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Iris suspends development, users can upgrade to Acorn for free
I never actually used Iris (my image editor of choice is still Pixelmator), but the one-window image editor released a few years ago certainly had its share of fans. Unfortunately, those fans may be disappointed to hear that Iris' developer, Nolobe, has suspended development on the app. Nolobe's principal Matthew Drayton says that back in 2007, when Iris started development, there were no cheap yet quality image editors, and nowadays, the app has simply become a "me too" app. He doesn't want to do that, so he's out. Fortunately, however, Iris owners aren't completely left in the lurch -- Drayton highly recommends Acorn, and anyone who currently owns Iris will be able to get a free upgrade to that app. Sad to see that a quality image editor is calling it quits, but the reasons seem legit and the transition should go smoothly. If you own Iris, watch your email for directions on how to upgrade, or contact Nolobe yourself. It's not all glum news from Nolobe: the company has a great deal going now for its flagship FTP client, Interarchy. Commemorating the two-year anniversary of an office-gutting fire (well, maybe it is kinda glum, now that we think about it), the Interarchy Fire Sale offers a steep discount on the app for the next week, along with discount codes for several other leading indie apps (including Acorn). The $19.95 Interarchy 9 licenses are valid for free upgrades to version 10 (now in beta), which adds up to a savings of almost $70. [via DF]
WarioWare DIY was in planning since the DS was called 'Iris'
In an Iwata Asks interview about the upcoming WarioWare DIY, Nintendo president and expert interviewer Satoru Iwata revealed a previously unknown codename for the system that would become the Nintendo DS: Iris. "Iris was the codename of a next-generation device we were exploring to succeed the Game Boy Advance-in other words, before development of the Nintendo DS," Iwata explained. "Eventually, it became a two-screen device with the codename Nitro, which went out into the world as the Nintendo DS. So, broadly speaking, Iris was the foundation for the Nintendo DS." And surprisingly, Software Planning Development's Gorou Abe had been thinking about a WarioWare microgame creator since the DS was called Iris. WarioWare DIY has been a long time coming. Elsewhere in the (fascinating) interview, it's revealed that some of the included microgames were made by debuggers during the QA process, who made microgames as part of testing. [Via Siliconera]
Cisco successfully tests orbital IP router, Pirate Bay 'very interested'
It's been almost three years since Cisco and the DoD announced the IRIS project. Short for Internet Routing in Space, the idea is to route IP traffic between satellites instead of bouncing it on and off ground stations. The whole thing has moved forward steadily since we first caught wind of it, culminating with the launch of the first Cisco Space Router aboard an Atlas V rocket last November. According to The Register, the company has just finished its first in-orbit test of the thing, and -- lo' and behold -- it's a success! After some more testing by the DoD (which will go down between now and April), Cisco plans on running yet more trials. And after that? With any luck, IRIS will extend "constant and pervasive" Internet access to areas not served by traditional ground or 3G networks. And never again will a single person have to live their life without having seen the Bill O'Reilly "F**k It, We'll Do It Live!" rant.
RIM buys Torch Mobile, BlackBerrys might finally get a decent browser
The default BlackBerry browser has long been laughably sad, but it looks like things are about to get better: RIM's just acquired Torch Mobile, the developers behind the Iris mobile browser. If you'll recall, Iris is a well-received WebKit-based browser for Windows Mobile that offers tabbed browsing, touch, and a skinnable UI -- and we hear it does a pretty good job rendering pages as well. Of course, since it's Windows Mobile-only at the moment it'll be a while before BlackBerry fans actually see any results from this acquisition, but it's nice to see RIM taking some big steps to address what's become a major shortfall with the platform -- and hey, maybe that extra time is what it'll take to add the promised full Flash and Silverlight support to the system. Yep, lots of solid potential here -- now if only RIM would build in proper IMAP support, we'd be all set. [Via MobileTechWorld, thanks Ike]
Just one more week to get in on The Mac Sale, with discount for TUAW readers
I don't know about you guys, but I can't get enough of these Mac software bundles. Between MacHeist, the MacUpdate bundle, Mac Bundle Box, and even iPhone software bundles, I've got more unused software licenses than I'll ever need or want. Even though I rarely want every piece of software in the bundle, there's almost always 1 or 2 that make it more cost effective to buy the bundle than buy the software separately. The Mac Sale (noted by Christina over at DLS) is the latest bundle out there and, like the others, has some hidden gems and a few applications I know I'll never use. Some of these may be perfect for back to school season. The rundown of applications: REALBasic Personal Iris Interarchy Flux Scribbles TaskPaper WriteRoom Stuf Mariner Calc HoudahSpot Your $49 will buy you $450 worth of applications, but only until August 18. As a bonus for TUAW readers, you can get a 5% discount by using coupon code TUAW at checkout.
Palm Pre coming to Romania (and the rest of Europe) in September?
It boggles the mind that Palm is still totally silent on the issue of global Pre availability; yes, granted, Apple employed similar foot-dragging following the original iPhone's launch, but the difference there was that Apple was under way, way less pressure from consumers and investors to immediately deliver a monster hit. We've heard rumblings as recently as late May that Telefonica has signed a deal to deliver the Pre on its various networks around the world, but since then, nothing -- and that's where some scrappy little distributor in Romania comes into play. A company called IRIS -- a smartphone distributor for years and Romania's authorized Apple outlet -- says that the Pre will be hitting shelves over there in September for something in the range of $550 unsubsidized, putting it right in range with what Sprint is charging off contract. Of course, by September, the Pre will be fighting a readily available iPhone 3G S and gobs of new Android sets, but webOS itself already proves that the new Palm knows how to work under pressure.[Via GSMArena]
SGI name lives on after $42.5 million sale to Rackable Systems
As you know, Rackable Systems was originally hoping to acquire the one-time king of the 3D set for $25 million (with some speculating that even that was a bit much), but it looks like the bankruptcy judges had other plans. Now that the dust has settled (and a check has been cut for almost twice the original asking price) it looks like the two companies will finally merge, forming an outfit called... SGI. The newly minted Silicon Graphics International hopes to combine the strong server business of Rackable with the original Silicon Graphics Inc. name (and overseas service contracts), inspiring the same sort of technological alchemy that once brought the iconic brand to the silver screen by way of such fine cinematic fare as First Kid. In addition, SGI plans continued development and support for the existing Silicon Graphics and Rackable product lines. Quite frankly, we really don't care what they do, as long as they bring back the Indigo -- back in the day we would have killed for one of those bad boys.
SGI to sell itself for just $25m, throw huge sadness party
Man, the difference a few years decades makes. In the 90s, Silicon Graphics helped create silver screen mega-hits like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2, and in 1997, its fiscal year sales totaled $3.66 billion. Today, the company's mired in its second bankruptcy, which has occurred just three years after the first. In order to just terminate the dream before it gets any more nightmarish, SGI has announced plans to sell itself to Fremont-based Rackable Systems for a mere $25 million -- and some analysts are even concerned that the suitor here could be sinking its teeth into a sour deal. The agreement still has to be approved by a bankruptcy judge, and of course, there's still a few more inches of red tape to cut through, but we'll be sure to let you know when the fantasy ends and the wake begins.
Iris Browser escapes beta at MWC, now ready for WinMo devices
While most of the mobile browser attention these days seemed focused on Fennec and Opera Mini, there's another game in town, too. Torch Mobile has just announced that its long-awaited WebKit-based Iris Browser has finally reached version 1.1.0, and it's now ready for use on Windows Mobile 5 and 6 platforms. Torch Mobile's making some pretty bold promises about this here software, claiming that its "advanced WebKit-based engine easily renders virtually any site on the web the same as if viewed on a PC." Of course, you know what a phrase like this means, right? You better get to downloading in order to see if it's legit. Go on, get!
WebKit-based Iris browser for Windows Mobile hits beta v2
We know how it goes -- once you get your Windows Mobile setup situated how you like it, making tweaks is a rare, rare occurrence. To that end, you probably passed on the highly dangerous first beta of the WebKit-based Iris browser. At long last, the entirely more stable beta v2 has emerged for those courageous enough to give it a go, and the designers are promising that the over 100 fixes and improvements make it "incredibly fast" and almost life-altering. If you're not keen on waiting for the next iteration of Internet Explorer Mobile, and if you're somehow not pleased with Opera Mini or Mobile Firefox, roll the dice with this one and see how things turn out.[Via the::unwired]
First Impressions: Mabinogi
Mabinogi is an engaging MMO by Nexon, the makers of Maple Story, Audition, and Kart Rider. The name is derived from the Mabinogion, a collection of old Welsh stories. In that sense, it's well-named; Mabinogi is billed as 'your fantasy life', and much of what happens in the game follows a gentle, pastoral atmosphere -- even the combat, to a certain degree. We had the chance to check this out, now that it's in open beta, and here's what we found. Keep in mind that this is not a guide -- we have no insider knowledge to report. This is merely a record of our opinions and experience playing this game for the first few hours. Excelsior!%Gallery-18335%
Iris browser brings WebKit to Windows Mobile
The Windows Mobile browser market is getting awful crowded lately, and the latest entrant brings a little Apple to the mix -- the Iris browser, from Torch Mobile, is based on WebKit, the same KHTML-derived rendering engine in Safari. We won't know how it compares to the iPhone's Mobile Safari until we get a chance to play with it, of course, but with support for touch, rotation, tabbed browsing and multiple windows, a customizable interface, and Netscape plugins, it's safe to say that we'll be keeping an eye on this one. If you're feeling brave, the preview release is available just beyond the read link.
Iris public beta available
Image editors are for the Mac are suddenly popping up everywhere. There's Pixelmator and Acorn, and this month Nolobe has released the public beta of Iris...only three months overdue.So what happened? It's a terrible story, actually, as a fire put everything on hold for the developers. The good news is they're back at it and you can test Iris out for yourself. One of the things that makes Iris unique is its single-window interface (Image editors typically display palettes). When you've got several images open, they're displayed in a row at the bottom of the window (see image above). It take some adjustment if you're used to a palatte-driven application, but nice and snappy.Remember, this is a beta, so expect bugs and don't use it for mission-critical files. Iris will retail for $79 when it is released but can be pre-ordered for $39.
Meridian's iRIS iPod dock upscales videos to 1080p via HDMI
If you're having a flash of déjà vu, fret not, as this device certainly isn't the first from Meridian to output 1080p content from your iPod. Unveiled today, the iRIS universal dock for iPod claims to pump out your stored videos in resolutions as high as 1080p via HDMI, all thanks to the "high-end video upconversion processing." Of course, we're admittedly skeptical about how well this thing truly walks the talk, but nevertheless, users who opt for component outs instead of HDMI can purportedly witness 720p / 1080i content straight from their Pod. Notably, the Qdeo technology is said to "further incorporate advanced DSP for per-pixel, motion-adaptive video processing that corrects both color and contrast losses," and while there's no word on whether this thing plays nice with the new family of iPods, users will enjoy the coaxial / optical audio outputs, headphone and line-level outs, and the HDMI input for external sources. We know you're intrigued, so look for this bad boy to land in November for $379.
Iris ARG: Fifth and final server unlocked
Late last night another milestone in the Halo 3 Iris ARG was achieved when persistent ARGers unlocked the fifth and (presumably) final server. Since our last ARG update-o-fun, the fourth server went live (August 9th) when ARG members used information from a fake Amazon.com listing, details gained from its fictitious author, and some keen fact analysis. 100 players helped unlock the server (including Richard and I ... sweetness!) when the typical video, text, file loot was spilled for members to dig through. But that was a week ago and what we consider "old hat" around these parts. The new news is that last night the fifth server went live after players used GPS information from theartifactlocation.com (try "boomerang") to find three videos being projected on buildings in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York that revealed a URL to help unlock the server. Even more exciting is the fact that I was lucky enough to be one of the first 100 to help unlock it, so more swag for me. W00t, w00t! Complete up to date outline of all ARG events can be viewed here.So now Iris ARG players have unlocked all the servers, received all the images, sound files and text files from them and just have to figure out what to do with it all or wait for further instruction. Again, we must wait. Though, we say hurry up Iris, we want all your Halo 3 secrets and we want 'em now!
Canon rolls out CF-1 digital retinal camera
Canon's new CF-1 may not be as enthralling as the (hopefully) forthcoming 40D, but we're sure ophthalmologists and optometrists can certainly dig it. The firm's latest mydriatic digital retinal camera provides a 50-degree angle of view, a trio of imaging modes (color, fluorescein angiography, and red-free), and can produce "clear and detailed diagnostic images for immediate review" when attached to an EOS 30D DSLR. Additionally, this unit motorizes the processes of changing filters and adjusting the chin rest, and while we've no idea what this thing will run your eye care company, Canon claims that both the CF-1 and Retinal Imaging Control software are currently available for those in the market.[Thanks, Nation]
HTC Iris S640 CDMA smartphone outed by FCC
It's been just under two months since getting a whiff of the forthcoming S640, and now it's time for US-based CDMA users to (officially) celebrate, as FCC documentation has finally outed the HTC Iris S640. The paperwork shows that the smartphone will indeed operate on CDMA850 / 1900 bands, include WiFi and Bluetooth, offer up EV-DO connectivity, and sport USB for syncing and charging. Additionally, the handset will reportedly tout a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution LCD and a two-megapixel camera, and while it doesn't look like this one will be aimed at the elitists in the crowd, it should do quite well as a low-to-mid-range smartphone on whichever CDMA carrier(s) it ends up on.[Via MobilitySite]
Panasonic develops walkthrough iris scanner to hasten ID checks
Snappy retinal scanners have been in the works for some time, and now Panasonic is apparently hoping to hasten those annoying ID checks by enabling security personnel to confirm the true identity of a person walking through in just "two seconds." Additionally, this scanner does not require subjects to "focus on the equipment," packs "multiple two-megapixel cameras," and in case you couldn't guess, is being marketed towards airports and high-security office buildings. No word just yet on when these may be rolled out for public use, but anything (well, almost) that speeds up our traveling is smiled upon by us.[Via TechDigest]
Iris ARG: 3rd server unlocked and swag pics!
We've been slacking on our Halo 3 Iris ARG coverage as of late, because things are moving along at a steady and somewhat uneventful pace. But there is some excitement in Iris ARG-land geared towards those mysterious five servers (chapters) that are to be unlocked during the ARG. And since we last talked Iris, the third server was unlocked using status information from the free server monitor application and playing a sound clip through a microphone. Inside the third server was the typical sound wavs, pictures and other mysterious loot that'll hopefully help our fellow Iris followers unlock this mystery. Although, we expect nothing will become black and white until the fifth server goes live in roughly a month. Anyway, that's where things sit right now and as always we advise heading to the Iris Wiki to get learned or hop onto the Unfiction forums to participate in the fun.And on another exciting side note, I mentioned a few days back that I was lucky enough to help unlock the second server and when that happens the first 100 unlockers (I was number 99!) receive a reward for helping. And lo and behold, the other day I received my reward! In the gallery below, we've posted pictures of the ARG swag we received for aiding in the ARG including a uber limited (and way too big) Halo 3 Iris XL tshirt, a code for a glyph gamer picture and a copy of Halo novel "Ghosts of Onyx" signed by Eric Nylund himself. It's one sweet ARG swag stash.%Gallery-5574%
Free Halo 3 screensavers, ring tones and more
Get 'em while they're hot! Available over at Microsoft's MSN Halo 3 page are a few free Halo 3 web downloads for you to enjoy. The downloads are themed after not only our hero Master Chief, but also reference to the Iris ARG glyph symbol too. Anyway, the free Halo 3 downloads include ring tones, screensavers, wallpapers, Windows Live Messenger pictures and Windows Live Space images. It's almost as if Microsoft were offering these free Halo 3 downloads to secretly market the game while fans of the series think it's just a kind gesture. Actually, that's probably why they're available. Who cares though, there are free Halo 3 goodies to download, so get get 'em!
