david smith
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Users take to iOS 5.1 surprisingly quickly
Developer David Smith has posted upgrade stats for his users in terms of their adoption to iOS 5.1, and as you can see above, the curve is pretty steep. iOS upgrading has always been sort of an issue for Apple -- in the past, users (I mean outside of the elite readers and staff of TUAW, of course) haven't been quite so willing to upgrade so quickly, and Apple is always trying to push users towards the newest iOS versions for developers' sake. But clearly iOS 5.1 has made a big splash, especially since it's the first big update that's available to download right over the air onto your device, rather than requiring a link up to iTunes on a computer. And outside of the Apple ecosystem, this is still pretty phenomenal: Smith says that in 15 days, the latest version of iOS has just as many users as any single version of Android. That's the fragmentation that developers are trying to avoid with iOS, and that Android is suffering from. The more you can unite your users onto the same platform and operating system, the better chance you have of supporting them all with whatever resources you have. [via MacRumors]
RIM confirms PlayBook OS 2.0 delayed until February, still no BBM in sight
Well, we hope you weren't expecting to have PlayBook 2.0 up and running on your BlackBerry tablet any time soon, cause it's been officially delayed till at least February. Word has come straight from the mouth (well, keyboard) of David Smith, senior vice president for the PlayBook project. In a blog post Smith announced that RIM would be holding back on the release to ensure many of the new features, including native email and enterprise app deployment, work as advertised. The OS update will be getting a decently long beta test, with it rolling out to some in the Early Adopter Program "shortly." Sadly, it seems that some features have fallen by the wayside with the focus on polish -- namely, BBM. Since the messaging service relies on a one-device per-PIN model, getting it on the tablet has proved troublesome. For now users will have to rely on BlackBerry Bridge and their RIM handsets to get their BBM fix. Considering the company's track record, we wouldn't be shocked if the OS update slips even further into the future -- remember an email client was promised within 60 days of launch... that was back in April.
Planet's smallest model train set revealed to macro lenses, microscopes (video)
New Jersey's own David Smith is enjoying his 15 minutes right about now, as the world is finally talking about his model train set. You see, this model train set isn't just any model train set. No -- it's probably the world's smallest, most ridiculous and most awesome all at once (all at once). The so-called James River Branch community has been in the works for months on end, and the $11 working locomotive is 35,200 times smaller than a real one. Of course, the moving trains are really just attached to the top of a rotating tube, but you can certainly pretend you never heard that spoiler if you'd like. Check the video after the break -- the kid in you will thank us.
LittleBigPlanet director talks about trophies, mandatory install, SIXAXIS
Eurogamer moderated an interview with David Smith, Media Molecule co-founder and technical director of LittleBigPlanet, and lucky fans had the chance to send him some questions. Smith revealed some new elements of the game and confirmed some old ones; the release date is still October, with a beta trial that has already begun but Smith hopes "to have as many people as possible." Trophies were slightly elaborated upon, with creation being a big focus: an example brought up involved creating a new tool/machine that will launch a sackperson at a high speed. You can create inventions, then use a camera tool make copies of them, and give them away. A simple system of "hitting a button at any time and following a simple series of operations." will allow users to report objectionable content, including copyrighted content. Water is currently not in the game, but "it's something that would be very high on our list of priorities." Gravity change is also said be added later on. Whether install will be mandatory is unknown, but Smith simply said: "The HD install is perhaps around a gig. Perhaps more or less." LBP will run at "30fps at 720. The game uses a lot of filmic techniques like depth of field and motion blur, so this fits the game pretty well." There will be "VOIP and PS Eye support" but no further details are revealed. Finally, SIXAXIS will "let you look around, point at things and change your facial expression." For more details, read a transcript of the interview here.
