Mac Chick of The Month

Random thoughts: Apple’s 100,000 iPhone apps and the Google GPS app

October 28, 2009 by Dr. Macenstein · 8 Comments
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Cynicism, Opinion, iTunes

Two things happened today that filled me with a resounding feeling of… “meh”. Well, actually lots of underwhelming things happened today (I’m rather hard to overwhelm thanks to various mood evening drugs)) but two Apple-related things happened.

Apple to hit 100,000 iPhone Apps

The first announcement did not officially come from Apple itself, rather it came via the blog-o-sphere. Apparently Apple has now passed (or will reach in the next day or so) the 100,000 mark of apps on iTunes. I’m not all that sure that Apple should be all that proud of hitting that milestone. If anyone should be proud of that astronomical number, it is the developers of Apple’s iPhone Software Development Kit. They apparently did such a good job at designing the SDK that even people who have zero talent, originality, programing or artistic ability can now easily create a horrible app that does basically nothing. Read more

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My GOD those are huge coffee mugs!

October 2, 2009 by Dr. Macenstein · 6 Comments
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Apple Fanboyism, Humor, iPhone, video

Here we have a clip of CNN’s Kiran Chetry being given the old “what for” by The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart. Stewart points out the hypocrisy of Chetry doing a report on the dangers of texting while driving, when just the day before she touted all the real-time traffic features of CNN’s new mobile iPhone app, saying it was great to have that available in the car, where you need it. While this video is enjoyable to watch for Chetry’s valiant attempts at back peddling, I found myself fascinated by the two giant coffee mugs on the anchor desk.

You know, if either of those women actually tried to drink a full cup of coffee from those billboard-sized mugs, they’d pretty much have to be catheterized in order to be able to sit through their morning show. (Incidentally, I would have to be sedated to sit through it…)

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Prepare to freak out! iPhone developers are using apps to pass your phone number to telemarketers

September 29, 2009 by Dr. Macenstein · 13 Comments
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Rumors, Security, iPhone

Our good friends over at the French Mac site Mac4Ever have alerted us to a somewhat alarming development. Apparently a few days after purchasing the Swiss app MogoRoad, a free radar tracking application, users are reporting receiving telephone calls asking them if they’d like to purchase the FULL version of the application. When asked how the caller had obtained their number, the responses vary, but generally the person tells you that Apple sent them their number at the time of purchase.

Obviously this is not the case, as Apple does not forward any information on its customers to third parties, so Mac4Ever did a little testing using the latest iPhone SDK and discovered that it is extremely easy for a developer to send a user’s phone number to their servers without their knowledge. In fact, the hole has been around since the 2.1 firmware.

“But after deep investigation, it appears that programmers are able to retrieve the personal iPhone’s user number, with one unique line of code! This data can then be sent to remote databases, which collect personal information, without notifying the user.

We tried this method quickly with the official SDK: it works !

Readers mostly pointed out mogoRoad , a swiss application that gives traffic information for free. When reading comments on iTunes, it’s clear that a lot of people did receive the famous call as well.

Currently, the buyer explicitly gives its coordinates as Apple. Developer side, Apple is the only interlocutor, and it is impossible to have access to personal data of customers. But the access number is available since firmware 2.1, according to our survey. Moreover, it seems surprising that those responsible for the validation does not check that certain sensitive data, such as phone number, do not pass freely through the internet. This could be the beginning of a real scandal for the firm Iceberg, because nobody knows how many applications currently collecting phone numbers. “

We’ve yet to hear of any reports of this type of data collecting here in the US, but this is exactly the type of thing that tends to freak out privacy advocates (and rightly so, if true), so prepare for this one to spread across the interweb even faster than the usual anti-iPhone news.

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Apple’s new iPod touch web ads almost makes you think the touch is a real gaming machine

September 28, 2009 by Dr. Macenstein · 5 Comments
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Apple Fanboyism, Hardware, Opinion, iPhone, iPod Touch

It’s no secret Apple is pushing the iPod touch as a gaming machine – Steve Jobs said as much when lamely trying to explain why the new iPod touches didn’t have a camera (as if game makers couldn’t find a creative way to make use of one).

But if there was any lingering doubt that Apple was trying to push the iPhone/touch platform further into the mindset of hard core gamers, this new web ad on super gaming site IGN ought to clear up any misconceptions.

Unfortunately, even a fanboy such as myself must admit that the iPod touch and the iPhone are somewhat lacking when it comes to games. For the past year I have tried to convince myself the touch screen could be made to take the place of analog controls, but I just can’t kid myself anymore. As the games being released become increasingly complex and ever more graphically stunning, it’s obvious that the interior of the iPod touch is more than up to the task of handheld gaming – but it’s the outside that needs work.

Oh sure, many developers have come up with clever tricks and inventive control schemes, but aside from a few standout casual games that were inherently designed for the touch screen interface (Flight Control, Puzzlings, Fieldrunners…) the majority of games would benefit GREATLY from some sort of analog control buttons. Sure, driving games LOOK like they work great in the 2 second clips in the Apple ads, and tilting to steer works well enough, but find me ONE die hard racer who likes having to precisely hit certain areas of a flat screen while turning said screen in order to break, shift, shoot, etc. Even some of the first games ever made (PacMan, BurgerTime, Frogger) are too difficult to play on the touch. And forget about First Person Shooters and Football. No matter how impressive the graphics, and no matter how well companies like Gameloft are able to design their psuedo-analog controllers, covering 35% of an already cramped screen with your thumbs is no way to play a game.

Above: Where the hell is the iControl Pad?

Quite frankly I am surprised Apple has not yet come out with it’s own dockable gamepad/external battery device. Remember the GameBone, the iJoyPad, and the ethereal iControlPad? They all looked great (well, they all appeared to WORK great, that is) but despite over a year of publicity and hype, to date not one has physically shown up here at the lab for testing (note to those developers, please send us one for testing, we’re DYING over here!).

Above: …and the GameBone?

Quite frankly by now Apple should not only have come out with its own controller, but it should have also have released a set of APIs to let developers incorporate the controls into their games. So far the avalanche of iPhone/iPod touch peripherals I expected after Apple announced support for 3rd party hardware earlier this year has yet to materialize. At this point it is pretty clear that if Apple wants to create a viable gaming accessory market, it is going to have to get the ball rolling itself – perhaps even literally with a dockable trackball, for Centipede.

Above: … and the iJoyPad?

In the family friendly hand-held gaming arena, there is no doubt that Nintendo is still king, but if Apple truly wants to compete with the big boys, they’re going to need to take a page from the New England Patriot’s playbook, and take a page from their competitor’s playbook. Nintendo always markets its own (usually superior) peripherals for its consoles and handhelds, but also allows other companies to market their own. Apple should do the same. Without a way to control games while avoiding covering them with our fat fingers (and stereotypes be damned, most die hard gamers DO have pretty fat fingers) all the advertising on gaming sites in the world won’t bring the iPod touch true gaming street cred.

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The most optimistic/delusional press release ever

September 14, 2009 by Dr. Macenstein · 2 Comments
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Apple Fanboyism, Awesomeness

Now that Steve Jobs is back in command at Apple, it looks like the first order of business will be of the “monkey” variety – at least according to this somewhat optimistic press release by iPorn:

iPorn’s last trip to visit Apple

iPorn Girls to Visit Top Execs at Apple iPhone Headquarters
In an attempt to lobby approval of the new iPorn iPhone App 5 open-minded iPorn girls will visit Apple Headquarters with hopes of negotiating a mutually beneficial partnership.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ — The infamous iPorn horse and carriage from the Apple WWDC may be coming out of its barn once again! iPorn intends to send at least 5 iPorn girls to the Apple executive board room for a powwow. The visit with Apple is being coordinated and is expected to take place in the next few weeks. Due to the honed negotiating skills of the iPorn Girls the company fully expects Apple will be convinced of how mutually beneficial a partnership with iPorn could be. A person very familiar with the
matter said Apple execs are likely to respond favorably to the iPorn girls’ high level of motivation and willingness to bend over backwards in order to close a deal.

Currently the iPorn mobile application is available only by visiting iPorn from your mobile phone (at iPorn dot com). Photos of the iPorn Girls can also be found on the iPorn mobile site as well as on the iPorn PC/Mac website. Both iPorn and its customers believe that having to open the safari browser on the iPhone in order to visit the iPorn website is too much of a hassle. An app that is accessible only to adults would be much more effective and safe. The whole world is waiting for Apple to stop controlling the type of applications its users are allowed to access. The approval of the iPorn iPhone app would be Apple’s first step in the right direction - NO MORE CENSORSHIP!

While I’m sure such a visit would boost moral at Apple, somehow I feel that despite iPorn’s assurance that “The visit with Apple is being coordinated “, this coordination is likely being done more with their carriage driver than any Apple execs. But I have a feeling this press release was written with tongue planted firmly in cheek (among other places). Ba Dum Bum!

Personally I’m still a little confused as to why Apple’s iTunes rating system/parental controls are OK with gruesome disembowelings and bloody torture scenes, yet feel the need to protect the kids from hot chicks. However I also respect Apple’s right to decide what does and doesn’t go on their device (I don’t see a big “Why no porn on the Nintendo DS?!” movement, so I’m not sure why Apple has to cave).

On a side note, I found this on Reuters. For some reason I thought Reuters were above posting random insane press releases… but hey, I read it, so I guess it’s a good way to get the word out about things. I’m actually thinking of sending Reuters a press release of an upcoming garage sale I’m having next week.

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