Pulldown correction patent
The first and most recent patent, one for a unique method of
pulldown correction, would simplify the process of determining the correct editing or playback mode for a given video clip.
By studying multiple frames of a given video, the method would compare differences between the two to judge the technical details of a clip without needing pre-inserted data. It could not only determine the intended frame rate (the common purpose of pulldown conversion) but also whether the source image is interlaced or progressive.
In some cases, the technique could restore the original qualities of a video, Apple says. An algorithm could determine that a video had been de-interlaced and automatically re-apply the effect to avoid problems during video editing.
DVD web system patent
Published on Christmas day, another patent for a
DVD web system would enable two-way interaction between a web browser and a DVD.
Current DVDs can launch basic web links, but with the new patent a web browser could trigger different events on the movie disc through HTML code, such as site links.
Alternately, the browser could be trained to synchronize itself with the DVD, displaying content based on the disc in the drive.
Accelerated scrolling patent
Apple's third patent filing may be its most unique.
An application for a patent on
accelerated scrolling addresses the concept of increasing scroll speed in software based on the speed of the user's physical input.
The invention is primarily meant to address the scroll wheel (and later click wheel) found on iPods from the original 2001 model onwards, the latter of which is held up as the reference model. Users of the music player can scroll through a linear list of music far faster than normal simply by increasing the speed of their own scrolling motion by a smaller amount, Apple indicates.
Unusually, however, the patent also shows a keyboard with a scroll wheel on the side as one of its examples, suggesting that users could use the same technique to navigate an operating system. Apple originally submitted the technology to the US Patent Office as early as September 2002 but has not had the patent revealed to the public until this week.
Other patents: iPhoto, MagSafe, more
In addition to the more specialized patents, patents have surfaced for some hardware and software features Mac users see in existing products.
Notably, a filing has at last appeared for the MagSafe connector found on the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Dubbed simply a
magnetic connector for an electronic device, the invention covers a power connection that uses magnetic attraction to keep the cable in place while allowing an easy disconnect in the event of an accidental pull.
Apple has also patented iPhoto's
retouching brush image correction and mosaic generation features, a means of giving
word prominence during speech recognition, and
color correction using a video card's acceleration features instead of the main system processor.
Filed under: Retail, Apple  From BusinessWeek predicting they wouldn't work to the New York Times writing a piece lauding Apple Stores as 'community centers' for the neighborhoods in which they are situated. The article points out that Apple now makes 20% of its total revenue from Apple Stores (not too shabby), and highlights some of the unique features of the stores themselves: the architecture, the staff, and the general feel of the stores. The article also points out that some other high profile technology company's brick and mortar stores aren't doing nearly as well as the Apple Stores. Sound off in the comments with your best Apple Store experience. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, iPhone  Even I can see that this one is a little lazy, but hey, maybe someone out there will be looking for a way to more easily send street addresses to their iPhone without actually typing them in. What? That's you? Well then, pardner, you're in luck-- give iPhoneSender a look. It is a Safari bookmarklet and/or Firefox extension that, when it spots a street address on a web page, will let you right click the address, ask for an email, and then send that address, in convenient Google maps format, directly to your iPhone. It's all of the iPhone's Google maps functionality, without any of the actual address-typing that usually requires. Lazy? Perhaps. But I can see a sliver of a demand there-- what if you're rushing out the door to the pizza place, but didn't remember to print out the directions and don't have enough time to write the address down to punch in later? Like many things in life, you might not realize how necessary this little extension is until you actually have to use it. Thanks, Matt L!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Warner begins selling DRM-free music through Amazon
In a potentially significant move, Warner Music Group today said it has licensed its catalog to Amazon for use with its Amazon MP3 music store.
The deal is not fully explained by the music label but will include "album bundles" with tracks unavailable anywhere else, according to the two companies. Like all Amazon MP3 tracks, the songs go without digital rights management and can be copied an unlimited number of times and played back on nearly any device, including iPods.
Securing the Warner deal represents the latest in a series of victories for Amazon against Apple. Although launching only in September of this year, Amazon's store has already licensed MP3 music from Universal and forced Apple to lower iTunes Plus pricing to remain competitive. The iPod maker, in turn, has seen both Warner and Universal potentially opt out of long-term contracts for iTunes on a permanent basis. With today's announcement, both have also excluded Apple from their unprotected music offerings.
The agreement to offer MP3s also represents a dramatic shift in policy for Warner. The label's chief Edgar Bronfman began the year by lashing out at Steve Jobs for even suggesting that labels should drop copy protection, accusing the Apple executive of abandoning logic. Since then, three of the four major labels -- EMI, Universal, and Bronfman's own imprint -- have all offered unprotected songs to varying degrees. Only Sony BMG has so far maintained a requirement for copy protection on all its direct downloads.
Report: iPhone to boost Apple stock to $600
While Apple shares have only just flirted with the $200 mark this week, the company is poised to as much as triple that amount in 18 months, says Daedalus Capital chief investment officer Stephen Coleman in an update on his company's outlook.
The financial expert bases this largely on predicted success for the iPhone, which he believes will not only benefit Apple through sales of the phone itself but through revenue-sharing deals. In a more aggressive estimate than some analysts, Coleman estimates as much as 30 percent of subscription revenues for carriers are sent directly to the Cupertino firm.
"There's so much growth to look forward to," he says.
Mossberg credits Dell all-in-one as true iMac rival
Dell's new XPS One desktop is the only Windows PC that can 'match or exceed' the iMac in some areas, according to a new review by the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg.
The technology columnist justifies the response by noting that the Dell all-in-one maintains a clever industrial design while incorporating features absent from the iMac, such as a memory card reader, a TV tuner, and side-mounted USB ports.
The iMac still wins through software, Mossberg adds: Mac OS X is both faster and more valuable than Vista, and is not burdened by trial versions or ad-based software, nicknamed "craplets" by the journalist. And in a reversal of stereotypes, Apple's systems are also less expensive while offering better overall performance and more screen options. Nonetheless, the system may prove viable for Windows users, he writes.
"If you want a stylish Windows Vista machine that runs well and won�t cost a fortune, the XPS One fits the bill, despite its unlikely heritage," Mossberg says. |
Just when you've gotten to the point where you can type on your BlackBerry upside down in the dark, they're thinking about changing the keyboard.  Would you want to type on an angled Blackberry keyboard?(Credit: PTO [via ZDnet]) A patent application filed on behalf of Research in Motion was recently revealed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and it describes an "angular keyboard" where the keys are set at a 45-degree angle to the base of the unit.
Looking across Apple's entire hardware line, Apple TV sticks out as the product Apple devoted little attention to in 2007. Rumor sites, insiders, and analysts are all predicting major changes for Apple TV in 2008. There are several directions Apple could pursue with Apple TV from a stronger focus on high definition video downloads to an integrated HD-DVD or Blu-ray drive or even PVR functionality. WHICH APPLE TV UPGRADE WOULD MOST INFLUENCE THE PURCHASING OF APPLE TV FOR YOUR HOME? * The addition of a Blu-ray or HD-DVD drive * Offering higher quality iTunes Movie and TV downloads (720p or better) * Launching an iTunes video rental service * The introduction of basic PVR functionality (think TiVo) * None of the features above would warrant my consideration of AppleTV View Results  Loading If you have any comments about Apple TV please comment below.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, iTunes  You'll be hard pressed to find anyone outside of the Music Industry who thinks that DRM is a good thing, and today it looks like more people in the Music Industry are seeing the error of their ways. Warner Music Group has announced that starting today people can buy their entire digital catalog via Amazon MP3 (see our review of Amazon's digital music store front here). The unique thing about Amazon MP3 is, as you might have guessed , they only sell music in the MP3 format sans DRM. That's right, all those lovely Warner Music Group tracks are yours to have without DRM and, generally, for less than what you'll pay in the iTunes Store (Amazon MP3 has a sliding scale of prices but most tracks cost $.89 or $.99). Some might say, 'Why should I care about this? I'm on a Mac!' The beauty of this is that these MP3 files will play on your Mac, your iPod, your iPhone, and even that Zune you got in a box of cereal. No DRM means more flexibility in how you can consume your media, and we all like that. [via Engadget] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Popular Mechanics' ranking of " The Top 10 Worst Gadgets of 2007" puts Microsoft's Zune at #8 while Apple's Apple TV finishes second only to the Palm Foleo. What did it take to make the list? Rather than going for the most obscure or ludicrous gadgets, we based our choices on missed opportunities, hype gone awry and some mysterious fumbles. And while we tried to bash constructively the gizmos we've tested so extensively in the lab, sometimes the most useful response is, in fact, a complete rejection. Popular Mechanics cites Apple TV's failure to rise to the challenge being posed by its rivals (specifically DVRs and video-on-demand), noting that the only way Apple TV could have moved into the living room in force would have been by way of a all-you-can-eat subscription model. What's your take on Apple TV's shortcomings? Take our Apple TV feature poll!  THE TOP 10 WORST GADGETS OF ALL TIME (POPULAR MECHANICS) * Palm Foleo * Apple TV * LG Chocolate VX8550 * Ugobe Pleo * Black & Decker SPT100 Specialty Performance Hand Tool * Violet Nabaztag * Husky 5-in-1 Drywall Tool * Microsoft Zune * 3001 AD Trimersion HMD * Ironman Resolution Vibration Trainer
Filed under: Humor, Hacks, Odds and ends, iPhone  So you're the groom at a wedding this last Saturday. You realize, 10 minutes before the ceremony, that you forgot to print out your vows. You try to get an HP printer to plug and play with a Windows Vista laptop, but no dice-- they're playing "Here Comes the Bride," and Windows is only telling you " Found New Hardware." So what do you do? If you're bob.blog, you just email the document to your iPhone, and voila-- the groom reads his vows right off of the gadget of the year for 2007. Pretty darn nifty. No word, however, on if the bride sent her "I do" via SMS. Now, it's not the first time an iPhone has made a wedding possible, but it is, from what we can tell, the very first actual iPhone-assisted wedding ceremony ( Update: Not true-- see below). Just think what we'll be able to do with wedding software when the SDK hits. With this ringtone, iTheeWed! Thanks, Ben!
Update: It's not the first time this has happened-- TUAW's own Mike Rose tells me that he can personally attest to this having been done before. He attended a wedding where the groom read his vows right off of the iPhone. Looks like a burgeoning market of vow-reading software to me. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Software, Beta Beat  Psst. Perian is about to enter a private beta for version 1.1. If you recall, last time Perian went into beta mode the software leaked. This was generally a bad thing as a buggy and unstable version made the rounds, hitting Mac Update at one point, before the team was ready for it to go public. This time, they're reacting by limiting the beta list to users who have made donations and help support development. If you've donated to Perian, keep your eyes open for an invitation email. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple is reportedly planning to get into the movie rental business and license its digital rights management technology, and it could announce a deal within the next few weeks. Both the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal are reporting that Twentieth Century Fox Film has signed a deal with Apple to let iTunes users download new movies and keep them for an unspecified (but likely short) period of time. Both reports say Apple CEO Steve Jobs will make this news part of his Macworld keynote on January 14.  You might soon be able to rent Fox's movies and put them on your iPod, if new reports come to pass.(Credit: CNET Networks) The reports also says that as part of the deal, Fox is also going to use Apple's FairPlay digital rights management technology on its DVD releases, which would allow DVD buyers to rip their movies onto their computers using iTunes and also move those store-bought movies to iPods and iPhones. Rumors of Apple getting into the movie rental business have been swirling all year, as it has become clear that the per-song pricing strategy that worked so well for Apple in the music business hasn't worked as well in video. The movie studios want the same thing the record labels want--variable pricing, and more control over it--and people want the option of either buying or renting. There are lots of films I'd pay $4 or so to rent, but not $15 or $20 to buy. Part of the problem, of course, is that only Walt Disney, which counts Jobs as a member of its board of directors, sells its first-run movies on iTunes. Adding Fox's movies would provide a significant boost to iTunes, not to mention a lineup of iPods that has been almost completely redesigned around making it easier to watch video. This move would also have interesting implications for Apple TV. A rental service from a new movie studio would give Apple TV owners another easy-to-access source of entertainment to watch on their big-screen televisions. Right now, they're restricted to buying movies and TV shows on iTunes, or watching skateboarding bulldogs on YouTube, and that gets old. But it might not just be movie studios that feel the implications of this deal, should it come to pass. In February, Jobs wrote an open letter on DRM and music that contained this sentence: "Apple has concluded that if it licenses FairPlay to others, it can no longer guarantee to protect the music it licenses from the big four music companies." Apple's concern was that if FairPlay were licensed to outsiders, the encryption technology could quickly become public, and the company would be unable to keep up with those bent on cracking the code and ensuring unlimited usage rights for their songs. However, if the reports are right, Apple has come to grips with the idea of licensing FairPlay in spite of those concerns. So is FairPlay now up for grabs? Licensing FairPlay to companies like Microsoft or SanDisk would allow the Zune or Sansa to play songs and videos purchased from the iTunes Store; right now, you can play iTunes Store purchases only on iPods. In any event, it sounds like Macworld will once again involve more than just Macs. Apple's stock is at an all-time high, and it went up further Thursday on reports of the movie rental deal.
Filed under: Features, How-tos  Before you can build your first AppleScript you need to know some basics: what a script-able application is and how to use the Script Editor. Script-able ApplicationsBasically, script-able applications are applications in which the developer has included a set of "instructions" that the Script Editor understands and can use. Some apps are not script-able but most Apple apps are and, of course, Mac OS X itself is script-able. The Script EditorThe Script Editor is a very simple application, but it allows you to do some very powerful things. The Script Editor is located in your Applications folder (Applications : AppleScript : Script Editor.app) by default. The editor has a simple interface with a prominent text entry area. It also has 5 buttons in the toolbar; for now we will only focus on the "Run" and "Stop" buttons. The run button will run the currently typed script, and the stop button will cancel a running script. Continue reading AppleScript: the Script Editor Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Yes. You can play (some) PlayStation 1 games on your iPhone. If: * You feel cleverness trumps quality of gameplay (the hack may be elegant, but the gameplay doesn't appear to be) * Your iPhone has been jailbroken (prematurely "opened" to allow installation of third-party applications) * Legality isn't of much concern (this should require no explanation) Still reading? An iPhone application called pxs4iphone brings PlayStation 1 gaming to the iPhone if you're fine with the caveats above. YouTube videos and postings on the developer's forum do demonstrate the application being installed and games running. The reality: the majority of games that will run don't replicate the PlayStation experience—they are running notably slower than the native PS1 games. Even with emulator tweaks (frame skipping, etc.) and iPhone overclocking this early release of psx4iphone trails behind PlayStation performance. Will psx4iphone improve? Undoubtedly. Even without major rewrites of psx4iphone, hardware improvements alone would eventually make it plausible. For the mainstream, however, the future of gaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch will take a different form (in fact, require it). Links: * psx4iphone forum * psx4iphone forum thread with psx4iphone application download * iClarified's psx4iphone installation guide
The report -- which cites only a "person familiar with the situation" -- alleges that the deal will follow the pattern of similar rental services, which allow users to download a complete copy of the movie that only lasts for a set amount of time before it becomes unplayable.
As an exchange, Fox DVDs will include a copy protected version of the movie that can be transferred to a computer and, ultimately, an iPhone or iPod. This will help users watch the movies in portable form without having to break the DVD's copy protection, which occupies a legal gray area, the Times says.
No mention is made of whether either the rentals or DVD copies will sport enhanced quality. Apple has not increased the resolution of videos on iTunes since fall 2006, when it began selling videos at NTSC television resolution (640x480) or lower. Viewers have complained that image quality suffers when viewed on HDTV sets and that the iPod maker is underusing the Apple TV, which can play back video at an HD-grade 720p (1280x720) resolution.
Other studios are said to be in talks for similar deals, but may not strike their agreements in time for Macworld's mid-January keynote speech.
Regardless of the output quality, the business model is expected to help drive sales of Apple hardware due to the lower cost to watch videos. It will "help Apple sell a load more video iPods," a studio executive has purportedly told the paper.
Expectedly, neither Apple, Fox, nor other studios have been willing to comment on the matter. |
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Scott hasn't found any reason to jailbreak his iPhone yet, but one of the jailbreak apps that readers suggested would make it worth it was MobileScrobbler, and now Sam Steele has dropped us a note that he's updated the iPhone's Last.fm client to a 1.2.0 release. There are a number of neat features, not least of which is the ability to stream Last.fm radio content over EDGE or Wifi ("Wifi strongly recommended," sez Sam). The app will also scrobble tracks as you listen, allow you to tag songs as "love" or "ban" (everything is cached, and then uploaded when a connection returns), and view upcoming events and add them to your calendar. And he's even pulling in lyrics from LyricWiki-- I don't know if that's a MobileScrobbler thing or a Last.fm thing, but it's great.
As long as we're in 2007 review mode, let's review the saga of Radiohead's In Rainbows album (which is definitely 