AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

You might know from Onxo or else where that Fring, an IM/VOIP, app was made available yesterday for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Now, it looks very straight-forward.  I'm asking my friend if he can give a try.  I'll get back to you with our own results. Here is the Youtube link .  If we have an opportunity to post our own instructions, we'll let you know. Via Macrumors You can download from iTunes link here.

I'm in the market for a new Macbook.  Possibly a Macbook Pro.  I make it a point to check out the competition to see how the specs fair and like most mobile warriors, I check out the prices as well. I've been taking a hard look at  the newly introduced HP DV3500t 13" LED with a dedicated GPU for $1100 (I added $100 because I would want the LED option) and Sony's Vaio SR series ($1200).  But are competing with the Macbooks and whatever upgrades Apple will be offering. But these three looks to offer serious competition going forward.  All things being equal, it's a no brainer for me to pick the machine that runs OS X and, if needed, Windows. However, HP has upped the game with a GPU that allows serious gaming.  Hope we'll see the Macbook follow up or come up with a major price drop. Look-wise, the dv2500t, well, it's a standard PC laptop.  The Macbook we're familiar with.  Sleek.  Well designed.  Looks great to work on.  Th...

Like a lot of folks, we're waiting Apple to release the next generation of Macbooks.  Word on the steets (Internet Drive) is middle of October.  Well, apparently someoneis not willing to wait that long. Meet MacWind. Wired has been writing a series on hacking and installing OS X on MSI's Wind.  You can check it out below.  In fact, there are now fixes and drivers to make this baby easier to use.  In fact, with some Wi-Fi issues, there will be new genuine OS X drivers from Realtek as well. Also check out our post  on the best non-Mac Macbooks. Impact:  This is becoming more than jus tone guy's obsession.  Wired has legitmized OS X hacking with these posts.  I can't help but wonder if Apple is secret monitoring the situation.  It may well create a deeper and more obsessive cult than the general mainstream Apple fanboys. Also, we may see more OS-hack-friendly netbooks in the future from the likes of Asus and other Asian...

Oh, you didn't know Podcaster was still available, did you? Well, not officially since Apple killed off any sanctioned avenue for Podcaster's developer to get it on the iPhone.  Fortunately, iPhone owners' got a lot of smart developers who brought us tools for jailbreaking and unlocking.  And that's how I found Podcaster.  I clicked on Cydia on my iPhone and "wow, podcaster!" Well, here's the catch.  It'll cost $5.  Not a bad price for an app that let's you directly access, download, and listen to podcasts.  Traditionally, Apple wants you to hook up the iPhone or iPod Touch to iTunes to access any podcast you may subscribe to.  (Control?  Yes.) Here's the thing.  You don't have to do that.  In some instances, you can access the podcast directly from the podcast website.  So along came Podcaster and it made much easier to access your podcast. Podcaster was seen as an attempt to cut the umbilical cord between iTunes and A...

You probably already know unless On Apple is your sole Mac and iPhone information but Apple withdrew their NDA. And just as we wonder why they continued to implement the NDA, we now switch to why withdraw it now?  Their claim:  competition.   But it does make sense since all their main competitors, including Android, is out on the market or soon will be.  There won't be any need for Apple to hold developers hush-hush.  Although, I just have to wonder though.   Since anyone can download the iPhone SDK and have a peek around, what why would the NDA be an issue?   We had speculated on why the NDA was so important to Apple but we were right when we said it wouldn't go on forever. iPhone-iPod Update: Yesterday, the biggest news was Adobe making a boneheaded announcement about Flash for the iPhone pending Apple's approval.  With the NDA lifted, Adobe should be able to say more about it.  No word.  Wouldn't bet in it happen unles...

The biggest news, although it's really a non-news, is an Adobe director announcing that a Flash player would be available pending Apple approval. Just to chime in, I doubt it is the case and if we do see Flash on the iPhone, it will not be in the form that we are used to seeing on the Internet. As with all things Apple, time will tell.  But don't hold your breath. The other big news today is the availability of IBM's Lotus Notes available on the iPhone as a web app.  I'm glad for three reasons.  One is that now iPhone users have another enterprise mail option and the iPhone also becomes an option for 140 million Notes users. Secondly, this reinforces the iPhone's place in the enterprise.  And lastly, I'm glad develop on the Web front continues. TUAW InfoWorld  - IBM had two customers participate in testing iNote Ultralight and they love the implementation.  However, they do wish that eventually, iNotes would become a standalone app. Speculation be...

It's hard not to given the difficulties Apple has had with certain developers feeling rejected and others fearful to express how they feel (in fact, they're not allow to talk about their feelings). So, when it was confirmed that Adobe is close to finish a Flash player for the iPhone and by one of it's senior director, Paul Betlem, it seems like something he really ought not to say in public unless he was trying to push pressure on Apple to approve the Adobe app for wide release on the app store. Regardless, it's out and the Mac blogs got wind of it.  So, now what?  Well, we wait and see.  Previously, Jobs had complained Flash would run a resource hog and will effectively ruin the battery life on the iPhone. However, I'm guess Adobe has been lobbying and making concessions to Apple in order to get Flash onto the iPhone and iPod Touch platform.  It remains to be seen if Apple will grant them this one wish.  Webware indicates Flash does not run well on mobile...

I've got over 25 games on my iPhone.  Some are free.  Some are $0.99.  Others like EA's Spore and Super Monkey Ball tops out at $9.99 a piece.  But I find myself spending a little more time with the free or $0.99 games and I'm perplexed by it. I love Spores.  And find Monkey Ball addicting.  And I paid more for them so why am I not playing them more often?  I don't know.  I chalk it up to personal preference.  In fact, I've rediscovered web apps lately as well.  Specifically, I've been trying to find games and apps that I can use with Safari that work just as well as apps that sit on my iPhone.  But that's chat for another time. But as I got to thinking, I also looking at some of the recent games produced by big named developers.  Star Wars The Force Unleashed looks fun but at $9.99, I don't know if I would like it that much.  I might pick it up when it goes on sale.  I'm more of a Star Trek fan.  Then there'...

I totally get what a post on Pocketables was talking about when he complained about blogging in the iPhone. Some of my issues are not dificult to solve and I am sure will be resolved eventually. - Cut and paste. Specifically, I want to be able to great links I find on Safari. This was mentioned in the post as well. - Ability to add images. I recently posted about LifeCast which I love because I can now post to Blogger. But now, I am not able to send text and images in the same post. - Limitation on Safari. A lot of blog sites offer iPhone versions (except Blogger...). Still, it is a tripped down version due to mobile Safari. - Adding tags. I am posting this from LifeCast now but since I am limited by what I can do on the iPhone, I am going to have to reference Pocketables as the app let me. Maybe we will get what I want soon. Maybe not, but we will have to see where we stand once developers have more time to get to know the SDK and Apple offers more features such a...

Once again, the dominant story in Cupertinoland continues to be the iPhone related issues. First, Apple, who has opted to remain quiet through this developer revolt (I rather think that Apple is up to something brilliant during this period of silence) about app rejections and outcries about NDA. Nevertheless, work continues to be made on the app store. Now, if you don't buy an app, you can't provide reviews.  Finally! A minor step back.  You can't simply find free apps with a click.  Someone will have to provide that link in a blog or something.  Why do that, Apple?  My guess:  trouble with revs from developers as everyone downloads mostly free apps.   Apps are now ranked by release dates, not app updates. TUAW  thinks there are specific reasons for this, depending on how you feel about Apple and the iPhone. Posts on changes to app store: iPodnn   World of Apple   Appleinsider   Touch Podium Silicon Alley Insider   ...

Will Apple eventually license OS X? I don't know but I'm beginning to come around to the idea that maybe Apple may offer OS X to 3rd parties.  Why is that?  Intel.  Since the early days of the Apple-Intel partnership, folks started trying how to efficient get OS X installed on non-Mac hardwares. So, in a word or two, what is the state of this form of Mac jailbreak? Not too difficult.  That three words, ain't it? Some of the EEE PC owners have been able to install OS X without much difficulties (Wi-Fi did not work out of the box - there is a Dell Wi-Fi card that be found on eBay).  Even before this, we have the Hackintosh where people installed OS X on desktops.  The boast is that no hacking is required.  However, it does require twicking the BIOS and having to go on the Internet and download a special version of Leopard. Wired has now gone a step further and literally promote install OS X in the MSI Wind by associating openly with hackers (...