Victor's introduction to technology was the Apple ][ his dad bought in 1979. Since then he's used Amiga's, Commodore's, Tandy's, even a PC and a Mac or two. While his primary machine is an aging iBook, he also
uses a machine with a removable drive system. On "Frankencomp" he runs a little bit of everything, Windows (and all the variants via emulation), Linux (just a couple of distros for now), coming soon: OS X. Victor's background includes 3d animation and filmmaking, and a little bit of web development. He's also seen software from the inside-out, having had just a taste of programming. His favorite artifact: a cassette tape with Applesoft BASIC on it, copyright 1979, by Microsoft.
Victor Agreda, Jr. - http://
Victor's introduction to technology was the Apple ][ his dad bought in 1979. Since then he's used Amiga's, Commodore's, Tandy's, even a PC and a Mac or two. While his primary machine is an aging iBook, he also
uses a machine with a removable drive system. On "Frankencomp" he runs a little bit of everything, Windows (and all the variants via emulation), Linux (just a couple of distros for now), coming soon: OS X. Victor's background includes 3d animation and filmmaking, and a little bit of web development. He's also seen software from the inside-out, having had just a taste of programming. His favorite artifact: a cassette tape with Applesoft BASIC on it, copyright 1979, by Microsoft.
While we make great hay about the security built in to OS X, there is apparently a tiny hole in the iPhone that allows someone to access your data and certain apps -- even when you have passcode protection turned on.
Here's how it works: 1. You'll have to have some contacts set up with Favorites. If you don't have any favorites, looks like you'll be OK (I went in and added only one favorite, and that's all that appeared when replicating the issue). 2. Each contact setup as a Favorite would likely have an address, phone, email and possibly a link to their website, right? Those are the vectors of entry to the corresponding apps. So, when you get access (described next) using those features will launch those apps completely bypassing the passcode. 3. So you open the phone, and on the passcode screen you click "Emergency Call" 4. Now double-tap the Home button 5. Hey look, your Favorites! Clicking the blue arrow will take you to the contact info. Depending on what that contact has (email, website, etc.) you can access the corresponding applications, free of the concerns of passcode protections.
Gizmodo has a video if you can't stand to read about it.
UPDATE: Commenters are noting that if you set your Home button to access something else (like iPod functions) you won't be able to get to anything else. So it's a kludge, but better than the alternative, I guess.
I've been noodling around on a hand-me-down iPhone with no service for over a week now and I find a few apps keep me coming back again and again. Over the next week or so, each of us with an iPhone or iPod touch will tell you our favorite or most-used apps.
1. ShoZu - OK, I use this maybe a little less than AirMe, but only because I don't use the iPhone as a cell phone. AirMe is great when you're out and about and need to send a pic instantly (to Flickr, in my case). ShoZu is like AirMe on steroids, minus the instant upload. That's a good thing, in fact. If you're a big fan of blasting your photos and text posts to a bunch of services at once, ShoZu is ideal. There are over a dozen services it'll hook into, and you can set up a "CC" list so whatever you upload pushes to several places at once. We'll put this through the wringer soon and give more details in a full review.
2. Texas Hold'em - Like Steven said, this is a port of the iPod version. But I have to give Apple a lot of credit for showing everyone how to make use of the iPhone's features. Tip the iPhone over and you see a top-down table view, throw your cards into the pot to fold, etc. There's a lot of polish on this and it is much cheaper than playing the real thing with my card sharp buddies (none of whom have mortgages, apparently). Mike Rose notes his one big gripe with this Hold'em, in contrast to the classic iPod version: no way to have your own music play in the background while you rake in the chips.
3. ToDo - From our very own Erica Sadun comes this super-simple app that's just a "to do" list for you GTD or listmaking freaks. Aside from the simplicity of the app itself, the badge on the app icon is really handy if you're trying to stay on top of things and only need a glance to see what is pending. One would think Apple could do this with iCal to-do's, but apparently creating a great poker app is an easier task. Perhaps they can use ToDo as well?
We've covered the personal database app, Bento, a few times in the past, and Brett mentions it in his "Collecting and Organizing Information" post, but our friends at venerable FileMaker want to give you a chance to try it yourself. So we're giving away three boxed copies of Bento today! Use it to store your school data, search and organize that data and link to documents elsewhere. It integrates with Address Book and iCal, for you savvy folks.
To enter, just tell us what you'd pack in a real, physical bento (yes, food, but what kind of food?). Leave your comment and you're entered, with the usual restrictions applying (see below). Good luck!
Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
To enter, leave a comment telling us what you would put in a bento.
The comment must be left before August 20, 11:59PM Eastern Time.
You may enter only once.
Three (3) winners will be selected in a random drawing.
Dust off that FTIR table you've got down in the basement and fire up your internets to play with Touché, an open-source multi-touch tracking environment for Leopard. You too can have a giant iPhone-like interface in your own den.
That's right, no more calling up Perceptive Pixel with (emotional) support questions or fretting over when Surface will invade your Motel 6 with a Blue Screen of Touchy Death. Touché is free, just like a number of other apps from Georg Kaindl. Said FTIR table, however, is slightly less than free. But once you've got a table, a Mac running Leopard and some functional digits, you're ready to rock multi-touch style.
Other apps from Georg that may tickle your fancy include:
AppUpdate, a Dashboard widget that checks for updates using MacUpdate and VersionTracker and Apple's software directory. We covered it back in 2006.
WidgetUpdate does the same thing but for widgets (shocking, I know). We covered this back in 2005.
VoodooPhone, a plugin for VoodooPad for viewing those notes on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
What could be better than relaxing in the pool this summer? How about swimming to your favorite tunes? We first saw the H20 audio case and headphones at Macworld, soaking in a tub of bubbling water (see our pic in the gallery). Now you've got a chance to win the 3rd-gen nano-sized waterproof case and matching waterproof headphones for yourself. Both are waterproof up to 10 feet. As a bonus, we're throwing in a ifrogz ibagz case that'll fit pretty much any other flavor of iPod. The ifrogz case isn't waterproof, but it is water resistant and is perfect for taking your tunes to the beach without worries of getting sand in your teensy jukeboxes.
There will only be one winner in this giveaway, and they will receive all three items (courtesy our friends at Dr. Bott).
To enter, leave a comment on this post (and verify the comment so it appears on the page).
The comment must be left before Monday, May 5 11:59pm Eastern Time.
You may enter once.
One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
The winner will receive: ifrogz ibagz (retail $4), H20 Audio's waterproof housing for iPod nano 3G (retail $80), H20 Audio's H3 waterproof headphones (retail $50).
OK, they didn't really try to fry an egg. But for those of us using those first searing-heat MBP's, you'll be happy to know the Penryn MacBook Pro's are a little cooler (temperature-wise anyway). On average, about 10° F cooler, and the fans run slower and quieter. Sorry if this kills any MacGuyver-esque plans of using Penryn laptops as emergency griddles.
For a much more detailed analysis of the Penryn advantages, check out the Engadget post, complete with Xbench tests and a flavorful grid with all the analysis.
Whether you've got a significant other who deserves something awesome for Valentine's Day, or you're just celebrating a certain Mac blogger's birthday, here's your chance for some free loot. We're giving away one of each of the following, courtesy Dr. Bott:
Marware Protection Pack Plus for 15" MacBook Pro
MacBook BookEndz Docking Station (13")
12" iBook laptop case (red) from Melissa Beth designs
One pack of 3 Rubi silicone cases for the iPhone from MCA (black, clear, pink)
One clear Sport Grip for the iPod Touch from Marware
That means five people will win something, so please indicate your preference (trust us, the iBook case won't fit your 17" MBP and I couldn't get it to fit a 13" MacBook) in the comments. Again, to be clear, we've got ONE of each prize, for a total of five prizes, to be given to five individuals-- winning doesn't mean you get everything listed above. Got it? Great. Full details below.
To enter, leave one comment on this post and validate it (one entry per person, but you may indicate as many preferred prizes as you like in that one comment).
The comment must be left before February 10, 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
You may enter once.
Five winners will be selected in a random drawing.
Prizes: Clear Sport Grip ($15), MCA cases ($20), Protection Pack ($35), Melissa Beth 12" case ($150), BookEndz 13" ($160)
We asked for pics and you answered: iPhones from around the world, from countries where the iPhone isn't even sold with service. Canada makes sense, as a quick trip across the border will land you an iPhone. China also makes sense, as it wouldn't be Hong Kong without a gray market plethora of unlocked iPhones, would it? We got reports from almost every part of the globe, and put together a nice little gallery to show just how popular this gadget is -- service or not. Where there's a hack, there's a way...
One item in our loot from Macworld was a shiny new (though now slightly ruffled from the flight) MacBook Air poster. You want it? Sure thing, just leave a comment and validate. It may be the closest some of us will get to a real MacBook Air, until 2011, when all MacBooks adopt the same form factor, naturally.
To enter, leave a comment on this post, validate it so it appears in the comments section.
The comment must be left before February 3, 11:59PM Eastern Time.
You may enter once. We'll check.
One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
The one winner will receive a MacBook Air poster, worth whatever is being fetched on ebay, because you can't buy this thing anywhere.
Click Here for complete Official Rules (after the jump).
This morning I finally shipped out the first round of swag-bag winners from our Talkcasts. Congratulations to those who called in, I hope you enjoy your junk prizes. Unfortunately our pre-Macworld t-shirt winners wound up with their t-shirts handed out at Macworld, and those were the very last of our version 1.0 TUAW t-shirts. Time and budgets will tell if we make more. Instead, I shipped the folks who responded to my winner emails some goodies courtesy Dr. Bott.
And speaking of Dr. Bott, they've been generous enough to provide a big bag (or two) of goodies from the likes of Griffin, Marware, H20 Audio, ifrogz and othercoolmanufacturers. So be on the lookout for more giveaways-- my wife won't let me keep this stuff lying around the house forever! (Hint: we've got an extra MacBook Air poster hidden away)
I'd also like to thank Equinux for the copies of Coverscout and Mail Stationery Packs, plus some show swag, which is also making its way out to you lucky readers.
Two weeks ago the world was a-twitter with speculation as to what in the world Apple meant by "Something is in the Air." Of course, if you tuned in to our talkcast, you heard a pretty good tip on that score, but the next day El Steve-O dropped a shiny-new, paper-thin, slightly-underpowered (depending on your needs) portable in our collective laps.
So as we bid adieu to TUAW's complete Macworld 2008 coverage, we'd like to point out you can relive the magic in several ways. First there's the video in this post, with a frantic run-through of the floor, interviews, booths and more. Second, there's our Macworld 2008 tagged pages. And lastly, our Macworld 2008 summary page, nicely organized into manageable chunks so you can find what you need quickly. We're still uploading all these videos to the various video places around the web, and as we update individual posts, we'll update the Macworld 2008 page too.
The next big event for us will be WWDC (whenever that happens to be, but last year it was June 11-15). Of course, TUAW will be there, interviewing developers and hopefully hosting another fun meetup. Stay tuned!
While we make great hay about the 
I've been noodling around on a hand-me-down 
Dust off that 
OK, they didn't really try to fry an egg. But for those of us using those first searing-heat MBP's, you'll be happy to know the 
