Auto Spectator

2010 Kia Soul Auto Spectator An uncluttered dashboard with a three-dial instrument cluster, LCD illumination and floating center stack design is the key visual feature and offers enticing access to the AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system outfitted with SIRIUS Satellite Radio capabilities ...

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CD Freaks.com

Samsung NV4 CD Freaks.com, Netherlands AUTO, P Mode: After the brightness distribution in a shooting scene is measured, the exposure and focus are automatically adjusted (P Mode: user-controllable). DIS Mode: A shooting mode intended for low light conditions where digital correction of ...

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Filed under: Macworld, Hardware, Video

Digging into the Macworld Expo video vault on this holiday Monday (in the US, we're celebrating Presidents' Day), here's a quick interview with Paul Scandariato from Intelliscanner showing off the Intelliscanner mini hardware. The demo shows how quickly you can use the mini to scan your media or books; it's easy to plug back in and offload your scans to Intelliscanner's Media app or to your collections app of choice, just the thing for your spring organization projects. You can also get preprinted barcode stickers for your own inventory planning, or print out your own if you like.

The mini was a big hit with showgoers who shopped at the booth, and it's available online from Intelliscanner for $179 (with the Media Collector software package) or $249 (adds Assets, Kitchen, Wine and Comics collector modules). While both Delicious Library and Bruji's Pedia series of organizers support scanning of barcodes via the built-in iSight, for substantial collections a standalone scanner is going to save you time and aggravation.

Read on for the video. The iPhone-friendly YouTube version is here.

Continue reading Video vault: Macworld visit with Intelliscanner

TUAWVideo vault: Macworld visit with Intelliscanner originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Humor, iPod Family

As if the Microsoft Zune didn't have enough bad publicity, now the Fox Show Family Guy is beating up on the iPod competitor. In last night's episode, called "Ocean's Three and a Half", Carter Pewterschmidt asks Bill Gates for some help programming his Zune. Then Carter remembers he has an iPod, "like the rest of the world." Zing. Pow.

Of course Apple doesn't escape the sharp scalpel of satire either. In American Dad, a Fox show from the creator of Family Guy, Roger the Alien thought he was facing certain death and said: "I'm going to be dead, and I have two more years of AppleCare." Rim shot. Clank.

Here's a Hulu link to the clip from the show last night, and you can also watch the entire episode from the same link.

Thanks to Nick and John for the heads up. I've just got to start watching more television.

TUAWZune gets a smackdown on Family Guy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Features, AppleScript

Welcome to Part I of this mini AppleScript feature on creating useful folder actions. We'll have more posts on this topic coming up, but for now, let's introduce what a folder action is. Have you ever wanted to just drop a file into a folder and have something magically happen? Say, have a file printed, whisked to a remote site via FTP, or perhaps have an image be automatically flipped from horizontal to vertical? With Mac OS X's built-in folder actions, you can easily do this with a simple drag and drop.

Creating the folder
First, let's talk about how we can enable these "magical folders" that perform actions on files dropped within them. For this example, I'll show you how to make a folder on your desktop that, when a file gets dropped into it, will display a dialog letting your know that the file was placed there.

Continue reading AppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part I

TUAWAppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part I originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store

File under "It was only a matter of time": The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Nevada gaming authorities are warning casinos to be on the lookout for blackjack card counters getting an assist from their iPhones. While card counting itself is not banned in Nevada, the use of an assistive technology is a felony (!), and apps like Card Counter or A Blackjack Card Counter make it much easier for the math-impaired. ABCC's 'stealth mode,' which uses vibration to alert the user when the time is right for a big bet, is particularly head-achey for casino security.

Nevada casinos don't have any instances yet of gamblers being kicked out or arrested for iPhone use -- the initial warning was from California authorities, who spotted card-counter apps in use at a Northern California casino and thought it prudent to raise the alarm. The lure of easier blackjack winnings may be too tempting for some people to pass up, but the consequence of this iCheating may be that we all have to check our iPhones before heading to the blackjack tables.

Aside from the logistical challenges of an iPhone ban in casinos ("Sure, I don't need my phone, my family knows that I'll be here at the quarter slots for the next five hours"), this is a fascinating example of how the App Store is turning us all into denizens of the Matrix, with skills and information on demand and jacked in, literally at our fingertips. Need to level a bookshelf? Fine. Want to identify local birds? Done. Get your garage mojo in gear? Can do. Learn a language? Of course. Adding the ability to move money from the casino's pocket into yours with better odds than usual seems like a natural next step... and another 'disruptive technology' is going to come into conflict with a long-established, politically and economically powerful industry. Let's watch.

Update: Commenter 'brainopera' contributed his "Matrix moment" -- have you had yours yet?

Thanks Matt

TUAWThere's an app for that: Casinos on alert for card counters using iPhones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software Update, Bad Apple

Over the weekend, the mailbag caught a few notes of problems starting up once Leopard users had applied the 2009-001 Security Update (thanks @danielbru), and on Friday the spotty issue was noted by MacFixIt as well. Affected users report a variety of symptoms: the dreaded 'boot disk not found,' a 20-minute hold before the login screen shows up, and a disabled keyboard & mouse -- making the usual first troubleshooting step (a Safe Boot, triggered by holding down the shift key at start up) rather more difficult. As with most Mac OS X patches, the majority of those who applied the security update did so with no reported problems, but that's cold comfort if you're one of the unlucky few.

While it's always a good idea to verify your backups before updating to major dot releases, I doubt most users would bother with that due diligence when facing a 'simple' security update; unfortunately, since these updates often touch multiple subsystems, issues do emerge for some folks in the aftermath. MacFixit's thorough guide to troubleshooting startup problems is a good starting point if you're having problems, and if you've already been through the mill this weekend, let us know how you resolved your problems in the comments below.

Continue reading Reports of startup issues after 2009-001 Security Update

TUAWReports of startup issues after 2009-001 Security Update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Internet Tools, iPhone, iPod touch

A while back we noted that Google had optimized the Google Docs services for viewing on the iPhone (and other mobile devices). It's taken a while, but now it's been announced that some basic editing is possible from the iPhone as well.

The interface is a little clunky: you basically have to hit an edit link to adjust any given row of a spreadsheet and scroll to the right to change values for the columns, each within a separate form field. There's no easy way, for instance, to scroll down a column changing the values for each row. Nonetheless, it is now possible to make changes to a spreadsheet, as well as alter the sorting and filtering options.

Even though the implementation is imperfect, I'm happy to see mobile editing in Google Docs spreadsheets and I've already begun to make use of it. We can only hope they'll figure out how to make it a bit more streamlined in the future.

[Via jkOnTheRun & Download Squad]

Continue reading Google Docs adds spreadsheet editing on the iPhone

TUAWGoogle Docs adds spreadsheet editing on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK, iPod touch

Last month I wrote about some resources for learning Objective-C that I was using to learn how to write iPhone applications. Judging by the number of comments on that article, I thought that I should write a follow-up post about my progress and the status of my first iPhone application.

Since I had a few programming classes in college (VB, C++), the logic of loops and decision statements was not a big hurdle. By using the learning resources like screencasts and books, I was able to get a better grasp of object-oriented programming (OOP) in general, and of course the syntax specific to Obj-C. I became familiar enough with Xcode just by using it for demo programs, and I used the wealth of iPhone developer resources from Apple to use the iPhone SDK. After paying $99 to Apple to enter into the iPhone Developer program, I was then able to access the forums; they were helpful in figuring out specific things (like how to preset a UIPickerView object).

Continue reading My first iPhone application

TUAWMy first iPhone application originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone, App Store

The tricks just keep on comin' for the iPhone. Magicard [App Store link] is a good head scratcher that is always ready to perform. Have your assistant cut the cards a few times and select a card. (The method to do this is provided with a built-in tutorial video.) You keep the selected card face down, and place it on top of the iPhone screen. When the card is removed, a mirror image of the card is on the screen. The card can be any number or suit.

The app normally starts up with a screen that includes a clickable link to a video tutorial that shows how the trick works. It wouldn't be good for people to see that, so in your iPhone settings menu you can tell the Magicard not to display any of that information when you are about to perform.

Magicard also lets you select a plain black background for the trick, or you can use something from your photo roll. You can even snap a picture with the iPhone camera and use that. Unfortunately, this menu comes up every time you try the trick, and it is an annoyance. You should be able to set the background from the settings menu and forget it until you want to change it.

The trick does not require a lot of skill, but you will need to do one common thing magicians know how to do. If you don't know how, the video tutorial will walk you through the simple steps. I don't think David Blaine will lose any sleep over you performing this trick around town, but it is worth the US $0.99 asking price to see some surprised faces on your friends when you pull this little effect out.

Note: This trick is iPhone only. It will not work on the iPod touch. You can see some videos of the trick in action at the developer web site, along with some variations on the basic trick.

Continue reading Magic for your iPhone

TUAWMagic for your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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