Tim Wasson

Reviews

Reviews By Tim Wasson

Super-panoramic showdown for Mac

There are several photo-stitchers available for Mac (and several for iPhone as well), and most do a stellar job for stitching together 3-4 images into a panoramic image. However, I recently completed a project that required stitching together hundreds of images into some very large panoramas of several locations around beautiful Peoria, Illinois. What I found is that some of the programs which do admirable work on small stitching jobs performed very poorly on larger-scale panoramas. I tried several programs with varying results, and you can check out my showdown below.

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Smartphones By Tim Wasson

Dangerously driving a car with an iPhone

Here at TUAW we've seen lots of uses for the iPhone as a remote control, but if you were watching and thinking that those projects were way too safe, then the guys at Waterloo Labs have got you covered. They approached the project with a low budget and DIY attitude, building a low-cost (relatively speaking) car that is controlled by a first generation iPhone. Not content with just building the car, they also chose to car-surf on the hood and roof, Teen Wolf style, while testing their handiwork. While we at TUAW do not condone such dangerous behavior, we can recommend that you watch this other video by Waterloo Labs as a more in-depth instructional video on how to build your own vehicle.

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Computing

Computing By Tim Wasson

Putting an SSD upgrade in a 24" iMac

SSDs, or solid-state drives, are all the rage in portables these days. They come in MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs directly from Apple (with the appropriate upgrades, of course), and we've seen people upgrade their old-school mechanical drives, hack in a second drive to take advantage of the speed of a shiny new SSD, oreven put one in an AppleTV. Desktop computers are usually left out of the solid-state love-fest. After all, 3.5" drives are usually less expensive than a 2.5" drive of a similar capacity, and desktop machines are less prone to damage to the disk since they are usually stationary when running. However, there are times when a solid-state upgrade to a desktop machine makes sense. For Jason Siebert, this was one of those times. When the drive on his 24" iMac started showing the tell-tale signs of a drive on the brink of death, he decided to tear the machine apart and throw in a smaller & faster SSD, and use his Drobo for external storage. Installation was simple for the most part, but some adjustments had to be made to allow for installing a 2.5" drive in the space of a 3.5" drive, and some finagling of the drive due to a too-short SATA cable. The result is a pretty satisfying speed increase when it comes to opening up applications, and especially when running a virtual machine. Check out the installation instructions and first impressions on Jason's website. Any upgrades like this should be performed only by skilled users, and of course it may will void your warranty. Proceed at your own risk.

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Streaming

Streaming By Tim Wasson

Podcasting advice for the amateur or expert

There's no shortage of podcasting equipment out there for amateurs or professionals. These audio devices can range from a few bucks to a few thousand bucks, which sometimes makes it difficult to figure out exactly what equipment is best for you. Well, lucky for you Dan Benjamin at Hivelogic has written a very thorough article on the best equipment in every price range. It covers all bases, from the person who has never recorded before to the person making the leap into the "pro" category and ready to drop a grand to improve audio quality. As an amateur podcaster myself I was a little surprised that my beloved Ubercaster and Blue Snowball were left out in the cold, but the article is still very helpful to people looking for the best hardware and software at different price points. If you've been considering buying or upgrading your gear, this is the article to read.

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Computing

Computing By Tim Wasson

Mini gets a server-style upgrade

Apple has given the mini a bit of a bump this morning, including a mini without an optical drive, twice the storage and of course a copy of OS X Server. It is meant to be a solution for those small businesses out there that are too small to need an Xserve, as well as media enthusiasts who are looking for a quick and easy way to share their stuff. Since it lacks an onboard optical drive, it works with the USB Super Drive, originally meant only for the MacBook Air, for disc-required functions. The Mac mini server sells for $999US.

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Apps By Tim Wasson

Distributing iTunes LPs without iTunes

Within days of the iTunes 9 and iTunes LP announcement, people had already thoroughly hacked apart the iTunes LP format only to discover it was just a clever combination of images, HTML, CSS and Javascript. Because any web developer could create an iTunes LP, it seemed strange that indie labels were left out in the cold, with LPs having a high cost of entry and no distribution of their LPs on the iTunes Store. We do have a report this morning of Apple announcing that they'll be opening up the LP format, but a few inventive artists appear to have leapfrogged that step towards glasnost. It was only a matter of time before someone starting offering iTunes LPs in other ways, and iTunesLP.net is that someone. They're already offering up Disney's Fantasia in the iTunes LP format, but no music is included. Installing the LP is as easy and double-clicking the downloaded file, but for the music to play properly it must be correctly tagged and named, and of course you need a legitimate way to get the music in question. Even though the site only offers 1 LP currently, it has plenty of tutorials and directions on how to create and distribute your own. As long as no copyright laws are being broken, I think creating and distributing these LPs is a great idea. It offers users the chance to create visually stunning LPs for older music that the labels wouldn't bother with, and it offers indie labels the chance to get iTunes LPs out there, even if they're not yet available directly in the iTunes Store. With Apple's new policy towards opening up the LP format, this may be a brief opportunity for the workaround, but it's nice to see.

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Apps By Tim Wasson

Gimme some sugar, baby: Army of Darkness sounds on the iPhone

Long before I was an Apple nerd, I was a horror nerd. More specifically, I was an Evil Dead/Sam Raimi/Bruce Campbell freak, and even maintained a website devoted to their 1993 masterpiece. I'm both surprised and excited to see my two obsessions collide in the form of an iPhone app devoted to Army of Darkness [iTunes link], the third of the Evil Dead series. Sure, some people use their iPhones to be more productive and create spreadsheets, but sometimes you just need a simple app that screams "shop smart, shop S-Mart!" or "see this? This is my BOOMSTICK!" The app is a simple soundboard app, consisting of 16 audio clips from the film that can be played at the touch of a button. There's also a "slideshow" mode where you can hear all the clips in a row accompanied by an image slideshow. It is definitely not the most full-featured iPhone app, but for the horror fans out there it will make a great addition to your iPhone dock. The app is free and, as far as I'm concerned, essential to every iPhone. If you like it, be sure to check out the other MGM soundboard apps [iTunes link] with audio clips from Robocop, Silence of the Lambs, Fargo and Rocky (all free except for Rocky, which is $0.99). [via iPhone Savior] Thanks to Seth for the tip!

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Apple

Apple By Tim Wasson

Inside the new iTunes LP format

With the release of iTunes 9 came iTunes LP. Our own Dave Caolo gave iTunes LP a glowing review, but if you're wondering just how Apple worked their magic with the new format, web developer Jay Robinson has picked it apart thoroughly. As it turns out, simply replacing the ".itlp" extension with ".zip" reveals the contents of the package, which are actually HTML, CSS, and a little JavaScript. The Flash-like interfaces really use no Flash, but instead rely on the proposed CSS3 animation properties. If you're a web developer like yours truly (or a few other TUAW bloggers), you'll definitely want to check out Jay's analysis of the format. We've also been informed by a loyal tipster that if you take that unzipped folder of content and put it in your Sites directory (with Web sharing turned on, naturally), you might try browsing to it from your iPhone or iPod touch and seeing what shows up in Mobile Safari. Fascinating.

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Entertainment

Entertainment By Tim Wasson

Found Footage: Use your iPhone in your Halloween costume

Are you still struggling to find that perfect Halloween costume this year? Here at TUAW headquarters we've seen people dress as iPhones, more iPhones, even more iPhones, iPods, and of course more iPods. If you're looking to use Apple gear for your costume in a way that's a little more unique, check out this robot head made using MouthOff, aluminum foil, tons of tape, and of course an iPhone. While the execution leaves a little to be desired, the idea is a solid one that can be adapted to many types of costumes. If only the iPhone app supplied a hole to eat and drink through, this costume idea would be flawless. [via Engadget]

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Laptops

Laptops By Tim Wasson

Hacking in a second hard drive in a MacBook Pro

Need more hard drive space in your MacBook Pro? Well, if you're not scared to get your hands dirty with a little hacking, and not too attached to your DVD drive, you can hack your way to twice the hard drives. This particular user faced a dilemma when purchasing his new MacBook Pro: get the faster SSD hard drive or the larger capacity rotational drive. Instead of settling on either of those options, he removed his DVD drive, hacked together an adapter to interface with the proprietary Apple connector, and installed a second hard drive. The result is a "best of both worlds" scenario for him; a faster boot time and responsiveness, and plenty of space available for movies and music. He posted several pictures and instructions if you're ready to take the plunge into a dual-hard-drive notebook. There is some harsh language in the post, so you may not want to open this at work. Any hacks like this should be performed only by skilled users. This will void your warranty, folks, so proceed at your own risk. [via Hack A Day]

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Apps By Tim Wasson

TUAW Fitness: An Apple a day update

About two weeks ago I pledged to lose weight using my iPhone, AppleTV and Mac. Well, I'm happy to report that I've lost a whopping 6 pounds since then using my iPhone 3GS. Below is a short list of the apps I used as well as a mini-review of each. LIVESTRONG This iPhone app has a great feature set for calorie, exercise and weight tracking, although it is not without its problems. Overall, it needs a little "spit and polish." The foods I logged often failed to save correctly when I initially entered them. Instead, I'd have to save them, then go back and edit them in order to adjust time of day, or servings eaten. It wasn't a huge deal, but calorie tracking should be quick and easy to encourage me to keep doing it. If every entry takes twice as long because of editing, well, I'm probably going to give up eventually. Which I did. In addition, the exercise trackers seem very skewed. LIVESTRONG tells me that a 2-hour bike ride burns about 1,600 calories, while Trailguru gives a much more conservative 750 for the same time and distance. When trying to lose weight, you should overestimate calorie input and underestimate calorie burning in my opinion. I learned pretty quickly to ignore however many calories it said I was burning.

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Buying Guides

Buying Guides By Tim Wasson

Just one more week to get in on The Mac Sale, with discount for TUAW readers

I don't know about you guys, but I can't get enough of these Mac software bundles. Between MacHeist, the MacUpdate bundle, Mac Bundle Box, and even iPhone software bundles, I've got more unused software licenses than I'll ever need or want. Even though I rarely want every piece of software in the bundle, there's almost always 1 or 2 that make it more cost effective to buy the bundle than buy the software separately. The Mac Sale (noted by Christina over at DLS) is the latest bundle out there and, like the others, has some hidden gems and a few applications I know I'll never use. Some of these may be perfect for back to school season. The rundown of applications: REALBasic Personal Iris Interarchy Flux Scribbles TaskPaper WriteRoom Stuf Mariner Calc HoudahSpot Your $49 will buy you $450 worth of applications, but only until August 18. As a bonus for TUAW readers, you can get a 5% discount by using coupon code TUAW at checkout.

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News

News By Tim Wasson

TUAW Fitness: An Apple a day makes the weight go away

I've struggled with my weight for a long time. In my free-wheeling post-college days I lived with my two best friends, sitting around playing video games, drinking beer and eating Taco Bell. I put on a lot of weight in a short amount of time with that diet and exercise schedule, topping out at 260 pounds. I decided enough was enough, and I strapped on my running shoes, straightened up my eating habits, and lost almost 90 pounds. In the years that have followed, my weight has gone up and down several times, and I'm at the point now that I need to get serious about losing weight again. According to my BMI, at 6'3" I should top out at 199 pounds, and right now I'm at 225. This time my weight loss should be easier since I have 3 secret weapons: my iPhone 3GS, my Mac and my AppleTV. Read on for my weight loss plan and how these Apple products will help me achieve my goals.

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Smartphones By Tim Wasson

Found Footage: Robochan gets a 3GS upgrade

Back in May, our own Steven Sande reported on a robot with an iPod touch for a head. At the time, Robochan was pretty limited in capability and could only mimic back taught poses and stumble around drunkenly. A lot has happened in two short months. Robochan has received a brain-transplant courtesy of the iPhone 3GS as well as other software changes. He's been given alarm functionality to wake you up at a specified time, basic human interaction, and motion teaching and playback. But most importantly, Robochan can now dance around drunkenly to match his drunken walking. As a robot fanatic I can only hope we see a more sober version of this robot on store shelves everywhere, but I'm not holding my breath.

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Reviews

Reviews By Tim Wasson

iPhone vs. Pre: The best air-travel companion

I'm by no means a frequent flyer, but I'm preparing for a trip to Vegas to get hitched in just about week. I'm loading up my iPhone with applications to make my vacation a little easier, like Flight Tracker and TripIt. Even with all these apps, I was left wondering if my iPhone would really be the perfect air-travel companion (other than my wonderful fiancée, of course). Fortunately, Ars Technica was there to put some of my fears to bed, putting the Pre up for battle against the iPhone as the ultimate travel companion. Thankfully for me, the iPhone ends up as the clear winner. The article notes the wide availability of iPhone charging accessories if you happen to be short on battery with your charger stashed away in your checked baggage, as well as the huge number of apps available in the App Store to aid in your travel or supply time-wasting entertainment for long layovers or flights. It also notes the iPhone's battery-saving options (like Airplane Mode, turning off WiFi/Bluetooth, screen brightness, etc.) as extremely valuable when you're traveling and don't have immediate access to a charger. What are your tips for traveling with your iPhone?

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Reviews

Reviews By Tim Wasson

Two years with the iPhone

On June 29, 2007, Apple and AT&T released the iPhone for $600 to crowded stores throughout the United States. A whole lot has changed in the iPhone-world in just 2 short years. The 1.0 software is just a distant memory, and looking back I'm a little surprised how limited the original iPhone was at release. I thought for the 2-year anniversary, we could take a little walk down memory lane and see how far things have come. Apple announced the iPhone at Macworld in January 2007, explicitly stating they were doing it because otherwise the FCC would have outed them. Cingular/AT&T was named as the exclusive carrier. The phone would cost $600, which was a completely unsubsidized price.

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Smartphones By Tim Wasson

YouTube mobile uploads increased dramatically since iPhone 3GS

When the video recording capabilities of the iPhone 3GS were announced, I really looked forward to using the direct YouTube uploads to share things that no one else cared about, like my dog or my nephew. It seems like many other 3GS owners had similar ideas. The YouTube blog is reporting that since the 3GS was released last friday, uploads have increased from mobile devices by 400% per day. They even list some of the many videos that have been uploaded since the 3GS release that range from boring to annoying. I know that these mobile uploads of videos have a pretty limited audience, and most people watching them will wonder why they were ever uploaded in the first place. However, it does make sharing special (or mundane) moments with family and friends much easier, and I for one am happy to have the option. [via MacRumors]

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Smartphones By Tim Wasson

Charge your iPhone wirelessly

Do you have Pre-envy due to the Touchstone and wireless charging capabilities? Well, good news then. A company called WildCharge has stepped in to give you similar charging capabilities with your original iPhone or iPod touch. The bundle is just shy of $80 and includes the charging pad and a gel skin that needs to be attached to your phone. Once installed, just lay your phone on the pad and get your charge on. The skin unfortunately adds an unsightly hump at the base where the dock connector is, but that may be a small price to pay if you really need your iPhone charged sans wires. The iPod touch version is available now with the iPhone version coming next month.

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Apps By Tim Wasson

First Look: Pixelpipe 1.4.1

So you got a shiny new 3GS (no more space!) and are looking for new ways to play with the new videos you've recorded? If the iPhone's built in YouTube uploading functionality isn't quite enough for you, Pixelpipe has stepped in to fill the void and allow you to send that video (or photo) to over 40 services quickly and easily. I set up the application to send to Twitter and Picasa, and the uploads went exactly as advertised. It should be noted that when sending video to services that don't support direct uploads (such as Twitter), the video is sent to Pixelpipe's servers and linked from your account. On the Pixelpipe site, the video is displayed in its native .mov format, so PC owners may have a hard time viewing the video if they don't have QuickTime installed. Pixelpipe (iTunes link) is a free download and supports uploading video to 40 services. Sorry, iPod touch users, this one is an iPhone-only application.

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News

News By Tim Wasson

Why weren't you in line this morning?

We don't want to imply that the iPhone 3G S launch was a dud. There's reports out that the 3G S may have sold more units than the 3G on opening day, but even more reports are coming in that the lines and general mayhem at Apple and AT&T stores were much more subdued this year than in previous years. There's a lot of speculation as to why, but we at TUAW figured we'd go straight to the source and ask our dear readers. Why weren't you in line this morning? %Poll-31179%

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Mobile

Mobile By Tim Wasson

AT&T revises 3G S iPhone upgrade policy

It's no secret that I didn't mind AT&T's pricing of their 3G S upgrades. However, 3G owners were upset that they were not offered the same discounts as new customers or those who had not fulfilled their two-year contracts. Well, good news for those 3G owners who are wanting to upgrade to the 3G S. AT&T listened to your complaints and published an open letter and YouTube video explaining that current 3G customers may be given much better upgrade pricing when the 3G S launches. From the open letter: "Beginning June 19, iPhone 3G customers [who are] eligible for an upgrade in July, August, or September will get our best upgrade price of $199 (16 GB) and $299 (32 GB)." This is definitely great news for some 3G owners, as it bumps up the date when they can upgrade for less -- however, if your discount date is past September 30, you will still have to wait to get the best pricing. Your upgrade-eligible date is based on both your contract age and your service plan; the more money you spend with AT&T every month, the sooner they will replace your phone.There is also good news for those of you who have already pre-ordered the new iPhone: if the new eligibility window affects you, AT&T will issue you a credit for the difference.Although I don't think that AT&T had to make this change in their policy, it's encouraging to know they're listening to their customers and making changes. Now that you're listening, AT&T, how about getting on the ball with MMS and tethering?

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Apps By Tim Wasson

First Look: TweetDeck for iPhone

There's been no shortage of Twitter app reviews on TUAW. We've even covered TweetDeck once or twice. But now, another Mac app and iPhone app have intersected in the Twitter world and I, for one, am ecstatic about it. Until now, Tweetie had been my Twitter client of choice on both my Mac and my iPhone. I was pretty content with the set up, but had one issue: If I were out and about all day and checking Tweetie on my iPhone, I'd have to re-read all those tweets when I got home because the two programs had no way of communicating what had been read and what hadn't. TweetDeck has finally found a way around this issue, offering syncing between your iPhone client and your Mac client. %Gallery-66162%

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