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  • What video format works both on Windows and all Apple products out-of-the-box?

    - by Seppo Silaste
    What format and encoding should I use for video that would play out-of-the-box on both Windows and all Apple products (iPad, iPhone, etc.)? I know that the correct way to render an animation, is to first render it as images, but this is overkill when rendering short animations of a work in progress for the client to comment on. I have one client that views the vids on Windows and another that views them on iPad and iPhone. I'm hoping I could render just one video instead of rendering in two different formats.

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  • possible to make text messaging with php have a constant "telephone number" value?

    - by Rees
    hello, i have an iphone 3g and can successfully send text messages using the PHP mail() function. My issue is that for each message i receive, the "telephone number" associated with the incoming text message changes each time. If possible, I would like to somehow make this number constant so that I can take advantage of iphone's ability to aggregate all text messages from the same telephone number -Otherwise my iphone would be cluttered with messages. Is there a way to do this? an example of the numbers I receive would be 1(410) 000-001, 1(410) 000-002, 1(410) 000-003, etc... can i make this constant somehow? $message = stripslashes("new user just joined!"); mail("[email protected]", "Subject", "$message"); please let me know! thanks...

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  • Rails redirect_to jQTouch site does not work as expected

    - by tilthouse
    I have a Rails app with a jQTouch mobile site that is displayed if the user goes to m.blah.com. First, I detect the browser, then to a redirect_to m.blah.com if it's an iphone, etc. All well and good. When I use desktop Safari, this all works exactly right. However, when I use an actual iPhone or the Apple iPhone Simulator, it does not. The mobile site appears to load without the browser actually doing the redirect. The URL in the browser is still www. I am wondering if this behavior is due to Mobile Safari, or if it is somehow jQTouch trying to load the page with AJAX, not a reload (which is odd as jQTouch hasn't been loaded at all before the redirect). Any ideas?

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  • What should I grab as a development platform, an iPod or an iPad?

    - by mmr
    Hey all, I've recently gotten into the world of contract programming, and two of my clients have indicated that they'd like to do something 'trendy', like ipod touch/iphone/ipad development. I have a mac laptop (first gen macbook pro) that I'll have to upgrade to snow leopard to do the development for any of them, from what I've read. So that's already a bit of a commitment, given all the stuff I have on that laptop I'll have to make sure is recoverable from backup. My budget is limited, but I think I need to learn this skill. Which device should I get to learn this kind of development, an iPod touch or an iPad? I don't have the money for an iPhone. I think that the iPhone/iPad SDK has an emulator mode, but I like to have the device I'm going to roll out on available to make sure that everything works as I'd expect, ie, what's easily readable on a laptop screen is still readable on the touch, etc.

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  • dyld: Symbol not found: _MPMoviePlayerPlaybackStateDidChangeNotification

    - by Veer
    I am building universal app which uses MPMoviePlayerViewController to play the video. Observing notification "MPMoviePlayerPlaybackStateDidChangeNotification". The app successfully runs in iPad simulator but throws following error when it runs in iPhone:- dyld: Symbol not found: _MPMoviePlayerPlaybackStateDidChangeNotification Referenced from: /Users/veer/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/3.0/Applications/27BC67AA-72D1-4DD2-9146-0126FCC8E90C/test.app/eReader Expected in: /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneSimulator3.0.sdk/System/Library/Frameworks/MediaPlayer.framework/MediaPlayer in /Users/veer/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/3.0/Applications/27BC67AA-72D1-4DD2-9146-0126FCC8E90C/test.app/eReader Is any one having the same issue and got resolved? Thanks in Advance!

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  • Design an api using rails and change the forgot password functionality

    - by ragupathi
    I have been using rails for developing web applications and now i need to do design an api for iphone application and since i used respond to json it also produces json but i use devise for authentication in my web application and when i send email and password along with the api it gives out {"user":{"authentication_token":"Lsusyd27ewgasga63","email":"[email protected]"}} and there is forgot password functionality in the iphone app but in the web application when clicking on forgot password button it sends an email to the users email, whereby the user has to go to his mail and click on the link sent and it will take to the change password path and after changing it the user will be login but in this iphone app i want to send the password to the user mail and the user can use that password and login. How can i do this? Also do i have to create new controllers for api or the web application controller is enough if it respond as json? please help me.

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  • iOS - playing a youtube video from a webview thumbnail

    - by soleil
    Was about to finally submit an app when I realized that the youtube videos I'm playing play from the iPhone, but not the iPad. Here's the code I'm using: NSString *embedHTML = @"\ <html><head>\ <style type=\"text/css\">\ body {\ background-color: transparent;\ color: white;\ }\ </style>\ </head><body style=\"margin:0\">\ <embed id=\"yt\" src=\"%@\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" \ width=\"%0.0f\" height=\"%0.0f\"></embed>\ </body></html>"; NSString *html = [NSString stringWithFormat:embedHTML, [videoItem objectForKey:@"URL"], thumb.frame.size.width, thumb.frame.size.height]; UIWebView *videoView = [[UIWebView alloc] initWithFrame:thumb.frame]; [videoView loadHTMLString:html baseURL:nil]; [videoContainer addSubview:videoView]; Is there any reason this would work on the iPhone and not the iPad? I'm testing on a 1st generation iPad. The videos play on both iPhone models I've tested (3GS and 4S). Nothing happens at all when I tap on the webviews on the iPad.

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  • Can I move the order of XCode, Cocoa, and User Templates around in XCode 3.1?

    - by Warren P
    I followed the other questions on StackOverflow and made custom User Templates. Instead of replacing the factory default Cocoa class template, I have to pick a new user template. The order that is shown in XCode's New File dialog box is: iPhone templates first (great if you mostly do iphone development) Second the User templates Third the default Mac OS templates. I want my user stuff first, Mac OS templates second, and I want to bury iPhone templates in third and last place. The sort is obviously not alphabetical. And you can't drag/drop reorder. (At least not in xcode 3.1.3)? From stackoverflow

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  • How to activate and deactivate tabbed bar programmatic .

    - by user291247
    I am using 2 tabbed bars in one window, I want to activate and deactivate it programmatic . how it is possible? Code: var tb2 = Titanium.UI.createTabbedBar({ labels:['Search','Most viewed','Most recent'], backgroundColor:'#333333', style:Titanium.UI.iPhone.SystemButtonStyle.BAR }); var flexSpace = Titanium.UI.createButton({ systemButton:Titanium.UI.iPhone.SystemButton.FLEXIBLE_SPACE }); win1.setToolbar([flexSpace,tb2,flexSpace]); // title control var tb4 = Titanium.UI.createTabbedBar({ index:0, labels:['Home','Log in','Upload video'], backgroundColor:'#333333', style:Titanium.UI.iPhone.SystemButtonStyle.BAR }); win1.setTitleControl(tb4);

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  • Is there any example code explaining how to change Facebooks API existing code to make it yours?

    - by Naeim
    FBStreamDialog* dialog = [[[FBStreamDialog alloc] init] autorelease]; dialog.delegate = self; dialog.userMessagePrompt = @"Example prompt"; dialog.attachment = @"{\"name\":\"Facebook Connect for iPhone\"," "\"href\":\"http://developers.facebook.com/connect.php?tab=iphone\"," "\"caption\":\"Caption\",\"description\":\"Description\"," "\"media\":[{\"type\":\"image\"," "\"src\":\"http://img40.yfrog.com/img40/5914/iphoneconnectbtn.jpg\"," "\"href\":\"http://developers.facebook.com/connect.php?tab=iphone/\"}]," "\"properties\":{\"another link\":{\"text\":\"Facebook home page\",\"href\":\"http://www.facebook.com\"}}}"; // replace this with a friend's UID // dialog.targetId = @"999999"; [dialog show]; Is there any example code explaining how to change Facebooks API existing code to make it yours? i want to change http://img40.yfrog.com/img40/5914/iphoneconnectbtn.jpg to http://img40.yfrog.com/img40/5914/%@.jpg //... , %mystring

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  • What are cross-platform free/Open source Framework to create Touch based web apps/site using HTML/CSS/JS available?

    - by Jitendra Vyas
    What are cross-platform and cross browser and license free/Open source framework to create Touch/Multitouch based Web apps/site using HTML/CSS/JS, for mobile devices, specially for latest versions of Android, Blackberry, Windows 7, iphone and ipad available? For desktop websites I'm a jQuery lover. I know Sencha but it's not free I think. I know jQtouch but it's only for iPhone and I also know jquery mobile but I'm not cofirm, is it as powerful as Sencha? It's not necessarily for me to go with jquery mobile, if there are another better framework available than this I want to make compatible with Android, Blackberry, Windows 7 also. not only for iphone and ipad.

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  • Fallback to another existing MIME type when the required is missing in Rails

    - by fifigyuri
    I want to extend the existing supported HTML type of my site by support for iPhone. For this I registered a new MIME type. I created a layout for iphone and also converted some of the html views to iphone version. However, I did not convert all of the html.erb files. I do not see the reason to convert all views, some of them should not change, some partials simply just remain the same. I guess there should be a solution for this case. I tried to search for ways how to fallback to an existing format, but did not find any answer. Does a way to define fallback for MIME types in Rails exist? How does it work? If it doesn't exist and thus I wanted to solve the issue not the right way, what could simply solve the task of extending an existing site by another format? Thanks for your suggestions.

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  • Fallback to another exiting MIME type when the required is missing in Rails

    - by fifigyuri
    I want to extend the exiting supported HTML type of my site by support for iPhone. For this I registered a new MIME type. I created a layout for iphone and also converted some of the html views to iphone version. However, I did not convert all of the html.erb-s. I do not see the reason to convert all views, some of them should not change, some partials simply just remain the same. I guess there should be a solution for this case. I tried to search for ways how to fallback to an existing format, but did not find any answer. Does a way to define fallback for MIME types in Rails exist? How does it work? If it doesn't exist and thus I wanted to solve the issue not the right way, what could simply solve the task of extending an existing site by another format? Thanks for your suggestions.

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  • Can't figure out where race condition is occuring

    - by Nik
    I'm using Valgrind --tool=drd to check my application that uses Boost::thread. Basically, the application populates a set of "Book" values with "Kehai" values based on inputs through a socket connection. On a seperate thread, a user can connect and get the books send to them. Its fairly simple, so i figured using a boost::mutex::scoped_lock on the location that serializes the book and the location that clears out the book data should be suffice to prevent any race conditions. Here is the code: void Book::clear() { boost::mutex::scoped_lock lock(dataMutex); for(int i =NUM_KEHAI-1; i >= 0; --i) { bid[i].clear(); ask[i].clear(); } } int Book::copyChangedKehaiToString(char* dst) const { boost::mutex::scoped_lock lock(dataMutex); sprintf(dst, "%-4s%-13s",market.c_str(),meigara.c_str()); int loc = 17; for(int i = 0; i < Book::NUM_KEHAI; ++i) { if(ask[i].changed > 0) { sprintf(dst+loc,"A%i%-21s%-21s%-21s%-8s%-4s",i,ask[i].price.c_str(),ask[i].volume.c_str(),ask[i].number.c_str(),ask[i].postTime.c_str(),ask[i].status.c_str()); loc += 77; } } for(int i = 0; i < Book::NUM_KEHAI; ++i) { if(bid[i].changed > 0) { sprintf(dst+loc,"B%i%-21s%-21s%-21s%-8s%-4s",i,bid[i].price.c_str(),bid[i].volume.c_str(),bid[i].number.c_str(),bid[i].postTime.c_str(),bid[i].status.c_str()); loc += 77; } } return loc; } The clear() function and the copyChangedKehaiToString() function are called in the datagetting thread and data sending thread,respectively. Also, as a note, the class Book: struct Book { private: Book(const Book&); Book& operator=(const Book&); public: static const int NUM_KEHAI=10; struct Kehai; friend struct Book::Kehai; struct Kehai { private: Kehai& operator=(const Kehai&); public: std::string price; std::string volume; std::string number; std::string postTime; std::string status; int changed; Kehai(); void copyFrom(const Kehai& other); Kehai(const Kehai& other); inline void clear() { price.assign(""); volume.assign(""); number.assign(""); postTime.assign(""); status.assign(""); changed = -1; } }; std::vector<Kehai> bid; std::vector<Kehai> ask; tm recTime; mutable boost::mutex dataMutex; Book(); void clear(); int copyChangedKehaiToString(char * dst) const; }; When using valgrind --tool=drd, i get race condition errors such as the one below: ==26330== Conflicting store by thread 1 at 0x0658fbb0 size 4 ==26330== at 0x653AE68: std::string::_M_mutate(unsigned int, unsigned int, unsigned int) (in /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6.0.8) ==26330== by 0x653AFC9: std::string::_M_replace_safe(unsigned int, unsigned int, char const*, unsigned int) (in /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6.0.8) ==26330== by 0x653B064: std::string::assign(char const*, unsigned int) (in /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6.0.8) ==26330== by 0x653B134: std::string::assign(char const*) (in /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6.0.8) ==26330== by 0x8055D64: Book::Kehai::clear() (Book.h:50) ==26330== by 0x8094A29: Book::clear() (Book.cpp:78) ==26330== by 0x808537E: RealKernel::start() (RealKernel.cpp:86) ==26330== by 0x804D15A: main (main.cpp:164) ==26330== Allocation context: BSS section of /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6.0.8 ==26330== Other segment start (thread 2) ==26330== at 0x400BB59: pthread_mutex_unlock (drd_pthread_intercepts.c:633) ==26330== by 0xC59565: pthread_mutex_unlock (in /lib/libc-2.5.so) ==26330== by 0x805477C: boost::mutex::unlock() (mutex.hpp:56) ==26330== by 0x80547C9: boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex>::~unique_lock() (locks.hpp:340) ==26330== by 0x80949BA: Book::copyChangedKehaiToString(char*) const (Book.cpp:134) ==26330== by 0x80937EE: BookSerializer::serializeBook(Book const&, std::string const&) (BookSerializer.cpp:41) ==26330== by 0x8092D05: BookSnapshotManager::getSnaphotDataList() (BookSnapshotManager.cpp:72) ==26330== by 0x8088179: SnapshotServer::getDataList() (SnapshotServer.cpp:246) ==26330== by 0x808870F: SnapshotServer::run() (SnapshotServer.cpp:183) ==26330== by 0x808BAF5: boost::_mfi::mf0<void, RealThread>::operator()(RealThread*) const (mem_fn_template.hpp:49) ==26330== by 0x808BB4D: void boost::_bi::list1<boost::_bi::value<RealThread*> >::operator()<boost::_mfi::mf0<void, RealThread>, boost::_bi::list0>(boost::_bi::type<void>, boost::_mfi::mf0<void, RealThread>&, boost::_bi::list0&, int) (bind.hpp:253) ==26330== by 0x808BB90: boost::_bi::bind_t<void, boost::_mfi::mf0<void, RealThread>, boost::_bi::list1<boost::_bi::value<RealThread*> > >::operator()() (bind_template.hpp:20) ==26330== Other segment end (thread 2) ==26330== at 0x400B62A: pthread_mutex_lock (drd_pthread_intercepts.c:580) ==26330== by 0xC59535: pthread_mutex_lock (in /lib/libc-2.5.so) ==26330== by 0x80546B8: boost::mutex::lock() (mutex.hpp:51) ==26330== by 0x805473B: boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex>::lock() (locks.hpp:349) ==26330== by 0x8054769: boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex>::unique_lock(boost::mutex&) (locks.hpp:227) ==26330== by 0x8094711: Book::copyChangedKehaiToString(char*) const (Book.cpp:113) ==26330== by 0x80937EE: BookSerializer::serializeBook(Book const&, std::string const&) (BookSerializer.cpp:41) ==26330== by 0x808870F: SnapshotServer::run() (SnapshotServer.cpp:183) ==26330== by 0x808BAF5: boost::_mfi::mf0<void, RealThread>::operator()(RealThread*) const (mem_fn_template.hpp:49) ==26330== by 0x808BB4D: void boost::_bi::list1<boost::_bi::value<RealThread*> >::operator()<boost::_mfi::mf0<void, RealThread>, boost::_bi::list0>(boost::_bi::type<void>, boost::_mfi::mf0<void, RealThread>&, boost::_bi::list0&, int) (bind.hpp:253) For the life of me, i can't figure out where the race condition is. As far as I can tell, clearing the kehai is done only after having taken the mutex, and the same holds true with copying it to a string. Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this, or where I should look? Thank you kindly.

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  • Review of Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7

    - by mbcrump
    I recently acquired a Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7 device from AT&T and wanted to share what I thought of it as an end-user. Before I get started, here are several of my write-ups for the Windows Phone 7. You may want to check out the second article titled: Hands-on WP7 Review of Prototype Hardware. From start to finish with the final version of Visual Studio Tools for Windows Phone 7 Hands-on : Windows Phone 7 Review on Prototype Hardware. Deploying your Windows Phone 7 Application to the actual hardware. Profile your Windows Phone 7 Application for Free Submitting a Windows Phone 7 Application to the Market. Samsung Focus i917 Phone Size: Perfect! I have been carrying around a Dell Streak (Android) and it is about half the size. It is really nice to have a phone that fits in your pocket without a lot of extra bulk. I bought a case for the Focus and it is still a perfect size.  The phone just feels right. Screen: It has a beautiful Super AMOLED 480x800 screen. I only wish it supported a higher resolution. The colors are beautiful especially in an Xbox Live Game.   3G: I use AT&T and I've had spotty reception. This really can't be blamed on the phone as much as the actual carrier. Battery: I've had excellent battery life compared to my iPhone and Android devices. I usually use my phone throughout the day on and off and still have a charge at the end of the day.  Camera/Video: I'm still looking for the option to send the video to YouTube or the Image to Twitter. The images look good, but the phone needs a forward facing camera. I like the iPhone/Android (Dell Streak) camera better. Built-in Speaker: Sounds great. It’s not a wimpy speaker that you cannot hear.  CPU: Very smooth transitioning from one screen to another. The prototype Windows Phone 7 that I had, was no where near as smooth. (It was also running a slower processor though). OS: I actually like the OS but a few things could be better. CONS: Copy and Paste (Supposed to come in the next update) We need more apps (Pandora missing was a big one for me and Slacker’s advertisement sucks!). As time passes, and more developers get on board then this will be fixed. The browser needs some major work. I have tried to make cross-platform (WP7, Android, iPhone and iPad) web apps and the browser that ships with WP7 just can’t handle it.  Apps need to be organized better. Instead of throw them all on one screen, it would help to allow the user to create categories. PROS: Hands down the best gaming experience on a phone. I have all three major phones (iphone, android and wp7). Nothing compares to the gaming experience on the WP7. The phone just works. I’ve had a LOT of glitches with my Android device. I’ve had maybe 2 with my WP7 device. Exchange and Office support are great. Nice integration with Twitter/Facebook and social media. Easy to navigate and find the information you need on one screen. Let’s look at a few pictures and we will wrap up with my final thoughts on the phone. WP7 Home Screen. Back of the phone is as stylish. It is hard to see due to the shadow but it is a very thin phone. What’s included? Manuals Ear buds Data Cable plus Power Adapter Phone Click a picture to enlarge So, what are my final thoughts on the Phone/OS? I love the Samsung Focus and would recommend it to anyone looking for a WP7 device. Like any first generation product, you need to give it a little while to mature. Right now the phone is missing several features that we are all used to using. That doesn’t mean a year from now it will be in the same situation. (I sure hope we won’t). If you are looking to get into mobile development, I believe WP7 is the easiest platform to develop from. This is especially true if you have a background in Silverlight or WPF.    Subscribe to my feed

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  • ASP.NET Podcast Show #144 - Windows Azure Part II - Worker Roles

    - by Wallym
    Original Url: http://aspnetpodcast.com/CS11/blogs/asp.net_podcast/archive/2010/10/28/asp-net-podcast-show-144-windows-azure-part-ii-worker-roles.aspx This show is on Web & Worker Roles in Azure, Blob Storage, and the Visual Studio 2010 Azure tools. Subscribe to everything. Subscribe to WMV. Subscribe to M4V for iPhone/iPad. Subscribe to MP3. Download WMV. Download MOV. Download M4V for iPhone/iPad. Download MP3.

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  • Is it illegal to rewrite every line of an open source project in a slightly different way, and use it in a closed source project?

    - by optician
    There is some code which is GPL or LGPL that I am considering using for an iPhone project. If I took that code (javascript) and rewrote it in a different language for use on the iPhone would that be a legal issue? In theory the process that has happened is that I have gone through each line of the project, learnt what it is doing, and then re implemented the ideas in a new language. To me it seems this is like learning how to implement something, but then re-implementing it separate from the original licence. Therefore you have only copied the algorithm, which arguably you could have learnt from somewhere else other than the original project. Does the licence cover the specific implementation or the algorithm as well?

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  • MonoGame: PC + Mobile?

    - by ashes999
    I'm researching Monogame. Their goal is to allow "easy" porting of an existing XNA/Windows game to mobile. Does this mean you can have one solution (theoretically) with shared code, and it works on all three platforms (PC, Android, iPhone)? Or do you need to port your game from PC to Android, and then again to iPhone? I'm sure "write once, run anywhere" works 80% of the time, I'm not worried about that other 20% like support for GPS, acceleratometer, etc. which doesn't exist on all platforms.

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  • OWA for ios devices

    - by marc dekeyser
    Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/marcde/archive/2013/07/23/owa-for-ios-devices.aspxI was in the presentation launch of the OWA for ios devices and boy, does that look exciting! We now feature a full app for Office 365 supporting OWA offline and many more options. Support for Exchange 2013 on premise deployments is not there yet but is planned to come soon (when it's ready!)"Our goal is to help our customers remain productive anytime, anywhere.  This includes providing a great email experience on smartphones and tablets.  Windows Phone 8 comes with a top-notch native email client in Outlook Mobile, and we offer Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), which is the de-facto industry standard for accessing Exchange email on mobile devices.  In order to better support many of our customers who use their iPhones and iPads for work, we are introducing OWA for iPhone and OWA for iPad, which bring a native Outlook Web App experience to iOS devices!"Read more: http://blogs.office.com/b/office365tech/archive/2013/07/16/owa-for-iphone-and-owa-for-ipad.aspx

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  • Web framework for IPad and common desktop browsers?

    - by Chris
    We are developing a web-based, commercial point-of-sale application. We'd like the same web site to work well on an Ipad as well a desktop browsers. We're looking for a web framework that makes the site look good on an IPad, but also makes the site work well in a desktop browser such as Chrome, IE, or Firefox on Windows or a Mac. I found quite a few at 18 Mobile Frameworks and Development Tools for Creating iPhone Apps Most of them, such as JQTouch, help a web site look and act more like a native IPhone application but they don't emphasize the cross platform/browser experience. The exception seems to be Sproutcore, which seems to be a full-fledged javascript MVC application framework. I did have trouble getting some of the demos to work under Chrome, but what did work looks good. What framework(s) have you actually used to develop web sites to work on an Ipad and desktop browser? If you didn't use a framework, how did you get it to work well under both environments?

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  • iPad Jailbreak &ndash; On The Lam In A Single Day

    - by David Totzke
    Exploits to jailbreak the iPhone are well known.  The iPad runs on the iPhone 3.2 firmware.  What this means is that the iPad was shipped with known security vulnerabilities that would allow someone to gain root access to the device. Nice. It’s not like these are security vulnerabilities that are known but have no exploits.  The exploits are numerous and freely available. Of course, if you fit the demographic, you probably have nothing to worry about. Magical and Revolutionary?  Hardly. Dave Just because I can…

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  • Transparent Technology from Amazon

    - by David Dorf
    Amazon has been making some interesting moves again, this time in the augmented humanity area.  Augmented humanity is about helping humans overcome their shortcomings using technology.  Putting a powerful smartphone in your pocket helps you in many ways like navigating streets, communicating with far off friends, and accessing information.  But the interface for smartphones is somewhat limiting and unnatural, so companies have been looking for ways to make the technology more transparent and therefore easier to use. When Apple helped us drop the stylus, we took a giant leap forward in simplicity.  Using touchscreens with intuitive gestures was part of the iPhone's original appeal.  People don't want to know that technology is there -- they just want the benefits.  So what's the next leap beyond the touchscreen to make smartphones even easier to use? Two natural ways we interact with the world around us is by using sight and voice.  Google and Apple have been using both in their mobile platforms for limited uses cases.  Nobody actually wants to type a text message, so why not just speak it?  Any if you want more information about a book, why not just snap a picture of the cover?  That's much more accurate than trying to key the title and/or author. So what's Amazon been doing?  First, Amazon released a new iPhone app called Flow that allows iPhone users to see information about products in context.  Yes, its an augmented reality app that uses the phone's camera to view products, and overlays data about the products on the screen.  For the most part it requires the barcode to be visible to correctly identify the product, but I believe it can also recognize certain logos as well.  Download the app and try it out but don't expect perfection.  Its good enough to demonstrate the concept, but its far from accurate enough.  (MobileBeat did a pretty good review.)  Extrapolate to the future and we might just have a heads-up display in our eyeglasses. The second interesting area is voice response, for which Siri is getting lots of attention.  Amazon may have purchased a voice recognition company called Yap, although the deal is not confirmed.  But it would make perfect sense, especially with the Kindle Fire in Amazon's lineup. I believe over the next 3-5 years the way in which we interact with smartphones will mature, and they will become more transparent yet more important to our daily lives.  This will, of course, impact the way we shop, making information more readily accessible than it already is.  Amazon seems to be positioning itself to be at the forefront of this trend, so we should be watching them carefully.

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