Spoocher

iPhone therefore iPad part 1

Mike — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:24:55 +0000

Over the last ~3 years I have used hundreds of iPhone apps from the app store (and from cydia) on my phone. I just want to go over a few of the apps that I have on my phone that now have been updated for the iPad. Over the next few posts I will highlight spme of the standouts, starting with...

Mocha VNC

If you ever had to access a computer remotely then this is a must have app on the iPhone. Best of all the lite version is good enough for most people so the price of free can't be beat. I'm not going to get into what it does because if you need a VNC client then you already know. The only limitation of the free version is that there is no right-click support but if you really need that then the full version is only $5.99. My only major problem with it is that if you run your server at a high resolution you will constantly be bombarded with low memory warnings on the iPad. I run my server at 1920x1080 as it is connected to a TV so I get these warning every minute or so. This is an issue that I believe can be fixed in future updates and one it is I would defiantly give it a 5 star rating.

Now reading in iTunes

Mike — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:43:51 +0000

iTunes 9.1 was just released with book support and I had to test it out. I downloaded Alice in Wonderland from Project Gutenberg and added it to my library and then the books icon showed it's little face.

There doesnt seem to be any way to actually read the file in iTunes yet or any art available but it does show up. Now if oly my iPad would ship....

What’s in the Boxee?

Mike — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:56:40 +0000

I just got a taste of the newest pre-release of Boxee and I have to say it tastes good. One of the biggest problems I had with Boxee since the alpha was not having the ability to identify mis-labeled movies on my server, not anymore. The newest release has it nipped in the bud. You can now search for the correct video and have it show up correctly. They also re-added the RSS feed plugin and Twitter integration.
If you have a HTPC I strongly recommend giving it a shot.

Don’t fall asleep!!

Mike — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:53:10 +0000

The new "A Nightmare on Elm Street" trailer is looking great. I recently purchased the entire collection as a DVD box set just to get me in the mood for the new one. Although I will miss Robert England as Freddy, I hope Jackie Earle Haley can pull it off. From the trailer I didn't see any of Freddy's trademark humor but I do hope for at least one or two funny quips. As long as it's better than part two then I'm sure I will like it.

5, 5 dollar, 5 dollar Torchlight on Steam

Mike — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:22:39 +0000

Just a short little PSA about a fantastic game. Torchlight is available on Steam this weekend for only $5. If you have ever played Diablo and enjoyed it in the least, you should give yourself a little present this weekend. More fun cannot be had for $5.

Torchlight on Steam.

Every movie I own on my iPhone

Mike — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 01:14:58 +0000

The other day I noticed an app n the app store of my iPhone called Air Video. This little app allows you to stream your entire(DRM less) movie collection over wifi or 3g to your iPhone (and iPad hopefully) any where you are. It consists of the app you get off the app store as well as a server program that you put on the machine with your movies, in this case I put it on my HTPC which runs all the time. You basically have to pair it up so it knows that it is indeed you accessing your content and then it just works. Air Video will do any conversion needed, eater on-the-fly or you can add videos to queue for pre-encoding. Videos that are already in supported iPhone formats can stream just the way they are.

Over all I would say this is a 9 out of 10 app that is really a must have for anyone interested in having access to their content where ever they are. Pick up a video out cable and you can take your movies anywhere. It's really great for taking to a relatives house and having a nice selection of Movies for everyone to pick through without the need for packing a bag of dvd's.

Video Streaming

Air Video can stream videos in almost any format to your iPhone and iPod touch. You don't need to copy your videos to the device just to watch them.

via About Air Video.

iPad, come out, come out wherever you are

Mike — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:59:03 +0000

Here it is only 10 days till the iPad is released here in the United States and none of the standard pre-launch internet leaks are taking place. Normally by this time thate are half a dozen videos on the youtube of Mr shaky/crappy cam playing with one while trying to hide their identity. Or at least a few of the big tech sites have theirs and are putting out initial impressions of the product. I have to commend apple this time for really keeping a lid on the whole shebang.

Having said that, it still fells like Apple may be hiding something by not allowing anyone even on the fan sites get their hands on one. But this is Apple and that's the way they like to do things. I am anxious to see the first review come in from a non-apple tech site and really pick it apart. Not that I want it to fail but I want a truly honest opinion and that doesn't meant that if it has a few flaws it must be garbage. On the contrary, if it has flaws I want to see them pointed out in a way that shows if it's something that is just an inconvenience till a software patch can fix it.

I really hope that the iPad is a hit because I think we are ready for a revolution in computing to go from keyboard and mouse too touch. If your not an apple fan but feel the same way you should still want the iPad to do well, as that will create a nice competition from other tablet makers to innovate.

In he spirit of full disclosure I feel that it should be said that I myself have pre-orderd an iPad for delivery on the 3rd.

Hey, how the heck are ya’

Mike — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:56:19 +0000

I plan on posting things that interest me here starting today. If they also interest you then feel free to comment or just read them and keep all that pent up inside as a festering ball of opinion. Ether way is fine by me.