Once more we come to that point in the week where we practice a time-honored tradition, the Sunday Talkcast.

Tonight's show is a special one, as we are going to be joined by The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Jim Dalrymple, of Loop Insight. We'll be talking about The Magazine, among other things. I have heard tell The Beard may be joining us as well, so if you join us, do be on your best behavior. When The Beard is frightened, it doesn't end well.

As usual, the Kelly Show means Aftershow, so you should come by for that as well.

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate live, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in.

For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PST/10pm EST: Beard Edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 19 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sunday is drawing to a close, and that means it's time for discussing the week that was with Kelly and a few of the usual suspects.

This week we'll be joined by Dr. Robert Carter, host of the Tech Doctor Podcast, and discussing accessibility. This week brought a few new features released as part of a Kindle update so we'll be talking about those updates as well as a few lesser-known iOS features kept behind that Accessibility option.

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate live, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in.

For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Accessibility edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 05 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mike Doughty, a singer/songwriter (formerly of Soul Coughing) and now an indie artist, was asked by Yahoo Music to write a song celebrating 10 years of iTunes.

Not content to put yet another spin on the standard birthday song, this became an ode to drunken iTunes purchases (I believe "drunken iTunes binge" is a cousin of the "eBay blackout").

It's a catchy number, and will certainly be stuck in your head after watching the video. Mike also gets bonus points for using Cassingle[TM] as though it is still an actual word. It's a self-shot video, mostly likely from a built-in iSight camera (I am guessing -- at the end of the video you can hear the "Submarine" system beep pretty clearly before he stops recording, but it could be a third-party webcam instead).

Oddly, this song is not yet available on iTunes, or anyplace else that I can find. In the meantime, the video is below, and fun to watch (or just let it play in a background tab as you tap your toe).

Mike Doughty's musical 10th birthday gift to iTunes originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Another Sunday, another Talkcast. There has certainly been a lot of news this week, none of it was Apple related. So we'll be kicking back and enjoying a nice quiet week of news. There's no clear agenda, so we'll call it "Open Mic" night.

Ask your questions, bring your perplexing technological conundrums and other big words, and we'll have some fun. Or you can bring a bottle and pour one out for our favorite tech company which is clearly, irrevocably DOOMED. :)

And Kelly's hosting tonight which means Aftershow, and you know what that means? I hope someone does...

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate live, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in.

For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Open mic edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Another Sunday means another talkcast! As you may have noticed, Kelly's put some prep work in for tonight. We have some special guests tonight coming in from Dolly Drive, and we'll be discussing backup services, and cloud services, and what happens when you get your backup all in your cloud, or your cloud all in your backup (I forget which way it goes).

Tonight, aside from the usual Aftershow Shenanigans, we have giveaways! Aside from the LIFETIME accounts we're giving away on the site (see the "noticed" link above), we will also be giving away a couple of those same lifetime accounts live on the show! Yeah, I thought it was pretty nice of them too.

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Backups and Clouds and Dolly Drive! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I know, it's weird to see a sneak peek of the talkcast, but this week it's a Very Special Talkcast. We'll be chatting with the Dolly Drive folks about backups and cloud syncing and what it all means for users and their data.

You may have noticed a couple of our staffers have been known to bang the backup drum, and that's because it's super important to make sure you have another copy of your data someplace. It's our way of looking out for you, the technological equivalent of reminding you to put your coat on before you leave the house.

I'd go on more, but the Dolly Drive Blog has a very nice writeup themselves, and I don't have a lot to add to it except that you should join us Sunday evening (7pm Pacific/10pm Eastern) for the live show. We will be discussing backups and clouds and syncs. A lot of ins, a lot of outs, a lot of what have yous...

Here's the bit I can tell you about the Talkcast: Dolly Drive has graciously agreed to give away permanent free accounts to some listeners! "But Kelly!", you may be saying, "I'm not listening NOW, I'm reading!" Excellent point, Dear Reader. Knowing full well that the W in our name is for Weblog, not Webcast, Dolly Drive has also reserved two permanent 50 GB Lifetime accounts to give away to our fabulous readers! We will inform the winners on Sunday evening, after 9pm Pacific/Midnight Eastern, along with the winners of our talkcast giveaways. As with all the things we give away on the site, we have a few rules that we have to point out, so here's the fine print:

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button.
• The entry must be made before April 7, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Two winners will be selected and each will receive a permanent lifetime 50 GB Dolly Drive account valued at $42USD/yr
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Talkcast preview: Dolly Drive and backups and Kelly and...you? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Easter bunny has found his eggs, the bonnets have been worn and the ham's been sliced. In a quiet week for Apple news, at least you have us -- your friendly Talkcast family. We'll talk about World Backup Day, warn against April Fool's freakouts, and have a lovely time.

To participate live during the show, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in.

For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET/7pm PT: Holiday potpourri originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you're an IT professional supporting Apple software and hardware, or you are an Apple Consultant, you might want to check out the MacTech series of BootCamp events. Actually, I'm going to upgrade that to you should check out the MacTech BootCamp events. They take place all over the country, and as with any conference, you're absolutely going to get your money's worth just on the hallway track alone. Interacting with other technicians/consultants is always valuable time. Not only do you get to chat up fellow Apple tech types, you also get sessions with a variety of topics.

MacTech's first BootCamp of 2013 is in Seattle on March 6, and this one adds an interesting feature. Those familiar with MacTech's conference later in the year may recall the opportunity to test for Apple Certification at the end of the conference.

Earlier this week, MacTech announced the Microsoft Office for Mac Accredited Support Professional accreditation pilot program. This is a half-day program the day before each BootCamp event. Microsoft's program will cover information for supporting Microsoft Office for Mac and Microsoft Office 365, particularly for Apple users. And it's free, MacTech's gift to you as part of attending MacTech BootCamp. Let's be honest, there's not a lot that Microsoft gives away, particularly when it comes to Apple or certifications.

If a free certification wasn't bonus enough, MacTech BootCamp Seattle will now include yours truly. I'll be there looking for stories, so if you have something you want to pitch to TUAW (and you've read the book to know how to do this properly), now's your chance!

I know budgeting can be a concern, so I have a deal for you. If you register using this extra special TUAW link, you'll get a pretty fantastic deal (regular price is $499, TUAW reader price is $299 with six months of MacTech magazine). I will see you in Seattle!

MacTech BootCamp Seattle: Includes Kelly G and Microsoft originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oscar night! It's a big day for the movie industry, including Steve Jobs's Pixar protege John Lasseter; he's got his fingers in two nominated animated features this year (Brave and Wreck-It Ralph). Our weekly chat festival may not be up for any awards this year, but there's only one award that matters: your enjoyment of the show. We'll go over the week in all things Apple, and we'll do it with style.

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in.

For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Oscar night edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's the Sunday after Valentine's day, and it's time once again to feel the love of fellow Apple fans by joining a bunch of them on the TUAW talkcast!

Regardless of your political leanings, it was nice to see Tim Cook at the SOTU, and even nicer to hear the shoutout he got from the President for "insourcing" plans for one of Apple's product lines. Tim didn't even have to make a special trip to the east coast; he was already in New York to speak at the Goldman Sachs investor conference. We'll also be discussing the other news of the week, and what have you.

Kelly hosting means aftershow, so do try to come by if you can!

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 4pm HI/7pm PT/10pm ET: Post Valentine's edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We came, we saw, we sang a little karaoke and met an adorable monkey. Macworld/iWorld 2013 is in the books, and this is the first chance we've had to breathe a little and take stock. Of course, the best way to do that is to counterprogram the blackout-delayed Super Bowl and host our regular weekly gabfest, the Talkcast!

Mike R. is fighting off the "expo crud" and sends his regrets, but I'll be there with bells on and ready to go. We'd love to hear your impressions of the show if you were there; your distant takes if you weren't. Products you saw, heard about or shook your head in disbelief at? Let us know.

To participate live during the show, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in.

For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight: Post-Expo hangover edition, 10pm ET/7pm PT originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For those playing the home version of Apple's Corporate Shuffle, you may recall that John Browett was shown the door last October, leaving Apple without a hand at the retail rudder during the holiday season. We have noted they are still looking, and one of the names bandied about was Jerry McDougal, the vice president of retail.

Well, as of today it's being reported that McDougal is off the list as well. According to ifoAppleStore, he has departed Cupertino as well, in order to (say it with me) spend more time with his family.

It is entirely possible this is the case, given the additional commitments likely required in the absence of a head of Apple retail. However, this has become a phrase that means any number of other things when someone departs an organization. See also: "creative differences."

Also reported by ifoAppleStore, some of his responsibilities were retail marketing and merchandising, as well as store operations and loss prevention.

So internal candidates are thinning, and there's still been no announcement or indication someone has been hired. Hopefully we will get an official statement from Apple about this during next week's earnings call.

Retail VP Jerry McDougal leaves Cupertino originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's the first Sunday of the new year! Now that holiday chaos is mostly over, it's time to settle back into normal routines, like five day work weeks and Sunday night Talkcasts.

This week is the birthday edition, since we have the birthdays of not only our own Dave Caolo, but friend of the show Jeff Gamet too! We've got TUAW's own Best Of series to discuss, as well as the earnings call, not to mention resolutions, CES, and what have you.

Kelly hosting means aftershow, and you know you've missed it, so be sure to swing by for all the fun!

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

TUAW Talkcast, 10pm ET/7pm PT: Birthday Edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is a bit of added insult to injury for Apple, who just yesterday debuted an ad showing off this very feature, one which no doubt got a lot of attention last week as people started setting up their iOS-based Christmas gifts.

Since I love a good theory, go ahead and list your craziest conspiracy-ist theory about why this is happening as of January 1, and what magic makes it disappear on the 7th in our comments.

DND bug: Apple will only disturb you until the 7th originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Another beta of iOS 6.1 has dropped today, and it's available to all developers in the iOS Dev Center. Not only is there a new beta for iOS, but there is a pre-release version of Apple TV software available as well.

So far the most notable changes appear to be a new "Reset Advertising Identifier" button to change Ad tracking IDs, and reports of a nicer "first run" experience in Passbook.

As with all beta releases, logging in on the Developer Center will show the latest versions available and how to provision devices in order to install the latest and greatest upon them.

New betas of iOS 6, Apple TV software arrive in Dev Center originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're back live tonight at 10 pm, and we want to hear from all of you: iPad mini, iPad full-size, or none of the above? The newest members of the iOS family are out in the wild (and in FedEx trucks), so it's time for first-hand reports. Also, Angry Birds Star Wars.

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in.

For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight: Make mine mini edition, 7 pm PT / 10 pm ET originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 11 Nov 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When the first wave of news was breaking about Apple and its executive shuffle, the initial focus was on Scott Forstall leaving even though that's not actually happening until 2013.

According to the Wall Street Journal, both Forstall and John Browett, Apple's vice president of retail, were asked to leave with Browett's departure an immediate one. Perhaps the reason this didn't get more initial attention is because it was hardly surprising.

First, he came to Cupertino with a less-than-stellar résumé. Previously, he had been CEO of Dixons, a UK retail electronics company not known for excellent customer service. To put it mildly, he was considered a surprising choice, particularly by those who'd actually shopped at Dixons. Once he settled in at Apple, he promptly ignored advice about staffing levels and started making staffing cuts and other changes to turn Apple retail into the same sort of suboptimal experience people can have at any number of other places. When word got out that Browett was attempting to strip Apple retail of its Apple-ness, the staffing order was rescinded.

This adds a bit of retroactive speculation about why the Annual Retail Conference was cancelled on such short notice. Did the head of retail cancel it as part of his quest for cost-cutting? Or was it killed because of bonus product announcements last week? Or was it because the head of retail wouldn't be there since he was back in California cleaning out his desk? We will probably never know. What's telling is that recruiting someone to head up retail will take time, and Apple would rather let the retail division spend some -- or all -- of the holiday season without a leader than let it go on under Browett.

Apple retail exec John Browett's departure not surprising originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's Sunday once again, and since Mike is busy battening down the tech hatches in anticipation of Sandy, tonight Kelly will be hosting. We'll have plenty to discuss, with not only an earnings call, but a media event as well, giving us loads of actual facts (iPad mini! New iMac! Retina 13" and a new Mac mini!) instead of just speculation. There's quite a bit to discuss, so hopefully we can cover everything in the hour we have.

Since Kelly's hosting the show, that means there will be aftershow. It's worth holding out for, provided you don't have emergency prep for the Frankenstorm.

Since it's really all about you, the community, do see if you can join us, won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: iPad mini mega-announcement edition originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 28 Oct 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today as part of the press event, Apple showed a video about the iPad mini and in the video showed off a new Smart Cover, one without the current aluminum hinge. These were only shown/mentioned in relation to the iPad mini, and show a single piece of material wrapping around to where the magnets attach to the body of the iPad. They are available in blue, green, pink, light gray, dark gray and Product (Red). It is not clear if they will be available for other models, and no price has been mentioned as of yet.

Apple shows off new improved Smart Cover for iPad mini originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Another Sunday, another talkcast! Kelly has finally managed to remain stationary in one place long enough to host the show again, so she'll be back tonight to talk about the upcoming MacTech Conference, last week's Mac Computer Expo, as well as some brief Passbook chat. Since it's Kelly, and we've had a yep, a visit to her House of Crackpot Theories is definitely in order.

As usual, a Kelly show means aftershow, so be sure to show up for the never recorded post-tech talk which could possibly involve cake, car conversation, or none of those things at all. It's hard to nail down the aftershow.

Now it's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Kelly's back! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's the last show of Understudy September on TUAW TV, so join Kelly and Doc Rock as they discuss the pile of stuff Apple has been up to lately. There may be some tips and tricks as well, and really, who knows what else since the two of them are liable to end up discussing all manner of things.

Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat.

We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the livestream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

No Flash? Check out the YouTube channel or podcast listed above or click here. You can also connect to the chat via IRC. The default chat server is chat1.ustream.tv (port 6667), the chat room is #tuaw-tv. You'll need to set up a Ustream account first with a username and password, and then log into IRC with that.

TUAW TV Live, today at 2 PM PT/5 PM ET: Last of the understudies originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's Wednesday, and this week's TUAW TV Live will again feature 100 percent less Steve. For September, since Steve is off adventuring, the duty of entertaining you all this afternoon falls to Kelly and Doc Rock. We'll see how it goes.

This week we'll have to see if we can find anything at all to talk about. It's not like Apple released any new hardware or updated iOS or Mountain Lion or anything. Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat.

We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

No Flash? Check out the YouTube channel or podcast listed above or click here.

TUAW TV Live, 2pm PT/5pm ET: Yet another non-Steve edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Another Sunday, another Talkcast. Join Kelly and guests while they try to think up things to talk about, since there's not been a lick of news in the last seven days to talk about.

Yes yes, that was a joke. We'll be discussing Apple's announcement and not just hardware, but software as well. Tonight Kelly will be joined by Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research.

Tonight, since Kelly is hosting, the show will include Aftershow. Actively not recorded, drop by to find out why.

Since it's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: iPhone 5 Edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Once again, we come to that time of the week where wee discuss the news of the week that was, and (in this case) anxiously anticipate the week to come. We know there's an event happening Wednesday, so we have all of that speculation to cover, as well as whatever burning topics the chat room has a hankerin for.

Tonight we'll be joined by the Managing Editor of The Mac Observer, Jeff Gamet, and iMore chief Rene Ritchie. You never know who else will show up though, so you ought to come by just in case.

If you want to influence the conversation, or find out what all this "aftershow" business is all about, you really ought to just drop by. Don't worry, the door to my House (of Crackpot Theories) is only closed because I have the air conditioner on.

Believe me, it's a much better show when I'm not talking to myself! To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Continue reading Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Pre-Event Edition!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Pre-Event Edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Once again it's Wednesday, which can mean only one thing: TUAW TV Live is...well, it's live! At 5pm Eastern, 2pm Pacific, you can see Kelly G and Doc Rock attempt to cover an hour of Apple news and speculation and, let's be honest, Zod knows what else. They have a tendency to wander.

Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. You'll be watching the show in glorious HD!

If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat. In addition, the live stream and chat will be available through our Facebook page. Just point your browser here to watch the show and chat with other viewers while you're on Facebook.

We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

TUAW TV Live at 5pm ET: Substitute host Kelly G! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's Sunday again, which can only mean one thing! Well OK, it can mean two things, and the other one is the Talkcast! This week's news includes Appsung Drama, and some of the screen woes with the new rMBPs (making those of us with mere mortal machines feel a bit better about not picking one up), and whatever else comes up in the "preshow".

Also tonight, we will be discussing the Mac Computer Expo with this year's organizer, Lorene Romero.

Tonight will also mark the return of the Aftershow, previously put off for a variety of reasons. Join us to talk about ... whatever we end up talking about. You never know with the Aftershow.

Now it's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Mac Computer Expo edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Twenty-five years ago today, HyperCard was released at Macworld Expo Boston. Apple's software construction kit for the rest of us began shipping on every new Mac as of August 11, 1987; you could also buy it for $49. It required 1 MB of memory (yes, one megabyte) and a pair of 800K floppy drives, or one floppy drive + a hard disk. (Announced at the same time: the ImageWriter LQ, the Apple Fax Modem, and MultiFinder.) Times have indeed changed.

For those who haven't been playing along at home for quite that long, HyperCard was an application where you could develop (or download, share or buy) all manner of 'stacks,' and those stacks used individual cards as the metaphor for a screenful of information. Linking those cards together in stacks was how you built things in HyperCard, whether they were stacks of all your recipes, basic presentation decks pre-PowerPoint, or, you know, one of the biggest selling PC games ever.

I started dabbling with HyperCard because at one point on the school computers it was the last application I hadn't actually played with. It was sort of intimidating to look at by itself, but as I saw other stacks and figured out how to assemble them, I wrote a Choose Your Own Adventure-style story where you could navigate with buttons at the bottoms of the pages.

I adored HyperCard. It let me feel like I had a tiny bit of control over one little piece of that Mac. I did like five or six stories, and then I built a recipe stack, and I played with a variety of other stacks, just to see what they could do.

Part of what got my attention about RunRev's LiveCode development suite, when I saw it in action at MacTech this year, was when they mentioned converting HyperCard stacks into LiveCode projects. I'd convert all my old stacks, if I could just find them someplace...

Ars Technica had a nice writeup earlier this year, and it prompted our own Steve Sande to reminisce about his experience with HyperCard as well. Speculation about why HyperCard was left to wither and die is also out there, as is a brief chat with creator Bill Atkinson about his feelings towards his brainchild (check out his iPhone PhotoCard app). Robin Sloan and Contents magazine made a web essay into a stack. There's even a HyperCard Twitter account.

Sadly, Hypercard was removed from the Apple landscape in 2004, and emulating an environment for it gets fiddlier all the time. There are some similar products if you want to play around a little, including LiveCode and SuperCard. It's also a lovely reminder to the old school among us, because it doesn't seem that long ago until you see that it has been twenty-five years. Now I have to go chase those kids off my lawn...

Apple's original software construction kit: HyperCard turns twenty-five years old today originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Version 10.8.1 of OS X Mountain Lion has been seeded to developers.

There aren't any known issues listed in the release notes, just a short list under "Focus areas":

• Active Directory
• Microsoft Exchange in Mail
• PAC proxies in Safari
• SMB
• USB
• Wi-Fi and audio when connected to Thunderbolt display

These changes must be minor, as the delta update clocks in at a svelte 38.54 MB in size. This is the first developer seed we've seen since the release of Mountain Lion on July 25.

This update is available at Apple's developer site under "Additional Downloads." As Ars and MacRumors pointed out, 10.8.1 made a cameo appearance in Geekbench results earlier this week -- but more interesting than the OS version was the machine ID it was supposedly running on, a possible hint of a 13" Retina display MacBook Pro.

OS X 10.8.1 seeded to developers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Allan Odgaard announced today that the upcoming TextMate 2 (the next version of development text editor TextMate for the Mac, a commercial product that costs US$49) is now open source software, and is available on GitHub for those who wish to contribute. The application is covered under version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPL). From his announcement:

I've always wanted to allow end-users to tinker with their environment, my ability to do this is what got me excited about programming in the first place, and it is why I created the bundles concept, but there are limits to how much a bundle can do, and with the still growing user base, I think the best move forward is to open source the program.

I had a chance to briefly chat with Allan today, and he told me that he will continue to be an active developer on TextMate; it was not a lack of personal time that pushed him to this decision. He is NOT abandoning TextMate to an open source wasteland -- he truly hopes and believes this approach will be better for everyone.

A TextMate bundle developer I spoke with is developing a "wait and see" approach, as in waiting to see if the community takes on the application itself (there is already community support around bundles, an architecture that allows customization of what TextMate can do). There's hope that the existing TextMate community (all those people you know who swear someone could conquer the world with the right combination of text files) will embrace this. That being said, not every Open Source project gets a lot of love which is actually backed up by contributed code and ideas.

I'm an optimist, so I hope this does speed along development and turn TextMate 2 into something really special that text file geeks everywhere can appreciate. I couldn't bring myself to make the jump to version 2 while it was alpha; I'm still using version 1.5, even to write this post. If you have a creative use for TextMate, let us know in the comments.

TextMate 2 goes open source originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thanks to a headsup from our friends over at Team Coco, we have a sneak peek at a fun clip from tonight's Conan O'Brien show. This is a video "released by a Samsung VP" showing how Samsung products are completely different from those made by Apple, proving the lawsuit is ridiculous. I can't wait to get my hands on that vacuum myself, it looks really powerful! Video embedded below...

You can catch the rest of Conan's show weeknights at 11 pm on TBS. Until it shows up on television, you can kill time watching clips from other episodes on their site.

Conan: Droll "Samsung response" to Apple claims of design theft originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's Sunday again, like it or not, and as long as you can turn the air conditioner down low enough so the noise doesn't drown it out, you can join us tonight to record the Talkcast! We'll be discussing the latest and greatest (or not so greatest) news on Mountain Lion, the Apple/Samsung Showcase Legal Showdown, and include a PSA about security.

It may be a warm one where you are, so tonight's Aftershow will likely include topics that go well with ice.

Now it's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Dog days edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a story about some sort of jukebox from my House (of Crackpot Theories), but this is news about a real app called Chirp.

What's Chirp? "Half Bump, half Soundhound." On your iPhone, you choose an item (photo, note, or link) and then you can share with everyone around you who also has the app. It plays a high pitched series of tones, which other phones nearby (also running Chirp) listen for; the tones convey the URL to the item uploaded, and the other phones download it. (The app does require data access to work, so it's not true peer-to-peer sharing, but it's good enough.)

I loaded it today, and since the TUAW staff doesn't all report to one big office, I was sitting here by myself wondering how to test it. Luckily the Chirp Blog has a couple of test items you can use to try it out, and I have to admit, it's pretty slick.

Something I hadn't thought about when I first downloaded the app was doing something with audio on a website or in some other fashion, like an audio QR code. At first that sounded kind of cool, considering all the useful kinds of things to be done with something like that. Then I thought about hearing the same brief tone many many times a day and I think that would get old in a hurry.

As of now it appears to be just the Chirp app that uses this technology, but for a quick way to share files it looks reasonably handy.

[hat tip The Next Web]

Continue reading Chirp iPhone app introduces sharing via sound

Chirp iPhone app introduces sharing via sound originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's the last day of the weekend, or of Comic Con, depending on how you track that sort of thing. Either way this means we'll be talkcasting tonight at 7pm PT/10pm ET. This week it's open mic, so bring your topics and your opinions and we'll discuss a little of this and a little of that along with the rest of the week's news.

As per tradition, The Kelly Show means The Aftershow, whatever that means. (No really, nobody knows, it changes every week.)

Now it's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Community edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Who knows what we'll get in the Aftershow, but you can bet it will be interesting.

Now it's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Google Voice), or Skype with SkypeOut credit, basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Heat wave edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 08 Jul 2012 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Another week, another weekend. Tonight we will be talkcasting at the same Bat-time, same Bat-channel as always (7pm PT/10pm ET). We'll chat about the new podcast app you can use to listen to the show (meta!) and possibly kick around the possibility raised this week about a smaller Dock connector for future iOS devices. We may also spend a bit of time on that "other" mobile platform, since their big conference was this week as well.

Since Kelly's hosting, that means There Will Be Aftershow, and since we're just getting American Pyrotechnic Season underway, we may chat about exploding things as well. Or not. You just never know with aftershow.

It's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice); basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Pyrotechnic edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Virgin Mobile began selling the iPhone on Thursday and became the second prepaid carrier in the US to offer Apple's popular smartphone. The Sprint-owned carrier is selling the iPhone 4 and 4S online and, starting tomorrow, will sell the two handsets in it's new stores, according to Business Week. These new stores are the first of the their kind for Virgin Mobile and they will open in the Chicago area. If these stores prove to be successful, Virgin Mobile may eventually open additional locations nationwide.

Virgin Mobile is selling the contract-free iPhone 4S 16 GB for $649 and 8 GB iPhone 4 for $549. Plans start at $35 per month for 300 minutes of talk time and unlimited data and messaging.

Virgin Mobile to sell prepaid iPhone in retail stores originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yes, I'm kidding. We have a couple of WWDC attendees scheduled to appear, and we'll talk about all the things Apple gave us to talk about this week. And, as always, aftershow.

Since it's really all about you, the community, join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Wrap up edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 17 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As of today, anyone with an iPhone who gets a call on it (weird, I know, but it happens) has two options: Answer, or Decline. Part of the WWDC iOS announcements today for iOS 6 include a revamped Phone app that offers more ways to "answer" a call. Plus, if you are completely indisposed, you can set a Do Not Disturb sign on your iPhone.

With iOS 6 you not only get the two previous options, but also "Reply With Message" and "Remind Me Later". If you tap "Reply With Message" you get a number of options to add to a "Can't talk right now..." message you can send to the other person. You can even reply with a quick message you compose yourself if you have time.

Remind me later will use Reminders to tell you things like "Remind me when I leave" and as you take off you get nudged to call them back.

Do Not Disturb will mute notifications and won't light up the screen. It will allow calls from a whitelist, and if someone calls you more than once the call can go through.

I look forward to this feature mostly because it's a much nicer way to decline a call rather than leave someone hanging if you let the call go to voice mail.

Phone app in iOS 6 gets additional answering options, adds Do Not Disturb originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

'Twas the night before WWDC, and all through the land, Bloggers were speculating, iPads in hand.

Their wishlists were posted on websites with care, In hopes that Tim Cook would announce new hardware.

TUAW was nestled all snug in the 'cast, Envisioning Mac Pros, future and past.

With Kelly as host, and Mike calling in, It should be a good show, won't you join in?

(This is our way of saying "Hey, there's a show tonight. Come hang out and let's chat!")

It's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Keynote Eve edition! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 10 Jun 2012 19:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Task ($0.99) from Nuage touch is an amazing to-do app. It's basically Clear on steroids. There's just one problem: it's not by Realmac Software, the people who invested so much time and energy creating a stripped-down, gesture-based interface.

Listen folks, it's one thing when Apple Sherlocks you. It's another when a competitor basically muscles in, takes everything that defines you as unique and special and uses that as a jumping off point.

Sure, they're validating you. Sure, they're giving you a huge compliment. But when does "perhaps borrows a little too much" cross a line?

Task has some awfully cool stuff in it. When you take away the added spiffy, what you have is Clear: copied, enhanced, but Clear. And for that matter, Clear undercut by two bucks in pricing.

We at TUAW support innovation. We want people to push boundaries, define new areas, and take apps to the next level.

If we approve of Task then we're basically saying: "We want you to innovate but prepare to get cut in an alley by thugs who don't respect your time, talent, or effort." Create your own greatness.

Buy Clear. Show them you care.

Product Video Smackdown

Realmac responds

We reached out to Realmac for comment. Nik Fletcher, the Realmac product manager responded with the following statement

We're flattered (shall we say) to see that so much effort has been made to recreate some of the interactions and GUI in Clear. Competition is always good for developers - it pushes us to make better products - but at the same time, it's quite disheartening to see so many apps liberally borrow so obviously from Clear.

Since Clear launched, we've seen a lot of knockoffs and apps clearly inspired by Clear arrive on the App Store - in the region of one per week, by our records. Since our last update to Clear at the end of April, we've been back to work at the next Clear release.

We've got some big plans for Clear that should start to take shape over the course of the next few months, so stay tuned.

Task: Clear ripoff on steroids originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.