With iOS 5, Apple shows that it isn’t afraid of better web apps

via The Next Web

"Traditionally people have viewed Apple as hostile to any apps outside of the native App Store market. This has been proven wrong time and again, but the perception seems to persist. The open-source Webkit framework that Apple provides web developers has been significantly improved since Apple first started using it for Safari and now, with iOS 5, Apple is introducing changes that make it better than ever. Isn’t it finally time to acknowledge that Apple isn’t afraid of web apps?"

Using Dye to Turn Dogs Into Exotic Animals

Via Lost In E Minor

Mr Tea

The Verizon iPhone Halted Android’s Surge. The iPhone 5 Could Reverse It.

The Verizon iPhone Halted Android’s Surge. The iPhone 5 Could Reverse It.

MG Siegler Jun 22, 2011

Nearly a year ago, I wrote a post titled “Is Android Surging Only Because Apple Is Letting It?“. Not surprisingly, it fired people up. About 1,000 comments later, there was a full-on fanboy war between the Apple and Google sides. But the point was actually something we can look back on. Was Android surging ahead of the iPhone in the United States because Apple only had a deal with AT&T?

Let’s revisit, shall we?

At the point that post was written, the Verizon iPhone was just a rumor. It was an oft-cited rumor, but still just a rumor. Apple had a deal with one carrier in the U.S., AT&T. Meanwhile, there were Android devices on all four major U.S. carriers. And by all accounts, the ones being sold by Verizon were doing the best in terms of sales.

20+ phones on four carriers (including the nation’s largest) were outselling one phone on one carrier. It was really shocking.

It wasn’t until four months after the post that Verizon officially announced they were getting the iPhone. At it was a full five months later that it actually went on sale. That was roughly one quarter ago, so the data has started to trickle in and take shape. And guess what? It sure looks like the iPhone on a second carrier, Verizon, halted Android’s march.

In April, when NPD data had the iPhone market share push a bit forward while Android saw a small decline, it was perhaps a bit too early to read into it. But a month later, Nielsen data suggested that Android share was indeed flattening, and most credited the 2.2 million iPhones Verizon sold in the two months of its existence on the carrier as the reason.

A few days ago, a report by Needham using IDC data suggested that Android’s market share peaked in March, and was now on the decline as Apple’s share was rising again. This was the first quarterly share decline that Android had ever seen.

Why? It seems obvious, doesn’t it?

Earlier today, BTIG Research put out a report showing that in both AT&T and Verizon stores across the country, the iPhone is now the top selling device in most stores. Four months ago, the iPhone did not exist in Verizon stores. Now it’s easily outselling any Android device in the majority of stores.

To be fair, as before, the sheer number of different Android devices out there means they’re undoubtedly still outselling the iPhone when combined together. But the market share numbers suggest that even this discrepancy has collapsed. That’s pretty amazing.

And let’s keep something in mind — by most accounts, the Verizon iPhone launch was not the massive blow-out many were predicting. Why? It’s likely that a sizable chunk of would-be Verizon iPhone buyers believed a newer model would launch in the summertime, just a few months away, just like it always had in the past.

That turned out not to be the case, and it now looks like the iPhone 5 will launch this fall. But Apple gave no guidance on that either way. So a lot of customers have been left waiting. (Though the white iPhone helped a bit.)

And guess what happens when the iPhone 5 does launch in the fall on both Verizon and AT&T? It’s going to be massive. So massive that I wouldn’t be surprised if the one device does actually reverse the Android’s march forward. At the very least, it will do so in the short term.

Yes, one device on two carriers could well outsell dozens of devices on four carriers.

And if and when the government approves the AT&T/T-Mobile deal (which is BS, but will happen), we’ll see the iPhone on the top two of three carriers in the U.S. Apple doesn’t really need Sprint anymore, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the iPhone on the carrier next year.

So in that regard, the Android vs. iPhone argument is becoming a more fair one in the U.S. market. Apple is never going to make dozens of devices to match Android in “choice”, but the carrier part of the equation is being negated.

In other words, at least in part, Android is no longer surging because Apple is no longer letting it.

[image: flickr/victoria white2010]

You Might Enjoy This Story if You’re On an HTML5 Browser

Sam Winstrom — Game development platform GameSalad is tossing something new into the mix with HTML5.

With the move to HTML5 developers can now move their games beyond iOS and onto other platforms such as the ever-popular web browser. According to GameSalad, HTML5 offers the largest possible audience, working with all popular web browsers, and will offer developers an audience of more than one-billion users. All games made using Gamesalad's HTML5 development platform will require no additional plugins or downloaded updates from players.

HTML5 games can be shared by simply copying and posting an embed code, much like a YouTube video, making games play nice with Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Check out the frustrating, yet addictive,Gravonaut (embedded below) to see how this works. In Gravonaut you control the pull of gravity to guide an astronaut around spikes and dangerous falls simply by clicking your mouse. On the new HTML5 platform games buffer between levels and cutscenes, offering a less fluid experience then you might get from a flash game or dedicated app that loads before it gets going, but in exchange for this, the games are easier to access and share.

GameSalad is a free-to-use creation platform with a drag-and-drop interface that requires no coding. It has been used to create over 18,000 games, over 40 of which made the top 100 games in the U.S. Apple App Store.

HTML5 publishing is live on GameSalad's website now along with a showcase of HTML5 launch games.

http://kotaku.com/5814505/you-might-enjoy-this-story-if-youre-on-an-html5-browser

An Internet Archivist Recommits to Books

Internet Archive Now Supports HTML5 for a Half Million Videos

21 hours ago by Jolie O'Dell0

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The Internet Archive’s entire stash of digital videos — that’s more than 500,000 assets — now supports HTML5 as well as Flash.

The Archive, which is best known for hosting older versions of websites, is using technology from open-source video companyKaltura to get the job done.

The Kaltura video player automatically recognizes whether a user’s device and browser need a Flash or an HTML5 player. Then, the video content gets delivered accordingly.

The Wikimedia Foundation is also using Kaltura’s tools in a related project.

The Internet Archive’s video library contains more than 500,000 educational assets, most of which are under Creative Commons licenses. These assets will now be more accessible, particularly on mobile devices, including iOS devices, as well as on HTML5-supporting browsers.

SEE ALSO: How HTML5 Will Transform the Online Video Landscape

And because Kaltura’s technology supports the HTML5 standard for timed text such as subtitles, hearing-impaired and multilingual users will also benefit from the videos.

“As the leading open source video company, our goal is to enable advanced online video functionalities on any device using free and open standards and technologies,” said Ron Yekutiel, Kaltura’s chairman and CEO, in a release Wednesday morning. “Our mission is even more so inspiring and impactful where free educational content is also coupled with these tools, as is the case with the Internet Archive and the Wikimedia Foundation.”

Image courtesy of Flickr, mdurwi

An Internet Archivist Recommits to Books

June 10, 2011

A funny thing happened while Brewster Kahle was fighting valiantly to preserve the digital life of the internet at the Internet Archive … he fell for books. After 15 years of relentlessly preserving and guaranteeing access to the fading history of life online, Kahle explains why he’s recently undertaken an ambitious actual library, with actual books.

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2011/06/10/03

TDK's see-through screen for mobile devices

via Designboom

"Japanese electronics company TDK has just begun mass production of the world's first near-transparent, passive matrix organic electroluminescent (EL) display. Organic EL displays use organic materials that emit light in response to an electric current, offering the benefits of a wide viewing angle and high brightness with a see-through screen. the 'UEL476' screen being produced is a 2.4-inch QVGA (320 x 240) display designed for mobile devices, and thus constructed to obscure light transfer through the device, preventing content from being visible from the opposite side. operable in temperatures ranging from -20 to 85 degrees celsius (-4 to 185 degrees fahrenheit), it features 40% transmittance and no colour shifting  over the course of its life.

The development opens up numerous design possibilities for mobile devices, especially in the field of augmented reality."

Pass-Them-Around: Collaborative Use of Mobile Phones for Photo Sharing

Deep Shot: Throw Applications Between Your Computer and Your Phone, While They're Running

via PopSci

"A team of computer scientists at MIT may have just solved one of the digital age’s most annoying occurrences, one that somehow has not been addressed in any real way by major device manufacturers. It’s the I-have-something-on-my-computer-screen-that-I-need-to-transfer-to-my-phone problem, and it plagues everyone. Now, a small software solution has come to our aid, allowing users to throw applications--in their same states--between computers and mobile devices using the smartphone’s camera."

DIY Magnetic Putty

via PopSci

"Silly Putty is pretty much the best non-Newtonian viscoelastic liquid we can think of--it stretches, it bounces, it transfers ink, it's reminiscent of mussel fibers, and it can be broken with a sharp blow. But what if it's blended with magnetic powder? Turns out magnetic Silly Putty has an unquenchable hunger for magnets."

MotionBeam

The MotionBeam project explores the use of handheld projectors to interact and control projected characters. Physical movement of the projection device, much like a motion controller, is used to guide and interact with the character. This creates a unified interaction style where sensor input and projector output are tied together within a single device.

Evernote Peek: The First Smart Cover App for Your iPad 2

Nintendo announces Wii U controller for new console, coming in 2012

Read the article here

Nintendo teases with a hybrid controller-tablet sidekick to the upcoming Wii U console. The “Swiss Army knife of controllers” does everything from draw to double as a second screen in some games.

Rather than introduce a successor to the popular Nintendo Wii console, Nintendo unveiled the Wii U controller (pronounced “We-U”) for the next platform instead at E3 in Los Angeles today. According to Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils Aime, “It’ll change the way you play.”

To call this new device a controller doesn’t quite capture all the interactive possibilities it offers. It is more like a sidekick to the upcoming console (and television) that doubles as an extra controller in some games, and works standalone gaming device in other scenarios. Think of it as a hybrid controller and tablet with a 6.2″ touchscreen.

It turns out the rumors about Project Cafe were correct: the Wii U has a 6.2″ touchscreen (with stylus), with the typical control pad and buttons, circle pads on either side, left and right shoulder buttons embedded into the top two corners, rumble motor, a sensor strip and the gyroscope and accelerometer sensors built-in like other Wii-motes. It also includes other features not typically found in a video game controller like a microphone, camera and speakers, because the Wii U controller “it’s not meant to be a portable gaming system even though it shares some characteristics,” said Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata.

Like any good sidekick, the Wii U controller can enhance gameplay and hold its own when not linked to the console:

• Wii U controller offers a second screen: There are many different uses for a second screen in a Wii U game. Here are just a few of the ones mentioned today.In a Chase Mii game demoed on the Nintendo channel after the official press conference, players can play digital hide and seek, with one player using the Wii U controller’s screen as a map of all the other players so she can better hide from her friends. The other players using the original Wii-motes only have the main television screen to navigate the game.

  Another example presented on stage involved using the Wii U controller to display your golf ball and the TV screen to display the fairway to simulate 3D gameplay (see below).
  

• Continue console game on Wii U controller: For the times when the television cannot be used to play the Wii, the Wii U allows the player to continue to game on the device.
• Play games on the Wii U controller: As a portable device with a larger screen than the Nintendo 3DS, the Wii U can also transform into a digital game board for an impromptu game of chess.
• Transfer content from Wii U controller to television: You can share the video you are watching on the Wii U with your television so more people can enjoy the same content but on a larger screen.
• Make art on the Wii U controller: The touchscreen is another surface for artists to hone their craft.
  
• Video chat on the Wii U controller: That’s pretty self-explanatory.
• Browse a Web page on the Wii U controller: See above.
• Use Wii U controller as an universal peripheral: One of the developers featured in the video reel called the Wii U controller “the Swiss Army knife of controllers” and he wasn’t kidding. With the large built-in touchscreen, the device can morph from one weapon to the next in an instant, as shown below:
  

Other technical specs available are as follows:

• Dimensions: 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long.
• Media: A single self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density optical discs for the new console, as well as 12-centimeter Wii optical discs.
• Output Resolution: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. Compatible cables include HDMI, component, S-video and composite.
• Audio Output:Uses AV Multi Out connector. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI.
• Storage: The console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive.
• CPU: IBM Power®-based multi-core microprocessor.
• Adapters: Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible with Wii games and Wii accessories.

The Wii U controller looks like it has a lot of promise but it’s hard to tell what the console portion will look like if the so-called controller already has a built-in media slot. Without a doubt, the next console is in the works as both Iwata and Aime made of a point of inviting Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello on stage to tease that the new console will feature “deeper online capabilities.”

No word yet on how much the Wii U controller will retail or when you should expect it in-store sometime in 2012.

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Yo Ho, Let's Go Summer!,

Cyn opsis: Kids!
06/07/11

Disney Junior will include a new interactive feature with the new multi-platform programming event, Yo Ho, Let's Go Summer!, beginning Monday, June 13, across Disney Junior digital platforms including Disney Junior On Demand, Mobile and iTunes. Yo Ho, Let's Go Summer will feature characters and episodes of Disney Junior original series Jake and the Never Land Pirates, as well as episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and others. June 13-August 26, Jake and his pirate crew gold coins will appear throughout the Disney Junior programming block. Kids with their parents can go online ( www.disneyjunior.com/summer) where they can enter the number of coins they saw throughout the week, and unlock various treasures, such as episode previews, games and activities. Parents can also download gold doubloons for their kids to decorate and then upload a photo of their kid with their coins to the site, which might be used on-air. Each Friday at 9a, from June 17, Disney Junior will premiere a new episode of one of its series on-air and online.

Microsoft Shows Off Windows 8: A Sleek New Tablet Interface, Coexisting With Regular Windows

via PopSci

"Yesterday evening, Microsoft gave us our first glimpse at the next version of Windows. The world's most popular operating system is due for its biggest overhaul in decades. Designed as a one-size-fits-all OS, Microsoft wants Windows 8 to be used in both tablets and desktops--and rather than split the difference, they simply added a new, Windows-Phone-7-like tablet interface right next to the traditional keyboard and mouse interface."