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'Give a Gift' of your favorite iPhone app with new iTunes option
Want to send your favorite iPhone fart app to all your friends? You can do that now! Apple has added an app gifting function to the iTunes store (the one on your computer, not the App Store on your phone). To find it, just click the little arrow next to the price on any app, and choose to "Gift This App." There, you'll be able to specify recipients, write a personal message, and send the certificate either through email or by printing it out. Sadly, this functionality arrived too late for you to send out copies of the $400 Zits & Giggles -- Apple removed the game following Tommy Refenes's Indie Game Maker Rant.
"Gift This App" appears in the app store
When the 2010 baseball season began, I knew I wanted to buy MLB At Bat for a friend. Unfortunately there was no way to do that directly, so I had to settle for a Gift Certificate. Then I discovered that Gift Certificates are only available in $10 increments, starting at $10 and ending at $50. As of today, that will no longer be a problem. Apple has introduced "Gift This App" for iPhone/iPod touch apps. Simply click on the dropdown menu next to "Buy App" to find the "Gift This App" link. Unfortunately it does not seem to be enabled (yet?) for all apps. When I checked the CBS Sports NCAA app the Gift This App option did not appear. Then there is the question of what happens if you try to buy an app for someone who already has it? What if you try to send an app to someone who uses a different email address for their iTunes account? What if you buy an app for someone who -- I shudder to even suggest this -- doesn't have an iPhone or iPod touch? While I am sure that these and other issues will have to be worked out, this is a good addition to the App Store if for no other reason than it will allow people to give the gift of apps without having to go through the extra process of buying a gift card, especially if all you want to spend is $0.99!
Canon captures your coffee in a 70-200mm telephoto lens
OK, not really, but Canon was indeed giving out these novelty coffee mugs -- in the shape of an EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens -- at the Winter Olympic's press center, and here's Microsoft's Josh Weisberg (Director of Rich Media Group) showing off his swag to the whole world. Yes, we're just a bit envious. So anyone got a spare Canon L-Series lens that we can tamper with? Or maybe that big-daddy Sigma lens if you're game with sharing coffee?
Drama Mamas: We hate hate
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com. The other night, one member of a random PUG The Spousal Unit was in announced exactly which bosses would be downed. He stated that any disagreement would cause something on his body to be put into something on your body -- only he used slightly more graphic words. The run was fine, because, though his method of communication was crude, it did convey a strategy that worked. There are some, however, who are being crude and offensive in the same way that creeps in college libraries reveal themselves to solitary students. These poster children for GIFT (Note: The link for GIFT is not safe for work. But if you are not familiar with Penny Arcade's theory about the internet, you really need to go there.) aren't criminals in the legal sense of the word, but they do have victims and therefore I will call them perps. Who knows what motivates them. Maybe they are troubled teens who have terrible home lives and should be pitied. I don't know and honestly I don't care. I'm too busy spending my sympathy on Haiti to include these jerks in my monkeysphere. And besides, at some point you have to take responsibility for your actions, regardless of how horrible your environment is. This week, we talk about these GIFTed perps.
TUAW Tip: Veency remote controls your iPhone from your Mac
Reader Kevin C. sent us a tip the other day -- he recently got a Bose SoundDock II, which is a nice little speaker dock, as a Christmas gift, and he wants to know: with his iPhone sitting all the way across the room, is there any way he can control the iPhone from his Mac? Obviously there are lots of ways to control your Mac with your iPhone, from Apple's official Remote app to multiple VNC programs on the App Store. But in this case, we want to go the other way: control your iPhone's iPod app with a Mac. Turns out there isn't a way to do it -- unless you jailbreak your iPhone. Using Veency, a jailbreak app that Erica covered about a year or so ago, you can head into your iPhone from your Mac and do anything you want, from changing tracks in iTunes to even sending text messages. Here's an older how-to on getting it working. Unfortunately, other than that (according to our research -- commenters feel free to jump in, of course), you're out of luck -- Apple is fine with sending commands from the iPhone to the Mac, but not the other way around. Maybe Bose needs to come up with a way for you to stream music over Bluetooth to their speakers so you can keep your iPhone with you. Update: Our commenters come through as always: Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil will supposedly send audio from your Mac out to your iPhone, and while I haven't tried it myself, we're told that the Bose dock will then play that audio for you. So instead of playing sound on your iPhone, you can just send it music from the Mac and control things that way. And Jeff points out that Belkin makes a Bluetooth dongle, so you can stream music that way as well (and just carry your iPhone with you). So there's a few solutions to try.
All the World's A Stage: Gift-giving in Azeroth
With Winter's Veil behind us, it is not too long until Valentine's Day is here. Between these two holidays, I'm frequently left pondering the best gifts available for our loved ones . . . in game. There's a subtle art to simulating gift-giving between characters, since there's obviously a few factors to be considered. First, it's difficult to be creative. Everyone has the same access to the items and gifts in-game, so you're going to be incredibly challenged to pull off something "no one else has considered." Second, it can be difficult to pick out just the right gift, since it can be a little hard to get excited over a trade window. Still, when it comes time for one character to give something a little special to his or her in-character spouse, it's good to have some ideas ready to go. Take a look behind the jump and let's talk about 5 of my favorite in-game gifts.
The Daily Grind: Virtual worlds, real gifts
You can't really wrap up, say, a +1 sword in Dungeons and Dragons Online. But that doesn't mean it makes a bad gift. After all, for some of your friends it's cheaper to ship and more relevant to your friendship than a fruitcake. You can't always trade the important things in MMOs, but even as the games celebrate the holidays by giving us several cosmetic items, it's possible for the players to find a more personal and intimate way to share in the holiday spirit. Today, we ask you if you've given a gift to a friend in a game, whether they're an in-game buddy or a real-life chum. If so, what did you give them? Was it something that you farmed up or crafted just for them, a bit of equipment you had lying around that they always wanted, or something sentimental? If you havven't, is it something you would consider doing? Today's the right time of year for sharing these stories, so even if you've only been a giftee rather than a gifter, we'd like to hear about it. (And for safety's sake, please, don't try to wrap a +1 sword. Those things are sharp.)
Apple provides a Holiday Sampler for free
Hard to believe anyone who does the Christmas thing would be lacking in basic music like Silent Night or We Wish You a Merry Christmas, but do you have Sarah McLachlan or Weezer singing your carols? Now's your chance to pick up those classics for the low, low price of nothing on the iTunes store now. Here's the link to the iTunes store and here's a nifty web-based page to peep the list. Go, download, drink some eggnog, warm your toes by the fire and try to have a happy holiday! Update: yeah, US-only, it seems. Update 2: commenter below says UK also! The rest of you get a virtual lump of coal. [via Holy Kaw!]
Amazon's Disc+ program tosses in a free VOD with your Blu-ray or DVD
In a move that could help counter the instant gratification valley that currently separates online shopping from heading to the local retailer, Amazon is pushing a "limited time offer" called Disc+ On Demand that pairs 300 or so of its movies with a free Amazon VOD copy. That digital version pops into the buyer's Video Library instantly after purchase and still has to play by all the usual video on-demand rules of 24 hr / 30 day windows, U.S. address, and is currently only available in standard-definition. Still, this combination of the digital and physical purchase worlds means the online giant has beaten Best Buy's similar plans to the punch and approaches the convenience of Netflix's Watch Instantly. Just its usually lower prices has already driven many of you to be come online only disc buyers, we'll see if this helps Amazon grab the rest.
Target's remote control gift card puts normal ones to shame
We've been cranking on our holiday gift guide series, but if you've already decided that there's someone in your life who you simply can't buy for, here's a suggestion: snag 'em one of these. Following up on last year's blockbuster camera gift card, Target is offering up what's believed to be the planet's first remote control gift card for the 2009 holiday season. Put simply, this stupendously cute Santa Mouse card actually doubles as a small toy, with the card itself acting as a remote that controls a tiny mouse. Online gift givers will have to drop at least $25 in order to claim one, though there's a chance you could cheap out in the store just to have one of these around. Check out an all-too-brief demonstration video down in the Source link.
Fallen Earth's special pre-order ATV goes vroom vroom
Remember when we mentioned that if you pre-order Fallen Earth over at Direct2Drive that you would get a special horsey known as the Wasteland Runner? Yes, of course you remember, because we just gave you the link to the story so you would remember.But, apparently, there's a second pre-order gift in town now. A gift that goes by the title of the Fallen Earth ATV. Pre-ordering the game straight from the developer will get you this nifty vehicle that comes with more hitpoints, a larger gas tank, better fuel efficiency, more storage, and a special Fallen Earth paint job. Plus, you get the ability to tell anyone you kill that they can "stick it in your tailpipe and smoke it." Horse riders just don't get that social ability.So, if you're pre-ordering Fallen Earth, it looks like you have a decision to make. Horse or ATV? It's up to you!
Knitted mitts for the Alliance
We are so glad we get to use bigger pictures now, especially when they show off something this cool. Mirthical made these Alliance-branded fingerless mitts (actually, we're not sure that lion is an official Alliance logo, but he's cute enough) for a friend of hers who was such a big Warcraft fan that she put an Alliance crest on her wedding cake, too.The design is great, though -- she borrowed the cuff look from a neckwarmer, and that lion came from a sticker someone else made. We're not sure why you'd wear open gloves like that (probably a girly thing), but even if they aren't super warm, they do at least look comfy. And Alliance have to represent when they can, we guess. Grab your... mittens and fight the Horde?
Valentine's Day: last minute, last resort gifts
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Valentine_s_Day_last_minute_last_resort_gifts'; Sure: you could get your sweetheart some totally awesome gadget -- our pages have numberless examples of all the finest that tech has to offer. But did it ever cross your mind that maybe -- just maybe -- what your beloved actually wants is... something light-hearted (preferably heart-shaped)? Go ahead and bite the bullet this year, get him / her something cute: we promise, your sensitivity will be rewarded with um... eternal love. Need suggestions? Sure, why not try the bedazzling, Swarovski-encrusted Crystal Heart Mouse. This puppy comes in three lovey-dovey flavors, each of which is $79.99 -- a triflingly small price to pay for this luxurious token of your affection, right? Check the rest out after the break. Read - Crystal Heart Mouse
LotRO's Refer-a-Friend program rewards you with Amazon vouchers
The Lord of the Rings Online promotions just keep flowing as Codemasters announces a new one involving Amazon gift vouchers. This Refer-a-Friend program rewards current players who can successfully sign up five friends with a £5 or 5 € Amazon voucher. Here's how it works: enter your friends' details, they play the 14-day free trial and if they like it, they sign up for a full subscription. For each five who sign up, you'll get the voucher. Seems easy enough, but keep in mind that this promotion is through Codemasters, so it's not for the North American or Oceanic players at this time.
So you just got an iPhone -- now what?
All day on December 25, TUAW presents "Now What?" We've got first steps and recommendations for all the Apple gifts you (hopefully!) found under the tree today. Happy holidays! Congratulations, you've finally gotten an iPhone! It's either your very first one, or you've managed to upgrade to the iPhone 3G. As with any new hardware purchase, now you get to have even more fun selecting accessories for it. How to use your iPhone There is plenty of information out there if you're looking for a basic guide to the functions of your new iPhone. One of the best sources for free information is right here at TUAW. Here's a couple of tips to help you get started: Taking screenshots: Hold down the home button and then quickly press the sleep/wake button. You'll see a flash and hear the sound of a camera click, and a screenshot of your current screen will be placed in the Camera Roll under Photos. Back to home: If you're browsing a page on a home screen other than the initial one, press the home button again and it'll take you back to the first page of the home screen. You can also speed-scroll through your home screens by tapping to the left or the right of the white & gray page indicator dots at the bottom of the screen. Back to the top of the screen: In both Mobile Mail and Mobile Safari, if you've scrolled down to the bottom of the page and want to get back to the top easily, just tap the menu bar and your page will spring back to the beginning. Headphones If you're like a good many people, you want to replace the stock Apple earbuds as soon as possible. I love my Bose In-Ear headphones, for example. Shure is another excellent brand for purchasing earbuds, and their SE110MPA Sound Isolating Stereo Headset includes an inline microphone and a control button for receiving and ending calls. Sennheiser also makes a similar headset, but for a lower price. For the true audiophiles, there's Etymotic's hf2 headset. If you have $350 to spend, there is the Beats headphones by Dr. Dre. If you like Apple's headset but find that it's a poor fit, then it's worth the $9 to purchase a set of BudFits. They attach onto Apple's earbuds and then wrap around your earlobe for a very secure fit.
So you just got an iPod touch -- now what?
All day on December 25, TUAW presents "Now What?" We've got first steps and recommendations for all the Apple gifts you (hopefully!) found under the tree today. Happy holidays! Did you wake up this morning with a shiny new iPod touch under the tree? If you did, read on to get our suggestions in making the "funnest iPod ever" even more fun! You know, even though the grammar in the ad kills me -- Apple got it right, the iPod touch really is the "funnest iPod ever." The first-generation touch was a great device but the second generation touch is even better. Faster than its predecessor (it is even faster than the iPhone 3G), and now with a built-in speaker, the ability to record your voice and built-in Nike+ support, the iPod touch is one of the most versatile digital devices on the market today. Here are my suggestions for making the iPod touch experience even better: Earphones The stock earbuds that come with the iPod touch are the same white earbuds (more or less) Apple has been packing with its iPod since the first version came out in 2001. Seven years later, they still suck. While they'll do in a pinch, if you really want to listen to high quality audio files (maybe something in Apple Lossless) or watch a movie or TV show with a less tinny sound, you'll want to replace them. You don't even have to spend a fortune to get a better sounding earbud, though if you want to get your audio-geek on, you certainly can. Here are some of my favorites: Sony MDR-ED21LP - If you want a solid replacement for the buds that ship with the iPod touch, but you don't want to spend more than $20, check these out. You can get them for $15 US from Amazon.com and they are lightweight and provide a substantially better experience than the default earphones. I have a pair of these stashed in my purse in case of an emergency (and no earphones is most certainly an emergency) or for running or walking in nasty weather. A solid replacement. Apple In-Ear with Microphone and Remote - Apple's first pair of in-ear headphones were just awful. Awful. The fit was weird and they had this great tendency to stop working (more specifically, one ear would stop working) after six months. The new In-Ear headphones include a microphone and a remote, and the reviews have been largely positive. For $80, the set offers a solid experience. Denon AH-C551K In-Ear Earphones - Amazon.com is selling these for $55 (MSRP is $99.99) and these are a great pair of entry-level ECH buds. I like them better than my old Shure EC3s. Shure I2C-MP - i'm mentioning these because at $40 US from Amazon.com, they are a pretty great deal. The buds themselves aren't as good as other Shure products, but the addition of a microphone that works with the iPod touch 2G and the great price point makes them worth a look.
Echoes of War music set out now
Blizzard has released the Echoes of War music set we posted about a while back, and they've got a nice new site to go along with it. The site features a trailer of what you'll hear on the CDs (and the included DVD, which has a feature length documentary, among other interviews and features): music from all of Blizzard's universes, from World of Warcraft to Diablo III. Pretty awesome. We originally said there'd be 70 minutes, but it turns out there's over 90 minutes of music to go around here. At $50 for the whole set and $30 for just the CDs, it might be a little pricey to pick up yourself, but it would make a great gift this holiday for a Warcraft fan (hopefully one close to you, so you can burn the CDs after you buy them, too).And even if you don't want to buy the set, the new site has sample tracks which are definitely worth listening to. Blizzard gets a lot of praise for their art design and gameplay, and while their music isn't the most memorable in videogaming (Mario's theme, Final Fantasy's music, or the Zelda tunes are probably much easier to recollect for most gamers), all of Blizzard's tunes are definitely epic enough to fit nicely in the games they're written for.[via WoW LJ]
2009 Petopia Calendar on sale now
Mania has released the 2009 Petopia calendar, featuring 12 beautiful images of some of the best pets in the game -- pretty much the perfect gift for the Hunter in your life. The pictures were put together by Aaron Perez, and each one was commissioned by Mania herself, so the calendar features all pets picked by her, including many of the new pet types: there's my current pet, a Rhino, in there for December and of course the Spirit Beast makes an appearance as well. It's available right now over on her Cafepress page for $19.99.Which may seem a little expensive, but Mania breaks the price down on her site: of the $20, a full $15 goes right back to Cafepress for printing costs and their profit. And of the $5 she gets, Mania sends it back to the artist for his work, so she doesn't even really expect to break even. Which is too bad -- there's certainly interest in these, I think, and it would be nice if we could set it up so the money goes somewhere besides Cafepress (but of course, then Mania would have to find a different printer and a different way to sell it, and who knows how much that all costs).At any rate, it'll definitely turn out to be a nice calendar, so if you know any pet tamers who need help keeping track of the date, there's your holiday gift.
Wii Warm Up: The gift of gaming
With the holiday season fast approaching, our minds have wandered to the joy of receiving gifts and, more importantly, giving them. We then thought about the gaming gifts we've bestowed upon friends and family in the past. What about you all? Have you given (or plan to give away) any gaming gifts recently? Are most of your friends and families hip to gaming, whether it be Wii or some other form, or do you do your part through charities like Child's Play? Let's all share some stories!
Gifts for the beginning developer
Whether you've just started writing your first lines of code or you've just moved over to the Mac/iPhone platform as a developer, this guide is sure to please.BooksCocoa Programming in Mac OS X ($31.49 on Amazon)There are really two excellent books that should be on every Mac developer's bookshelf. First is a book by the magnificent Aaron Hillegass. Aaron not only teaches at the Big Nerd Ranch, but he also wrote a Cocoa (Objective-C) programming book that some would consider to be the Bible of Cocoa development; he has also been programming for over 18 years. His book, Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X is an excellent place to start for anyone looking to develop on the Mac; he covers topics from the history of Cocoa, to classes, to creating custom views -- it truly is all there. iPhone Developer's Cookbook ($26.39 on Amazon)Written by former TUAW Blogger, Erica Sadun, this book helps anyone with previous Cocoa programming experience begin to program on the iPhone. This isn't the standard programming book in which the author tries to teach you something through instruction. Rather, Erica has designed this book so the reader can learn through examples. If you have been waiting to jump on the theoretical iPhone application bandwagon, then this book can definitely help you master iPhone development. HardwareIt doesn't take a developer to want Santa to bring hardware, but most of the time being a developer means you need certain hardware. One such piece of hardware is external hard drives. Who couldn't use a little extra storage now and then? I personally recommend the Western Digital MyBook hard drives for their cost and storage options. Always being able to view your code is a must, therefore most developer's like to code on a huge display. There's truly nothing bigger than the Apple 30" Cinema Display; however, if you're pressed for money, you can find Dell monitors with bigger screens for a lot less dough.Apple Developer Memberships If you are not already a member of the Apple Developer Program, then you really should consider it. While it can be a little expensive, the experience that you can get out of it might just be worth the cost. They offer memberships for online, students, select, and premier. The online and student memberships are basically the same, with the exception of the price. The online version is free and offers limited access to Apple's developer tools. The student membership costs $99 and includes a hardware discount. The select membership gives you a ton of resources including: joining in Apple's software seeding program (meaning you'll get a copy of Apple's pre-release software like Snow Leopard), code-level technical support, coding head starts, ADC videos on iTunes, and the opportunity to attend the compatibility labs. However, the select membership costs $499 (US) per year. Stocking Stuffers That Programmers Will Love. If you've been looking for geeky clothing, then look no further than the wonderfully designed T-Shirts and other clothing from ThinkGeek. It's no secret that programmers (and geeks alike) love caffeine, therefore most programmers would love to just have a gift card or bag of coffee from Starbucks or other coffee company. Also, a pack of Mountain Dew might also work just as well. Just because we're programmers doesn't mean that we can't rock out ... just like anyone else, we would gladly accept iTunes Gift Cards.
