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*
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.
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.
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 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…
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.
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! )
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.