Cody Fink

1547 posts on MacStories since January 2010

Former MacStories contributor.

[email protected]

This Week's Sponsor:

DEVONTHINK

Store, Organize, and Work the Smart Way

iDisplay for iPad: An Interactive Wireless Display Still Rough Around the Edges

It’s been sometime since iDisplay had launched on the App Store, and I wanted to see if performance and friendliness had improved once the 1.3.2 update landed and brought support for the iPad 2. While I don’t yet have Apple’s iPad 2 dock, the Smart Cover provided an alternative, ample viewing orientation for a landscape extension from my MacBook.

iDisplay will universally work across your Windows and Mac boxes via a free client, though the installation process is less than friendly. Mac users are generally spoiled with easy drag and drop installs, but iDisplay requires manual installation and restart to successfully install the software. I wasn’t terribly happy that I had to stop all of my work to get iDisplay up and running, but to be fair DisplayPad which we reviewed back in December also required a restart. What bothers was that on the reboot, the resolution for my 1280x800 display changed twice before returning to normal upon the login screen. Despite a less than stellar install process, how well does the iPad app work?

Read more

GarageBand ‘11 For Mac Updated to 6.0.2

GarageBand ‘11 is getting an update this evening to 6.0.2, which now supports imported projects from GarageBand for the iPad alongside bug fixes and improved stability. The update is around 47 MB in size, and you can check Software Update or directly download the update from the support page listed below.

GarageBand 6.0.2: DL1345

Apple Patent of the Day: Spaces for the iPad

PASpaces

PASpaces

Spaces are crucial to my daily workflow on my MacBook (I never was a ⌘⇥ guy), and the prospect of using Spaces on my iPad as a virtual workspace is amusing. While Spaces will still exist in Lion alongside Mission Control, Spaces itself is sort of taking a backseat in terms of what we traditionally think of in Leopard and Snow Leopard.  The patent suggests that Apple has been toying with the idea of Spaces on the iPad – shown running a version of OS X in the patent files – and suggests that multitouch gestures could manipulate items on screen and bring Spaces into view. Just like the desktop, gestures have been submitted which give users the ability to push a window to an adjacent space by dragging applications to the edge of the screen, and to drag windows between virtual the virtual desktops. The gesture to open Spaces is noted as a pinching gesture at the corner of the display, a perfect choice in that it also mimics the hot corner features in OS X. The patent was filed in Q3 of 2009, and give us a little insight into how Apple may incorporate a new multitasking system in iOS. I don’t think the multitasking bar is as nimble as HP’s Card view when it comes to multitasking on webOS devices, and mulling over a patent like this reminds us that Apple may make some big changes in the next iteration of iOS.

[via Patently Apple]

Photoshop For iPad To Be Updated With Support For Layers

Photography Bay got to go hands on with an updated Photoshop app for the iPad, which will bring support for layers and new features to compared original and edited photos. Recently, the Photoshop app was updated to its second version which included multitasking support and an update to utilize the Retina Display on the iPhone. Back in November, Adobe’s John Nack offered some insight as to what features would arrive in future app updates after a brief survey. Electronista notes that an updated Photoshop would, “help address the lack of content creation, one of the most commonly cited flaws of the platform.” Maybe the author hasn’t been paying attention, but while Adobe is updating Photoshop, many other photo editors such as Photogene, Masque, and PhotoForge have existed for a while. An update to Photoshop is still, however, a welcome addition to the iPad. While the Photography bay was able to snap some blurry demo photos and video, the video hasn’t been published online and has been noted to be published later tonight.

[Photography Bay via Electronista]

Apple Releases 10.6.7 Supplemental Update For the 13” MacBook Air

MacBooks have been getting their fair share of updates recently, and today Apple is providing a supplemental 10.6.7 update for the 13” MacBook Air (Late 2010) to resolve unresponsiveness when using iTunes. The previous 10.6.7 v1.0 (build 10J869) update must be installed in order to apply the supplemental update. If you have a 13” MacBook Air, check Software Update or download the 461 KB file from the posted support page below.

Supplemental 13” MacBook Air Update: DL1370

In Which We Apologize For The Downtime

Driving a decade old pickup, my first year of college was hampered with consistent issues revolving around anything and everything electrical, engine, axel, and the front arms even had to be replaced. I’ve had some terrible experiences when I purchased my first vehicle, including a scary engine misfire and a superheated rotor. At times I thought my truck would almost shake to pieces, but every time I managed to coast down that hill and limp the truck into the dealership. Often times when your vehicle breaks down or needs immediate maintenance, it comes at the inconvenience of others. Mechanics have to work late and adjust their schedules, friends are called to pick you up, and it ends up being a terrible hassle.

MacStories has had issues before, but today’s outage and downtime reminded me of all the issues I’ve had in my personal life, and it came at the inconvenience of our readers and advertisers. We apologize for the downtime, and thank you for your patience as we took the site offline, fixed what needed to be fixed, and brought the mothership back online. Needless to say that process didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped, but now we’re running at full speed and believe our issue has been promptly resolved. We’ll be taking great care to prevent this kind of outage in the future. I want to thank everyone who offered help on Twitter, and a big thanks goes out to Alessandro Vendruscolo (@misterjack).

Now, let’s say we get some reviews out?

Yours truly,

The MacStories Team

KansasFest→

KansasFest

This is awesome RT @danfrakes: A yearly convention dedicated to the Apple II: http://t.co/NOOBJuu

Mac|Life Online Editor Roberto Baldwin (@strngwys - where are the vowels man?), Retweets Dan Frakes on one of the coolest conventions I wasn’t aware of. Dedicated to only the Apple II, KansasFest welcomes hobbyists to Kansas City, Missouri, where workshops, keynotes, contests, and other sessions take place over a span of six days this year from July 19th to July 24th. Some of the sessions include hacking together an expansion card, a programming competition known as HackFest, and a vendor fair for old equipment and hardware from the days of yore. This is seriously cool, and if the nostalgia flu is kicking in, you might want to get in during the early registration. This year will mark their 22nd annual convention.

Permalink

Gamer Develops Homebrew iControl App For A-10 Flight Simulator

In succession of the wireless hack we found this morning, this afternoon brings us another case of the iPad being modified for new and awesome things. Flight simulator DCS A-10C is virtual combat simulator for the A-10C Warthog, giving wannabe pilots the opportunity to take to the air in the one world’s most advanced (and vicious looking) combat fighters. Use of Multi Function Control Displays (MFCDs) in the game (those fancy on-screen controls in the cockpit) would traditionally take the eyes of the pilot off of their environment in-game, but an iPad mod utilizing the game’s API brings the MFCDs to the iPad’s display, giving the pilot an additional monitor to work with alongside the joystick and throttle. The iPad provides a way to tap into different displays and control sets in the cockpit, all the while the gamer can continue to control the plane and move the pilot to check the wings and and surrounding environment. It’s incredibly impressive, and Electronista notes that a final version of the controls may make its way to the App Store so everyone can have access to the digital overlay. You can check out video of the DCS iControl in use after the break.

[Shacknews via Electronista]

Read more

HOW TO: Use Amazon Cloud Player With iOS Devices→

HOW TO: Use Amazon Cloud Player With iOS Devices

One of the standout features of iCab Mobile is the ability to change the browser User Agent. In other words, this lets the website think that you are visiting from a browser other than Mobile Safari. Changing the Browser ID to “Safari 5 (Mac)” will allow users to download music using the Mobile Safari method, even if Amazon does change how it serves downloaded files.

Christina Warren notes that there isn’t a technical limitation preventing Amazon from serving content to iOS devices, but currently you have to either use an alternative browser to change the User Agent or download each song one-by-one for playback in Safari. I’m still miffed that Amazon isn’t flexing their muscle and aggressively pursuing the iOS platform at launch, considering that’s really where the market for cloud based music streaming exists. The uploading and playback tools might be a little rough around the edges, but Amazon’s integration and incentives need to give Apple a run for its money on the platform that counts.

Permalink