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No Comment: Samsung London store signage thinks different
Fair cop: Windows-based signage and displays can sometimes go a little bit sideways, to hilarious effect. This snapshot of Samsung's East London storefront, featuring a delightfully stark "Ctrl+Alt+Del" reminder, is a lovely example of the genre -- and it rates our weekend No Comment badge. Thanks, Simon!
No Comment: Cool iPhone dominoes animation
We don't care that the falling phones are CG animated; we don't even care that they have a hypothetical NFC patch on the back. This is a great video that put a smile on our faces. We offer it to you as today's No Comment. It's done by the same studio that inadvertently fooled an NYC TV station with an iPhone 5 concept video last year. Hat tip: Sachin Argarwal
Daily Deals for December 20, 2012
It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked selections that include some sweet deals on iOS and OS X software (all prices are USD). Deals from Dealnews Kensington.com: [iPad] Kensington: 50% off sitewide, no minimum. Buy.com: [Laser Printers] Samsung Laser Printers at Buy.com: $50 off, deals from $39 + free shipping. MegaMacs: [MacBook] Refurbished Apple MacBook 15", 17" Laptops from $1000 + free shipping. all4cellular.com: [iPhone Accessories] iPhone 4 / 4S Accessories: Up to 90% off + extra 10% off, from $1 + $2 s&h. HandHeldItems: [iPad Accessories] Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case w/ iOS Keys for iPad mini for $24 + $3 s&h. GameStop: [Apple iPhones] Used devices at GameStop: Buy 1, get 50% off 2nd, iPods, iPads, iPhones and more. Vistaprint: [iPhone Cases] Vistaprint Custom Case for Apple iPhone 4, 4S, or 5 for $10 + $5 s&h. Skullcandy: [Headphones] Skullcandy: 50% off sitewide + free shipping. CTCStore: [iPhone Cases] Acase Collatio Leather Wallet-Style Case for iPhone 5 for $10 + $5 s&h. MegaMacs: [Mac Pro] Refurb Mac Pro Xeon 8-Core 2.8GHz Workstation for $1,050 + $34 s&h. iOS Software Calendars by Readdle: [iOS Universal, Category: Productivity, On sale for $1.99, down from $6.99] Easy to use calendar application compatible with Google Calendar and built-in iOS Calendar. Kaleidacam [iPhone, Category: Productivity, Now free, down from $1.99] Turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a live kaleidoscope camera. AppZapp HD Pro [iPad, Category: Utilities, Now free, down from $0.99] AppZapp will instantly inform you about app price drops by push or email. iAnnotate PDF [iPad, Category: Productivity, On sale for $1.99, down from $9.99] iAnnotate PDF lets you read, annotate and share your PDFs. Pocket Zoo HD [iPad, Category: Education, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Pocket Zoo HD with Live Animal Cams is a Wonderfully Wild Portable Zoo for Kids & Nature Lovers. ABBYY Card Holder [iPhone, Category: Productivity, Now free, down from $9.99] ABBYY Cardholder offers a simple, budget-friendly way to capture and manage contact information from business cards. WhatsApp Messenger [iPhone, Category: Social Networking, Now free, down from $0.99] WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform smartphone messenger currently available for iPhone and all other smartphones. Sketch Club [iOS Universal, Category: Entertainment, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Sketch Club provides not just the tools to create but also some of the motivation and inspiration through its integrated online community. Splashtop 2 - Remote Desktop [iPad, Category: Business, On sale for $2.99, down from $4.99] Remote Desktop app to access your Mac or Windows PC from your iPad. Recall - Reminders for Recommendations [iPhone, Category: Productivity, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Quickly add music, movies, TV shows, apps and books to your recommendation list. iStopMotion for iPad: [iPad, Category: Photo & Video] On sale for $4.99, down from $9.99. Create stop motion animations and time lapse recordings on your iPad or iPad mini. Tweetbot for Twitter - iPhone edition [iPhone, Category: Social Networking, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Twitter client with support for multiple timelines and smart gestures. Tweetbot for Twitter - iPad edition [iPad, Category: Social Networking, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Twitter client with support for multiple timelines and smart gestures. Process: [iOS Universal, Category: Photography] On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99. Photo editor for the iPhone and iPad. Star Walk HD [iPad, Category: Education, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Use Star Walk HD to identify over 200,000 celestial bodies with extensive information about stars and constellations that you find. Solar Walk - 3D Solar System model [iOS Universal, Category: Education, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Solar Walk - 3D Solar System model lets you navigate through space and time, see all the planets in close-up, learn their trajectories and more. Toca Band: [iOS Universal, Category: Education] Now free, down from $1.99. Toca Band is a fun and easy app that encourages children to explore music in a new creative way. Apple's App of the week. OS X Software Usher [OS X, Category: Video, On sale for $0.99, down from $34.99] Usher is your personal movie assistant, making the once-complicated task of managing your movie collection easy and enjoyable. Part of Donation Day. Markdown Pro [OS X, Category: Productivity, On sale for $0.99, down from $5.99] Write beautiful documentation, notes, essays, term papers using markdown and Markdown Pro. Witch [OS X, Category: Utilities, On sale for $0.99, down from $13.99] Witch allows you to switch directly between not only applications (as you can do with Command-Tab), but windows as well. Part of Donation Day. Voila Screen Recorder for the Mac [OS X, Category: Productivity, On sale for $4.99, down from $14.99] Screen capturing software for your Mac that lets you capture or record content, annotate it and also share it seamlessly. MacFonts Holiday Fonts [OS X, Category: Graphics & Design, Now free, down from $4.99] Pack of holiday-themed fonts. Lost Photos [OS X, Category: Photography, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Lost Photos discovers all the photos you've ever sent or received stored in your email account. Home Inventory [OS X, Category: Productivity, On sale for $9.99, down from $19.99] Home Inventory is a full-featured, easy to use application for keeping track of your possessions. Fontcase [OS X, Category: Graphics & Design, On sale for $14.99, down from $34.99] Keep your fonts together with Fontcase font manager. Boom [OS X, Category: Utilities, On sale for $0.99, down from $9.99] Pump up the volume with Boom volume booster. Time Sink [OS X, Category: Productivity, On sale for $0.99, down from $4.99] Time Sink helps you track how you spend your time on your Mac. Part of Donation Day. iStopMotion 3: [OS X, Category: Video] On sale for $19.99, down from $49.99. Create stop motion animations and time lapse recordings on your Mac. All OS X software from Realmac [OS X, Category: Various, Now 65% off] All Realmac's OS X software titles are on sale for 65% off until January 6th. Apps include Clear for Mac, Analog, Courier, LittleSnapper and RapidWeaver. FX Photo Studio [OS X, Category: Photography] On sale for $7.99, down from $9.99] FX Photo Studio is a photo app with over 170 photo effects & filters and stylish frames. Ultimate Mac Music Bundle [OS X, Category: Misc] On sale for $39 Stacksocial is offering the Ultimate Mac Music Bundle, a group of eight apps with a retail value of $355. The apps include: MegaSeg DJ, The T-Pain Engine, Tracks, Flip4Mac Studio, Boom for Mac, Ondesoft Audio Recorder, SOS Online Backup and TuneUp. Deal is available now until December 29. Mac Productivity Bundle 3.0 [OS X, Category: Misc] On sale for $50 Stacksocial is offering the Mac Productivity Bundle 3.0, a group of nine apps with a retail value of $1150. The apps include: Billings, ARTTEXT, Disk Tools Pro, Stuffit Deluxe, Pandora UI for iOS, Hydra Pro, and more. Deal is available now until December 25.
No Comment: Elements restaurant installs iPads for customers to play with during meals
I'm guessing most folks my age or older grew up in a house with a "no toys at the table policy"... And I'll just leave it at that. Our own Michael Grothaus snapped this pic at Elements in London. Feel free to leave your own thoughts on whether or not this is a good idea. Think back to the last time a group of friends met at a restaurant and everyone whipped out their phones. It never happens, right?
No Comment: Android tablet not actually endorsed by Steve Jobs
Amidst the legal and marketplace challenges to Android tablets, there are certainly a few bright spots: a British court ruled that Galaxy tablets aren't likely to be confused for Apple's iPad because the Samsung competitive devices "are not as cool." Yes, the judge really said that. But at least the Galaxy Tab is clear for sale in the UK, and the reviews for the Google/ASUS Nexus 7 are largely positive. Unfortunately, this generic Android tablet for sale on NoMoreRack is probably more indicative of the state of the offerings out there. Reader Dan sent us the link, and the specs are nothing to write home about (Android 3.0, 1.2 Ghz CPU, supports Flash 10.2, and it's not clear how "1080p Video" is going to work on that 800x600 screen); at least it's cheap at $141. The problem is not the crappy product -- the problem is that someone thought the best way to sell this POS would be to slap a picture of Steve Jobs on it. Apparently the ones who are crazy enough to sell discounted no-name Android tablets also think they can confuse consumers by clipping the face of Apple's late founder into their product images. "Now it looks just like an iPad! We'll sell a boatload of these things!" It probably won't work, but it does earn them today's more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger No Comment. Thanks Dan.
No Comment: iOS 6 Maps icon not to be taken as literal routing advice
Maybe someone in Apple's new mapping department is a fan of the automotive antics featured on The Dukes of Hazzard. As tweeted this weekend by James Mountain and featured on the financial site Minyanville, the new icon for the Maps app in iOS 6 features a slight change to emphasize the turn-by-turn directions upgrade: a blue routing path making a left turn with the familiar Interstate 280 shield in the upper right corner. The routing chevron replaces the red pin, but still holds pride of place right outside the gates of Apple's Cupertino headquarters. There's only one teensy problem with this attractive icon: the blue path, if taken as a literal GPS routing, would be decidedly illegal and almost certainly fatal. The northbound lanes of De Anza Boulevard don't allow you to go west that way -- you'd have to cross over the highway and take a ramp instead. If Siri told you "turn left now" and you listened to her in Allstate mayhem fashion, you'd be cutting across oncoming traffic and taking a 20-foot plunge off the side of the elevated roadway onto I-280, headed west (well, mostly headed down, but a little bit west). Below is the view from the highway looking up towards De Anza, courtesy of some other company's mapping solution. As for the beta icon for the iOS 6 beta Maps, all we can muster is a Monday No Comment. View Larger Map
No Comment: Senator Grassley, your office is calling
The US Senate: home of democracy, bastion of civility, redoubt of Brylcreem, sciatica and combovers. If you were trying to recruit a less tech-savvy group of Americans, it would be pretty challenging. The late Alaska senator Ted Stevens set the bar with his legendary reference to the Internet as a "series of tubes" (it's not a truck, people), but despite the chamber's current home page headline of Technology and the Senate, the everyday missteps around gadgets and geekdom continue. The latest example, via BuzzFeed: in the video below, Senator Chuck Grassley's podium time gets interrupted by a very distinctive ringtone. Yes, Chuck has an iPhone; yes, it's still set on the classic "Up Yours, Gustav Mahler" Marimba tone; yes, he forgot to turn it off before stepping onto the Senate floor. Captured for posterity by C-SPAN, this ring ding earns today's No Comment.
No Comment: Paper Passion perfume for e-booklovers
Ah, the smell of books. That musty crinkly-nose sensation that transports you to old libraries, bookstores, and cluttered offices. It produces a visceral sensation of being surrounded by knowledge and adventure, where a page turn can introduce wonders and possibilities. A whiff of the antiquarian stirs the heart of book lovers, exciting their passion for the printed word. In the age of ebooks, we have lost that old-paper smell. Electrons dance across our easily cleaned oleophobic screens, and our data fails to imprint the care of time and attention we devote through each page turn. Our iPads have lost sabi, that Japanese aesthetic that elevates appreciation of that which is old, faded, and worn. Instead, we live in a world that's slightly more sterile, and far less tactile. Enter "Paper Passion". Created by Geza Schoen, Gerhard Steidl, and Wallpaper magazine, with packaging designed jointly by Karl Lagerfeld and Steidl, the perfume offers a bouquet of "freshly printed books, the best smell in the world," according to Lagerfeld. It celebrates "all the glorious sensuality of books" (yes, apparently it refers to those kind of naughty librarians), allowing you to wear the "very chic" smell of a book. Retailing at just $115 for a small bottle, the fragrance promises to place you into a "world of luxury." "You have a book, you open it, there's a bottle inside and it smells of a book. It might be quirky, but the idea has a simplicity, a linearity." --Geza Schoen To this we say "No comment." [via iO9]
No comment: Unimpressive iPhone app, Airplane
There are more than half a million apps in Apple's App Store. Some are stunning achievements. Others are not. Below is a video demonstration of the app Airplane. Touch the "Take Off" button to hear the sound of an airplane engine. Shake the phone to hear a flight attended tell you to put your seatbelt on. That's it. We leave you with this free app from the "Entertainment" category (that's a stretch) and a hearty "no comment."
No comment: iPhone case has a "discreet" storage compartment
Have you ever been out and realized you forgot your wallet just as you were going to pay for something? Bummer, right? And it probably makes you wish that Apple would go ahead and build a mobile payment system into the iPhone -- because you never leave your house without that. Now imagine that you're a super cool player, meet a girl, and get invited back to her place for a "nightcap." Being the stud you are, you bypass the drink and get funky the second she closes the door. That's when you reach into your pockets and find your iPhone, but realize you forgot the one accessory every player should carry. Double bummer. I mean, despite all that the iPhone can do, there's no way it can help you in this situation, right? Wrong. Well, wrong if you have the right iPhone case. The aptly named Playa case by Opena aims to ensure that you're never without the means to get your groove on safely. The "discreet storage slot" on the back of the case carries one condom should the need arise. Click on over to Opena's website to place your preorder, playas. And also don't forget to watch the video where an Australian kid explains where he uses the Playa, including ... when walking the dog ... No comment.
No Comment: Apple pulls Bluetooth OnOff switch app from the App Store, blogger overreacts
Apple has pulled an app that allows iPhone users to turn Bluetooth on and off with a single tap, and that's not sitting right with ZDNet blogger Jason O'Grady. According to O'Grady, that one app removal "demonstrates how (Apple) has become lethargic and how iOS innovation has slowed to a crawl." If a lethargic company can turn in a US$39.2 billion quarter, I'd love to see what an "innovative" company could do. So Jason, innovation in the iOS field has definitely slowed to a crawl?. Yeah, there are only 600,000 apps available in the App Store, so the removal of one app -- the $0.99 Bluetooth OnOff -- that used private APIs specifically forbidden by Apple is obvious proof that Apple has become lethargic and that there's no innovation. Was this post supposed to run on April 1st and got delayed to today by mistake? Sure, it takes five or more steps to turn off Bluetooth in iOS, and it's not a top level on-off button in Settings. While that is a pain, how often do you really need to turn off Bluetooth? According to O'Grady, "Bluetooth uses battery capacity so it's better to turn it off while not in use." What? I have Bluetooth turned on all the time on my iPhone 4S and I don't see it sucking my battery dry. Of course, I don't use a Bluetooth headset or speakers most of the time, but I get amazing battery life with Bluetooth constantly turned on for instant connections when I need them. I'd be willing to bet that most iPhone users couldn't even tell you if Bluetooth is on or off at any particular time. We all get frustrated with Apple at some point or another for some niggling point, but I'd have to conjecture that the overall level of frustration is pretty incredibly low for the company to continue to turn in quarter after quarter of outstanding financial results. This is one ZDNet post that needs to go back to the whine cellar to mature.
No Comment: The depths people will plumb to secure a WWDC pass
We knew there'd be some broken hearts when WWDC tickets sold out in two hours this morning, but even this might be pushing it. A San Francisco resident has posted an ad to Craiglist pleading for a WWDC ticket. Since they're nontransferable, this would presumably require a legal name change on the buyer's part to accept the pass. The would-be buyer isn't just offering $1,600 and a name change, but will also do jury duty for you and a number of other tasks. If your name happens to be Jebodiah, there's a $500 bonus. There probably are people just that desperate to get hold of a WWDC pass that seems to be more elusive than a Golden Ticket. Regardless, to all of this nonsense, we say no comment.
No Comment: MacBook perfume project smells like new unboxing
It may just be an art installation and not a commercial product, but what Apple fan wouldn't want to buy a bottle of scent offering the essences of, ink, paper, foam, sticky tape, and a hint of glue? For the enthusiast who has everything, who has ransacked the Mothership store for wardrobe, the local store for computing, and whose basement is filled with artsy Ebay-sourced Performa and Centris nostalgia, all that's possibly left to internalize the product is to become the product. Enter Air Aroma. According to the Co.DESIGN write-up, their lab "smell-analyzed" a MacBook along with its packaging to create a virtual MacBook scent out of an array of natural products: leather and lily flower, plastic film and cold metal, and of course, musk. "Musk. It's not the first thing that comes to mind when you think 'MacBook,'", Mark Wilson writes, "But maybe these secretions of a mature male deer have been in Apple's secret potion all along." To that, we say No Comment.
No comment: iPhone money clip
Yeah, here's the way to make your iPhone even more attractive to thieves. Add a money clip to it, and then make sure that you put a wad of cash or a couple of credit cards in the clip. The Poddities Money Clip for iPhone 4 (US$32.80) is available now and comes complete with a screwdriver to glom this clip right onto your iPhone. That way, when the thieves go to grab your credit card and folding money, they can be sure to take the iPhone at the same time. To that, we say No Comment.
No Comment: Rovio exec's wife dresses up Angry Birds style
In these pics over at the Hollywood Reporter, you can clearly see Peter Vesterbacka, the CEO of Rovio, who you may remember from his speech earlier this year at GDC 2011. The woman he's pictured with is none other than his wife, Teija Vesterbacka, who, according to the pictures, looks like a very lovely and elegant woman. The two look like they're about to have a very good time at a very fancy dinner, which is called the Castle Ball at the Finnish Presidential Palace, a formal event to celebrate Finland's Independence Day. The dress that she's wearing, however, clearly modeled after the big red Angry Bird? Well -- no comment.
No Comment: Proof that Samsung shamelessly copies Apple
We saw this image posted to Reddit after seeing it linked on Daring Fireball, and it was just too good not to share. Below you'll see a very long image that shows how extensively Samsung has copied Apple in its products, packaging, presentation, marketing, and even app interfaces. Any one of these things by itself you might be able to pass off as coincidence or with the "there's only so many ways to skin a tablet" argument, but when they're put all together like this it's pretty unmistakable how extensively and shamelessly Samsung is aping Apple. Argue the merits of Apple's "look and feel" lawsuit against Samsung all you like, but other than wagging our fingers at Samsung, this gets a well-deserved "No Comment."
MacBook Air as kitchen utensil
The MacBook Air is thin, especially at the end of the taper. One might even say "razor thin." One user took the notion to a ridiculous extreme by using the laptop to prepare a meal, slicing shrimp, mushrooms, lettuce and other things with the Air's case. It's not the first time an Air has been used as a blade, either. Rahul Sood, founder of Voodoo PC and CTO of HP's global gaming business used an Air in 2008 to decadently cut his birthday cake. It was a gag for sure, but still...we offer No Comment. [Via Gizmodo]
No Comment: Woman buys wooden iPad
This is a completely hypothetical situation: Someone in a McDonald's parking lot says he picked up an iPad for a cheap $300, and wonders if you'd want to buy it off of him for just $180. You decide why not (because reputable salesmen always just hang around in the parking lots of fast food places, right?), and take your new tablet home, only to find that it is in fact a wooden block, not the shiny piece of technology you'd hoped for. And what's more, it's not just a wooden block, but it's a dirty, makeshift fake iPad, complete with an Apple logo on the back, icons on the front, and some sort of weird fake Best Buy sales ticket. Sure, the thieves could have just sold you a brick in a box, but nope, they went all out on this one. Wait, this isn't a hypothetical situation? It actually happened to an, erm, unfortunate lady in South Carolina? Oh. Wait, she really did buy an iPad for $180 from a couple of guys outside McDonald's? Oh. Well then. No comment. [via TechCrunch]
No Comment: The iPhone Megaphone
We've actually seen this megaphone idea implemented before. While it's probably easiest to just go ahead and plug your iPhone in rather than trying to mechanically amplify the sound waves with a series of cones and chambers, that hasn't stopped some designers from putting together some intriguing devices for making your iPhone louder (and clearer?). All that said, we'd like to say this "acoustic horn" manufactured out of ceramic and placed on a walnut tripod was just another jokey accessory, but given how well-designed it looks? We'll just say: No comment.
No comment: iPhone fan attachment blows (air)
If you're looking for a way to beat the heat where you live, you have many options. If every last one of those options is unavailable for some reason, you can always give this iPhone dock accessory from Cellularfactory a try. Dubbed the "Newest Cool Dock Fan Gadgets Cooler," this dock attachment is essentially a tiny propeller blade, powered by the iPhone's internal battery, that's supposed to cool you off somehow. It's very reminiscent of those tiny USB-powered fans, but I've never been able to figure out if those are actually meant to be useful or just a gag gift. Like those, this iPhone-powered fan doesn't look big enough to manage much more airflow than you'd get by just breathing on yourself. And unlike the iFan, which was a one-shot fan attachment meant to charge your iPhone off the wind, this fan attachment will probably drain your battery flat in no time. I'm trying to sympathize with you Northern Hemisphere folks and your brutal heatwave, I really am... but I'm sitting in New Zealand, in the middle of a once-in-50-years snowstorm event. I just ate a banana that tasted like it came straight out of the refrigerator, except it was sitting on my dining room table all night instead. So needless to say, I'm well outside the target demographic for this accessory. Maybe the bitter cold has made me just as bitter, but I'm still giving this iPhone fan a (frozen) solid No Comment.
