal builds distributed to any Apple employee who has access to Apple's VPN. A **PRERELEASE** build is typically seeded to employees 24 to 48 hours before the build goes public via Software Update.

The pre-release weighs in at a whopping 1.19GB. The "About This Mac" screen shots he sent us (see below) note the build as 10D527 - a build that was reportedly released to developers today, only two days after the last build. Builds that come close together typically indicate a public release is imminent. It is not clear why this pre-release showed up on the TUAW reader's iMac.

TUAWCool weird stuff: TUAW reader accidentally downloads 10.6.3 pre-release originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you want an economical way to buy into the reigning speed champion of virtualization apps, the MacUpdate Promo Spring Bundle may be just the ticket. At $49.99, the 11-app bargain basket is headlined by Parallels Desktop 5 (normally $79 alone). The rest of the lineup is solid as well:

• Bee Docs Timeline 3D ($65)
• Spell Catcher ($39.95)
• Hydra ($79.95)
• Back-In-Time ($29)
• ForeverSave ($14.95)
• Hyperspaces ($12.95)
• Web Snapper ($15)
• Mac DVDRipper Pro ($9.95)
• MacScan ($29.99)

If you're buying the bundle early enough (within the first 20,000 purchases -- as of right now they are edging towards 14K), you get Metakine's DVD Remaster Pro as a bonus app. The bundle sale runs for 12 more days, but you've only got 2 days to get in on our 2-bundle giveaway; MacUpdate has reserved one bundle each for two lucky TUAW readers. See details by clicking "Read more" below!


To enter, just submit a comment below telling us which apps you think would be best for the next MUPromo bundle.

Summary of giveaway rules:

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter leave a comment below describing the app you think MacUpdate should include in the next bundle offering..
• The comment must be left before Sunday March 21, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Two winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Prize: One MacUpdate Promo Spring Bundle. ARV $49.99.
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

TUAWMacUpdate bundle offers Parallels 5, we offer chance to win originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Steve Jobs

During a surprise appearance at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, California, Steve Jobs joined California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to help advance organ donation legislation.

Last year, Jobs flew to Tennessee to receive a liver transplant, and spoke briefly of this. "There were not enough livers in California to go around," he said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. "I was advised by my Stanford doctors to enroll on a list at a Memphis hospital, because it was more favorable to get a liver there. I was fortunate."

And without the transplant, Jobs said, "I could have died."

Steve Jobs returned to work at Apple in June 2009 and, according to the report, told other transplant survivors that he is currently feeling fine. "It's been a pretty good last few months."

If passed, the legislation could help save more lives by making it easier for Californians to affirm their preferred organ donor status. The current system, says Jobs, "is an obscure process." Full text of the legislation, Senate Bill 1395, can be viewed here.

To find out more about organ donation, visit Donate Life America, the Mayo Clinic's 10 myths of organ donation, and, lastly, state organ and tissue donor registries at OrganDonor.Gov.

[via Silicon Alley Insider]

TUAWSteve Jobs helps push organ donation legislation originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

Last week at GDC 2010, I talked to quite a few iPhone developers, big and small, and they all told me exactly the same thing when I asked about the iPad: "No, I haven't gotten my hands on one yet." But apparently there are at least a few developers out there who've gotten test models from Apple, according to Business Week, and the requirements that come with them are as strict as you can imagine. There are 10 pages of rules and regulations, and those include that the iPad has to be kept secured to a fixed object in a windowless room, and the company actually requires photographic proof of compliance before they'll actually ship the device out.

Sounds crazy, but clearly there's reasons for such a strict agreement from both sides: developers really want to get a head start on what will surely be a huge market for apps and content starting on the iPad's release, and obviously Apple wants to make sure that the device stays under cover until it releases. You might think that they'd actually benefit from a little exposure, but don't forget: this is Apple -- they depend on the hype and interest that secrecy before release creates. After it comes out, seeing the iPad out in the world will likely sell even more units, but pre-release, Apple's customers are happy to stand in line to be the first to use the iPad.

Of course, this is all from anonymous sources -- it'll be interesting to see if any of these "iPads in the wild" find their way out to the public in the form of pictures or video. Until then, the rest of us (including many developers who've played big parts in building up the App Store to where it is today) will have to wait until April 3rd.

[via Engadget]

TUAWiPads sent out to select developers, kept under cover for now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple

China Mobile announced at a news conference that it's going after service for Apple in that country -- it wants to host both the iPhone and the iPad in China for Apple. Currently, the iPhone service there is provided by China Unicom, but China Mobile has said that if the iPhone is ported over to its government-approved 3G service (similar, it seems, to the rumored deal with Verizon), then China Mobile would be interested in offering both.

Officially, Apple hasn't said anything about this -- it has been confirmed to be in talks about the iPhone, but those are only talks, of course, and it hasn't been talking at all with China Mobile about the iPad. Still, being that China Mobile is the largest data provider in the world, with over 520 million subscribers, Apple might eventually be enticed, especially if they need to widen the potential audience to sell more handsets. Plus, if the rumored deal with Verizon actually happens, Apple won't really have reason to be exclusive in the rest of the world, either.

TUAWChina Mobile angling for iPad, iPhone service in China originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Found Footage

After spending years trying, failing and trying again to teach a number of mature Apple users how to use various Apple products, I got a kick out of this video. It's funny because it's true, and it also shows that there are some less than optimum uses for an iPad. This iPad parody was made as a school project for a Comm 340 class. I think you'll get a chuckle out of it on this late Friday afternoon.

Thanks Justin for sending it in.

TUAWFound Footage: Grandma gets an iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone

Square is a very cool piece of hardware for the iPhone and other smartphones; when combined with the Square service, you can accept credit card payments right on your iPhone. TechCrunch reports that charity:water used Square at SxSW to collect donations, and other uses are already cropping up; flower carts and political fundraisers, for instance.

If you haven't seen it in action, check out our in-person walkthrough from Macworld Expo, or the official YouTube video demonstration. The demo features Adam Lisagor (creator of Birdhouse for iPhone and part of my favorite podcast You Look Nice Today) and Jason Permenter, who walk through a very simple real-life scenario: what do you do if you want to sell something, like a couch, to someone who wants to pay with a credit card? Square not only makes it possible to do that, but it adds some cool features such as showing a picture of the buyer and seller on the iPhone to verify their identity.

Square was born after Jim McKelvey couldn't sell a piece of art because he couldn't accept a credit card, a process that has traditionally been complicated and expensive. Part of Square's vision has included charitable giving, where a donation of 1¢ is made from every transaction to a cause of your choice.

When I was growing up, using a credit card meant that the clerk had to reach under the counter, pull out a device where you would carefully line up the credit card, then put special receipt paper on it, including two carbon copies (remember carbon paper?), they would push the handle across the device and it would push the numbers on the card into the carbon paper, then they would hand it to you to sign, and then the clerk would take it back, pull out one of the carbon copies, and hand it to you. If you were standing in line behind someone paying with a credit card, you'd react much the same way people do these days if someone pays with a check. Nowadays those PIN-pad credit card readers are in all the major stores and at gas stations. Being able to accept credit cards is almost a necessity in today's world.

Square could give individuals and small businesses the same opportunity, using a device that millions of people are already carrying around in their pockets. Check it out; even if you aren't a seller, you may want to sign up for Square to be registered as a buyer once it's out of private beta.

TUAWSquare used for fundraiser payments at SxSW originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

Do you believe in miracles? If you clap your hands, will Tinkerbell appear? Are you willing to submit an application developed solely in a simulator and hope that it will work on real hardware? With real customers? In a real App Store? Well, now is your chance to find out.

tweetmeme_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/apple-is-now-accepting-ipad-app-submissions/" tweetmeme_source = "tuaw" According to an email just sent out to devs, Apple is now accepting iPad application submissions through iTunes Connect. You can submit your application today and "receive feedback" on its "readiness for the grand opening."

digg_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/apple-is-now-accepting-ipad-app-submissions/" Simulator-only apps developed with the iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 5 can be submitted as of today for initial review. Upload your apps by 5pm, Saturday, March 27th, and the App review team will e-mail you with submission feedback about the readiness of your application for App Store distribution. You will also receive information about submitting your apps for final review, before the iPad ships and (for most of us) before we even own hardware.

If you're thinking about waiting: don't. Apple states that "[o]nly apps submitted for the initial review will be considered for the grand opening of the iPad App Store." An Apple spokesman further confirmed that "[W]e are looking forward to having an amazing line up of apps available when the iPad ships on April 3." The iPad App Store will launch at the same time as the iPad device.
Developers have expressed both excitement and concern about this development. iPhone developer Scott Lawrence told TUAW "I think it's pretty risky, knowing how 'accurate' the simulator is with respect to actual iPhone performance." Most developers insist on testing not only on hardware but on a wide range of models and firmware installations before an app is generally released. From software compatibility to hardware, the simulator approximates but does not equal actual device performance.

As I have written elsewhere, the simulator uses many Macintosh frameworks and libraries, offering features that are not actually present on the iPhone. Applications that appear to be completely operational and fully debugged on the simulator may flake out or crash on the device itself. You simply cannot fully debug any program solely by using the simulator and be assured that the software will run bug-free on the iPhone. Here at TUAW central, we're assuming (or at least hoping) that Apple will be testing device builds on real devices.

iPhone developer Greg Hartstein points out, "I'm not sure Apple really had a choice. Even with a store of 150,000 iPhone apps, Apple knows that new users are going to want to see what the iPad can really do rather than simply use their iPhone apps larger." With our impatient culture, it's make or break for the iPad. Apple needs to put its best face forward and get the most exciting apps it can out there for its new iPad community, despite access limits to early development units.

As one of our commenters writes, "Let the farts begin!"

TUAWApple is now accepting iPad app submissions originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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