Weekly App Store Roundup: Dec. 27, 2008

Olly Farshi on December 27, 2008

This week I pick my 12 favorite apps of the year as we lead 2008 around the back and shoot it’s face off, while gently beckoning a fresh-faced 2009 through the front door.

Just because it’s the holiday season, doesn’t mean Apple news stops happening. Quite the contrary in fact because this week we got all existential with Psystar’s ever-more-fantastical litigation, waxed lyrical with the creators of 12seconds.tv, and even chucked in a special Mac-themed gift — from us to you — for good measure.

Seeing as it’s not just the end of a week but the end of an entire year, I thought a special year-end Roundup was in order. Below I’m bringing together some of the best apps I’ve featured over the year and a few that I didn’t have space to mention. (Note, those looking for my Twitter app recommendation should check out my 12 Twitter Apps article.)

This year, I’ve been looking at Evernote, Harvest, Urbanspoon, Locly, Klick, iPolaroid, Backgammon Online, Cookie Bonus Solitaire, BeatMaker, FourTrack, Stanza and Palringo.

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Happy Halloween: Apple Costume Roundup

Darrell Etherington on October 31, 2008

Every time around this year I get ghostly pangs of gastro-intestinal discomfort as I’m haunted by memories of eating bags and bags of candy in a single sitting. I also get secretly excited about the one time of the year I’m able to play dress-up in public and not be ridiculed. We here at TAB wanted to share in the excitement of this most sinister holiday with this collection of Apple-themed costumes. Enjoy!

The iPod has become probably the most popular Apple Halloween costume to date, either because it’s easy (the proverbial ghost costume of the nerd crowd?) or because there’s reference models lying around everywhere.

If sales numbers are any indication, however, the iPod costume could soon be overtaken by the iPhone costume. Not only is it equally boxy and uncomfortable, but it’s also a phone.

Maybe you’re a power user, and the iPhone just isn’t enough to meet your demanding needs. Don’t worry, there’s a costume for you, too. I know you still love that berry-colored iMac, but if you haven’t changed it into a fishbowl yet, it makes for stylish headwear.

If the prospect of dressing like hardware and not being able to sit down, turn your head, or move your arms isn’t appealing to you, there are still a couple options out there for you. Everyone’s favorite/most feared CEO makes for a charming/terrifying costume, for instance.

Or if you’re doing the tandem thing, this one’s made for two. Add an air horn and it becomes up-to-the-minute current and loads more aggravating to those around you.

Finally, if you’d rather not dress up yourself, but you still feel the holiday spirit, here’s a nice way to show it.

Happy Halloween TAB readers! Let us know about your own Apple-themed costumes below.

MacBook Pro Unboxing Photos

David Appleyard on October 15, 2008

We’ve managed to get our hands on a brand new 15″ MacBook Pro and have a collection of photos of the box, packaging and accessories.

Initial Impressions

The look and feel of the new MacBook Pro is one of luxury. The aluminum shell has clearly enjoyed hours of planning, thought and tedious design work before being unleashed. It’s hard to fault the physical make-up of the new machine, with the only arguable exception being the glossy display. From the short time I have spent using the MacBook Pro so far, the screen really doesn’t seem to pose a problem — it is by far bright enough to offset any reflection or glare.
The packaging is clearly reduced from the predecessor, but there’s still plenty of room for all the box contents. It goes to show the amount of wastage which is common in computer packaging.
We’ll spend a little time getting to grips with the new machine, and will follow up shortly with a full review.
Check out the full gallery below.
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iPhone 101: Syncing Photos & Wallpapers to Your iPhone/iPod touch

Brandon Eley on October 1, 2008

Getting photos or wallpapers to your iPhone/iPod touch isn’t initially very obvious, but it’s actually quite easy. Once you have the photos or wallpapers you want, you can either use a software program to organize them (such as Aperture or iPhoto) or organize them yourself into folders and sub-folders.

Syncing Photos to Your iPhone

You can sync photos via iTunes to your iPhone from your iPhoto or Aperture libraries, your Pictures folder, or from any folder you select.

  1. Open iTunes and plug in your iPhone.
  2. Once your iPhone is mounted and you see the iPhone icon in the “Devices” list, click on your phone’s name.
  3. Click the tab labeled “Photos”
  4. Check the checkbox labeled “Sync photos from: “
  5. Select the source of your photos.
  6. Click the “Apply” button to sync the photos to your iPhone or iPod touch

If you are using iPhoto or Aperture, I highly recommend making albums with only the photos you’d like to sync to your iPhone. Syncing your entire photo library is not only time consuming, but it could also take up a substantial amount of disk space on your iPhone.

I created an album titled “iPhone Wallpapers” specifically for my wallpapers. It helps me keep them separate from all my other galleries and makes changing my wallpaper a snap.
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3,038 Photos, Gamer Potions: NTV Station Today

on August 29, 2008

Redefining stop motion, this high-speed assembly of 3,038 photos, taken over the course of three days, creates a fascinating portrait of creator Robbie’s life in Boston, perfectly scored to Lightspeed Champion’s Dry Lips:


3 Days – 3,038 Photos from Robbie on Vimeo.

And Jill Weinberger travels to a strange land — World of Warcraft — to break down the genius behind the Mana Potions advertising campaign, which brings a how-to sensibility to gamer culture. What do flaming bowling balls and Martha Stewart have in common? Find out at NewTeeVee Station!