Megan Lavey
Mechanicsburg, PA - http://www.tuaw.com
Megan is a newspaper designer working for The Patriot-News just outside Harrisburg, PA.
Sparrow for Mac beta hands-on review
Sparrow is essentially what happens when Gmail and Tweetie for Mac hook up and have a baby. It's very much what Gmail should be on the Mac -- minimalist and classy. I tried out Mailplane a few months ago, but couldn't quite bring myself to pull the trigger on the purchase. I won't with Sparrow. It's just that good -- especially for a beta.
We had a couple of recent pieces announcing the plethora of updates to the program, but now we're getting beyond the pretty icon and we like what we're seeing.
Filed under: App Review, iPad
Game for Cats does what it says, but it isn't truly free
I spend a lot of time trying to keep my cats off my iPad, but thanks to the The Daily What, we got wind of a game specifically designed to have your frisky felines play with your iPad. iPad Game for Cats is a free download through the App Store, but the "free" part is very misleading. Even though the game's website and the App Store page say that it's gratis, you actually can't get anywhere unless you make a 99-cent, in-app purchase.
Edit (12 AM 12/21): The developer got in touch with me regarding this via Twitter and has since updated the app description to clarify that the mouse game is an in-app purchase. Thank you so much!
But, you do get a little time with the game, and there's only one way to test it and that's with a cat ... or in my case, three cats.
Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod
Make your own iPhone/iPod dock from a tree branch
Anthropologie has developed a new way to destroy trees by offering a US$98 iPhone dock created from a round of hickory wood with branches attached, ... and that's pretty much it. No speakers. No clock. It's enough to make you want to go out, scavenge a couple of dead tree limbs and make one for yourself.
That's exactly what Chris over at ManMade did. He turned a spare iPod/iPhone USB cable, a couple of sticks, a fallen tree limb and a branch into the exact same dock found at Anthropologie, then provided detailed instructions so you can make your own. It's not difficult to make, and should you happen to be lacking tree limbs, you can pick up similar wood materials at a craft store or nursery.
So, if you're looking for a cool last-minute gift, have the right tools and a couple of hours to spare, try making one of these docks.
[Via Cnet]
Filed under: iPad
Found Footage: iPad app delivers humorous look at Swiss history
You have to admire the sense of humor.
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation launched its iPad app last week with a short video boiling the history of Switzerland down to a tongue-in-cheek story of William Tell, chocolate, a potato field and a Super Mario-like rescue of a princess.
Check out the video following the jump, and if you're interested in the Swiss perspective on news, the swissinfo.ch app is a free download available in English, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Italian.
Thanks to all of those who sent in this tip!
Apple reportedly adds touchscreen suppliers for iPad 2
To add to our growing stockpile of iPad 2 rumors, DigiTimes is reporting that Apple has added two new touchscreen suppliers,
Chimei Innolux and Cando, with those shipments to begin in January or February. The article says that expected orders of the iPad 2 will be more than 6 million per month. This follows up the rumor that backlighting units were shipped to Chimei Innolux and LG Display.DigiTimes brought us other iPad 2 rumors including additional parts suppliers and a camera supplier. Keep in mind that DigiTimes' track record is hit-or-miss at times, but with the growing number of iPad 2 rumors, their spot-on record when it came to the iPhone 4 hardware and Apple's normal updating pattern when it comes to the iPhone, it's safe to say that some sort of hardware update will be announced in early 2011 -- maybe in time to pre-order the perfect (but slightly late) Valentine's Day gift.
ReTweetie adds legitimate retweeting to Tweetie Mac
One of the biggest frustrations with Tweetie for Mac is the lack of legitimate retweeting to your followers. While it's understandable that the developers have been a tad busy in the past year, it doesn't seem all that unreasonable to at least issue an update to include a very basic Twitter function.
Developer Nick Paulson solved this by writing a plug-in called ReTweetie. The ReTweetie plug-in requires a download of SIMBL, which is a free bundle loader, and the program itself. After relaunching Tweetie for Mac, hit "repost" and enjoy full retweet goodness.
As for Tweetie for Mac itself, development on version 2 was alive and well as of October.
Many thanks to @AndruEdwards!
Microsoft Office 2011 update fixes bugs
An update for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 (14.0.2) boasts improved reliability when accessing Office for Mac through third-party applications, a fix for problems with Microsoft's AutoUpdate program and improved stability for Outlook 2011.
The update is available now through MacUpdate, where we were tipped off about it, or it should eventually appear in the AutoUpdate.
[via MacUpdate]
Filed under: iPhone
Want the Radio Shack discount? You're probably out of luck
If you were waiting until today to take advantage of Radio Shack's deep, deep discount on an iPhone, you're most likely out of luck. The promotion caused a nationwide RS shortage of iPhone inventory, and AppleInsider contacted a number of the stores on Friday to find that all but one have run out of stock.
This isn't the first time "The Shack's" promos caused a run on the iPhone. The company offered a similar kickback program when the iPhone 4 was first launched. But so many took advantage of the offer that after the initial pre-orders, no new phones came in for the remainder of the program's run.
For those who missed out on Radio Shack's deal, maybe they had better luck at Best Buy's one-day sale.
Filed under: iPad
Desktop version of Google Docs now on iPad, but still disappoints
9to5Mac brought us the news that the desktop version of Google Docs is now available on the iPad, coming just a few weeks after the mobile version debuted.
But, like the screencap above warns, not all features are available through the iPad and the clunky interface is disappointing. Viewing the desktop version of Google Docs is slow and a bit cumbersome as the screen reloads each time you tap on a different area. You are able to navigate menus and do things you can't do on the mobile version such as edit spreadsheets and add comments to documents, but the ability to use these features are overshadowed by the lack of basic tasks.
You're unable to select text, which means no copy or pasting. If you double-tap at the end of a sentence to get a period, you won't be rewarded with that particular mobile shortcut. There is no shift key; if you capitalize a word, all the text will be capitalized until you toggle the button off. Backspacing is equally slow, especially if you need to edit a large area of text.
For editing, I'd head for specific apps that can link to your Google Docs such as Documents 2 Go or Quickoffice. Otherwise, unless you're doing basic notating or spreadsheet editing, viewing the desktop version of Google Docs on the iPad is more trouble than the feature is worth.
Filed under: Odds and ends
Apple engineer re-creates Greek computer with LEGOs
It's fitting that an Apple software engineer would re-create what's possibly the world's oldest-known computer ... by using LEGOs. Andrew Carol used around 1,500 LEGOs to re-create the Antikythera mechanism, a machine that ancient Greeks used to foretell celestial events. He made four gearboxes with 110 gears total, and when fed data, the machine will tell you when the next solar eclipse will occur. It's a beautiful and ingenious machine, and worth checking out the YouTube video. Maybe Carol's next project will be taking on the Mayans. You can watch a video of the device in action after the break.
[Via Engadget]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](https://web.archive.org/web/20101223123447im_/http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
