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Three ways to change Lion's Finder window sidebar
It took me a little while, but I finally last weekend updated to Lion, and so far ... I think I like it. I kind of miss my old Spaces feature, and I did turn off reverse scrolling right away, but it does seem to run better than Snow Leopard, and Mission Control is pretty sweet. Another thing I'm not a huge fan of, however, is the new Finder sidebar -- it's pretty bland, and not quite as clear or useful as the one in Snow Leopard. Fortunately, that's pretty easy to fix, and ZDnet has a few good ways to do it. This SIMBL plugin will put a little color back in those icons, if you like, and you can do a little plist tweaking in Lion to switch around the order of the various devices and sources listed on the side of the screen. Finally, if you're ending up with aliases in the Finder sidebar that lose the source they're originally alias'ed from, you can drag-and-CMD-drop them to erase them once and for all. Apple of course makes all of these changes with good intentions, and maybe there are good reasons to do things like drain all the color out of the interface (maybe it allows you to focus more on the important stuff: your files in the other window). But for those of us who like the old ways best, it's good to know we've got options.
Mac OS X Lion has TRIM support for SSDs, HiDPI resolutions for improved pixel density?
As you'd expect, developers have wasted no time in tearing apart the Mac OS X Lion preview, and in so doing they've allegedly discovered some intriguing things -- namely, support for the SSD-wiping TRIM command, and a series of high-DPI display modes which would allow for icons and UI elements with twice the graphical detail -- which could mean a PC-sized Retina Display. The former doesn't sound like the most exciting upgrade, but it's truly a boon for Mac users with solid state storage, as TRIM can greatly improve write speeds in compatible drives. As far as the improved pixel density rumors are concerned, it's not clear whether Apple's actually looking at doubling display resolutions in new computers (9to5Mac imagines a 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 2880 x 1800 screen) or whether Apple's simply moving to maintain icons that are precisely the same physical size across all its displays -- which would make fantastic sense for a touchscreen UI, by the way.
HTC Incredible S auto-rotating buttons explained? (video)
We were quite bedazzled by the HTC Incredible S after our hands-on at MWC, but it's the auto-rotating icons for the capacitive buttons that left us most intrigued. So we went back to the HTC booth to try to make sense of it all. From what we were able to observe, there's some optical trickery happening here: the icons appear to be glittering and shimmering depending on viewing angle as if lit through a prism, half-mirror or grate of some kind. We think that a pair of LEDs are used to project the intended icon onto the glass surface via either a combination of prisms and half-mirrors, or via horizontally and vertically polarized grates. Watch our video after the break, and let us know in the comments how you think this actually works.
The hidden secrets inside Apple icons
We all like our apps, right? We especially like some of those beautifully designed OS X icons that Apple has created through the years. But did you know that a few of those very same icons have some secret meanings that many people don't know about? Thanks to Electricpig, we can now understand the secrets, history and even inside jokes that those Apple icons put on display but many of us miss. From the map on the iPhone's Maps icon being 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino (Apple's home base) to the iPod artist silhouette being of one-time Apple partner Bono to actual Java code written on the napkin in their Java icon, Apple has a long history of embedding secret meanings and Easter eggs in their icons. While some Apple fans may own a limited-edition print of the original Mac OS icons or even felt keychains in the form of iPhone icons, not too many of us know all the secrets inside our icons -- until now. The majority of the secrets exposed in the article are true, but readers should note that a few stand out as potentially incorrect or just a creative guess. For instance, "Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet Etiam" found on the Apple Dictionary icon doesn't mean "Hello world! Etcetera" as mentioned, but rather is a corrupted version of a Cicero passage commonly used as filler text when laying out pages. And as for creative stretch, well, we highly doubt that the Find my iPhone icon has a map of New York City on it because Steve Jobs once had an apartment there. But it's certainly an interesting idea! Do you know any other hidden secrets in either OS X or iOS icons that were missed? If so, please be sure to let us know about them!
The Road to Mordor: My wish list for 2011
January is always a month of denial for me because it usually takes a full 30 days for the reality of a new year to settle into my skull. It can't be a new year! I just, just got used to the old one! I'm going to forget the real year when I sign my checks and then I'll be denounced as a fraud! What horrible teenage fad will be inflicted on us this year? Seriously, Ke$ha was the final straw for me. She's like all four horsemen of the apocalypse melted down and recast as a talentless banshee with an ironic dollar sign smack in the middle of her name. But that's my problem. A new year also means a virgin slate for all of our MMOs. What happened last year was so last year -- now we turn our eyes to the future. We know a little of what's upcoming for Lord of the Rings Online, but that doesn't mean we can't have wishes. You know what they say: If wishes were horses, I'd have the Steed of Night. So in honor of '11, I've come up with an 11-point wish list of what I'd love to see in LotRO this year. I fully expect Turbine to drop everything -- everything -- to get on it!
Steve Jobs portrait made out of Apple products mosaic
As reported by MacStories and created for Italian magazine Panorama by Tsevis Visual Design, this picture of Apple CEO Steve Jobs is entirely made up of Apple's white products laid out to create a visually arresting portrait. The creative director of the magazine asked Tsevis for the "white on white" portrait and ran the image on the cover of the the financial section titled "Panorama Economy." Looking closely, one can see the incredible detail of the mosaic, which encompasses a large selection of products from Apple's history. After seeing how great the white on white version came out, the designer set out to make a version with a black background as well, and both of them are available for download under the Creative Commons License Scheme. Over on Flickr, you can access both the white version and the black version of the portrait. A few years ago we saw a colorful Apple product mosaic in the likeness of Steve Jobs from these guys, and we've also seen Steve Jobs in doll form, but I wonder -- do you think Steve will be hanging one of these new ones up in his office? [via MacStories]
Man eats iPhone 4 at New Year's Eve celebration
We admit, we tricked you a bit with that headline -- India's Krishna Kalyan actually ate a cake for New Year's Eve, which is not nearly as extraordinary (or painful) as actually chowing down on a Retina Display and an A4 processor. But it was a cake that looked remarkably like an iPhone 4 -- as you can see to the right, the screen is very detailed, with fully-rendered icons (and even some push notifications waiting to be read as well). Sure, the shape is a little more cake-like than iPhone-like, but I like the tasty little home button and the frosting dock connector down below. The only thing missing? Get those icons in some folders, man! You've just got them hanging out all over the place. And while we're at it, does anyone really keep their Photos or iTunes Store apps on the front home screen any more? We've all pushed those off of the first page for more useful apps, right? At any rate, excellent cake. Happy New Year to one and all -- hope you all had a good and safe one no matter what you were doing. Now back to work!
Handmade icon pillows given as gifts for Christmas
We've seen Apple app icon pillows before, but these are pretty excellent -- TUAW reader Dan G's girlfriend hand-sewed them for him for Christmas. That's the brand new iTunes icon on the right there (though I expected it to be a little more blue), and on the left is the Firefox icon. We won't tell her she got the fox backwards if you won't, Dan. And of course that's the Finder in the middle. Great set of pillows -- I definitely would have been thrilled to see them under the tree last Saturday.
Original Mac OS icons available as limited-edition prints
Long for the good old days of classic Mac icons like Clarus the Dogcow or Pan Hand? Lucky for you -- Susan Kare, the 1983 designer of the original Mac OS icons, is offering prints of the famed icons for Apple fanboys (and girls) everywhere. As reported by The Mac Observer, signed and numbered prints of the Bomb, Spotted Dog, Smiling Computer, Trash and several other icons are available in several sizes ranging from 8.5" x 11" up to 30" x 40" and are priced between US$89 and $499. The limited-edition prints are up for sale over at Susan Kare Prints. Since Ms. Kare was the designer of these icons, she has personal stories to share about each of them. About the Spotted Dog she says, "This icon was designed to be a spotted dog character in the Cairo 'hieroglyphic' font that shipped with the original Macintosh. Perhaps because the spots looked a little bovine, some people referred to the image as a dogcow, and imagined that the sound it made would be 'Moof.'" We've seen some interesting items created in the image of Apple products: an iPhone quilt made by a grandmother, an iPad cutting board and even a giant iPhone wedding cake. Up until 1998, Apple's corporate headquarters had an "icon garden" full of planted OS icon sculptures. Here, courtesy of Ms. Kare, we have the real thing for sale by the designer of the original OS icons. One has to wonder, though, will Apple Legal send out any cease and desist letters to such an important former employee? [via The Mac Observer]
Apple patents Cover Flow-like spiral interface
Patently Apple has unearthed a new patent that shows off a Cover Flow-like interface for browsing icons or album covers, only instead of Cover Flow's linear layout, this one organizes content in a spiral. We've seen rotating menus in Apple's patents before, but this looks more involved. It's described as a "receding spiral in a virtual 3D space," and you would use your finger (so probably in an iOS interface) to spin the spiral around and browse through whatever you were looking for. There's also a "V" shaped display listed, and users might even be able to reorganize icons or art in the display (while creating or sorting a playlist, for example). A finger is explicitly shown in the patent, but presumably this would work with a mouse, or even a scroll wheel, as in the case of the non-touchscreen iPods. It's definitely an intriguing idea, and it adds a little more visual variety to browsing through various media or icons. As with all of these patents, there's no guarantee that Apple will actually use this plan in a future product, but clearly someone in Cupertino is thinking about how to put a new spin on the Cover Flow interface.
Maps and quest levels explained for Final Fantasy XIV
Since the earliest days of MMOs, players have asked a very simple question: "Where the heck am I?" And thankfully, the ubiquitous in-game map is there to provide an answer to the question. Of course, it's all too easy to feel a bit lost anyway with Final Fantasy XIV's maps, which are long on flavor and in-game writing and a bit short on what the various symbols actually mean. So the most recent developer dispatch on the official player site has clarified the symbols on the map and helped explain where to find crucial information. In addition, the dispatch covers the game's strength-indicating icons for monsters, as well as the intervals for new quests. There are also unlocking intervals for new class-specific guildleves, both regional and local. It's a good incentive to continue leveling a few classes instead of dabbling too broadly, something that's a definite possibility with Final Fantasy XIV's permissive cross-class system. Take a look at the full dispatch for more details on the most recent round of developer-answered questions.
Put your favorite apps on the fridge with app magnets
These are great -- a company called Jailbreak Toys (name unrelated -- I think) has apparently been selling a set of "App Magnets," little square magnets that feature icons for Apple's official iPhone apps. How cool -- I'd love to have a Photos, Safari, or an App Store icon to pin things up on the fridge for me. The magnets sell for 1260 yen, or about US $15, in Japan. But over on Jailbreak's website, you can get them for just $12 (while supplies last, or until Apple's lawyers boot up their iPads and send the C&D email, of course). I like the idea a lot, though -- I'd love to have a magnet or pillow for the icons of some of my favorite unofficial apps, too. [via WeLoveApple]
Shocker! Google's Android logo boosted from Atari Lynx title 'Gauntlet: The Third Encounter'
Back in the early 90's whilst playing our Atari Lynx -- friendless and alone, of course -- we couldn't have imagined that a second-rate spinoff of the popular Gauntlet franchise would unlock the secrets behind the birth of Google's Android OS. But, lo and behold, what has one of our faithful tipsters found down here, amongst the ruins of Gauntlet: The Third Encounter? That's right, nearly irrefutable proof that the Android team (or at least its graphic designers) have plumbed the depths of Epyx's not-quite-masterpiece for the iconic droid logo we've come to know and love. Sure, the top-down scroller provided all kinds of new character classes like the "Nerd," "Punkrocker," and "Pirate," but only one of these fresh faces would provide the blueprint for Android's public face. It's hard to argue that there isn't some level of appropriation here, given the multiple similarities between the two pieces of art, right down to the antennae, dotted eyes, general size and shape, and even the strip which cuts across the midsection of the bot. Oh yeah, and the character is named Android. We personally would like to hear what Google has to say for themselves in regards to this blatant theft of intellectual property, and as for the Epyx artists who slaved over a hot Amiga to bring this image to life -- the taste of sweet justice is yours. %Gallery-101193% [Thanks, Davey]
Visualized: world's most trafficked websites and their favicons
We knew Google Search was an iconic service (we had to), but seeing it dwarf the rest of the web like this is pretty humbling. This here map of the internets uses Alexa data from earlier this year to assign the favicon dimensions of each of the top 288,945 sites around the world. Oh, and if you don't have an icon sidled up next to your URL, tough luck, you're not on here. See how many you can spot before your eyes start bleeding, then hit up the source to look up your favorite sites. As to your absolute favoritest site of them all, you can spot us somewhere in the space between vBulletin and Wikipedia.
GenCon 2010: Fantasy fencing with 38 Studios
One thing is for certain: When you are sitting in the crosshairs of Curt Schilling and R.A. Salvatore during an interview, it's easy to become bowled over by their collective intensity and passion, especially when it comes to their interest in games and fantasy worlds. While GenCon Indy lacked its usual MMORPG presence this year, Massively was able to grab a few minutes of face time with 38 Studios' founder and lead writer as they passed through the convention. It was a bit of an odd interview, however, as two of the biggest topics -- 38 Studios' move to Rhode Island and any solid details about their top-secret MMO -- were off the table for discussion. Do not fret, as that certainly didn't stop us from trying to pry for a few hints along the way. Schilling and Salvatore were obviously eager to spill the beans about Copernicus, but they are still biding their time until the right moment. Happily, the duo didn't mind us fencing with them for facts, and were quite open about their single-player RPG lead-up to Copernicus, their general philosophy of designing the MMO, and why they've waited so long to unveil it to the public. Read on, gentle gamers, for a few ripostes, parries and lunges with two of the biggest figures in the industry right now.
AppWall screensaver brings the App Wall to your Mac
Even though I haven't actually seen it in person, I've been a big fan of Apple's App Wall at WWDC every year; they've hooked up a bunch of servers and Mac pros in order to create an animated set of App Store icons that shows real-time purchases in a very visual way. Now, I can have a little piece of the App Wall on my Mac at home; a Polish developer named iApp has created an AppWall screensaver that's now available for a free download. We got in touch with App's Peter Tuszynski who confirmed that, while it doesn't work exactly like the official App Wall (it won't show you real-time purchases), the screensaver really does pull icons from top free or top paid apps by way of an option choice, and then it displays those icons on an ever-changing screensaver display. It's very cool. I downloaded it on my MacBook, and while the saver does take a little while to load up (it has to pull in all of those icons every time it starts up), it's a reasonable facsimile of Apple's official display. And you don't even have to buy tickets to San Francisco to see it! The screensaver is available for free right now. If the site's being hammered, just give it some time to recover from the traffic. There are also icons on the site that hint that Apple will bring this to the iPhone and iPad "soon," so we'll stay tuned and see what they've got planned.
The Road to Mordor: Forum diving
[Special note: Obviously, the news that LotRO is going free-to-play hit after this article was already written, so stay tuned as we dissect what it means for existing and potential new customers next week!] Lately, it feels like we're in a holding pattern for Lord of the Rings Online. The last major content patch, Volume III: Book 1, is fading into distant memory, and we're pushing into summer without definite news of the next update -- or better yet, the next expansion. Players are also nervous about any changes or new directions the game may take after the recent acquisition of Turbine by Warner Bros., and the silence certainly doesn't help any. However, there's always hope in the darkest places of Middle-earth, and the same can be said for the game itself. The Summer Festival should be around the corner, and as for new news, Sapience handed out a bit of vague encouragement on the forums: "You guys know we're preparing an announcement. I can't give you a specific date as to when we'll make it, but I can say I just ran into Adam Mersky coming out of an E3 planning meeting and he was pretty stoked!" While we continue the wait for the next step forward for LotRO, I thought it'd be a good idea to head over to the official forums and do a little diving for some of the more interesting topics and discussions bouncing around the LotRO community today.
Apple files official app icon trademarks
Apple has filed trademark motions on a number of its official app icons, and none of them are new (though the trademarks for the iDisk app and the MobileMe gallery app threw me a bit, not having MobileMe myself). Apple appears to be shoring up its official iPad and iPhone app icon library, and trademarking all of the official icons that it's put together. Each icon is marked not only by description (the Camera app icon is described as "rounded corners depicting a stylized camera lens"), but by its colors as well, which is standard for a logo trademark. It's also interesting that all of these icons are submitted at a gigantic size of 955x955 pixels, but iPhone icons are shown at 57x57, and iPad icons are displayed at 72x72. Clearly, though, Apple makes its icons Texas-sized and then scales them down to display them.
TUAW's Daily App: Powder
TUAW's Daily App spotlights one great App Store app, every single weekday. Powder probably isn't the most polished roguelike RPG experience on the App Store (Sword of Fargoal is generally considered to be among the best), but what it lacks in graphical quality, it makes up for in ease-of-use. The genre is sometimes tough to get into, but Powder, originally designed for the Game Boy Advance, uses easy buttons and icons to let you guide your turn-based RPG character through random dungeons, killing monsters, gaining XP, and drinking weird potions of various colors, all while trying to avoid cursed gear. It's still not easy (roguelikes are notoriously ruthless affairs, and permadeath is still the rule), but the controls are surprisingly intuitive, and the included tutorial makes an often steep learning curve much more gentle, even if you're new to the genre. Plus, Powder wins points from me for its flexible save state process; it's very easy to work your way through a dungeon floor, exit out to make a call or do something else on your iPhone, and then dive back in and pick up right where you left off. Best of all, it just recently went free; that makes sense, considering the other versions are free as well. If you still want to support programmer Jeff Lait, you can do so by donating on his Web site. Meanwhile, Powder is a free download in the App Store, and definitely worth checking out.
SecondBar puts your menu bar on a second monitor
The menu bar is a quintessential piece of the Mac "experience." On the left, it shows all of the menu items for the currently active application; on the right, it shows icons from various menu bar application programs: the date/time, WiFi status, MobileMe sync status, and many, many more. The whole idea is to make the menu items easy to find and easy to "hit" with a mouse, by being connected to the top of the screen (Fitts's law and all that). But what if you have two monitors? Suddenly the menu bar might be all the way over on the other side. Yes, I realize that complaining about using a Mac with two monitors might be the quintessential "first-world problem," but the more minor irritants you can remove from life, the better. SecondBar is an app which will extend your menu bar to a second monitor. I've been using it for a while and it works pretty well for what the author describes as an "alpha" build.
