Drink Up or Stay Sober with BeerStat for iPhone

BeerStat Banner

BeerStat Banner

Drinkers of beer tend to settle the evenings in a local pub or in backyards over an open grill and a standing longneck. Quick work is made of the Sam Adams shuffled between the ice cubes in the cooler, and pretty soon you’re two beers in towards your eight beer weekly limit. BeerStat for the iPhone is all about statistics, tracking how much cash you’ve spent, and keeping a long log term log about your total alcohol consumption and previous records. If you ever wanted to know how much of your monthly salary you spend on beer or how how much beer you’ve chugged in body weight, BeerStat keeps those statistics based on your personal profile and beer of choice.

BeerStat is recommended in part because of its lust worthy design, showing off beautiful pixels as the streamlined interface is overlaid with booze-tastic 8-bit icons. Instead of your traditional tabs, you can scrub through the various sections of the app as you dive between records, your calendar, and a way cool section on fun-facts about beer. It’s got everything you beer-drinking hipster-loving designers would want in an iPhone app, but I will complain slightly about adding your favorite beverages. You can add your favorite brand of beer and its various qualities to BeerStat, but I wish there was a simpler way to add common supermarket brands with just a couple of flicks. Beer is individually priced, so you have to divide out the price of a bottle from a six pack. I’d like to see a quick pick implementation in a future update, but as of now you specialty drinking / pint loving fools can brag or keep tabs on just how much beer you actually consume. BeerStat is only a dollar in the App Store, and would look great donning your homescreen next to that Starbucks icon. Check out the video after the break.

And please. Drink responsibly.

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10.6.7 Crashing iTunes For Some MacBook Air Owners

According to a thread on Apple Discussions that received more than 30 replies since yesterday’s release of Mac OS X 10.6.7, the latest software update makes it impossible for some MacBook Air (late 2010) owners to open iTunes. The issue seems to especially affect the new MacBook Airs 13”, and it basically forces iTunes to quit seconds after launch while running 10.6.7.

Before upgrading to a new version of OS X, it’s always a good practice to backup your important files and possibly use Time Machine to save multiple instances of your OS to an external hard drive. When issues pop up, however, there are some tips you can follow to make sure the upgrade process goes as smoothly as Apple (and the user) wants. First off, if Software Update is failing you and you notice issues with some applications, consider running a Combo Update. It’s a bigger download, but in most situations the Combo Update is everything you need to make OS X update to a newer version correctly. You can download the Mac OS X 10.6.7 Combo Update here.

If iTunes 10.2.1 is still crashing after a combo update to 10.6.7 and a manual restart, you can erase your iTunes preferences and Genius database to start fresh with the app on the newly updated OS. Preferences can be found in Users/yourusername/Library/Preferences and they look something like this: “com.apple.itunes”. Delete those files when iTunes is closed and reboot again. The Genius database can be found in Music/iTunes and it’s the file called “itunes library genius.itdb”. The database will be rebuilt on next launch, after you accept the iTunes EULA again.

Of course, you should always backup everything on your Mac – especially the iTunes library that stores your music, apps, movies, books and more. Storing iTunes on Dropbox (which in its Pro plans includes a featured called “Packrat” that you gives unlimited access to all your previously deleted files) is a good plan to get started. If you have a MacBook Air and you found another way to fix iTunes on OS X 10.6.7, please let us know in the comments below.

Sparrow 1.1 Is Out: IMAP Support, Priority Inbox and More

Since its release date weeks ago, Sparrow for Mac has quickly become many people’s favorite way to access Gmail from the desktop. With an intuitive user interface resembling the original Tweetie for Mac and support for several Gmail functions like labels and archive, Sparrow has sold thousands of copies in the Mac App Store enabling the developers to focus on bringing additional features to the app.

With the release of version 1.1 today, Sparrow is once again redefining the rules of Mail clients for OS X: Sparrow 1.1 contains several bug fixes and stability improvements, but most of all it adds general IMAP compatibility, MobileMe support and lots more features like Gmail’s Priority Inbox.

If you’re a Gmail user, Sparrow now lets you switch between the regular inbox, the Priority one and unread items from a dropdown menu under the top toolbar. The feature is very convenient as it further integrates Gmail with the desktop in a way no other apps did before. Switching between different types of inboxes is effortless and takes seconds. Another Gmail improvement is a fix for archive’s synchronization, which was pretty slow on version 1.0.

Gmail aside, Sparrow 1.1 is a complete revamp of the application. In the redesigned preferences panel, you can now set a signature for each of your aliases, and a signature can be made default with the click of a button; a format bar in the compose windows lets you choose fonts, sizes and styles without opening an external window or the system’s default font picker. The “minimal mode” – available in the Preferences – is another new option that lets users hide the message preview in the main window – quite handy if you don’t want to see a preview of the message while scrolling the list. On a related note, scrolling performances have been improved as well and now Sparrow feels much more responsive.

Sparrow 1.1 is a huge update that contains many other improvements like better HTML and CSS rendering, contact grouping options and Gravatar support, multitouch gestures (I love the three-finger swipe to open a message in its dedicated panel) and a “mark as spam” shortcut. The app is available in the App Store at $9.99, and it’s a powerful alternative to Mail.app – now with IMAP support and deeper Gmail compatibility. More screenshots below. Read more

Giveaway: Mix Music While Mobile With djay For iPhone or iPod touch

djay for iPhone

djay for iPhone

What would you spin with mobile DJ software that integrates directly with your iPhone or iPod music library? Scratch vinyls and interleave music with djay, your personal pocket mixer which loops tracks, fades music, and records live performance right from the palm of your hand. With nothing but a thumb or a free finger, you have precise controls over all of your music thanks to landscape and portrait orientation toggles which give you unhindered access to EQ and Automix controls. Let djay take over your playlist or pre-cue tracks thanks to the polished interface, scrub tracks, and pipe your tunes over Airplay for the ultimate in wireless beats. For only $9.99 in the App Store, it’s like having your own personal studio right in your pocket. Don’t forget about the iPad version, perfect your latest iPad 2 at only $19.99. You can also taste tracks with the Mac thanks to the version found in the Mac App Store, which can be accompanied by a wireless remote for BBQ and scratch synching. We’ve taken a look at the iPad and iPhone versions of djay previously, and we guys could get your groove on with the iPhone version. Past the break, we’re giving away two copies so you can jam wherever your travels take you.

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Rumor: Valve “Looking Into” iOS for Steam Expansion

If you’re familiar with the PC and Mac gaming scene, then you have most definitely heard of Steam: a game distribution platform by Valve that collects thousands of games in a single marketplace that’s easy to use and aggregates users worldwide enabling them to communicate through the platform. Steam, first released on Windows PCs, came out on OS X last year after much anticipation, quickly becoming many users’ favorite way of discovering and downloading games for the Mac.

Member of Steam’s forums Political Gamer recently visited the Valve headquarters and reported an interesting tidbit from his visit and talk with Valve co-founder Gabe Newell: Valve is apparently “looking into” iOS and Android as possible platforms for Steam’s expansion in the future:

After waiting in the lobby for a few minutes it turned out Gabe was in the office and wanted to say hi. To my great delight he was playing DOTA 2 when we walked in and from what I can see the game already looks very promising. After a little “sneak peek” we sat down to talk about Steam and other goings on in Valve. During this chat he confirmed that Steam will get a video recorder very soon, also he said they were looking into the iOS/Android platform for possible expansions with Steam. He also siad that the Source film maker is in the pipeline for a public release. After the chat was over he happily signed my copy of the Orange box and sent me on my way to Robin Walker.

The report doesn’t provide any additional details on Valve’s plans for a mobile Steam, and we only speculate that the development studio might be considering an iPhone or iPad client to check on your online Steam account and friends. Certainly Apple would never approve an iOS Steam app that lets you download and play games out of the App Store, whilst on Android Valve could easily deploy and alternative store like Amazon did (and got sued for the name choice). On iOS, Steam as we know it would be a difficult goal to accomplish: Apple doesn’t allow the installation of apps from alternative sources (the so-called “side-loading”) and the possible implementation of in-app purchases wouldn’t fit Steam’s growing catalogue of games.

Apple has turned its iOS and Mac App Stores into the perfect place for users to discover and buy games, and we don’t expect Steve Jobs to change his mind anytime soon about allowing other developers to “break the ecosystem” with unofficial app stores. So perhaps Steam for iOS will be a simple app to manage your online account? Or a “brand” for App Store developers to publish their games? We don’t know yet, but it’s interesting that Valve is at least looking at the possibilities offered by iOS. [via]

The Kitchen iLand

Tim Thaler has maximized the floor space in his kitchen, and also found a solution for an island - he hid the island in the floor. Tim’s island raisies up and down with an iPhone app and a tap.

Video after the break. Read more

Firefox 4 Is Officially Live

Firefox 4 (Glow)

Firefox 4 (Glow)

While sites leaked out the Firefox 4 download yesterday, rumors cropped up that the download was the 2nd release candidate with the 4.0 name. I wasn’t interested in verifying the download or posting it until it officially went, and as of this morning you can download and visualize Mozilla’s success in realtime from glow.mozilla.org. It’s very cool, and also provides ample opportunity to download Firefox 4.0 for yourself.

The new Firefox 4 interface not only looks a lot better (the address bar improvements are very cool), but now you have something Panorama available where you can group tabs by dragging and drop websites into collections for work, play, research, or however you want to organize them. According to Mozilla, Firefox 4 3x faster than Firefox 3.6 in the Sunspider test, and scores 6x higher on the V8 test. You can check out all the features here and download Firefox 4 from the same page.

Apple Confirms: iPad 2 in 25 More Countries This Friday, Launching at 5 PM

Apple just posted a press release confirming that the iPad 2 will launch in 25 more countries this Friday, thus denying the rumors of a delay we heard in these past days. The iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores and authorized resellers at 5 PM, with online orders starting at 1 AM. The device will be released in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and “other countries” in April.

Apple® today announced that iPad® 2, the second-generation of its third post-PC device, will go on sale in 25 additional countries this Friday, March 25. iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers at 5 p.m. local time, and online through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) beginning at 1 a.m. Apple today also announced that all models of iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries in April.

This is the Italian pricing (and hopefully the same of other countries with Euro currency): €479,00 for the WiFi 16 GB model, €579,00 for the WiFi 32 GB model and €679,00 for WiFi 64 GB. The WiFi + 3G models will be available for €599,00, €699,00 and €799,00.

UK pricing: £399.00 for the 16GB model, £479.00 for the 32GB model, £559.00 for the 64GB model. Wi-Fi + 3G  models will be available for £499.00, £579.00 and £659.00.

Australian pricing: iPad 2 WiFi: 16GB - $579;  32GB - $689;    64GB - $799;  iPad 2 WiFi + 3G: 16GB - $729;   32GB - $839;    64GB - $949.

Overall, it seems like the iPad 2 is cheaper than the iPad 1 across Europe and Australia, a clever move considering Apple priced the iPad 2 just as the iPad 1 in the United States. Press release below.

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Wife Said No But Apple Says Yes And Gives Guy Free iPad 2

In what is quite an amusing tale, one of the iPad 2’s returned last week was owned by a guy who was unfortunately told to return it by his wife. Because Apple had been troubleshooting returned iPad 2’s his iPad was discovered with a post-it note reading “Wife said no.” According to MacRumors, this was escalated up the Apple hierarchy as somewhat of joke, eventually reaching two VPs.

Those VPs decided it was only fair to send the guy an iPad 2 and add a note that said “Apple said yes.”

Genius.

[Via MacRumors]