Download Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.comDownload Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/media/feedlogo.gifDownload Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.comen-usCopyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/No killer app for iPhone?http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/13/no-killer-app-for-iphone/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/13/no-killer-app-for-iphone/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/13/no-killer-app-for-iphone/#commentsFiled under: , ,

That's sort of like saying there's no killer app for the Internet. Oh wait, there is! It's called a "browser." Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch bemoaned the lack of a "killer app" for the iPhone but wound up admitting "...the app I use the most is Gmail, followed by Web browsing." So email and web-browsing? Sounds like the killer apps that launched the current explosion of technology and brought computing home again for the average user (would people really get off the Xbox 360 if their computers had no net access?). Today's killer apps are stored in the cloud, not locked away in your hardware.

The fact is that modern computer user habits are staggeringly fragmented once you move out of the email/browser/office apps arena. Just like browsing habits-- who goes to a generalized portal like AOL.com or Yahoo.com on a regular basis? Computer use is now specialized. A video editor will use apps pertinent to his job, while a cook would likely use a suite of apps for food planning and prep and purchasing. There's not likely to be a killer app outside of your specialization, unless it has to do with massaging data-- something along the lines of syncing your contacts, for example.

Ultimately the new killer apps are fixes for existing applications. One of the reasons 90% of iPhone users browse the web on their phone? Mobile Safari is hands-down the best portable web browser out there. It still isn't as robust as the desktop equivalent (hence the plethora of iPhone-tuned pages out there), but it is much better than the competition. The ultimate killer app is your window to the web, and the competition keeps making things better all the time. Hear that Mozilla? We're ready for mobile Firefox already!
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]]>iphoneopinionVictor Agreda, Jr.2008-08-13T12:00:00+00:00Steve Jobs confirms iPhone app "kill switch"http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/12/steve-jobs-confirms-iphone-app-kill-switch/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/12/steve-jobs-confirms-iphone-app-kill-switch/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/12/steve-jobs-confirms-iphone-app-kill-switch/#commentsFiled under: , ,

There's been some debate about whether Apple's ability to remotely disable apps on users' iPhones is for real. At Download Squad, we've had readers both affirming and denying the "kill switch" rumors. For a while, it seemed like an app blacklist had been found, but it turned out that it was just a list of apps that aren't allowed to access Core Location. Steve Jobs finally ended the debate today in The Wall Street journal, where he admits that the kill switch is real.

In the WSJ piece, Jobs "argued that Apple needs it in case it inadvertently allows a malicious program -- one that stole users' personal data, for example -- to be distributed to iPhones through the App Store. 'Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull,' he says." This shouldn't be a big deal, since Apple already has some control over what becomes available through the App Store. If something nasty does sneak by them, though, at least there's a countermeasure available.

[via Daring Fireball]
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]]>AppleiPhone app storeiPhone appsIphoneAppsIphoneAppStorekill switchKillSwitchSteve JobsSteveJobsJay Hathaway2008-08-12T02:00:00+00:00Freedom frees you (and your Mac) from the horror of the internethttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/05/freedom-frees-you-and-your-mac-from-the-horror-of-the-internet/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/05/freedom-frees-you-and-your-mac-from-the-horror-of-the-internet/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/05/freedom-frees-you-and-your-mac-from-the-horror-of-the-internet/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

FreedomIf you're anything like me, you're probably at least a little bit addicted to your internet connection. The first thing I do when I wake up is check my email and RSS feeds, and it's also the last thing I do before going to sleep. But that addiction can sometimes be a problem.

Staying on-task these days is not easy, particularly if you work at an internet-connected computer. The possible distractions are virtually limitless. So what is a geek to do? One option is to simply pull the plug. The network plug, that is.

But of course, these days almost all computers have wireless capabilities, so turning off your internet connection isn't quite as simply as just pulling the plug. If you're on a Mac, you can use Freedom.

Freedom will turn off all of your Mac's wireless and ethernet networking for a set amount of time. So if you need to put your head down for an hour and get some work done, you can set Freedom to an hour, and know that you won't be tempted by any distractions.

If you absolutely need to get back online before the chosen duration is up, the only way to do so is to reboot your computer.

This is one of those apps that will be a life saver for some people, and seem totally ridiculous to others. Which are you?
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]]>distractionFreedominternet-addictionnetworkingtime-wasterwi-fiwirelessJason Clarke2008-08-05T15:00:00+00:00iPhone App Tracker - What's on Yours?http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/15/iphone-app-tracker-whats-on-yours/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/15/iphone-app-tracker-whats-on-yours/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/15/iphone-app-tracker-whats-on-yours/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

iPhone - What's on Yours?The Lockergnome brand and Chris Pirillo know their technology, and now they're opening the doors up to a new iPhone App tracking site just for you and run by you.

The idea is similar to Digg in that you can submit iPhone apps and people can vote them up or down, giving you a nice community snapshot of what app is performing, and what app isn't at any given time.

It also has implications for when new apps come out, and you want to be the first kid at school to get it.

Sure, you can read reviews in the Apple Store, but you don't get the full story like you do on a site with simplicity and ease of use.

It's rough around the edges but the idea seems clear. Submit, rate, and interact. But the difference here is that it's so granular and dedicated solely to iPhone Apps.

Chris gave us the early link to the Apple App Tracker too, and we'd like to see one for PC apps and maybe even Linux distributions. Since he can build communities, it'll be interesting to see how big of a community pops up around this new venture.
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]]>app trackerAppTrackerchris pirilloChrisPirillodiggiphonelockergnomeDrew Olanoff2008-07-15T10:00:00+00:00iPhone App Review: Apple's Remote works, and it's freehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/11/iphone-app-review-apples-remote-works-and-its-free/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/11/iphone-app-review-apples-remote-works-and-its-free/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/11/iphone-app-review-apples-remote-works-and-its-free/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

If you've been looking for a reliable way to make your iPod or iPhone work as a remote for iTunes, look no further than Apple's Remote application. Just when you thought there was no way to tie the iPod and iTunes closer together, Apple's found another way for them to intereract. And It's free!

Just pop open remote, click to add a new library, and then enter the resulting 4 digit code in iTunes to give your iPhone access to your library. Now you've got an interface that looks just like the one you use to play music on your iPod. This'll work with any iTunes equipped computer on your network, and once you've set them up, you can switch between them easily. We even set up a little ad-hoc network with just a Mac and an iPod Touch, and Remote's performance was excellent. Did we mention it's free?
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]]>Appleiphone applicationsiphone appsIphoneApplicationsIphoneAppsiPodiTunesRemoteJay Hathaway2008-07-11T20:30:00+00:00iTunes App Store open for business, with 500+ apps for downloadhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/10/itunes-app-store-open-for-business-with-500-apps-for-download/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/10/itunes-app-store-open-for-business-with-500-apps-for-download/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/10/itunes-app-store-open-for-business-with-500-apps-for-download/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Apple opened the iTunes App Store today, just ahead of the Friday release of the iPhone 3G. The phone is already out in some parts of the word -- lucky Aussies and New Zealanders! -- but while North America is waiting, there's the iPhone 2.0 firmware update and a new version of iTunes to play with. If you install these updates, you don't have to wait for a new iPhone before you start buying apps! iPod Touch users, however, will apparently have to wait until tomorrow for the firmware update, which will cost $9.95 -- compared to a free update for the iPhone.

What about the apps themselves? Well, for starters, there are over 500 of them, and 25% of those are free. So far, games are leading the pack, with Sega's much-hyped Super Monkey Ball as the most downloaded app. Other hot games in the Top 10 are Enigmo, Cro-Mag Rally and Bejeweled 2. Apart from games, the most popular download thus far is OmniFocus, the powerful productivity app from Omni Group, coming in at #4.
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]]>app storeAppleAppStoreiPhoneiTunesmobileJay Hathaway2008-07-10T21:00:00+00:00She's a Brick.....Smith - Lego Modeling for your Machttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/08/shes-a-brick-smith-lego-modeling-for-your-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/08/shes-a-brick-smith-lego-modeling-for-your-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/08/shes-a-brick-smith-lego-modeling-for-your-mac/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

BricksmithWho doesn't like Legos?

Bricksmith brings Lego building to your Mac. And in a big way. Sorry PC folks, Mac only.

When we say a big way, we mean this isn't just a drag and drop of lego parts, this is full modeling. You don't have to have a degree to do it, but you definitely have to have some time on your hands....but the payoff could be awesomesauce.

This sucker is like Photoshop for lego designs.

You have thousands of parts to choose from, some of which we've never seen in our lego pails.

There's a full color palette, copy/paste/undo, drag and drop modeling and more.

Best part is, you don't have to step on them in your bare feet in the middle of the night!

We used it for 5 minutes and it hurt our heads, but we bet you can come up with something great. Take a screenshot and put the link to it in the comments.

[via chris pirillo]
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]]>bricksmithdesignlegosmodelingDrew Olanoff2008-07-08T16:30:00+00:00Sloth loves Chunk, and we love Sloth for Machttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/02/sloth-loves-chunk-and-we-love-sloth-for-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/02/sloth-loves-chunk-and-we-love-sloth-for-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/02/sloth-loves-chunk-and-we-love-sloth-for-mac/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

SlothOne of the only features some of us here like about Windows is that you can alt-ctrl-del and look at the open tasks and programs running at any given time.

It's nice to know what's sucking up all of your memory (pr0n) and what's bogging down your processor (DVD burning).

Sloth for Mac OS X shows us exactly what's running, Windows style.

You can see which application is running which process, reveal the directory it's running out of, and kill it off if you want. If you're super geeky and/or bored you can even look at the IP and Unix sockets to see what application is connecting to the interwebs at any given time.

This is a really handy dandy tool, and the source is available too for monkeying...er, slothing around.

One of the better parts about Sloth is that it's a Cocoa app, and runs nice and slick on your Mac.

[via chris pirillo]
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]]>ipmacosxprogramsslothunixwindowsDrew Olanoff2008-07-02T13:30:00+00:00Firefox 3 download day made possible by Windowshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/28/firefox-3-download-day-made-possible-by-windows/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/28/firefox-3-download-day-made-possible-by-windows/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/28/firefox-3-download-day-made-possible-by-windows/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

On June 17, 2008 Mozilla attempted to set a Guinness World Record for the most downloads in a 24 hour period. According to Mozilla over 8 million downloads were recorded. Currently they are awaiting word from Guinness if they were successful.

But there was one thing we wanted to know about this number. Out of the 3 major operating systems in use today which one blazed away with the most downloads. So we decided to ask and a Mozilla spokesperson gave us the following numbers:

  • Windows 79%
  • Linux 13%
  • OS X 8%

Now the number 1 spot didn't surprise us at all since Windows leads in overall computer operating systems it's almost a given that most of the downloads would come from Windows. But what was a bit surprising was that Linux bested OS X in the numbers of downloads.

One could say that Ubuntu, which is a very popular Linux distro comes packaged with Firefox so it's only natural that more downloads would come from Linux users. But according to w3counter, OS X accounts for 4.95% of the operating systems in use while Linux is barely half of this at 2.01%

So this strikes us as odd. What would cause OS X to slip to 3rd place in the number of downloads? Do these numbers suggested that Apple users only like to use Apple apps? Or did a large group of Mac users not get invited to the download party?

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]]>firefoxlinuxos xOsXubuntuwindowsJoey Celis2008-06-28T09:00:00+00:00Fix the latest OS X "vulnerability"http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/fix-the-latest-os-x-vulnerability/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/fix-the-latest-os-x-vulnerability/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/fix-the-latest-os-x-vulnerability/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Update: Looks like we posted too soon. As commenters at TUAW pointed out, the workaround is not 100% foolproof. If someone is logged in via SSH under the same user name as the logged in user, it is possible that they can kill the ARDAgent process and run the script before ARDAgent reloads. While this requires additional finagling and timing and is an unlikely scenario for most users, please be aware that the issue is still unresolved. If you don't plan on using remote desktop at all with your Mac, you can archive and remove ARDAgent.app, which will rid your system of the program that can open up the vulnerability.

Yesterday, an anonymous Slashdotter posted about a security vulnerability in Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 that could allow a maicious party root access to your system. The vulnerability, which works by running an AppleScript on behalf of Apple Remote Desktop Agent, which because of the way ARDAgent works, sets the user ID to root. From there, any subprocesses are running with root privileges, without requiring a user password, and in the wrong hands, the results could be very, very messy.

Taking into consideration that several additional factors would have to be involved in order for any damage to unfold -- either physical access to the machine or a remote login under the same account that is currently in use or the end user would have to willingly run a malicious application -- this is still disconcerting enough for us to want a quick and effective resolution.

Luckily, there is a very easy way to protect your system from being affected. It turns out, if remote access is enabled under the Sharing pane in System Preferences -- even if no other users are permitted to administer or access your machine -- you're in the clear.

TUAW has a visual walkthrough on how to apply this workaround for both Tiger and Leopard users, but the fix is pretty simple. In Leopard, simple enable Remote Management feature in the Sharing panel, don't select any of the options and then select "apply to only these users" without defining any users. Now, if the potentially damaging script is run, your system will report an error instead of setting itself as root. Plus, if you do have a system that is managed remotely, that person can still acess your computer (just make sure they are listed in the "allowed users" panel).

If only all security threats were that easy to fix!

Thanks Mike, Robert and Scott!
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]]>apple remote desktopAppleRemoteDesktopmacosascriptsecurityChristina Warren2008-06-19T15:30:00+00:00SproutCore gets huge buzz ahead of MobileMe launchhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/16/sproutcore-gets-huge-buzz-ahead-of-mobileme-launch/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/16/sproutcore-gets-huge-buzz-ahead-of-mobileme-launch/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/16/sproutcore-gets-huge-buzz-ahead-of-mobileme-launch/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Since it was revealed that Apple's recently-announced .mac replacement, MobileMe, was partially built on something called SproutCore, the buzz around this hot new JavaScript framework has been growing. Although this is the first that many people will have heard about it, SproutCore has actually been around for a while, powering services like .mac's Mobile Galleries. Now it's getting so much attention that SproutCore.com has been unreachable all day, a week after the WWDC announcement.

So, why SproutCore? Daniel Eran Dilger, over at RoughlyDrafted, has a great rundown of things to love about this open source JavaScript framework: it will allow developers to build web apps that look more like desktop apps, function offline, and take advantage of modern browser features. Apple's using SproutCore to build a front end for WebDav and its own WebObjects, but other developments could easily add PHP, JSON or XML data to the mix, to name a few.

[via RoughlyDrafted]
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]]>appledeveloperframeworkjavascriptMobileMeopen sourceOpenSourceSproutCoreweb appsweb kitWebAppsWebKitJay Hathaway2008-06-16T18:30:00+00:00EFiX to offer USB stick that lets you install OS X on any PChttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/13/efix-to-offer-usb-stick-that-lets-you-install-os-x-on-any-pc/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/13/efix-to-offer-usb-stick-that-lets-you-install-os-x-on-any-pc/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/13/efix-to-offer-usb-stick-that-lets-you-install-os-x-on-any-pc/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Been thinking about trying to install OS X on your non-Macintosh PC, but don't feel like hacking a bunch of configuration files to get the system up and running? In another week or two, you may not have to. EFiX plans to release a bootable USB stick that is purported to have software that will let you install OS X on any PC with an Intel CPU, as long as you have a retail installation DVD.

Keep in mind, even though you will need to buy a legal copy of OS X to use this method, installing OS X on a non-Apple machine is still a violation of Apple's terms of use.

It's not entirely clear how the EFiX USB stick works, but it does appear to work -- under some circumstances at least. OSx86 contributor netkas got his hands on an early version and shot the video above showing what happens when he used the stick with an OS X restore disc and his Macbook. You won't be able to get your hands on one until the developers begin selling the USB sticks on June 23rd.

[via Hack A Day]
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]]>efixmacos-xosx86Brad Linder2008-06-13T15:00:00+00:00Parallels for Mac hits 1,000,000 usershttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/parallels-for-mac-hits-1-000-000-users/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/parallels-for-mac-hits-1-000-000-users/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/parallels-for-mac-hits-1-000-000-users/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Parallels for MacParallels for Mac, the crazily popular utility for Mac users to run Windows on their Apple computers in...a window has said the product's user base has hit 1,000,000 users.

That's a really nice pace for a piece of software not blessed by Mr. Jobs himself we'd say.

Right now the company's running a special where you can get 2 copies for $129. Kind of cool if you have multiple Macs around the house like a lot of you do.

Our question is this though:

Do a lot of people get Parallels and run Windows because they want to, or because they have to? Do people secretly love Windows XP (or egads Vista) but want to feel like a cool kid by having a shiny sexy Apple product?

Tell us what you think in the comments, if you're one of the 1,000,000 users of Parallels, why do you run Windows at all anymore?
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]]>applemacparallelswindowswindows vistawindows xpWindowsVistaWindowsXpDrew Olanoff2008-06-10T18:00:00+00:00It's that time again! Apple Keynote in 60 Secondshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/its-that-time-again-apple-keynote-in-60-seconds/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/its-that-time-again-apple-keynote-in-60-seconds/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/its-that-time-again-apple-keynote-in-60-seconds/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


So some guy named Steve Jobs got up on stage at something called the WWDC yesterday and talked about some products from a company called...orange or banana? Or was it carrot.

Oh, Apple, that's right.

It was long. And sometimes boring. So thanks to Mahalo Daily, here it is in Sixty Seconds. Did we get our iPhone with iRobot and iHateMakingMyOwnCoffee? We do get Exchange integration and now we're all Mobile with MobileMe and plus Apps for iPhone coming July 11th. Whew, that's a lot.

What they left out was that the new OS Snow Leopard or Rain Monkey or whatever (coming next year), will support multi-core processors, AND be able to take advantage of even more RAM (up to 16TB!).

See for yourselves.
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]]>applekeynotemahalomahalo dailyMahaloDailysteve jobsSteveJobswwdcDrew Olanoff2008-06-10T14:00:00+00:00Apple announces MobileMe: Sync your PC, Mac, and iPhonehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/09/apple-announces-mobileme-sync-your-pc-mac-and-iphone/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/09/apple-announces-mobileme-sync-your-pc-mac-and-iphone/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/09/apple-announces-mobileme-sync-your-pc-mac-and-iphone/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

MobileMe
Apple is launching a new service called MobileMe that will provide push mail, contacts, and calendar data. In practical terms, that means you can synchronize your personal data across multiple computers and devices. And the service works with both Windows and OS X.

In other words, you can synchronize your Mac, PC, and iPhone. The service works with Mac's Mail.app, iCal, and Address book. On Windows, the service syncs with Outlook. In addition to PIM data, you can use MobileMe to syncrhonize photos from your iPhone.

Apple's Phil Schiller demonstrated the new service at WWDC this morning, showing you email gets pushed to all devices in a matter of seconds. There are also web based versions of the applications that look like desktop apps, including a photo application that looks like iPhoto.

The service will replace .Mac, and current .Mac users will automatically be upgraded to MobileMe. For new customers, the service will cost $99 per year for 20GB of online storage. There's a 60 day free trial available as well. MobileMe isn't live yet, but will be available at Me.com soon.
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]]>activesyncexchangemobilemesyncsynchronizationwwdc2008Brad Linder2008-06-09T15:00:00+00:00OS X 10.5.3 update available nowhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/28/os-x-10-5-3-update-available-now/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/28/os-x-10-5-3-update-available-now/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/28/os-x-10-5-3-update-available-now/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The latest point update for Mac OS X Leopard has just been released. If you thought OS X 10.5.2 was big, hold onto your socks because 10.5.3 is even bigger. The combo update for versions of Leopard prior to 10.5.2 is 536 megabytes and the standard update for users of 10.5.2 is a still staggering 420 megabytes.

Still, with big sizes come BIG changes, fixes and features. Apple has the full list, but here are some highlights:

  • Addresses stuttered audio or video playback from certain USB devices
  • Improved Airport and 802.11x behavior and reliability
  • iPhone users can now sync their address book contacts with their Google account
  • Safari works better when connecting through a Microsoft ISA proxy
  • Improved Spotlight search on AFP volumes
  • Improved iCal syncing
  • Fixes issues with authenticated RSS feeds in Mail.app
Plus improvements to Time Machine, Spaces, iChat, .Mac and Parental Controls. Apple is recommending this update for all users, but as always, encourages making backups of important files and folders before installing.

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]]>10.5.3leopardmac os xmac os x leopardMacOsXMacOsXLeopardos x 105.3OsX105.3Christina Warren2008-05-28T15:30:00+00:00HBO comes to iTunes, Apple finally gives up on standard pricinghttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/13/hbo-comes-to-itunes-apple-finally-gives-up-on-standard-pricing/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/13/hbo-comes-to-itunes-apple-finally-gives-up-on-standard-pricing/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/13/hbo-comes-to-itunes-apple-finally-gives-up-on-standard-pricing/#commentsFiled under: , ,

HBO iTunes

Apple has announced a deal with HBO to offer some of the cable channel's premium content through the iTunes store. Normally this wouldn't be all that noteworthy, but this is no ordinary content partnership. Apple has agreed to price some of the TV shows at $2.99, which is the first time the company has been willing to deviate from its standard pricing of $0.99 per song, $1.99 per TV show, and $9.99 to $14.99 per movie.

In fact, it was a squabble over standardized pricing that led NBC to stop distributing its shows through iTunes last year. not every HBO program will cost $2.99. The network is offering up Sex and the City, The Wire, and Flight of the Conchords for $1.99 per download, while The Sopranos, Deadwood, and Rome will set you back $2.99.

The move makes sense when you consider the fact that HBO charges $50 or so for 1 season of these shows on DVD, even though there are typically fewer episodes per season of an HBO show than you get from a broadcast network program. So we're hoping this isn't going to lead to a pricing free-for-all, with networks charging more for popular shows like Lost and less for shows nobody was going to pay for anyway like 'Til Death.

[via Engadget]

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]]>applehboitunestvBrad Linder2008-05-13T14:00:00+00:00Google joins Bloglines with iPhone version of Readerhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/13/google-joins-bloglines-with-iphone-version-of-reader/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/13/google-joins-bloglines-with-iphone-version-of-reader/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/13/google-joins-bloglines-with-iphone-version-of-reader/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Google Reader iPhone

Monday Google unveiled yet another beta site. Google Reader is now formatted for the iPhone. iPhone users tired of pinching and stretching and tapping text only links in the normal version of Reader or dealing with the plain Classic mobile version of Reader can head over to http://www.google.com/reader/i/ to check out the new beta site.

With the iPhone-enabled web-app, Google joins Ask.com in the web-based RSS reader marketplace. Ask.com's Bloglines has had an iPhone version available to users since July 19, 2007. iBloglines was created with less than a 1000 lines of code on a lark by an internal developer who bought an iPhone and wanted better access to the site.

Continue reading Google joins Bloglines with iPhone version of Reader

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]]>appleask.combloglinescomparisongooglegoogle readerGoogleReaderiPhonenetnewswirereaderreviewrssMichael Schleifstein2008-05-13T10:30:00+00:00Shady business practices work: Apple dramatically increases Safari usershttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/01/shady-business-practices-work-apple-dramatically-increases-safa/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/01/shady-business-practices-work-apple-dramatically-increases-safa/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/01/shady-business-practices-work-apple-dramatically-increases-safa/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Safari on Windows

Apple's Safari web browser may be hot stuff on the Mac, but since launching a Windows version a little while back, not too many Windows users have bothered to install the browser. So what does Apple do? Simple, the company sneakily adds Safari 3.1 to the Apple software update utility so that you download it automatically if you have any Apple software on your PC -- even if you've never installed Safari on your computer. In other words, a whole bunch of Windows iTunes users suddenly found a copy of Safari on their computers.

While a lot of folks criticized Apple for shoving unwanted software at the general public, the strategy appears to have worked. Net Applications reports that Safari's market share of the Windows browser space rose from .07% to .21%. That's still a ridiculously tiny number. But it's bigger than it was. So the message is clear: Give the people what they don't want. Some will be too lazy to uninstall it. And they might even try using it. Ugh, did we just write that?

[via Fortune]

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]]>applesafariweb-browsersBrad Linder2008-05-01T18:00:00+00:00Some movies now available on iTunes the same day as DVDhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/01/some-movies-now-available-on-itunes-the-same-day-as-dvd/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/01/some-movies-now-available-on-itunes-the-same-day-as-dvd/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/01/some-movies-now-available-on-itunes-the-same-day-as-dvd/#commentsFiled under: , ,

iTunes movies

There's no question that it's faster to purchase a movie from the iTunes store than your local video store -- assuming you have a speedy internet connection. But if you want to get the latest releases as son as they're out on video, you're probably better off making the trek to the video store. Or at least that's what we would have told you yesterday, when it could take weeks or months longer for movies to show up on iTunes. But now Apple has announced that many movies will be available on iTunes the same day as they are released n DVD.

Apple has reached deals with Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, Sony, Lionsgate, Image, and First Look. That covers a lot of territory. New releases will typically set you back $14.99. The press release doesn't make it clear whether this applies to the $2.99 movie rentals, so if you want to rent a video for just a few bucks, you might still better off using Netflix or walking to a bricks and mortar store.

[via TUAW]

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]]>dvditunesmoviesvideosBrad Linder2008-05-01T11:00:00+00:00