Me being me, I really wanted a unique iPhone ring tone, and well, “Marimba” just wasn’t cutting it.
Here is how you can also make your unique ringtone…
Any non-protected file can be used for a ringtone on your iPhone. First you need the song that you want to use. If you have an idea for a ringtone, (and its not actually a song), you can go to a site like Free-Loops.com where you can search for something more unusual to use. ( I wanted an old modem dial-up sound for my ringtone which is why I started on this quest to figure out how to do it! )
On the day of “the announcement” the excitement was building and the conversations, rumors and guesses were heightening to a fever pitch. I tweeted out earlier that day: “If it’s called the iPad someone should get fired”. That may seem extreme but I stand by it.
I still think this because who did they test this on? Who was asked about the choice? How was it decided? I go through often in my sessions that testing is essential to design, and I think as much as the product will have been tested, the name is also important.
It may not seem a huge deal but actually I hate saying it. So I don’t. That’s not good PR. Also because of all the childish jokes I am embarrassed to say it. I am referring to it as the Tablet or iNewton.
oh ya and searching for information on an iPad actually showed ads for Ann Summers.
Erm thanks for that Google, but not quite what I was looking for! I’m not sure how they could have gotten something so essential so wrong. *disappointed*
Last week one of my students, Heather (you can read some of her work there) presented to the group an interesting view on the technologies we are using for 3D. Not sure I should admit this but, it really opened my eyes. Gone were the days of pretending you could see 3D when really it was more effort than it was worth.
I love finding something really geeky, and when I saw this little beauty my eyes lit up! So many amazing little products out there and I just don’t have a big enough desk or bank account to own them all!
This is on x-treme geek and I really wish there was one supreme go to site for all things geek. I guess I’ll just have to wait.
Asking what is a browser reveals that actually people are happy to use whatever is on their machines. How does this affect design and user experience? This clip is showing the response in America but it was asked in several different countries and the responses were similar.
Can video games make you a better air traffic controller? How about a better surgeon? And, for the huge demographic bubble of baby boomers, can video games keep you cognitively sharp into old age?
This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some.
This is fantastic news! I had been review a lot of the classic games that have been coming to the iPhone, and often wondered when the heck is that darling Q*Bert gonna find its way there too. I can’t wait to try it. Looks like it’s been submitted to the app store and they are just waiting for approval.
It has been approved and is now available for download… I’m off to grab a copy!!
Developer: OOO Gameprom
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Pinball! Since I downloaded this game months ago, I have still never deleted it, and it is always there if I have time to kill. It’s a keeper.
This game first appeared after enjoying some time as a paid app at $2.99. It tried to offer tries to offer a more authentic pinball experience then what was available at the time. It has great animation with 3D panning and the ball becomes central to the game, your view follows it around the table. At times zooming to where the action is… more on these goodies in a few…
If you only ever read one post on this site, I hope it’s this one. The following is my opinion, with links and information that I can find on the subject. (this post will be duplicated on the http://appsandhats.com site because I feel it is unbelievably important as many people are aware of this as possible)
On the EDGE
I have only recently become aware of the battles that some game designers have to deal with, but in this case as it involves a game (EDGE) we previewed in our last episode, I couldn’t believe that it had been quietly pulled from the app store. Especially it was one of their top games to celebrate their 1st birthday.
I had to look into this a little closer, how can this app, nominated for multiple awards (won a Milthon award in France for the best mobile game 2008, IMGA (international mobile game award) during the mobile world congress in Barcelona this year for Best Gameplay and Operator Choice for the IGF, we have been nominated 3 times – best mobile game, best soundtrack, best iphone game).
… just be pulled & not heard of again? I HAD TO FIND OUT.
Well, there was far more information and battles then I can even hope to cover here. I hope you will take the time to look at some of the resources that I list here, and follow / support the developers plight. They seem to be up against a system that does little to protect them.
I came across this post a few weeks back. I read it and then clicked on to some other Internet wonders of course, as we do. But the words stuck in my head.
I found myself thinking about it a lot. By the next day I went back to find it and have a re-read. It made me think. How often do I put into that cookie jar, and was I taking more than putting in.
What difference would it make if I did take from this jar and never put back into it? Would it be any use to anyone if we were all takers? There is a real beauty about what Stefan wrote because the vibe I have been feeling with social networking at the moment has been exactly this cookie jar principle. It seems that maybe I have been lucky with the folks I ‘follow’ and vice versa but I feel a real spirit of a place where folks are helping and contributing. Seems the jar is very full at the moment, and it’s likely to stay that way.
Read the full article on his site: The Cookie Jar Principle or you can read it below as he has written it:
The Cookie Jar Principle by Steffan Antonas on July 6, 2009
Give more than you take. It’s as simple as that. If we embrace this one powerful principal in our lives, individually we will enjoy meaningful, vibrant relationships and collectively create a culture of abundance. If we can’t, we end up with an empty jar.
We can all point to a friend or colleague who breaks the rule repeatedly. They call only when they need something and they only show up or participate when it benefits them. They forget that the act of taking from the jar implies that they will one day put back more than what they took. In many ways selfishness is failing to recognize that when you chose to benefit from the effort or contributions of another, you become part of a self-sustaining cycle of give and take, and that your actions alter the system’s balance. In the fog of self-absorption we can loose sight of the truth and reality of the circumstances of both others and ourselves. When we take more than we give, everyone that depends on the contents of the jar loses.
Remember that every one of your relationships has its own jar. We fill them with our time, energy and love. Sharing, participating, and giving before we take signal our good faith – they are small promises that when it is our turn to take, we have not forgotten our responsibility to keep filling the jar. What we do take, we should always strive to return with interest. This simple principal is as true for individual relationships as it is for groups, families and communities of any size. When we agree to be a part of the group, whether the group is 2 or 2 million, we accept an equal and shared responsibility for the jar.
The following is from the site : Celebrating 20 years of the World Wide Web | News | TechRadar UK I really wanted a copy of it on this site because the the content is so well done and it covers so much. More than I could hope to cover succinctly. This is a fantastic resource, and if you don’t know about all the changes then it’s a great place to start your research.
I have been a fan of pinball since I can remember being tall enough to reach the table (from a chair). There is something so fantastic about the sound and dynamics of this game. The un-predictable nature and the idea that maybe somehow if I hit the ball in a certain way at a certain speed I have control over it is magical. I came across this fantastic article through a contact, and I was so pleased to see a tast of some of it’s origins and to read about this wonderful innovator Steve.
I had a friend, I’ll never forget her “Misty”, who was the main reason I was late for most of my time at Junior High School. She had a pinball machine in her basement, and when her parents left for work, we unlocked the front door of the machine and rigged the change collector se we could play as many games as possible for no money. It was bliss, even with all the detentions I ended up having!! Hope you enjoy this article as much as I did…
I love quirky and unique as you may know if you’ve read any of my posts, heck even if you just skimmed the titles of my posts! This on comes from the app developers of Tweetie. Now this isn’t my favorite Twitter client, not for any particular reason, just I love TwitterFon and the features it offers me are exactly what I need.
Hidden however in the depths of Tweetie is PEE, the app store Popularity Enhancer! Here is the excerpt from their site. Do have a read following their link of the entire thing. Pretty funny stuff which takes the angle of what makes some apps popular. <– link to the app if you are interested, $2.99 developer atebits LLC.
The One, The Only, The Original…
App Store Popularity EnhancEr (PEE)
Sally’s Spa $0.99 / £0.59 on sale at the moment. Publisher: Games Cafe
Link for the FREE version, with limited levels.
This is a time management game that is up there with the best of them. If you like the pressures of trying to satisfy all your customers and make a profit then this is a great game to play. And NO it is not just for girls, maybe you aren’t up for the challenge~
Sally has been on our devices before in the previous hit Sally’s Salon. That game earned her a deserved following. In addition to that, because the game was on other platforms, notably the DS, (but you can also play it on your computer) she seems unstoppable, which I’m happy about!
So, some good things about Sally’s Salon…
First look at the game you can see how games like these, from big developers, are so polished with their graphics. It is a slick interface, with very user intuitive controls. Sally herself is a real cutie and it was fun to be her in the salon.
The placement of the items in the game, with the waiting chairs at the back and then you move around the screen in an anti-clockwise way really makes great use of the screen size. The game packs a lot of things into that little screen yet manages to not look cramped or disorganized. A real credit to the developers.
This is a great site to make a mockup of an iPhone app. Irregardless if you design the app in the end or just use it to prototype your ideas is up to you. Handy too though to help with the design phase.
Any creation of a mockup through this website happens at your own risk. Note that your mockups are not protected in any way other than by a non-obvious URL. I can not be held responsible if you create a mockup and your competition figures out how to access it. Mockups can contain user-uploaded images and user-entered text. View at your own discretion. I do not watch, see or check this user-generated content in any way, and can not be held responsible for images uploaded by users of this site or text entered by users of this site.
The following article is from the amazing I, Cringely site of wonderboy Bob, who wrote Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can’t Get a Date.
Additionally about this post, it that he includes his voice reading this post. I really love this feature and think this may be something for all sites / blogs to consider. Fantastic inspiring man!
The following is taken directly from his post on his site. You should go there and checkout / subscribe to his writing.
Trying to refresh my theme on several browsers just wasn’t working, until Chrome came to the rescue.
Developer: 
I have only recently become aware of the battles that some game designers have to deal with, but in this case as it involves a 
I have been a fan of pinball since I can remember being tall enough to reach the table (from a chair). There is something so fantastic about the sound and dynamics of this game. The un-predictable nature and the idea that maybe somehow if I hit the ball in a certain way at a certain speed I have control over it is magical. I came across this fantastic article through a contact, and I was so pleased to see a tast of some of it’s origins and to read about this wonderful innovator Steve.
Sally has been on our devices before in the previous hit Sally’s Salon. That game earned her a deserved following. In addition to that, because the game was on other platforms, notably the DS, (but you can also play it on your computer) she seems unstoppable, which I’m happy about!
The following article is from the amazing I, Cringely site of wonderboy Bob, who wrote Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can’t Get a Date.