Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1475

November 24, 2011

Apple Online Stores Go Down In Australia & New Zealand For Black Friday Updates

[image error]Apple's online stores in Australia and New Zealand have been taken down while reductions are made to a whole host of products for the company's Black Friday sale.

When they come back up, expect money off new Macs, iPods, iPads, and tons of accessories. For a sneak peek at what's in store, check out Apple's leaked Black Friday pamphlet.

Other online stores around the world are expected to go down shortly.

[via 9to5Mac]

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Published on November 24, 2011 05:07

Apple Pulls First Subscription-Based iOS Game From The App Store [Updated]

[image error]Apple has been embracing subscription-based iOS applications for some time, such as those that offer magazines and newspapers, but the same model did not appear for iOS games until earlier this week, when the Cupertino company approved a title from Big Fish Games that offered gamers the opportunity to pay a monthly fee of $4.99 to access the companies entire catalog through one app.

When the title hit the App Store, it was reported that Apple had begun accepting subscription-based games for iOS, and that the new release from Big Fish could be the first of many games to offer a similar service. However, Apple has quickly put a stop to those dreams after it pulled Big Fish's title from the App Store.

Bloomberg reports that shortly after Big Fish issued a press release announcing the title yesterday, Apple removed the app from the App Store without providing the company with any explanation:

[Big Fish Games founder Paul] Thelen said he was surprised by the move because Big Fish had worked with Apple for several weeks to ensure that it met the requirements for recurring monthly charges made through the App Store, a method most commonly used by magazines and newspaper publishers.

"It was officially approved," Thelen said. Apple had even seen the app's press release before it went out earlier today, he said.

Apple has declined to offer any comment on why the game was removed from the App Store, despite requests from both Bloomberg and Big Fish Games, but it is believed that the company may not have been accepting of subscription-based games after all.

What's most interesting about all this, is that Big Fish claims to have worked with Apple for several weeks to ensure their game met the company's strict requirements before it was approved for the App Store.

While this is bad news for Big Fish Games, a number of iOS gamers are reporting that they are pleased with Apple's decision to remove the title. Many argue that the subscription model doesn't really work for games, and that no one wants to pay $4.99 per month for iOS games that often cost half that to buy outright.

What do you think of subscription-based games? Would they work in the App Store, or would you prefer to just buy the game outright?

UPDATE: As noted by our very helpful commenters, Apple took a week off for Thanksgiving, which is likely to be the reason why Big Fish Games is yet to get a response to its App Store ban.

[via MacRumors]

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Published on November 24, 2011 04:55

Apple Pulls First Subscription-Based iOS Game From The App Store

Bloomberg reports that shortly after Big Fish issued a press release announcing the title yesterday, Apple removed the app from the App Store without providing the company with any explanation:

[Big Fish Games founder Paul] Thelen said he was surprised by the move because Big Fish had worked with Apple for several weeks to ensure that it met the requirements for recurring monthly charges made through the App Store, a method most commonly used by magazines and newspaper publishers.

"It was officially approved," Thelen said. Apple had even seen the app's press release before it went out earlier today, he said.

What do you think of subscription-based games? Would they work in the App Store, or would you prefer to just buy the game outright?

[via MacRumors]

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Published on November 24, 2011 04:55

November 23, 2011

Simple Ways To Make OS X More Like iOS [Video How-To]

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Mac OS X Lion includes many features that are very similar to those found in iOS. In this video, I'll show you how to expand it even further, and make Mac OS X Lion even more like iOS.

Growl can be found here.

Growl iOS theme can be found here.

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Published on November 23, 2011 21:22

Heading to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? There's An App For That [Daily Freebie]

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For those of you heading over to gawk at Sonic and the other floats at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC tomorrow, there's a new tool this year that'll help you make the most of the day — that's right, the parade has its own free iPhone app.

It's App Store description makes it sound indispensable. Seems like every conceivable scrap of information about the event has been siphoned into the app: parade route, participants and history are all included, along with other local info that developer travel-app developer MyCityWay specializes in, like nearby coffee, wifi spots, subway map and transportation guides, including updated transportation info for Thanksgiving Day.

There's even a feature that'll live-track certain participants, like Santa's float and cheerleading troupes.

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Published on November 23, 2011 19:12

Dive Into Poetry With Helena Bonham Carter And An Appload Of Poems [Review]

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This is iF Poems, a new educational app aimed at children,a but with much to offer to grown-ups too.

It brings together 230 classic poems, sorted into age groups and categories such as "Growing up" and "Lessons for life".

But better still, some of them come with audio readings by none other than British actors Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy – and beautiful readings they are, too.

As well as explaining poetry to youngsters, the app encourages participation. You can record your own reading of a classic poem (and then share it with friends), or write a fresh poem when you feel inspired. Your work is presented just like the famous poems, making you feel like you're right up there with Edward Lear or Lord Tennyson.

This is a charming app, and an excellent introduction to the world of poetry. Not just for kids, either.

It's only let down by not being a universal app – rather, there are separate iPhone (three dollars) and iPad (five dollars) versions. Also, some of the text fields (such as the poet biographies at the top of each poem) are scrollable, but that's not always obvious. With a long bio, the text here feels very cramped.

That's a minor problem though, and doesn't detract from the charm. Recommended.

Rating: ★★★★½

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Published on November 23, 2011 15:35

Microsoft Says That Windows Phone Had Siri Before The iPhone 4S

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In a recent interview with Forbes, Microsoft's chief strategy and research officer, Craig Mundie, sat down to talk about the future of the "Kinect effect" and other aspects of the company's business.

When asked about his opinion on the hype surrounding Apple's Siri voice technology in the iPhone 4S, Mundie promptly stuck his foot in his mouth.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8akOCfqe-v0

Mundie said that Microsoft has had Siri-like technology on Windows Phone for over a year now. In essence, he only sees Apple's introduction of Siri as "good marketing." He did acknowledge that Microsoft could probably learn a thing or two from Apple in terms of marketing, which is a step in the right direction.

Like Android's Voice Actions, Windows Phone has indeed offered voice control technology before Apple. The difference is that Siri recognizes everyday language and understands situational context, while both Windows Phone and Android only recognize a limited, pre-defined set of commands. You can orally give commands on a Windows Phone, but you can actually talk to Siri.

Mundie's opinions eerily reflect those of Android's Andy Rubin. Both men agree that a phone should be used for communicating with other people, not as a personal assistant. In the interview, Mundie says, "You shouldn't be communicating with the phone. You should be communicating with somebody on the other side of the phone."

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Published on November 23, 2011 14:54

Quickly Access Your International Keyboards With One Tap [iOS Tips]

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I use multiple keyboards on my iOS devices English (US), Emoji, and Deutsch (German). It used to be a drag to have to click the globe icon on the keyboard multiple times to get to the keyboard you needed, but not any more. You can reach all your keyboards with just one finger!

If you are accessing a keyboard anywhere in iOS and you have multiple keyboards active you'll see a globe shaped icon on a key to the left of the space bar. If you tap the globe once it moves to each keyboard in your list one at a time sequentially. If you tap and hold it instead you'll get a pop-up list of keyboards you've activated in one view. Tap the one you want from the list and jump to it immediately. It's fast and easy. Highly recommend for people using more than just one or two keyboards.

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Published on November 23, 2011 13:37

Official Trailer For Infinity Blade II Features Stunning Visuals [Video]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs5ddFlc5Tw

The highly anticipated sequel to Chair Entertainment's Infinity Blade is launching on December 1st, and the official trailer has been made available with commentary from the game's developers.

Infinity Blade II will feature 40 new locations, millions of new hit points, and stunning visuals for iOS devices that boast the A5 processor, like the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

The trailer takes a closer look at the development of the new game's visuals, and the developers discuss many of the graphical nuances that players will be able to experience when the title is launched in the App Store next week.

The makers of Infinity Blade first unveiled their sequel onstage at the last Apple media event. As one of the most console-like games available on the iOS platform, Infinity Blade is a staple title for the advancement of mobile gaming in general. We can't wait to get our hands on this gem next month.

Also, the original Infinity Blade is on sale for $2.99 in the App Store for a limited time. Get it while it's hot!

(via SlideToPlay)

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Published on November 23, 2011 13:25

Check Out Susan Kare's Original Graph Paper Designs For Classic Mac OS Icons [Gallery]

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I've always had a little crush on Susan Kare, the graphical interface pioneer who designed most of the original Mac OS icons and also designed the first proportionally spaced digital font, but this incredible piece on her over at PLOS had me wooed all over again, especially when I saw her incredible original sketches of the Mac OS icons we all know and love, which Susan laboriously designed on graph paper.

Check out some of her work on icons both familiar and foreign below, it's the best thing I've seen all day.

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