Toy Kite Software has announced the release of iSamurai Bluetooth, the latest version of their iSamurai motion-based sword fighting simulation game that lets players "fight" one another over a Wi-Fi connection. Now, with iSamurali Bluetooth, you can challenge your friends anywhere, without the need for a Wi-Fi network.

iPhone Alley points out that DataViz has recently updated its Documents to Go office suite for the iPhone to add several new features, the most important of which is the inclusion of support for Apple's systemwide cut, copy, and paste tools. The sui...

Squashed Software has released RAID Monitor 3, a new version of its tool for automatically checking the status of RAID storage system. Also on Friday, updates to Geotagalog and MacFamily Tree.

Silverlight 3 is Microsoft's newest version of their Adobe Flash competitor.

DataViz has updated Documents To Go, their app for reading MS Office documents and editing MS Word documents on the iPhone, adding features for OS 3.0. Version 1.1 adds cut, copy and paste; pinch to zoom and full screen view in Word files; the ability to send files via email with clients other than Microsoft Exchange; and viewing and syncing of iWork 09 files for Mac users.

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch

Apple has just released a Knowledge Base document detailing a number of potential fixes for one of the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth problems that have plagued iPod touch and iPhone handhelds. The article specifically addresses the inability to use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth due to not seeing the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi address on the device. This includes getting a Wi-Fi signal but not being able to access the Internet, not being able to pair a Bluetooth device, and having the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth icon grayed out.

Four solutions are proposed in a step-by-step manner. The solutions range from resetting the network settings to restoring the device back to a bare 3.0 install, which erases all data. No worries there, since you can always re-sync your device with the information on its host computer, assuming you have a current backup.

The fourth solution is a bit darker. Call Apple for service. If this doesn't do it, you are directed to a second article which talks about re-doing your network settings and turning the network settings off and then on again.

Neither article deals with the basic problems of speed and sporadic signal strength. Please let us know if these solutions do the trick for you.

[via iLounge]

Apple proposes iPhone/iPod touch Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fixes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple proposes iPhone/iPod touch Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fixes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitterrific developer Craig Hockenberry has written a long, considered essay on Furbo.org framing the changes Apple has already made to the iTunes App Store, what problems it still presents to developers, users, and Apple itself, and proposes some interesting solutions.

From the differences between selling music and apps, to the long delays and uncertainty surrounding the approval process, lack of viable upgrade options, ill-defined rules, inability to provide demos, inability to respond to iTunes reviews, and the lack of discoverability for apps, Hockenberry leaves few stones unturned — nor does he throw those stones, turned or otherwise, in Apple’s direction.

He comes off as a veteran developer more than a little frustrated not just at what is, but at not yet reaching the potential of what could be. One solution he proposes might be controversial — and we’ve heard it from him before — but is still more than promising:

Charge [developers] $999 for premium service. For professional developers, this cost is not prohibitive and would allow Apple to provide additional services…

He does, rightly, chastise Apple for not communicating effectively with developers — for failing to hold up their end of the platform partnership. However, by pointing out how far the App Store has come in just one year, it leaves us with hope that given Apple’s and developers’ shared passion for the iPhone, it can go further still in year two.

Right Apple?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Appy Anniversary: Hockenberry on How the App Store has Changed, and What Still Needs to be Changed

Macworld has stumbled on an interesting bug dealing with how your iPhone deletes (or more accurately, doesn't delete) email. If you use your iPhone for email, chances are you've deleted at least a few messages by now. What you may not know is that just because these messages are no longer accessible in the Mail app, they're not completely gone.

Filed under: Video, Cool tools, How-tos, Mac mini, iPhone

What do you get when you combine a new parent on maternity leave with a love of gadgets and Apple products? Why, you get "baby monitor overkill!"

In response to Dave Caolo's recent ode to the Mac mini, I figured it was time to step up. I had two things gathering dust: my old standalone iSight, a gorgeous example of Apple design sadly idle since the advent of built-in iSights, and a lovely new Intel Mac Mini that was recently scored on sale at MicroCenter with plans to set it up for my older two kids once I could get my hands on a small LCD monitor.

I figured in the meantime it would serve nicely as a baby monitor, since I couldn't find a matching transmitter/receiver pair among the various baby monitors I had accumulated over the years. My idea was that it would live discreetly, headless and tailless (monitor, keyboard, and mouse-free) in the baby's room, and broadcast both locally on my network and also wide-area so grandparents could tune in remotely.

For the initial setup, I needed a monitor, but fortunately my TV has a PC (VGA) port, which I used to configure the mini. I set it to login automatically to the main account and join my Airport network. In System Preferences, I enabled screen sharing and added iChat as a login item. In iChat, I enabled Bonjour and instant messaging, added myself as a buddy, and restricted chats to preapproved users under security preferences. Because I didn't want to connect via screen sharing every time I wanted ot initiate a chat, I typed the following into Terminal so that it would auto-accept any incoming video chats:

defaults write com.apple.ichat AutoAcceptVCInvitations 1

After that, I set it adrift on the network. From my main computer, I watched the mini pop up on Bonjour after reboot, and we were off and running.

While this worked great for my own local use, it had some inherent restrictions: remote users (aka "grandparents who love to watch sleeping grandsons") couldn't join the chat easily. Spouses at work had issues with company restrictions on AIM. Plus, it was iPhone-unfriendly; the holy grail for me was turning the iPhone into a video terminal that followed me around.

I went through a few different ideas: private channel on Justin.tv (great for multiple viewers, but awash in advertising, restricted at work, and unavailable on iPhone), Skype (great video, automatic call acceptance and limited iPhone capabilities, but terrible for multiple viewers), and complicated setups involving QuickTime Broadcaster. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel (well, no more than I already was doing), I hit upon SJKM's iCam software, which is an iPhone application & accompanying cross-platform video streaming tool specifically designed for video monitoring, available in the iTunes store for $4.99. Initially dismissed for lack of audio, it has since enabled audio monitoring and non-iPhone web access, making it an almost perfect setup. Why "almost?" Well, for reasons I cannot quite figure out, the video is much choppier than AIM, Bonjour, Justin.tv, or Skype. But it works over 3G and Wi-Fi, and it connects multiple viewers without requiring conference setup.

And now, with SJKM's latest update, iCam can run in the background and push notification will alert me to sound or video motion. I have not yet enabled that feature, as it is a $.99 add-on and still pending Apple approval in the store.

Ultimately, I ended up using a variety of different applications, but I can report a lot of very satisfied relatives dreamily cooing at the computer screens from Portland, OR, to Philadelphia, PA. All thanks to the mac mini and the standalone iSight. And one very cute baby (if I do say so myself.)

Upcoming: that's great, but can you make it work in the dark? Adventures in IR.....

The mighty mini, take two: DIY video baby monitor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The mighty mini, take two: DIY video baby monitor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Images, formerly Google Image Search, has added new functionality that lets you find photos licensed for third-party use free of charge, and has made explicit image filtering much easier.