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Mozilla combines tracker blocking with paid, ad-free browsing
Last year, Mozilla partnered with Scroll -- a subscription service that enables ad-free browsing of its partner publications -- to analyze if a select group of users preferred paying a small fee rather than being served ads, and if the strategy was cost-effective for the publications. After seeing promising results, the two companies have announced the Firefox Better Web with Scroll beta program. The name is a mouthful, but essentially, it combines Firefox's tracker-blocking technology with Scroll's ad-free experiences on any browser. Users can opt in and pay an introductory price of $2.49 for the service, which enables them to read publications like The Atlantic, The Onion and USA Today, add-free. The publications, meanwhile, receive a share of the revenue that Scroll makes from the subscription costs.
Twitter is rolling out a fix for the 'auto-scrolling' bug on iOS
Has the Twitter timeline been extra jumpy on your iPhone or iPad? Yesterday Twitter acknowledged the "frustrating" issue, and now an update to address it is rolling out via the App Store. It's unclear if it was supposed to be a seamless addition of new tweets that simply didn't behave properly, but now users should be able to decide whether or not the tweet they're looking at is worth reading without the app deciding it's time to move on. The fixed version is v8.1.5, so if you're still on 8.1, then hang on -- it's coming.
Mozilla preps its ad-free news subscription service for testing
Mozilla seems to have made significant progress on its Apple News competitor over three months after it was announced. According to various sources, the organization has sent out invites to users, inviting them to participate in the upcoming beta launch of its news subscription service. Mozilla called it the "Firefox Ad-free Internet" in the invites, since it's meant to give users access to content from their favorite publications without having to look at ads.
Instagram finally tests a fast-forward feature for videos
In a move so overdue you're probably checking the date stamp on this article, Instagram could finally be about to launch a seek bar on videos posted on users' feeds. The feature, discovered by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, would let you skip backwards and forwards through a video without having to start it again from the beginning (as every other video player ever made already allows).
Instagram accidentally made users' feeds scroll horizontally
If you opened up Instagram today and found that your timeline orientation was totally switched, you weren't alone. It appears that quite a few users had a timeline that moved left to right, where posts could be tapped through as they can be in stories. When the new timeline appeared, Instagram surfaced a notice that said, "Introducing a New Way to Move Through Posts," and told users to tap through to see their posts. However, it seems that this may have been another short test rather than a permanent change to Instagram's feed.
Tap's wearable keyboard makes typing in VR applications a breeze
To date, the VR experience has largely centered around games and entertainment -- doing any actual work, such as typing up a document or sending an email, has been a slow and cumbersome process due to clunky point-and-click virtual keyboards. Now, a company behind a wearable keyboard, mouse and controller has demonstrated that its kit can be used with Microsoft's virtual desktop environment, making it easier, quicker and more intuitive to get stuff down within a VR realm.
Scientists use 3D scans to 'unwrap' an ancient scroll
The scientific world is developing a knack for reading texts without opening them. Researchers in Israel and the US have conducted the first "virtual unwrapping" of a heavily damaged scroll, the En-Gedi scroll, to read its contents without destroying what's left. The team used a high-resolution volumetric scan to create a 3D model of the scroll, looked for bright pixels in the model (a sign of where the ink would be) and virtually flattened the scroll to make text segments readable.
Logitech Harmony Touch remote officially announced, brings swipe, scroll and tap LCD for $249
The cat is already well out of the bag, but we finally have some official information about the new Logitech Harmony Touch universal remote. Its first addition to the line in a while, Logitech is pushing its center-mounted 2.4-inch color touchscreen with support for control by tapping, swiping or scrolling through up to 50 channel icons as a way to "unprecedented control" of your home entertainment system. We're still not entirely sure about the transport controls being placed so far up top or the usefulness of a screen focused on direct live channel access in the DVR and streaming age (check out our thoughts on this week's podcast), but it does bring the usual control of up to 15 devices and backlit keys. Just as we saw in the stores, the price is set at $249 and it controls only via IR, not RF like the pricier Harmony 900. Check out more info in the press release after the break (along with quick demo and how-to setup videos) or on Logitech's blog, fans of the new device should be able to find them released widely in the US and Europe this month.
iPad drag-to-edit keyboard prototype shows Apple how easy it could be (video)
Text editing on the iPad is a bit of a slog unless you have a dedicated keyboard. One Daniel Hooper, however, has a simple but clever idea to fix this: use the keyboard as a pseudo-trackpad. As he shows in the prototype video below, his idea has touchscreen typists just drag one or two fingers along the keyboard to whip through text. Need to select something? Hold the Shift key while you swipe. While the concept is the sort of addition you'd normally only expect to appear in a jailbreak mod, Hooper sees the convenience as worth petitioning Apple directly -- and while there's no guarantee Apple will ever implement it, that he's been told Apple now sees it as a "known issue" suggests that someone in Cupertino is contemplating the possibilities.
Daily iPad App: Say Anything lets you get somebody's attention without saying a thing
Sometimes you need to get a person's attention without saying a word. You can wave your hand wildly at them, but all that vigorous movement may scare them away. A better way to get someone's attention is to pull out your iPad and fire up a banner app like Say Anything from Appy Inc. Say Anything is a simple banner app that lets you type in text and scroll it across your iPad's display just like a ticker tape. It has a swipe-based interface that uses both vertical and horizontal swiping gestures. A horizontal swipe sets your banner in motion and controls the speed, while a vertical swipe lets you scroll among your messages. Speaking of messages, your messages can have unlimited characters and you can save them for later use. You can save an unlimited number of preset messages (99-cent in-app purchase required) and use a favorites list to make it easy to find your most used messages. Unlike the paper banners of yore, you can jazz up your messages on the fly by changing the background color and adjusting the font color and face. There's also a mirror mode that's available as a 99-cent in-app purchase. Your message and its background are fully customizable, but, like mirror mode and unlimited presets, these changes come with a cost. If you want to adjust the size of the text, add more fonts or swap out the background for an image or a texture, you have to activate those features via an in-app purchase. Each feature costs 99-cents, but you can save yourself some cash and buy all five features (fonts, scaling, background, mirror and unlimited preset messages) for a reasonable US$1.99. What sets Say Anything apart from its competition is its ease of use and quality design. It's a fast, responsive app with a clean UI that lets you get your message across to someone in just a few seconds. I've been using it off and on for the past few weeks and am pleased with its performance. The developers are also responsive to problems and committed to producing a quality app. Say Anything is available for free from the iOS App Store, so you can try the basic features of the app without spending any money. If you like the app, then you should spend the $1.99 to unlock all five features and get rid of those pop-ups that appear every time you click on a paid feature that you haven't bought yet. You'll be glad you did.
Makayama's TouchBrowser adds iPhone-style browsing to Windows Mobile
Janky image aside -- there are so many perspective problems in that pic it makes us feel woozy -- Makayama's TouchBrowser does seem to bring the goods when it comes to scrollable web browsing on Windows Mobile. Featuring both mobile and desktop views, a full screen keyboard, and judging by the YouTube vid they've posted -- see it after the break -- it looks grand. The software supports all Pocket PCs with VGA or QVGA screens -- except Treo and Windows Mobile Classic devices. So if your touchscreen isn't getting quite enough touching and flicking, for only $15 this may offer up a small bit of joy.
"Scroll" concept device packs everything but a sense of reality
Sure, there's plenty of far fetched concept devices from big players like Nokia, but it's nice to see that folks without millions of dollars in research funding can also come up with equally unrealistic devices, as evidenced by this so-called "Scroll" contraption created by 13 Tech Design. What's more, this one doesn't get by on looks alone, with it packing a touchscreen-based cellphone, a 10 megapixel camera and 1080p camcorder, various media-playing features, built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, and a full-fledged computer that runs on Vista or XP. That's right, it seems that even fantasyland gadgets need to fall back on XP.
World of WarCrafts: A simple scroll
Every Thursday, Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle guides you in creating WoW-inspired crafts using real world mats with World of WarCrafts.Ever find yourself wanting to recreate that old world look but can't seem to find any ancient parchment? Need an epic invitation to your guild poker party? Or maybe you need to add some flare to your child's chore list. This handmade scroll is the perfect solution.Here is what you will need: 8.5" x 11" piece of printing paper (any printable size will do) Laserjet Printer (inkjets are fail) Tea Bag (you might have one left over from Caf'd macaroni and cheese) Scissors Lighter Long Red Candle (or preferable color) Red Ribbon (any hue will do) Elastic String (or a rubber band) Aluminum Foil Stamp (or secret society emblem) Super Glue Click on the images below to view a gallery of step-by-step instructions. %Gallery-19622% DISCLAIMER: If you are under 18, please make sure that you are supervised by your parents or an adult. Only YOU can prevent kitchen fires!
Genius Traveler 515 Laser mouse rocks touch-sensitive scroll
We can't say that Genius' latest laser mouse is apt to cause any cancellation emails to start flying over those recently ordered Obsidians, but the Traveler 515 Laser does a fair job in the specs department to make up for its vanilla looks. Similar to Saitek's critter, this pointing device boasts a touch-sensitive OptoWheel scroll area, right and left click buttons, Flip 3D and Smart IE hotkeys for Vista users, Turbo Scroll for blowing past those incredibly long patent filings, an adjustable 800 / 1,600 DPI laser, and compatibility with OS X and most Windows flavors. Additionally, this device is said to play nice with both righties and southpaws alike, and while looks may not be everything, we imagine that this one will end up priced a tad lower than its dashing competitor in order to compensate in the attractivity arena.[Via EverythingUSB]
Who needs a Mighty Mouse? Hold shift for horizontal scrolling
John Gruber linked the blog of Mike Rohde, a visual designer who discovered a slick scrolling trick built into Mac OS X: with a standard scrolling mouse, you can hold the shift key in most apps to scroll horizontally. Mike cites his day job apps like Photoshop and Illustrator, but this seems to work in NetNewsWire, Firefox and iTunes as well. I'm not sure if this is a 10.4 Tiger-only thing (anyone care to share?), but it's a handy little trick for those who aren't exactly enamored with the Mighty Mouse.
Dear Apple: stop leaving your early adopters out in the cold
Dan Lurie from The Apple Blog pointed me towards an early MacBook review at Macworld in which Jason Snell points out the new MacBook's ability to right-click when you have two fingers on the trackpad. It's a setting you can toggle in the MacBook's System Preferences, and it apparently also exists on the 17" MacBook Pro (and possibly on the revamped 15" models; reports pending).But not on the 15" MacBook Pro that I bought three weeks ago.Dear Apple: please stop leaving your early adopters out in the cold. I realize you're a company whose purpose is to make money. That's fine, in fact: I can't think of many other companies I'm happier to give my money to. That said, tiny new features like this which you aren't even bragging about on your product sites obviously aren't crucial selling points designed to sell X many more MacBooks and 17" MacBook Pros. They're small but important innovations that all MacBooks to date should have, especially when you consider the fact that right-clicking on a Mac has been a topic of geek controversy since someone first took a side on the Mac vs. PC debate.Apple, if you're listening (of course, you aren't), please give your early-adopting MacBook Pro buyers (what I'm hoping is) a simple software update so they can right-click with the rest of their MacBook brethren.
TUAW Tip: quickly adjust viewable hours in iCal
Today's tip is a quick one about iCal, and it hails from the ever-useful archives of MacOSXHints. iCal's preferences allow you to choose how many hours you see in a day or week, but you can easily and quickly change this setting with a simple shortcut key. If you have a scrollwheel mouse or a two finger scrolling trackpad, simply hold the option key and scroll up and down in iCal to increase and decrease the amount of hours you can view.
