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Coming soon: Lightsaber duels on the iPhone

MacMan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Gaming Do you need a weapon that’s not as clumsy or random as a blaster, or perhaps, an elegant weapon from a more civilized age? Soon, there will be an app for that. THQ Wireless , the maker of several Star Wars -themed iPhone apps including The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: Trench Run , will release a new app called Lightsaber Duel early in April . Overall, the app sounds similar to another app called Lightsaber Unleashed , which allows you to swing your iPhone around and make ” vvvmmm, vvvmmm, tssshh! ” noises come out of the speaker. Lightsaber Duel will expand on that idea. Rather than merely going all Star Wars Kid with your iPhone, you’ll actually be able to engage in duels with your fellow wannabe Jedi or Sith via a Bluetooth connection with their iPhone

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Coming soon: Lightsaber duels on the iPhone

To wait, or not to wait? Macworld weighs in on the lure of the 3G iPad

MacMan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Filed under: iPad Thursday’s Macworld article from Jason Snell on the relative merits of waiting for the 3G iPad sets out a good case for the superiority of the more flexible — and expensive — AT&T-enabled units. If you can keep your powder dry during the interminable wait through most of April, while your friends are flaunting their WiFi-only units, you might be better off. For the investment of $130 up front, mobile users get GPS capability plus the wireless broadband equivalent of a reserve chute ; whenever you find yourself without solid WiFi access, you can buy into the 250 MB on-demand plan and surf as needed. He also points out one of the undersung prizes of the AT&T plans; they give unlimited access to the company’s WiFi infrastucture across the country, including thousands of Starbucks hotspots and former Wayport networks (lots of hotels and airports, where the daily fee for broadband could quickly add up to the $14.95 you’d pay for a month of 3G). That alone is a noticeable benefit. I agree with Jason’s main point: unless your iPad use model is restricted to known hotspot zones, it makes good sense to consider the 3G units.

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To wait, or not to wait? Macworld weighs in on the lure of the 3G iPad

Plastikman releases SYNK, an app for his tour

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Filed under: iPhone , Music Earlier we were hearing that Apple might get involved in location-based ad-hoc social networking , and now it looks like Plastikman might beat them to the punch. That’s the DJ, not the superhero — he’s released an iPhone app that’s designed to be used at his concerts this summer, giving you some personal involvement on your iPhone while the music and video of the show goes on around you. It’s a free download , and while at a concert on a free Wi-Fi network, the app will receive real-time information about the music and video during the show, and even give access to some of the samples being used. Outside of shows, the app says it will work as an “atmospheric location shifter,” using the iPhone’s microphone and headphones to wrap users “in a Plastikman environment.” Whatever that means. The point here is that this is an app actually built for a specific location, adding in specific funcationality when you’re on a certain Wi-Fi network. That’s a very cool idea.

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Plastikman releases SYNK, an app for his tour

What do you want to see in Mac OS X 10.7?

MacMan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Filed under: OS , TUAW Business It’s time again for another Dear, Apple letter from the readers of TUAW. In our first series ( part one , part two , part three ) you told us what you want to see in the next iPhone OS. Now we need your help again to tell Apple what you want to see in the next version of Mac OS X . Think the Finder needs a makeover? Does Mail need improvements?

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What do you want to see in Mac OS X 10.7?

Six Ngmoco iPad titles revealed

MacMan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Filed under: iPad In his panel at GDC last week, Ngmoco’s Neil Young dropped the news that his company was going all out with their freemium business model — not only are they releasing twenty iPhone titles by the end of this year, but they’re planning on having six iPad titles ready to go right away at launch. Touch Arcade has done a little digging , and they’ve come up with what they think the six iPad titles will be. Here we go: GodFinger We Rule (both of these were previewed last week ) Flick Fishing (probably re-created as a freemium app) NBA Hotshot (also likely remade into Ngmoco’s model) CastleCraft (an MMO strategy/wargame) Warp Gate As you may have noticed, two of those are Ngmoco originals, and four of those are Freeverse titles that were either planned for the iPad or are being remade for the new platform; again, presumably free-to-play, along with microtransactions and freemium resources in the Ngmoco mold. That’s definitely a sizeable library going into the new platform, and if Ngmoco really does have these ready to go on April 3rd (and I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t — even if they haven’t gotten one of those test iPads from Apple, their model is designed to release early and make updates quickly if needed), then they’ll be positioned to grab iPad app space very early on. TUAW Six Ngmoco iPad titles revealed originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

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Six Ngmoco iPad titles revealed

K59 Apple 6-Core Mac Pro And 27-Inch LED Cinema Display Coming …

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:23:51 +0000

Apple Insider reports that Apple is planning, new products, which may be of interest to introduce fans of Apple . The first is the inclusion of a new Cinema Display with LED backlight, the second one for Apple .

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K59 Apple 6-Core Mac Pro And 27-Inch LED Cinema Display Coming …

Tip: Cheap iPad Stand | Apple Mac Blog

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:35:08 +0000

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. While eagerly awaiting my iPad to arrive — is it April 3 yet? Pleaaaaase? — I had a stream of.

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Tip: Cheap iPad Stand | Apple Mac Blog

Surprise! HTC Doesn't Agree With Apple Regarding Suit | Apple Mac Blog

MacMan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:35:08 +0000

HTC has finally spoken out regarding the pending lawsuit Apple launched against the smartphone maker regarding its use of multi-touch as an interface navigation.

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Surprise! HTC Doesn't Agree With Apple Regarding Suit | Apple Mac Blog

Apple: Our Screens Don't Need No Protecting | Apple Mac Blog

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:35:07 +0000

If you’re of the camp that believes your iPhone or iPod touch’s screen needs some kind of additional protective layer to prevent it from getting.

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Apple: Our Screens Don't Need No Protecting | Apple Mac Blog

Apple Drops Second Mac OS X 10.6.3 Build in One Week [Seed Notes …

MacMan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 07:44:28 +0000

Apple yesterday dropped the second build of Mac OS X 10.6.3 to developers, just two days after a previous release developers. Mac OS X.

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Apple Drops Second Mac OS X 10.6.3 Build in One Week [Seed Notes …