Macworld2013
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Using your iPad mini as a phone
iMore's Rene Ritchie has written an interesting post about a trend I've heard mentioned a few times before: using your iPad mini as an actual phone. During his trip to Macworld/iWorld 2013, Ritchie wanted to save battery charge on his iPhone, so when he needed to check his itinerary or make a quick phone call, he pulled out the iPad mini and used Skype or browsed around the internet. And at the end of what Ritchie says was a 19-hour trip, his iPad mini was still chugging right along, with more than 30 percent battery left. As I said, I've heard a few people talk about doing this before. The iPad mini is a powerful device, and while it is larger than a standard iPhone, the size allows you to carry it around in just one hand and use it like its smaller iOS predecessor. The larger screen provides a nice wide-open feel, however, which can be very nice for games, and can make even productivity apps feel cleaner. As Ritchie says, combine the iPad mini with a headset and make a call on Skype, and you've just got a larger-than-usual iPhone. So far, we've seen plenty of rumors about a bigger iPhone model, but no actual news from Apple just yet. Still, experiences like this, along with the fact that other smartphone companies have seen success with larger phone models, point to the possibility that there's a sizable demand for a larger iPhone out there.
TUAW TV Live: Randy and Sande wrap up Macworld/iWorld 2013
Today Randy Nelson and I will be talking about ... what else? ... Macworld/iWorld 2013. Randy and I met up in meatspace for the first time last week, and now we're back into our cyber selves for an hour of discussion with the chat room peanut gallery. Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. IRC fans can join us in chat room chat1.ustream.tv, #tuaw-tv. You'll be watching the show in glorious HD! If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat. In addition, the live stream and chat will be available through our Facebook page. Just point your browser here to watch the show and chat with other viewers while you're on Facebook. We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
What Starfish can learn from its failed Macworld appearance
If you haven't read it yet, please check out Lex Friedman's account on Macworld's site of his attempts to view the Starfish smartwatch prototype. Lex does an amazing job summarizing how the company stumbled and stumbled again in its attempts to show the Mac community its competitor to the Pebble smart watch. TUAW got lucky. It was by pure chance that I happened to return to the booth just as the working prototype was being passed from hand to hand. After about five minutes, the prototype was handed to me. Tale of a failed watch Midway through our Friday afternoon coverage of the show, TUAW editor-in-chief Victor Agreda forwarded the team a tweet from Panic Inc. co-founder Cabel Sasser that talked about the watch. "An AirPlay mirroring... watch? But... how would it.. and how do you.. can someone at Macworld report from Booth 214?!" Sasser tweeted. I was in-between stories, so I scooped up my camera and headed to the show floor. Starfish was on the far side of the exhibit space. A few booths were clustered near the tables where people grabbed a hurried bite to eat or rested their aching feet. It was easy to miss Starfish's booth at first. There were no products, no people clustered around the table like at the Square Jellyfish booth a couple steps away. Two women sat at the table doing what we all do when we're bored -- messing with their phones. I asked one of the booth attendants if I could see a demo. There was a delay, and the prototypes aren't here yet, one told me. I could come back tomorrow. I asked them a few more questions about the watch, but they didn't know much about it. Saturday morning, I returned to find no one at all at the Starfish booth. I shot a few photos of the empty table and headed off in search of a better story, namely the monkey across the room. A couple of hours later, I swung by the booth with TUAW colleague Randy Nelson shortly before 12:30 p.m. to find that the prototype had arrived, along with several watch bands with empty spaces where the device should be. The man at the table, who was not CEO Jason Buzi, admitted that neither he nor Buzi had ever used the prototype, and that he wasn't even quite sure of what it did. He told me to come back in 30 minutes to an hour. During that wait, I did some research. I found the Pocketables story from November 2012 with the initial ad in the November-December issue of iPhone Life. I found SlashGear's post about the plan to debut the watch at Macworld/iWorld 2013, and I checked out Starfish's Facebook page. About 30 minutes later, Kelly Guimont sought us out. She and Rod Roddenberry had gone by the Starfish booth after my initial report that the prototype had arrived. They approached the booth to ask some questions. The man covering the booth told them that he would be right back -- and then he walked off, leaving the booth (and empty watchbands) unattended. Kelly wasn't impressed. I decided to check the booth one more time. There was the usual throng of people wanting to check out a new product. And there was the watch, looking nothing like the magazine mockup. I made sure to capture a video for posterity. When it was passed to me, I held it, not quite sure what to do with it. I pressed a few buttons, tapped the screen, and nothing happened. I gave it to Buzi and asked for a demonstration. You could tell he wasn't used to this sort of attention, and he admitted on Facebook that it was a stressful experience because he didn't have a product to show. But neither he nor his friend were as combative toward me as his friend (the one who spoke with me earlier) later was when speaking with Macworld's reporters. I returned to the media room and showed the raw footage to Victor. "That's not an AirPlay watch," he said as soon as the first frames flickered on his MacBook Air. His guess? Buzi was obtaining a watch from China and trying to re-sell it here for a profit, and that's why he knew so little about his own prototype. Friedman's subsequent interview with Buzi confirmed Victor's suspicions. What can be learned from this? One of the main reasons that the Pebble smartwatch was funded successfully was because of how prepared they were at the beginning of the process. While production delays caused the watch to be delivered months after it was funded, they had working prototypes on hand before beginning the publicity process. Disclaimer: I have successfully run one Kickstarter in the past, and I'm in the middle of conducting a second one. Starfish has a long road to go if they want to succeed at funding any sort of Kickstarter, and to start with, they have to earn the trust of their potential backers. As one Macworld commenter pointed out, thanks to the catastrophic Macworld/iWorld experience, they're pretty much doomed from the start. As Friedman said, it's odd that this sort of vaporware doesn't show up more often at expos (though I am still waiting for that TARDIS iPhone dock from CES 2011). What could Starfish have done differently? Hold off on advertising. They shouldn't have run any ads or reserved a Macworld spot until a working prototype was in hand. They should have known exactly where they were going with the watch before spending thousands of dollars on magazine ads and an expo booth. That's money that could have gone into research. Choose the friends helping you wisely. Whoever is helping to pitch the product -- from booth sitters to best friends -- needs to know just as much about it as the CEO, and given the circumstances that's not much of a bar. Supply them cheat sheets. We heard answers ranging from "the Kickstarter has been conducted" to that it was coming later (the latter being the right answer). Teach them how to interact with people asking the rough questions. The friend trying to help Buzi who got aggressive with the Macworld reporting staff wasn't doing him any favors. The entire point of the expo was for reporters to come and ask those questions. Make face time for yourself. A CEO launching a product should spend as much time as possible at the booth, even if the product isn't there. Have your laptop out, show people schematics and discuss the product with them. These are your potential backers, and you owe it to them to be as open as possible about the project. Also, show enthusiasm about your product. Be excited about it, be into it, and convey that to people. Yes, it's extremely hard when you're not used to doing that. But that passion about your own work will go a long way toward convincing people to back you. Use prior experience you have to show that this isn't just vaporware. When I launched our first Kickstarter, I had never published a print book. But, I did have 10 years of newspaper experience as a reporter and designer. My partner and co-creator had two books published in Canada. Between us, we had a 14-month archive of comic pages online. Having that content available, along with our combined experience, helped both Kickstarter projects to be successful. Be realistic about your project. As we know with Pebble and Nifty MiniDrive, there could be massive production delays. Components might be faulty, and other factors might cause you to adjust your schedule. Be open about them with potential backers. Perusing the Pebble and NiftyDrive update schedules on their Kickstarters will help you get a good idea as to what can go wrong. Even smaller products can have this happen. With my current Kickstarter, our printer suddenly bailed on us. I had to rearrange for the book to be printed elsewhere very fast. If all else fails, bail out of the expo. Yes, you'll be out a few thousand dollars, but it could have also saved face for Starfish in the end. A straightforward "our prototype didn't arrive on time, and we didn't want to show people a product we didn't have" will go a long way toward earning good will. It means you're acting in good faith and not trying to scam folks. Things could turn around for Starfish, they could be successfully funded, and we could see Starfish watches alongside Pebble at some point in 2014. Or, they're not funded. Or, they could turn out like Code Hero developers and potentially face a class-action lawsuit, and that's something I don't want to see happen to anyone.
Three things about Macworld/iWorld 2013
For the TUAW staff, Macworld/iWorld 2013 enabled a good chunk of our staff to get together in a way that we normally can't because of distance. We had fun, as we do every year, and not everything we see on the show floor made it into a news article. So, here are three observations from each TUAW staffer that attended -- from the silly to the serious and everything in-between. Mike Schramm 1. The iPad-equipped telepresence robot was probably the most impressive thing I saw on the show floor. The price means I personally won't get one, but just seeing the robot in action (and controlling it with another iPad) made me realize the possibilities for using Apple's extremely powerful tablet to support and enhance other technologies. That's what Macworld is all about these days: you own Apple products, and what else can you do with them? 2. The Jam monkey was an endless source of fascination for me as well. It was a live wild animal on the show floor of Macworld! I'm hoping someone tries to up the ante even higher next year by bringing, say, a real mountain lion. 3. Finally, aside from all of the silliness on the show floor, I think the community is why a lot of visitors still come to this show, and it's definitely one of my favorite features. It's always great to see everyone we've known for years now in this community, whether it's shaking hands in the hallway, sharing stories over dinner, or clinking drinks at the TUAW meetup. Yes, it's always good to see the new apps and new accessories, but my favorite thing about this show is the people. Kelly Guimont 1. NOT all iPhone cases! I heard a lot of grumbling this year from people who were dismissive (I think the addition of "iWorld" to the name of the expo started it) of the entire experience, claiming it was just a room full of iPhone cases and that couldn't be further from the truth. There were a lot of iOS products, sure, but the show was, as Adam Christianson said, proportional. 2. There were some "novelty" items, but what I liked this year was the trend toward utility in accessories. Chef Sleeve is the first company that comes to mind, making kitchen accessories that incorporate the iPad. Now that people are done oohing and ahhing over The New Apple Thing, what other uses are there? It's exciting. 3. I'm going to crib from Mike, since this is always my favorite thing about Macworld: Community. I love getting to meet people, I love hearing about the new thing, and this year as a speaker I got to interact with a whole new group of people. We had the TUAW meetup, Smile's tenth anniversary party, Cirque du Mac, there were so many opportunities to hang out with the rest of the Mac community in a way that no amount of tweeting or podcasting will ever match. Steve Sande 1. OK, so I'm cheating by reading what Kelly and Mike already wrote, but they are 100% correct when they say that Macworld/iWorld is all about community. Seriously, I talked with so many people so much during the three days I was in San Francisco that I could barely talk when I got home. It's not just the other bloggers; it's about meeting the developers and manufacturers that we work with, and getting to meet a bunch of TUAW readers. The TUAW Meetup (see picture below) was a blast, although next year we'll need to schedule it so that it doesn't conflict with Cirque du Mac. 2. I'm always impressed by what I see at the OWC booth, and this year's selection of products was amazing. Whether it was the upcoming 2 TB SSD or their big NAS box, or the updates to existing products like the Power2U wall socket, it was a blast meeting with the OWC folks again this year. 3. While attendance at Macworld/iWorld 2013 didn't seem to be lacking, the amount of open space on the floor at Moscone West seemed to indicate that not as many vendors decided to shell out the money to exhibit their wares this year. Many of the booths were smaller this year than they were in the past. It's beginning to look as if the real reason to attend Macworld/iWorld is for the conference sessions and community, not to wander the floor in search of non-dairy cheese or children's bicycles -- both of which were items on display. Mike Rose 1. Appalooza. The "bullpen" exhibit area of small boothlets remains a dense yet pleasant sector. While it wasn't as packed solid as in years past (keeping in mind that I missed last year's show -- my comparisons are from 2011 to 2013), it still provides a much-needed opportunity for app developers and newcomers to the Apple ecosystem to get their products in front of people. In particular, it was great to talk to the guys from RAGE Software (EasyWeb), the ByteSquared team (Office2HD) and the VoiceOver-optimized VO Calendar developer. 2. San Francisco. So many of my friends, collaborators and past colleagues live in the Bay Area; it never seems like there's enough time to catch up with them all. Having a central event to pull everyone in makes it much easier to connect. 3. Loyalty. There's a solid economic argument to be made for participation in Macworld/iWorld as an exhibitor; one accessory vendor, with a centrally located booth, told me that they expected to make back their costs in sales alone -- meaning that all the brand awareness and user contact is just gravy. Still, the fact that some heavy hitters continue to bring full-size booths year after year is quite heartwarming. Thanks to you, HP and Crashplan, Belkin and OWC, Fujitsu and HYPER -- and thanks to your fellow travelers upstairs in the Mac IT mini-exhibit hall, Parallels, VMware, Absolute and JAMF. Your exhibitor fees help make the whole Macworld go round. Victor Agreda, Jr. 1. Developers! Like Mike R. said, there's never enough time to catch up with everyone. That's why we have so many parties and meetups to choose from. Still, meeting and sharing feedback one-on-one is so valuable that it's probably my favorite part of the entire show. 2. Wacky products. Starfish, the vaporware hit of the show is an example of bad execution. But then there's the Bowblade, which I dismissed at first. Then I went by the booth, spoke to the father/son team who made it, and understood that it's more of an exercise tool than archery simulator. A lot of writers seemed to chuckle at the homebrew nature of the device, and the price -- as did I -- but the creators have their hearts in the right place. Macworld's expo floor is a fun jaunt if you love entrepreneurs and creativity. 3. Programming. Not code, but the sessions, the presentations, the IT track... Even with quite a few TUAW writers on deck every day we weren't able to cover it all. As I wandered about I saw engaged viewers really digging whatever they were watching. We had a few attendees and speakers at sessions, and from what I hear the audience was thrilled with the content. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the talk with Josh Gad and Ashton Kutcher went, and was sad that I missed Fred Armisen. There's a lot more to the Macworld/iWorld experience than just the parties and show floor, and as a learning and growing experience, it's still one of the best conferences I attend. Oh, and I got a hug from Paul Kent. Randy Nelson 1. This was my first Macworld, so I went into it with only my own notions of what it would be like, and I have to say that they were pretty spot-on. I expected to see a lot of innovation and creativity and I wasn't disappointed. This was evident in all of the new approches to using iOS devices I saw, from the semi-ludicrous Bowblade to the imminently more functional (and portable) Olloclip lens system. It was just great to see so many new ways to use the technology we love in different ways. 2. Sharing! Even if there weren't exhibitors to visit or panels to attend, I would go to Macworld purely for the chance to meet so many devoted Apple fans and share the ways we've come up with to use the technology or use it better. 3. For the fans. Unlike other expos I attend every year such as E3 and Game Developers Conference, Macworld is open to the public. This means that it has a very different vibe, and frankly one that I like a lot more. It's not just about product demos and interviews with various companies; there's a chance for the everyday fan to interact with the people and businesses that drive their hobby, and I think it benefits both sides. I have to imagine the companies that attend leave the show with a much better appreciation for their customers along with a lot of ideas of how to better serve their needs with new products and enhancements to existing ones. Megan Lavey-Heaton 1. I'm the last one to add my thoughts, ergo I get to peek at what the rest of my co-conspirators wrote, and I agree with them on community and fans. My first Macworld was last year, and I was so overwhelmed that I didn't get as much out of it as I thought I had. This year was better in every respective -- from interaction with fans to networking with other people in the Mac community, vendors and developers. It felt like I had a place in this community, or as Randy told me at one point, I had found my people. San Francisco and the expo were no longer strangers, and I could navigate the show floor without having a map. That being said ... 2. I found that the show floor was laid out much better than last year's. I agree that it appeared that the number of vendors was less, but I think repeat vendors were also using their space more effectively. There was a nice seating area in the middle of the Appalooza, and the tables that were at the back last year was moved to the unused space on the sides. I noticed that they allowed the doors to open a few minutes early rather than have a huge mass of people force their way through right at opening time. It's these little touches that make the experience not only better for media, but for fans as well. 3. The tech talks, workshops and other sessions. They weren't just on the show floor either. OmniFocus had hosted one-on-one sessions at the Cartoon Art Museum to help users leap over the learning curve in using the program. I chatted with Macworld's Serenity Caldwell on Friday about her session on the basics of building ebooks, and other tech talks included digital art, photography, design, development security and more. They even allowed a couple of ne'er-do-wells (and Jeff Gamet) to run a session on how to pitch your app to the media. These sessions weren't just interesting, they were extremely useful for fans and the media. I just wish I had managed to attend some of them!
Olloclip shows off upcoming case at Macworld/iWorld 2013
Olloclip's self-named clip-on lens (US$69.99) for iPhone was one of the early success stories of Kickstarter, and now the Huntington Beach, Calif., company is expanding into other related products for advanced iPhoneography. I spoke with Olloclip CEO Patrick O'Neill at Macworld/iWorld 2013 about the company's existing lineup and future plans, and found that they're thriving. During most of the show, there was a line of people buying the Olloclip lens kits for the iPhone 4/4S or iPhone 5. They're certainly popular with the TUAW team, most of whom snapped up Olloclips for their iPhones and were using the wide-angle and fisheye lenses during the conference and expo. One of the most fascinating things at Olloclip's Macworld booth was a product that's not out yet -- a polycarbonate case that works perfectly with the Olloclip lenses and provides more than just protection. There's a rotating cover (image above) to protect the camera on your iPhone that also adds a nice "shutter button" to make snapping photos with the volume up button a piece of cake. In addition, there's a removable clip-on piece (image below) that offers a tripod mount on one side and a "cold shoe" for mounting other accessories on the other end. We don't know the name of the upcoming case or the price, nor do we have an expected delivery date. But if you're one of those people who incessantly uses an Olloclip to snap macro or fisheye images, the case will give you a way to keep your phone scratch-free and replace the need for a Glif or other tool to attach it to a tripod.
LUMOback wants to help you prevent back pain through good posture
After sitting, standing and walking like a caveman for pretty much all of Macworld/iWorld 2013, it was fitting that one of my last stops of the show was to visit the folks behind the LUMOback posture sensor. Now, I know what you're thinking: "A posture sensor? Seriously? This biometric tracking thing has gone too far!" I don't blame you; in fact, that was exactly my line of thought before I saw what they're doing. But as a longtime back pain sufferer, I can't help but applaud what this device's creators are trying to accomplish. Another Kickstarter success story, the LUMOback (US$149) is a band-style sensor that you wear on your lower back with the help of an adjustable strap. Designed by three Stanford graduates, the gadget is able to tell if you're slouching or otherwise maintaining improper posture when sitting, standing or even walking, and gives you feedback by both vibrating and sending updates to a companion iOS app. In fact, the data is accurate enough for the app to generate a charming avatar that accurately mimics your current posture, so you can see exactly what you're doing right (or, in most cases, wrong). The idea behind the hardware and software combo is to encourage proper posture so that you'll ultimately feel better. As LUMOback co-creator and CEO Monisha Perkash explained to me, it's meant to be both a guide and a continual reminder to sit and stand straight. It'll also give you a heads up if you've been sitting for too long, something I can definitely appreciate as a writer. That way, over time you'll develop a habit of doing both and reap the benefits, such as less back discomfort, a stronger core and even potentially more confidence. LUMOback works with any iOS device that supports the Bluetooth low energy standard, so that means any iPhone after and including the 4S, the third- and fourth-generation iPad, the iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch. It charges via a micro-USB connection and its battery lasts about four days between charges. We're planning to do a full review of the LUMOback on TUAW, so if it seems like something of interest to you, you'll want to stay tuned.
Belight Software takes a chance on gaming with Rails at Macworld 2013
Belight Software was showing off one of the few games on the floor of Macworld 2013 last week. The company usually makes utility apps, but just recently released its first game, called Rails, available on the iPad right now. The game is kind of a personal project for the devs -- they were big fans of an old DOS game called Short Line Express, and decided to make a game like that for the iPad. I found the game relatively similar to Matt Rix's game Trainyard, though it doesn't have that title's abstract feel. Instead, it's a little more straightforward -- you have a series of guidelines around each stage that you can draw tracks on, and then trains come out of different colored stations, and need to be delivered to stations of the same color. Trainyard's complexity came in its tracks, but Rails' complexity comes with its trains: Each one has a different ability that has to be either used or dealt with in a certain way as you guide them home. The game starts out simply, with the player just hitting switches and drawing tracks as needed. But things get very complicated. All trains will crash if they hit each other (except for bumper trains, which have the special ability of just reversing when they hit another train), but there are also trains like Kamikaze trains, which will do their best to drive towards other trains, or longer snake trains which are tougher to maneuver around, or trains that need to be kept on the track for as long as possible, or cleared through the station quickly. With all of these various elements, the game can get quite frantic, asking the player to switch trains and cars quickly after a while. Rails is a "project of interest" for Belight -- the company generally sticks with (and is happy with) utility apps, but the team obviously has a drive to make this one. It's done alright so far, according to the company's rep, and there's a Mac version coming to the Mac App Store as well. In the future, Belight is planning to add some features into this one, including the oft-requested ability to delete tracks. The rep also told us at Macworld that they may put some related games together for it as well, or the team may choose to create some other games. It's an interesting strategy -- the team is simply chasing their passions with this game, and it definitely shows.
Clean My Mac 2 coming in February
Clean My Mac is an app that arrived a few years ago from developer Macpaw, and allowed you to go in and clear up any unneeded system files that you happened to have sitting around on your drive. Last week on the show floor of Macworld 2013, Macpaw was in attendance showing off version 2 of the software, which is set to be released for sale in February. We got a nice tour through the app at Macpaw's booth, and it looks exactly like what the second version of a great app should: It's both simpler and more powerful. The complicated list on the side of the first version has been replaced by a smaller list of cleaner options, though the new app offers just as many opportunities (more, in fact) to wipe any offending files off of your hard drive forever. At the top of the window, as you can see above, there is an option for Automatic cleanup. If you want, you can just set Clean My Mac to start running and clean your computer with the default settings, but each of the other little windows offer additional options. System Cleanup lets you choose which system files you would like to wipe off of your hard drive, and "Large and Old Files" lets you target exactly that, listing bigger files or files that haven't been touched in some time that you can delete at your leisure. After that, the tabs offer some new options. iPhoto Cleanup targets Apple's photo application. Some users may not know that when you edit a photo in iPhoto, your Mac actually saves both the new photo and an old copy, so if you've made a lot of edits in that app, you could have a number of duplicates in your library that you don't need (speaking personally, I know my iPhoto library is often one of the most wasteful areas on my hard drive). Clean My Mac can clear those out with just one button push. Trash Cleanup is pretty self-explanatory, offering the option to wipe out your trash folder, without an issue. The app also has a "paranoia mode," which will not only wipe out the files of your choice, but then overwrite those with random code, meaning that they really are gone forever, without any hope of recovery. Obviously, that's not for casual use, but if you want to make sure those files are gone, that's a nice option to have. Finally, the Uninstaller and Extensions Manager tabs have been completely rewritten. The Uninstaller is similar to the great AppZapper, and will allow you to kill any apps you have installed, along with any other related files you happen to have on your hard drive. The Eraser tab offers you full control over your hard drive. It's faster than Finder, Macpaw says, and it will allow you to go in and delete any files you want anywhere in your file system, regardless of the consequences (which you'll have to deal with yourself). Because Clean My Mac offers such control over your computer (and could possibly damage your file system if you happen to delete something that's necessary), Macpaw isn't offering it over the Mac App Store at all -- the company says that Apple wouldn't allow it. But the app will be available through the company's website next month for US$29.99. And current users of the app, Macpaw told us, will get the update for free. Clean My Mac remains a powerful solution for cleaning up your hard drive, and the second version offers a much cleaner and more sensible interface for this great app.
Henge's horizontal dock will be a great investment for your Retina MacBook Pro
For Retina display MacBook Pro owners, the Henge Horizontal Dock will be the best investment you can make in your system beyond the computer itself, especially if you utilize multiple displays. Originally unveiled at CES, the US$249 system nabbed a Best of Show award at Macworld/iWorld 2013, and a brief demo proves that it deserves the status. This meaty dock boasts an impressive 14 ports, including two audio ports, six USB 3.0 ports, FireWire 800, Ethernet and an SD card slot. It can also manage up to three external displays, as seen above. A push button neatly ejects the MacBook Pro from the dock, and software will allow you to configure your screens so everything snaps into place once you plug it in. There will be two flavors of the horizontal dock: one with Thunderbolt support ($349) and one without. The horizontal dock without Thunderbolt support will be released during the third financial quarter of 2013, the one with Thunderbolt during the fourth quarter. The docks will accommodate MacBook Pros with Retina displays and all MacBook Airs.
Rain Design launches iSlider at Macworld/iWorld 2013
We haven't seen much out of Rain Design in the past few years. The iRest won Macworld Best of Show in 2011, but there was nothing new new at Macworld in 2012. Later in the year, the company rolled out the mTower, a stand that looks like it was designed to compete against TwelveSouth's BookArc line and upgraded its mStand to include a swivel base. For Macworld/iWorld 2013, the company unveiled another iOS-centered accessory: the iSlider. Made of anodized alumnium like many of Rain Design's other products, the stand can fold down into a small wedge and be tucked into the side pocket of a bag. It's billed as being used for an iPhone or iPad, but this is best suited for an iPad or iPad mini. The iSlider will retail for US$49.95, but Rain Design doesn't have it on its website yet.
Talkcast tonight: Post-Expo hangover edition, 10pm ET/7pm PT
We came, we saw, we sang a little karaoke and met an adorable monkey. Macworld/iWorld 2013 is in the books, and this is the first chance we've had to breathe a little and take stock. Of course, the best way to do that is to counterprogram the blackout-delayed Super Bowl and host our regular weekly gabfest, the Talkcast! Mike R. is fighting off the "expo crud" and sends his regrets, but I'll be there with bells on and ready to go. We'd love to hear your impressions of the show if you were there; your distant takes if you weren't. Products you saw, heard about or shook your head in disbelief at? Let us know. To participate live during the show, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
Rostami Magic tries its hand at wowing Macworld crowds
Another thing I wasn't expecting to see at Macworld/iWorld 2013: a magic show. But that's just what I got when visiting Rostami Magic's kiosk at Appalooza this week. The developer was showing of its suite of magic apps for iOS and, unsurprisingly, an expo like this made an excellent venue for showing what they can do. The US$2.99 iForce was up first. This app is billed as being able to make astonishing predictions and it delivered on the show floor. Designed to look like a drawing app, it lets you make predictions about various things -- someone's favorite food, for example -- which will be revealed when you turn your phone over. I saw it "predict" that a show-goer was going to produce a $100 bill from his wallet, and that another would get tails on three coin flips in a row. iPredict+ (also $2.99 on the App Store) was perhaps even more mesmerizing. To demonstrate this app, a show attendee was asked to pick a card -- any card -- from a standard deck and show it to the rest of us. Then, another onlooker was instructed to call a psychic on her own iPhone, using a number from the magician's Address Book. We listened as the call went to voicemail, but the message accurately pegged the card that'd been drawn. Rostami's magic apps seem like a perfect, fairly low-cost way to amaze people at parties and other social gatherings and I have to say that I was genuinely impressed by the results they delivered during the demo. They didn't seem simple in the least -- these are high-quality tricks for the digital age, and definitely worth a look.
Caturday: Actually, today is Macworld Monkeyday
It's Caturday, but we're also at Macworld/iWorld 2013, and it was the perfect chance to spotlight a special guest who made an appearance DreamWalk Interactive booth on the show floor: a capuchin monkey. DreamWalk, the developers of Jam for iPhone, use a cartoon monkey as an avatar. They admit that show organizers told them they couldn't have the real flesh-and-fur monkey on the floor, but they decided to brave the wrath of IDG and show off their friend anyhow. We'll see how long this visit lasts. Check out the video below, and we'll be back to our normal parade of felines next week. The cats will seem not to care that we left them alone for a week, but no doubt we'll find our iPhone sync cable shredded on the bathroom floor soon.
Pixelmator's Shapes interface coming soon
Pixelmator is one of my favorite apps on the Mac -- I've been following it for a long time, and whenever I want to do any photo editing beyond a quick resize (and sometimes even when I want to do that), I click the Pixelmator icon in my Dock. This week at Macworld/iWorld 2013, Pixelmator's Ausra Meskauskaite kindly stopped by the media room to visit with the TUAW team, and chat about what Pixelmator's Lithuania-based developers have been up to recently. It turns out they've been busy: The company is just about to introduce the long-awaited Shapes feature, allowing designers and artists to drag pre-created (or custom-made) shapes onto a digital canvas, and then edit various attributes of those shapes, like painting them with a color gradient, growing or shrinking them, and masking or layering them as needed. Pixelmator has planned to implement a shape element for a long time, and Photoshop users will know how useful dealing with shapes can be. But Meskauskaite told me that Pixelmator took its time working with the new feature, because they thought they could implement it better than Adobe did with Photoshop. The final interface certainly does seem simple -- you can just drag a shape out, and then drag a gradient onto it as needed. Clicking on the placed shape brings up a series of control points, and those can be dragged around to get the shape exactly where you need it. You can even convert text over to a shape, and then interact with it in the same way. I'm not a design expert, but the whole interface seemed very fluid and easy to use. Pixelmator is also working on an interface for layer styles, although I didn't get a chance to see that one in action just yet. Meskauskaite said that the company spent much of 2012 just making sure the app was running well and correctly, and now that 2013 has arrived, the focus will move to start putting new features in, like the shapes and upcoming layer styles interfaces. Unfortunately, not everything has gone smoothly with Pixelmator in the last year or so. Meskauskaite told me that whenever Apple offers a cool new feature in OS X, "we take it and place it in the app." Pixelmator saw Apple's Auto Save feature, and immediately decided to add it into the app, but that change ended up rubbing a lot of users the wrong way. The problem is that Auto Save automatically wrote over any changes users made to images, which means that "Save As..." no longer worked (since the original image was replaced by the image being worked on, rather than being separate from it). Instead of "Save As...", Pixelmator has implemented an "Export" screen, but the change in workflow has caused a lot of problems for users, admits Meskauskaite. She told me that "we had debates day and night" about how to deal with the Auto Save problem, and in the end, "we had to choose Auto Save." Users who understand how Auto Save works have dealt with the change better, she says, but Pixelmator also understands why users still attached to the old workflow would be frustrated, and the team is working on finding a solution that makes as many people happy as possible. Pixelmator famously moved exclusively on to the Mac App Store a little while ago, and Meskauskaite says they're very happy to be selling apps (a lot of apps) via Apple's platform. I asked what the company might want out of the App Store in the future, and Meskauskaite said the number one thing they're looking for is volume purchasing. That's a feature that came to the iOS store a while ago, but hasn't yet shown up on the Mac App Store yet, and Pixelmator believes they would do well with it. As for the future, Pixelmator certainly has plans, but couldn't share any of them just yet. Getting the 2.2 Blueberry "Shapes" update out is the current focus, and it should be available soon, and definitely in a beta form later on this month. As for the other updates, we'll just have to wait and see.
Digital artists take the spotlight at the Nomad Brush booth
Mike Schramm looked at the Nomad Flex in October, and he liked it as a tool for aspiring artists to use. I stopped by their booth at Macworld/iWorld 2013 on Thursday, and a bunch of those aspiring artists were clustered around iPads to try the brush out. The US$29.99 Flex is the star of the booth, as it has a synthetic soft brush tip and comes in five colors. Along with all of the demo units, Nomad has also recruited a number of iPad-based digital artists to discuss their work this week in the booth. I spoke with Sumit Vishwakarma, who led a tech talk on Thursday about creating art on the iPad. Vishwakarma is also offering classes that teach artists how to integrate digital techniques with traditional art. They're also giving advice to booth visitors, which is really a nice bonus for anyone who stops by. If you're heading to the expo on Saturday, take a moment to go hands-on with a Nomad Brush and get in touch with your inner artist.
Rage Software demos EasyWeb at Macworld: a modern replacement for iWeb
Apple's abandonment of iWeb has left a lot of would-be web admins unhappy. If you had a pre-Mac App Store copy of the app on DVD, you can still install it and even design sites, but some of the previous functionality and MobileMe iWeb publishing is gone. Rage Software is demoing EasyWeb at Macworld/iWorld 2013, an easy website design and publishing app that may be a worthy successor to iWeb. Megan Lavey-Heaton and I took a look at a pre-release version of the app, which provides design flexibility that wasn't available in iWeb. Users can start with predesigned themes (a number of designers are working on themes for EasyWeb) or a blank slate. While iWeb was stuck with one-level horizontal menus, EasyWeb users can choose from vertical or horizontal menus complete with drop-downs. There are a number of widgets built into the app for functionality like adding Google AdSense ads, Vimeo or YouTube movies, PayPal payments or social media (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Pinterest, etc...) links. At this time, there's no word on the cost of the app or when it will be available. The company will be offering a MobileMe-like hosting service at US$99 per year to enable one-click publishing of sites, but alternative/BYO hosting isn't going to be in version 1 of the product.
Airturn is a Bluetooth-enabled music page turner for iPad
We heard about the Airturn when it first released a few years ago, and the company is here at Macworld/iWorld 2013 this week in San Francisco, showing off both the older two-pedal unit, and the brand new four-pedal unit you can see above. That piece in the middle of each unit is a Bluetooth device, and it hooks up to about 40 different music apps and score readers on iOS, so that musicians can turn pages and scroll down virtual music sheets without using their hands. There's even optional bite- and tongue-switch accessories The standard Airturn unit, called the BT-105, is US$120, and you can set up the pedals in quite a few apps to not only turn the page, but also toggle audio or navigate lists as you go. The four-pedal version arrived last year, and it's $159 (though both models have a discount on at the expo this weekend). Airturn shared a booth with a company called The Gig Easy, that makes music stands for the iPad. They seemed very sturdy indeed, and I'm not sure what else you'd want from a way to hold your iPad up while you play. Seems like there are plenty of excellent options for musicians looking to use iOS to read and play their tunes.
Kröme case for iPhone promises interchangeable add-ons
Danville, Calif.-based Kröme has a unique angle on the growing trend of iPhone cases that feature storage for things like credit cards, keys and cash (such as the iLid we recently checked out). For its signature product, the company is planning a range of interchangeable "cartridges" that add functionality beyond the included storage space meant for items that normally reside in your wallet. The US$38.95 case is available in black, white, red or pink for the iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5. Its rubberized polycarbonate shell has a recess that accommodates the included flip-open cartridge -- either the CargoCase (holds up to 12 business cards or five credit cards) or CompactCase (five business cards or two credit cards). Both configurations cost the same, and both feature a scratch-resistant mirror that can be used as a compact. The compartment's door also acts as a horizontal and vertical kickstand when opened. Like we said, though, the most unique aspect of the Kröme case is its ability to be expanded with other feature packs. The in-development options include the SolarCase (solar charging panel), MeterCase (blood glucose and other sensors), MemoryCase (flash memory drive), BatteryCase (extended battery), LaserCase (laser pointer and LED light) and ToolCase (multi-tool). Right now, the accessories only exist in prototype form and Kröme isn't talking about planned release dates or pricing for any of them, so the case's true potential remains very much "to be determined." For now, it's going to have to rely on the flip-open design and built-in mirror to distinguish it from the pack.
MMT offers a mobile monitor for your Mac or iPad
This is the first Macworld for MMT, Mobile Monitor Technologies, and the company is offering a slightly different twist on portable USB monitors. Each is wrapped in brushed aluminum, and each has a nice build quality with what appears to be an outstanding screen. But there's a model with a numeric keypad installed (handy for your laptop), and a model which allows you to show your iPad's screen (for presentations). The Monitor2Go model for iPad is somewhat like a clamshell case, but as you can see from the picture below, it's not really designed as a case. Instead, you have a monitor which you can flip up and swivel 180 degrees around, allowing you to show someone sitting across from your what's on your iPad. There are also USB and HDMI connections, which are handy. The 1,366 x 768 resolution Monitor2Go sells for US$299, while the 1,600 x 900 version sells for $329. Both screens are 15.6 inches diagonally, and both support the iPad 2 and iPad 3 with built-in slots for both. The Field Monitor Pro is the Mac version (seen below), with a numeric keypad built into the aluminum chassis. It's DisplayLink-certified, and according to MMT you can daisy chain up to six of these things off a single USB! The Field Monitor Pro also includes USB and HDMI, and features a resolution of 1,366x768 on a 15.6-inch screen. It retails for $289. We hope to have a hands-on with one or both of these in the future.
Daylight Viewfinder keeps the sun from spoiling your photo taking
I've been pretty successful thus far in my ongoing quest to find the most unusual accessories here at Macworld/iWorld 2013, what with products like the BowBlade catching my eye. Today I ran across a little doodad called the Daylight Viewfinder, which is an optical viewfinder -- the kind you'll find on DSLR cameras and the like -- that sticks to your iPhone or iPod touch screen and lets you see what you're shooting even if the sun's washing out your display. Launched in late December of last year, the Daylight Viewfinder was designed for use in settings where you're going to be battling the sun's rays, such as at the beach or while hiking. The lightweight device attaches to your display using strong suction -- there's no chance of it coming off unintentionally -- and telescopes out, so you don't have to put your eye right up against your screen. A soft rubber eyepiece helps to block out all external light. The Daylight Viewfinder works with a free app of the same name available on the App Store. When you fire it up, it displays a thick white circle indicating where to attach the viewfinder on your screen. In terms of controls, it features a shutter button, flash control and toggle for switching between still photo and view mode. It also offers a digital zoom and a means to access your camera roll. While looking through the viewfinder, you see a display very similar to that of a hand-held view camera. Since the accessory is enlarging it optically, the actual view is pretty low-res, but it gets the job done. Since you can't look at your device's display to change settings while you're peering into the viewfinder, the app uses a unique tap-and-lift interface, where you have to tap your screen, drag your finger -- represented by a circle -- to the option you want and release. It takes a little getting used to, but it's a clever approach to an obvious problem with the setup. We tried the Daylight Viewfinder outside of the Moscone Center in a setting that would normally have prevented us from getting a good view of what we were shooting and came away impressed. We've not sure about how often we'd find ourselves using the accessory day-to-day, but those who have frequent run-ins with wash-out and glare might think the US$29.95 price tag is worth it. The Daylight Viewfinder is available for order directly from its makers or at Macworld/iWorld for the reduced price of $22.99
