window.devicePixelRatio

post from Daring Fireball on 06 July 2012 10:04:21 PM. © Daring Fireball

Peter-Paul Koch:

It pleases me to inform you that most browsers implementwindow.devicePixelRatio correctly. The property contains theratio between physical pixels and dips, and even though somevalues appear strange at first, they actually make sense.

Super-useful for delivering retina-caliber web designs conditionally. Don’t miss his follow-up, either.

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http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/2012/06/devicepixelrati.html

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Past and Present: Italy special price cut July 7
and 8

post from prMac on 06 July 2012 09:20:00 PM. © prMac

California-based developer Selectsoft is offering the app Past & Present: Italy on the Mac App Store(SM) on sale July 7 and 8. Begin your tour at the heart of Rome, Caput Mundi, as professor of anthropology and archaeology Dr. Dwayne L. Merry shows you the modern pleasures and ancient treasures of this incredible country. Read along with the text as you watch the videos, then take a fun quiz to find out what you've learned.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-45049.htm

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Paper Airplane Tips special price cut July 7 and
8

post from prMac on 06 July 2012 09:16:00 PM. © prMac

California-based developer Selectsoft is offering the fun and exciting iOS app Paper Airplane Tips on sale this weekend only. Making paper airplanes is a great, inexpensive activity for kids of all ages. The step-by-step video lessons will help you learn about the materials and techniques used to create amazing airplanes! Read along with the text as you watch the videos, then take a fun quiz to find out what you've learned! The innovative videobook format is intuitive to use.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-45048.htm

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Easy Belly Dancing special price cut July 7 and
July 8

post from prMac on 06 July 2012 07:36:00 PM. © prMac

Selectsoft, a California-based developer of family-friendly games, is offering Easy Belly Dancing on the Mac App Store(SM) on sale this weekend only.Just follow along as our expert instructor demonstrates specialized exercises and belly dance moves, then performs a dance in costume. The step-by-step video lessons will help you enjoy a beautiful and fun way to get in shape. Read along with the text as you watch the videos, then take a fun quiz to find out what you've learned!

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-45047.htm

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Judge Richard Posner: Its Not Clear That We
Really Need Patents in Most Industries

post from Daring Fireball on 06 July 2012 06:03:41 PM. © Daring Fireball

Reuters:

The U.S. judge who tossed out one of the biggest court casesin Apple Inc.’s smartphone technology battle is questioning whetherpatents should cover software or most other industries at all.
Richard Posner, a prolific jurist who sits on the 7th U.S. CircuitCourt of Appeals in Chicago, told Reuters this week that thetechnology industry’s high profits and volatility made patentlitigation attractive for companies looking to wound competitors.

Exactly right. Posner has some good observations on the U.S. political climate, too.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-judge-posner-us-patent-system
-out-of-sync-20120705,0,4814825.story

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Coladia Today Announces Summer Holidays Sales on
Mac Games

post from prMac on 06 July 2012 05:52:00 PM. © prMac

Coladia today is delighted to announce a special Summer Holidays sale on their Mac Games. Until July 15th, 2012, all Coladia's adventure games will be half price. The deal applies to Dracula 3, Nostradamus, The Secrets of Da Vinci, Return to Mysterious Island 1 & 2, Cleopatra: a Queen's Destiny, Destination: Treasure Island and Secret of the Lost Cavern. All games are available for download from Coladia online.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-45074.htm

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Like Giving Natalie Portman a Trucker Cap

post from Daring Fireball on 06 July 2012 04:02:56 PM. © Daring Fireball

Merlin Mann joins me for a quick two-hour holiday-week chat on America’s favorite two-star podcast.

Brought to you by two excellent sponsors: Launch Center Pro, a super-clever action launcher for the iPhone; and Tapstream, an x-ray for iOS sales data.

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Read The Full Article:
http://muleradio.net/thetalkshow/8/

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Games for the weekend: Paper Monsters

post from Apple on 06 July 2012 03:02:44 PM. © Apple

Games for the Weekend is a weekly feature aimed at helping you avoid doing something constructive with your downtime. Each Friday we?ll be recommending a game for Mac, iPhone or iPad that we think is awesome. Here is one cool enough to keep you busy until Monday, at least.

Paper Monsters ($2.99 Universal, $0.99 Mac) is a classic 2D side-scrolling platform game by Crescent Moon Games and Robots Vs Wizards. The graphics, however, make this game visually stunning to behold.

Paper Monsters

The monsters in this game are made of, well, paper, just as the title says. Each monster is not at all scary, but more mischievous in nature. This design is of course the signature feature of the game. The hero is made of cardboard, and that’s the edge he has over the monsters. The goal for the hero is to keep the monsters from doing all sorts of “bad guy stuff” in order to maintain the happiness of Paperland.

Paper Monsters

In the main adventure of Paperland, there are four chapters set in a different environment, with four levels in each chapter. When you complete the first level, a mini game called Drag ‘N Dash is unlocked. In this game you control a paper dragon monster that runs the same course as the main adventure, except in an endless side-scroller fashion where all you do is jump. When you complete all 16 levels of the main adventure, a second game called Heartbreak Shakedown is unlocked with an additional six levels. Heartbreak Shakedown is only available as a bonus on the iOS version of the game, as it is missing from the Mac version.

Paper Monsters

Controlling the main character of the game requires the use of either a classic touch screen d-pad or a floating joystick with your left hand, and just tapping anywhere on the screen with your right hand to jump and double jump. On the Mac version of the game, this is all done via the keyboard, which is all the control you need to get from platform to platform, jumping on monsters and collecting buttons as you go.

Paper Monsters

Throughout the game you will find and collect regular buttons, golden buttons and paper clips. These treasures can be hidden in plants, boxes, mushrooms or above your head just slightly out of view. Beyond providing a quest to find all of the hidden objects on each level, the buttons can also be used in the dressing room to outfit your cardboard hero in various attire. There is also the ability to make an in-app purchase in the Button Store if you see an item you just have to have, but cannot yet afford.

Paper Monsters

True to form for any well developed platform game, there are areas on each level that are slightly out of view that you discover by double jumping in unexpected places as you make your way to the end of a level. These secret paths and hidden items are always easier to find the second time you play each level. This adds to the replay value of the game. There are also times when you get to control a helicopter or submarine, which provides a break from all of the running and jumping. Overall the game control is quite smooth, and each level is sufficiently full of hidden secrets to keep your interest satisfied for the weekend.

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http://gigaom.com/apple/games-for-the-weekend-paper-monsters/

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New AT&T service could block future
smartphone thieves

Smartphones are one of the most commonly stolen devices today, and AT&T looks close to rolling out a service that should go further in discouraging device theft in the future.

AT&T plans to introduce a service that will allow customers to sign up a lost or stolen device to a “block” list that will “deny voice, data and SMS access to any individual phone or tablet while keeping their account intact,” The Verge reported Friday. In other words, the device would be unusable to the thief, even if he or she swapped out the SIM cards. AT&T is planning to introduce the new service on Tuesday, according to the site’s sources who have seen documentation sent to the carrier’s customer service representatives.

Mobile devices are involved in about 40 percent of all robberies in major metropolitan areas, and thieves are known to target iPhones, iPads and other high-end devices, according to the FCC. In that context, it’s not a huge surprise that the longest-standing iPhone carrier, which sold 17.5 million of the devices last year alone, more than Verizon or newcomer Sprint, is one of the first to find a way to trip up thieves targeting iPhones and other smartphones.

This is also likely part of a Federal Communications Commission initiative laid out in April that called for the creation of a national database of stolen mobile devices that all operators and law enforcement could access. Carriers and their industry groups are on board.

Rendering useless a SIM-card swap for stolen devices is great. But here’s a big hole in this strategy. If a thief knows how to alter a device’s unique IMEI number they can still purchase a new SIM card and the phone will work.

A carrier like Verizon can simply suspend service for stolen devices. But the kind of measure like this one from AT&T is more important to GSM carriers who employ SIM cards because its IMEI number can be added to a database and that device, if it tried to be activated with another number or another service, could possibly be recovered.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Nisha A

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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http://gigaom.com/mobile/new-att-service-could-block-future-smartphone-thieves/

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Web Designers: You Need a Retina MacBook Pro

Marco Arment:

Even though it?s a small market today (although don?t forget about the iPad 3), it?s inevitably going to increase substantially in the near future. Don?t you want to get ahead of that? Do you want your site to be ready the first time someone views it on a Retina screen, or are you OK with it looking like garbage for a few years until you happen to buy high-DPI hardware?

One more thing: it’s just plain fun to design for the retina display.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.marco.org/2012/07/05/web-designers-need-retina

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