iphone-tastic!

Eating at a restaurant is fun but getting a consensus from a group of diners can be a hassle. Offload the responsibly to your iPhone with Dine-O-Matic from the Iconfactory (currently on sale for US$0.99), which is more than happy to choose a restaurant for the whole gang. The app combines retro graphics (think of the corner diner), a game-like "spinner" and handy maps integration to make the experience fun. To get started, enter your favorite restaurants. There are two ways to do this. The first is to flip the main screen over and enter the restaurant list. Tap the "+" button in the upper right-hand corner to create a new entry. Type in info like name, category, price range, address and more. The easier way is the built-in Maps integration. From the main screen, tap the location button to open the map. Dine-O-Matic notices your location and highlights local restaurants. Tap anyone to add it to your list (you still must enter the category and price range manually). You can also enter a... - iphone-tastic!

Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference yesterday, noted that iCloud now has over 100 million users. What's incredible is that just a month ago, Cook mentioned during the first quarter earnings call that the sync service had 85 million users. iCloud, which was introduced last year with iOS 5 and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, provides synchronization of calendars, address books, browser bookmarks, and other applications. A number of other applications are beginning to support sync through iCloud, and Apple's latest updates to the iOS version of the iWork apps -- Pages, Numbers, and Keynote -- show deeper links into the service as a "storage in the sky" location. The increase of 15 million users in just 21 days is incredible -- a 17.6% increase in three weeks. Cook commented during yesterday's conference that iCloud is the "strategy for the next decade" of Apple's business. The relatively seamless way that iCloud makes the flow of information between... - iphone-tastic!

It's just arrived in beta, but Apple's next chat app is intriguing. Are you looking to spice up your Messages skills? Here are a half dozen tips and tricks for you to start with. Choose the contact method: Messages can contact you via your AIM/iChat ID, your phone number, your Apple ID, and so forth. It's up to you to choose exactly how you want your message delivered. Locate the pop-up in the To: field and use it to select the contact method you want to use for your conversation. Switch to FaceTime: To the right of the "To:" option is a second pop-up, which allows you start a FaceTime session. You can select which address you wish to connect to (typically phone number of Apple ID). Click this, choose the contact method, and wait as OS X launches the native FaceTime application. Edit Contacts: Right-click any contact and choose "Show Contact Card" to open a contact in Address Book (soon to be the Contacts app). Once there, you can add phone numbers, Apple IDs, etc. After saving, these... - iphone-tastic!

It's rare that I can honestly say that Apple software has given me a headache. The new beta for Messages has left me and other members of TUAW staff reaching for aspirin and lamenting that this is nowhere near ready for prime time. That's understandable, given the beta status, but it's still frustrating. "Setup was easy, and I like the idea of being reachable on my Mac, but controlling where the messages end up is confusing at this point," Kelly Hodgkins, the first staff member to try out Messages, said. The very last point she makes is one that is going to be the sticking point for a lot of people. Check out the gallery below for shots of the program in action -- and make sure you do a reboot before using Messages, or it will not work. Gallery: Messages for Mac Messages has a hard time directing a message to its proper destination when people have multiple devices in play. A conversation between myself and Steve Sande went to all the places Messages should go, while test messages... - iphone-tastic!

Dear aunt tuaw, I'm hoping you can tell me how to perform a non-destructive reclaim of the recovery partition space. I'm on Mac OS X Lion and wish to simply reclaim that odd 700 MB without jeopardising my main partition. Your loving nephew, Oscar Dear Oscar, Auntie is sorry, but this sounds to her like an absolutely utterly terrible idea. Lots of services require that the recovery partition be left alone. Find My Mac is the first thing that comes to mind. But that's not all. Apple put that recovery partition there for a really good reason -- it's one of the best ways you get to reinstall the OS, repair your disk, or restore from Time Machine without having to deal with external discs. Sure, if you have a 64 GB SSD (Auntie does on her beloved MBA), that 700 MB represents a big chunk of space -- but Auntie feels it would be tremendously poor judgement (metaphors about "penny wise pound foolish" spring to mind) to try to proceed in the direction you're proposing. Hugs, Auntie T. Got... - iphone-tastic!

Double Fine's CEO Tim Schafer, who made almost two million dollars last week through Kickstarter for his next game, has announced that thanks to all the extra donations (the project was originally budgeted at just US$400,000), Double Fine will be able to put all sorts of extra features and compatibility into the title. Most important for us, the game will be available on the Mac and iOS right away. Originally Mac support was listed but not confirmed. Now Schafer says that yes, Mac users will get a native version. The game will also include voicework, and get translated into several languages. Buyers who've already picked up the game through Kickstarter will get access to a closed beta, a DRM-free version of the final product and codes for the title through Steam. Presumably, that Steam version will include the Mac port through SteamPlay. It's not clear how the iOS versions will be distributed. At any rate, this is all great to hear. Double Fine got a tremendous show of support from... - iphone-tastic!

AViiQ has been making top-notch Apple accessories for a while, and now the company wants you to get your hands on some of its products and save some money, too. It's offering a 25 percent discount off of your total bill when you purchase the goods on the AViiQ website, and this deal is only available through TUAW for the next month. What can you get for an amazing price? How about the world's thinnest laptop stand, the AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand? iPad 2 owners will love the AViiQ Smart Case, a thin aluminum shell designed to work with the Apple Smart Cover, or the AViiQ Case Stand. Whenever and wherever I travel, I take along the AViiQ Portable Charging Station to keep all of my electronic devices charged up and organize the charging cables. The company makes some of the better Apple accessories on the market, and this is a chance for TUAW readers and their friends to take advantage of a special limited-time coupon code. Through March 19, 2012, just use the code TUAW25 when checking... - iphone-tastic!

Apple on Thursday released a public beta of Messages, its next-generation messaging app for the Mac that will be a part of Mac OS X Mountain Lion. It lets you send and receive iMessages, just like iOS devices running iOS 5. Now you can "text" chat via iMessage with the iPhones, iPads and iPod touches in you life. Note that when installed, Messages replaces iChat, but not its functionality. You'll still have chat support for your AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk, and Jabber accounts. As with iOS, Messages lets you see when your partner is typing via an ellipsis animation. Messages also supports drag-and-drop support for sharing photos and videos. This is a beta build, so expect changes before the final version is released. Lion users can try it out. Note that iot requires Mac OS 10.7.3. Have fun! Update: The beta release seems to be temporarily unavailable. Apple notes: "Our apologies but there was an unexpected error with the application. This problem has been noted, and an email has been... - iphone-tastic!

Apple on Thursday released an early preview of Mountain Lion, its next version of Mac OS X, to developers and select publications. The reviews are now hitting the Internet. The general consensus about Mountain Lion is that it brings some of the best features of iOS like Notification Center, AirPlay mirroring, GameCenter and iMessage into OS X. These features are not tacked-on mobile versions, but fully integrated in a way that works on a desktop operating system. You can check out some of the early reviews at The Loop, Macworld, Engadget, The Verge, Laptop Magazine, CNET, and PC Magazine. Apple's preview page for Mountain Lion is also live. The next version of Mac OS X is expected to ship this summer and will be available from the Mac App Store. Pricing is not available, but, based on Apple's history, it should be reasonably priced. Apple previews Mountain Lion, next version of Mac OS X originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:47:00 EST. Please... - iphone-tastic!

AT&T has issued some comments on a blog post about the ever-increasing need for bandwidth. AT&T Sr. VP for technology notes that data volume on its network doubles annually, and adds that wireless traffic data has grown 20,000%. The timing of the post probably isn't coincidental, with customers up in arms about recent price increases from the company, and doing everything it can to discourage customers from using its network. He says "The growth is now driven primarily by smartphones. Add to that new customer additions and the continuing trend of upgrades from feature phones to smartphones, and you have a wireless data tsunami." He further notes "we invested $20 billion in our networks, and completed more than 150,000 wireless network improvements. And we expect to invest about $20 billion again in 2012 with a focus on wireless." True enough, but let's add that AT&T has been happy to pay whatever it took to keep the iPhone, and is pushing Android and a new Windows Phone from Nokia.... - iphone-tastic!

Christa Mrgan has published an interesting post at Rogue Amoeba about developing the look and feel of that company's Piezo recording software. Rogue Amoeba is known for simple, intelligent designs. It's fascinating to see how the company works from beginning to end, first defining the app's functions, then wireframing and prototyping to get everything right. The article describes the influences that went into Piezo's look and feel, from the sublime (Piezo's look was inspired by a beautiful old audio unit) to the practical (a handle on the square icon). It's interesting to see Rogue Amoeba's commitment to making something special. Rogue Amoeba on creating the look of Piezo originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments - iphone-tastic!

YouTube user Mark Rober, last seen making a gruesome Halloween costume with a couple of iPad 2s, has posted another video on YouTube featuring another relatively unconventional use for Apple's mobile devices. Rober found that during a trip to the zoo, he could use the iPhone's front camera and screen to both get the apes' attention and film them at the same time. He also found they weren't looking right at the camera, however (since the iPhone's camera is offset from the main screen), so he decided to rig up a mirror frame for the iPhone to sit in, and head back to the zoo to make some amateur and DIY "wildlife" photography. As you can see below, the results are pretty amazing. Not only are the primates entranced by their own images, but the iPhone's camera (I presume he's using a 4S -- I'll be impressed if it's just an iPhone 4) captures some really amazing footage, even at the relatively short distance and through whatever glass is holding the animals in their pens. As Rober points... - iphone-tastic!