Responding to criticism from groups such as Greenpeace, Apple has implemented a new recycling program designed to reduce the damage of mass consumption. In addition to products like iPods, people can now also recycle cellphones, produced by any manufacturer. There are two main options for sending devices to Apple: they can either be delivered in person at an Apple Store, or else mailed to a central location.If a person chooses mail, they can specify any quantity of phones or iPods. They must then decide whether to use either a print-out label on packaging of their own, or else a custom package shipped from Apple, which requires seven to 10 days for delivery. Both options are free to the customer.

The program supplements efforts at recycling computers and monitors, which can be accepted under any brand name so long as a person has also purchased a qualifying Apple system.

via  http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/02/25/apple.recycling.program/

Posted on February 26th, 2008 by admin
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We don’t post about every website that comes up with an iPhone/iPod touch-optimized version — if we did, we wouldn’t have time for eating or sleeping — but every now and then a couple of sites newly built for Mobile Safari rise above the pack. Today’s launches for everyone’s favorite “internet in your pants” browser include pro-social business networking site LinkedIn and collaborative calling tool TalkShoe.

LinkedIn’s new iPhone beta version (at m.linkedin.com) allows you to view a list of your recent network updates, see your own profile (lest you forget your vital details) and search through your contact list. No editing options and no click-to-call or click-to-send buttons in this early version, but having the streamlined view is quite nice.

Meanwhile, over at TalkShoe the team has released an iPhone version of the Talkshoe site at iphone.talkshoe.com. It does a nice job integrating the telephony component of the service with call selection and management. Using the new iPhone UI, you can quickly search for ongoing or upcoming calls, then single-click to call in and chat about your topic of choice. Naturally we have some suggestions.

There’ll be a TalkShoe call tonight at 8 pm ET featuring our friends Victor Cajiao of the Typical Mac User podcast and Adam Christianson of the Maccast to discuss the new iPhone-optimized site. Should be fun.

via http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/25/iphone-optimized-versions-of-linkedin-talkshoe-now-up

Posted on February 26th, 2008 by admin
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Posted on February 25th, 2008 by admin
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For those that rely on their iPhone for photographs, it might be important to try to squeeze as much quality as you can out of it. Personally I’d just rather take my actual camera, I never have been satisfied with any phone’s quality of pictures. However, for some it doesn’t matter as much to get high quality, just to get as much picture as they can out of the iPhone.

Well for those that are addicted to using their iPhone for pics this wide angle lens might be something to snag. It’s just a simple little cap that can be slipped over the top of your iPhone.

However, sadly you’ll have to take off the case to put it on. USB Fever is offering them for $11.99, they will be available to ship out right around February 29th.

via http://www.myitablet.com/iphone-wide-angle-lens-221968.php

Posted on February 25th, 2008 by admin
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While we wait for the iPhone SDK, web developers are busily creating iPhone-compatible web apps and pages. There are a few cool ones out there, like Leaflets and PocketTweets. Even FedEx has created an iPhone-friendly page.

Recently we came across Springlets. Unlike Leaflets, which is a single site, Spinglets is a collection of sites with customized web clip icons that look right at home on your iPhone or iPod touch.

My favorite is WikiSearch. To use it, just tap the WikiSearch icon on your hompage, enter your search text and that’s it! You’re taken to the resulting page on Wikipedia. It eliminates several steps.

Other treats include Speed Dial (dial any contact number with a touch from the home page) and Text Sites, which strips all of the photos from a given web page (useful when you’re on Edge).

via http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/24/springlets-for-iphone/

Posted on February 25th, 2008 by admin
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Apple has updated iTunes to version 7.6.1. Judging from the download details, there isn’t anything that should change anything on the iPhone end of things. Download description after the break.

Rent and download your favorite movies with iTunes on your computer or directly to your living room on Apple TV. Enjoy rented movies in sizes up to 720p HD with surround sound on your Apple TV and sizes up to DVD-quality on your computer. Transfer your rented movies from iTunes to your iPod or iPhone and enjoy them on the go.

Also, purchase and download your favorite TV shows, music, and more directly on your Apple TV. Effortlessly transfer purchases made on Apple TV back to your computer with iTunes.

iTunes 7.6.1 includes several bug fixes and improves compatibility with Apple TV software version 2.0.

You can get version 7.6.1 by going to iTunes>Check For Updates… in the menu bar, or by going to Apple.com/itunes/download.

Posted on February 22nd, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iphone applications | No Comments »

Don’t get too excited- this is in no way an internal camera upgrade or modification for the iPhone. This nifty little piece of plastic will, however, let you take wide-angle shots using just your cell phone. Simply slip the lens attachment over the top of the iPhone and snap away- the lens magnifies your image to 0.68X, which means you can photograph more of your surroundings that with the regular lens. The only disadvantage we can see is that your photos will have a slight fisheye effect to them, but that’s a small price to pay for such a nifty gadget.

via http://www.iphonematters.com/

Posted on February 22nd, 2008 by admin
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Touchpad for iPhone is an unofficial application for the iPhone (or iPod Touch) that allows you to use them as a wireless touchpad.

You can control the mouse on your PC using just your iPhone. You can move the mouse around, click, double-click, and even drag (double click but keep it pressed and then move around). Vertical scrolling is even possible, by click-and-dragging on the right edge of the iPhone screen.

You can use it to control videos, show pictures, advance slides in a presentations — whatever a regular touchpad can do.
The author provides this Youtube video demonstrating the application:

Installation instructions:

1. Start Installer.app, and go to Sources. Click “Edit”, and then Add this repository: http://cnp.qlnk.net/
2. After the refresh, install Touchpad from the Utilities category.
3. Install VNC on the machine you want to control. I recommend TightVNC for Windows and Linux and Chicken of the VNC for Mac.
At the moment, you need to have a hacked/jailbroken iPhone to use it.

Posted on February 22nd, 2008 by admin
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   One particularly annoying thing about plugging in my iPhone is that it always launches Aperture and prompts for permission to import photos. While you should be able to turn this off (in the preferences of the Image Capture application), what if you still want iPhoto (or Aperture, Lightroom, etc.) to launch when you plug in your camera or memory card? Capitalizing on the fact that Image Capture lets you choose any application to run automatically, Sam Stephenson over at 37signals has cooked up a fancy AppleScript to do just this. Once set up it looks to see what you’ve plugged it; if it’s your camera it will launch iPhoto, etc.; if it’s your iPhone it won’t. The script is slightly complicated and must be customized for your particular camera model, but if you want the convenience of auto-launching your image management application for your camera, without the annoyance of the iPhone, it’s worth a look.

via http://www.tuaw.com/2008/02/21/stop-your-iphone-from-auto-launching-iphoto-or-aperture-etc/

Posted on February 22nd, 2008 by admin
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In this article I will show you how the touch screen of the iPhone and iPod touch actually work.

The basic idea of a basic touch screen is pretty simple, when you place your finger or a stylus on the screen, it changes the state that the device is monitoring. In screens that rely on sound or light waves, your finger physically blocks or reflects some of the waves. Capacitive touch-screens use a layer of capacitive material to hold an electrical charge, touching the screen changes the amount of charge at a specific point of contact. In resistive screens, the pressure from your finger causes conductive and resistive layers of circuitry to touch each other, changing the circuits’ resistance.

Most of the time, these systems are good at detecting the location of exactly one touch. If you try to touch the screen in several places at once, the results can be erratic. Some screens simply disregard all touches after the first one. Others can detect simultaneous touches, but their software can’t calculate the location of each one accurately. There are several reasons for this, including:

• Many systems detect changes along an axis or in a specific direction instead of at each point on the screen.
• Some screens rely on system-wide averages to determine touch locations.
• Some systems take measurements by first establishing a baseline. When you touch the screen, you create a new baseline. Adding another touch causes the system to take a measurement using the wrong baseline as a starting point.

The iPhone is different, many of the elements of its multi-touch user interface require you to touch multiple points on the screen simultaneously. For example, you can zoom in to Web pages or pictures by placing your thumb and finger on the screen and spreading them apart. To zoom back out, you can pinch your thumb and finger together. The iPhone’s touch screen is able to respond to both touch points and their movements simultaneously.

To allow people to use touch commands that require multiple fingers, the iPhone uses a new arrangement of existing technology. Its touch-sensitive screen includes a layer of capacitive material, just like many other touch-screens. However, the iPhone’s capacitors are arranged according to a coordinate system. Its circuitry can sense changes at each point along the grid. In other words, every point on the grid generates its own signal when touched and relays that signal to the iPhone’s processor. This allows the phone to determine the location and movement of simultaneous touches in multiple locations. Because of its reliance on this capacitive material, the iPhone works only if you touch it with your fingertip — it won’t work if you use a stylus or wear non-conductive gloves.

The iPhone’s screen detects touch through one of two methods: Mutual capacitance or self capacitance. In mutual capacitance, the capacitive circuitry requires two distinct layers of material. One houses driving lines, which carry current, and other houses sensing lines, which detect the current at nodes. Self capacitance uses one layer of individual electrodes connected with capacitance-sensing circuitry.

Both of these possible setups send touch data as electrical impulses.

The iPhone’s processor and software are central to correctly interpreting input from the touch-screen. The capacitive material sends raw touch-location data to the iPhone’s processor. The processor uses software located in the iPhone’s memory to interpret the raw data as commands and gestures. Here’s what happens:

1. Signals travel from the touch screen to the processor as electrical impulses.
2. The processor uses software to analyze the data and determine the features of each touch. This includes size, shape and location of the affected area on the screen. If necessary, the processor arranges touches with similar features into groups. If you move your finger, the processor calculates the difference between the starting point and ending point of your touch.
3. The processor uses its gesture-interpretation software to determine which gesture you made. It combines your physical movement with information about which application you were using and what the application was doing when you touched the screen.
4. The processor relays your instructions to the program in use. If necessary, it also sends commands to the iPhone’s screen and other hardware. If the raw data doesn’t match any applicable gestures or commands, the iPhone disregards it as an extraneous touch.

All these steps happen in an instant, you see changes in the screen based on your input almost instantly. This process allows you to access and use all of the iPhone’s applications with your fingers. We’ll look at these programs and the iPhone’s other features in more detail in the next section, as well as how the iPhone’s cost measures up to its abilities

via http://ipodjam.com/how-the-iphone-touch-screen-works

Posted on February 21st, 2008 by admin
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