World’s First iPhone Orchestra - Computer Scientist Turns iPhone Into Musical Instruments

Apple Quietly Adds 3.33 GHz Quad-Core Option to Mac Pro [Updated: Xserve]

Apple has quietly upgraded its Mac Pro offerings, adding the option of a 3.33 GHz quad-core processor and adding the ability to configure both the quad-core and 8-core models with 2 TB hard drives, doubling the machine's total build-to-order hard dri...

Motorola Invests in Acoustic Multi-Touch Company

Motorola announced this week that they have invested in a multi-touch company named Sensitive Object. This startup company is working on a new form of multi-touch using "acoustic tactilization" that is said to offer "lower cost and higher performanc...

Two apps to help you find a parking spot

Filed under: iPhone, App Store

A while back in Chicago, a friend and I tried working on a Google maps API site that was sort of a crowd-sourced parking guide -- we'd set up a Google map that could be marked up with where the best free parking was, and then we'd turn it loose on the Internet to get filled in with information. Unfortunately, our project never got off the ground, but the New York Times covers two different iPhone applications designed to do the same thing: help you find some of that sweet, sweet city parking. PrimoSpot Parking is designed to help you find spots in New York City or Boston -- you punch in your location and parking spots, garages, or bike racks will pop up on the screen with markers according to when they open up. You can also locate good spots while moving with a "driving mode," and there's a feature that will mark your own spot once you find a place.

SpotSwitch is a little more complicated -- the idea is that when you leave your spot, you put a mark on the map, so that others can fill it in, and then when you're looking for your next spot, others will return the favor. This is a much more cloud-style type of application, and it depends on a lot of users, which the app may not actually have at any given time. PrimoSpot seems a little more concrete (apparently they hired college kids to fill in the database, though it's only in those two cities).

But if you feel like you're constantly looking for parking, either app may end up helping you (and it's good to see that some folks with a little more tenacity than my friend and I are ready to tackle this problem). PrimoSpot Parking [iTunes Link] is $1.99, SpotSwitch [iTunes Link] is free.

Two apps to help you find a parking spot originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Two apps to help you find a parking spot originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: iPhone blogging tools

If you'd like use your iPhone or iPod touch to keep your blog up-to-date, both BlogPress and BlogWriter offer some appealing tools. But only one can come out on top in our head-to-head showdown of mobile blogging apps.

DLO WallDock iPhone charger shoots for minimalist practicality

Yesterday's in-wall USB charger hackery might have inspired plenty of you to take up tools and start the USB power revolution, but if you own an iPod or iPhone and just a smidgen of common sense, you might wanna look at this first. The DLO WallDock is a teeny tiny charger that plugs into those familiar standard wall sockets, and its designed so that your iDevice leans back when connected, turning it into a neat (and wireless) substitute for your regular dock. We still wouldn't sacrifice the $25 asking price at the altar of cable freedom, but the more important question is, would you?

DLO WallDock iPhone charger shoots for minimalist practicality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square-Enix’s Song Summoner released on iPhone

Once a game for click-wheel iPods, Song Summoner has made the transition over to the iPhone and iPod touch.

Google Introduces Free Public DNS

Google has introduced a new, free public DNS service which, according to their information page, is intended to:

• Provide end users with an alternative to their current DNS service. Google Public DNS takes some new approaches that we believe offer more valid results, increased security, and, in most cases, better performance.
• Help reduce the load on ISPs’ DNS servers. By taking advantage of our global data-center and caching infrastructure, we can directly serve large numbers of user requests without having to query other DNS resolvers.
• Help make the web faster and more secure. We are launching this experimental service to test some new ways to approach DNS-related challenges. We hope to share what we learn with developers of DNS resolvers and the broader web community and get their feedback.

And so far, they’re not even trying to monetize via add placement or site-suggestion. For those whose ISP is simply not performing DNS well, or for anyone worried they may be subject to DNS cache poisoning, it’s definitely something worth checking out.

While Apple doesn’t provide a way to set DNS on the stock iPhone or iPod touch, you can set it on your router and when your iPhone connects to WiFi, it’ll pick up the Google DNS settings — which are the unbelievably simple-to-remember 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4.

For more information, check out the Google Public DNS page.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Google Introduces Free Public DNS

Doubts Circulate of a Verizon iPhone in 2010

Despite there being a vocal outcry for Apple's iPhone to transition to the Verizon network, a couple of analyst reports this week cast doubts that we would see a Verizon iPhone in the near future. Both reports, however, seem to be based on speculat...

Doubts Circulate of a Verizion iPhone in 2010

Despite there being a vocal outcry for Apple's iPhone to transition to the Verizon network, a couple of analyst reports this week cast doubts that we would see a Verizon iPhone in the near future. Both reports, however, seem to be based on speculat...

Friday Fun Video: iPhone controlled Solar Powered Arduino Tank

It’s an iPhone controlled Solar Powered Arduino Tank. Do we need to say more?

[via Gizmodo]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Friday Fun Video: iPhone controlled Solar Powered Arduino Tank

Verizon Commercial Symbolizes DROID is for Guys Who Wannabe Porn Stars, iPhones are Demeaned Beauty Queens?

So, according to Verizon, the Motorola DROID is for wannabe male porn stars and the iPhone is for the beauty queens they demean?

Okay, I love iPhones and this is an iPhone enthusiast site, fair enough. But I have to admit that when Jeremy first posted the above video a few days ago, my initial reaction was simply that Verizon was taking a shot at the iPhone and going after the young male demographic again. Hey, the Lucas-licensed DROID name makes that clear enough, and obviously Motorola’s brand spike shows it’s working.

Getting together with my fellow SPE editors this weekend, however, Dieter made me watch it again, and pay attention to imagery and metaphors.

And oh, those metaphors: we get the race horses, Skud missile, iPhones reduced to puddles, shears tearing gashes, saws ripping through ripe bananas, and a multitude of splatter effects on mannequins/dolls and, frankly, the screen in our face.

The iPhone is marketed to appeal to the mainstream, from kids to grandparents, both men and women, for getting things done and for having fun. Spending some time with Casey’s Android Central DROID this weekend, I’m curious to see if it can’t be just as mainstream in its appeal, and if not, if Verizon really feels they have to counter-program the iPhone this forcefully, why they’d want to go in such a misogynistic direction?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Verizon Commercial Symbolizes DROID is for Guys Who Wannabe Porn Stars, iPhones are Demeaned Beauty Queens?

Twitter Eats Own “Dogfood”, Previews New Mobile WebApp for iPhone

Twitter is previewing a new iPhone-friendlier version of their website, mobile.twitter.com, this time “eating their own dogfood” by using the same APIs they provide to developers. While Twitter has long had their m.twitter.com mobile site it’s fair to say it was eclipsed by native iPhone apps making use of those APIs.

Will the new WebApp get users to go back to the online source? Personally, the power and performance of the latest App Store apps is going to be tough to beat, but if I’m ever stuck using someone else’s iPhone (or non-iPhone mobile device, like I will be this weekend), a better web-based alternative will certainly be much appreciated. Says @twittermobile lead @leland on the Twitter blog:

This is just the start, we’re excited about the new APIs launching at Twitter, and have been busy tinkering with some neat ways to use them. We look forward to sharing more cool things with you soon.

It’s optimized for mobile WebKit based browsers like the iPhone right now, but they’ll be tweaking it for the good of all platforms eventually. If you give mobile.twitter.com a try, let us know how you like it.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Twitter Eats Own “Dogfood”, Previews New Mobile WebApp for iPhone

AT&T Drops Lawsuit Against Verizon Over Their “Misleading” Ad Campaign