Google: Smartphones are pervasive, effective ad platforms

A new study from Google and Ipsos/OTX shows that smartphones have become ubiquitous and indispensable to those who use them, with web activity and shopping assistance being two of the primary uses. The study also found that ads plus the always-connected, always-present smartphones make an effective marketing team: 71 percent of web searches on smartphones come from exposure to an ad of some kind, with 82 percent saying they notice mobile display ads and half saying they take some kind of action (either visiting a website or making a purchase) as a result of the ads....

Source: http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=8fd86ab51888f4b4d9c6788fbd31466e

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TUAW's Daily App: Third Blade

Com2Us is a Korean publisher that's produced some quality iPhone titles, and its latest release, Third Blade, keeps that trend going. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of original iPhone gameplay here (it's a traditional beat-em-up, though there are some nice RPG elements as you go), but while the actual game style is pretty well traveled, the action is well-done anyway. With an on-screen analog control and three different blade types that you can use to hack and slash through the well-rendered enemies, there's plenty of fun to be had, especially if you're up for a relatively hardcore action experience.

Each of the three blades that you can use (a faster dual wield, a stronger one-hand sword and a huge, but slow, two-hand "buster sword") also levels up, and as the game goes along, there are also abilities to uncover and use against the enemies you meet. The enemies themselves are kind of repetitive (though I find most action games repetitive in this way -- it's more about the moves you can pull off rather than the variety of bad guys you come across, I think), but the graphics look great, and the hack-and-slash action is satisfying.

There are a few modes to play with, Game Center is integrated, and Com2Us says that more content will be available in the app soon. Third Blade is a more hardcore experience than your standard casual iOS action game, but for those looking for a little bit tougher action experience, it's worth the US$2.99 to download and play.

TUAW's Daily App: Third Blade originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/04/27/tuaws-daily-app-third-blade/

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Catalog your CD collection using iTunes

Have you ever wanted to catalog your CD collection in a searchable database but didn't want to shell out the $30 to $40 some cataloging apps cost? You don't have to spend a cent. Everything you need is already on your Mac.


Begin by creating a destination folder with a clever name. I came up with 'CD Collection.'

Get a stack of your CD's and open iTunes. Put a CD into your drive. If the contents of the CD don't appear as a playlist in iTunes, click on 'Advanced' and select 'Get Track Names.' You need to be online and iTunes should then get the track information from Gracenotes.

Next, click Edit » Select All. Right Click in the blue highlighted area and select 'Copy.' Open TextEdit and right click in the white area. Select 'Paste.' Close TextEdit and save the file with the artist's name followed by the album name, like this:

Various Artists_My Big Mix 2

Move the text file you've just created to your CD Colle ...

Source: http://feeds.macosxhints.com/click.phdo?i=1ac543d5ebe2c0dfc24133ed44ae266d

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Apple lays out $11 billion in purchase commitments

Many out there think Apple should go on an acquisition spree with its $65.8 billion in cash. Others think that Apple should issue a dividend to its shareholders. I tend to agree with the first line of thought (especially when it comes to buying patent portfolios), but at this moment in time, it's good that Apple has been sitting on all that cash on hand.

As All Things D points out, Apple has upped its purchase commitments an astounding 39 percent to $11 billion. The increase in purchase commitments will allow Apple to secure supply chain investments, such as critical components for the iPad 2 and future iPhones. Demand for hot components, like flash memory and touchscreens, has soared in recent years thanks to the glut of smartphones hitting the market. If any company wants to stay ahead, it needs to make sure that it can actually build any killer products that it comes up with.

This is where Apple's massive amount of cash comes in handy. When shortages do occur, such as what happened after the Japan tsunami, Apple doesn't have to mess around with securing loans to lock down components. As Tim Cook said at Apple's financial conference call last week, "The iPad has the mother of all backlogs, but we're working very hard to get [it] out to customers as quickly as we can." Having all that available cash on hand will enable Apple to keep up with demand where other, "poorer" tech companies may not be able to.

Apple lays out $11 billion in purchase commitments originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/04/26/apple-lays-out-11-billion-in-purchase-commitments/

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Netflix ties with Comcast for largest US subcription service

Netflix reached a milestone in its winter 2011 results (PDF) as it tied with Comcast to become the largest subscription service in the US. The movie rental and streaming firm added 3.3 million new customers between January and March to hit 22.8 million users, or exactly as many customers as the cable TV giant. Its expansion gave it a 63 percent leap in total subscribers just over the same period last year and nearly double the growth rate....

Source: http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=3f8e22e21c05452c9d987de2b7dfd06b

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Opening new Terminal window from Finder

I use the Terminal and Midnight Commander quite often. However, opening a new terminal window and then changing to the directory location where I need to use the command line takes time. The Toolbar Dragpoints hint brought me to an idea to create a short AppleScript that opens a new terminal window in the folder active in Finder:

 on ApplicationIsRunning(appName)   tell application "System Events" to set appNameIsRunning to exists (processes where name is appName)   return appNameIsRunning end ApplicationIsRunning  tell application "Finder"   try     set winLoc to target of the front window as text   on error     set winLoc to home as text   end try   set pth to quoted form of POSIX path of winLoc end tell  if ApplicationIsRunning ...

Source: http://feeds.macosxhints.com/click.phdo?i=97f4823b4386d815062928d045a3cf0f

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Windows Phone 7 nears 15,000 apps, accelerates

New statistics have suggested that Windows Phone 7 is near crossing the 15,000 app mark but is also seeing its catalog accelerate quickly. WP7applist as of Tuesday afternoon showed 14,946 apps having been added in the half-year since WP7's October 2010 launch, about 955 of which were no longer active. The rate could see it reach 15,000 active apps by the end of the month....

Source: http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=e8b0aee25014659acc1fc4f6e66dba53

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Illinois Attorney General sends letter to Apple, Google

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has sent letters to both Apple and Google inquiring about the location data its mobile OSes are collecting, including how long the data is stored and for what purposes. Madigan is the latest in an increasing string of officials who want to be assured that the data -- used by smartphones and other mobile devices to locate users for location-based services and programs -- isn't being abused or collected surreptitiously. Both companies have denied that the data is used to track users or that the collection of the data represents a...

Source: http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=09bf6974018a1e2d35999e942420f5bb

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Giveaway: Moshi Cardette

Electronista is giving away a Moshi prize pack which includes a Moshi iGlaze4 iPhone case and Moshi Cardette Ultra compact card reader, <a href="http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/04/08/win.a.moshi.iglaze.prize.pack/">click here</a> to find out how you can win.


Nintendo - Electronic Entertainment Expo - Video Games - Games - Console Platforms

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Increase music volume on the iPhone

This tip describes how to increase the volume of music on your iPhone. It actually works on all the iOS devices.


Some people want to increase the volume of their music, especially the ones living in the EU, because Apple limited the volume to about 75% (EU regulations). If you don't want to jailbreak your iPhone or you are already on 100%, the trick is to disable the equalizer.

The equalizer on the iPhone doesn't strengthen the lows or highs, it only lowers the other frequencies so that the lows (or other) seem to be louder than the other frequencies.

[crarko adds: I haven't tested this one. Do this at your own risk, and please be careful with your hearing.]

Source: http://feeds.macosxhints.com/click.phdo?i=0d351a173aabaa9062b241152b205e11

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