MacLife

This week's games are addictive and packed with cute animals, making them too fun by half. You'll be fighting your kids to get back your phone just so you can have a crack at these adorable discounted apps. Got a long car trip coming up for the weekend? Well, then, you're set.

Rocket Rush - Tappi Bear

Time for another space journey as you pilot Tappi Bear through the cosmos. Navigate your way through meteors as you fire you donut canon but watch out that the aliens don't get you! How far can you go? This fast loading universal game is a buck off, making it free for you. Enjoy and good luck!

Kiwi Brown

Oh noooes! The evil space bubbles are set to invade and only you, Kiwi Brown, can save the day. Pop those bubbles through cycles of days and nights (bubbles don't rest -- what can you do?). Power-up for mega burst action in this charming free iPhone only app down from one dollar to just one tap in the App Store.

Little Bricks

The classic brick breaking style game gets a few twists in this update on an old favorite. It's not just you, your ball, and some bricks. Oh no, you'll be working in the rain, in the snow, against high winds. You'll be finding portals and all kinds of other hidden gems in this now free iPhone favorite.

Derby & the Jellybean Adventure

Derby's on an adventure to eat as many jellybeans as he can. You'll fling him from peg to peg in this free iPhone physics style game. Watch out for thieving enemies who will try to steal your sweet treats. With the right aiming, you can toss this adorable little guy for hours without stop. Down from a dollar, but not forever, so what are you waiting for?

 

Ah, Friday: Time to kick up the feet and relax, assuming you don’t have to work the weekend. (Sadly, we do -- feeling sorry for us yet?) Despite the weekend being upon us, today was a rather busy day in the tech world, with Apple briefly removing 3G-equipped iOS devices from its online store thanks to a Motorola injunction, RIM baiting Android developers with free BlackBerry PlayBooks and a whole lot more. Read on to find out what’s making news for this Friday, February 3, 2012.

German Motorola Victory Briefly Removes 3G Devices from Apple Online

If you live in Germany and have been trying to buy a 3G-equipped iOS device aside from the iPhone 4S in the last day or so, you might have been out of luck. According to AllThingsD, Apple removed all 3G-equipped iOS devices from their online store in that country with the exception of the iPhone 4S in compliance with an injunction granted to Motorola Mobility last December, part of the ongoing patent dispute between the two companies. Even as Apple was moving to comply, they were hard at work on an appeal, and this morning it came through -- although it’s only a temporary measure until the matter is resolved, which patent expert Florian Mueller says could take upwards of a year. “Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago,” an Apple spokeswoman explained to AllThingsD.

Free BlackBerry Tablet for Android Developers

iOS developers must surely be getting a good chuckle out of this: BlackBerry PlayBook maker Research in Motion is trying to woo Android developers to their tablet by giving them the necessary hardware for free. According to The New York Times, “all an Android programmer has to do to get one is make a PlayBook app and submit it to RIM’s app store, BlackBerry App World, by Feb. 13.” We’re not even talking about native BlackBerry QNX apps here -- RIM wants that Android goodness, presumably in the hopes of expanding its user base the way Amazon has with the Kindle Fire and its own Appstore. However, the report notes that RIM has an ulterior motive here: “Oddly, the PlayBook giveaway could have less to do with the tablet than it does with future BlackBerry smartphones.” Perhaps the idea is to lure Android developers and turn them to the Dark Side, writing QNX apps for the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 (and, presumably, the next PlayBook tablet as well).

Oops, Apple Did It Again: Snow Leopard Security Update Breaks Rosetta

While OS X Lion users had to content with a cryptic CUI error after installing Mac OS X 10.7.3 this week (assuming they could successfully open apps at all!), it turns out the seemingly harmless Security Update 2012-001 for Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard that Apple pushed out at the same time is also causing some ticks in that big cat’s fur. According to Macworld, Snow Leopard users who install the update are finding they can no longer run PowerPC apps, which require Rosetta to run. “People have reported cursor glitches, printing errors, and crashes when quitting an application,” the report reveals. “The popular financial package Quicken 2007, which requires Rosetta to work on Intel Macs, appears to be a frequent victim.” Thankfully, an enterprising group of system administrators at a Nebraska high school have already come to the rescue with the aptly named RosettaFix, which swaps out the afflicted files for the ones installed prior to applying the Security Update. The only caveat is that the fix may not work for all apps, but it’s worth a try if you find yourself stuck with no other choice.

Readdle Introduces Innovative New Remarks App for iPad

The creators of the popular Readdle Docs and PDF Expert apps are back, fresh from the recent Macworld/iWorld expo, with their latest work: Remarks, a $4.99 digital notebook app for the iPad. “Write down your thoughts, capture ideas and information, annotate documents and outline notes anywhere from university class to sofa at home,” the app description reads. “To let you write anything you have in mind we included all the tools you might need: pens and highlighters of different colors, floating text boxes, shapes and of course an eraser.” But this isn’t just a simple note-taking app: iPad users can also extensively annotate their notes, which are saved in PDF format and can be easily shared with others, imported to other iPad apps or even saved to the Mac or PC. Judging from early user reviews on the App Store, Ukraine-based Readdle has another winner on its hands with this 17.8MB app, which is now available and ready to purchase.

Apple’s iBooks Author License Not Quite as Evil

You may recall that the launch of iBooks 2 and the free iBooks Author was somewhat marred by a firestorm of controversy surrounding exactly what users could do with their finished work. According to MacRumors, many took the EULA quite literally, “believing that Apple was claiming rights to all content used in the production of the iBooks Textbooks, perhaps attempting to exclude books from being published in any other form.” Thanks to today’s iBooks Author 1.0.1 update, the licensing terms have now been clarified: Apple is claiming rights only to the .ibooks document format, while authors are free to sell their content in other formats as they please. A subtle change, but one that should send content creators back to the village to snuff out those torches and hang up the pitchforks -- at least for now.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

 

This week, we've got the lowdown on one of the best Nintendo DS games of 2011 hitting iOS, as well as an equally interesting game about a gorilla jumping up and down on a ski lift. See, this is exactly why we love iOS gaming.

Official Magic App Launches

Perhaps 99.9% of iOS won't care about this in the slightest, but here at Mac|Life, we are the 0.1%. For years, overpriced imitation Magic: The Gathering apps have ruled the roost, but now Wizards of the Coast finally has its own official app. It's pretty nifty too! The free app contains the entire database of Magic cards, and you can even experiment with different deck styles.

Ticket to Ride Gets Asynchronous Multiplayer

Words With Friends became an unparalleled success in the iOS board gaming space in part due to its great asynchronous multiplayer, which allowed players to take their time in a game and juggle multiple matches at the same time. Now that same kind of functionality is available in the wonderful Ticket to Ride Pocket for iPhone, and we couldn't be more excited. We can't wait for asynchronous multiplayer to make its way into every last iOS board game release.

NetherRealm May Make More iOS Games

The studio behind Arkham City: Lockdown has declared unequivocally that it is very interested in continuing to develop games for iOS. NetherRealm recently said that they want to continue to diversify their games, rather than relying on their highly popular reboot of the Mortal Kombat series. While we're thrilled to play just about anything this highly talented developer puts out, we're definitely most excited for them to continue classing up iOS gaming with well-produced efforts like Arkham City: Lockdown.

Facebook Timeline is the social network's latest method of adding more trinkets to your profile page. It's a virtual scrapbook of your whole Facebook history that fits in with the site's new timeline format. You can get the most out of the new format by displaying not just your Facebook activities, but by using apps to show what else you're doing around the web. Facebook touts it as a way to bring your timeline to life and express who you are, and we'd say that's pretty accurate. Timeline apps are a great way to integrate your various hobbies into your Facebook profile. 

If you haven't started using apps with your Timeline profile, here are 10 of our favorite to get you started. Be warned though--if you aren't one to share, you might want to skip this feature. These apps send all of your various activities straight to your Facebook profile!

 

Who would have guessed that Adult Swim, the late-night network famed for its irreverent cartoons and live-action series, would prove to be one of the most consistent producers of quality iOS games? Its latest addition to the stack is Bring Me Sandwiches!!, which is one part platformer and another Katamari Damacy, topped with a dab of absurdity and slapped between two slices of bread.

You'll take control of lovable loser Jimmy Nugget, a hapless employee at a local fast food restaurant. When a seemingly unquenchable glutton of an alien named Gourmo threatens to destroy the earth, Jimmy is called upon to save the day by meeting the otherworldly visitor's single, titular demand. Of course, an extraterrestrial isn't going to crave just any kind of sandwich; he's choosy about ingredients, so don't be surprised if you're asked to offer up a cat and fire hydrant sandwich.

At the start of each vibrantly colored and well-designed level, Jimmy is handed a slice of bread. Running around using either the intuitive touch or tilt controls, you'll collect any and all items that are littered about the level to stack your sandwiches higher. While the controls work well, there are rare occasions where they don't seem responsive enough; jumping off the heads of other characters comes to mind. Some platforms are also ill-defined, though it's seldom problematic. Neither presents a significant hindrance, but the rest of the game is so sharp that the little flaws seem more prevalent.

The bottom line. Bring Me Sandwiches!! is a genre-blender that takes the best parts of other favorites and makes them work together. It's so quirky, entertaining, and difficult to put down that you might find yourself in your kitchen, simply stacking random objects on bread because you just can't get enough.

Review Synopsis

Product: 

Bring Me Sandwiches!! 2.1

Company: 

Adult Swim

Contact: 

http://adultswim.com

Price: 

<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fbring-me-sandwiches!!%252Fid457603026%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="itunes_store">$0.99</a>

Requirements: 

iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 3.1 or later

Positives: 

Plenty of variation within the simple concept. Easy to pick up and play. Hilarious dialogue and sandwich combinations.

Negatives: 

Controls feel less responsive than expected on occasion. Hard to see parts of the level when sandwich stack gets too high.

Score:  4.5 Excellent

Some people are more fortunate than others -- for example, yesterday’s Mac OS X 10.7.3 update is causing grief for many who used Software Update to install it, while our 27-inch iMac was smooth sailing all the way with this method. If you’re one of those affected, read on for the fix -- and while you’re at it, stick around for a little bit and take in the rest of the day’s news for this fine Thursday, February 2, 2012.

Mac OS X 10.7.3 Update Woes? There’s A Fix for That

Hey, nobody’s perfect, and that includes the engineers at Apple. As noted by Macworld, yesterday’s Mac OS X 10.7.3 update appears to be hiding a little bugaboo that has caused some grief for a number of users. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution, which is to download the larger Combo updater and simply install it over the system having the problem. So what’s the problem? It appears that a number of users who updated via Software Update “discovered upon rebooting that every app they launched would crash, and the ensuing error dialog box sported bizarre overlays: gradient boxes reading ‘CUI CUI,’ along with bright red question marks.” While the fix is easy, if your particular system is crashing every app, you may need to resort to using FireWire Target Disk mode from another Mac to install, or if worse comes to worse, use Lion Recovery mode to get things going again. No word yet from Apple on what the problem might be or how they intend to fix it -- most likely they’ll pull the update and replace it with a patched version in the near future.

Avid Studio Brings Powerful Editing to iPad

It’s been quite a week for video editors, with Apple releasing an update for Final Cut Pro X that finally restores missing features from the legacy version and now their rival Avid landing on the iPad with a $4.99 prosumer offering called Avid Studio. Avid is a familiar name in the pro video world, having pioneered much of the non-linear digital editing used by Hollywood. The company’s latest offering isn’t quite as ambitious, but aims to take on Apple’s own iMovie solution instead. Avid Studio promises “big-screen moviemaking” on the iPad. “Swiftly arrange your clips in the Storyboard, make precision edits using the Timeline, and add high-quality transitions, effects, and a soundtrack,” the app description reads. “Then share your movie directly to YouTube, Facebook, and more -- or export your project to Avid Studio for the PC and continue editing with even more advanced tools.” Avid Studio is a 30.7MB download from the App Store and available now for $4.99.

Apple Leapfrogs LG to Become Third Largest Mobile Phone Maker

MacRumors is reporting that Apple’s recent success with the iPhone 4S is paying off in many ways, including a new report out from research firm IDC today that positions Cupertino as the third largest manufacturer of mobile phones worldwide -- and that’s not strictly smartphones, but rather mobile phones of all types. With a 128.4 percent year-over-year-change, Apple handily breezed from fifth place to third place, bumping rival LG down a notch. The iPhone maker is now perched behind Nokia in first place and Samsung in second place, although that pair will be much harder to dethrone: Nokia and Samsung sold 113.5 million and 97.6 million handsets respectively in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with Apple’s relatively modest 37 million.

Skype for Mac Update Brings Video Call Stability, UI Improvements

The folks at Microsoft-owned Skype are back for another heapin’ helpin’ of update fun for the Mac edition, with a new version out today that promises “improved video call stability and improvements to the calling interface.” Of course, that all comes on top of the VoIP giant’s recent bear hug with Facebook, which allows users to check news feeds, instant messages and even video call their friends with or without the client software, thanks to the wonders of modern browser technology. But enough of our yakking, it’s time to click the link and get your update on...

iMessage “Bug”? Not So Fast

There’s been plenty of chatter this week about what everyone assumes is a bug with iOS 5’s iMessage service, which allows text messages to continue to be received even on stolen or lost devices. As it turns out, the “bug” only rears its ugly head when proper protocol is not followed. According to The Loop, one such incident recently documented by Gizmodo found a customer’s text messages inadvertently going to an iPhone owned by the Apple Genius who assisted her with an unrelated problem. Since the customer’s device had no SIM card, the Genius popped out his own and placed it inside the customer’s, causing a shift in the time-space continuum. Okay, not really, but it did cause the iPhone to start routing the customer’s iMessages to the Genius’ device. As it turns out, toggling iMessage on and off or having the customer put their own SIM card back into their device would have eliminated the problem, as explained by an Apple representative. Problem… solution.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

 

Before we get started, we'd do well by advising you not to leave your Mac unattended in a public place. That's an expensive -- and highly coveted -- machine! But sometimes, nature calls, or that second latte is all you need to keep chugging along with work for the afternoon. Take the neccessary precautions to make sure that your laptop stays put and, more importantly, that your private information stays unrevealed.

What You'll Need:

>> Kensington ClickSafe Laptop Lock
>> FileVault enabled
>> iCloud account

1. Secure Your Data with FileVault

Just because your computer is physically secured doesn't mean that a thief couldn't steal your data. With physical access to your machine without FileVault enabled, a thief can boot your machine in Target Disk mode and copy files in a heartbeat with just a FireWire cable.

To enable FileVault, navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault. Click the "Turn on FileVault" button to begin encrypting your hard drive. After the drive is encrypted, any access through Target Disk Mode will be required to enter the encryption password.

2. Physically Bolt Down your Mac

If you tend to work a lot from a coffee shop or the library consider investing in a ClickSafe Laptop Lock lock to tie down your MacBook to a table leg. This lock plugs into the small, curved rectangular hole on the right-hand side of your MacBook and uses the same locking mechanism as a bike lock.

We also recommend an application called iAlertU that acts as an alarm. It's just as annoying and distracting as a car alarm.

You can also secure your iMac or some Apple displays with this type of lock as well.

3. Keep Tabs on your Mac with iCloud

If the worst has happen, as long as you have an iCloud account you can keep track of your Mac's current location based on its IP address. This isn't as accurate as GPS, but it'll give you a rough estimate of where your Mac is located.

To enable this, go to System Preferences > iCloud, and check the box labeled, "Find My Mac."

You can then locate your Mac by visiting iCloud.com, logging into your account, and selecting the "Find My iPhone" icon. Despite the name, this section of iCloud will display your Macs as well. When your Mac is found, you can click it on the Map to get options for Remote Locking, or Remote Wiping.

4. Lock your account with a password

To keep people from logging into your account and making changes without your approval, head to System Preferences > Users & Groups, and select your account. Click Reset password to create or change your password.

When you're done, head to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. Ensure that the box labeled "Require password after sleep or screen saver begins" is checked and a time is selected. While you're here, check the box to "Disable automatic login." Doing this will make your Mac more secure.

5. Keep Your Stuff with You

Of course, the best way to keep from becoming a victim of theft is to just keep your stuff with you. We recommend getting a nice, comfortable bag, and keeping it on your person at all times when you're out and about. Or a ferocious dog that is constantly baring its teeth at anyone who goes near your stuff. We're kidding about that last part. Doggies are nice.

Follow this article's author, Cory Bohon on Twitter.

How to make any photo look its best

Whatever tool you use to edit your photos (we’re using Luminance here), the majority of the options you’ll need will be exactly the same and should work in the same basic way. On top of those, you’ll usually find one-click gimmick options, and a few that may come in handy for specific images, but those are usually better tried a few times and then never touched again. The ones to focus on are the less exciting options, especially brightness and color saturation. Follow these six steps in order and even a picture that seems ruined can come alive under your fingers.

Doom was released by id Software in 1993, and it cleverly combined hugely innovative gameplay features with a storyline crammed with controversial satanic imagery… so its success was assured. Playing the part of a lone soldier up against the hordes of Hell, the player had to navigate his way through the maze-like levels, blasting the enemies with a range of destructive weapons. Multiplayer mode and the ability to design your own level mods gave the game longevity. It laid the foundations on which gaming’s most popular genre would be built.

The Super Bowl -- still our annual sports fixation after all these years -- is this Sunday, and the match-up between the New England Patriots and New York Giants should be a real barn burner. Like many of you, we anticipate spending the day staring at the TV, ingesting questionable foods and liquids, and waiting for the commercial that'll outdo them all, but a handful of apps on both iPhone and iPad can help improve your Super Bowl experience. Between apps tied into the event, NFL-licensed touch screen games, and a couple other curiosities, we've picked out eight apps to check out in anticipation of Sunday's showdown.

While seasoned musical pros will take to GarageBand like the proverbial duck to water, what about the rest of us? People who can’t play an instrument might be left wondering what the point of GarageBand is for them. Well, they needn’t, because Apple has created something called Smart Instruments that lets just about anybody create great-sounding songs. Smart Instruments require no music knowledge whatsoever, and will make anybody sound like a pro. They work for guitars, keyboards, bass and drums, so you’ve got everything you need to make a brilliant-sounding track over which you can add a vocal.

Make your Mac carry its weight in the kitchen

There are two things I learned the first year I took up cooking: it takes many failures to create a successful dish, and it’s okay to bring the computer in the kitchen. With the advent of online recipe archives, I’m not shy about placing the MacBook next to the cutting board. SousChef capitalizes on this, and hopes to become the proverbial apron your computer needs to help you cook. And frankly, it’s a great help.

The SousChef app has an easy-to-navigate interface, with options for searching for recipes based on what’s in your fridge, categorizing them by cuisine, adding in substitutes, and making a grocery list. You can sort all recipes by name, rating, category, or cuisine, and if you find one you want to share, there are built-in settings for publishing straight to Blogger, grabbing an HTML snippet, or emailing it via your default mail application. Editing existing recipes is also a breeze--simply click each category and type, without worrying about formatting. The app also taps into a cloud database of recipes, so there is a constant flow of new dishes for you to try. And if you have a family recipe you want to keep private, you can opt out of sharing with the cloud.

There aren’t too many cooks in the kitchen when your partner is SousChef.

Inputting recipes is a cinch. Normally, recipe apps don’t play nice with copy and paste, but I took recipes that I had clipped in Evernote and copied them into the appropriate areas without any hassle. But while the formatting stayed the same, the photos did not copy over, which I need so I can see how the process is supposed to look. SousChef also limits you to one photo per recipe, unfortunate considering visual references are essential in the kitchen, especially for novice cooks.

SousChef’s best feature is its ability to direct you in the kitchen. When you’re ready to begin creating your culinary confections, SousChef will launch your Mac’s built-in Speech app. The app will switch to a full-screen display with large font and dictate the directions as they’re written, so you don’t have to worry about scrolling through with floury fingers. It gives credence to the app’s tagline that it’s your “digital cooking assistant,” so kudos to SousChef for delivering on that.
 
The bottom line. With its ability to organize recipes, pull new ones from the cloud, and dictate directions, SousChef is the ideal companion for novice cooks looking to get their bearings in the kitchen.

Review Synopsis

Product: 

SousChef

 

Company: 

Acacia Tree Software

Contact: 

Acaciatreesoftware.com

Price: 

$19.99, <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fsouschef%252Fid420590151%253Fmt%253D12%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="Mac App Store">Available in the Mac App Store</a>

Requirements: 

Mac OS 10.5 or later, minimum resolution of 1024x768

Positives: 

Categorically organize recipes, pull new ones from the cloud, set up Speech to have your Mac dictate directions to you.

Negatives: 

No add-on for clipping recipes from the browser; only allows one photo per recipe.

Score:  4 Great

That surge of Twitter activity this evening was the internet going ape for Facebook’s new IPO filing today in an effort to raise $5 billion. Hey, good luck with that, guys… we’re just hoping all that cash will bring some much-needed fixes to the website, but Zuck probably has some other cool stuff in mind. Oh, and don’t forget to download Mac OS X 10.7.3 which finally hit Software Update today -- and while you’re downloading, maybe catch up on the rest of the news for Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

Leaked iPad 3 Photos Reveal Quad-Core Processor, Global LTE

It’s the beginning of February, and that means the iPad 3 rumors are going to start coming in hotter and heavier than they have over the last few months. Like clockwork, the first one is already here, with BGR reporting that leaked photos from “a source claiming to be in possession of an iPad 3 prototype” reveal some key details of the much-anticipated third chapter in the iPad saga. Using a development tool called iBoot, the tipster reveals there could be only two iPad 3 models this time around: One with Wi-Fi only and another with combined GSM, CDMA and LTE that will work with all carriers, both here and abroad. The photos also allegedly reveal an A6 quad-core processor with the model number S5L8945X, which is right in line with numbering scheme for the original iPad’s A4 and iPad 2’s A5 processors. That said, the photos do nothing to stem the long wait for CEO Tim Cook and company to actually reveal the device, let alone a date as to when we can storm the castle -- er, Apple Stores -- to actually buy one.

Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.7.3

After a lengthy period in beta with developers, Apple finally pulled the trigger on the Mac OS X 10.7.3 update, which is now available via Software Update or directly from its servers as a standalone 997.01MB download (a Client Combo is also available, which weighs in at 1.2GB). Among the improvements offered with the new update are language support for Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian, fixing issues when using smart cards to log into OS X, resolving issues authenticating with directory services and compatibility issues with Windows file sharing. Apple has posted full release notes which detail every nook and cranny updated with the latest version, and a Security Update 2012-001 is available separately for both Snow Leopard and Snow Leopard server.

Rumor: Next-Gen iPod nano May Bring Back Camera

It’s been relatively quiet on the iPod front since the media player got bumped from its annual product refresh last year, but TechCrunch is reporting that there may be something worth waiting for. According to Chinese blog Apple.pro, a sixth-generation iPod nano has been spotted with a camera on its square little back, which falls in line with rumors we reported about last year. You’ll recall the fifth-generation iPod nano introduced a rear camera, which was summarily axed the following year when the nano got smaller and more square. Of course, the tiny camera will likely be of the 1.3 megapixel variety -- more akin to the front-facing camera of the iPhone 4S than that slick dude capturing images around back, but we’ll take what we can get.

Path Introduces Depth with Version 2.0.5

Social networking app Path really made a comeback in 2011, increasing the number of friends to 150 and allowing users to finally share directly to Facebook and Twitter. Today, the company announced a new version 2.0.5 release which adds Depth, billed as “the best way to tilt shift your photos and the only way to tilt shift your videos on the iPhone.” Depth creates a miniaturizing effect for photos and videos by creating a point or plane of clarity and blurring the surroundings, and works in both Spot and Landscape modes as well as before or after an image is taken. The update also introduces pinch, tap, rotate and zoom for photos, tap and rotate for videos, clickable links, friend requests sorted by time and the usual bug fixes. Path 2.0.5 is available for download now from the App Store.

Facebook Launches Initial Public Offering, Tech World Goes Nuts

Though it was widely expected, the tech world went a little bananas this evening as social networking giant Facebook officially filed its Initial Public Offering (IPO), revealing that it “earned $3.7 billion in revenues last year and made $1 billion in profits,” according to AppleInsider. The House That Zuckerberg Built is aiming to raise $5 billion with its public offering, making it the highest amount ever for a tech company. The filing also notes that game maker Zynga makes up 12 percent of Facebook’s revenue with its virtual currency and advertising, but cautions that “our financial results may be adversely affected” should that relationship sour. In December, Facebook revealed that it had 845 million monthly active users, with 483 million active users on a daily basis.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

 

Add focus, fake miniature scenes, and straighten and crop wonky photosWhat You'll Need:

>> OS X 10.6
>> Focus ($14.99 in the Mac App Store)
>> 15 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

One of the criticisms of iOS apps is that rather than a lot of developers creating big apps for a wide range of tasks, you get much smaller products that only really do one thing. However, for us, that’s more of an advantage than a negative, because a small app typically provides a degree of focus and makes features accessible to more people. This is definitely the case when it comes to photography: it’s far easier for someone to prod the screen a couple of times to make a quick change to an image than be flung headlong into the Photoshops of this world.

BEFORE: Got a sprawling city scene with details such as cars and trees included?

AFTER: Transform it into a miniature scene in just a few simple steps.

In a sense, the Mac App Store has brought this kind of simple, honed app to anyone with a Mac, and we’re hugely enjoying the high quality, affordable and genuinely useful apps that are available for messing around with photographs. Focus is our latest love, a stylish app that enables you to add depth to your photos by applying blur effects. Also, in a nod to iOS (and Apple’s "Back to the Mac" thinking with OS X Lion), Focus has excellent gesture support.

As you’ll see in the walkthrough, one of the major benefits of Focus is that it gives you a head start through pre-defined effects, each intended for use with specific types of photos: portraits, horizontally oriented landscapes ("Nature"), vertically oriented cityscapes and buildings ("Architecture"), and close-ups ("Macro"). Additionally, there’s a tilt-and-shift effect, which provides the means for creating a highly stylized photo that makes the subject matter resemble a miniature scene. It’s also possible to tweak effects settings, so you end up with something unique.

Focus was created by Coppertino and is available from the Mac App Store, priced $14.99.

If you think the iPad and iPhone are amazing, just wait until you’re reminded of these surprising blasts from the past…

All around Apple’s Cupertino campus there are people working on the Next Big Thing: it could be the iPhone 5 or an iPad 3, a proper Apple TV or a new kind of Mac. It may even be something you could never imagine. And that happens all day, every day. And it’s been going on since Apple was founded.

Of course, not all of the products Apple has come up with over the years have been successful. For every iPhone there’s been a G4 Cube. Or even a Flower Power iMac come to that. But it’s by experimenting with new ideas, coming up with different kinds of products, and learning from each failure that has made Apple the company it is today. It’s only by delving into its past that we can understand its present and future. As Apple proudly declared ahead of the iPhone’s launch in 2007: the first 30 years were just the beginning.

Here is a selection of some amazing Apple gadgets that time forgot: touch-sensitive tablets that are obvious precursors to the iPad, portable, internet-connected phones and pioneering digital cameras. There’s even a games console lurking in there somewhere… one thing’s for sure – there are plenty of surprises in store.

Sometimes when you win, you really lose, as Apple may have discovered in a German court this week. Other times, you really wish that whole email thing wasn’t so permanent, as it appears Apple and a gang of other tech giants are going to discover in what may be an incredibly expensive class-action lawsuit.

It’s another tough week for Cupertino in the courtroom. Cue the dun-dun and lets review those gavel bangs.

Apple vs. Samsung

FOSS Patents reports that an appeals court in Germany has upheld a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was originally granted to Apple last fall. In additional, the court found that the Galaxy Tab 8.9 also falls under the injunction.

The original ruling, ordered last August and upheld in September, was based on a violation of one of Apple’s Community designs -- a European version of a design patent. Samsung appealed to the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, and while that court did uphold the injunction, they did so based on a violation of German unfair competition law, not a design violation.

Sorry about that "unfair" thing... we'll work on that as we keep selling these.

The distinction is somewhat of a win for Samsung; although the injunction continues to block the sale of the Galaxy 10.1 and 8.9 in Germany, Apple really needed the injunction to be upheld based on design, so that Cupertino could attempt to replicate the decision globally. According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, the "German unfair competition law is pretty unique," and won’t help Apple in courtrooms in any other country.

So, even though Samsung technically lost the appeal, it succeeded in defeating Apple's design right, denying Cupertino significant leverage other lawsuits still pending around the world.

High Tech Workers vs. Apple

That potential class-action lawsuit we covered last week; the one where all the high tech workers in Silicon Valley accused Apple and a number of other tech companies of conspiring to fix their wages and prevent them from changing jobs? You know, the one with all the nasty sounding emails form C-level employees at those companies describing back-room deals with each to control employees? That one is going to trial.

U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh ruled a few days ago that the companies listed in the complaint -- including Apple, Google, Adobe, Intel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm -- must face a private class-action lawsuit claiming the violated antitrust laws. Koh’s ruling requires the companies to produce documents detailing the agreements, and allow lawyers for the plaintiffs to take depositions.

This could work out really, really well for us.

According to Bloomberg, Koh did not have a problem with the companies potentially making individual agreements with each other, but was concerned with "how it ties together" into a possible conspiracy between all of the companies. The case, which could produce damages that total hundreds of millions of dollars, is filed as In Re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-2509, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

 

Adrian writes the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. Follow him on Twitter, subscribe to him on Facebook.

Considered one of the all-time great fighting games on consoles and in arcades, Soulcalibur makes a surprisingly stellar translation to a touchscreen interface, with virtual buttons that deftly issue sweeping sword strikes and kicks, and a stick that lets you move your fighter ably around the stage.

Soulcalibur still leads the weapons-based fighting genre today (with this week's release of Soulcalibur V on consoles), and this late-90s flashback serves up all of the original fighters -- including the staff-slinging Kilik, as well as sword-wielding samurai, Mitsurugi. While the combat isn't quite as robust as in later entries, this is still a satisfying affair that works well on both iPhone and iPad. Plus, this decade-old classic looks better than ever thanks to the high-resolution bump, though the rough textures of a bygone era aren't entirely absent.

Soulcalibur remains a fast, fluid, and thoroughly exciting fighter after all this time, though this universal iOS port feels frustratingly incomplete. Omitting the beloved single-player mission mode is a drag, sure, but leaving out multiplayer – both local and online – is a truly baffling move for a competitive fighter. Additional modes are expected via updates, but at the full price of $15, or even the current launch price of $12, we shouldn't be left wanting such an essential feature.

The bottom line. Soulcalibur is a great fighter, but it's currently a questionable value – at least until multiplayer is added.

Review Synopsis

Product: 

Soulcalibur 1.0.0

Company: 

Namco Bandai

Contact: 

http://namcobandaigames.com

Price: 

<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fsoulcalibur%252Fid481958471%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="itunes_store">$14.99</a>

Requirements: 

iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4.3 or later

Positives: 

Stellar port of a true fighting game classic. Virtual buttons are responsive throughout. Universal app looks nice on all compatible iOS devices.

Negatives: 

No multiplayer, whether local or online. Rewarding mission mode from original console release also absent. Very pricey for such a limited feature set.

Score:  3.5 Good

Is there a decent CRM (Customer Relationship Management) application out there that won’t cost a bundle, lets you build and keep your own local database, and syncs with all of your various iOS devices?
 
While there may be some free solutions for CRM software, you may want the option of getting help should any problems arise with the application. For this reason, we’d have to recommend the relatively inexpensive Bento application from FileMaker. This database app integrates with your Mac’s Address Book and iCal apps to let you organize contacts, meeting notes, phone call notes, and much more. You can also store files and documents associated with contacts. With Bento, the database is stored locally on your Mac, and integrates with Bento’s mobile app for iOS. The iOS version syncs any changes back to the desktop version via Wi-Fi. Bento is available from the Mac App Store (or from the FileMaker website) for $49 for a single-user license, or $99 for a family pack. A free trial is available at filemaker.com. The iOS app is available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch for $4.99.

Bento lets you manage contacts effortlessly by integrating with Address Book and iCal.

If you find that Bento is a little too limited for your requirements, give FileMaker Pro a look. The Pro version costs $299, but provides even more features and flexibility. An iOS companion app is also available.

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Collage your memories

While Facebook and Flickr are fabulous ways to share your memories online, there’s something very one dimensional about simply clicking through a slideshow of photos. Why not do more for your memories by showcasing them in an artistic collage with Posterino? This Mac app allows even the most novice artists to create collages from templates and then easily print them out as a keepsake. It’s easier than doing it by hand, and as long as you’ve got the hardware for it, it’s cheaper than paying a professional service to do it.

Posterino offers 35 different collage options, including templates for a random display, placing photos in an e-card or calendar, or a mega-collage of a photo for one day of every year. Once you choose your project, the app will ask you to choose your dimensions, from a standard 4x6 photo size to A1, which is 594mm by 841mm. It’s up to you to select the dimensions that fit your printing needs, and Posterino promptly reminds you of this fact before you print.

Create beautiful collages without using scissors and glue.

Once you’ve started a project, Posterino lets you drag and drop photos from your Pictures folder, Aperture, iPhoto, or Adobe Lightroom onto the canvas. From here you can adjust the dimensions of each individual square, the background of your project, the layout, paper size, and even use photo filters, including one that gives your photos a vintage feel. When you’re finished, save your collage as a TIFF or JPEG file, send it to iPhoto, or publish it to Flickr. Posterino also supports Lion’s Auto-Save and Versions features, so you needn’t worry about losing your projects in the middle of a computer meltdown.

Posterino is fairly easy to use, but depending on the size of your project, it can be difficult to see which photos are placed where, making the process feel tedious at times. Fortunately the app has the option to fill at random, and you can do so by event. The end result is beautiful, and we were impressed at the quality of the collage on a standard 8x10 printout.

Globetrotters and social butterflies will especially enjoy Posterino because it’s a dynamic way to share photos beyond the standard slideshow fare. It’s also more cost efficient to pay for the software than to have a photo service piece your photos together for you. However, unless you have the printing capabilities available to you, it may be difficult to justify the cost of the app. For a simple digital collage, there are some cheaper—even free—apps out there that do the job.
 
The bottom line. If you’ve got a powerful printer and love to piece together photo memories, Posterino is worth the splurge.

Review Synopsis

Product: 

Posterino

Company: 

Zykloid Software

Contact: 

Zykloid.com

Price: 

$29.95, <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fposterino%252Fid412411033%253Fmt%253D12%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="Mac App Store">Available in the Mac App Store</a>

Requirements: 

Mac OS 10.6 or later, a fancy printer that prints photos

Positives: 

Easy to use, integrates with available photo libraries, exports to web or printer, offers a large range of dimensions.

Negatives: 

Not worth it if you don’t have a printer to print the collages.

Score:  4 Great