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Mike’s Hard Lemonade Band Will Mariachi-ize Just About Any Song
As we speak, there are a bunch of guys dressed in their best Three Amigos garb who are ready to “mariachi-ize” your song requests in a Facebook effort that’s dubbed the “Cuatro de Mayo Concierto.” Since we’ve already touched upon our pre-gaming festivities, let’s now turn our attention to this live streaming effort from Grey, which picked up the advertising business for the brew brand last November and is now promoting Mike’s Classic Margarita in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Enough of our spiel already, go watch the band jam here.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
iPad 2's new 32nm A5 processor improves battery life
If you're in the market for a new iPad 2, pay attention! As Chipworkds reported last month, Apple's put an updated 32nm A5 processor into the new Apple TV and the iPad 2. More specifically, the iPad 2.4.
Compared to the previous 45nm A5 chip found in the iPad 2, the new chip comes in almost 42% smaller. And now AnandTech has the scores to prove that the new, smaller chip is much more efficient than its predecessor, particularly in the battery department.
Apparently you can expect to see an 18% improvement when playing video, 15.8% improvement when web browsing and 29% improvement when playing power hungry games compared to the old iPad 2.
How can you get your hands on one of these iPad 2.4s? Well, reports say they're rather thin on the ground right now. And unfortunately, the only way to tell if you've got one is by turning it on and peering at the system information.
So, you'll either have to take your chances or wait for the new stock to fully replace the old.
[Via The Verge]
iPad 2's new 32nm A5 processor improves battery life originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Portfolio Pro for iPad is a solid entry-level portfolio app
We took a look at several portfolio apps a few months ago, but I'm always on the look out for new ones to try on the iPad. Gone are the days of trying to shrink large articles and projects down to an 8x11 piece of paper for a portfolio. With the new iPad, high-definition video has become more important than ever, and there is no reason not to use an iPad to show off your work to a potential client or job prospect.
We were invited to take a look at Portfolio Pro for iPad, which makes its App Store debut today, and it's a solid addition to the portfolio apps out there. The UI is easy, and creating a basic portfolio doesn't take long. You can add content from Dropbox, Flickr or media stores on the iPad. I would like to see an option to add content from a website URL, a feature that Portfolio for iPad has that I love.
Portfolio Pro's best features lie in its customization options. One thing I really like is the ability to tweak fonts throughout the app. Like using an Adobe product, when you change a font, you can actually see what the font will look like. You can set up galleries, which is great if you want to show off different aspects of your work. You can use the provided themes or create your own, saving them for later use. Moving between edit and client mode is extremely easy, so you're not constantly fumbling to change settings. The learning curve is not steep at all, and if this is your first time making a portfolio, it won't take you long to get the hang of it.
The one thing I would like to see is the ability to add a resume, such as what Xtrafolio has. I'd also like to see backup options as well, especially since the app can import from Dropbox, and passcoding.
Portfolio Pro for iPad is US$9.99 on the App Store, which is a great value for a solid portfolio app.
Portfolio Pro for iPad is a solid entry-level portfolio app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Moving custom paper sizes from Snow Leopard to Lion
I was recently asked to see if I could copy over the custom page sizes from a Snow Leopard machine over to a Lion machine.
While finding the right file in ~/Library/Preferences (com.apple.print.custompapers.plist) wasn't so difficult, it turned out that the Snow Leopard version of the file is binary encoded while the Lion version is not. (It may be that this file was grandfathered in from a previous system.)
XCode for Lion can convert the file to a regular XML text file:
- Open the file in Xcode.
- Choose File > Duplicate.
- In the Save dialog box, select "Property List XML" from the Format drop-down list.
Moving the regular text version over to Lion and putting it into the Preferences folder gave us a way to copy a huge list of custom paper sizes from one designer to another quickly and easily.
Video shows another way Apple could implement text editing on iPad
As noticed by iDownloadBlog, YouTube user danielchasehooper has come up with an idea that would simplify text editing on the iPad by making it even easier to select text. Instead of tap, hold and zoom to select text, you could use a finger swipe to move the cursor and hold shift to select the text.
You can check out the concept in the YouTube video embedded below and let us know what you think in the comments.
[Via iDownloadblog]
Video shows another way Apple could implement text editing on iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Compelling idea for moving files from Mac to iPhone
We've all faced the difficulty of moving a file from our Mac to our iPhone. There's iCloud, Dropbox and a host of other services to help us tranfer these files, but there are no solutions as elegant as the concept devised by interaction designer Ishac Bertran. His idea for proximity-aware devices and a seamless drag-n-drop transfer is detailed in an article at Fast Company. You can get a glimpse of how the file transfer would work in the Vimeo video embedded below.
Compelling idea for moving files from Mac to iPhone originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Most Popular Stories on AgencySpy from the Last 7 Days
There’s Nothing Like Celebrating Cinco de Mayo on May 3
We really haven’t done much of a party report in a while, but we had to say it was a gas at New York-based shop Woods Witt Dealy & Sons’ annual Cinco de Mayo bash. You might know WWD&S as the agency responsible for the Wrath of Cannes festival that takes place here in NYC during the actual Cannes Li0ns event (which we’ve yet to attend, but are always there in spirit).
Though yours truly was somewhat preoccupied with the Heat-Knicks playoff game unfolding on the flat screen in the agency’s studio/rec room and playing lone Miami supporter in the process, WWD&S was dishing out margaritas on tap while a mariachi band serenaded the attendees. The coup de grace, though, were the pinatas that blindfolded staffers were hitting with a stick and was eventually broken, filling the floor with candy and mini-bottles of booze. Thankfully, Dionysus was smiling down on me as one hard smack sent a projectile initially thought to be a Three Musketeers bar right in the shoulder. But alas, it was a bottle of Jose Cuervo. Yes, a nice cap to the evening and as for Wrath of Cannes, while no Tony Hawk appearance is expected this year, the party will take place in Manhattan instead of Coney Island. Pardon me while I take my jacket to the dry cleaners.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Articulate launches Storyline authoring tool, outputs training modules to iPad and HTML 5
Learning professionals have long been familiar with Articulate's Studio line of e-learning tools, which allow content developers in both enterprise and educational contexts to easily leverage PowerPoint slideshows to build out interactive, scored and narrated lesson modules. The Studio suite of apps (Presenter, Quizmaster and Engage) offer a good mix of powerful capabilities and a relatively shallow learning curve, at a premium price -- the current special deal offers Studio for just under US$1,400.
Studio '09 is a Windows-only offering, but that's not the limitation that has proved most challenging to users over the past two years. It's the suite's lack of a compelling Flash-free output option for mobile devices (for all values of "mobile device" = "iPad") that's been a thorn in the side of content pros desperate to get their modules out to the iOS ecosystem.
While Studio itself won't gain iPad or HTML 5 savvy until the subsequent Studio '12 version ships, there is an all-new platform rising for training designers who need those flexible output choices. Articulate Storyline (Windows only, US$1,398 with a 30-day demo) steps away from the PowerPoint underpinnings of Studio and delivers downloadable, playable content for iPad users via the Articulate Mobile Player app (free in the App Store).
Storyline users can take advantage of accessible slide templates and animated character presets, slide layers with multiple interactive moments, a full set of action triggers and object states and more. Storyline can set and read variables, making it easier to track user activity across a slide or a module. Assessment tools, quizzes and a full screencasting environment round out the feature set. iPad and HTML 5 output are both one-click easy. The Mobile Player doesn't yet fully support SCORM tracking or other enterprise e-learning management features, but they are on the way.
It may take a while for Studio customers to get comfortable with the new toolset in Storyline, but the opportunity to get content onto the iPad easily should help motivate them.
Articulate launches Storyline authoring tool, outputs training modules to iPad and HTML 5 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
DevRocket Photoshop Plugin Eases iOS App Design for iPhone and iPad
Ogilvy Amsterdam Lets You Set Your Own Twitter Rules
It looks like the folks at Ogilvy Amsterdam had some spare time on their hands, enough so to create this little ditty called “You Rule,” which sounds like some cheesy motivational mantra but is actually a little tool that lets you put your foot down on certain annoying Twitter habits.
So far, the minds at O&M Amsterdam have come up with six different types of behavior that, we agree, can be cringe-worthy including tweeting quotes, tweeting in the third-person, posting a million check-ins a day and revealing TMI on Twitter. While we’re not sure if people are really clamoring to have a You Rule URL in their Twitter bio, you nonetheless can drag the listed behaviors into a You Rule box and save it by signing in to the microblogging service. This service from Ogilvy Amsterdam would be probably of better use to us were we on Twitter all day, but we certainly know people who are, so feel free to go to the site and see if you feel like playing Twitter king.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Big Fuel Staff Attempts to Live on $1.50 a Day
In a move that would make documentarian Morgan Spurlock start a vigorous slow clap, several Big Fuel New York staffers will attempt to live below the extreme poverty line for five days. Starting on Monday, May 7, Big Fuel managing director Holly Pavilka and several of her co-workers will be spending no more than $1.50 a day. The bottom line? No coffee (shudder).
The agency peeps are taking part in this social experiment as part of the “Live Below the Line” challenge, a charitable contest that has thus far raised over $44,000 for poverty-stricken citizens in developing countries. “Live Below the Line” is being co-sponsored by Unicef, the Global Poverty Project, and the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life initiative. According to a statement, Pavilka and co. are also using this challenge as a way to bring attention to social media’s impact on raising awareness for charitable initiatives.
Intrigued? Watch another video below that goes a little more in-depth about the challenge.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Friday Likes 01
DiPiazza, Swirl Part Ways
Well, it looks like Jim DiPiazza is on the market again as we’ve received confirmation that the creative, who joined up with San Francisco-based Swirl as ECD last June, has parted ways with the agency. From what we’ve been told, it was a mutual decision and Swirl’s managing partner John Berg states, “We wish Jim the very best in his future endeavors and are grateful for the contributions he made to the agency.”
Prior to Swirl, DiPiazza spent 18 months at Deutsch LA, where he penned the Black Beetle Super Bowl campaign from last year and was a creative lead on the VW business. During his career, he’s also served as a senior creative at the likes of McCann Erickson and what was then Foote Cone & Belding in San Francisco. As for Swirl, sources familiar with the matter are telling us that the agency has picked a new ECD, who should be announced soon.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Friday Morning Stir
-This is news to us, but apparently today is Star Wars Day and to celebrate, Unruly Media compiled a list of the most shared Star Wars-themed ads. link
-The folks at PSFK posted videos from their latest NYC conference. link
-Did you know Ogilvy produced a film that screened at Tribeca Film Festival? link
-Toronto-based experiential/shopper marketing firm Match acquired Boulder-based Action Marketing. link
-Well, at least Megan Fox is still earning a paycheck thanks to Sharper Image, which has picked the actress to be the face of the brand (above). link
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Create A Realistic Patterned Vintage Card And Ribbon In Photoshop
How the iMac was almost called "MacMan"
There's a great story about Steve Jobs and naming the computer that would eventually come to be called the iMac in a new book about Apple, available now. Ken Segall, who was one of the stars of TBWA\Chiat\Day, the ad firm that has handled most of Apple's big products, worked for a long time with Steve Jobs and his company, trying to name this new groovy computer. Segall hit on the name "iMac" early on, but Jobs didn't like it, and didn't like any of the other names offered as well. He had one name that he liked, he told Segall: "If you can't beat MacMan, that's what it's gonna be."
Eventually, Jobs relented, but Segall says that he never officially agreed, of course. Because he's Steve Jobs. One day, iMac was just the name, "and that was the end of the story."
Looking back, MacMan is not quite right, but even Segall says he didn't know that the "i-" prefix would come to be so "iConic." In the end, he says, Jobs was "a smart guy who was willing to act on his common sense." It's a good thing that common sense held out in this case, otherwise you might be reading this on your PadMan.
How the iMac was almost called "MacMan" originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 03 May 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
DevJuice: Sim Launcher updated
Landon Fuller of the Plausible Labs cooperative has just updated simlaunch, a github project that allows you to create iOS Simulator application bundles that launch from the desktop.
This utility helps developers to share builds for testing, for promotion, and for fun that run on the Mac without need for hardware, special signing permissions, or ad hoc provisions.
Although I contributed to the original project, all the updates were performed by Landon and all kudos and thanks should be aimed in his direction.
Simlaunch is released under the MIT license (which is similar to BSD).
DevJuice: Sim Launcher updated originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 03 May 2012 18:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Logitech intros new Solar Keyboard Folio for iPad
Logitech has been hitting the news a lot lately, first with their Ultrathin Keyboard Cover (US$100, and -- ahem -- we're still waiting for a review unit) and now with the Solar Keyboard Folio ($130, available for pre-order).
The new case is of the familiar folio style, flipping one way for typing and another for viewing media. It also features the popular "magnets in the cover" trick to turn your iPad 2 or third-generation iPad on and off with a flick.
Logitech's marketing materials say that the Solar Keyboard Folio's Bluetooth keyboard will last for two years of typing two hours per day once fully charged, and it appears that sunlight or lamp light will continue to trickle charge the battery so it's topped off.
We're hoping to get one for review in the near future, so stay tuned.
Logitech intros new Solar Keyboard Folio for iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 03 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple hit with class action lawsuit over iTunes double-billing
New York resident Robert Herskowitz claims Apple charged him twice for the single "Whataya Want from Me" by Adam Lambert. Herskowitz says he contacted Apple and got an automated response telling him his request was being reviewed. The message he received from Apple wasn't so friendly.
"Your request for a refund for 'Whataya Want from Me' was carefully considered; however, according to the iTunes Store Terms of Sale, all purchases made on the iTunes Store are ineligible for refund. This policy matches Apple's refund policies and provides protection for copyrighted materials."
So, the lawsuit is underway, and Herskowitz is looking for others who claim they have been similarly unfairly charged.
You can read the lawsuit online at Justia.
Apple hit with class action lawsuit over iTunes double-billing originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 03 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
