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Filed under: Internet Tools

TED is one of my favorite sites on the net. For those of you who don't know about it, TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an conference given in Long Beach and Oxford each year that brings some of the greatest minds on the planet together to "give the talk of their lives" in a limited time of 18 minutes. The talks are recorded and put on the TED website for all the world to see -- for free (living up to its slogan "Ideas worth spreading"). Speakers include everyone from J.J. Abrams to Al Gore. If you're ever bored and need something to watch, a TED video will be eighteen of some of your most informative, entertaining minutes ever spent.

I'm happy to report that TED, following in the footsteps of so many others, has now created a Flash-free version of its website for the iPad and iPhone. The new site automatically detects your browser and OS and shows the video in either Flash or HTML5. TED curator Chris Anderson first announced a Flash-free version of TED on his Twitter account on March 28: "Excited about this. Non-flash version of http://ted.com is now live for iPhone. Videos, comments, ratings. Hurrah!"

No Flash? That is an idea worth spreading.

[via Obama Pacman]

TUAWTED launches Flash-free site for iPad, iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Video

For any of you who were hoping to get through the rest of the day without hearing the word iPad again, it ain't gonna happen. Today's TUAW TV Live, starting in just a few minutes, is going to be all iPad, all the time.

I've got a lot of iPad videos queued up and ready to roll, so if you want to see some of what's going to be available for your newest Apple toy on Saturday morning, join us for this live event.

During the livestream, you'll have an opportunity to vote on topics of discussion using a new tool we're testing (Voices Heard) -- just log in with your Facebook account or create a Voices Heard account, and you'll be voting in seconds. I may also ask you do to a Voices Heard "thumbs-up or thumbs-down" for the iPad apps that we'll see today so I can give some of the developers feedback.

And of course, we also have the regular chat open for discussion and would love to hear from you. Click that Read More link below to get to the video, my friends.

TUAWTUAW TV Live, the pre-iPad edition: live at 5pm ET originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple

On Saturday, when you plug in your shiny new iPad and peruse the App Store for apps, you'll see 'HD' or 'XL' designations for iPad-specific apps. You may wonder what that's all about.

It's about a lack of solid information, driven by a top-down policy of secrecy. When a company like Apple fosters a culture of anxiety amongst third-party associates and low-level employees, you're going to wind up with some bad decisions being made in the absence of clear policies.

True, the iPad offers more pixels than the iPhone, but it is hardly "HD" (whatever that means to begin with). Clearly, these suffixes are designed to let you know that they are "jumbo" versions of apps with more features than their iPhone companions, right? That may not be the case. While they might be bigger, they may not be badder. In fact, they may be more stripped down than their developers intended.

Why would these apps be less feature-filled than devs would want? It comes down to this: Apple's rush to innovation has caused a vacuum of information for developers. Around this vacuum lies fear. It is a fear generated by Apple as a byproduct of the company's own paranoia, favoritism, and lack of empowerment for middle managers unable to "think different" and use common sense. Apple is a powerhouse of innovation because it can control things completely, but the other edge on that sword is its own fear of losing control. The machine lurches forward, but is it sustainable?

TUAWApple's growing pains, culture of secrecy and the iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

Just five minutes ago I got a call from the Apple Store at the Walt Whitman Shopping Mall in Huntington Station Long Island, NY, confirming that I would be picking up my new iPad on Saturday. We agreed that it was for the 64GB Wi-Fi model.

I was told that pre-orders would only be available for pickup until 3 pm, and was asked when I expected to swing by and pick it up. 9 am sounded good to me and to the store rep.

This leads me, you and probably everyone else in the world to question how supply is going to meet demand. With my local Best Buy possibly getting 15 units, and Apple Store pre-sale estimates rising as fast as Apple stock, my crystal ball shows a lot of unhappy campers come Saturday night. But I won't be one of them, and presumably, pre-orders are covered, as long as you come in during the appropriate time.

Did anyone else get the same confirmation call?

TUAWApple store calling to confirm iPad orders originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Troubleshooting

Although it's been relatively quiet in the mailbox over the past 48 hours with regard to Mac OS X 10.6.3 issues and outcomes (probably because everyone is too busy refreshing their delivery status), every OS update comes with a few problems. In this case, the reports we've gotten include the usual mix of stalls, slow reboots, and even one very unhappy graphics card.

Fortunately, the team at cnet's MacFixit site has a solid list of seven recommendations for managing a hung update process, including using the Combo updater and going to safe boot if necessary. If you have been having issues with the update and need a quick fix, run through their list and see if you can't get it working. Oh, and we'll add one more tip, just in case: be sure before you start that your backups are current. Good luck!

TUAW10.6.3 update hiccups and workarounds originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

There's a fun post at Silicon Alley Insider today that traces an iPad's journey from China to the customer's home. By monitoring Twitter and tracking reports, Nick Saint has assembled an iPad's typical journey to the US.

It starts at the infamous Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China. That's the "iPad nursery," if you will. From there, iPads destined for the USA fly to Anchorage, Alaska, a journey that Google Maps struggled with (38 days by car? Oh, it'd be much shorter by car).

From there, the iPad that Nick was tracking went to Louisville, Kentucky, where it will remain (UPS shipping calls it "UPS Internal Activity") until it's set free on Saturday.

Many TUAW readers wrote in to say they've received shipment notifications, so we can assume that your precious is somewhere along this route. In the meantime, why not install a package tracking app on your iPhone (you remember your iPhone, right)?

TUAWTrack an iPad from Shenzhen to you originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

If you want to get an inside tidbit, or even a glimpse of an iPad, don't ask an Apple Store employee. They don't know any more than you do.

An article at Reuters describes the cloud of secrecy that continues to enshroud the device, even among its primary sales team. In interviews with anonymous employees (they're barred from speaking with the media), Reuters notes that none of them have seen an iPad, including store managers and Geniuses. "We haven't seen it; we never do," said one employee. Additionally, the Apple Store Geniuses haven't yet been briefed on how to repair iPads.

The iPhone's launch in June of 2007 was monitored just as closely by Apple. In fact, Reuters reports that one Apple Store saw two pallets of iPhones arrive 24 hours before launch day; one contained boxed iPhones while the other was just a decoy. Additionally, an assistant manager was told to remain in his store overnight, to provide added security for the iPhone prior to launch.

The moral of the story is, don't bother poking around the store and pestering the bright-shirted workers. There's nothing they can tell you.

[Via MacNN]

TUAWApple Store employees in the dark about iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

Oh, Greenpeace. We thought you and Apple were buddies again. How fragile friendship can be.

The iPad's tenuous association with cloud computing has prompted the environmental group to criticize Apple for a carbon footprint that's "...much larger than previously estimated." The concern is that the proliferation of devices that make use of data centers requires ever larger facilities, most of which run on what Greenpeace calls "dirty coal power."

In the report, the group emphasized that they are not picking on Apple specifically. "We are not picking on Apple [and] not dissing the iPad. But maybe someone can come up with an app that calculates the carbon footprint of using different web sites based on their location and energy deals."

Apple has received both criticism and praise from Greenpeace before. For example, Greenpeace hit Apple with a mock Apple website a few years ago and had fig-leaf clad representatives visit the first Apple Store in continental Europe. Conversely, the group praised Apple's resignation from the US Chamber of Commerce over the group's resistance to limit greenhouse gasses last October.

The iPad isn't alone among Apple devices as a stand-in for the environmental flaws of the entire electronics industry and computing infrastructure. Mother Jones magazine, a standard-bearer for progressive causes, has posted a rather blunt "scary truth about your iPhone" page; the app buttons on the mocked-up iPhone 3GS reveal details like where the tin, tungsten and tantalum used in the device are sourced. It's a clever approach, but the iPhone's components and manufacturing process aren't markedly different from those of thousands of other cellphones; MoJo's use of the iPhone, like Greenpeace's targeting of the iPad, is as much about harnessing buzz as it is about raising awareness of environmental challenges.

[Via AppleInsider]

TUAWGreenpeace 'unappy' with iPad cloud originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

While there's no shortage of musical "instruments" for the iPhone, the relatively small size of its screen makes string instrument apps gaudy because you don't have the room to strum the strings appropriately. The iPad is going to change all that by allowing the app size needed to strum (virtually) to your hearts content.

Developer touchGrove has previewed one of the first string instrument apps I've seen on the iPad. Called Air Harp, it turns your iPad into a 15-string harp. Now you can finally get down with your inner muse and strum to your Hellenic heart's content. The Air Harp app is pretty cool, though in no way as cool as the actual air harp, but until that Air Sitar app comes along, we'll take what we can get.

[via TechCrunch]

TUAWFirst look: Air Harp turns iPad into instrument of the muses originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Video

In case you've been hiding in a cave recently like these folks at right, there's a new electronic device that will make it into the trembling, moist hands of Apple fans everywhere starting this Saturday at 9 AM. On today's special super-secret double probation pre-iPad edition of TUAW TV Live, your host Steve Sande will take you on a journey through a number of iPad app videos that we've received during the last week.

Some of the apps are sure to be cause for derision and laughter, while others will make your credit cards leap from your wallet in anticipation of purchasing them.

We'll be doing something a bit different today as well, using a new system to vote on topics of discussion. Find out more just before 5 PM EDT today when we get fired up and ready to roll on TUAW TV Live.

Photo Credit: picaland, sxc.hu.

TUAWTUAW TV Live pre-iPad edition coming up today at 5 PM EDT originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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