• developer

    Font Squirrel

    July 8, 2013 /

    I was working on an website development project today and I need to track down a font.  I did a quick search and I found, as you might expect, many sites offering free fonts.  And that’s when I found Font Squirrel.

    From the Font Squirrel FAQ:

    ARE ALL THESE FONTS REALLY FREE FOR COMMERCIAL USE? 

    As far as we know, yes. Please read the license on each font before you use them to be sure. And if you happen to find one that you think is not commercial, then please tell us. Also, some licenses may allow more uses than others. We have tried our best to mark fonts for different common uses. Read FAQ #8 below about embedding for more info.

    Check out Font Squirrel the next time you need a font for your project.

    Read More
  • games

    This Post is Not a Rant (But It Could Have Been)

    July 6, 2013 /

    This post is not a rant about freemium games, in app purchases, or ads in games.

    Oh, it was.  I was on a roll about how annoying freemium games are, games that are free to download, install, and play and then encourage you to purchase power ups, new levels or show you an ad exactly at the wrong moment.

    I was about to go off on Rovio for Angry Birds: Friends.  I’m competitive and pitting my bird flinging skills against my friends and family is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

    But the ads when you reset a level, and now the inclusion of new video ads, really put me over the top and I was about to give both barrels to Rovio for not giving me an in app purchase way to get rid of the ads…until I found out that they did.

    So, this is a much tamer post to simply say that if you enjoy playing Angry Birds: Friends, and want to get rid of the ads, all you need to do is do an in app purchase for the gold coin pack that costs $2.99.

    That’s it.  For a reasonable $2.99 you can disable the ads.  Hopefully if enough fans pay the $2.99 that will give the developers enough bird seed to keep making great Rovio games for us.

    You can download Angry Birds: Friends for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch from the App Store (link).

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  iwork,  mac os x

    Apple Opens iWork for iCloud Beta to Registered Developers

    July 4, 2013 /

    Apple started sending out emails yesterday to registered developers announcing that they now have access to the iWork for iCloud beta.

    If you watched the WWDC keynote, you know what iWork for iCloud is.  If not, you’ve had your head under a rock.  iWork for iCloud is web based versions of Apple’s iWork productivity suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) published in the iCloud portal.
    iWork for iCloud is still a beta release and is expected to ship this fall along side Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 and iOS 7.
    Read More
  • apple,  iwatch,  rumors

    “iWatch” Trademark Application Filed in Japan

    July 1, 2013 /

    In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, a report has been filed that Apple has applied for a trademark for the term “iWatch.”

    “The trademark application was filed on June 3 and made public by Japan’s Patent Office on June 27. The application was filed under a product category for a computer or watch device. An official at the Patent Office said the application needs to go through a formal examination process before it can be approved.”

    Apple’s interest in so called “wearable” computers or computer-like devices has been out there for a while now.  Most recently at the All Things D conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook briefly mentioned that he wears a Nike+ Fuel Band and that the wearables category is “ripe for innovation”.  Long time observers know that is Apple-speak for we are working on something in the lab.

    But the question that I have is whether or not now is the right time for iWatch?  I’m not talking in a sense of should they or shouldn’t they make a device you wear on your wrist, but rather is the device on track for a near future release?  My guess is no, the iWatch is still at least 5 – 6 months away.  I don’t expect such a product to be released this holiday season.

    If such a product is under development, I would be most concerned right now about the screen size (I have one of those gigantic Palm OS-based watches) and battery life.  Apple knows a little bit about custom battery design, sure, but how will the battery and the display impact the over all design of such a device and how will the software integrate with iOS running on an iPhone in your pocket.  (I believe that the software APIs, or application program interface “hooks” have been slowly added to iOS for such a personal device over the life of iOS 6.)

    Look, we all know that Apple has been looking at a watch-like device for a long time.  The wearable computer sector is heating up.  Just look at Google Glass for confirmation of that.  So the question here is not “if” Apple will make a move in the wearables sector, it’s a matter of “when” will they feel ready to announce the product to the world.

    [Via WSJ.com…]

    Read More
  • blackberry,  blackberry os,  rim

    BlackBerry 10 OS Not Coming To PlayBook

    June 30, 2013 /

    I was hoping to get my hands on a 16 or 32GB second hand BlackBerry PlayBook to install the new BlackBerry 10 software on to become more familiar with the engine of RIM’s turn around vehicle.

    After Friday’s quarterly earning’s report filed by Research In Motion, otherwise known as RIM, doing business as “BlackBerry,” it would seem that the door for an officially supported PlayBook running BlackBerry 10 software is completely out of the question.

    In the June 28 filing, RIM reported that no more than 100,000 PlayBook devices were sold in preceding 90-day period.  I’m not going to quote how many iPads Apple sold in that same time period because it would be a cruel joke to say anything more than “a lot.”

    But 100,000 is still something, right?  We should be able to use BlackBerry 10 without having to sign a 2-year cellular contract or shelling out $600+ for an off contract Z10, right?

    However, during the quarterly earnings conference call, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins reported that he has pulled the plug on developing a version of BlackBerry 10 for the PlayBook sighting poor software performance on the fruity tablet.

    If I was in his shoes, I’d probably make the same call.  RIM is fighting for it’s life right now, and a platform that is only moving 400,000 – 500,000 devices annually is not where RIM needs to spend it’s limited software engineering resources right now.

    I may still pick up a PlayBook on eBay, but my enthusiasm for one has dropped considerably.

    Read More
  • android,  apple,  blackberry,  blackberry q10,  blackberry z10,  google,  iphone,  rim

    BlackBerry Still Struggling to Revitalize Itself

    June 30, 2013 /

    This past week was not particularly a good one for mobile device maker BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion.

    This past Friday, BlackBerry, announced details about their first quarter earnings, and Wall Street was caught off guard, in their opinion, about how few new BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 devices were sold.  For the quarter wrapping up, BlackBerry sold about 2.7 million new BlackBerry 10 devices.  BlackBerry 10 is the company’s mobile operating system, similar to Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS.  Adding insult to injury, BlackBerry sold 4.1 million of their older, BlackBerry 7-powered devices for a combined total of 6.8 million units shipped.  Once the news was released, BlackBerry’s stock price started trending downward, some would say “crashing”, down 26-28%, ending up at $10.46.  Worse, according to BlackBerry, their subscriber base has shrunk by 4 million users ending up at 72 million users globally.

    To help mount their turn around, BlackBerry will continue to rollout their existing Z10 and Q10 around the world while bringing new BlackBerry 10 devices like the “budget” Q5 to “emerging” markets this summer and through-out the calendar year.

    Research In Motion was caught completely off guard, as was just about every other smartphone maker, in 2007 when Apple released the game changing iPhone.  Everyone, except maybe Google, has been chasing the fruit phone maker since.

    What surprises me, however, is that history seems to repeat itself.  I always hated it when my parents or teachers told me this, but I have come to accept and believe it.  You see, there was another smartphone maker that found itself in a similar position a few years ago: Palm.

    There are a number of similarities between BlackBerry and Palm.  Palm, like BlackBerry, was down on their luck after the iPhone was released. Palm was limping along on sales of their previous generation Palm OS and Windows Mobile smartphones just like BlackBerry is doing now.  BlackBerry, like Palm, is desperately trying to reinvent itself with the Z10 and BlackBerry 10 just like Palm attempted to do with the Pre and webOS.  We know, that after a long, drawn out battle, Palm after being acquired by HP, finally came to an end.  Will BlackBerry and the BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system suffer a similar fate?  Will they continue to be a niche corporate market player or will they finally fade off like Palm?

    We don’t know the answer to that question.  Make no mistake, what BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins is attempting to do to turn around his company is extremely difficult.  This past spring I had a chance to play with the new Z10 handheld and BlackBerry 10.  The phone had a quality design and feel to it.  The new software, was still very much foreign to me after having used older versions of the BlackBerry software.  While the gestures did leave me bewildered during the few minutes I had with the phone, people that I know who have purchased the Z10 have gotten used to it.

    Oh, and there is one other similarity that BlackBerry shares with Palm, a small, yet dedicated core user base. Will it be enough to carry BlackBerry through the stormy weather until BlackBerry can grown their subscriber base and software marketshare?  We will have to just wait and see.

    Read More
  • microsoft,  rumors,  windows phone

    Microsoft Wants Windows Phone to Get “Moody”

    June 29, 2013 /

    This sounds perfect!  It would go wonderfully with my moody eleven year old daughter.  (Except it’s not an iPhone.)

    From BGR.com…

    “Now we know why Windows Phones come in so many different colors. Techworld Australia reports that Microsoft Research Asia has been working on technology that gives your smartphone the ability to detect your mood and post it on your social networks in real-time.”

    [Via BGR.com…]

    Read More
  • apple,  mac os x,  mac os x server,  virtualization

    Virtualizing Mac OS X

    June 21, 2013 /

    With the beta version of Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks out – or for the curious – you can virtualize Mac OS X and start playing or running a second virtual Mac.

    There are some restrictions as you might expect.  The following is directly from the vmWare website:

    You can create a Mac OS X Server virtual machine, with these restrictions:
    For more information, see Creating a Mac OS X Server Virtual Machine in VMware Fusion in the VMware Fusion Help.

    I have both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion on my Mac.  I’ll have to try this out sometime and install Mac OS X Server 10.8 in a VM.

    You can read more on the VMware website.

    Read More
  • gaming,  microsoft,  xbox

    Gamers Force Microsoft To Reverse Course on Xbox One Policies

    June 20, 2013 /

    Microsoft just learned the hard way that they shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds them.  The mega popular Xbox is due for an upgrade later this year and with it, Microsoft saw the new upgrade cycle as a way to lock down the new gaming console; a move that turned out to be very unpopular with the people they want to sell the new system too.

    The Xbox One, the follow on produce to the current generation console known as the Xbox 360, was to have a “call home” feature that would check in with Microsoft’s servers daily.  While a version of this feature has been in recent versions of their Windows desktop and server operating systems, this was the first time the “feature” was to be included in the Xbox operating system.  Similarly, Microsoft was hoping to tamp down game piracy, and customers ability to lend, share, trade, and re-sell their games, by seriously limiting or removing the ability to use a previously registered game, depending on who’s version of the truth you subscribe to.

    But that’s to the gumption of gamers around the world, Microsoft has decided to reverse the controversial components of the Xbox One system software.

    On their website, the Wall Street Journal wrote:

    “The Redmond, Wash., software company said it would no longer require its Xbox to connect to the Internet each day, nor would it restrict how its video game discs are traded, resold or rented.

    “We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds,” Don Mattrick, head of Microsoft’s entertainment division that houses the Xbox, said in a statement.”

    Nice job, Internet!

    [Via WSJ.com…]

    Read More