MacBlender

Will the next iPhone have video conferencing or won’t it? Does anyone really care? If you do, then feast on this, the latest rumor: European mobile provide O2 lists “video calls” as a “key feature” in the “iPhone 4G.”

Why all the quotation marks? Because, to coin a UK term, it’s more than likely “bollocks.” Most likely.

You see, as is the case with all but confirmed, but still technically unconfirmed products—especially Apple products—there’s a degree of white lying that goes on in the retail space. Feature sets are often printed on web sites as best guesses or wishful thinking, at which point they are dutifully taken down by stenographers like myself and others, and posted here. Then it’s your job, as the reader, to call me a rumor monger. So true! And, a living.

Nevertheless, there’s presently a long list of video conferencing rumors floating around in the Internet ether right now, so it’s worth considering and debating and flaming, up until Steve Jobs takes that stage over the summer and confirms or denies…something.

Then again, just because a gadget can do something doesn’t mean Apple will let it. [TUAW]

From: Gizmodo: Apple

#iphone #mobile #apps #apple

#tips

goobox

From: Gizmodo: Apple

If you’re anxious about switching from a PC to a Mac, consider this: There are a multitude of ways you can virtualize Windows within OS X, and they all work uniquely well. Here’s how to choose the right one.

There are three major virtualization products for Mac, and at their core, they’re all quite similar. Each creates a virtual machine, which is to say, crudely, a software implementation of a separate computer. When you install Windows in a virtual machine, Windows thinks it’s installed on a PC with a somewhat generic set of hardware. In fact, the hardware it thinks it’s installed on is a software construct, and any time Windows utilizes what it thinks is a hardware component, its requests are actually being passed through to your Mac’s real hardware.

Anyway! What’s going on under the hood is conceptually similar among the most popular virtualization apps, but the ways they install, run and integrate Windows inside of OS X vary wildly. So, assuming you’re ready to take the virtualization dive, which app should you use? VMWare Fusion 3? Parallels 5? Sun VirtualBox? They’re all different, but in a strange way, they’ve ended up falling out of direct competition—each one is right for certain kinds of users. So which one’s right for you?

If You…

• Want to run Windows 7 within OS X, and basically nothing else?
• Want to run Windows apps as if they’re part of OS X, visually and behaviorally?
• Think a virtual machine should integrate into OS X almost completely, rather than live inside its own window?
• Want to play 3D games in your virtual machine?

Then You Should Use…

Parallels 5! This is a paid solution, and while it’s a full virtualization suite—you can run Linux and other OSes from within OS X as well—it’s the one most purely dedicated to making running Windows 7 as seamless as possible. Installation is almost completely hands off, and once you’ve got it up and running, it can actually be themed to look more like OS X. This has the dual effect of making the OS look more natural when it’s running in windowed mode (where the OS is isolated to its own window, like an app), and making the so-called “Crystal” mode, which lets you run Windows apps as their own windows in OS X, and which integrates Windows menus into Apple’s operating system, such that it’s barely even clear that you’re not running native apps.

Parallels’ strength lies in how thorough it is in trying to make Windows integration seamless. Windows 7’s system-wide transparency effects, powered by Aero, work fine out of the box with Parallels; you can enable OS X’s multitouch touchpad gestures for MacBooks in the OS with a simple options menu; pulling an installation over from a Boot Camp partition is just a matter of walking through a wizard; sharing files and clipboard items between OSes was trivially easy.

DirectX support is legitimately good enough to actually run a mid-range game without terrible performance degradation. (Games like BioShock or Crysis will run, but unless you’ve got a top-end iMac, you’ll probably suffer from serious slowdowns. If you’re serious about gaming on a Mac, just install Windows natively using Boot Camp.) It’s kind of like magic!

Parallels’ Windows powers are unsurpassed, but come at a cost. First, in dollars: It’s $80. Then, in features beyond Windows integration: There aren’t a whole lot of appliances—preconfigured packages that let you install other operating systems, like variations of Linux—as compared to VMWare, and there are stability issues; I’ve had to close down the entire virtual machine a number of times over the course of testing, and I couldn’t identify a particular trigger. One second I’d be seamlessly toggling between Internet Explorer and Safari, and the next I’d be trudging through a prolonged virtual machine restart routine.

So yeah, it’s worth it, if you’ve got a handful of Windows apps you can’t live without, or if you want to play fairly recent games without booting into a separate partition. [Parallels]

If You…

• Want to experiment with more than Windows
• Need bulletproof performance with Windows
• Want to run Windows and Linux apps as if they’re part of OS X, albeit without too many interface flourishes?

Then You Should Use…

VMWare Fusion 3! VMWare’s virtualization software is a reliable option no matter what you want to do. The way it integrates Windows into OS X is fairly transparent, but not quite as aesthetically consistent as Parallels. Gaming performance isn’t as strong as in Parallels, though 2D rendering—like Windows 7’s Aero—runs a bit smoother in Fusion than in any other solution. As with Parallels, Fusion automates the Windows installation process to a degree, and makes importing a Boot Camp installation fairly simple.

VMWare is a workhorse, and for most tasks—be it cross-platform website testing, running Windows versions of Microsoft office, or syncing with a Windows-only device like the Zune HD—it won’t let you down.

Tinkerers will find a massive library of preconfigured appliances, so you can try out virtually any operating system you’ve ever heard of (as long as it’s freely available) with little more than a file download and double click. Fusion 3 costs $80. [VMWare]

If You…

• Need Windows emulation
• Don’t want to pay anything for your virtualization software
• Don’t need to do any serious gaming
• Don’t mind rougher integration of Windows into OS X

Then You Should Use…

Sun VirtualBox! While the prior two options are paid, and not exactly cheap, VirtualBox is free. Totally. This means that, if you’ve got a spare Windows license, you can install Windows to run within OS X without spending an extra dime, and without suffering too much of an inconvenience as compared to VMWare or Parallels. (Full Windows 7 installation guide here)

VirtualBox doesn’t have the same level of DirectX support as either Parallels or Fusion, so while gaming is theoretically possible, it’s probably not worth your time. There is a “Seamless” mode for minimizing the Windows desktop and running Windows apps as if they’re native OS X apps, but it’s neither as seamless nor visually integrated as Parallels’ or Fusion’s.

But really, these are minor complaints. If all you want to do is run the odd Windows apps, try virtualization or configure or access some Windows-specific peripherals, VirtualBox will get the job done. It doesn’t have the polish of its paid competitors, but let’s be real here: We’re virtualizing an operating system. All solutions are by definition going to be less than perfect. VirtualBox will accomplish 85% of what Parallels or VMWare can do, in terms of running Windows apps or booting into alternative operating systems, at 0% of the cost. And for that, it deserves your attention. [VirtualBox]

If you have more tips and tools to share, please drop some links in the comments-your feedback is hugely important to our Saturday How To guides. And if you have any topics you’d like to see covered here, please let me know. Happy virtualizing, folks.

From: Gizmodo: Apple

Now that you know you’ll have your sweaty hands on an iPad on April 3, you can start fussing over the other stuff you’ll need for your shiny new gadget. This Vers case is pretty and has one of those..um…

One of those things that keeps a bicycle upright. What do you call those? Footprop? No that’s not it. Lean-to? No that’s something else I think. Quicksand? Quicksand! Oh that’s close—it’s on the tip of my tongue. Oh yeah. KICKSTAND.

That’s right, the Vers case will not only let you forget that your iPad’s chunky black bezel ever existed, it will also prop your iPad up with a convenient wooden peg. If you’ll remember, the possibility of a kickstand was a topic of much debate in the months leading up to the iPad’s unveiling, and though the device itself does not sport one, this looks to be pretty close to the simple, effective implementation most of us had in mind.

The case itself is crafted by hand from hardwood and bamboo and is reinforced with steel to keep your iPad safe. It has openings for the 30 pin connector and volume controls and is top-loading so you can slip your iPad in and out without much trouble.

The case will be available for preorder soon from Vers for $80 (they make a snazzy iPhone one, too). Did I mention it had a kickstand? [Vers Audio]

From: Gizmodo: Apple

A really good, indepth look at what #Apple is doing with its lawsuits right now, specifically against #HTC.[www.roughlydrafted.com] #applevshtc, #lawsuit, [gizmodo.com] #nokia, #mobilepatentlawsuits

Strygun

From: Gizmodo: Apple

perhaps no one cares, but in an iphone app update today to comic reader Comiczeal, they posted that they have removed usb syncing via Apples request. interesting to anyone? more app store clean up? an omen of comics to come?

#tips #iphone #apple

tylerbrainerd

From: Gizmodo: Apple

Adobe’s got a video out that proves the HP Slate can run Flash and AIR just fine, thankyouverymuch. To which we say: no kidding! It’s a Windows 7 device. What’s of some concern might be HP’s own marketing clip:

The Adobe clip shows real-use situations with Flash, and it looks great. The HP clip, though, is totally rendered: screen, hand, everything fake.

There could be lots of reasons for that, of course. But hopefully it’s not that HP doesn’t trust its Slate enough yet to film actual behavior.

Also making a debut appearance, in the first video: the Slate’s on-screen keyboard, which doesn’t seem to have solved any of the problems the iPad’s poses.

Apple may have a head start with the iPad, but HP’s clearly staking out their tablet territory by stressing Flash so heavily this early. Let’s hope it plays as well in real life as it does in simulations. [Engadget]

From: Gizmodo: Apple

In today’s Remainders: comings and goings. Google Latitude refuses to Buzz off; Dell’s super skinny Adamo XPS vanishes into thin air; cable subscribers say Hello to channels they never knew existed; and some users just can’t part with their iPhones.

Raditude
Amidst all the buzz around the launch of Google Buzz, a few peopled stepped back and asked how Google Latitude fit into the company’s ambitious new social platform. In an interview with eWeek, Google Latitude project manager Steve Lee explained that the plucky Latitude was still being developed independently of Buzz. Latitude, he explained, is about “friend-finding,” whereas Buzz is about “creating conversations.” On the future of both: “Down the road, there might be points of integration between Buzz and Latitude, but they are separate products and have different use cases.” So there you have it: Latitude lives on. [eWeek]

Cable Costs
In the last decade, the number of cable channels served to your TV has probably tripled. I remember when I used to just have MTV. Now I have MTV, MTV2, MTV Tres, MTV Hits, MTV Jams—at some point, no matter how many rap music videos you watch, you have to ask yourself if there’s a better way. A la carte cable has been tossed around as one solution for as long as there have been cable packages, but the answer is always the same: it isn’t financially feasible for the content providers. But it’s still a nice thought, so if you want to pretend to dine a la carte, here’s your menu (these are, of course, the wholesale subscription fees, but it still gives you an idea of the prices the different channels command). As Peter Kafka notes, about 40% of your monthly cost goes to sports channels. Fine if you’re a big sports fan, sort of irritating if you’re not. [All Things D]

iLove
Yeah, yeah, we love our iPhones too, but this is just weird. A recent survey of 200 iPhone-owners at Stanford University showed just how strongly people feel about their smartphones:

Nearly a quarter of those surveyed reported that the iPhone felt like an extension of their brain or body.

Ok, kinda bizarre, but the idea of iPhone as a brain-enhancer is sort of understandable. Less understandable, however:

There was also a tendency among the survey participants to anthropomorphize their iPhones and treat it differently than other electronics. For example, 3 percent of the students said they don’t let anyone touch their iPhone; another 3 percent have named their iPhone; 9 percent have patted their iPhone and 8 percent admitted that they have at some time thought “My iPod is jealous of my iPhone.

If 19 out of every 200 people are patting their iPhones, I shudder to think of the weird technolust that will go down when the iPad arrives next month. [LiveScience]
Image credit Mat Honan

RIP XPS
It’s not every day that we get really excited over a new laptop’s design, which is why Dell’s insanely thin Adamo XPS was such a breath of fresh air. It seems, however, that it was just a little too thin for its own good; today the Adamo XPS disappeared from Dell’s website. CrunchGear followed up with a Dell chat representative and confirmed that the XPS is gone for good. True, it never seemed like the healthiest machine, but it did turn heads with its unique design, and we’re sad to see it go. As CrunchGear mentions, last year’s SXSW saw the debut of Dell’s Adamo line, so maybe they’re just clearing the way for their next skinny system. [CrunchGear]

From: Gizmodo: Apple

Recently we saw the first iPad ad, but in it we didn’t see some of the default apps found on the iPhone. Why aren’t the Stocks, Calculator, Clock, Weather and Voice Memos apps on the iPad? Here’s a possible explanation.

According to Daring Fireball, it boils down to design and Steve Jobs’ perfectionism:

Ends up that just blowing up iPhone apps to fill the iPad screen looks and feels weird, even if you use higher-resolution graphics so that nothing looks pixelated. So they were scrapped by you-know-who. Perhaps they’ll appear on the iPad in some re-imagined form this summer with OS 4.0, but when the iPad ships next month, there won’t be versions of these apps. At least that’s the story I’ve heard from a few well-informed little birdies.

Part of me hopes those little birdies are wrong. I’m far too attached to the Clock and Calculator apps and would dread having to find alternatives in the App Store. [Daring Fireball]

From: Gizmodo: Apple

Apple aired its first iPad ad during the Oscars last night, but it felt like something was missing, didn’t it? It was a voiceover. So I went ahead and added one for them. You’re welcome, Apple!

From: Gizmodo: Apple