EA Gives My Friends One More Reason To Steal My iPad: Monopoly Classic

My closest friends are addicted to two things in this world: Monopoly and my iPad. Either they play the board game, or they grab my beloved tablet to play Fruit Ninja HD. I can tell you this happens every week, on a regular basis, and the only advantage of the iPad is that the battery eventually dies. Otherwise, they would play all night trying to break my girlfriend’s 912 points record at Fruit Ninja’s arcade mode. They’re currently stuck somewhere around 810.

The problem is, anyway, those two addictions will soon merge into one because of Electronic Arts, which is bringing Monopoly to the iPad. The actual Monopoly, the real one – in fact, the game will be released as “Monopoly Classic for iPad” later this month. Just before Christmas. Oh boy. Read more

Microsoft’s Silverlight To Gain iOS Support in 2011

At the Silverlight Firestarter event two days ago, Microsoft announced a new version of its cross-platform runtime and development platform, Silverlight. The new version, dubbed Silverlight 5, will see a first public beta release in the second quarter of 2011, with a final release to follow before the end of next year.

Silverlight 5 will focus on better, more interactive media experiences for Microsoft’s suite of business application; Redmond’s giant wants to offer a technology that will help developers create great user experiences. While we don’t know about developers’ support for the platform, it’s interesting that the new version of Silverlight will introduce support iOS devices. At the event in Redmond, Microsoft demoed the new Silverlight on an iPad, and confirmed that during 2011 they’ll roll out support for iOS and Windows Phone 7.

Good luck with the HTML5 and Flash competition, Microsoft.

[iSpazio via CMSWire]

Dropbox For Mac Hits Version 1.0

Dropbox, one of our favorite sync services here at MacStories, just hit version 1.0 on the desktop. The new build, released for Mac, Windows and Linux, it’s available for download on Dropbox official forums here.

If you’ve been following the development of Dropbox for Mac closely, then you know that this 1.0 build is actually a “remixed” version of the 0.8 that’s been available on the forums for a few months now. Dropbox 1.0 comes with a redesigned preference window that makes it easy to check on your computer’s settings and your account information, but the real new feature is selective sync: located in the Advanced tab in the settings, selective sync allows you to choose which folders already on your Dropbox account you want to sync back to your computer. If you want to keep a folder online but not locally, it will not download or sync to your computer. Very useful for files you just want to keep a backup of, but not an actual local copy.

Dropbox 1.0 is available here. As for what you can do with Dropbox, here’s where to start. Check out the full 1.0 changelog below. Read more

Modded SNES Controller and Nintendo 64 Become iPhone and iPad Docks

In what could be described as a pretty surprising turn of events, Nintendo now considers Apple the biggest threat to its mobile gaming dominance. Etsy user Geekunique, however, wants to bring some love back between Cupertino and Kyoto and find a way to let old Nintendo consoles and modern iOS devices play nice together. Geekunique, in fact, modded an old SNES controller and a Nintendo 64 to become iPhone and iPad docks, respectively.

It seems pretty easy to cut a hole in the controller and place an iPhone dock connector in there but hey – you can avoid the trouble and buy these things now at Etsy. If you think you really need them, be quick: I guess they’ll be sold out pretty soon.

[via TUAW]

Jailbreak Hack Enables Landscape Springboard on iPhone

By default, you can’t turn the iPhone Springboard in landscape mode. The iPhone is meant to be held in portrait mode, at least when you’re navigating between pages on your Springboard. That’s what Apple wants. But some users have been asking – Why can’t we put the Springboard in landscape mode if some apps, like Mail, support the horizontal orientation?

Cydia developers, as usual, are here to come up with alternative solutions to Apple’s restrictions. My guess is that Apple doesn’t want you to turn your Springboard horizontally because that would require an icon layout adjustment, just like on the iPad. Besides, the iPhone has a much smaller screen and layout adjustment would turn out to be a huge problem to deal with. Read more

Primo Power Core - A Battery Pack For All

PhoneSuit has just released a new accessory that works for any of your iDevices called the Primo Power Core Battery Back. The Primo Power Core is a “personal, portable, pocket-sized power plant”. It has an impressive 8200mAh capacity battery in a small, lightweight package and enough power to fully charge most mobile devices multiple times on a single charge. The Primo Power Core features automatic amp-switching technology so that your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Classic, Nano or other competing devices are charging at the fastest rates possible. Plug it in to extend movie watching, music or podcast listening, surfing the web, or playing video games.

Read more

iFan - For Those Hot Summer Nights

Not everyone has the iPhone 4, with its improved lithium-polymer battery that lets you work longer, play longer … you get the point. I charge my phone every night and even throughout the daytime to keep it alive. Designer Tjeerd Veenhoven has created the iFan - a piece of hardware / case made from molded soft rubber with a fan on top that recharges your iPhone via windpower. Wrap it around your iPhone and run like the wind; or maybe the bike mount concept appeals to you more.

Read more

Osfoora Is Coming To The Mac [Screenshots]

Osfoora is an insanely popular Twitter client for iPhone and iPad that has gained thousands of aficionados in the past months. Released on the iPhone last year, Osfoora made its way to the tablet a few months ago with a really nice client that took advantage of the larger screen to offer a landscape “split view”.

Osfoora is now coming to the Mac, according to a screenshot of the “pre-alpha version” posted by the developer on popular design-sharing website Dribbble. We can’t see much from the teaser, but it looks like the desktop client is going to feature a minimal look with a sidebar that – again, basing on this first small screenshot – looks a lot like Tweetie’s one.

With Tweetie 2 on the horizon, Weet for Mac and now Osfoora – I  guess it ain’t really over for Twitter clients on the Mac. We look forward to seeing more about this new iteration of Osfoora.

Update: we’ve got another screenshot from Osfoora’s developer, showing the timeline with photos indicators. Looks nice to us.