Tag: app

Sticky Notifications

It’s 2012 yet how many of you still have them? How many monitors have a few dotted around them? Bloody post-it notes. Stop it. Stop using them and instead buy Sticky Notifications for the Mac. This simple app that only costs $3 allows you to create a reminder that will stay displayed on the screen until dismissed.

Running from the menubar or called up via a recordable shortcut you are given a simple form for leaving a reminder.

Sticky Notification

Once the reminder is created it will then be displayed on the notification tool of your choice. In Mountain Lion it will be displayed using Notification Center or Growl, under Lion you only get Growl as a choice. Either way the notification will stay on display until it’s dismissed.

No excuse now

There’s a couple of nice features that help make the app easy to use. Even though it’s been out for less than a fortnight it has had three updates which has added a System Service which makes it easy to create a Sticky Notification from any selected text. You can also create a notification via the app’s own URL scheme. This makes creating a sticky from Alfred simple to do. Final neat feature is that if the note contains a URL, clicking anywhere on the reminder will launch the URL in the default browser. Perfect for those times when you need to visit a website but are in the middle of something else.

The app can be bought on the Mac App Store or on the Instinctive Code website and I’d recommend buying direct. The App Store version has only just appeared at version 1.0. The developer, Matt Gemmell, has released three updates since the initial release meaning the App store version is missing a few features. This isn’t the developers fault but does highlight one of the many issues with buying via the App Store.

I also have to recommend subscribing to the personal blog of Matt Gemmell – it’s a must read if you are a developer, designer or just interested in the tech community. Well written posts with a healthy dose of humour.

Tweetbot for iPad

My pick this week is Tweetbot for iPad and is another entry in the NATC (Not Another Twitter Client) category that I’ve become obsessed with since the first iPhone came out. Tweetbot on the iPhone has been my Twitter client of choice since it came out last year. I like it’s looks, speed but most importantly it’s features are second to none. It was one of the first iPhone clients to support Tweet Marker and I found it far more usable than the official Twitter client. It’s only negative was the lack of iPad support which has now been fixed with this release.

Tweetbot displays a clean view of your timeline, now including inline images

The main difference from the official Twitter for iPad client is that everything can be seen clearly on screen at the same time. No swiping, no confusion, just a clean display of tweets with inline photo’s and excellent gesture support. Swipe on a tweet to show replies or the conversation. Select a tweet and easily quote, retweet etc. Very easy to switch between multiple profiles too – click on the profile top left and switch to another. That’s all well and good in landscape but what about portrait?

Menu's shortened but still displayed in portrait view

The menu’s are shortened to just icons and all the functionality is maintained. Some other notable features in this release include a really good in app browser. Web pages can easily be shown in a clean format via the Readbility/Instapaper switch. Flick the switch and the article is re-rendered in a clean readable format.

A web page displayed via the in app browser
The same page cleaned up by Readability - makes even the Daily Mail readable.

A problem with Twitter is noise. You follow a lot of people and it’s just about manageable but then an event takes place – an Apple launch or a celeb does something naughty and everyone talks about it. Repeatedly. Sharing the same content. It can be annoying but you don’t want to unfollow someone for a one day rant. Tweetbot allows you to mute users, hashtags and also other clients so you have finer control over what you want to see. It’s a great way of hiding spoileriffic content like football or F1 results if you aren’t watching live.

Tweetbot has extensive support for muting people, hashtags and clients

Another way of controlling what you see is to make use of lists. It takes a bit of effort but by creating a list in Twitter (or via Tweetbot) you can then filter tweets from a particular list. You can also subscribe to other public lists so instead of following lots of users you can subscribe to someone else’s public twitter list and then view the tweets from that list. I don’t make use of the subscribe feature enough but Tweetbot allows you to easily switch the timeline to a list that you have created or subscribed too. Very handy during an Apple event for example.

Easily change the timeline to your own or subscribed list

There are lot’s of other features too – notification support (per Twitter account), large photo display with the other screen UI darkened (really makes photo’s pop), the interface can be customised to remove features you don’t use, customise the triple tap to your need, change the display to show larger text or a different date format and lot’s of flexibility around services (URL, image, video, read later, sync and mobilizer) and finally customise your trend results. Quite a list and those settings are all per account so you can tweak Tweetbot to your heart’s content.

Something I have to point out is that Tweetbot is not a universal app. The iPhone app costs £1.99 and the iPad app costs £1.99. I think this is cheap for the functionality that it delivers. If you disagree then stick with the free official Twitter client but please don’t moan and post that this sucks. I can’t believe that people think £1.99 is a lot to pay and that paying for an app once means free upgrades for life and on multiple clients. We’re doomed.

Let’s not end on a negative though. Tweetbot for iPad is a feature rich Twitter client for the iPad that is easy and fun to use. Nothing else comes close and for me it’s a bargain at £1.99. Buy it!

f.lux

F.lux is an app for Windows, Mac and Linux that does a simple but important task – it help’s your eyes. Many modern displays are bright but you don’t really notice how bright they are during the day partly as they’ve been designed to operate well in those brighter conditions. At night it’s a different story and the brightness can really strain your eye’s if your not careful.

The shot above is from my current Mac desktop. It’s fine during the day but the whites at night even with lights on are bright. This is where f.lux helps. It sits quietly in the background and will set the colour temperature of your screen to match your lights. It detects your location and will automatically switch to the new colour temperature at the right time.

At first it feels strange when you see the colour temperature changing but I find it really eases the strain on my eyes although I will admit it does look odd when you see the screenshot above of f.lux in aciton. You can easily switch to different temperatures to match your environment and I also set f.lux to dim gradually over an hour. Makes a big difference to the effectiveness in my opinion. Finally there is an option to temporarily disable f.lux to allow you to work on any graphics or photography too.

A handy free utility that isn’t new but will be a must install on any future computers I own.

Instant Heart Rate

When I first saw this app I dismissed it as a gimmick. Some of the reviews on the app store said as much – rubbish, it doesn’t work, con artist – blah, blah, blah. Thanks to Shakeel though I downloaded the app for my iPhone and what do you know – it works!

Instant Heart Rate for iPhone (and also Android devices) is a £0.59 app that measures your heart rate. It does this via the iphone’s camera – thats the bit that initially put me off the app. How would the camera detect heart rate? Well, by enabling the flash the camera can detect your heartbeat by the colour variation as the blood flows through your fingers. Fire up the application, click on measure and the flash is enabled. Place your finger over the camera lens and wait a few seconds for the app to settle and start detecting. It will then measure for a few seconds and start displaying your heartbeat. Once measuring accurately you can then store your heartbeat and a simple graph over time will show your measurements. The hastily shot video below shows how quickly it measures your heart rate.

I was still a bit sceptical but a few other tests after badminton and cycling confirmed it’s accuracy, tying up exactly with the heart rate monitor on my bike. As well as measuring heart rates, the app will also measure your heart rate recovery. The app will measure your rate for 60 seconds after exercise and this can be used as a simple measure of how fit your heart is. Again the app will chart your heart rate recovery over time so if you’ve made a New Years resolution and fitness is a new goal this should give you a way of measuring progress over the year.

Couple of updates from after the podcast. The app doesn’t work on the iPhone 3G but does on the 3GS although it needs a lot of light to accurately detect your heartbeat. Secondly, the app is also available for Android devices but I’m not sure on pricing or which devices are supported.

A very simple app but great value for £0.59 and definitely an app that impresses people when they see it in action.

DigitalOutbox Episode 73

DigitalOutbox Episode 73
In this episode the team discuss CES, App Stores and T-Mobile fail.

Playback
Listen via iTunes
Listen via M4A
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Shownotes
1:28 – Microsoft CES
– Underwhelming
– Kinect selling 8 million devices in 60 days – beats 5 million prediction – big news
– Kinect avatars coming later this year
– Their best product in 10 years?
– Windows 7 Phone – doing great – if it was, why not release sales figures? Microsoft has sold 1.5m Windows Phone 7 handsets in 6 weeks
– They have got some good idea’s in that O/S – I like tiles, snap tiles form other app’s to front page
– 5500 app’s though is a worry – Flickr and Kindle coming though
– Windows 7 – doing great
– IE9 looks a great upgrade
– Hardware
– Acer – 2 14” touchscreens – touch keyboard appears
– Samsung slider – slide screen over keyboard – very nice
– Asus tablet – touch and stylus, wireless keyboard, i5 chip, coming March – http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/asus-eee-slate-ep121-officially-unveiled-ips-display-core-i5-a/
– Surface – now 4 inches…thin 🙂
– Every pixel is an infra red camera – no big camera’s anymore
–
– Next Windows – support Intel, AMD and ARM
– Two big deals however:
– The abandonment of Windows exclusivity by practically all of Microsoft’s OEM customers.
– The abandonment of Intel exclusivity by Microsoft for the next generation of Windows.
– End of PC era – John Gruber?
– No breakdown of markets – netbook, tablets, desktops – basically if it’s a market, it will have Windows is the take away?
8:22 – CES
– Android 3 – Honeycomb looks very different – http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/01/sneak-peak-of-android-30-honeycomb.html
– GHz dual-core Tegra 2 will power this 10.1-incher, while 4G connectivity will be made available as an update in Q2 following a Q1 launch. Other specs include a 1280 x 800 resolution, 5 megapixel camera, 720p video recording and 1080p video playback, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and finally, a healthy 32GB of onboard storage. The battery is rated to be capable of supporting 10 hours of video.
– HP – No tablet – Feb 9th for launch
– Asus Eee Pad MeMO – http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/asus-eee-pad-memo-tablet-takes-a-pen-out-of-the-couriers-book/
– Blackberry Playbook – http://gizmodo.com/5726902/money-shot-the-blackberry-playbook-tablet
– Needs Blackberry phone – You have to tether to your BlackBerry to get your calendar or email.
– Performance though is very very good
– 3d cameras – 3D TV’s haven’t sold, now 3D cameras?
– Star Wars on BluRay this September with 30 hours of extras
– Super fast phones – dual core chips – 1ghz coming soon
– Motorola Atrix 4G
– Tegra 2-powered handset the best phone at the show, it’s hands-down one of craziest products we’ve seen in quite a while. The handset itself is glorious with its 4-inch QHD display, front-facing cam, and fingerprint reader, but its 11.6-inch Laptop Dock and its Webtop operating system turn it into one unique beast
– Anything else?
– Apple dominate CES again without being there
– Mac App Store
– iPad 2 Rumours
– iPhone comes to Verizon…allegedly (confirmed…)
19:26 – BT Eroding Net Neutrality
– The telecoms company’s wholesale arm is starting to sell a new service that allows broadband providers – such as Virgin Media and Sky – to put video from paying clients, like the BBC’s iPlayer or Google’s YouTube, in an internet fast lane.
– BT’s new service, dubbed Content Connect, has provoked accusations of breaching the broad principles of “net neutrality”, whereby all content is delivered equally to internet users.
– Content Connect enables ISPs to store video within their own networks, closer to the user, as opposed to third-party companies – such as Akamai, which delivers the BBC’s iPlayer – caching popular content around the globe. By paying the ISP, rather than the third-party company, users could get a guaranteed delivery of service even at peak times.
– But it would also create a situation where companies that are unwilling – or unable – to pay would have their content delivered less efficiently to the end user.
– But BT today denied claims the new service will create a two-tier internet, saying that it “supports the concept” of net neutrality but believes that ISPs should be free to charge content owners for a “higher quality” delivery service.
– TalkTalk has also openly expressed a willingness to charge content companies for better delivery of their video to the nation’s homes, while Virgin Media manages time-sensitive traffic at peak times but does not prioritise one company’s content explicitly over another.
23:25 – Government announce plans to block pornography in the UK
– The government plans to change the way broadband providers filter Internet access to help stop access to pornography. The step follows existing plans that ISPs have used to help block inadvertent access of child pornography websites. The government want providers to use the same technology to block pornography unless adults have opted in to viewing it. This should help stop children from gaining access to inappropriate material that is currently freely available on the web. TalkTalk are already in the process of implementing a system which scans websites for malware and will introduce parental controls that can be configured for all users of the connection.
– BT said it would be happy to discuss the implementation of such a system but there are many ‘legal, consumer rights and technical issues’ that need to be evaluated before it could go live. Trefor Davies of Timico was less keen on the idea and questioned how well a system like this could work. There are millions of sites that would need to be blocked and these are changing all the time.
– This would obviously please some industries who could piggyback on the system and use it to help stop access to illegally downloaded music and films for example.
26:45 – T-Mobile Cuts
– T-Mobile UK is cutting “fair use” data limits on Feb 1 from up to 3GB to 500MB and has sparked furious complaints from customers, who were told by text today of the move.
– T-Mobile customers on “unlimited” Android monthly data contracts who contacted The Reg were particularly aggrieved. Most were aware that the fair use policy was 3GB per month, but all felt this was sufficient for their smartphone use.
– But today T-Mobile invoked “subject to change” rights, outlined in the contract small-print, to reduce fair usage down to 500MB. – http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jan/12/t-mobile-data-limit
– The amendments, state that customers who exceed the 500MB cap can no longer download files or watch videos. Browsing sites such as Facebook, Gmail and BBC News will not be affected, though.

– U-turn… now appears that this new cap will only be for new customers.
30:22 – Android in Space
– Google sends up payload of an Android mascot and a Nexus S into near space
– The video looks amazing
– Google still = fun for me
31:52 – Google Goggles Update
– Update will now solve Sudoku puzzles
– Also has faster barcode scanning and recognizes print ad’s
32:44 – Google TV Failing
– Google TV is second worst reviewed product according to Walt Mossberg
– Reports that Logitech are displeased with Google TV
– Reports that Google have asked manufacturers not to demo Google TV during CES
– Apple TV ships 1 million in three months
– Still no silver bullet in this market
34:11 – Skype Updated on iOS
– Video calling enabled on iOS devices
– Works over wifi and 3G
– Free
– Betters facetime which is wifi only
35:09 – 3D Game Warning
– The eyesight of children under six could be harmed by 3D games played on Nintendo’s forthcoming handheld console, the company has warned.
– The games giant posted the health warning on the website devoted to the 3DS handheld. It said specialists had warned of possible damage that could be caused by 3D games which present different images to the right and left eye.
– Younger children should only play 2D versions of 3DS games, said Nintendo.
– In issuing the warning, Nintendo joins Sony and Toshiba in alerting people to the ill effects that can attend watching 3D movies or playing 3D games.
– Sony has already said that parents should get medical advice before letting children watch 3D content on the PlayStation. Toshiba has said parents should keep an eye on children watching its TVs that can display 3D images without needing glasses.
– The companies have also warned that watching too much 3D content can cause adults discomfort.
– Price announced for 3DS – 300 Yen, £200 at least in UK
– Games – £30-£50
– Region locked
– Feb Japan, March in UK
38:21 – Open Source Kinect Drivers
– PrimeSense, the company responsible for the technology behind Microsoft’s Kinect camera system, has, in conjunction with Willow Garage and Side-Kick, released official Windows and Linux (Ubuntu version 10.10 and later) open source drivers for Kinect
– The drivers allow access to the Kinect’s audio, video and depth sensors and include a complete API known as OpenNI (open natural interaction).
39:51 – Canabalt goes Open Source
– Dev taking part in Indie Game Sale
– Has decided to open source Canabalt
– Newest version of game, high score and twitter back end support stripped as they didn’t want to risk someone hacking user data
– you can use it for anything you want, even for commercial stuff but it’s not our fault if it doesn’t work.” However, the Canabalt-specific game code, game art, animation, music and sound effects are all proprietary, and protected by our copyrights and trademarks.
– Download from GitHub – happy learning
41:52 – Kindle 3 is Amazons bestselling product ever
– Beats Harry Potter 7 as biggest selling product Amazon has ever stocked
– No idea on figures – guesstimate is 8 million this year
43:15 – Amazon App Store
– Amazon.com launched the Amazon Appstore Developer Portal. You can find the Portal at developer.amazon.com. It is a new self-service tool that allows mobile application developers—Android developers in particular—to join our Appstore Developer Program and submit apps for the upcoming launch of the Amazon Appstore for Android.
– Why should you submit your apps for inclusion in the Amazon Appstore for Android?
– For the first time, you will have access to tens of millions of active Amazon customers.
– Amazon’s proven marketing and merchandizing features will help you get your apps discovered and in front of the right customers.
– The convenience of using an existing Amazon.com account will make it simple and easy for customers to purchase your apps – both online and on their mobile devices.
– The Appstore Developer Portal is your one-stop location to manage account details, manage marketing materials, and track sales and projected earnings using self-service and customizable reports.
– Could they launch a Mac, Windows app store?
45:42 – Mac App Store Launched
– Mac app store launches – 1000 apps, not clear how many are new
– Can buy individual iLife and iWork apps
– Aperture – £173 boxed, £44.99 in the App Store or $199 and $79
(Why is Apple TV $99 in US and £101 in UK?)
– Some other bargains there too
– Many prices the same as there web store counterparts though – no race to the bottom
– Twitter for Mac also launched via app store (Tweetie 2)
– Streams enabled – feels like IM if you tweet back and forward
– Addicting, distracting
– Apple and Panic app’s already bought are identified as installed by App Store even though installed outside of the store
– Evernote – Rate of new users on Mac is 1800% higher than normal – http://blog.evernote.com/2011/01/07/mac-app-store-more-than-doubles-new-users/
– So far, 166,789 new users have started using Evernote in the first few days of 2011. Since the launch of the Mac App Store, more than half of them are coming from the Mac. About 40,000 new users have signed up from the Mac so far. Note that this is new users only! It’s not the same as the total number of downloads from the Mac App Store (we had 90,000 of those, from store launch till midnight last night), because a large number of people downloading us from the Mac App Store are already registered Evernote users from a different platform.
– http://www.macstories.net/news/developer-goes-from-7-sales-a-day-to-1500-with-mac-app-store/
– LittleFin was selling between 6 – 10 copies of Compartments, a simple home inventory app for the Mac we reviewed here, a day through their website. The day before the Mac App Store launch, they sold only 7 copies. But as soon as the Store launched on January 6 and Ap8.ple featured the app in the Mac App Store homepage and its “Great Mac Apps” webpage, LittleFin saw a terrific increase in sales. In fact, they sold 1,547 copies in the first 24 hours of the Mac App Store. The app, now featured under “Staff Favorites”, is available at $9.99. Before the Mac App Store the app was sold at $24.95; the developers decided to lower the price as an experiment. Since January 6, the app has been selling 1,000 copies a day on average.
– Confusion over App Store finding already bought app’s. I still think it’s confusing to end users who have already purchased app’s that the App Store doesn’t recognise these app’s. To get app store updates, buy them again. No easy way for dev’s to swap licence over.
– Macworlds Mac App Store faq – http://www.macworld.com/article/156962/2011/01/mac_app_store_faq.html
– No beta’s, demo’s or trials – that sucks
– Some piracy fears – but not if app is coded properly
– Developer should check for digital signature that matches their app’s sig. Angry birds checks for existance of signature…any signature so you can download a free app, copy that signature to angry birds and your good to go.
– You have to delve into the Package Contents of the app’s dmg file, navigate to a particular folder and delete specific files. You then copy and paste those same files from the free app’s folder to the paid one. In other words, you would need to know these specific instructions before doing this – it’s not a matter of simply copying-and-pasting a receipt number, like you would have on some brick-and-mortar retail store’s receipt, into a field or pop-up notification within the paid app.
– 1 million downloads in 24 hours….970,000 were Twitter for Mac
– Couple of funnies
– http://readthefuckinghig.tumblr.com/ – Read the Fucking HIG (human interface guidelines)
– http://ifiboughtyourappalreadycaniupdateitthroughthemacappstore.com/
54:05 – Verizon iPhone
– Moves to new network in America
– Nothing new…apart from Personal Hotspots
– Verizon iPhone will let you create a personal hotspot and share your data connection via WiFi with up to five other devices, such as laptops or other cell phones.
– Verizon only or coming to an iPhone near you soon
– Verizon iPhones running 4.2.5 – launch at start of Feb?
– Not 4G as was hoped by our American friends – also, not exclusive. iPhone perhaps making it finally onto all other US networks…
– Now looks like personal hotspots coming to all iPhones running 4.2.5 (although likely needs to be carrier supported) – March according to Boy Genius Report
– Phone has altered antena…
56:15 – Google Drops support for H.264 Video in Chrome
– Though H.264 plays an important role in video, as our goal is to enable open innovation, support for the codec will be removed and our resources directed towards completely open codec technologies.
– So why is Flash plugin supported in Chrome?
– From DF – As it stands now, Chrome not only supports Flash, it ships with its own embedded copy of Flash. I don’t see how Google keeps Flash but drops H.264 in the name of “openness” without being seen as utter hypocrites.
– This is more Google vs Apple
1:01:26 – Microsoft object to App Store trademark
– Why Apple shouldn’t be allowed to trademark App Store – by the folk who trademarked Windows
– “Microsoft opposes Apple’s Application Serial No. 77/525433 for APP STORE on the grounds that ‘app store’ is generic for retail store services featuring apps and unregistrable for ancillary services such as searching for and downloading apps from such stores”.

Picks
Ian
MyFitnessPal
– Track food, excercise, weight
– Social networking part
– Free iPhone app – excellent app
– Easy to add in food intake from extensive database of foods
– Very impressed

Chris
Logitech HD Pro C910 Webcam
– Capable of capturing HD video / 10MP stills
– Stereo Sound… (good quality)
– Supports SkypeHD if your connection can…(1meg upload)
– Also supports Logitechs Cid HD service (but who uses that??)
– Built in upload to YouTube/Facebook if you want
– Comes with Magix vid/photo editing software
– Has silly options to add effects and avatars (very impressive facial tracking on show)
– Also, excellent motion detection so it can even act as a security cam should you wish!
– Downsides – expensive. Cheapest I’ve seen it is around £70… likely cheaper soon.
– Unless you have great connection and latest software – chances are you won’t really be sending over HD vid via skype but the high quality optics mean that your standard def vids are much improved.

DigitalOutbox Episode 72

DigitalOutbox Episode 72
In this episode the team discuss Gawker, Delicious and review 2010.

Playback
Listen via iTunes
Listen via M4A
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Shownotes
1:54 – Gawker Hacked
– http://lifehacker.com/5712785/faq-compromised-commenting-accounts-on-gawker-media
– Gawker has released Gawker Media is under siege at the moment, fighting off attacks from a group of attackers that have been able to compromise the entire database of Gawker Media’s web properties.
– Sensitive information has been exposed, including staff conversations, their private passwords used within the network and passwords also used by people who have registered to comment.
– All of the above information has been outputted by Gnosis, a group who wanted to seemingly put Gawker back in its place, creating a 500MB torrent file, currently residing on the popular torrent tracker ThePirateBay.
– Inside the torrent file lies a file entitled Readme.txt. This file is potentially the most sensitive of them all, for it holds the usernames and passwords used by the entire Gawker staff, focusing particularly on Gawker’s founder Nick Denton.
– Gawker says it is working on an ‘Account Delete’ tool, which will be available soon. The only exception to all this is if you logged in via Facebook Connect, in which case you’ll be safe
– Worried that Gawker wasn’t quick enough to warn its users of the data breach by email, members of the popular Hacker News website have combined to draft an email warning 200,000 Gawker users about the data breach. If you receive this email, it is one off email that is purely designed to warn you about the breach and get you to change your password.
– Gawkercheck was also setup by Jed Smith – http://gawkercheck.com/
– Acai berry twitter attack related to Gawker hack – http://thenextweb.com/twitter/2010/12/13/twitter-acai-berry-worm-linked-to-gawker-hack/
– Make your password stronger – http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/13/how-to-tighten-up-passwords
– First, make it secure: two random words, preceded or separated by a number, make a memorable, hard-to-crack password (most people add a number at the end, making it much easier to hack). An alternative is to use the initial letters of the words that make up a favourite saying or song lyric – again, preceded or separated by a number.
– Second, don’t have a multipurpose password. On the grounds that no one could remember an entirely different password for every site, you could try having three basic passwords – one for things financial, one for things professional, one for things social. Then you could drop in two letters from the name of the specific site: if, say, your basic social media password was shock7asset, your Facebook password might be fshock7basset. Or your Twitter one might be tshock6assetr.
10:44 – Trouble for Delicious
– http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/now_yahoo_says_delicious_will_live_onsomewhere_els.php
– http://blog.delicious.com/blog/2010/12/whats-next-for-delicious.html
– Former Yahoo employee and Upcoming founder Andy Baio has tweeted out the Yahoo! product team meeting slide that seems to show that Yahoo! is either closing or merging the social bookmarking service as well as Upcoming, Fire Eagle, MyBlogLog and others.
– AllThingsD’s Liz Gannes is reporting that the Yahoo products will be in fact shut down and that the slide does in fact originate from an all hands meeting at Yahoo, following yesterday’s layoffs.Yahoo Product Manager Blake Irving has threatened to fire whomever leaked the slide.
– Then official post on their blog – No, we are not shutting down Delicious. While we have determined that there is not a strategic fit at Yahoo!, we believe there is a ideal home for Delicious outside of the company where it can be resourced to the level where it can be competitive.
– So looking for new home for service…
– I’ve found a new home – Pinboard – http://pinboard.in/
– Not big on social but fast, secure, integrates with twitter and instapaper well – uniquely funded – as users increase, so does cost of signup for new users
– Want to follow me – http://pinboard.in/u:iandick
15:45 – Film industry wants BT to block Newzbin2
– The Motion Picture Association, the trade body representing Hollywood studios outside the US, is attempting to force BT to block access to Newzbin2, an offshore website that allows users to access pirated content via its Usenet indexing service. Newzbin2 does not host the illegal content itself, but links to sites that do.
– The move represents a new legal avenue being used by copyright owners’ in their battle to force UK ISPs to co-operate in cracking down on internet piracy. ISPs such as BT and TalkTalk are opposed to parts of the Digital Economy Act, which could force them to hand over the IP addresses of suspected illegal filesharers to rights holders, once they obtain a court order.
– In March the MPA won a high court copyright infringement case against Newzbin, a UK-based Usenet indexing website that was ordered to pay damages and to filter out all links to pirated movies and TV shows owned by the companies represented by the MPA.
– Newzbin went bust however Newzbin2 launched, a site that appears to be a copy or clone of the original, but is now based overseas with anonymous operators and is charging for premium subscriptions. The new site is hosted in Sweden and apparently registered in the US.
17:56 – Vodafone mademesmile
– the mobile phone operator would give away free handsets to lucky Twitter users who used the tag #mademesmile to tell the company what made them beam.
– Thousands used the tag to express their displeasure at the company’s alleged accounting procedures, egged on by the the anti-cuts group UK Uncut, which has triggered dozens of protests outside Vodafone stores over the last two months.
– In addition to appearing on Twitter, all tweets containing the hashtag were posted, unmoderated, on to Vodafone’s website, compounding the negative publicity and showing campaigners’ sentiments to people who might otherwise have been unaware of the controversy.
– Social media fail
20:30 – Online Deliveries Halted in Scotland
– Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Amazon, Boots and Parcelforce have all suspended deliveries to Scottish customers using their online services. In some cases, customers have been warned that orders may not be ready in time for Christmas.
– Impact of bad weather – pretty big backlog of mail and parcels
– Disappointing but not a surprise with more cold weather forecast
– Yet I get 2 posters shipped from Texas to Glasgow. Ordered on Monday 13th – delivered by FedEx before lunchtime on Wednesday 15th
25:23 – Mac App Store to Launch Jan 6
– Apple® today announced that the Mac® App Store℠ will open for business on Thursday, January 6. By bringing the revolutionary App Store experience to Mac OS® X, the Mac App Store makes discovering, installing and updating Mac apps easier than ever. The Mac App Store will be available in 90 countries at launch and will feature paid and free apps in categories like Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities.
– “The App Store revolutionized mobile apps,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC apps easy and fun. We can’t wait to get started on January 6.”
– I like this idea. I think it’s a logical step from mobile based stores… But surely if an app is available on the app store, and Apple is getting its cut, then it will be cheaper to buy direct from the developer? Use the app store as a search/popularity facility, then go to the biggest app store there is (the internet) and google the app direct. I’m also not sure that the concept of pileit high/sell it cheap that works on mobiles will work on desktop. You don’t really want to clog up you computer.
29:58 – Gorillaz Free iPad Album
– Damon Albarn has recorded and produced a new Gorillaz album entirely on the ipad
– It will be released, for free, on Christmas day
– No studio equipment has been used…
30:49 – Word Lens
– Augmented reality – translates in real time
– Video says it all
– Free app but you then buy the translation you want
– £2.99 for each translation – 50% off until end of december on spanish to english and vice versa
– Doesn’t do hand written text
– That’s voodoo. Someone sold their sole to make that happen!
33:09 – PS3 Adds more on-demand content
– New tie with ITV and Channel 4
– Joins iPlayer which is already available via PS3
– MS falling behind…
– Sarah Rose, director of commercial business development at Channel 4, said Channel 4 was “not saying no” to a tie-up with Microsoft’s Xbox, which only carries TV shows from BSkyB’s SkyPlayer on its subscription package. But she said Microsoft was “not coming to our door” actively looking for deals with other TV companies. And the other main games console player, Nintendo Wii, which only has the BBC iPlayer, is unlikely to be a partner any time soon because it does not have the facility to carry advertising, she said.
35:39 – Spike VGAs
– New games for next year announced
– Forza 4 – Fall 2011
– Uncharted 3 – 11/1/11
– Mass Effect 3 – Holiday 201
– Batman: Arkham City – Fall 2011
– Resistance 3 – September 6, 2011
– Red Dead Redemption won game of the year

– Looking around (very non-scientifically) – game of year across most sites between Mass effect 2 and Red Dead Redeption
– And Mass Effect seems to edge it (although if it were my decision, RDR would win. My favourite ever game)
40:29 – Year in Review
– Apple Top Apps – http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/09/apple-top-apps-2010/
– Hipstamatic, Plants vs Zombies, Flipboard, Osmos
– Apple Top iPhone and iPad Apps – http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/09/top-iphone-ipad-apps-2010/
– Twitter Year in Review – http://yearinreview.twitter.com/
– Facebooks 2010 Memology – http://www.facebook.com/blog.php?post=466369142130
Chris
Looking forward to in 2011
– LA Noire Game… Looking freekin awsome.
– Portal 2… Bring it.
– Chrome OS (You can now apply in UK BTW) – different address for uk or same? Looking on forums it says google isn’t distributing to anywhere outside US at this time but hopes to in near future? Meh. It was showing up on my chrome homepage so i clicked it!
Likely purchase 2011…
– Nexus S – very likely at the moment
– Wouldn’t mind a macro lens
Bet 2010 Purchase?
– Hmmmm Have to think on that one.
– Xara Designer Pro 6
– Mac Book Pro
– Camtasia Studio
– Kindle 3G
– Logitech C930 HD Webcam
– PS3
– SuperTooth Buddy Handsfree Visor Car-Kit
– Kinect
– Apple TV (Although I didn’t buy that)
Ian
Looking forward to in 2011
– LA Noire
– Portal 2
– Uncharted 3
– Lion
– iPad 2/iPhone 5
Likely purchase 2011…
– New iMac
– iPad? try to resist iPhone
– New lens
Best 2010 Purchase
Options
– iPad
– iPhone 4
– Canon 550d
– Mac Mini
– Drobo
– Withings
– Sony Bravia
– Rode podcaster

Picks
Ian
Flipboard update – awesome – free
– World of Goo – £5.99
– Amazon Windowshop – free
– Vevo HD – free – american only

Chris
Cortex
– Chrome extension. Share what your looking at across different online services (social/blogging etc). Click and hold mouse over item on the page and a wheel appears. Slide the mouse over the provider you want to share the item to and let go… A whoosh sound means that the content has posted sucessfuly. Simple. Effective. Clever.
Only gripe being that sometimes the wheel appears when you don’t want it.