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Telekinesis Kyle is an upcoming platformer with psychic power
There aren't all that many games on the expo floor at Macworld/iWorld 2013 this year, unfortunately. It seems like a lot of game developers stayed home, as most of the apps on display are utility or productivity apps. There are a few games out there in Appalooza (as the app section of the show floor is called), and Telekinesis Kyle is one that stood out to us. It's an upcoming app from a company called Vellum Interactive, and it's based on a cool idea: You play as a kid who can not only jump around on various platforms, but he can also move various physics-enabled objects through the game's environments. The game is still in early production, so the graphics and the levels aren't at all finalized (and in fact, there was a bug in the scrolling mechanic in the part I saw in action), but the idea is a lot of fun. Jumping is handled automatically, so the only onscreen controls are to send Kyle left or right, and he'll go up on objects and platforms by himself. Once Kyle comes across an object to move, then, the player can just touch it on the screen, and then drag and drop it wherever it needs to go. The puzzle I saw consisted of two switches with two doors on two different levels. Kyle had to stand on the first switch to open the first door, behind which was a small crate. He could then use telekinesis to move the crate up to the second switch and open the second door, where there was a small gear he needed to complete the puzzle. Without leaving the first switch, he tele-moved the gear with his mind where it needed to go, and then he tele-moved the crate down to where he stood, so it could hold the door open for him as he moved through. As you can tell, Kyle's got an emphasis on puzzles and exploration rather than action, and that seems like a great fit for the iOS market. Later on, Vellum is planning to add puzzles with obstacles like lasers. The style of the game is done very well, too -- it's cell-shaded, and Kyle's relative physical weakness makes his mental powers all the more satisfying. Telekinesis Kyle looks like a great title -- it's due out near the end of March, so we'll look for it then. Oh, and of course I couldn't leave the booth without asking about the name. Yes, said Vellum, it is named after the famous Tenacious D lyric, but it doesn't have anything official to do with the song. The team just needed a name while they were working on the project, someone mentioned Telekinesis Kyle, and it just stuck. "It was one of those spontaneous things," a Vellum rep told us.
Omni Group's Ken Case on OmniFocus 2 and the origins of the app
One of the true joys of attending Macworld is getting to talk to some of the best developers in the world. Among the best of the best in the Apple world is Ken Case, CEO of The Omni Group. Today the company officially announced OmniFocus 2, the next generation of its flagship task management / GTD (Getting Things Done) app. On Thursday, I had the opportunity to sit down with Ken to discuss the upgraded app and see it in action. I was interested in finding out more about the history of OmniFocus, and Ken noted that the app was an outgrowth of users with OmniOutliner using it with a set of AppleScripts called "Kinkless GTD" by Ethan Schoonover. It made a rather good GTD tool, and added to Merlin Mann's efforts at proselytizing the Mac community to do GTD, the seeds of OmniFocus were planted. When The Omni Group decided to develop a dedicated GTD app, they invited Merlin and Ethan to come in and talk about their thoughts on what a Mac app should contain. That first meeting expanded into a long series of two-hour conference calls with the pair to iron out the initial generation of the app. As Case noted, the design goal was to "make a GTD app that didn't require a degree to use." OmniFocus 2 is an outgrowth of the highly successful app and the iOS version that came later, building on the power of the initial app and the UI of the iOS version. OmniFocus was a bit too intimidating for new users, and the reinvention of the app for iPad made it simpler tool to use. Some of the new features of OmniFocus 2 include a forecast mode, which gives users an idea of exactly what work is coming up in the near future and a UI that combines all navigation into one sidebar encompassing the project list, context list and the forecast view. Of course, OmniFocus 2 can be synced to iPhone and iPad. The new OmniPresence service will be published as open source, allowing synchronization of documents and data through virtually any WebDAV server. After the debut of OmniFocus 2 last night, Omni Group expects to go into a private test sometime this month with more than 10,000 people already signed up to give the app a try. After the private testing is complete, a "wide open" public test will gather further feedback. As Case mentioned, Omni Group will "ship no app before its time." The app will come in two configurations: a US$39.99 Standard Edition and a $79.99 Pro Edition. The Pro edition adds the option of designing and building custom workflows (available in OmniFocus 1 now), and support Perspectives and AppleScript. For more information, pop on over to Omni Group's blog and read the post from Ken Case unveiling OmniFocus 2 to the world.
Macworld/iWorld 2013 Best of Show winners announced
More than 250 exhibitors and a plethora of media and fans are on hand at the Moscone Center this week in San Francisco, and there are a number of products that stand out. The Macworld staff cloistered themselves in their super-secret bunker to determine the absolute best out of the products on the show floor this year, and here are their choices for Best of Show: Belkin Thunderstorm: An iPad case with built-in speakers. The included app tweaks audio to your liking. It's available for US$199.99. Blue Nessie: A USB microphone that might remind some of a golf club and is designed to take the pitfalls out of recording audio, especially in places such as a crowded showroom floor. The microphone will be $100, and people can sign up to be notified when it's shipping. Boinx Software iStopMotion 2: A repeat winner, the update adds more audio tools and recording through the iPad mic. We've reviewed past versions of iStopMotion and always have been pleased with this app. Double Robotics Double: This $1,999 (after a $500 pre-order discount) robot looks like someone mated an iPad stand with a Segway. Mike Schramm took a look at it and says it's the coolest thing he's seen at Macworld this year. Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500: This scanner can handle 25 double-sided pages per minute and an iOS app lets you receive scanned images from the iX500 on your iPhone or iPad. Henge Horizontal Dock: This is another TUAW favorite. Victor Agreda wrote about another Henge product, the Gravitas, and we'll have a brief write-up of our experience with the horizontal dock later today. Reallusion CrazyTalk 7: Mac animation software that handles facial animation. Marry images and a voice recording to create 3D videos. Macworld reports that an iOS app will be arriving within the next few months. Seagate Wireless Plus: An external 1 TB hard drive that generates its own WiFi network so you can backup data from an iOS device. Spicebox Mauz: Mike Schramm also took a look at the Mauz, which is still raising money via Kickstarter. Despite the Best in Show status, Mike said there were some kinks to be worked out. "If Spicebox can iron out the hardware and get the software to do what they want it to do easily and responsively, the Mauz accessory could be very useful indeed," he said.
XMG Studios announces Evil Empire, Hero and one more at Macworld
Just as they were last year, XMG Studios is on the floor of Macworld/iWorld 2013 in San Francisco. XMG has three new games to talk about that aren't playable just yet, but should be released this year. XMG's Lydia Schaele told us about a big title called Evil Empire. It's darker and more stylistic than older XMG games like Cows vs. Aliens and last year's Ghostbusters title. Evil Empire is a military combat strategy game set in an alternate reality during the Cold War, in which the USSR is more powerful than it was at the time. In this wild, propaganda-filled setting, an alien creature lands on Earth. As the player, you must use various units and tactics to lead the rebels against a strong, alien military. Evil Empire is still in the planning stages, and XMG is dong its homework. The company took a close look at the App Store, and determined that going with a more complex strategy-style game would land them in the right part of the market. Evil Empire is also expected to be a free-to-play title, with in-app purchases centered around customization and extra content. The game is being designed according to XMG's new philosophy, which we were told targets four main pillars: Character, Choices, Collection and Community. Characters and story will play a big part in Evil Empire's narrative, while meaningful choices will keep player experiences very different each time through the game. Collecting will be a big part of replay value, and of course XMG has quite a bit of experience already with building up social features and communities, so Evil Empire should show off that talent as well. Evil Empire sounds fascinating, but Schaele said that XMG plans to take its time with development. We should see more on this one before the end of the year. Also in development is a game that's code-named Card Battle, which is very similar to the current hit Rage of Bahamut. It's due near the end of May, and will feature original, colorful card art. Card Battle is a card game that features an evolution mechanic and plenty of collection options. XMG wants to make a popular card game that's a little bit better quality than what's currently available, so that should be excellent. And finally, we got to see some concept art of a game called Hero, which is another card game, though this time much more character and story driven. That game will have a rarity system, with various tiers of cards to go after and collect, though the mechanics haven't been defined. Schaele also told us that XMG will attempt to beta test technique with this game. The studio may release it on Android for just a few devices, and let players try out the game on that smaller platform first, before eventually bringing it over to iOS. This isn't the first time we've heard this idea from developers -- right now, the traditional iOS beta test is to release the game in Canada before bringing it to other countries, but with cross-platform development easier than ever, a smaller Android release may become the testing method of choice. We should see more about Hero in June or July of this year. XMG's lineup for 2013 looks pretty solid, and we'll stay tuned for any more news on these titles.
A taste of Macworld/iWorld 2013: Bowblade, Eset, Kanex and more
Here's a little taste of the atmosphere on the floor of Macworld/iWorld 2013, plus a closer look at the Bowblade we wrote up yesterday, a chat with the antivirus/anti-malware maker Eset, and a look at what's new from Kanex. Enjoy!
Attending Macworld/iWorld 2013? Join us for the TUAW Meetup tonight
For the past few years at Macworld Expo and Macworld/iWorld, we've sponsored a meetup to get together with TUAW readers, enjoy each other's company and do some great giveaways. This year is no exception, and we have a meetup planned for tonight -- Friday, February 1, 2013 -- starting at 8:30 PM at Jillian's, 175 4th Street, San Francisco. That's just across the street from Moscone West, where Macworld/iWorld is taking place. We'll be providing refreshments, billiards and tons of giveaways, and the meetup is always a fun place to meet the TUAW cast of characters and new friends. So please join us for what's sure to be an enjoyable evening! This year's event is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors: HP -- be sure to visit the HP team at booth 602 to see how technology can empower people to help them create, make the digital tangible and harness the power of human information. Readdle -- one of the amazing success stories of the iPad era has been Readdle, the developers of such great productivity apps as Documents for iPad, Remarks, PDF Expert and Scanner Pro. Pad and Quill -- beautiful cases for iPad, iPhone, MacBook Air and Kindle. Handcrafted in the USA by a small Minneapolis-based family company, using local craftsmen to construct bookbindery cases for touch devices. Many thanks also go out to the many other manufacturers and developers who have donated the products to be given away at tonight's event. What's in the goodie bags? You'll have to show up to find out! (Note that we did not deliberately choose to cross-schedule with the annual Cirque du Mac festivities hosted by our friends at The Mac Observer; that's just how the venue availability shook out this year. If you're headed to Cirque, come by and say hi on your way!)
OWC shows NuGuard KX rugged cases, 3.5" Viper SSD at Macworld 2013 (Updated)
Other World Computing is a popular manufacturer and seller of a big line of Apple-friendly hardware, and as usual they have a commanding presence at Macworld/iWorld 2013. Among the new products the company announced this year are the NuGuard KX rugged cases for iPhone and an upcoming 3.5-inch SSD under the Viper label that will provide high capacity and incredible speed. The NewerTech NuGuard KX cases are Mil-Std-810G compliant, which means that the cases can take a drop of 4 feet without damage to the enclosed iPhone. The company tested them to much more extreme conditions, including 20-foot drops in the factory and a mammoth drop from the top of OWC's wind turbine (see video below). The cases come in a variety of colors and have a lifetime warranty -- not something you see with many other iPhone cases. OWC also offers a 30-day guarantee, so if you decide you don't like the NuGuard KX, you can send it back for a refund. But the big -- in terms of capacity -- news from OWC was the announcement of the Viper SSD. This 3.5-inch format drive will be available later this year in capacities up to 2 TB. The combination of SSD speed and huge capacity will make this SSD a winner for video editors and the like. At this point, the company has not announced shipping dates or pricing for the Viper. The company will also be selling a commercial version of the Power2U USB wall outlet. According to Corporate Account Manager and OWC spokesman Alan Bitterman, the new version will be especially useful in hospital and hotel installations. And last, but not least, the company was showing an amazing swivel arm mount for the iMac, Apple Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display -- the Newertech NuMount Pivot Desk Mount ($189.00). It won't work with the new 2012 iMacs -- OWC notes that the aluminum is "too thin" to allow this type of mounting. Update: Grant Dahlke, the Marketing, PR and Social Media Manager sent in a correction. He says "it's actually because in order to take the factory desk stand off ... you have to take apart the entire machine. If you want to see how hard it is to open a 2012 iMac, watch this: http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_21inch_late_2012_mem/ " If you're at Macworld/iWorld 2013, be sure to drop by the OWC booth and tell 'em you read about their product line on TUAW.
Spicebox's Mauz aims to make your iPhone an all-in-one controller
One of the weirdest devices I've seen so far here at Macworld is Spicebox's Mauz controller. The company recently started a Kickstarter for the project (their second, after a case that tracks your opening of multiple beers called the Intoxicase), but even though that campaign hasn't yet come anywhere close to the US$150,000 goal, the unit is already being prototyped and built by the company. It works like this: The company has produced a little box (only a prototype so far, though Spicebox told me that the circuits inside have been finalized and are headed to production already) that will plug into your iPhone's 30-pin adapter. I didn't see a Lightning version, but presumably it's being worked on as well. Once that unit is plugged in, it connects via WiFi to a driver running on your Mac, which Spicebox is right in the middle of developing. The unit on your iPhone will use the WiFi connection to send information about movement bidirectionally, so not only can your phone tell your computer how it wants to move the mouse or keyboard, but the computer can tell the mouse, for example, what app has gained focus, or what kind of gestures should become available on the phone. There are four different ways the phone sends control information, then. The first is just through the touchscreen itself -- as you can see above, the default look of the phone imitates two mouse buttons and a wheel, and those work just fine when you tap them. On the bottom of the plug-in accessory, there's also a (low-power, says Spicebox) mouse laser, so the device can tell when you move it around on a mousepad surface. So at the very minimum, your phone can work as a tabletop mouse when the accessory is plugged in. But of course that's not all. The little accessory also hooks into the iPhone to grab gyroscope and accelerometer movement, so the developers are working on allowing you to do Wii remote-style movement, where you can move the iPhone around in real space to push or pull around elements on your computer's screen. This function wasn't working when I saw it here in the booth at Macworld, but its makers say development is still well underway and they hope to have it up and running soon. Finally, there's one more method of control with the Mauz. That mode uses the iPhone's front-facing camera (while it's sitting face up on a flat surface) to read live video of your hand passing by, and attempts to turn that into 2D movement (so, for example, you'd swipe your hand in front of the iPhone to spin a Google Earth globe). Spicebox even wants to try and track 3D movement (so you'd move your hand toward or away from the phone as it's lying down to push things in or out of the screen). That function was at least working on the show floor, but not in a usable way: The Spicebox guys were waving their hands back and forth above the prototype phone, with very little movement to see on the screen. So there's a lot of work yet to be done. Spicebox says the unit's inner electronics are finalized, but the casing outside of the device is still being prototyped and developed. The software is still a work in progress as well. Spicebox says the beta for the device should hopefully start sometime in April, and then they're hoping to have everything finalized and ready to go later on this year. I was told the company is aiming for a price "in the $60 range, and I believe we'll get there," said one of the company's founders, Gilad Meiri. Mauz is definitely an interesting idea. I have my doubts about how exactly the implementation will work, and while the company has some big plans, they're still very much in the prototype stage, especially in the software department. But I won't discourage anyone from dreaming big: If Spicebox can iron out the hardware and get the software to do what they want it to do easily and responsively, the Mauz accessory could be very useful indeed.
Aspyr Media charges on in the wild world of Mac gaming
I've been vocal for many, many years now about Aspyr and their like, and exactly how I feel about them. I'm a big fan of gaming, of course, and a big fan of Apple and the Mac. And Aspyr sits right at the intersection of those two worlds: They're a company, based in Austin with about 50 employees, that ports AAA and big-budget games over to the OS X platform. Given my dissatisfaction with the company and how vocal I'd been about it in the past, it was with not a little bit of temerity that I went to finally meet with them here at Macworld 2013. But Aspyr's VP of Publishing Elizabeth Howard and Sales Manager Michael Blair kindly welcomed me into the company's suite and sat down to talk about the state of Mac gaming from their point of view. The good news is that Aspyr has seen all of the signs that I've seen the past few years, and the two main concerns I've had for so long are their concerns as well. Buggy ports of PC games on the Mac was a big problem, but in the past few years Aspyr has worked hard to make things better, and even I'd agree that the ports we're seeing these days, from Aspyr and other companies, are light years better than what we used to see. The other big complaint I've had is delays -- games on the Mac often come out months or even years behind their PC and console releases. But both Howard and Blair agreed this was an issue as well, and in fact one of their biggest concerns. Late Mac releases was "definitely the most important thing to us in 2012," said Howard. Aspyr is working as hard as it can to juggle licensing partnerships, engineers, code bases and platforms to try and get these games out as close to the PC release as possible, and Howard says that "it's getting much better." With a few exceptions, Aspyr essentially has the porting process down to just a couple of months, with most releasing coming out either day and date or soon after. It's not perfect. Just recently, Aspyr had to release Borderlands 2 without multiplayer content on the Mac App Store, though it was able to get multiplayer ready for the Mac Steam release (and the Mac App Store patch is coming as soon as it's ready). But both Howard and Blair said they share the timing concerns, both because they are fans of Mac games, and simply because games released alongside the PC versions (and alongside all of the marketing and promotion for them) . "Revenue is a huge difference for us" when games are released together, said Blair. It turns out that fans like me aren't the only ones bugging Aspyr -- the companies they license the games from aren't always helpful either. Not only do a lot of AAA developers not have time for Mac ports, but they often don't have time to even help Aspyr figure out what code goes where, which adds time to the process and frustrations to Aspyr's engineers. Finally, Aspyr has one more source of concern, and it's the distributors that it chooses to deal with. The company releases games on its own website through the official GameAgent store, but most of its sales come these days through either Steam or the Mac App Store, and Howard says those are two very different marketplaces. How sales look on one or the other tends to depend on the title you're talking about (Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, for example, does well on the Mac App Store, while Borderlands 2 is a much better hit on Steam, presumably because of that multiplayer problem, among other things). But Howard said that just releasing games on one platform or the other is even more work for the company's engineers: Steam has its own achievements and features, and the Mac App Store of course has Game Center and other features to deal with. I asked Howard, given how much success the company has found on the Mac App Store, what Apple could do better for games like theirs, and she said Steam is really leading the charge in supporting game developers. Steam "engages that audience constantly," she said, putting together lots of regular sales and promotions for customers to find, and leaving promotional banners and ads up as long as their relevant, rather than changing them out from week to week. Apple, on the other hand, isn't quite as active in its promotion, and definitely isn't as open in terms of how it deals with the store, says Howard. That seems to be a legacy of Apple's relationship with gaming in general: The company has never really understood gamers, and even on the Mac App Store tends to promote and sell more of its own apps rather than much more popular games. Aspyr didn't have a lot of information to share about their exact catalog this year (unfortunately, recent changes in the gaming industry have put some of their titles in question for the moment), but Howard said the content lineup for 2013 would be very impressive. She promised more content for Civ 5 (Aspyr has published both the game and the Gods and Kings expansion on the Mac), some more indie-style titles, and lots of other new titles on Mac and Steam. Howard also mentioned, though again without specifics, that the company was thinking about a new plan as well: Bringing "catalog Mac experiences" over to the iOS platform. She mentioned Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as a desktop game that had done well on Apple's mobile devices, and said that Aspyr was considering bringing games that were a few years old to touchscreens. There's no more information on that, unfortunately, but it was definitely an intriguing idea. Aspyr is definitely working hard to try and make all of its Mac ports better, and while I'm still not completely satisfied with the release schedule (and I definitely got the impression that Howard and Blair weren't yet either), it's definitely clear that the company is facing a whole lot of pressure from all sides for doing something that all of us Mac gamers want: Bringing us high profile games that run natively on the computers that we love. The quality and timing of the ports has gotten better over the last few years for sure, and I would no longer call the company "a complete dealbreaker," as I wrote five years ago. Still, there's always room for improvement, and hopefully we'll see even more of it this year, as Aspyr is able to convince more and more of the companies it licenses games from just how wonderful and loyal the Mac community can be.
Crowdfunding collective TinyLightbulbs shows off its iOS products
Last year, e-commerce site TinyLightbulbs formed in Denver, focusing on products that are funded via crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. TinyLightbulbs brought five of the products available on its site Macworld/iWorld 2013, including: SlingShot: This smartphone stand received more than US$70,000 in funding on Kickstarter and acts as a combination tripod and cradle for your iPhone. An attached handle helps create smooth panning shots. Erica Sadun took a look at it in October. Ultima: A smartphone stand for the car that is made with an aluminum body with a suction cup that is use to secure it to your car's interior. It raised more than $64,000 on Kickstarter. CableKeeps: This was my favorite of the products offered at this booth. These fish-shaped rubber cable holders were funded in 2011. Insert an Apple iPhone or iPad charger in one end, then thread the 30-pin or Lightning cable through the tail and wrap it around the fins to keep the cable in one place. When it's in use, you can use the fins as a stand for your iOS device. The CableKeeps are offered in three styles: two for iPad adaptors and one for the smaller USB adaptor used with iPhones, iPods and the iPad mini. SoundJaw: Steve Sande reviewed the SoundJaw in 2011. Originally developed for the iPad 2, this clip attaches to an iPad near the speaker and boosts the sound by directing the sound waves forward. It raised $17,000 on Kickstarter and is compatible with the iPad models that came out in 2012. Soft Touch Flex: This iPad mounting system is available with a clamp or a mic thread to fit it to a microphone stand. It comes in white and black.
Bowblade is an exercise bow for your iPhone
There are a lot of accessories to be seen at Macworld 2013, but none caught our eye -- nay, shot an arrow into it -- like the Bowblade. After all, it's kind of hard to miss what looks like a hunting bow being brandished in the middle of a computing convention. Currently in prototype form, the 4-pound accessory holds an iPhone or iPod touch and uses a mechanism to tap your device's screen when you pull a string with a metal ring attached -- the equivalent (well, reverse) of releasing the arrow on an actual bow. The catch is that the mechanism won't work unless the bow is pulled back into its full firing position, a feat that requires a bit of strength. Thus, the accessory's makers are touting its use as a workout device. The Bowblade works with about 35 games currently available on the App Store, some of which allow you to aim using your device's gyroscope, providing an augmented reality aspect to the experience. Notable titles include Star Battalion from Gameloft, Sniper vs. Sniper from Com2us and Lazer Tag from Hasbro. In the event that a 4-pound plastic bow sounds like just the thing your iOS device has been missing, the Bowblade is available for pre-order now to ship in April. Oh, and the price... it's US$185. But, hey, if you want to make the trek to Macworld, you can snag a pre-order for only $155.
Givit makes video editing, sharing easier
Every year at Macworld/iWorld I see another great video application for iOS. Last year one of the Best of Show winners was Game Your Video, a nifty app for adding effects to video. While I enjoyed the app, it wasn't very straightforward, and editing wasn't a great experience. Givit, on the other hand, almost nails the simplicity of finding and adding those moments you capture to a cohesive timeline and gives you some worthwhile sharing options (in other words: Not just Facebook). In fact, the full name is Givit Video Highlighter. That's pretty much what it is, but there are some power tools lurking under the surface. First, you can take whatever video you want using your iDevice. Next, you bring in your clips and find the moments you want, and select what are called "highlights" -- which then pop into a small timeline (although the metaphor is not emphasized, as it is more familiar to video editors). I was impressed at how easy it was to find clips and add them to the timeline. There are a few video effects possible, like speeding up and slowing down video, and tricks like "instant replay" will loop a certain number of times while also adding slow-motion. I'm told there may be more effects later, but if you shoot family or sports videos, Givit is already a powerful option. Unlike Vine, there isn't really a specific time limit. A person at the booth said "they could be 30 minutes" but I didn't get a hard limit on the time. For now, Givit is a bit limited to streamlining editing, adding some effects if you wish, and putting some music into the video. I'm told they are adding titles and the ability to import images soon. The sharing and collaboration features are outstanding, however. While I didn't get a chance to try them out here at Macworld, the team behind Givit has some experience working on the Flip cameras which had sharing tools built in (after they were purchased and subsumed by Cisco). Of course you have your standard Facebook, YouTube and Twitter sharing. Givit supports cards on Twitter, which makes for a more pleasant experience. But Givit also provides a private sharing option. Just upload your video to Givit and you'll get an email which you can send to others. Anyone wanting to view the video will need to set up a free account, but it's not a bad option for sharing family videos. Even better, via the web interface you can connect Givit to your Dropbox or SkyDrive account. You can then drop video clips there, open them up in the app and edit the videos. This collaborative video editing on iOS is a wonderful idea, and I'm not aware of another app which does it this well. If you're shooting video at one location and need to quickly get it to your editor at another location, this may the easiest thing to use to get the job done. If you happen to upload more than 5 GB, Givit has a premium storage offering at just under US$30 a year. Like Flickr, if you are a power user this will be a great and relatively cheap option. Givit isn't perfect, as I found the UI could use just a bit more polish and style. But Givit has two great things going for it: It is one of the easiest video editing apps I've ever seen, and collaborative editing is a powerful tool for content creators. As a free app to try and use, I suggest giving it a spin.
Gravitas from Henge Docks is heavy magic
There's not much to say about a dock, is there? It's pretty simple: You put your iDevice on a dock and, depending on the functionality, you may charge, sync or blast some audio out. In the case of the Gravitas from Henge Docks, you can do all of those things plus there's some magic inside. That magic is a special alloy, 265 percent more dense than aluminum, that gives the Gravitas an astounding amount of heft. As a result, you can dock your iDevices into the smallish Gravitas, but remove them without holding the dock with your other hand. It's a beautiful thing, because the dock looks aluminum, but just stays then when you lift your device up. Besides weighing almost one kilogram, the Gravitas offers an audio line out, and a USB data / power connection. There are plastic inserts to accommodate iPads and iPhones. They'll have 30-pin and Lightning versions available at launch. The Gravitas should be shipping in March for US$69. Henge is here at Macworld, and you can reserve yours with no obligation to buy when it is released. Henge makes some useful, nicely designed gear (stay tuned for another item we spotted at CES and at Macworld), so if you're in the market for a stylish and useful dock, check into the Gravitas.
Omni Group leads hands-on talks leading up to OmniFocus 2 announcement
One of the biggest compliments that OmniFocus receives is its high degree of customization. However, one of the biggest criticisms of OmniFocus is the steep learning curve -- something I've fallen victim to repeatedly since I purchased it in 2007. I had a chance to sit down with Omni Group's Kris Rapp as part of the OmniFocus Setup, which takes a look at in-depth productivity using OmniFocus. There are a number of talks and panels led by OmniFocus power users such as Asian Efficiency's Thanh Phan and A Better Mess' Michael Schechter, above. The best part about the one-on-one sessions was the chance to work with a member of Omni Group to grasp OmniFocus. Rapp went step by step through explaining the basics of the program and setting up a basic workflow to jumpstart my productivity. There are a number of support materials on the OmniFocus site for new users, but the person-to-person interaction helps you to get started. A few of the best tips that Rapp shared: Spend about two hours to initially set up the program, then reserve some time at least once a week to update it. Make this a standing appointment. Try to generalize things as much as possible. Don't create a folder for every project. Group them into broad categories such as Home, Work and Personal, then create projects from there. Don't try to use all the advanced features at once. You'll most likely use them as your database grows bigger, but it's easy to overwhelm yourself. The talks are leading up to the debut of OmniFocus 2 later today. The launch starts at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET at the Cartoon Art Museum.
MacIT 2013 kicks off with admin overview, nostalgia
After a Wednesday pre-conference day filled with technical workshops, the MacIT 2013 event (colocated with Macworld/iWorld at Moscone West) kicked off with a panel discussion featuring John Welch, Nadyne Richmond, Ben Greisler, Arek Dreyer and more. The panel speakers provided quick overviews of the Mac and iOS enterprise landscape, including the promise and perils of BYOD, the role of the Mac mini Server in replacing Apple's legacy rackmounted Xserve, and the security risks facing the Mac platform in large companies. Following the panel, Chip Pearson from JAMF Software reviewed 20 years of Mac sysadmin history, including enthusiastic shout-outs to Paul Kent and his IDG team for facilitating MacIT; Neil Ticktin and MacTECH for their continuing coverage and events supporting Mac admins; and the rebel cloners of Power Computing, who "out-Apple'd Apple" in their enthusiasm for the Mac ecosystem. Pearson recalled how Power Computing's appearance at Macworld Expo in 1996 included a parking lot bungee cord jump, reserved for people who bought one of their machines at the show. He also noted that a company representative had a fix for the confusing interleaved memory DIMM requirements of the time, where slots had to be populated in pairs: "We told Apple, instead of slots A1 and A2, B1 and B2 -- just make it R2 and D2, C3 and P0 and everyone will just get it!" Pearson connected the three important ingredients of supporting the enterprise (great people, ideas and technology) with his exhortation to improve education through technology. He asked the audience to investigate and understand how technology can improve education, lead through sharing expertise and time, and accelerate achievement by both students and educators. "We will all benefit by those smart students coming out and solving the problems we all inherited, and some that we are creating today," he said. "If you know something, take the opportunity to teach it. That's why we come together here, and at the Penn State Mac Admins conference; to learn." The influx of traditional Windows sysadmins to the Mac administration field should be welcomed, according to Pearson. "If it's guys in ties, remember that some of the Mac users you're supporting also have to wear suits and ties to work." He also noted that enterprise is still trying to figure out what to do about the influx of iPads into big business, and he thinks 2013 is the year that we will start to figure out some best practices. "Let's figure out the best [use cases] for the iPad in business first, and then worry about some of the 2.0 stuff... The old models are imperfect; mobile management is not the same as computer management." Pearson ended his presentation with a tribute to Mac management publications, sites, products and technologies paired with the "Here's to the crazy ones" ad narration, and received an enthusiastic ovation from the ample MacIT crowd. MacIT continues through Saturday at Moscone West.
Macworld 2013: Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad talk about playing Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
Actors Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad, who are playing Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the upcoming movie jOBS, helped kick off Macworld | iWorld 2013 today, in a panel moderated by expo general manager Paul Kent. The two chatted with Kent about how they approached their roles in the film, what it was like visiting and recreating all of the locations and events from Apple's history, and how telling the story of the two Steves affected the actors. Gad and Kutcher first walked through their past experiences with Apple before the film. Gad said he was a Mac newbie until recently: His wife first brought an Apple computer home and he says it "completely changed my entire view of what technology could mean." Gad mostly experienced Apple, however, through post-Mac products like the iPod and the iMac, and says he was fascinated with learning the story of how that company came about as the movie went along. His entire knowledge of Wozniak, he said, "was Dancing with the Stars" before he jumped in and really researched what Woz was all about. Kutcher knew much more about Steve Jobs: He said he started out as a child with an Apple IIgs, went to school to study biochemical engineering with a Mac, and later in life has worked as an angel investor with technology companies. Kutcher said that Jobs is an "iconic hero" for him, and that when he first heard about the movie's screenplay and decided he wanted to get involved, he concluded that "if this story's going to get told, I want it to get told in a way that honors my hero." Gad said Kutcher's familiarity with Apple and technology was readily apparent during shooting: At one point, while the pair were filming in the actual garage where the Apple I was built, Kutcher saw a prop in the background dressing, and told the crew to remove it from the shot. "This wouldn't have been built for another year," Gad remembered Kutcher saying. "Get rid of that." Kent showed a short clip of the movie that had previously been seen online, and asked the actors how they approached accuracy in the film. Wozniak, in particular, has seen the clip and called out the film for some "totally wrong" storytelling. But Gad and Kutcher admitted that while the clothing or the dialogue may not have been exactly right, what they tried to do was recapture the feel of what was happening back then. "It's not a documentary," said Gad. "It's an interpretation of events." Kutcher said he talked to many people he'd met through his investing who lived and worked alongside Jobs, and that he tried, as best he could, to capture the feel of what Steve Jobs' early Apple days were like. "You have to ride the arc of the entertainment of the film," said Kutcher, as Gad added that "we went to great lengths to capture of the essence of his journey." Finally, Kent asked the duo what they'd gained from exploring and playing these two real-life characters. Gad said he found a lot of interest in Woz' playful side, and remembered a story from Woz' biography that talked about him working hard and then being distracted by whales outside his window. "It can't all about about work," Gad said he learned. "You can't lose the passion in the work." Kutcher talked emotionally about the three things he'd learned from portraying Steve Jobs. Focus was one: Kutcher said that he'd heard Jobs say that "there's no virtue in saying no to things that are easy to say 'No' to," and that statement has resonated with him a lot in his own daily life. He said he also was inspired by Jobs's "compassion for the consumer." Jobs, Kutcher said, realized that rather than tempting or ripping off customers, "care is the thing that will produce the profit margins and the successful company." Lastly, Kutcher teared up a bit as he said that "Steve believed it was possible to do something impossible." He said that studying Jobs and his life told him that we didn't have to just "settle for what life gives you. Make life better," entreated Kutcher, channeling what he'd learned from Steve Jobs. Gad joked that his whale answer wasn't quite as brilliant in comparison to Kutcher's impassioned speech. But Kent got the last laugh: He asked Kutcher, as an investor, if he were confronted by a younger Steve Jobs, "barefoot and maybe not smelling so great," if he would have invested in Jobs' ideas. That question threw Kutcher for a loop, as he shrugged noncommittally, and the audience gave a knowing laugh. But Kutcher said that in his investing, he's always looking for ideas that solve problems, and that he hoped "I'd be wise enough" to support Jobs' vision back in the day. Follow all our Macworld | iWorld coverage here.
Macworld/iWorld 2013: The calm before the storm
Many of the TUAW team is still en route to San Francisco at this late hour, but a few of us have arrived and picked up our press credentials for this year's Macworld/iWorld event. In between trying to find a place to do today's TUAW TV Live broadcast (my hotel room wasn't ready), grabbing a quick lunch at Chipotle (running into several TUAW fans in the process), and bumping into the other Apple bloggers I've gotten to know over the years, I managed to take a few photos. It's quiet right now, with just early sessions for the MacIT conference going on. Tomorrow, Moscone West will take on a whole new personality as thousands of the Apple faithful descend on the site to see what's new. The doors are still shut on the Expo Hall, where vendors are setting up their wares today. In this photo you can see the fairly empty registration area, and I was not surprised to see my good friend and well-known Apple podcaster Chuck Joiner (MacVoices, MacNotables, MacJury) doing what he does best -- interviewing people (he's down in the lower left of this image). The team from Polish Apple site MyApple.pl keeps getting larger every year! They've been here for four days already, visiting the "mothership" in Cupertino as well as the more natural Redwood Natural Park. The banners are hung by the ceiling with care, with hopes that tomorrow Ashton Kutcher will be there: Lantronix has a bunch of xPrintServer-attached printers scattered about Moscone West, just in case you want to print up some last minute brochures or business cards: And the big MacworldLive stage is ready to go: And to think that it will all be over way too soon, ending with a drum circle (eyeroll)...
TUAW @ Macworld/iWorld 2013: The blog gear diaries
A lot of the TUAW crew is packing for the trip to Macworld/iWorld 2013, and while we're usually pretty lax in terms of our show garb (Victor's bow ties being the exception), we pay strict attention to what gear comes with us. It's important for us to be able to share the sights and sounds of the show with you as realistically as possible, so many of us bring equipment to allow us to capture and edit the written word, audio and video efficiently. With that in mind, here's a sampling of what the TUAW blogging team is packing in terms of gear. Steve Sande iPhone 5 iPad (3rd generation) MacBook Air 11" Canon EOS Rebel T4i DSLR (18 Megapixel still photography/1080p video) on Joby UltraFit Sling Strap A bunch 16 GB SD cards and Transcend USB SD card reader iStabilizer tabMount/tabFlex tabletop tripod and iPad mount Fitbit Ultra (so I can see how many miles I walk each day) Tons of cables and chargers. I'm hoping that mophie ships a juice pack air for iPhone 5 at Macworld/iWorld, because I'm probably going to need it Logitech Broadcaster Wi-Fi Webcam Field Notes notebook, a gift from Dave Caolo in years gone by Ear plugs V-Moda Crossfade LP headphones for editing audio/video in the noisy press room Some generic 4-plug outlet thingy As usual, there will be equipment I wish I had remembered to bring with me that I won't have onsite, and there will be items in my packing list that I'll never use. I decided to leave my Manfrotto 679B Monopod/Tripod at home, simply because I got tired of carrying it around the past couple of years. Megan Lavey-Heaton This is my second Macworld/iWorld, and a lot of the gear I took with me last year has served me well. The one major addition to my kit is the Nikon DSLR and tripod, which replaced a prosumer Canon I took with me last year. The other is swapping out the late-2010 MacBook Air for a mid-2012 MacBook Pro. The hardware bump will make processing video less of a waiting game, like it was last year. iPhone 4S with mophie juice pack air and a Glif, in case I need to use it with either of my tripods (not shown, as the iPhone was used to take the photo). iPad mini with Belkin classic tab cover mid-2012 13-inch MacBook Pro Belkin mini surge protector with dual USB chargers Nikon D3100 (14.2 megapixel DSLR with 1080p video) and a tripod Canon PowerShot SD 1300 IS (12.1 megapixel point-and-shoot) and Joby GorillaPod Original Tom Bihn Synapse as my mobile office with assorted organizer pouches and a 3D Clear Organizer Cube to hold everything in. Moleskine notebooks and pens (because you can't go wrong with basic pen and paper) Kindle Paperwhite Required cables and chargers for all of the above. Thankfully, the mophie juice pack and Kindle use the same charging plug, and I can charge my iPhone while it's in the juice pack. Sonic screwdriver (River Song's for the Whovians in the audience.) Please note that feline TUAW staffer Peekaboo will not be attending Macworld/iWorld 2013. Michael Rose I covered most of my show gear preferences in my packing list post prior to Macworld 2010, but here's this year's tally: iPhone 5, iPad 3rd gen MacBook Pro w/ Retina display Another Belkin mini surge protector like Megan's, plus a few $6 3-plug pigtail AC extension cords Twelve South Plugbug and a Griffin pass-through USB charger My modified MBP power supply cord, with the ground pin removed -- necessary for some power situations Mophie juice pack powerstation for extra ergs Canon S95 point and shoot for stills and quick movies Panasonic HDC-TM900 for longer videos Joby GorillaPod Video Felix tablet stand Logitech solar Bluetooth keyboard Livestream Broadcaster portable streaming unit, which I need to review Fitbit Ultra, like Steve Plenty of cables, adapters and other gack Comfy shoes A Remee lucid dreaming sleep mask A pack of Field Notes notebooks and a pencil Small stack of special gifts for my colleagues Victor Agreda, Jr. MacBook Air 11" iPhone 4S LifeCase for 4S Wedge iPhone 5 Sony MDR headphones Adonit Jot Pro Tylt bumper case for iPhone 5 AC charger for MBA Arkon iPad stand (folding) Smartklear carbon cleaner pad Purell hand sanitizer tenOne Pogo Connect Sharpie Red pen Pentel P225 Uniball Precise V5 2 GB USB flash drive Moleskine iPad 3 LTE 30-pin USB/card reader Verizon Mifi Fitbit, charging cable iLuv USB/ethernet hub elgato eyeTV (dyle) iPhone microphone for interviews 30-pin charging cable Lightning charging cable Olloclip for iPhone 5 micro USB charging cable mini USB data cable iPad charger Tylt battery (iPhone) charger HyperJuice battery, car adapter kit for MBA charging X-mini pop-up speaker 1 TB USB portable Seagate USB drive (Time Machine backups) iPhone charger Aluma-wallet Water bottle Randy Nelson This is my first Macworld as a member of the TUAW team, but it's far from my first expo. I've actually been covering the annual E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles since its inception -- two hot, sticky years in Atlanta included -- and the gear I'm bringing to Macworld has served me well for those. My bag (a no-name messenger design with an embroidered Gears of War 2 logo) contains my: 13" mid-2011 MacBook Pro 64 GB iPad 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular 32 GB iPhone 4 Canon DSLR camera Canon DSLR speed flash Glif mount for iPhone 4 (http://www.studioneat.com/products/glif) Gorillapod tripod for iPhone 4 and DSLR (http://joby.com/gorillapod/slrzoom) Griffin stylus for iPad and iPhone (http://store.griffintechnology.com/ipad/stylus-colors) Apple In-Ear Headphones (http://store.apple.com/us/product/MA850G/B/apple-in-ear-headphones-with-remote-and-mic) Retractable USB to mini-USB cable iPad / iPhone power supply Kelly Guimont It's kind of a long story, but I used to be a Boy Scout. As such, I am a firm believer in being prepared, so I have a wide variety of stuff here. 13" current MacBook Pro 128 GB iPad 3 Wi-Fi + VZW 16 GB iPhone 4S (not pictured, I needed it for the photo!) Mountain Hardwear backpack for 13" laptops Pouch style water container Scosche GoBatt II Altoids Hand Sanitizer Just Mobile Lazy Couch (laptop feet) Kindle (Kindle touch, with red leather lighted case) Belkin mini surge protector w/2 USB ports Blue encore 100 mic w/XLR to 1/8" cable (for iPhone recording) iPod Sharpies Video adapters of all kinds Retractable 30-pin, microUSB, and 1/8" cables USB Hub Cocoon GridIT to hold most of it down (Christmas gift. Thanks Mom!) ZAGGsmartbuds on a cassette tape cord winder Logitech UltraThin iPad Keyboard Cover And more! Enjoy the photo. Mike Schramm I'll have my standard convention gear, nothing too special: 13" MacBook iPhone 5 (used for checking the calendar, recording interviews, and playing games while waiting for meetings) iPad 2 PSP (for relaxing back in the room) A Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1 digital camera, for taking any pictures the iPhone can't handle (fewer and fewer these days) Cables and adapters for everything And of course, a notebook and a few pens. Never underestimate the value of old-fashioned pen and paper! Brett Terpstra I travel pretty light these days. All but one of the following are true: iPhone 5 iPad 3 13" MacBook Air Logitech Ultrathin iPad Keyboard Olloclip Jam Bluetooth wireless speaker Blue Snowball Assorted audio, video and charging cables Field Notes Fisher Bullet Pen lace up shoes to prevent blisters helmet cam for skydiving aerial shots of Moscone
