Christmas posts

Last year was a big one for mobile downloads, according to a number of sources. A Quantcast mobile trends report says that mobile web activity grew 110% in the US throughout 2009, and of course Apple was responsible for most of that, with a 65% market share, 41% from the iPhone and the rest from the iPod touch. Apple's market share slightly dropped in 2009 (due to increasing competition), but it's still head and shoulders above everyone else.

App downloads are huge as well. Not only did Apple announce that three billion downloads, but Gameloft says they've reached 10 million paid downloads of apps by themselves, and developer Lima Sky (makers of Doodle Jump, one of our favorite games of 2009), says downloads skyrocketed after Christmas, with over 500,000 downloads of their app in December of 2009 alone.

The App Store is doing big business lately -- it's probably a safe bet to say that 2009 kicked off a golden age of mobile web activity. And all indications are that 2010 will be even more interesting.

Just in case the gifts you got from your family last week didn't float your boat (no kidding, I got a Yakov Smirnoff DVD -- I love my parents, but they're not the best gift givers in the world), here's another fun present to unwrap. The folks at XBMC released a brand new version on Christmas Eve, and it's available as a free download right now over on their website.

XBMC is the open source app that started off as "Xbox Media Center" (designed to be run on the original Xbox hardware), but has now blossomed into a full-featured media center that is usable on your Apple TV or Mac. Thanks to an app, you can use your iPhone as a remote as well.

The new version 9.11, a.k.a. "Camelot," has far too many new changes for us to list in their entirety here, but there's a revamped (and good-looking) user interface with increased skinning capability, updated support for different subtitles and video formats, new movie database scrapers for picking up information, and specifically in Mac OS X, support for the very popular Logitech Harmony Universal Remote. The devs say they're excited to get this one out the door, if only because it means they can move on to bigger and better very soon. Kudos on the release (during the holiday season!), and if you're an XBMC fan, have at it!

[via Engadget]

a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Photo by

Are you finished with your Christmas shopping? Like most people, there's probably not enough time in the day to work, hang out with the family and friends, and then actually do shopping. If you're missing the perfect gift for someone and you're getting down to the last few days, Apple wants to make your life easier.

Apple has had an "Express Shopping" service since 2006 at the Apple Stores. They take a limited number of Apple products and keep them in a roped-off area. If you need to purchase a MacBook Pro, for example, you wander into the area and one of the Apple Store employees helps you to make your purchase and get you out the door as quickly as possible.

This year, they're adding a new touch that is sure to bring Christmas cheer to hundreds of thousands of procrastinating shoppers throughout the world -- pre-wrapped presents available at the Express Shopping area of your Apple Store. Dan Frommer of The Business Insider noted in a post yesterday that this seemed to be preventing chaos at the Apple Store on Chicago's Michigan Avenue (yes, that is grass on the roof of the building).

The wrapping leaves little doubt as to what you're giving, since there's an iPod nano-shaped gift tag with a gleaming Apple logo attached to each package. In following with ancient Christmas giving traditions, you can always hide the presents somewhere before handing them over to the lucky recipient.

If you feel the need to take advantage of Apple's free express shipping or the new Express Shopping area, be sure to let us hear about how you procrastination problem gets solved in the comments below.

Apple has begun brodcasting a new holiday ad: 12 Apps of Xmas. Though it's not nearly as cool as past Christmas ads, it does spotlight some interesting apps, including one app (Schlage LiNK) that can light up a Christmas tree, at least when it's paired with the appropriate Z-Wave home automation module and the $12.99 monthly service plan [iTunes link].

Here's the lyrics to the new ad, so you can all sing along to the video below.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my iPhone gave to me:
12 cookies cooking
11 cards a sending
10 gifts for giving
9 songs for singing
8 bells for ringing
7 slopes for skiing
6 games for playing
5 gold rings
4 hot lattes
3 flights home
2 feet of snow
And an app that can light up the tree

Apple has thoughtfully compiled an App Store page where you can see all the apps in the TV ads, although it may not be completely up to date. If you've identified one of your favorite apps in this ad, tell us about it in the comments below.

You guys know I love combining Christmas and my Mac, but this is just plain weird. A Dutch Apple community website by the name of One More Thing has written and produced a Christmas song called 'Christmas in Cupertino'.

The song was composed and recorded in two weeks with the 'famous Dutch singers' Sjarrel & Sjaan delivering the vocals. The song focuses on Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller in their activities in Cupertino in the 'dark days' before Christmas and ... pictures them 'dancing 'round the Apple tree'. If that's not weird enough for you, Steve Jobs's liver transplant is also mentioned. What's even crazier is that you can buy it on iTunes.

In fairness, due to Steve Jobs' call for more attention to organ donation at his keynote earlier this year, One More Thing will donate all proceeds from the song to de Dutch Liver Foundaction.

Netherlands, I've been to your country many times. It's so quaint, so charming, so full of life; and what can I say? This quirkiness/oddness just makes me love you guys even more. And, though I'm loathe to admit it, the song is kinda catchy.

So TUAW readers, for 99 cents why not buy the song [iTunes link], have a good laugh, and contribute to a great cause? Now, without further ado, I present to you the 'Christmas in Cupertino' music video (with subtitles).

For the second year in a row, Apple is running their 12 Days of Christmas promotion for UK residents. From December 26 to January 6 anyone with a UK iTunes account can download a free song, music video, app, television show, or film from 'some of the biggest star performers' on iTunes. Each free download is only available for 24 hours, so be sure to sign up for their email alerts to be notified of the new daily download.

As for our US readers: it's not exactly Bah, humbug! for you.

UPDATE: France, Germany, and Italy! Apple has love for you too!
UPDATEx2: Austria!
UPDATEx3: Netherlands, welcome to the party!
UPDATEx4: And practically all of Europe and Scandinavia!

The card uses different colors of construction paper, card decorations, and an iPhone (!!!) to create the ultimate in holiday-mail technology. Combine the above with a scalpel or exacto knife, a little free time and elbow grease and what you get is a crafty and creative delivery medium for your loved one's gift that is sure to excite and delight. Of course, you have to start with an iPhone you're willing to give away...

Read on to see the video demonstration of how to construct the card.

[via Switched]

Hard to believe anyone who does the Christmas thing would be lacking in basic music like Silent Night or We Wish You a Merry Christmas, but do you have Sarah McLachlan or Weezer singing your carols? Now's your chance to pick up those classics for the low, low price of nothing on the iTunes store now. Here's the link to the iTunes store and here's a nifty web-based page to peep the list. Go, download, drink some eggnog, warm your toes by the fire and try to have a happy holiday!

Update: yeah, US-only, it seems. Update 2: commenter below says UK also! The rest of you get a virtual lump of coal.

[via Holy Kaw!]

I love this time of year. I love the lights and the snow and the holiday cookies. I also love getting my Mac in the festive spirit. From widgets to desktop pictures to icons, there are countless ways to dress your Mac for Christmas. Here are four festive screen savers. Best of all, they're free.

Jubilee by Idle Time Software displays Christmas or Hannukah lights like you'd see them if you were rocketing through your neighborhood in a Ferrari. There are four color schemes, including a beautiful blue and white Hanukkah theme. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 + (including Snow Leopard) and the Flash plugin.

XMas Tree by Joe Hillman is an interesting 3D screen saver that decorates your desktop with textured ornaments. It's strangely hypnotic as the screen rotates around a beautifully generated 3D tree while Christmas music plays in the background. Mac OS X 10.5 + (including Snow Leopard).

Silver Snow Clock is a simple little saver that shows an ornate pocket watch ticking the time away as the holidays pass us by. This gets a mention as one of my favorites because of the 3D snow that gently drizzles down the screen. Mac OS X 10.5 + (including Snow Leopard).

Last but not least is everyone's favorite, Snowfall by Russel Warnebolt. We first reported on this almost three years ago, but it still deserves top marks. Contrary to popular belief, this screen saver was never used in Apple's retail stores (that one was, sadly, Apple-internal only). Since updating to 10.6.2, Snowfall experiences slight jitters. According to the dev: 'This appears to be a newly introduced bug in Quartz Composer on 10.6.2 that causes very poor frame rate. On 10.6 and 10.6.1 things are as usual, at least on my machines. Unfortunately this may require a fix from Apple.' Nonetheless, it's still the most beautiful Christmas screen saver I've ever seen. Mac OS X 10.4 + (including Snow Leopard).

'Tis the season to be buying. But what do you get for that special geek in your life?

I can't speak for your geek, but I know what I'm asking Santa for this year – I just hope he's a TUAW reader. Whether he is or not, maybe going through my list will give you an idea on how to max out your credit card spread some holiday cheer this year.


Dear Santa,

I've been a good boy this year. I've cut back on the booze, and they don't greet me by name at the strip club anymore. So instead of a stocking full of coal, could you find it in your heart to bring me one or more of the following items on the night before Christmas? I know it's a long flight to New Zealand from the North Pole, but you've got to admit, at least the weather down here is waaaay better than in Cleveland this time of year.

First of all, I'd like a shiny new 802.11n Airport Express. I like my Time Capsule (when it's not being a recalcitrant piece of junk), but the 5GHz wireless signal doesn't reach from my living room all the way back to my office. With an Airport Express, I'd be able to extend the wireless signal from my Time Capsule to the other side of the house and geek away in privacy. That way my wife won't have to grit her teeth every five minutes when the theme from Metroid goes off at 80 decibels and tells me I got a new e-mail. And since the Airport Express is 802.11n-enabled, I'd still be able to back up my data to the Time Capsule at a brisk pace.

I'd also like these Shure SE115m+ earphones. I've been using a set of Shure E2cs for about three years now, and I love them, but the one big advantage the SE115m+ has is the controls built into the cord that would allow me to pause, play, and skip through tracks on my iPhone. I'd also be able to take calls, and it even has a built-in microphone. Santa, if I had these earphones I'd be able to put those white earbuds that came with my iPhone into a drawer and never look at them again, and that would make me a very happy boy indeed.

You know how I like to shoot HD video, right Santa? But not those kinds of videos, because that would get me on the naughty list. My MacBook Pro does a good job of encoding video – it works pretty close to real-time – but if I had an Elgato Turbo.264 HD Video Encoder, it would go so much faster. Like 3-4 times faster. That way I could spend less time waiting for videos to encode and more time drinking helping old ladies across the street.

If I'd been a really good boy this year, like if I'd won the Nobel Peace Prize or employee of the month at TUAW, I'd ask for a bona fide guitar amplifier. But since I haven't been that good, I'd settle for a Zoom G2.1U Guitar Effects Pedal with USB interface. This thing will simulate all kinds of guitar effects for me, and it'll plug right into my MacBook Pro. So far playing my guitar through Garageband has been an acceptable substitute for a real, live amplifier, but the one thing I definitely miss is all my effects pedals. Garageband includes lots of neat software effects that simulate pedals, but you can't stomp on them to switch them on and off. I know – I've tried.

Last thing, Santa: if none of those other things will fit in your bag, could you just get me a big, fat iTunes gift card? I've got nearly US$120 worth of songs I want to upgrade to iTunes Plus so I can stop worrying about DRM nonsense on my previous purchases and get higher-quality music in the process.

Thanks Santa. Next year I promise to be more helpful and honest and say fewer naughty words about New Zealand's telecommunications companies.

We loved Triazzle 3.0 [iTunes Link] when it came out in July, but with winter nearly upon us it's time to dust off the sleigh bells and dreidels because Triazzle Holiday [iTunes Link] is here in a new seasonally-inspired version. This slightly cut-down version of the US$2.99 app sells for US$0.99, and runs on any iPhone or iPod touch running OS 2.2.1 or higher.

Triazzle is a puzzle game where you are given a sectioned triangle board and 9 (down from 16 in the full app) smaller triangle pieces that fit in the larger triangle like a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces are moved to the board and rotated to get the proper orientation, when all nine are in place, you have won. The rub is that many pieces can look maddeningly similar and there is only correct solution to each puzzle. So even if it looks right, you can be wrong. When you are right, you are rewarded with an animation and the match counter increments.

This version of Triazzle is chock-full of holiday lights, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, Dreidels, Nutcrackers, and a litany of other things to make you think of the holidays. The game has 4 difficulty levels ranging from one for kids to level 3, which is really quite difficult. Animated hints are available along with an option invoking the Triazzle Tiki Gods to solve the puzzle for you.

What sets Triazzle Holiday apart from just about anything else is its craftsmanship. Every screen is more gorgeous than the next, and the level of detail of the graphics can leave you breathless. If the visuals get too complex you can choose to display simpler backgrounds to make things easier to see. You can also adjust whether or not snow will fall, and you can set the volume level of music, ambient sounds, and game sounds.

Music is a large part of the game. Right after the splash screen you are advised to use headphones. Drag them out of the closet for this one -- it's worth it. The music is wonderfully recorded and reproduced using such favorites as Jingle Bells and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies from The Nutcracker Suite. In addition there is a lot of original music, including a spirited Klezmer number backing up a game full of Dreidels.

Triazzle Holiday will only be available through the holiday season, so get your copy now, put on your headphones, and immerse yourself in this impressive game.

Hello and welcome once again to The Obvious News. Our top story today: the sky remains blue, and we'll have a full report by our man on the scene Chip Thompson about that later. But first, this: apparently App Store downloads are up thanks to large holiday sales of the iPhone and iPod touch. This comes as a shock to absolutely no one, but reports are coming in from developers, publishers, and browser reports and search terms alike that App Store downloads and interest have jumped up three and four times over, thanks, it seems, to more people receiving iPhones and iPod touches for Christmas and the other winter holidays.

John Sargent of The Obvious Institute tells us why: "Well, iPod touches are pretty boring without apps, you know? And I guess people probably want to try out apps on their new iPod touches." Thank you, John -- painfully obvious. Our technology analyst Ms. Common Sense also tells us that any time Apple sees a bump in sales of their devices, the App Store will have its own sales bump soon after.

In other Obvious News, having too many meetings can apparently make you grumpy. We'll be back after these messages. Obviously.

A while back we told you about Memento, a quick way to send e-cards right from your iPhone. The developer of that application is back at it again with a Holiday card application. Memento Xmas [iTunes link] is a free application that allows you to send holiday-themed greeting cards to your friends and family, just in time for the holidays.

The application acts just like its older brother, Memento, but it is limited to only 4 greeting cards. With each of the greeting cards you have the ability to snap a photo (or use one from your library), and you can also edit the included text.

You can download and try out Memento Xmas from the iTunes App Store. In a pinch, this application could save you from writing out all of those holiday greeting cards (unless you still want to have friends and family).



Thanks, Duncan!

Apple released two new Get a Mac ads, just in time for the holiday season. The two ads, entitled "I Can Do Anything," and "Tree Trimming," are animated, and very amusing.

In the I Can Do Anything ad [direct video link], PC shows off what he can do because he is animated. He then talks to a rabbit that is on its way to the Apple Store.

In the Tree Trimming ad [direct video link], Mac and PC are decorating a tree. When PC plugs in the tree, Mac discovers that the lights actually say... well, we don't want to spoil it (sorry!).

You can watch both of the ads by visiting the Get a Mac ad website.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!