nerdcast

maniacalrage: iTunes 10 Replacement Icon by Chris Carlozzi...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:33:34 -0400

iTunes 10 Replacement Icon by Chris Carlozzi (via jxnblk)

Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times YES. Download it immediately (includes alternate version without tail if you’d like).

"Yet there’s a lot of overlap. For instance, I’m now paying Comcast, Hulu and Apple to see “The..."

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:34:34 -0400

“Yet there’s a lot of overlap. For instance, I’m now paying Comcast, Hulu and Apple to see “The Office.” I’m paying Netflix and Apple for many of the same movies. You can’t help but feel that you’re getting ripped off somewhere along the line.”

- Dave Caolo, the New Apple TV.

Enjoy Freedom? Recommend nerdcastONLINE.

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:14:46 -0400

Enjoy Freedom? Recommend nerdcastONLINE.:

Are you a terrorist? I surely hope not.

If you enjoy reading this dotorg, be a friend, a supporter of freedom, and recommend this page. I offer high 5’s as dutiful payment.

"Apple TV is a nice product, but it demonstrates to me that Apple also lacks the will to fix the..."

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:52:25 -0400

“Apple TV is a nice product, but it demonstrates to me that Apple also lacks the will to fix the living room.”

- Khoi Vinh, Apple Blinks in the Living Room.

Lines of Fire Overall, I want to create games. I don’t...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:48:07 -0400

Lines of Fire

Overall, I want to create games. I don’t want to do this to make money (although that would be a nice job), I want to do this because I really enjoy it.

Do your nerdy duty and Kickstart this project. Jason Tagmire is a friend of mine and is putting together his own old school board game. Also, be sure to check out their stuff on XBOX Live Arcade. It sure would be cool if they go into iOS development. (hinthint)

Apple Event Wrap-up of Doom.

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:39:00 -0400

So an iPod touch w/ FaceTime, AppleTV announcement, iPad 4.2 beta SDK, and an updated iLife suite are my hopes.

If those don’t happen, I’m gonna be, like, so mad.

That was me, earlier in the week.. I was three-ish out for four, I guess. They showed off iOS 4.2 which would bring all of the iOS 4 goodies to your saddened, neglected operating system of the iPad. Thank your lucky stars, because I’m not sure if I want to live in a world without folders on my iPad.

The rumored iPod touches with Retina Displays were finally announced, and super thin, too. I guess the 3G radio for the iPhone 4 really does take up a lot of space. I surmise that because of the 3G radio, the iPhone 4 battery needs to be amped up that much more, too. But what about that back camera? The specs are listed as 960 x 720. Weak, no? It looks like the camera just takes video stills. How thicker would the touch have been if they included the iPhone 4’s still camera, I wonder?

The AppleTV was really a bummer, too. I say that because @Engadget’s “exclusives” talked about an App-ready version that was near release. So everyone got their collective Apple flesh lights out and started chugging away, myself included. An NHL app, a Bravo app, AH! So sad. I said on the Twitter shortly after that any dreams I had of a cable-free world were still that. Dreams. Some still think that the new AppleTV is running iOS behind the scenes, and it’s still possible for an SDK. I won’t hold my breath. I will continue to tighten my cheeks as I pay my Verizon bill every month.

Remember iLife?

Twitter for iPad

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:26:00 -0400

Twitter for iPad:

cameronmoll:

Finally, an iPad Twitter app I can use without cursing the UI. If it detects a reply, it will show the conversation from the individuals included (screenshot). If it detects a URL, it displays the web page (screenshot).

Twitter for iPad is by far the most expertly designed iPad Twitter client. Still, I love the simplicity of Twitterrific. In terms of Twitter for iPhone, my main gripe was that it would only load the last 20 tweets when I’d wake up in the morning and check the app. Twitterrific would load just about everyone that I’d missed. It’s also a little less hectic.

Also a minor gripe is that Twitter for iPad makes me touch one more time to get into my lists. It looks fabulous while making my fingers less sausag-y, though.

UPDATE: After a day, I’m sticking with Twitterrific. Too much going on with Twitter for iPad. I love the subdued, hidden features of Twitterrific.

Notes & Observations from Apple's Event.

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:58:05 -0400

Notes & Observations from Apple's Event.:

Arnold Kim:

According to the tech specs, the new iPod Touch’s back camera takes still photos at a disappointingly low 960x720 resolution.

This one bugged me the most. I’m ignoring the fact that Engadget got me so bonered up for no good reason about an App-filled AppleTV. More on that later, I kinda got married today. Cut me some slack.

Daredevil Reborn #1, by Jock.

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:01:08 -0400

Daredevil Reborn #1, by Jock.

9-Bits: I Want a Stupid 7-inch iPad

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:02:50 -0400

9-Bits: I Want a Stupid 7-inch iPad:

Perhaps there was no consumer outcry for a 7-inch tablet, and no, being a little smaller won’t make the thing any more magical — but Apple doesn’t make products just because people ask for them. Instead, Apple tries to deliver on what you don’t know you need. In this case, a more portable, more usable device. It’s not an addition to the iPad line, it’s what the iPad was supposed to be. I can’t wait for the stupid thing.

I thought about this as well. For me, reading comics on the iPad is the perfect experience. With the Retina Display on an iPhone 4, reading full page books is actually not a big pain in the neck. I wonder what it would be like on a higher rez 7’ iPad.

Typing would certainly be less awkward.

Apple to Provide Live Video Streaming of September 1 Event

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:00:00 -0400

Apple to Provide Live Video Streaming of September 1 Event:

Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™. The live broadcast will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT on September 1, 2010 at www.apple.com.

Holy smokes. (found via @adampash)

Valerie D'Orazio on Batwoman, Superhero Decadence, Darwyn Cooke, etc.

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:24:00 -0400

Valerie D'Orazio on Batwoman, Superhero Decadence, Darwyn Cooke, etc.:

Some good insight.

"That’s seconds per frame, not frames per second."

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:31:07 -0400

““That’s seconds per frame, not frames per second.””

- One FPS

This video of Flash on Android is now diamonds.

DC Women Kicking Ass: Just no Darwyn Cooke.

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:30:00 -0400

DC Women Kicking Ass: Just no Darwyn Cooke.:

Lumping changing a character into a lesbian with the rest of the list is just wrong and, frankly, disconcerting. I am a huge fan of Cooke. But today I am very disappointed fan.

The video linked to this page has Darwyn Cooke running down the negatives in todays industry. One of which being turning a 60 year old character gay overnight. Here is the quote transcribed by “DCWomenKickingAss”:

Characters that have been straight for over 60 years becoming lesbians because the writer is either too stupid or uncreative to come up with something decent.

A vocal minority of comic fans are in an uproar because they are perceiving his usage of the word ‘decent’ as not condoning homosexuality. Some are saying it’s because he mentioned lesbianism 10 seconds after talking about rape.

Please, stop. He make amazing points on everything he says in the video, running down the faults of All Star Batman & Robin and essentially calling the sexuality switches of characters that have been straight for 6 decades lazy writing. He’s right.

Here is an idea: create new, exciting, interesting gay characters in todays comic book universe. Darwyn Cooke isn’t looking down at homosexuality, he’s looking down at poor creative writing. Here is Darwyn clarifying his remarks, quite poignantly.

Dave Winer Wants Flash on his iPad.

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:20:00 -0400

Dave Winer Wants Flash on his iPad.:

Gruber commented on my very brief post on Apple’s boycott and how even a user can see it’s not working. There’s no dispute. You come across lots of stuff, movie trailers, corporate fact sheets, bike route maps, even press releases — in Flash. You or I may not like it, but the theory that Apple’s lack of support for Flash would force them to convert, well that isn’t working.

I read Dave’s post earlier in the day about Apple’s boycott of Flash and marinated on it. Sipped a Frappé or 12. John Gruber posted a lengthy article in retort, and then Dave posted another. That is where the quote up there comes from.

I use my iPad as a consumption device about 98% of the time. Mainly Instapapering, Google Reading, Tumblring and reading comics. I literally cannot think of one instance where I went, “Dammit, I with this had Flash.” Sure, it would be nice to be able to watch Hulu on a mobile device, but even Android devices with it do not allow for Hulu.com to work. (Also, the Hulu+ selection is worthless)

The one instance I can think of getting annoyed regarding Flash would be looking up a restaurants website and finding that their page is entirely in Flash. This isn’t an annoyance that the iPad cannot display it, but more often than not it’s because the website looks terrible once I walk over to my laptop. Have you even tried looking at a menu from a website like that? Chances are you need to download it as a PDF. Did we lose a war?

It sucks that press releases and movie trailers would be in Flash, but I know I never come across them when I use my iPad. That’s just me.

I tried commenting on Dave’s page about what sites he visits on the iPad that require Flash, but apparently most of the people commenting were out of line, and mine were quickly deleted. Ah well.

New XBOX 360 Controller Confirmed, Better D-Pad.

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:55:40 -0400

New XBOX 360 Controller Confirmed, Better D-Pad.:

The new D-pad is a trick new patented design that’s just as we heard from Joystiq: it’s a disc in the normal configuration, but a quick twist raises the crossbars about a quarter-inch, making it eminently more usable. (That sound you hear is joyous weeping.) The analog sticks have also been tweaked to be slightly more concave, and — wonder of wonders — the ABXY buttons are now translucent monochrome instead of colored. Wild. The new matte silver controller will only come bundled with the Play and Charge kit for $64.99 when it launches on November 9 in the States and replaces the existing wireless controller.

So does that mean an OS change since the buttons are no longer color coded? Glad to see they got this out in time for the 360 S launch. Oof.

20 Things That Will Happen Before I Get Froyo For my HTC Incredible.

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:49:16 -0400

(via @JManSays, who went to the trouble before finding out it was randomly hitting phones.)

Apple and Flash will kiss and make up
The Mayan calendar will end
The Situation will knock up Bristol Palin on ‘Dancing With The Stars’
XBOX Gold subscription = $100/year
That keyboard cat will have played Carnegie Hall
Gingerbread for my HTC Droid Incredible
The “2 Girls, 1 Cup” cup will be in the Smithsonian
Brett Favre will win a Superbowl with the Oakland Raiders
3D is proven not to be a fad
Hurricane Earl will devastate South Carolina and nobody will tell the difference
Obama will show his birth certificate, thus ending all conflict and division in our country
The Sea Shepards end Japanese whaling once and for all… dolphins too
R.I.P. Seth MacFarlane
Motorola will overtake the cell phone crown from the iPhone making it the leading… sorry I can’t even finish typing it, it’s just too ridiculous
Conan will be fired again after George Lopez threatens to leave if he doesn’t get his timeslot back.
The Tea Party will celebrate their congressional elections while the Green Party continues down the same old road
All a la carte TV on the web
Stephen Hawking jumps out of his wheelchair and says “KIDDING!!”
Verizon iPhone, making this Droid Incredible/Froyo debate pointless
3 words… Preggo Lady Gaga

"The first vision, which could be called “the cable-ization of the Internet,” has been described in..."

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:40:25 -0400

“The first vision, which could be called “the cable-ization of the Internet,” has been described in arresting language by ISPs, including AT&T, Time Warner, and Verizon. Over the past year, they have submitted comments to the FCC arguing that by delivering Internet content to their customers, they are engaging in speech protected by the First Amendment. They compare their role to that of newspapers and cable TV operators, and boldly assert their need to exercise “editorial discretion” (quoting AT&T) over all content that is carried over all their networks, trying to hang their hat on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Citizens United that swept away decades of campaign finance rules while bestowing breathtaking free expression rights on corporations.”

- Leslie Harris: Why Al Franken Was Right About Net Neutrality - Huffington Post

I’ll take 12.

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:57:00 -0400

I’ll take 12.

"my friend Ben was just beginning to work on an app called TestFlight, which sought to make possible..."

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:21:41 -0400

“my friend Ben was just beginning to work on an app called TestFlight, which sought to make possible the impossible: you could update ad hoc app builds over the air, with one tap. Let me clarify this immediately: TestFlight does not require a jailbroken device, shady private-API voodoo, or even an installed app. Standing in a crowded bar in SoMa, I just tapped a button and saw the app begin to download and install. Holy crap!”

- Neven Mrgan’s tumbl: TestFlight