As iFlow Reader app closes, harsh words for Apple
Update 5/12: CNET has posted an expanded Q&A with BeamItDown co-founder and iFlow Reader developer Dennis Morin.Some interesting news from the world of e-reading apps in the land of iOS: BeamItDown is shuttering its iFlow Reader app on May 31, saying "Apple has decided that it wants all of the e-book business in iOS for itself and it has has made mid-game rule changes that make it impossible for anyone but Apple to sell e-books at a profit on iOS."Just like the Kindle, Nook, and Kobo apps for iOS, the iFlow Reader app for iPhone and iPad has an integrated e-bookstore. Apple has reportedly set a deadline of June 30 for developers to alter their apps to reflect the new terms for subscriptions in the Apple Store, which requires companies to give Apple a 30 percent cut on sales their apps generate.In the past, e-reading apps like iFlow, Kindle, and Nook have avoided paying the cut by sending customers to a Web-based interface outside the app. Starting in June, however, Apple has said it will require developers to sell content from only within the app.Fear of reprisals from Apple has kept most companies mum on the looming issue, but the folks at BeamItDown Software who make the iFlow Reader let their anger--excuse the pun--flow freely. It is one of the harsher public condemnations of Apple we've seen.Here are some of the juicer quotes from the company's announcement that it would be shutting down the app:Five of us spent nearly a year and a half of our lives and over a million dollars in cash and sweat equity developing the iFlowReader app...What sounds like a reasonable demand when packaged by Apple's extraordinary public relations department is essentially an eviction notice to allebook sellers on iOS...We put our faith in Apple and they screwed us...It was the American dream that we all strive for. Sadly, the America that we thought we were working in turned out to be a totalitarian regime and the dictator decided that he wanted all of what we had. Our dream is now over.The company also was extremely critical of the "agency model" for selling e-books, saying that it was created by Apple and basically fixed prices on e-books. "All sales agents are required to sell books at the same retail price,which is set by the publisher," BeamItDown said in its blog post. "No one can sell at a different price.All sales agents get a 30% commission on the sale of a book. No onegets a different deal. Prior to the agency model, publishers typicallyoffered retailers a 50% discount. The key point here is that all sellers now get a 30% commission andApple now wants a 30% fee, which is all of our gross margin and thensome."What sounds like a reasonable demand when packaged by Apple's extraordinary public relations department is essentially an eviction notice to all e-book sellers on iOS.-- The iFlowReader staffThe post goes on to explain to iFlow customers how to save their purchased e-books and provides a link to complain directly to Apple execs Steve Jobs and VP Phil Schiller via email.What does this mean for the Kindle, Nook, and Kobo apps on iPad and iPhone? Hard to say at this point because no one from Amazon or Barnes & Noble is saying anything regarding Apple and its apps (we've asked high-level execs from those companies about the June 30 doomsday deadline, but as expected, they declined to comment).While BeamItDown says that it had more than 6 million downloads of its iFlowReader iOS products over the last three years, it's a minor player in the e-book space. Obviously, if Amazon and Barnes & Noble decided to pull its Kindle and Nook apps from iTunes, Apple could expect a huge amount of complaints from users who expected to be able to read their e-books (bought from those stores) on Apple devices. In their negotiations with Apple, large companies like Amazon and Barnes & Noble have a lot more leverage than BeamItDown, so it remains to be seen whether Apple will stick to its guns and truly lay down the gauntlet or come up with a more palatable number for profit sharing that all sides can accept.Of course, complicating matters is Barnes & Noble's entry into the tablet space with the Nook Color and strong rumors that Amazon will release its own Android-based tablet very soon.
NPD- Mac users saving music business
NPD: Mac users saving music business
The data says that 50 percent of all Mac users surveyed by NPD purchased at least one song during the third quarter, while only 16 percent of Windows users purchased a song from an online music store. And 32 percent of Mac users bought a CD during that same time, while just 28 percent of Windows users did so.NPD says this means Mac users are "more active" when it comes to digital music than their PC counterparts. It also says that the data "helps debunk the myth that digital music consumers stop buying music in CD format."So, what conclusion should we draw, then? Mac users are more honest than piracy-loving Windows users? Mac users are more satisfied with the current craptacular state of popular music than Windows users? NPD has a vested interest in keeping one of its clients happy with press releases such as this one, which basically reinforces Apple's branding as the computer company for cool creative people?The whole "Mac users are younger/smarter/richer/better looking" argument has been going on for years, and while there is some demographic data to support parts of that debate, it seems a bit too much to assert that a "cultural divide" is responsible for the tendency of Mac users to buy music more frequently than Windows users. I thought Peter Kafka at Silicon Valley Insider made the obvious point that the survey did not: iTunes is bundled with Macs. I'm willing to accept the premise that people buy Macs with entertainment applications in mind, but does this conclusion from the press release really make sense? "Apple's growing share in the personal computing environment--and continued success with iPod sales--is a potential harbinger for the continued growth of digital music."If Apple's Mac market share were to increase to say 20 percent--which would be about in line with market leader Hewlett-Packard's share--would that mean that all those former Windows users who didn't want to pay to download digital music would suddenly see the light and turn into online music shoppers simply because they switched to a Mac and jumped that "cultural divide?" It's not like the Windows world doesn't have options for legally purchasing and organizing music online; in fact, Apple offers the most popular one. That statement seems to be saying that the computer, not the person using it or even the songs themselves, is the thing that drives digital music sales, and I find that hard to believe.Anyway, for the record, NPD said that Apple did not commission the study nor had anything to do with its content or conclusions. An NPD representative said "the Apple info we included in the press release consisted of just a few small nuggets in the overall report that (analysts) thought might get some press coverage during the dog days of the holidays, that's all." Fair enough, although I'm going to be really skeptical if the next report is entitled: "Survey: Mac users more likely to get dates, consistently hit jump shots."
The data says that 50 percent of all Mac users surveyed by NPD purchased at least one song during the third quarter, while only 16 percent of Windows users purchased a song from an online music store. And 32 percent of Mac users bought a CD during that same time, while just 28 percent of Windows users did so.NPD says this means Mac users are "more active" when it comes to digital music than their PC counterparts. It also says that the data "helps debunk the myth that digital music consumers stop buying music in CD format."So, what conclusion should we draw, then? Mac users are more honest than piracy-loving Windows users? Mac users are more satisfied with the current craptacular state of popular music than Windows users? NPD has a vested interest in keeping one of its clients happy with press releases such as this one, which basically reinforces Apple's branding as the computer company for cool creative people?The whole "Mac users are younger/smarter/richer/better looking" argument has been going on for years, and while there is some demographic data to support parts of that debate, it seems a bit too much to assert that a "cultural divide" is responsible for the tendency of Mac users to buy music more frequently than Windows users. I thought Peter Kafka at Silicon Valley Insider made the obvious point that the survey did not: iTunes is bundled with Macs. I'm willing to accept the premise that people buy Macs with entertainment applications in mind, but does this conclusion from the press release really make sense? "Apple's growing share in the personal computing environment--and continued success with iPod sales--is a potential harbinger for the continued growth of digital music."If Apple's Mac market share were to increase to say 20 percent--which would be about in line with market leader Hewlett-Packard's share--would that mean that all those former Windows users who didn't want to pay to download digital music would suddenly see the light and turn into online music shoppers simply because they switched to a Mac and jumped that "cultural divide?" It's not like the Windows world doesn't have options for legally purchasing and organizing music online; in fact, Apple offers the most popular one. That statement seems to be saying that the computer, not the person using it or even the songs themselves, is the thing that drives digital music sales, and I find that hard to believe.Anyway, for the record, NPD said that Apple did not commission the study nor had anything to do with its content or conclusions. An NPD representative said "the Apple info we included in the press release consisted of just a few small nuggets in the overall report that (analysts) thought might get some press coverage during the dog days of the holidays, that's all." Fair enough, although I'm going to be really skeptical if the next report is entitled: "Survey: Mac users more likely to get dates, consistently hit jump shots."
Chilirec records Net radio music to your PC
Chilirec records Net radio music to your PC
"We have had our law firm verify in detail that this is a recorder which is legally ok," Chilirec CEO and co-founder Carina Dreifeldt told CNET News.Chilirec is yet another digital music venture from Sweden, where a debate on piracy and copyright issues seems to have inspired alternatives such as Spotify and Tunerec, all offering listening for free.Tapping into lots of Internet radio stations, Chilirec software records dozens of songs every minute, adding up to thousands of songs on your hard drive in a single day.The legality of this and other similar software such as Ripcast and StationRipper is based on the right to record music and make a few copies for personal use."The hitch is that the individual must perform the actual recording," explained Dreifeldt.This is the reason why Chilirec now launches a software that runs on users' PCs. In October 2007, an earlier test version was launched in a cloud-based model, with a patent filed for the technology. In the cloud-based model, each user had his or her own disk space on Chilirec's servers and managed the recordings via the Internet with the PC serving as a kind of remote control. The service soon became very popular.But record companies considered this a service in which Chilirec was making the recordings and thus Chilirec was making copyright-protected material available illegally, since licenses weren't paid. A similar case regards the U.S. cable provider Cablevision's network-based DVR."We could either fight and go to court, or transform the product from a cloud-based model to a personal recorder," Dreifeldt said.As Chilirec didn't want to go up against the recording industry, the cloud-based model was abandoned at the end of 2008, at least for now. Dreifeldt expressed some disappointment over the industry's standpoint."We wanted to cooperate with the record industry. The basic idea was to have a place where you could listen to the world's music, and (then) if you wanted to download a song with better quality and without radio jingles," you could, she said. That would give the record industry more music-selling opportunities.The new software, a second beta version, was initially released only in Swedish, and the full Web site at Chilirec.com can currently only be reached from Sweden. The software is free to use until the end of August. But eventually, Chilirec plans to offer both a free advertising-based version and a premium version that would cost about one euro a month.CNET News gave the software a try and loaded our hard drive with a couple thousand songs in a few hours, even after narrowing the genre down to jazz.Recorded songs are stored as MP3s and quality varies with different radio stations. Sometimes a song starts off with a radio jingle or with the end of another song.Users can choose from a long list of radio stations and, in addition to genres, can narrow recordings to categories like "most played on radio in the U.K."It's also possible to copy various top lists on the Internet as playlists, and to explore music already stored on the hard drive.Chilirec is Java based and runs in the browser. Initially only Windows is supported, but Dreifeldt told Cnet News that versions for Mac and Linux will be coming later.
"We have had our law firm verify in detail that this is a recorder which is legally ok," Chilirec CEO and co-founder Carina Dreifeldt told CNET News.Chilirec is yet another digital music venture from Sweden, where a debate on piracy and copyright issues seems to have inspired alternatives such as Spotify and Tunerec, all offering listening for free.Tapping into lots of Internet radio stations, Chilirec software records dozens of songs every minute, adding up to thousands of songs on your hard drive in a single day.The legality of this and other similar software such as Ripcast and StationRipper is based on the right to record music and make a few copies for personal use."The hitch is that the individual must perform the actual recording," explained Dreifeldt.This is the reason why Chilirec now launches a software that runs on users' PCs. In October 2007, an earlier test version was launched in a cloud-based model, with a patent filed for the technology. In the cloud-based model, each user had his or her own disk space on Chilirec's servers and managed the recordings via the Internet with the PC serving as a kind of remote control. The service soon became very popular.But record companies considered this a service in which Chilirec was making the recordings and thus Chilirec was making copyright-protected material available illegally, since licenses weren't paid. A similar case regards the U.S. cable provider Cablevision's network-based DVR."We could either fight and go to court, or transform the product from a cloud-based model to a personal recorder," Dreifeldt said.As Chilirec didn't want to go up against the recording industry, the cloud-based model was abandoned at the end of 2008, at least for now. Dreifeldt expressed some disappointment over the industry's standpoint."We wanted to cooperate with the record industry. The basic idea was to have a place where you could listen to the world's music, and (then) if you wanted to download a song with better quality and without radio jingles," you could, she said. That would give the record industry more music-selling opportunities.The new software, a second beta version, was initially released only in Swedish, and the full Web site at Chilirec.com can currently only be reached from Sweden. The software is free to use until the end of August. But eventually, Chilirec plans to offer both a free advertising-based version and a premium version that would cost about one euro a month.CNET News gave the software a try and loaded our hard drive with a couple thousand songs in a few hours, even after narrowing the genre down to jazz.Recorded songs are stored as MP3s and quality varies with different radio stations. Sometimes a song starts off with a radio jingle or with the end of another song.Users can choose from a long list of radio stations and, in addition to genres, can narrow recordings to categories like "most played on radio in the U.K."It's also possible to copy various top lists on the Internet as playlists, and to explore music already stored on the hard drive.Chilirec is Java based and runs in the browser. Initially only Windows is supported, but Dreifeldt told Cnet News that versions for Mac and Linux will be coming later.
The 404 428- Where we prune the hedges of many small villages
The 404 428: Where we prune the hedges of many small villages
What happens when one extremely popular tech TV show with an attractive female host blatantly takes the slogan of a much lesser known Internet radio show with three mildly humorous, if not a bit awkward, post-pubescent manboys? You're about to find out on today's episode of The 404, where Attack of the Show's GadgetPr0n stole our tagline, "High Tech, Low Brow." Now, I'm a little unwilling to compromise my relationship with Olivia Munn, the , but Jeff and Wilson are heated and propose an all-out battle for the right to the slogan!The new simulated reality video game DJ Hero keeps on adding musicians to the growing list of special guests- this time, they just recently announced a collaboration with Daft Punk. The game will come out on October 30th, but we're pretty psyched to mash-up tracks from those French Robots. Well, Jeff and I are- Wilson is still confused about how the game works and why people listen to music in the first place.Which brings us to a huge Calls From the Public- we got so many voicemails over our three-day weekend that we have to take the entire second half of the show just to play them all. Of course, we have to re-visit the dreadful washing machine/computer hypothetical that got drummed up on Thursday's show. In a world where humans are enslaved by free-thinking computers, the man atop the washing machine reigns supreme King. This fall, look out for Wilson G. Tang break-out role in...THE CLEANER. EPISODE 428PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) |Subscribe in RSS Audio |Subscribe in RSS Video This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFollow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuWilson TangAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff BakalarWilson Tang
What happens when one extremely popular tech TV show with an attractive female host blatantly takes the slogan of a much lesser known Internet radio show with three mildly humorous, if not a bit awkward, post-pubescent manboys? You're about to find out on today's episode of The 404, where Attack of the Show's GadgetPr0n stole our tagline, "High Tech, Low Brow." Now, I'm a little unwilling to compromise my relationship with Olivia Munn, the , but Jeff and Wilson are heated and propose an all-out battle for the right to the slogan!The new simulated reality video game DJ Hero keeps on adding musicians to the growing list of special guests- this time, they just recently announced a collaboration with Daft Punk. The game will come out on October 30th, but we're pretty psyched to mash-up tracks from those French Robots. Well, Jeff and I are- Wilson is still confused about how the game works and why people listen to music in the first place.Which brings us to a huge Calls From the Public- we got so many voicemails over our three-day weekend that we have to take the entire second half of the show just to play them all. Of course, we have to re-visit the dreadful washing machine/computer hypothetical that got drummed up on Thursday's show. In a world where humans are enslaved by free-thinking computers, the man atop the washing machine reigns supreme King. This fall, look out for Wilson G. Tang break-out role in...THE CLEANER. EPISODE 428PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) |Subscribe in RSS Audio |Subscribe in RSS Video This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFollow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuWilson TangAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff BakalarWilson Tang
Modern Feed serves up the ultimate Web TV surfing tool
Modern Feed serves up the ultimate Web TV surfing tool
Playlist management is also well thought out. You can subscribe to shows on a season pass, just as you would on a DVR. The newest shows end up in your queue and can be reordered. There's also a designation between a regular playlist and one for iPhones, which contains any H.264 files that can be played on the device if you don't feel like viewing on your PC. Viewing and browsing these clips requires the use of the specially designed iPhone site (i.modernfeed.com) and a Wi-Fi connection, but the implementation is quite beautiful. Heilprin says the designers took a page or two from Facebook's iPhone app, and that they plan to make other device-optimized versions in the future.At launch there are more than 25,000 programs in the directory. There's a built-in search tool that does a great job at getting you to various shows. The real hook, however are the feeder-created categories, which are far more enjoyable to explore than simply browsing alphabetically. The feeders have created picks the like of iTunes with staff choices and hot lists of what users are watching the most. It makes the site very human and keeps you watching tons of videos from all over the place.While Hulu may have gotten some real buzz for its convergence of video resources, Modern Feed is doing something far bigger. It's lassoing content from everywhere. It's doing what social aggregators like FriendFeed and SocialThing have done so well, which is putting all this information into one centralized location. The added benefit is that Modern Feed has made it exceptionally easy to use and incredibly useful if you're thinking about ditching your cable provider. When you're viewing a TV show in Modern Feed, you have options to jump back or go to other shows right in the tool bar that pops down. It's like channel surfing, minus the TV. (click to enlarge)CNET Networks
Playlist management is also well thought out. You can subscribe to shows on a season pass, just as you would on a DVR. The newest shows end up in your queue and can be reordered. There's also a designation between a regular playlist and one for iPhones, which contains any H.264 files that can be played on the device if you don't feel like viewing on your PC. Viewing and browsing these clips requires the use of the specially designed iPhone site (i.modernfeed.com) and a Wi-Fi connection, but the implementation is quite beautiful. Heilprin says the designers took a page or two from Facebook's iPhone app, and that they plan to make other device-optimized versions in the future.At launch there are more than 25,000 programs in the directory. There's a built-in search tool that does a great job at getting you to various shows. The real hook, however are the feeder-created categories, which are far more enjoyable to explore than simply browsing alphabetically. The feeders have created picks the like of iTunes with staff choices and hot lists of what users are watching the most. It makes the site very human and keeps you watching tons of videos from all over the place.While Hulu may have gotten some real buzz for its convergence of video resources, Modern Feed is doing something far bigger. It's lassoing content from everywhere. It's doing what social aggregators like FriendFeed and SocialThing have done so well, which is putting all this information into one centralized location. The added benefit is that Modern Feed has made it exceptionally easy to use and incredibly useful if you're thinking about ditching your cable provider. When you're viewing a TV show in Modern Feed, you have options to jump back or go to other shows right in the tool bar that pops down. It's like channel surfing, minus the TV. (click to enlarge)CNET Networks
Get a 320GB portable USB 3.0 hard drive for $39
Get a 320GB portable USB 3.0 hard drive for $39
Let's do some math, shall we?When it comes to portable storage, you can get a 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive for $39.99 shipped. Or you can take advantage of RedTag's today-only deal: a Western Digital My Passport 320GB USB 3.0 hard drive for $39 (plus $1.95 for shipping).Update: Dang! Already sold out. It's worth checking back throughout the day in case RedTag releases more inventory. But, interestingly, I'd say few people were scared off by the drive being a refurb.Pricewise, they're a wash. But the Western Digital drive literally has five times the storage. Sure, it's not keychain-friendly like a flash drive, but at 4.4 inches by 3.2 inches by 0.6 inch and 4.8 ounces, it can certainly ride in a pocket.There's only one real catch here: it's a manufacturer-recertified drive. When it comes to hard drives, I tend to stay away from refurbs. But this one comes with a six-month warranty from Western Digital, which gives me a little more confidence. And according to the fine print, the drives are "cleaned, quality checked and tested twice."While you're mulling that over, let's talk specs. The My Passport features USB 3.0 connectivity (backward-compatible with USB 2.0), built-in automated backup software, and optional password protection. I couldn't find any info on the drive's rotational speed.Over at Amazon, where the drive sells new for $61, some 1,500 buyers (!) rated it 4.4 stars out of 5. Most loved the speed and form factor; an unfortunate few ended up with bum drives -- which, let's face it, happens.For a mere 40 bucks, I think this speedy drive would be ideal for transporting large files, expanding your available storage, and supplementing your cloud-based data backups. Let's hope it doesn't sell out before you're able to grab one.Bonus deal: Speaking of backups, Giveaway of the Day has Aiseesoft's iTunes Backup Genius for free. This pro-level recovery tool, normally sells for $99.95 (!), lets you pluck data from iTunes backup files. Note: Do NOT click the big blue download button on the giveaway page. Instead, scroll down to the link labeled Download Aiseesoft iTunes Backup Genius Now.Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.Curious about what exactly The Cheapskate does and how it works? Read our FAQ.
Let's do some math, shall we?When it comes to portable storage, you can get a 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive for $39.99 shipped. Or you can take advantage of RedTag's today-only deal: a Western Digital My Passport 320GB USB 3.0 hard drive for $39 (plus $1.95 for shipping).Update: Dang! Already sold out. It's worth checking back throughout the day in case RedTag releases more inventory. But, interestingly, I'd say few people were scared off by the drive being a refurb.Pricewise, they're a wash. But the Western Digital drive literally has five times the storage. Sure, it's not keychain-friendly like a flash drive, but at 4.4 inches by 3.2 inches by 0.6 inch and 4.8 ounces, it can certainly ride in a pocket.There's only one real catch here: it's a manufacturer-recertified drive. When it comes to hard drives, I tend to stay away from refurbs. But this one comes with a six-month warranty from Western Digital, which gives me a little more confidence. And according to the fine print, the drives are "cleaned, quality checked and tested twice."While you're mulling that over, let's talk specs. The My Passport features USB 3.0 connectivity (backward-compatible with USB 2.0), built-in automated backup software, and optional password protection. I couldn't find any info on the drive's rotational speed.Over at Amazon, where the drive sells new for $61, some 1,500 buyers (!) rated it 4.4 stars out of 5. Most loved the speed and form factor; an unfortunate few ended up with bum drives -- which, let's face it, happens.For a mere 40 bucks, I think this speedy drive would be ideal for transporting large files, expanding your available storage, and supplementing your cloud-based data backups. Let's hope it doesn't sell out before you're able to grab one.Bonus deal: Speaking of backups, Giveaway of the Day has Aiseesoft's iTunes Backup Genius for free. This pro-level recovery tool, normally sells for $99.95 (!), lets you pluck data from iTunes backup files. Note: Do NOT click the big blue download button on the giveaway page. Instead, scroll down to the link labeled Download Aiseesoft iTunes Backup Genius Now.Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.Curious about what exactly The Cheapskate does and how it works? Read our FAQ.
Get a 32GB flash drive for $9.97
Get a 32GB flash drive for $9.97
The other day, as part of a bonus deal, I wondered aloud how long it would be before 32GB flash drives dipped below $10.Not long, apparently. While supplies last, TigerDirect has the Patriot PSF32GFXUSB Xporter Flex 32GB Flash Drive for $9.97 shipped. That's your post-rebate price (PDF); it'll cost you $19.97 to get out the door. Assuming you don't have a deep-seated hatred of rebates (many people do), that's an incredibly low price. It was scarcely six months ago that I was crowing about piddly 8GB drives for under $10.The PSF32GFXUSB -- er, I think I'll just call it the Xporter -- is an ultra-small, keychain-friendly drive, measuring a mere 1.5 inches long. And yet it holds a whopping 32GB, which is enough to house all kinds of things: an entire music or photo library, a full backup of all your data, or even a complete USB-bootable Linux operating system (along with all your stuff).The warranty is perhaps a bit short at two years, but by then I suspect we'll all have Bluetooth-enabled terabyte chips embedded in our skulls. (Talk about mobile storage!)To get the rebate, you must purchase the drive before June 30 -- but don't be surprised if it sells out before June 28 (tomorrow).Bonus deal: Ending today, Newegg has the Haier L39B2180 39-inch LCD HDTV for $289.99 shipped. That's after applying coupon code HAIERTV50 at checkout. This is a 1080p TV with three HDMI inputs and glowing reviews from users.Bonus deal No. 2: Are you an iTunes user? Head to StackSocial, where you can get TuneUp Media's TuneUp Bundle (Win/Mac) for $30. Normally $50, this lifetime license includes an iTunes library cleaner, de-duper, cover-art finder/fixer, and more.Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.Curious about what exactly The Cheapskate does and how it works? Read our FAQ.
The other day, as part of a bonus deal, I wondered aloud how long it would be before 32GB flash drives dipped below $10.Not long, apparently. While supplies last, TigerDirect has the Patriot PSF32GFXUSB Xporter Flex 32GB Flash Drive for $9.97 shipped. That's your post-rebate price (PDF); it'll cost you $19.97 to get out the door. Assuming you don't have a deep-seated hatred of rebates (many people do), that's an incredibly low price. It was scarcely six months ago that I was crowing about piddly 8GB drives for under $10.The PSF32GFXUSB -- er, I think I'll just call it the Xporter -- is an ultra-small, keychain-friendly drive, measuring a mere 1.5 inches long. And yet it holds a whopping 32GB, which is enough to house all kinds of things: an entire music or photo library, a full backup of all your data, or even a complete USB-bootable Linux operating system (along with all your stuff).The warranty is perhaps a bit short at two years, but by then I suspect we'll all have Bluetooth-enabled terabyte chips embedded in our skulls. (Talk about mobile storage!)To get the rebate, you must purchase the drive before June 30 -- but don't be surprised if it sells out before June 28 (tomorrow).Bonus deal: Ending today, Newegg has the Haier L39B2180 39-inch LCD HDTV for $289.99 shipped. That's after applying coupon code HAIERTV50 at checkout. This is a 1080p TV with three HDMI inputs and glowing reviews from users.Bonus deal No. 2: Are you an iTunes user? Head to StackSocial, where you can get TuneUp Media's TuneUp Bundle (Win/Mac) for $30. Normally $50, this lifetime license includes an iTunes library cleaner, de-duper, cover-art finder/fixer, and more.Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.Curious about what exactly The Cheapskate does and how it works? Read our FAQ.
HP's Bradley- We're not trying to be Apple
HP's Bradley: We're not trying to be Apple
"Emulating Apple is not part of our strategy," said HP's Todd Bradley, executive vice president in charge of the company's consumer products division, at TechCrunch Disrupt 2010. Bradley was being asked about whether or not its purchase of Palm's WebOS earlier this year was done in hopes of creating a portfolio of portable devices with unique packages of hardware and software, much like what Apple has done with the Mac, iPhone, and now iPad.It's different for HP, Bradley said, given its need to satisfy a broad range of enterprise customers who have different needs and may require more custom products. He pointed out that five years ago people were calling for HP to emulate Dell's low-cost hardware strategy, but HP focused more on differentiating itself from Dell through product quality and design, eroding its rival's lead in the PC market.That being said, HP is taking at least one page from Apple's book by ruling out plans to license WebOS for other hardware makers to use, Bradley said. That was apparently a hard lesson learned: Bradley led Palm's hardware division back when Palm decided to split into two companies, one focused on hardware and one focused on licensing operating system software. It didn't work.Bradley wants to use WebOS in smartphones, tablets, and other devices such as printers. HP has built a Windows-based tablet, he said, but it's not clear whether or not there will be a market for such a device.In the meantime, HP is devoting a lot of resources toward improving the availability of WebOS applications and software-development kits. Since the acquisition, HP has increased the number of available WebOS applications by 50 percent, he said.
"Emulating Apple is not part of our strategy," said HP's Todd Bradley, executive vice president in charge of the company's consumer products division, at TechCrunch Disrupt 2010. Bradley was being asked about whether or not its purchase of Palm's WebOS earlier this year was done in hopes of creating a portfolio of portable devices with unique packages of hardware and software, much like what Apple has done with the Mac, iPhone, and now iPad.It's different for HP, Bradley said, given its need to satisfy a broad range of enterprise customers who have different needs and may require more custom products. He pointed out that five years ago people were calling for HP to emulate Dell's low-cost hardware strategy, but HP focused more on differentiating itself from Dell through product quality and design, eroding its rival's lead in the PC market.That being said, HP is taking at least one page from Apple's book by ruling out plans to license WebOS for other hardware makers to use, Bradley said. That was apparently a hard lesson learned: Bradley led Palm's hardware division back when Palm decided to split into two companies, one focused on hardware and one focused on licensing operating system software. It didn't work.Bradley wants to use WebOS in smartphones, tablets, and other devices such as printers. HP has built a Windows-based tablet, he said, but it's not clear whether or not there will be a market for such a device.In the meantime, HP is devoting a lot of resources toward improving the availability of WebOS applications and software-development kits. Since the acquisition, HP has increased the number of available WebOS applications by 50 percent, he said.
How to tell Apple about a mistake in its Maps app
How to tell Apple about a mistake in its Maps app
Spot a mistake in Apple's Maps app? Instead of just getting mad, you can report the problem to Apple.The iPhone maker has been taking it on the chin since last week when users began uncovering a slew of gaffes in the new app. Errors such as missing cities, mislabeled locations, incorrect pins, and duplicate islands prompted people to give the app a collective thumbs down.Users who search for a specific city or landmark and find an error can at least alert Apple to the glitch. To do so, tap on the right arrow or information icon next to the pinned area to bring up the Location page. At the bottom of the page, tap on the Report a Problem link.A menu pops up with four choices: Information is incorrect; Pin is at incorrect location; Place does not exist, or My problem isn't listed. Tap on the choice that best matches the problem and then tap Next. Depending on the option you chose, another screen appears asking you for further details until finally you can send your report to Apple.What does Apple do with the data you send it? CNET contacted the company for comment and will update the story if we get more information.But since Apple is under the gun to improve the app, it will have to rely on crowdsourcing as one key way to identify the myriad errors throughout the world. In response to complaints about the app, Apple itself said that "as Maps is a cloud-based solution, the more people use it, the better it will get."(Via MacRumors)
Spot a mistake in Apple's Maps app? Instead of just getting mad, you can report the problem to Apple.The iPhone maker has been taking it on the chin since last week when users began uncovering a slew of gaffes in the new app. Errors such as missing cities, mislabeled locations, incorrect pins, and duplicate islands prompted people to give the app a collective thumbs down.Users who search for a specific city or landmark and find an error can at least alert Apple to the glitch. To do so, tap on the right arrow or information icon next to the pinned area to bring up the Location page. At the bottom of the page, tap on the Report a Problem link.A menu pops up with four choices: Information is incorrect; Pin is at incorrect location; Place does not exist, or My problem isn't listed. Tap on the choice that best matches the problem and then tap Next. Depending on the option you chose, another screen appears asking you for further details until finally you can send your report to Apple.What does Apple do with the data you send it? CNET contacted the company for comment and will update the story if we get more information.But since Apple is under the gun to improve the app, it will have to rely on crowdsourcing as one key way to identify the myriad errors throughout the world. In response to complaints about the app, Apple itself said that "as Maps is a cloud-based solution, the more people use it, the better it will get."(Via MacRumors)
How to replay Apple's iPhone 6, Watch event
How to replay Apple's iPhone 6, Watch event
If you missed Apple's live presentation of the iPhone 6 and Watch on Tuesday, you can still view the entire event.At Tuesday's two-hour launch event, Apple worked to wow consumers with a range of new products, including the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the Apple Watch, and the Apple Pay mobile payments service. The event streamed live via Apple's website, but you could catch it only if you were running Safari on a Mac or iOS device.Related StoriesApple supersizes the iPhone 6, joins the big-screen era at lastApple jumps into wearable fray with Apple Watch smartwatchApple takes NFC mainstream on iPhone 6; Apple Watch with Apple PayFor those of you who would like to see the entire show after the fact, here's how:First, you can watch the event from start to finish on Apple's website. And in this case, you should be able to fire it up from any web browser, though I did run into some unresponsiveness due to javascript problems when I tried to watch it through Firefox. I found the most dependable way to watch it on my PC was through Internet Explorer or the Windows version of Safari.Second (and perhaps more reliably), you can grab the entire event from iTunes. The Apple Keynotes page on iTunes shows Tuesday's event as the first item in the list. Simply click on the link to the event, and you can watch it directly in iTunes or download it if you want to view it offline at a later time.Don't feel like spending two hours of your life watching the entire event? You can catch short clips of some of the cut-to-the-chase tidbits courtesy of CNET's must-see moments story.
If you missed Apple's live presentation of the iPhone 6 and Watch on Tuesday, you can still view the entire event.At Tuesday's two-hour launch event, Apple worked to wow consumers with a range of new products, including the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the Apple Watch, and the Apple Pay mobile payments service. The event streamed live via Apple's website, but you could catch it only if you were running Safari on a Mac or iOS device.Related StoriesApple supersizes the iPhone 6, joins the big-screen era at lastApple jumps into wearable fray with Apple Watch smartwatchApple takes NFC mainstream on iPhone 6; Apple Watch with Apple PayFor those of you who would like to see the entire show after the fact, here's how:First, you can watch the event from start to finish on Apple's website. And in this case, you should be able to fire it up from any web browser, though I did run into some unresponsiveness due to javascript problems when I tried to watch it through Firefox. I found the most dependable way to watch it on my PC was through Internet Explorer or the Windows version of Safari.Second (and perhaps more reliably), you can grab the entire event from iTunes. The Apple Keynotes page on iTunes shows Tuesday's event as the first item in the list. Simply click on the link to the event, and you can watch it directly in iTunes or download it if you want to view it offline at a later time.Don't feel like spending two hours of your life watching the entire event? You can catch short clips of some of the cut-to-the-chase tidbits courtesy of CNET's must-see moments story.
How the Apple Watch would look with a round face
How the Apple Watch would look with a round face
For Apple, time is not a flat circle, but a pudgy square.When Apple unveiled its long-rumored wearable device on Tuesday, a square-faced smartwatch simply called Apple Watch, crowds were divided. According to social media analytic firm Synthesio, prior to the Apple Watch reveal, more than 40 percent of all online chatter surrounding the wearable was about its potential design, a figure that rose to nearly 50 percent after we got your glimpse of the final product.Some believe round rather than square is central to the smartwatch market's eventual mainstream adoption, as design that looks natural and appealing is paramount to getting everyday people strapping technology to their bodies. Now, South Korean user interface and user experience designer Oh NamyKung, who goes by the name Alcion, has offered up a convincing alternative: acircular Apple Watch concept that sheds light on what Cupertino-made wearable might look like if it were designed more like Motorola's competing Moto 360 smartwatch.The results are quite stunning, showing what a wearable that looks as close as possible to a standard time piece might look like. However, the device is just a concept -- designed using 3D modeling software and Adobe's Photoshop editing tool -- and looks thinner than current engineering and battery limitations may allow in the real world. Yet it's also a very high possibility that Apple will in the future take the round route or offer both circular and square-faced Apple watch as it iterates on the design of its wearable.Check out more of Alcion's conceptshere. Alcion Alcion Alcion AlcionApple Watch keeps up with the times (pic...See full gallery1 - 4 / 15NextPrev
For Apple, time is not a flat circle, but a pudgy square.When Apple unveiled its long-rumored wearable device on Tuesday, a square-faced smartwatch simply called Apple Watch, crowds were divided. According to social media analytic firm Synthesio, prior to the Apple Watch reveal, more than 40 percent of all online chatter surrounding the wearable was about its potential design, a figure that rose to nearly 50 percent after we got your glimpse of the final product.Some believe round rather than square is central to the smartwatch market's eventual mainstream adoption, as design that looks natural and appealing is paramount to getting everyday people strapping technology to their bodies. Now, South Korean user interface and user experience designer Oh NamyKung, who goes by the name Alcion, has offered up a convincing alternative: acircular Apple Watch concept that sheds light on what Cupertino-made wearable might look like if it were designed more like Motorola's competing Moto 360 smartwatch.The results are quite stunning, showing what a wearable that looks as close as possible to a standard time piece might look like. However, the device is just a concept -- designed using 3D modeling software and Adobe's Photoshop editing tool -- and looks thinner than current engineering and battery limitations may allow in the real world. Yet it's also a very high possibility that Apple will in the future take the round route or offer both circular and square-faced Apple watch as it iterates on the design of its wearable.Check out more of Alcion's conceptshere. Alcion Alcion Alcion AlcionApple Watch keeps up with the times (pic...See full gallery1 - 4 / 15NextPrev
How many pixels can Apple pack into a 4-inch screen-
How many pixels can Apple pack into a 4-inch screen?
A bigger screen on the iPhone 5 means more pixels in order to maintain the Retina branding.So, what can we expect exactly?I asked Paul Semenza, senior vice president of analyst services at NPD DisplaySearch."To the best of our knowledge, the display will be 4 inches, with the same 326 ppi [pixels per inch] resolution, which would make it 1,136x640," he said, confirming current speculation.That would keep the ppi ahead ofpopular phones like the 4.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S III (306 ppi at 1,280x720 resolution) and the 4.7-inch HTC One X (312 ppi at 1,280x720 resolution).And would hike the number of pixels to an estimated 727,040 compared to 614,400 on the current iPhone 4/4S with a 3.5-inch display. Related storiesiPhone 5 rumor roundupSemenza continued. "You can think of [it] as a widescreen version of the double-VGA format in the 4s," he said. Another marquee upgrade will be in-cell touch tech."Also, we expect the display to have in-cell touch, which means the touch sensor is integrated into the TFT array of the display, which we think can make the display about 0.5 mm thinner," he said. And what kind of hardware is going to push those extra pixels around?It's not imperative that Apple upgrade the silicon to quad-core (CPU) to drive those pixels, especially since it didn't go that route on the third-generation 2048-by-1536 iPad (that's a dual-core CPU with a quad-core GPU). But only Apple knows what Apple thinks is imperative. We'll revisit that chip-specific speculation later.How iOS 6 could handle the extra screen space.9to5Mac
A bigger screen on the iPhone 5 means more pixels in order to maintain the Retina branding.So, what can we expect exactly?I asked Paul Semenza, senior vice president of analyst services at NPD DisplaySearch."To the best of our knowledge, the display will be 4 inches, with the same 326 ppi [pixels per inch] resolution, which would make it 1,136x640," he said, confirming current speculation.That would keep the ppi ahead ofpopular phones like the 4.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S III (306 ppi at 1,280x720 resolution) and the 4.7-inch HTC One X (312 ppi at 1,280x720 resolution).And would hike the number of pixels to an estimated 727,040 compared to 614,400 on the current iPhone 4/4S with a 3.5-inch display. Related storiesiPhone 5 rumor roundupSemenza continued. "You can think of [it] as a widescreen version of the double-VGA format in the 4s," he said. Another marquee upgrade will be in-cell touch tech."Also, we expect the display to have in-cell touch, which means the touch sensor is integrated into the TFT array of the display, which we think can make the display about 0.5 mm thinner," he said. And what kind of hardware is going to push those extra pixels around?It's not imperative that Apple upgrade the silicon to quad-core (CPU) to drive those pixels, especially since it didn't go that route on the third-generation 2048-by-1536 iPad (that's a dual-core CPU with a quad-core GPU). But only Apple knows what Apple thinks is imperative. We'll revisit that chip-specific speculation later.How iOS 6 could handle the extra screen space.9to5Mac
Apple refreshes iCloud beta with new Web apps
Apple has apparently cooked up Web-based versions of its Notes and Reminders apps, as seen in the latest iCloud beta.Accessible via iCloud from a PC or Mac, the new apps seem similar to their mobile iOS and Mountain Lion counterparts, according to a review by 9to5Mac.The Web-based Notes app lets you enter and organize notes and then e-mail them using the iCloud e-mail. The Reminders app allows you to add reminders, attach notes to them, and schedule the date and time for you to be alerted.Related storiesBeta version of iCloud.com hints at Notes, Reminders Web appsApple testing iOS-like notifications on iCloud.comApple overhaul of iTunes to focus on iCloud, music sharing?iWork.com users have one month before Apple shuts it downOther online surprises are in store for iCloud users.The latest beta includes a new Find my iPhone app that taps into the Lost Mode feature. New to iOS 6, Lost Mode lets you send a phone number to your lost iPhone where hopefully an honest citizen can find it and call you back.The Web-version of Find my iPhone also displays a battery status icon, according to MacRumors, providing a countdown on how much juice your iPhone has left until it conks out.Currently available only for registered developers, the new iCloud Web apps could pop up when iOS 6 debuts early this fall.
Apple rechargeables smarter than average AAs
The Apple Battery Charger has a power-management system that cuts the power when AA batteries are fully charged to nearly eliminate the vampire draw. The charger draws 30 milliwatts once batteries are full, compared with 315 milliwatts for other nickel-metal hydride rechargeables, Apple said.The charger kit costs $29 and includes six Apple batteries, which Apple says will last hundreds of charges and up to 10 years. The charger can work in other countries and with other rechargeable batteries, too. Powering peripherals, such as the mouse or newly introduced Magic Trackpad, directly from a PC's energy supply could very well be more energy-efficient. But clearly, using rechargeable batteries is far more environmentally sound and cost-efficient than buying fresh AA batteries every few months and tossing out the depleted ones. On top of it, the Apple Battery Charger is built for long use, which is the best way to design consumer goods.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)