airfoil
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NASA testing shape-shifting wings that make planes more efficient
The first airplane ever flown, the Wright Flyer, used "wing-warping," in which pulleys twisted the trailing edge of the airfoil for roll control. Ironically, NASA is now revisiting that tech in a way by flight-testing the FlexFoil, a system that replaces a plane's mechanical flaps with a shape-shifting wing. Since 1911, almost every airplane made has used mechanical flaps for climbing, descents and slow flight. While effective, they're aerodynamically inefficient thanks to the gaps and acute angles, as you may have noticed (in horror) when you're sitting near the wing of a passenger jet.
Apple pulls Airfoil Speakers Touch from the App Store (Updated)
Update: CoM says a tipster tells them this is because Airfoil Speakers Touch may be duplicating functionality we're going to see in iOS 6. That was our guess as well. Apple has pulled Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil Speakers Touch from the App Store. The app, which made it possible to stream from a computer to an iOS-capable device using Airfoil, had been on the store since 2009. Airfoil Speakers Touch 3 was released last month. The developers say that Apple informed them of the removal on Tuesday, but did not receive a clear answer as to why Apple removed the app. As far as they can tell, they're in full compliance. Airfoil Speakers Touch 3 added the ability to receive audio from other iOS devices and iTunes. We'll have more on this story as it develops.
Airfoil 4.5 allows streaming from your iOS device to your Mac and more
Airfoil for the Mac has been around for a long time, and has always been a great way to transmit audio in a fashion with more flexibility than Apple's own AirTunes (now AirPlay) standard. With Airfoil 4.5, the feature set has grown considerably, and Airfoil has fully joined the AirPlay client & server continuum. Airfoil 4.5 will now allow your Mac to accept audio directly from any iOS device, meaning you can stream audio from apps on your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad directly to your Airfoil-running Mac. Airfoil will now also send audio from iTunes directly to any AirPlay-compatible speakers. Finally, Airfoil 4.5 comes with several small improvements and additions to its remote control support. Airfoil 4.5 is a free update for owners of Airfoil 4, and it comes with preliminary support for OS X Lion. It costs US$25 and requires Mac OS X 10.6.
iPhone 3G excluded from AirPlay support
Support for Apple's new AirPlay is supposedly excluded from the iPhone 3G, reports 9to5Mac. Designed to let users stream their iTunes library anywhere in their house via WiFi or an Ethernet connection, AirPlay technology will be found in all manner of audio/video equipment in the coming months, including the AirPort Express and Apple TV. However, it looks like it's only going to be for mobile users with the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, not those still using 3Gs. While Apple's own website states that "AirPlay is coming soon and will be available on all iOS 4 devices," which one would imagine includes the 3G iPhone, it looks like it is not meant to be. Even though Apple is currently dealing with a class-action lawsuit regarding the performance of 3G iPhones after installing iOS 4, seems that they have decided that the iPhone 3G just isn't capable of working properly with AirPlay. Personally, I have been using the iTunes Remote app, multiple AirPort Express units, two Tivoli radio units, and Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil software to stream my music library, so I am looking forward to trying out AirPlay here at home to see how it compares. That is, when I finally get around to downloading iTunes 10.1 with AirPlay support, which was made available earlier today.
Looking forward to AirPlay
As you may have heard, Apple had some sort of event on Wednesday. In amongst the Big News like iPods and iOSs and iTunes and iTVs Apple TVs, Steve Jobs briefly mentioned AirPlay, a replacement for the AirTunes music streaming system used in the Airport Express multi-purpose device. I've built my home audio solutions around AirTunes, so this was, for me, the most interesting thing Apple announced. Details on how the system will actually work are rather thin so far but TUAW has been sleuthing around to try and figure out what we can. First, the best bit. Jobs showed an iPad (running the forthcoming 4.2 version of iOS) being fired up, pressing a few buttons, and streaming its output to a big screen TV via an Apple TV. This addresses my number one complaint: a friend comes to my house, I show them the Airport Express system, I show them the Remote app so they can use their iPhone to control my iTunes... and they ask me why they can't also stream their own music directly from their device. Sure, this is going to be tough on battery life, but it's not like I'm short of chargers. They want to listen to their own music and if you could see inside my iTunes you'd know why. And now they will be able to! I was briefly concerned that this jazzy new functionality would not work with my existing Airport Express devices. Fortunately, Apple's sneak peak at iOS 4.2 confirms that an Airport Express will be able to receive a stream from any iOS 4.2 device, so more good news there too.
Rogue Amoeba on background audio and Airfoil Speakers Touch
Dan Wineman, a developer with Rogue Amoeba, has posted an interesting article on the company blog. I'm a big fan of developers who can explain things clearly to non-developers without sounding condescending, and Dan does a great job covering how the limited version of multitasking available in iOS 4 poses a problem for Airfoil Speakers Touch. For those who aren't familiar with Airfoil, it is Rogue Amoeba's program for Windows and Mac which allows you to send audio to AirPort Express units, Apple TVs, and iOS devices. Previously it was of limited use for iPhone and iPod touch owners because you had to keep the app running in the foreground for the audio to play. While Dan said that adding background audio was easy, there were deeper issues involving how iOS 4 manages background processes, especially due to how Airfoil works on the network. It's a good read. Even as a non-programmer, I'm fascinated by the attention to detail that good programmers go into to make sure their applications work, especially when dealing with limited "resources" like you'd find in mobile devices. Remember when it seemed that CPU speed, RAM, disk space, and bandwidth were not going to be limiting factors anymore because desktop computers kept growing and growing and dial-up Internet access was being replaced by DSL and cable? Then along come mobile devices which brought back all of those limits. Although, it's worth noting that the average cell phone has more processing power than the Apollo computers, so I guess limitations are relative.
Macworld 2010: Rogue Amoeba shows off RadioShift 1.5
Leading indie Mac software shop Rogue Amoeba had a piece of prime real estate on the front wall of the Moscone expo floor, and CEO Paul Kafasis gave us the latest news on RA's product line. Overall, Paul expressed satisfaction with the traffic level at the show, and he was pleased with the investment he made to exhibit on the floor. The recent RadioShift 1.5.x refresh (first introduced at the very end of 2009; the latest version, 1.5.3, came out February 3) now features thousands of additional streaming sources, including many in the Windows Media and Real Media formats that are inaccessible to iTunes users, and several sources previously only playable via the station websites. The web radio tuner & recording app received a thorough UI facelift, improved compatibility with RA's Airfoil audio distribution utility, better third-party player installs, and more sophisticated fallback logic to handle stream dropouts and hiccups. RadioShift 1.5 requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and costs US$32. Speaking of Airfoil, the most recent update (3.5 on 12/16) added support for both EyeTV synchronized playback and VMWare Fusion/Parallels Desktop audio. Airfoil can send your Mac's audio to any networked Mac, PC, AppleTV, iPhone/iPod touch, or Linux workstation. The app is $25, or you can get a bundle of both Mac and Windows version for $40. The company's Pulsar client for Sirius/XM satellite streaming radio was also recently updated; it runs $15 for browserless playback of the radio services (with a separate Sirius/XM online account). It's definitely a good sign that independent Mac developers like RA, Boinx and Omnigroup are maintaining their high profile at Macworld Expo. We look forward to seeing the blue unicellular beastie with the eyepatch sunglasses and the automatic rifle back next year.
TUAW Tips: Send Mac audio to your iPhone for cheap
Earlier this month, I wrote about connecting my old Mac mini to my television . My mini offers a great Apple TV-style lifestyle with none of the Apple TV limitations. It's a real Mac running real Snow Leopard, albeit on an older, admittedly limited mini. I have Front Row, EyeTV, QuickTime, and more, all ready to entertain me on demand, as well as standard system access to mail, web browsing, etc. The sound in my living room is powered by a couple of speakers that shipped with an ancient computer monitor. Their audio works fine for close-up TV watching and Wii playing. Move across the room and those speakers prove how limited they are. Add in a treadmill with its motor noises, and the sound decreases to virtually nothing. So how can one listen to those great shows that are playing back on that lovely large screen across the room, especially when walking or jogging on the treadmill? I messed around with several solutions until I stumbled across one that really worked well for me. Using my home's 802.11g Wi-Fi network, I could call my iPhone from my Mac using Skype. With only the most minimal of lags, I was able to transmit live audio and watch my favorite shows on the Mac while listening on the iPhone from my treadmill. Read on to learn how I accomplished this...
First Look: Airfoil Speakers Touch
I'd never gotten the opportunity to use Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil prior to today, and then I found out about Airfoil Speakers Touch (link opens iTunes). Airfoil allows you to stream audio from your Mac to other devices including Apple TV, Airport Express, other Macs on your network and now the iPhone and iPod touch. We looked at a similar application not too long ago, but the definite upside to Airfoil Speakers Touch is that you don't have to go through the mess of installing a separate server application -- especially if you already own Airfoil.Using Airfoil Speakers Touch is extremely simple. I opened Airfoil on my Mac for the first time and it showed my laptop and Apple TV on my network. I then launched Airfoil Speakers Touch on my iPhone and it added the iPhone as an available streaming device. I selected iTunes as the source of my audio and clicked on the icon next to the iPhone on the Airfoil application. A quick restart of Airfoil (its Instant Hijack plug-in will bypass that) and I could stream music from iTunes through the iPhone. On the iPhone, a small image of my MacBook (complete with an image of my current desktop) appeared.The application works beautifully. I left the laptop in my bedroom and carried my iPhone around both inside and outside of the apartment until I left the range of my wireless router. The sound is crystal clear and it turns the iPhone (and 2nd-gen iPod touch) into a great portable speaker.However, there are a couple of drawbacks. If you exit the application on your iPhone, it will cut off the streaming. Because of this, there's no way to jump over to the Remote application and remotely control iTunes. So if you want to utilize your device as an Airfoil speaker, you need to have a playlist set up in advance since you can't change tracks from within the application itself. I'm hoping remote features will be added some time in the future. It would really make this a killer app.Airfoil for the Mac is $25, and a free demo is available. It requires OS X 10.4 or above. Airfoil Speakers Touch is a free download through the iTunes App Store.
Airfoil 3.2 adds basic remote support
Rogue Amoeba has announced Airfoil 3.2, the latest release of their audio utility which allows you to play any Mac audio over your Apple TV, AirPort Express, or other Macs. In addition to improving support for the latest generation Expresses ("including full password support and better synchronization"), the big addition with version 3.2 is remote control support. With either the Apple Remote on the Apple TV or the Keyspan Express Remote for an Express, Airfoil now allows you to play/pause and move forward/back on tracks playing through either iTunes or QuickTime Player.The upgrade is free for registered users, while new copies of Airfoil for Mac are $25; a demo is available.
Airfoil 3.1 adds Apple TV support
Rogue Amoeba has announced an update for Airfoil to version 3.1, adding support for sending audio to the Apple TV. Unlike the built-in iTunes support, Airfoil allows you to stream any audio source from your Mac to your Apple TV, Airport Express, or other Macs running their Airfoil Speakers client application. This allows you to use your Apple TV to listen to web-based "radio" sources like Pandora (my favorite) or last.fm, as well as other media players like QuickTime Player, etc. Airfoil 3.1 is a free update to registered users and $25 for new users. A demo is available for download.
Airfoil 3
One of my favorite Apple products ever has got to be the Aiport Express. I know it isn't sexy, but AirTunes (that's what Apple calls the technology that lets you stream your music from iTunes to a stereo connected to an Airport Express) is one of the best tech inventions ever. AirTunes, despite my unholy love for it, has some drawbacks: it only works in iTunes, and it only works for audio files.Enter Airfoil, which just hit version 3. Airfoil allows you to stream audio from any program on your Mac to an Airport Express (or multiple Airport Expresses) and keep all those streams in sync. That's not all, version 3 lets you stream audio from one Mac to another Mac that is running Airfoil Speakers (a mini app that comes with Airfoil), one upping Apple's solution. Airfoil also includes a new video player that allows you to stream audio from most video formats to Airport Expresses (or other Macs) which will make watching some of those HD trailers a much better experience.Airfoil 3 costs $25, but is a $10 upgrade for all Airfoil 2 users (and if you bought Airfoil after July 16th, 2007 you get a free upgrade).
Rogue Amoeba releases details on Airfoil 3, Audio Hijack Pro 3
Rogue Amoeba, purveyors of all sorts of wonderful audio software, have been releasing details on pending updates for two of their most popular products: Airfoil and Audio Hijack Pro. Both upgrades seem like they're coming sometime soon, with Audio Hijack Pro 3 (a tool allowing you to record any audio from your Mac) sounding like it could land sooner rather than later. Details and screenshots (like the one above) of AHP3 are being posted to this forum thread, including thoughts on whether they'll charge an upgrade fee (though prices for new licenses should remain at $32). If Rogue Amoeba wants my two cents (which they admittedly didn't request), I'm all for developers, especially indies, charging upgrade fees for major point releases. It sure is nice when they don't, but I completely understand that underneath all that code and slick features there's a human being that's just trying to survive (and possibly provide) like the rest of us.
Airfoil, Audio Hijack Pro can now "Minimize to Menu Bar"
Airfoil and Audio Hijack Pro, the slick Mac OS X audio broadcasting and recording (respectively) software from Rogue Amoeba, have just been updated with a handy new feature: minimize to menubar. It's a new preference that (you guessed it) will allow these apps to minimize into the menubar, with some features still accessible without having the entire app open on your desktop. Rogue Amoeba has provided a demonstration video to show off this small but functional new feature.
Airfoil v2.0.3 adds changing sources on the fly, menubar preference, more
Airfoil, the handy application for sending any audio to an AirPort Express, has been updated to version 2.0.3 for Mac OS X (remember, it's also available for Windows now). This new version adds the ability to swap audio sources on the fly, as well as a menubar option if you'd rather the app not take up dock space.Airfoil is a Universal Binary with a demo available (that overlays noise after 10 minutes until you register), while a license from Rogue Amoeba costs $25.
Airfoil for Windows
Rogue Amoeba, a leading indie Mac developer, has decided to enter the fast paced world of building Windows applications. Yes, folks, you read that correctly. Rogue Amoeba has ported Airfoil, a neat little application that allows you to stream audio other than iTunes to an Airport Express, to Windows.I have no idea how many Windows users have Airport Expresses, but more power to Rogue Amoeba. At the moment the Windows app is in a public beta, but before long it'll cost ya $25.
Airfoil Airport Express streaming comes to Windows
It's been over a year since Rogue Amoeba came out with Airfoil, a program that lets you stream music from your computer to an Apple Airport Express using any application, rather than just iTunes. Unfortunately for Windows users, Airfoil was Mac-only, leaving the Airport Express as an iTunes-only device on Windows boxes. However, that's now changed, as Rogue Amoeba has launched a beta version of Airfoil for Windows, which the company says will work with most Windows media programs, including Windows Media Player and Real Player. Of course, in the past year, Airport Express has had a lot of competition on the Windows streaming front, with devices like the Linksys Wireless-G Music Bridge undercutting it on price, and offering full compatibility with most Windows programs out of the box. But if you're a Windows user with an Airport Express and you've grown frustrated by its limitations, here's your chance to set it free.
