Home / tuaw.com rss archive / September-14-2007


Reminder: Talkcast Sunday night 9 pm, iPod touch 1st impressions and more
Filed under: TUAW BusinessWe've got a new night and time! Please join us online and live on Sunday night, 9 pm Eastern Time, for a half-hour chat with the TUAW team.This week's show: the week in review, first impressions from the new iPod touch owners, and (availability permitting) an extended iPhone/iPod touch development Q&A with Erica Sadun, who has been sharing her initial attempts at hacking the iPhone's little brother. Bring those toolchain questions and application requests.For those of you who haven't registered with Talkshoe yet, good news; the conferencing system has been opened up to allow anonymous call-in for anyone with a phone, no PIN needed (if you want to participate in the simultaneous text chat, a PIN and the new Talkshoe client are still required). To call in without a PIN, just dial the general number (724-444-7444), enter the Talkcast ID (45077), and then enter 1#.If you don't want to use a phone, Skype, Gizmo or XMeeting, rest easy -- there's another...

To-Do lists get funky with LifeShaker
Filed under: Software, Odds and endsOkay, I couldn't resist posting about the new to-do list app LifeShaker from Funky Cloud, if only to comment on their clever marketing. This is the first piece of software I can remember to have a movie-style trailer (not just a screencast).LifeShaker is an interesting take on to-do organizing. It presents a 3x3 grid into which you can dump your various goals, action steps and categories. As the name suggests, you can "shake" your grid to re-arrange your goals (presumably as a kind of self-motivation). It's an unusual approach; how effective it might be I can only imagine. In my brief testing, I found the interface to be a bit annoying, requiring excessive use of on-screen buttons for data entry t(instead of just letting me double-click on blank list entries). Still it's worth a look if you're interested in a non-traditional to do list.LifeShaker is $29.00US and requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or higher. A demo is available (points off, however, for...

High quality album art (from Apple)
Filed under: Odds and ends, iTunesWith Apple emphasizing Cover Flow more and more in the new iPods, etc., the need for good quality album art is ever increasing. I know iTunes is supposed to grab art for songs that are in your library and the iTunes Store, but in my experience it hasn't worked that well. Fortunately, Josh Powell has cooked up a nice little site called Josh's iTunes Album Art Grabber that lets you search the iTunes album art repository and download high quality jpgs from Apple's servers. In my brief test (with Springsteen albums), most of the cover art came back as 600 x 600px. However, some albums featured art up to 1425 x 1425 or higher. The search engine is rather strict ("White Stripes" returned nothing, it had to be "The White Stripes"), but this looks like an excellent resource for filling in holes in your collection.[via Digg]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Liveblogging the iPod Touch
Filed under: iPod Family, HacksWell, it's here. And here's all the dish on my first hours with the iPod Touch.Firmware. First up: Firmware. Get the iPod Touch restore files here. I'm downloading mine now.iPhoneInterface 0.3.3 works. Not jailbroken and when I try to put files, I get "Problem with AFCFileRefOpen: 7". I can however see the main disk and the iTunes files in the public Media folder, presumably /var/root/Media.Join us. I'm chatting over at irc.osx86.hu on #iTouch.Didn't work the first time. A lot of people are reporting flaky iTouch behavior. The first time I connected my new iTouch to iTunes, this was the error I got. Removing the USB and reconnecting it made it work.Permalink | Email this | Comments

comiXology releases MobileSafari interface for comic browsing
Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Odds and endsMacenstein has posted about a cool feature from comiXology for us comic book geeks out there. They're created an iPhone MobileSafari (have to remember that the Touch is out there now) interface for their database of the latest comic book releases. It looks great, allows users to browse both the current and following week's releases in a touchscreen-specific interface. It also displays summaries and cover art for every book on the list. It's like browsing a comic store without actually being there (unless you are actually in a comic store while you use it-- in which case, whoa, I'd have to sit down for a while, that's heavy).While we're at it, I'm currently poking around for comic book collection software for the Mac (the folks are selling their house, and they asked me to clear the old collection out of their closet). So far, it seems like Comics 2 is the pick of the litter. Does anyone want to share a good tip on an app that will...

MakeiPhoneRingtone hits 1.1, further obsoletes the ringtones racket
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, iTunes, Apple, iPhoneRogue Amoeba has already updated their MakeiPhoneRingtone application to 1.1, in order to bring in the Cleverboy hack that was discovered the other day. If you missed it, they also posted a guide on how to turn any audio file into an AAC file with their product Fission (but don't forget that iTunes will also do it for you as well, it just won't cut your file for you). We're still waiting on someone to make a program that turns any file into a ringtone by itself (Rogue Amoeba is talking about adding the functionality straight to Fission), but all the tools are there.So Apple's whole ringtone system is completely, totally, and devastatingly broken. Why would anyone possibly pay money for ringtones from iTunes when it's so incredibly easy to make your own? As Gruber said in his great and very thorough commentary, the whole Ringtone racket is just that -- a racket. There's no such thing as a "ringtone" -- a ringtone...

Interview with Penny Arcade game dev
Filed under: Gaming, Humor, HolidaysGamasutra has a nice interview with Darren Evenson, the lead designer of the Penny Arcade game with the long title that's set to hit Macs at the end of the year.The interview's got me more excited than ever about this thing-- apparently Penny Arcade and Hothead studios actually polled people on their site about what their favorite games were, and based on that, they came up with a point-and-click interface (a la the old LucasArts adventure games) combined with an RPG-style battle system (as in Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, which is one of my favorite games ever). That sounds great!As stated before, the game will be available in episodes downloaded from the website, and you'll be able to create a character that you play across the episodes. Sounds really fun-- the end of the year never seemed so far away.[ via Inside Mac Games ]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

A week with the new iPod Nano
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, iTS, ReviewsDear TUAW readers, I have a confession. Normally I am not a person who spontaneously buys an iPod . However last Thursday morning was, well, a little different. Upon seeing the new Nanos, Shuffles and iPod Classics on display at an Apple Store I just happened to be passing (convenient, eh?), I was torn. Do I buy a new Nano? Do I need one? Do I want one? Can I even justify purchasing one, given that I have a (RED) 4GB Nano that I love dearly? The answer to all those questions was close enough to 'yes', almost exclusively because I wanted a video-playing iPod. And more importantly, because I had 7 days of travel that would allow the Nano to prove its worth. Well, after a week of video-playing, music listening and more, the jury is in.Continue reading A week with the new iPod NanoPermalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone firmware 1.1.1 may break unlocks
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hacks, Software Update, Apple, iPhoneMac Rumors is reporting that iPhone 1.1.1 is due soon (duh), and they say that it'll bring an International Keyboard, some extra settings for the Home button, the likely WiFi store update, and an update to the Modem Firmware. As usual, this is a rumor, so don't hold your breath-- this could be coming next week or next month.But there is a little twist that Mac Rumors missed. An iPhone hacker birdie tells me that their open source software unlock actually patches the Modem Firmware to do its thing. Which means that if the Modem Firmware gets a significant upgrade, it's very, very likely that it's game over for the current unlocks.Now, I'm not sure how iPhoneSIMFree's unlock works-- as far as I know, this might only affect the open source iUnlock app. But while Apple has said they're taking a neutral stance against hackers, AT&T may have pressured them to push back against an unlock. As we've known...

1st-gen iPod nano lanyards work with new "fatty" nanos
Filed under: iPod Family, The WozIn case you were wondering, the old lanyards for the 1st-gen iPod nanos work with the current 3rd-gen (aka "fatty" or "video") nanos. Apple moved the dock connection and headphone port away from each other in the 2nd-gen nanos, thus ruining the party for a lot of 3rd-party accessory manufacturers. But now all is well again, unless you just despise the look and shape of the new nano, of course.And before a wiseacre chimes in with "slow news day, huh?" we'll be honest and say, that yes, it IS a slow news day. Apple has an event next week, which generally means a quiet period beforehand. So until someone sends us pictures of Steve Wozniak showing Larry the Cable Guy a magic trick, we're just going to have to deal with a fairly sparse day of posting.[thanks to moo for the Woz link and Atariboy for the lanyard tip]Permalink | Email this | Comments

Woz recreates "awesome" commercial for charity sale
Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, The WozWoz, always ready to entertain for charity's sake, has remade his old 280Z commercial ("It's awesome," if you didn't remember from the last time you watched it) to promote the charity sale of his Nissan 350Z. Unfortunately, rather than split-screening it, the old commercial fades up for the "awesome" line, so we don't actually get to see 2007 Woz talking about how awesome his car is. But he more than makes up for it with some nice lipsyncing, a short Segway ride, and the inclusion of a Weird Al song. Roll on, Woz!The sale itself is to benefit the IEEE lab at UC Berkeley, because Woz says that "on a global scale we are seeing America losing its competitiveness in engineering and technical skills. That is disappointing." And in addition to picking up Woz' own car (too bad it's not the Prius), you get lunch with the man himself, and the opportunity to "talk about anything that interests you."Surely that's worth the $100,000 he has listed...

Cabel's Coda toolbar and the Three Pixel Conundrum
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Apple, DeveloperPanic's Cabel Sasser has updated his blog (finally! His Miis were cute and all, but I was tired of seeing them every day) with a really interesting post about how he designed the toolbar for the everything-web-development tool that apparently is the bee's knees, Coda.Instead of using the standard rounded bevel of OS X's unified toolbar, Sasser decided he wanted to do something a little different, and created a tab-ish vertical indent. Unfortunately, the way OS X's toolbars work didn't vibe with his idea (there were just three pixels at the bottom that couldn't be edited the way he wanted), so the Panic team ended up developing their own entire toolbar. That, he says, is why you can't rearrange the icons in Coda-- because the app isn't using the system toolbar.But the best part is saved for last. All the hard work paid off, because even though Sasser had to drive his team nuts just to figure out a way to get around those...

QT Compatibility and Keyboard Software 1.2 updates released
Filed under: OS, Software UpdateYes, it's that time again folks. Our friends in Cupertino have released two small (and by small we mean 'single sentence release-note' small) updates to OS X 10.4.10, namely Compatibility Update for QuickTime 7.2 and a much-desired Keyboard Software Update 1.2. The updates are available to users via the trusty Software Update option in the Apple Menu, or via the Apple Support Website (Keyboard Update / QuickTime Update). Let's hope it brings enlightenment to those of us who experienced issues with the Aluminium Keyboards, and were unable to fix them.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Guitar Hero III coming to the Mac this year
Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, Multimedia, HolidaysIf you've never played Guitar Hero, you've been missing out. It's quite an experience - you play with a special guitar controller, and as notes fly towards you on the screen, you hit both fret buttons and a strum bar in time to real life rock music. I'm a huge fan of the series, having played the original on PS2, and Guitar Hero II on my Xbox 360. Now, Mac owners will can to take the stage: Aspyr Media has announced that they're bringing the series' third iteration to the Mac.Guitar Hero III is scheduled to be released in October on the consoles and PC. Aspyr will release a hybrid Windows/Mac box, complete with USB guitar. System requirements haven't been released yet, but I'd expect any PC version to have everything the console versions do. The complete setlist contains pretty much any kind of rock you're interested in, from Rage to Bloc Party to Kiss, and even the D and gamer favorite DragonForce.Sounds awesome. Considering...

iPhone hackers create open source unlock
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Hacks, Open Source, iPhoneWell despite the fact that some hackers claimed they weren't working on an open source iPhone unlock, it appears it's happened anyway. iPhone hackers have released a free software unlock for the iPhone.Apparently there are two solutions-- the one above is part of a script based on ieraser, and the other is called iUnlock (Engadget says that one "appears to be in a more complete state"). We aren't yet sure what these do-- whether they're an actual unlock, or simply a reverse engineer of the iPhoneSIMfree unlock released the other day.Either way, it doesn't much matter (hope iPhoneSIMfree made their money while they could). Even if these solutions (both of which seem to be straight code at this point-- there's still no simple "userfriendly, automated tool" available) aren't exactly what people need to use any SIM in their iPhone, a free, open source solution is likely just around the corner. Until Apple changes...

Apple adds "Top Ringtones" feature to iTunes store (US)
Filed under: iTS, iTunes, iPhoneJust 24 hours after enabling ringtones in the US iTunes store, Apple has added a "Top Ringtones" tracker [iTunes link] to the front page. As of this writing, Nickleback has a lock on the #1 slot [iTunes link]. This demonstrates that someone is buying these (just not very many TUAW readers). I'll admit that the next time my iPhone rings, everyone around me will be treated to Eddie Van Halen's solo from Unchained. I hope they like it.[Via Twitter]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sound the alarm: The US Apple Store is down
Filed under: Retail, AppleWhen checking the Apple Store (US) this morning, we found that familiar yellow sticky note. It's probably some sort of maintenance - I don't imagine there would be an unannounced update just after the iPod event. Or maybe preparations are being made for that $100 credit iPhone early adopters were promised. In any case, we'll keep you posted. Has anyone found that online stores outside the US are down as well?Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

20" iMac LCD color problems?
Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, iMacOkay this one is a little shaky because my French is non-existent. But in this post (Google translation) at the French Mac site MacBidouille, they present evidence that the LCD panel in the new 20" iMacs is not a 24bit color panel as in the previous generation, but an 18bit panel instead. Support for this includes the Kodawarisan take-apart photos which appear to show the panel as a LG PHILIPS LM201WE3. This panel seems to be a TN (twisted nematic) display most of which, according to wikipedia, "...are unable to display the full 16.7 million colors (24-bit truecolor) available from modern graphics cards." Other discussions online seem to support this conclusion.Of course, we heard complaints before about color reproduction on Apple LCD displays. If true, this is consistent with the reviews (e.g. Macworld magazine) that have complained about the quality of the 20" screen versus that of the 24" iMac. If correct this would be a powerful reason...

Deer Park, Il Apple Store ready to open
Filed under: RetailApple Store Deer Park will open on Satruday, September 15th at 10:00 AM in beautiful Deer Park, IL. The store is located at 20530 N. Rand Road, near American Eagle and Children's Place. You can get full travel directions here.As usual, we're asking any TUAW operatives who visit this weekend to send us stories and photos. Good luck, have fun and we're hoping you score a T-shirt!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fix the Leopard folders?
Filed under: OS, LeopardWe've previously posted on Leopard's Dock problem (viz. it doesn't work well on the side because of the reflections, etc.). Now, Brandon Walkin has an interesting post on his IndieHIG blog about Leopard's default folder icons. It seems that Leopard's icon art (so far) leaves a lot to be desired - aesthetically and functionally. He argues that the Leopard folder icons don't fit well in the the Aqua interface and fail to convey important information at a glance. I think he's basically right...what about you?[via Daring Fireball]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple releases Logic Studio and Logic Express 8
Filed under: Multimedia, SoftwareWith the Apple Store back up, it seems that it wasn't merely maintenance this morning, as the store now bears new versions of Apple's professional music software, Logic Pro 8 (now 'Logic Studio'). Logic Studio's new features include: A new single-window interface (similar to Apertures) Improved editing Sountrack Pro 2.0 in the box The ability to "...save your key commands, channel strip settings and plug-in settings to your .Mac account for easy backup, sharing, and portability".Logic buffs will no doubt want to check out the technical specs of the new version, which can be found here, along with the new features page. Logic Studio will set you back $499US, with upgrades starting at $199US.Logic Express, the little brother to the studio suite, also received an upgrade to version 8, with the baby brother $199US version taking many of the new features in the Pro version including "...full notation, 24-bit/192kHz resolution, and Quick...

Cleverboy discovers ultimate ringtone hack
Filed under: Hacks, How-tos, iTunes, iPhoneHacker par excellence Cleverboy, aka Dudley, has pretty much figured out what makes ringtones ringtones as far as iTunes is concerned. He discovered an atom in the m4a metadata that identifies the file's role. He downloaded a copy of AtomicParsley, the command-line metadata editor, and after a bit of hacking discovered that setting the "stik" metadata to 14 turned any aac file into a ringtone. He writes, "The file immediately appeared in my ringtone list, and after syncing, it appeared on my phone without one iota of complaint. --NONE".The command in question is as follows:AtomicParsley mmbop.m4a --stik value=14Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iTunes: Free Wednesday
Filed under: iTS, Features, DealsWelcome to this Wednesday update of iTunes freebies. Today brings all the tracks that were MIA yesterday. In addition, the problem with the US and Canadian free singles not actually being free seems to have resolved itself.Australia: Help Is On Its Way by Mitch GraingerThe music on Mitch Grainger's debut album Love & Demons was written directly after the fall of the Twin Towers. The Aussie singer/songwriter was visiting New York City at the time and the events of September 11 resonated profoundly in his songwriting. The track "Help Is On Its Way" has a spirited, upbeat jangle, but there's definitely a bit of loss and even more hope in his soulful rumblings.New Zealand: Help Is On Its Way by Mitch GraingerThe music on Mitch Grainger's debut album Love & Demons was written directly after the fall of the Twin Towers. The Aussie singer/songwriter was visiting New York City at the time and the events of September 11 resonated...

Know before you go: AT&T introduces International Data Plan for iPhone
Filed under: iPhoneWhen traveling on the high seas outside the United States, it's probably best if you power-off your iPhone: Press and hold sleep/wake for about 5 seconds and then slide to power-off. If you must use your iPhone during travel and need access to a data plan, check out this AT&T iPhone world data plan that gives your 20MB for $25/month. Participating countries include Canada, China and Mexico. Overage costs you $0.005/KB and use outside those 29 countries costs $0.0195/KB.Thanks to Darrel N.You can use UIctl to unload -w com.apple.CommCenter. This disables both EDGE and phone calls until you load -w it back on and survives power cycling/reboots/locks. You can also pull your SIM, unlock your iPhone and, presumably, use local SIMs.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone price cut generates 200% sales increase
Filed under: Apple Financial, iPhoneWhen Steve first announced the iPhone price cut, the nay-sayers were vocal: "It's selling so poorly," they said, "Apple has had to reduce the price significantly."By Piper Jaffray's estimations, Apple and AT&T was selling an average of 9,000 iPhones per day before the price cut, resulting in 594,000 units sold by September 5th.Combined with the 270,000 phones sold in the previous quarter, customers would have had to buy an additional 136,000 iPhones to reach 1 million units by September 9th - an increase of 200% in sales volume.Steve was right: They're selling boatloads of these things, and wanted to quickly sell boatloads more...and that's what's happening.[Via My iTablet]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Access your Mac's "super quiet" mode
Filed under: Audio, Tips and tricksMuch like Nigel's amp that goes to 11, making it "...one louder," your Mac has a super-quiet mode. Macworld explains how to find it.First, use your keyboard's volume keys to turn the volume all the way down (using the menu bar slider won't work). Next, press the "Mute" key. The speaker graphic will appear on screen and display the familiar "sound waves." Listen closely (or plug in your headphones) - your Mac is in super-quiet mode.We're not sure when you'd want to do this, but now you can.[Via Lifehacker]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The continuing quest for a data-only iPhone
Filed under: Deals, iPhoneEvery now and then I check back in with AT&T to see whether they've launched a data-only plan that I can use with my iPhone. The word from AT&T is always that plans are phone specific. As far as they're concerned you must purchase a plan that was designed for a particular phone. Thus, the Blackberry $45/month data-only plan cannot be offered for the iPhone.What I'm particularly interested in are two data plans: SmartPhone Max ($30/month, unlimited data, 1500 SMS) and MediaNet Unlimited ($20/month, unlimited data, no SMS). AT&T reps say they cannot offer these plans without voice (the cheapest voice plan is $40) and that even if they did, they must be matched to certain phones, like the Nokia 61024.I'm getting to the point where I'm ready to disable voice and I'd love to be able to do so without canceling my data--at least for a while.I know that some TUAW readers have succeeded in using their non-iPhone SIMS with existing AT&...

Ask TUAW: Anti-Virus in Parallels, inventory management, sharing iCal without .Mac and more
Filed under: Features, Tips and tricks, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAWIt's time again for Ask TUAW, you ask, we decide... or something like that. This week we've got a bumper crop of questions on: the need for anti-virus when running Windows in Parallels, managing inventory with your Mac, publishing iCal calendars without .Mac, accessing webmail with Mail.app, using an iPod Touch as a PDA, DVI to HDMI conversion and more!As always leave your suggestions and/or questions for next week in the comments to this post.Continue reading Ask TUAW: Anti-Virus in Parallels, inventory management, sharing iCal without .Mac and moreRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The real story behind the iPhone unlock GUI drama
Filed under: Rumors, Software, Hacks, Open Source, iPhoneSo as you may have seen on some other sites, there was a little bit of drama today around the iPhone unlock program written (in part) by our own Erica Sadun. Lots of rumors are flying around, and lots of folks have it almost right. But none of them knows the real story. And since Sadun works for us, we have kind of an inside track on what really happened. So here it is. var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/apple/The_real_story_behind_the_iPhone_unlock_GUI_drama'; First of all, Erica didn't write the unlock application itself. The iPhone Dev Team did that, and it apparently is a real, no-code-stolen software unlock-- put it on your iPhone, run it, and then use any SIM you want. Erica only started to write the barebones of a GUI application for the unlock, and gave that code to the dev team.Which is where this haRRo person gets involved. He, a Belfast, UK man, is not a member of the dev team, but pretended to be. He apparently...

Connecting the Newton as a serial terminal
Filed under: Humor, Hacks, Retro Mac, Apple HistoryA little while back we linked to ByteCellar's Apple //c terminal, and now he's gone and put a Newton online. You can check out the whole setup in the gallery, but the short story seems to be that he hooked up the eMate 300 to a serial-to-USB terminal, and then ran it through his Mini. Pretty easy, he says, since he'd already done it with the Apple //c, and apparently it's just an experiment-- while he could easily keep it around for IRC, he says the eMate is bound to its eFate as a paperWate.And if getting the Newton hooked up as a terminal revs your engine, I was surprised to find out that TUAW houses the original Newton serial connector. Very impressive-- even in 1993, Sadun was doing stuff with Apple hardware that makes my head spin. Figgles, apparently, is her Newton.And finally, if you don't have the knowhow or the patience to hook your Newton up to a serial internet connection, you could always just pull an Ihnatko...

How will you spend your Apple Store credit?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhoneAttention, reckless fanboys with no will power or self control early iPhone adopters. You've certainly heard by now that your $100US Apple Store credit is available. Now that you've got it, the question is, what will you do with it? We're guessing that most customers will use the credit towards something that costs more that a hundred bucks (softening the financial blow for Apple - if you could even call it that).What's your decision? iPod nano? Slick new keyboard? Maxed out Mac Pro and cinema display? The comments are open.While we're on the subject, remember that the deadline for the full $200 claim is 9/19.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Random album flash in iPod Classic
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Retail, Odds and ends, AppleWhile a lot has been said about the iPod Touch, not much has been said about the new old standard, the iPod Classic. Kirk McElhearn has written a pretty scathing review of a feature that I didn't even notice-- that album artwork on the side while you're browsing music. Apparently it's not related to what you're listening to at all (which is what I originally suspected it was): it's completely random.Why would this be the case? I thought it was a cool feature to put what you're listening to on the side, so even while you browse through the music, you could have a static reminder of what's playing. But no. Kirk says it's flashy and moving and random-- just like (gasp) a Flash ad. Apparently you can turn it off, and have just a static graphic sit there. But that doesn't explain why anyone thought it was a good idea in the first place.To be completely fair to Apple, I haven't actually used the iPod Classic...

iPhone Early adopters: Claim your store credit!
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Other Events, Apple Financial, iPhoneFor all the iPhone buyers who waited in line and eagerly snapped up the first round of phones, who are wondering "How on earth, or rather when on earth, will we be able to claim our $100US store credit?" -- you needn't wonder any longer: you can run over to this page on Apple.com and follow the instructions on how to claim it. The site states "Requests for the $100 credit must be submitted by November 30, 2007. You must activate your iPhone with AT&T prior to submitting your claim," meaning folks who circumvented the iTunes AT&T activation process, perhaps to use their iPhone on another network, would appear to be out of luck when it comes to claiming their store credit.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.[Via MacRumors]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPod Touch requires iTunes account to use
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, iTS, Software, AppleIf you're planning to run out and grab an iPod Touch from an Apple Store this weekend (they're on sale there now, doncha know), Deep Thought has an important tip before you go. Before you even get chance one to use your new gadget, you'll have to make an iTunes account.Of course it's not that surprising when you think about it (since you'll need an account for the WiFi store for sure), but an account just to use the iPod Touch? A little strange, no? The Touch might not have a contract like the iPhone, but clearly Apple wants you to check in on the signup form before you get to play with your new iPod.[via MacBytes]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments