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Why Verizon needs a copy editor
Dig a bit deeper into Verizon's iPhone announcement and you see something that was overlooked from this morning's announcement -- namely a white iPhone. Apple has made it perfectly clear that the Holy Grail of iPhones won't be available until some time this spring. So, is this the real thing? Most likely not, I don't see anyone other than Apple announcing the white iPhone, and certainly not by burying it in a subsection of Verizon's site. Steve Jobs is most likely frothing at the mouth over this slip-up by Verizon -- but as of a little while later, it's fixed, so maybe nobody noticed. That's not the only error Verizon's announcement had. There's no mention of CDMA at all -- the specs listed are GSM/EDGE. Maybe you have to roam onto AT&T to actually use the data plan. It's pretty much last summer's iPhone 4 announcement plopped onto a Verizon server. You'd think that with Verizon and Apple having this under wraps for the past two years, someone would have bothered coming up with a better site -- or at least making sure the AT&T-specific information was changed to Verizon. Or, better yet, hire a copy editor. [Yes, we know we made an 'a/an' error in this post and a typo in a headline earlier, thanks to all you clever wags for pointing them out; they are fixed now. Of course we make mistakes too -- however our mistakes are not on the same scale as Verizon inadvertently advertising a color that isn't available, on a network they don't support. –Ed.]
HP adds more printers to AirPrint-compatible list
With only a handful of HP printers being compatible with Apple's AirPrint -- after the disappointment of AirPrint's functionality being drastically scaled back in the final release of iOS 4.2 -- users have been left with two options if they want to print directly from their iOS 4.2 device. One, get your hacking gloves on and install the necessary files from the developer build of Mac OS X 10.6.5 (which were pulled from the final public release). use one of the free or paid utilities to enable shared printing from your iPad via your Mac or PC. Or two, get your hands on one of the compatible HP printers. Fortunately, option two is about to get a whole lot better, though it's still not ideal because you will have to buy a new printer if you don't already have one of these models -- the AirPrint capability is being added via a firmware update. HP is adding six printers to the AirPrint availability menu shortly. The printers are all of the Officejet variety, but at least now there's a choice of more AirPrint compatible printers. If you already have one of these models, you're in luck: reader Eldon Brown reports that he updated the firmware on his 6500A Plus and the AirPrint capability was added automatically. The newly AirPrint-savvy models are: HP Officejet 6500A e-All-in-One HP Officejet 6500A Plus e-All-in-One HP Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One (pictured) HP Officejet Pro 8500A e-All-in-One HP Officejet Pro 8500A Plus e-All-in-One HP Officejet Pro 8500A Premium e-All-in-One HP is also hosting firmware updates for several LaserJet and Photosmart models, which should enable AirPrint goodness: Photosmart e-AiO (D110) (USA/Canada) Photosmart Wireless e-AiO (B110) (EU, AP) LaserJet Pro M1536dnf Multifunction Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/M1536) LaserJet Pro CM1415fn Color Multifunction Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/CM1415) LaserJet Pro CM1415fnw Color Multifunction Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/CM1415) LaserJet Pro CP1525n Color Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/CP1525) LaserJet Pro CP1525nw Color Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/CP1525) Of course, there is a third option. You could always sit tight and wait for Apple to unleash the full power of AirPrint -- hopefully sometime next year. Post corrected to note that these are not new printers but are getting new firmware; also corrected reference to hacktivation process. GadgetVenue post referenced is incorrect.
Correction: X-Men Arcade coming to PSN in North America on Dec. 14, XBLA on Dec. 15
Konami representatives confirmed with Joystiq tonight that X-Men Arcade will be arriving in North America on PlayStation Network next week on December 14, while Xbox Live Arcade gets it the next day. We originally reported that the game had a two-month window of exclusivity on Xbox Live Arcade, per Konami reps speaking with Eurogamer. It appears that this report is not the case, at least for the game's North American release -- US-based Konami reps couldn't confirm European release dates for X-Men Arcade as of publishing. Furthermore, the game was given a December 26 North American launch date by Konami reps speaking to GameFocus in a recent video interview. Since the interview, however, the PSN launch date has been moved up and North Americans can get their co-op Magneto murdering in a full 12 days earlier. We're just hoping that buying the game won't be as maddeningly difficult as nailing down a solid release date from its publisher.
Nintendo won't be exhibiting at CES 2011 after all, will conduct meetings behind closed doors
Wait, put the cork back in the champagne, Nintendo isn't making its triumphant return to CES after all. The Consumer Electronics Association has just blasted out a new press release, presumably with a face red with embarrassment, to correct its erroneous note that Nintendo will be an exhibitor at the 2011 tech showcase. As it turns out, Satoru Iwata's crew have booked some meeting rooms during the show -- to discuss what, we don't know -- which somewhere along the line was misinterpreted to mean that the company will be exhibiting its wares. It won't. We'll be there anyway, this just means we'll have to be a little craftier about extracting our information. [Thanks, Curtis]
Sprint misstated EVO 4G sales, by a lot
Remember when Sprint said this: "The total number of HTC EVO 4G devices sold on launch day was three times the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the market combined." Nuh uh, it's wrong. Sprint just issued a correction in the wee hours stating that first day EVO 4G sales were, in reality, "in line with" the number of Instincts and Pres sold over their first three days on the market combined. Still pretty good if that translates to the 150,000 units sold as some analysts are touting; even better if Sprint can restock shelves.
ESTsoft to publish CABAL Online in the West
Fans of Cabal Online rejoice! ESTsoft's free-to-play fantasy MMORPG is alive and well in the Western market, and will not be put out to pasture as we initially reported. ESTsoft, the game's original developer, will be taking over for OGPlanet as the North American publisher, and is currently hard at work on the logistics involved in the transfer. A brief statement is available on their web site, and you can also follow their progress on the Cabal Online Facebook fan page as well as the ESTsoft Twitter feed. No official details have surfaced regarding the preservation of existing accounts and character assets, but we'll keep you informed as we learn more. For now, all current users should activate the sub-passwords on their accounts, as those passwords will be used to verify your ID in the coming service transition.
Nokia grabs the Windex, clears up 'erroneous' Maemo carrier customization claims
We aren't too sure where a number of outlets overheard that Nokia was planning to pass on customizing its Maemo-based devices, but one of two things has happened: either Nokia is lying to our faces and has secretly had a change of heart, or everyone was just misinformed from the get-go. Regardless of the hows and whys, Nokia has now come clean and stated that those very reports -- you know, the ones that "erroneously suggested that Nokia will not support operator customization for Maemo devices" -- are "simply incorrect." A long winded explanation follows, but the long and short of it is that the suits in Espoo are (at least now) very open to letting operators "tailor future Maemo devices to suit their needs," which may or may not be a positive in your eyes depending on the carrier you're chained to. Now, aren't you glad we had this little talk?[Thanks, Dallas]
Ballmer apologizes for letting slip wrong Natal release date
Microsoft has already come out and clarified Steve Ballmer's recent statement that Project Natal would be rolling out sometime in 2010 (possibly in the form of a new Xbox console), but it looks like the man himself also felt the need to set the record straight. Speaking with IGN, Ballmer said that he "confused the issue with my poorly chosen words," adding that, "there is no news in my comments. Things are as reported after E3. Sorry." Of course, this would be somewhat understandable if it were an isolated incident, but as you no doubt recall, Ballmer also recently dropped word of an earlier than expected Zune HD release date, which prompted yet another quick "clarification" from Microsoft. But hey, he only works there.[Via Joystiq, image courtesy guardian.co.uk]
About the 1st generation iPhone/push notification post: an apology
On Tuesday evening, in the leadup to the release of the iPhone 3.0 firmware update, TUAW ran a post that included wrong information. The post stated that first-generation iPhone owners would not be able to use the push notification feature of 3.0 and receive phone calls at the same time. This was incorrect with respect to the final 3.0 release. Although the post was well-intentioned, the conclusions stated came from a source who had experienced a conflict between push notifications and incoming calls while testing a beta push-enabled application, and the source did not adequately confirm the issue with other iPhone developers or other push-enabled applications. Furthermore, the technical information in the post about how push notification works was not accurate. As editors, we can blame the lateness of the hour and the excitement over the iPhone 3.0 OS release on not catching the mistakes pre-publication, but in truth, we made an error in judgement. Based on our confidence in the source, we didn't assign the same level of scrutiny to the post that our readers have come to expect (and that we have come to expect for ourselves), and for that we are sorry. Had the post been framed differently as "one user's story" rather than as a blanket technical explanation, that would have been a better choice; however, due to the NDA status of participants in the iPhone developer program, it was not possible to directly credit the source at that time; the 3.0 firmware had not yet been released.Although we amended the post as soon as the mistake was realized and removed it from the front page within minutes, the nature of the Internet means that this misinformation is hard to erase. Our editorial policy dictates that we not "unpublish" or delete posts, once they appear on the site. Still, even removed from our front page, and even with our editor's note atop the post, we are aware that the post continues to be a point of confusion for readers.TUAW's bloggers and editors strive to provide accurate information and to clearly distinguish conjecture or rumor from fact. In this instance, we got it wrong. We are truly sorry for this situation. We understand that it reflects poorly on us as a site, to readers and to the community at large. As a result, we have strengthened our editorial resolve to do more vigorous checking of the technical details of posts, so that this sort of misinformation does not get published in the future.As always, thank you for reading TUAW. Without your support, we wouldn't be here, and we are very much aware how important our credibility is to your continued readership and participation.We look forward to continuing the conversation on this issue and responding to your questions and concerns. While comments on the initial post are closed, we welcome your feedback in comments here, via our tips line and on Twitter and Facebook.
TUAW Tip: Setting Google Reader as your default RSS handler
April 2011: Post updated to remove links to older Google Reader Notifier and link to official Google Notifier tool. I'll admit it, I goofed. The screenshot for my post on using MisFox to set your Internet helper applications shows "Google Reader.app" in the pop-up of choices for the default RSS feed reader; this got several people quite excited. "Ooo! Can we set Google Reader as default? Can we can we huh?" they eagerly asked (I'm paraphrasing). Two teensy problems with my screenshot, though: first, the app listed as Google Reader is now known as Google Notifier; second, MisFox won't actually allow you to set Reader Notifier as your RSS helper app. Argh! Fortunately, the answer is simpler than I thought. Go ahead and download the excellent and free GRN; launch it and put in your Google credentials, and you'll immediately get the Growl notifications and pulldown menu goodness -- however, if you don't want them, go to the Reader Notifier preferences and check "minimal function mode." Now, in your browser of choice (works for me in Safari 2, Safari 3 beta, and Firefox 2) go to Preferences, go to the RSS/Feeds section, pick the Reader Notifier application (in FF, you'll have to click "Choose Application" and select it)... and there's no step 4. From that point on, clicking the feed link in the browser's URL field will automatically open the feed in Google Reader rather than in your local feedreader. For the record, of the helper-app preference panes I tested, MisFox and MoreInternet could not set Reader Notifier as the RSS default, but RCDefaultApp did it with no problem at all (not to mention it has plenty of other functionality). Enjoy, and my apologies to everyone who got hot under the collar from the original screenshot.
Toshiba says 51GB HD DVD still in the oven
Contrary to reports this week that Toshiba had completed work on its 51GB, 7 hour HD DVD disc and submitted it for approval to the DVD Forum, Toshiba says the disc is still in the works, and that it hasn't made any official announcements since early January when it first revealed the disc. "We're puzzled ourself by where these reports came from," said Junko Furuta of Toshiba, who denied such developments. That's all we know for now, no word on when the disc will actually be completed, but according to the original announcement, Toshiba will be looking for approval of such a disc this year.[Thanks, Zombieflanders]
Nintendo slip up points to Wii shortages? [update 1]
It's not every day that a major video game company tells you not to listen to what it says, but that's just what Nintendo did today. Yesterday, the company issued a press release trumpeting NPD sales figures that showed healthy Wii and DS sales. The release also promised "well more than a million" Wii systems would be on U.S. store shelves by the end of the year, despite what the release called "spot shortages in some locations."Today, Nintendo issued a correction asking everyone to disregard the line about the million systems and the spot shortages. The company didn't offer any new projections for end-of-year domestic shipments, they just want us to know that the million unit target should go down the memory hole.Given Nintendo's previous promise to ship four million systems worldwide by year's end, we find it hard to believe that not even a million of those system's would go to the world's largest video game market. So we have to wonder, does this retraction point to some Wii production problems that are slowing the planned deployment of the system?Maybe Nintendo is just reapportioning it's limited supplies in light of crippling shortages in Europe, leaving the U.S. in the cold. Maybe the company just didn't want to tip its hand about regional distribution plans (although we think the damage has already been done if this is the case). Maybe Nintendo is scaling back Wii chatter in preparation for a planned merger with Apple (highly unlikely, but hey, anything is possible).We've contacted Nintendo for more information about the correction and the rationale behind it, and will let you know as soon as they get back to us. [Update 1: Nintendo has sent a clarification about their correction: "Because of the many variables involved in orchestrating a continuous worldwide launch, a blanket statement about availability in specific regions cannot be made. We remain committed to the ongoing, rapid replenishment of systems in the United States and around the world through the end of 2006 and beyond to bring a new gaming experience to our customers."]Read - Original press releaseRead - Corrected press release
