Author: matt buchanan

“We use the epub format: It is the most popular open book format in the world.” That’s how Steve Jobs announced the iPad. And wow, that sounds like all the ebooks you own will just work on anything. Um, no. More »

Sorry, everybody who bought a Zune HD! You screwed up. It won’t be a part of the XNA Game Studio 4.0 party—meaning it won’t play those new mobile Xbox Live games for Windows Phone 7—unlike the Zune HD2.

It’s through MIcrosoft’s XNA Game Studio 4.0 that developers get access to the Xbox Live goodness, using Gamer Services APIs. And that’s not in the cards for the plain old Zune HD, according to Microsoft’s Klucher:

“Development for the Zune and Zune HD will continue to exist in XNA Game Studio 3.1, however, in XNA Game Studio 4.0, we’re encouraging you to migrate your games over to the Windows Phone 7 Series platform.”

That’s where the Zune HD2 comes in, which Mary Jo Foley hears is in the pipe, and “will be similar to an iPod Touch,” and could ship as early as this year. In other words, it’ll presumably be a part of that “Windows Phone 7 Series platform” and run Windows Phone 7 apps.

Which is what Microsoft will need—as many devices as possible running WP7 apps to give the platform a running start, and a wide base of them that don’t require carrier contracts isn’t a bad idea. Like Steve Jobs once supposedly referred to the iPod touch as “training wheels for the iPhone,” devices running around with Xbox Live games and Zune music, getting people hooked on the platform early, the people who aren’t quite ready for a full phone (though maybe that’s where the mysterious Project Pink comes in), is almost a necessity, really.

But, uh, everybody who already bought a Zune HD, especially in the past month. Um, yeah. Sorry, but we told you this could happen. [ZDNet]

The average translation system uses a billion words to model a language. Google’s uses a few hundred billion English words. Apparently, the way to do translation—crunching millions of passages and human translations—is up Google’s alley. Who knew? [NYT]

Craig Mod, a deadtree book designer, delivers the most considered explication of how new the model of “books” on the iPad actually is. Simply put, it allows 1:1 digital versions of books and their form. Must read: [craigmod via DF]

Also shitcanned by Apple in the Great App Store Purge of 2010: Wi-Fi scanning apps. The reason being that they used private frameworks to access wireless info. While some of these apps might’ve been useful, especially the ones with GPS functionality to locate hotspots, using private frameworks is kinda like painting a big “ban me” target on your back, even if you do slip through the approval process. [Softpedia via MaximumPC via DVICE]

Though they could’ve fooled me, Barnes & Noble apparently isn’t content to let ebooks and digital mags be a two-horse race between Amazon and Apple. They just made a big hire in Jonathan Shar, from Time, who’s going to be running their “Digital Newsstand and Emerging Content, Barnes & Noble.com” division. Though that division name tells me they’re already kind of fucked. [MediaMemo]

The Great App Store Purge of 2010 continues. They came for the sexy apps, and other apps said nothing. Now, according to some developers, they’re coming for pre-fabbed apps—like RSS apps built using ready-set-go templates from app-building services.

Specifically, they’re blocking new submissions of apps that are basically just re-packaged RSS feeds or business cards. What makes this purge not-at-all outrageous is that they’re not clearing out apps they’ve already approved, and they’re at least telling app-building services like AppMakr what they need to change in order to make themselves worthy of the App Store: adding features like push notifications, offline access and in-app purchases.

They’re pushing developers to make their apps useful and different, in other words, rather than taking up virtual shelf space for goods that could be web apps. If Apple’s going to be policing App Store submissions for more than mere maliciousness—which seems like it’s going to be the case for the immediate future—it’s the kind of policing you’d want them to do, at least in theory. A cookie-cutter app is a cookie-cutter app, a determination that’s far less inscrutable than the process to decide what’s too prurient to be sold.

But it’s clear now that the sex app purge was apparently just the beginning of a larger process to clean up the App Store. Apple’s eminently concerned with the App Store’s perception as a huckster-y bazaar, and the reflection of that image upon the Apple brand itself. Tacky, shitty apps populating the store are inevitably stains on that glossy Apple logo, and Apple’s just starting to wipe them up. The purge will burn hotter before it’s over. [TechCrunch]

I forgive the dude’s annoying narration because he just received a fake Intel Core i7-920 processor from Newegg. A Newegg supplier, D&H Distribution, sent them 300 fake processors in a batch of 2000. And threatened sites who reported it. UPDATED.

Several people received demonstrably fake Core i7 processors from Newegg, like the guy in this video, and reported it into HardOCP’s forums. Newegg’s been immediately replacing counterfeit processors with legit ones, but the whole thing’s still pretty fishy. They’re blaming one of their suppliers, D&H Distribution, for sending them the bad chips.

For reporting on it, D&H is serving up a C&D to HardOCP, telling them to “remove the contact and any reference to D&H from your website” and to “post an immediate retraction and apology which shall remain posted for not less than thirty days.” They’re acting like shady dudes, obviously, so what do you expect? Update 2: Since D&H is usually a reliable distributor, a possibility to keep in mind is that they got hosed by these parts.

But what makes me sad is Newegg’s shitty cover story:

“Newegg is aware of a shipping error that occurred with certain recent orders of the Intel Core i7-920 CPU. After investigating the issue internally it appears one of our long term partners mistakenly shipped a small number of demo boxes instead of functional units.”

Demo boxes with completely fake products? Right.

Update: Here’s the email Newegg’s sending to affected customers:

“Dear Valued Customer,

It’s been brought to our attention that you may have received a Demo Version of the Intel Core i7 Processor you recently purchased. We would like to first and foremost apologize for any confusion this may have caused you. Please take a moment to examine the product you received thoroughly to determine if you in fact received the wrong product. The Demo Version of these CPUs were purchased between March 1, 2010 through March 4, 2010 and will have FPO/BATCH# 3938B006 printed on the product’s packaging.

Additionally, the Part Number on the heat sink will read CNFN936612 and there will be no wiring on the heat sink itself. If you have determined that you received the wrong product, please except our deepest apologies. To resolve this matter immediately, simply forward this email to both [redacted]@newegg.com and [redacted]@newegg.com and state which of the two following options best suit you:

• Full Refund – We are more than willing to issue an RMA for a full and complete Refund.
• Replacement for the Correct Product – If you are still interested in the product, we will issue an Advanced Replacement RMA to get the product to you immediately.

We would like to once again extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience and we appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Kindest Regards.

Once You Know, You Newegg.

Your Newegg.com Customer Service Team “

Intel, meantime, is currently investigating a flood of counterfeit Core i7-920s hitting the market.

Myself, meantime, isn’t ordering anything from Newegg, until they’re more forthcoming about the issue. And I was just thinking about building a new PC for Bad Company 2. Good thing the game’s still pretty broken! (Thanks EA.) [HardOCP via Hot Hardware]

An Apple patent worth gawking at, given its grander ambitions for advertising, iTunes and TV subscriptions: It details a way to make you watch ads embedded into video content, like say, a free or cheap TV show.

Conceptually, it’s not too dissimilar from what you see with Hulu, actually—essentially, in order to unlock further segments of the video, you have to watch an ad. You know, just like real TV worked, before DVRs!

The patent goes in-depth about how ads would be embedded with content that could be downloaded to multiple devices—like an iPhone or iPad—how it’d react to trying to jump ahead of the ad, and gathering statistics about how the ad was viewed or interacted with.

The reason it’s interesting, primarily, is that Apple’s reportedly been heavily pitching networks both on selling TV shows for cheap—99 cents—and signing on to an iTunes TV subscription service that would bundle a selection of TV shows from major networks for 30 bucks a month, like say, Gossip Girl from CBS. The networks have been cool to both suggestions, given that TV’s expensive to produce and stuff.

Ads, especially ones with detailed usage statistics (and maybe demographics), would help make up the revenue lost by offering shows for a buck, and make $30 subscription a lot more palatable, and possibly even offset the screams of cable operators watching content dance out the door and maybe onto the cloud.

The retrenchment of the old timeline model of television with interstitial advertising in the age of the DVRs, where we can create any timeline we want as we watch, is one of the more curious developments of networks groping for new ways to make money off of old media on new devices. What’s old is new is old again, apparently.

Oh, and Apple’s patent illustrators apparently like Charlie from Lost. [Patently Apple via 9to5Mac]

These fresh images and details of Microsoft’s Courier paint a slightly different device than the one uncovered a few months ago—tinier seeming, perhaps less genre-busting, and a more direct iPad fighter.

This take is built on the same mobile OS core as Windows Phone 7 and Zune HD, powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 2 hardware. It’s supposedly thinner than an inch, under a pound, and about the size of a 5×7 photo when closed.

As you can see, the device seems even smaller (Update: maybe not), the interface, though still pen-based, seems less whizzy based on these stills than the wildly complex and sophisticated (or maybe just complex) interface shown earlier:

Is Courier progressing or regressing? It’s hard to tell—we’re not sure where in Courier’s development these concepts are from vs. our initial reportage. But if they are newer, a few things stand out.

• Courier’s grown to be more realstic and less different, which is not uncommon for mind-bogglingly radical-seeming products. (Our mind was blown by the original interface, anyway, for better or worse.)

• Shifting from using Windows 7 as its core as Mary Jo Foley first reported to Windows CE6 and mobile guts puts it more squarely against the iPad, using a similar philosophical approach of scaling up to a tablet, vs. scaling down as Microsoft’s always done before. (Which makes sense, given that this is supposedly J. Allard’s project—he’d want to use E&D’s own goods to power his tablet.) Also, mobile guts are cheaper than low-power laptop guts.

• This could be one of the several prototype tablets J. Allard’s got—which would explain why there’s versions that seem more like full Windows 7 vs. Windows Phone 7.

• Engadget pegs the launch date later this year, though we’ve heard separately that Courier won’t show up anytime in 2010.

• We’re still pretty excited.

[Engadget]

Helloooo, sad people still clinging to Halo 2 on your original Xbox. As you know, Xbox Live for the OG Xbox is being turned off in 6 short weeks. Microsoft feels bad kinda about it! So they’re giving you 400 Xbox Live points and 3 free months of Xbox Live to join the rest of us here in the present. And! And a Halo: Reach Beta invite. That’s right, we have Halo in the present, too. [Xbox via Engadget]

It’s official: iPad’s launching in the US on April 3, with the 3G model coming later in the month. Pre-orders start next week, March 12. It’s just about on time.

April 3, interestingly, is a Saturday, and exactly 59 66 days after the iPad launch, placing it just outside the 60 availability window Jobs promised for the non-3G model. Apple’s still not setting an exact date for the 3G model, promising late April, meaning it stay within the 90-day cocoon. Pre-orders start a week from today.

For folks uh-broad—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK—both vanilla Wi-Fi and 3G models are launching simultaneously in “late April.”

While we now know it’s April 3, what we’re still wondering about D-Day: How many native iPad apps are launching with it? Will there be lines? (Well, probably.) But will there be shortages, as some analysts have suggested? Also, Apple says iPad will be available through “select Authorized Retailers.” Does that mean Best Buy will get in on the launch action?

So, raise your hand if you’re waiting for the 3G model!

iPad Available in US on April 3

Pre-Order on March 12

CUPERTINO, Calif., March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

Starting at just $499, iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds-thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook-and delivers battery life of up to 10 hours.*

iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ interface makes surfing the web an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. You can read and send email on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard or import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. iPad makes it easy to watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD, or flip through the pages of an ebook you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

The App Store on iPad lets you wirelessly browse, buy and download new apps from the world’s largest app store. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for iPad and will run almost all of the more than 150,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. Developers are already creating exciting new apps designed for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch interface, large screen and high-quality graphics.

The new iBooks app for iPad includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile product. The iBookstore will feature books from the New York Times Best Seller list from both major and independent publishers, including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster.

The iTunes® Store gives iPad users access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 films including over 2,500 in stunning high definition. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

Pricing & Availability

iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. International pricing will be announced in April. iPad will ship in additional countries later this year.

The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download from the App Store in the US on April 3, with additional countries added later this year.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Multi-Touch, iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes and Apple Store are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

[Apple]

Real time is the next step for Google: They’re working on a standard for website publishers to hit Google with new content for indexing in seconds, a huge leap from the way Google currently crawls the web.

One way it might work is through a setup like PubSubHubbub, where a site tells a Hub there’s new content, and the Hub tells subscribers when there’s new content, versus having to ping the site repeatedly to check for new stuff. Google would just subscribe to feeds for sites, essentially. Beyond fundamentally adding a new dimension to Google’s index, it’d help small sites, which are normally crawled far less frequently by Google than larger sites, since they could simply tell Google when they’ve got new stuff. The future is now, like now. [ReadWriteWeb]

This is what digital books from Penguin—one the mega-publishers—will be like on the iPad. Children’s books that are games, interactive anatomy books, and an augmented reality intergalactic GPS system. This is the future we’ve been waiting to see.

The excitement over the iPad? It’s this precisely kind of stuff that people are wetting themselves over, little slices of our tablet dreams. What is a book anymore, in this format?

The ePub format that’ll be the vessel of choice for ebooks sold in the iBooks store is designed to translate traditional books to a digital format. Which is why, Penguin Books CEO John Makinson says that “for the time being at least we’ll be creating a lot of our digital content as applications for sales in app stores in HTML, rather than as ebooks. The definition of a book itself, as you can see, is up for grabs.”

It’s been expected that the preferred form of newspapers and magazines on the iPad will be apps, given their dynamic content—both in terms of being constantly refreshed, and their desire for video and interactive elements—that’s not particularly suited to the ePub format being sold through iBooks. But Penguin’s decision to pursue books as applications possibly foreshadows a really interesting split for book publishers as well: Sell a book or sell an app? Which could have some interesting implications for Amazon and their contracts with book publishers as well.

Somehow, things just managed to get even more complicated. But Penguin thinking beyond the book is exciting enough that I don’t really care. [PaidContent]

It’s apparently true: Steam is coming to Mac. Not just Steam, though. Judging by these awesome teasers released by Valve, so are Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress 2 AND Left 4 Dead. Ho-lee crap. UPDATE: We’ve got all six teasers now.

Gordon Freeman with an Apple logo stamped into his chest and the Heavy coming straight out of an iPod commercial here are actually saying quite a lot. Yes, they’re pointing at releases of Half-Life and Team Fortress 2 for Mac, probably announced at the Game Developers Conference later this month. (Well, hopefully.) If they really are teasing Mac releases of those franchises, that’s saying something huge about Valve, and their decision to adopt Mac as a full-fledged platform. I mean, Valve hasn’t even touched the PS3, and now they’re developing for Mac?

Steam for Mac would be one thing: It’s the best digital delivery for PC games around (well, except when my pre-load for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 never showed up), and gaining a foothold on the Mac for distribution would make a certain level of sense, even if Valve wasn’t developing Mac games themselves. (Though it’s also inherently fascinating that the two truest PC gaming companies, in a sense, Valve and Blizzard, are now developing for the Mac, if Valve’s really onboard. )

If I could play TF2 on my MacBook Pro without having to boot into Windows, keep all of my Steam settings and games intact and synced across platforms (without repurchasing!), I just might need to change my pants. PC gaming isn’t dying, apparently, it’s moving to Macs. (That’s a joke.) [Kotaku, Mac Rumors, MacNN, Shack News, Macworld]