MetaFilter posts tagged with iphone

Current quest: saw a leg off the period table

NoraReed — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:59:58 -0800

Godville is a text-based "massively-multiplayer zero-player game" in which you play a god with rather tenuous control over a hero. Changes to the game, including quests and items, are crowd-sourced and voted on by the community The game is playable in browser and via Android and iOS apps. Official game wiki.

You're not late!

mathowie — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:47:41 -0800

Check out this inventive remix of live music (looped) over the Apple default "marimba" alarm sound

"I never doubted that it was all going to work out."

zarq — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 09:09:47 -0800

A life well lived. On October 4, 1973, Josh Miele (4) was permanently blinded in an acid attack by his neighbor (pdf). 40 years later, Dr. Miele has worked for NASA on the Mars Rover project, he's helped develop "WearaBraille", a virtual Braille keyboard interface, and has a new project launching this month: the Descriptive Video Exchange (DVX), which will allow "sighted video viewers to seamlessly add audio description to DVDs as they watch." "...the Descriptive Video Exchange ... is a tool we have developed at Smith-Kettlewell that gives anybody, anywhere, the ability to describe anything, so that anybody, anywhere else, can hear the description. This technology uses a web-based server to store and maintain all of the descriptions associated with videos available on the web, on DVD, or from streamed sources such as Netflix. The server does not store the videos. The server only stores the descriptions, along with the identification and timing information. The server works with a video player that plays whatever video you want to watch, along with the stored descriptions. This system gets around a couple of interesting problems. For example, many videos simply are not described. There is no way to get a described version because it doesn't exist. That's one problem. With this system, anybody anywhere can volunteer to describe that video from their own home and upload the information. Then you, somewhere else, can take advantage of that description and play it back in synchronization with the video that you want to watch. This system does a sort of end run around a number of the issues related to modifying and distributing copyrighted materials. In today's model for video description, it's necessary to record a described version of a film or TV show and redistribute that version. To do that, it's necessary to get permissions. All sorts of legal and financial issues are involved. Our system does not modify or redistribute anybody's copyrighted material. It simply plays the descriptions along with the material from a legitimate source. That means it becomes much simpler to create descriptions."
A sample of a DVX video (mov file), using The Lion King. WearaBraille: * Video Demo * Technical Specs (pdf) Related article: Seattle Revolution: From Your Eyes and Mouth To Their Ears

The Best Camera is the One You Have With You

quin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:00:27 -0800

A Traveling Photographer is a short video by Kevin Russ, who has been journeying thought the American west taking amazing pictures with his iPhone. [via]

Open the pod bay doors, Siri!

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 03:30:36 -0800

Hacker sets up SiriProxy and a Raspberry Pi-controlled relay to make his iPhone's Siri voice control open his garage door

"Paintings created by performing routine tasks on multi-touch hand held computing devices."

the man of twists and turns — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 07:03:25 -0800

The Winning Swipe For Every Level Of Angry Birds Angry Birds All Levels is a work by Evan Roth, part of his Multi Touch, which "comments on the rise of casual gaming, identity and our relationship with mobile devices." It is on display at the Science Gallery in Dublin.

Apple, Transparency, Maps, and Made-in-USA iMacs

The Deej — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 07:42:18 -0800

Tim Cook's Freshman Year: The Apple CEO Speaks Prior to his death on Oct. 5, 2011, Steve Jobs made sure that the elevation of Tim Cook—his longtime head of operations and trusted deputy—to Apple chief executive officer would be drama-free. “He goes, ‘I never want you to ask what I would have done,’” recalls Cook. “‘Just do what’s right.’ He was very clear.” ... In his most wide-ranging interview as CEO, Cook explains how Apple works now, talks about the perception that he’s “robotic,” and announces the return of Apple manufacturing to the U.S.

"Your app's anti-piracy module, it's not working"

flex — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:40:05 -0800

An iOS application developer has come up with an extreme way of fighting software piracy—by auto-posting "confessions" to its users' Twitter accounts. "...Enfour, the maker of a variety of dictionary apps, is auto-posting tweets to users' accounts to shame them for being pirates. But the auto-tweeting seems to be affecting a huge portion of its paid user base, not just those who actually stole the apps." Follow-up. A personal account: Can’t spell “pirate” without “-irate”: on DRM and punishing the customer

Enfour has since launched a “crucial maintenance release” to iTunes, and the issue has seemingly been resolved... I found Enfour’s accusation especially insulting given the price I paid for the software—US$55. That is to say, the iOS version of the Oxford Dictionary of English costs the equivalent of a dense printed-and-bound volume of the very same. Worse, I grumblingly upgraded from the 3G to the 4S a year ago explicitly to purchase this expensive dictionary software (in fact, it was the very first purchase I made in iTunes once I was home from the AT&T store). I have frequently taken to Twitter to manufacture arguments over the cost of Enfour’s Oxford application, always defending my purchase. ...I remember seeing the app’s request pop up, and I’d simply assumed the dictionary had added some sort of social networking functionality, something like “share this crazy new word with your friends!” or whatever. (Enfour’s software integrates very nicely with another app, the excellent Terminology, which does indeed include a “Twitter” button along with each definition.) At no point did Enfour disclose its intention to “post to Twitter on [my] behalf,” however. The request seemed perfectly innocuous. One user did deny Enfour this permission request, and he discovered that Oxford booted him from the software entirely. This is to say, he could not use Enfour’s Oxford at all unless he granted the dictionary permission to humiliate him publicly. Enfour has since admitted there was a “glitch” that caused “false positives” in the software. What’s especially harrowing, though, is that Enfour apparently mined the data in the iPhone itself in an effort to determine, not whether Enfour’s own software is pirated, but whether any software on the iOS device is pirated. This is ominous news for anyone with a jailbroken phone; for my own part, my device is perfectly legal (to a fault), but I do have a copy of TestFlight, a type of software that allows me to test beta builds of developers’ apps.

"i stole a car" "correction: black guy stole your car"

justkevin — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:02:25 -0800

Do you like Cleverbot, but maybe wished that it was an androgynous jpop boy you could dress up and make your boyfriend? There's an app for tha-- oh no wait, nevermind. Boyfriend Maker was a popular dating sim app powered by the SimSimi chat engine, whose sometimes offensive language earned it a ban from the App Store. (NSFW language)

The iEconomy

zarq — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:52:45 -0800

The iEconomy: Apple and Technology Manufacturing. Since January, the New York Times has been running a series of articles "examining the challenges posed by increasingly globalized high-tech industries," with a focus on Apple's business practices. The seventh article in the series was published today: In Technology Wars, Using the Patent as a Sword. Related: For Software, Cracks in the Patent System and Fighters in the Patent War. Part 1: "An Empire Built Abroad" (January 12, 2012) * How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work (Previously on MetaFilter) * Motion Graphic: The iPhone Economy Part 2: "A Punishing System" (January 25, 2012) * In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad * Graphic: Compliance by the Numbers * The Lede Blog: Chinese Readers on the ‘iEconomy’ / Voices of Chinese Readers on the 'iEconomy' * Poll Finds Consumer Confusion on Where Apple Devices Are Made * The Lede Blog: Questions for Li Qiang of China Labor Watch * Economix Blog: Facebook Chat About the 'iEconomy' Series Part 3: "Protecting Profits" (April 29, 2012) * How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Global Taxes * Apple’s Response on Its Tax Practices * Graphic: Shrinking Corporate Tax Rates * Graphic: One Technique Apple Pioneered Video: Charles Duhigg and David Kocieniewski Respond to Reader Questions and Comments Part 4: "Retailing's King" (June 24, 2012) * Apple’s Retail Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on Pay * Video: Video: David Segal Responds to Reader Questions and Comments Part 5: "The Impossible Made Possible" (August 5, 2012) * In Wooing of Nissan, a Lesson for Tech Jobs? * Graphic: Evolution of a Manufacturing Supply Chain * Slideshow: An Automaker Migrates to Tennessee * Room for Debate: Should the U.S. Seek More Tech Manufacturing? Part 6: "Artificial Competence" (August 19, 2012) * Skilled Work without the Worker: A New Wave of Adept Robots Is Changing Global Industry (This article is linked in this post.) * Video: The Robot Factory Future * Video: Business Day Live: Nissan's Lesson Part 7: "A System in Disarray" (October 8, 2012) * In Technology Wars, Using the Patent as a Sword. * Graphic: For Software, Cracks in the Patent System * Graphic: Fighters in the Patent War

What Will the 'Phone' of 2022 Look Like?

paleyellowwithorange — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 21:43:00 -0800

What Will the 'Phone' of 2022 Look Like? "Is the iPhone 5 the last phone? Not the last phone in a literal sense, but this is the apotheosis of this device we would call a phone...It's not clear to me that there is any such device as the phone in 2022. Already, telephony has become a feature and not even a frequently used feature of those things we put in our pockets." The Atlantic's Alex Madrigal looks at the future of mobile communications, discussing input methods, form factors and technological limits (including energy storage, bandwith and privacy issues).

A jury has ruled for Apple in its huge smartphone patent infringement case involving Samsung and ordered Samsung to pay $1.5 billion.

mysticreferee — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:40:24 -0800

After a year of scorched-earth litigation, a jury decided Friday that Samsung ripped off the innovative technology used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad. The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion. An appeal is expected. Quick History Previously: 1 and 2

How about that youngster?

ersatz — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 11:25:48 -0800

New Star Soccer lets you create a football player, choose his nationality and lead him to glory from the age of 16 until he retires. You can play it on your computer (Kongregate), on Android or on iOS. Critics love it and half a million downloads have drawn further attention to the game and the reasons for its success. (Eurogamer, Edge) Interview with Simon Read about making the game, cutting features and profitability. The computer version is free with occasional ads, the Android version is free and the iOS version is a free download with a purchase to unlock career mode. You can train to improve your stats, negotiate contracts, handle your relationships with your manager, team mates, fans, girlfriend, and sponsors or you might rather negotiate better contracts as your "star rating" increase and splurge on items. Help mode is brief and helpful. In a word, properties increase your recovery after each game, drinks help you recover energy and possibly increase your skills or happiness while boots increase your stats for a few games. Your actions expend energy and your heart rate controls the number of chances you get, which are also influenced by your relationship with your team, and how quickly you tire out. The music can be muted from the options in the main menu. NSS is the little brother of New Star Soccer 5, which is a different kettle of fish.

The memo platform is burning

infini — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 08:49:40 -0800

iPhone Caused “Crisis of Design” at Samsung (Memo) “Influential figures outside the company come across the iPhone, and they point out that ‘Samsung is dozing off.’ All this time we’ve been paying all our attention to Nokia, and concentrated our efforts on things like Folder, Bar, Slide,” Shin wrote. “Yet when our UX is compared to the unexpected competitor Apple’s iPhone, the difference is truly that of Heaven and Earth. It’s a crisis of design.” Complete text of the internal memo submitted in the Apple vs Samsung case. Those are the more ugly points of the memo, which seems to bolster Apple’s lawsuit stating that Samsung infringed upon a number of Apple’s patents. Apple asserts that Samsung has “slavishly copied” Apple’s iPad and iPhone devices, and is seeking $2.5 billion in damages. So any more ammunition that Apple can get to make it look like Samsung attempted to actively rip off Apple’s products is only a good thing for Apple’s case. And the memo is rife with ammunition.

My First Prototype Post

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:03:50 -0800

Prototypes are usually the missing links in the evolution of human technology, the dead-ends of ideas that give way to the refinement of the final physical product. Prototypes aren't just for Darth Vader. While the legal back and forth between Apple and Samsung continues, a treasure trove of prototype designs for Apple devices has been released to the public, showing insights into various design approaches and feature enhancements, including larger form-factor iPads with and without kickstands and landscape ports and iPhones that parody the Sony logo, show a different layout for camera elements, and look remarkably like fourth-generation models, as far back as 2005. On the other hand, some have made prototypes into the end goal itself, such as the folks at Dangerous Prototypes, a site which features a new open-source electronic hardware project each month. Some are just gratuitous fun, while others are a bit more practical, such as one project that recycles old Nokia displays and another that provides access to infrared signal, useful for hacking together remote controls for all sorts of IR-based devices. Other prototypes of tomorrow's technology are less concerned with shrinking down the guts of the invention itself, to make it disappear, but rather on how we interact with and integrate physical representations of these ideas into our daily lives. Above all else, prototypes are always forward-looking and are therefore inherently optimistic expressions of human creativity: Even children are getting into imagining the world of tomorrow.

Chirp me that will you?

rongorongo — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 03:45:06 -0800

Chirp is an application that allows information such as photos, text or links to be transmitted to devices in earshot. The "chirp" containing the link to the data may be played from a devices or broadcast over radio or PA systems. Unlike many similar system the technology does not require receiving devices to be pre-paired. For now available only as an iPhone application. Discussion and demonstration.

Have you cracked?

Yellow — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 07:08:03 -0800

How to fix your cracked iPhone glass I hope this will help you save some money if you crack your iPhone screen. Then please take the money you would have spent to go do something nice for someone.

Backpacking with your iPhone

stp123 — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:00:32 -0800

How to use your iPhone GPS for backpacking including reviews on most of the relevant GPS, topo, and navigation related apps available for the iPhone.

Rendered from simple html and css, it is the very likeness of the thing itself

boo_radley — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 18:48:45 -0800

CSS iPhone

See something, send something

catlet — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:03:29 -0800

The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority has released MBTA See Say [iTunes link], a free iPhone/Android app that allows riders to "send the MBTA Transit Police pictures, text messages, and locations of unattended packages or suspicious activity" [link to MBTA apps page]. The camera's flash is disabled when a photograph is taken within the app. According to ELERTS, who built the app for the MBTA, "the opportunity to crowdsource information from riders who witness suspicious or criminal activities has not been realized by transit systems." The MBTA, which is the fifth largest transit system in the United States, is the first system to adopt this technology.

Friends don't let friends take vertical videos

desjardins — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:18:37 -0800

Vertical Video Syndrome : Why do people shoot videos in a vertical orientation? What is wrong with them? What fresh horrors will the rise of vertical video inflict upon our world?

Amercia teh Beautifull

Pronoiac — Tue, 29 May 2012 23:33:05 -0800

Earlier today, the Romney campaign released an app for showing support with pictures: "A Better Amercia. I'm with Mitt." (Note the typo.) There's now a Tumblr for people to show what Amercia means to them. Get the app and make your own!

Commuter Reading

netbros — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:57:21 -0800

What’s a Readlist? A group of web pages—articles, recipes, course materials, anything—bundled into an e-book you can send to your Kindle, iPad, or iPhone.

Siri, do ghosts believe in aliens?

griphus — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:04:35 -0800

"Siri, how expensive would it be to replace all the lights in my house with fireflies?" (cf. "Is that rain?")

Heartless Machines

griphus — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:36:46 -0800

Christopher Locke makes Analog Tele-Phonographers out of salvaged brass intruments and machine parts. It all began with the The Zurich (video)... The Ides of March (video) Full Tilt (video) LowFlow (video) Tiny Dancer (video) Parish Property (video) Big Trouble (video) Frump (video) The Crossroads (video) Harvey Wallhanger (video) HissyFit (video) Madder Horn (video) Silver Stallion (video) Triple Trouble (video) Sonny Trombono (video) Cullen's Trombone (video) Silver French Horn (video)