After Yammer achieved spotlight from being TechCrunch’s best student this past year, we knew that the Twitter-for-business side of micro-blogging start-ups will only be taking off, but we just wonder which company will actually come out on top… or rather, what’s going to come out next? 1.       Yammer Getting credited for being the originator of [...]

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When you switch on Voice Search in Google’s Mobile App for iPhone , you see a little bit of warning text underneath which reads: “Voice Search only works in English, and works best for North American English accents.” Tish and piffle, I thought to myself when I read that. I’m sure it’ll understand my humdrum Estuary English accent perfectly well. But you know what? The warning was put there for a reason. Because so far, every search I’ve done has failed when I use my normal voice, and worked when I put on my appalling attempt at an American accent. So thank you Google for giving us voice search, which is officially the New Best Thing Ever (better than the last Best Thing Ever , at any rate). But curse you, Google, for making me sound like a complete idiot every time I want to do a voice search for something in public.

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There’s been a lot of hoo-hah about Apple’s video DRM restrictions that make it impossible for some content you own to be displayed on some display screens you also own. OrbLive is an iPhone app that that streams video from a Windows PC to the iPhone. It can deliver any video or audio that’s stored on the the PC, YouTube content and, most important, live television if you have a TV tuner installed on your PC. Orb is the first application to deliver such functionality through the App Store with a streamlined interface that also allows access to live Internet television and cable/antenna television with a properly configured tuner. Orb Networks says the application is “coming soon for Mac and Linux computers.” But who knows how long this party will last? Apple recently banned Cast Catcher, a streaming Internet radio application in the same vein as AOL Radio and Pandora (both of which have been available through the App Store almost since its inception), because the application “transfer(s) excessive volumes of data over the cellular network.” Orb, with full video and audio streaming over 3G, ostensibly falls into the same category. Via iPhoneAtlas

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Twenty years from now you’ll be asked where you were when you saw the video below. Behold the majesty of a cat riding a Roomba.   read more

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For at least two weeks running now, the most popular free app on the iTunes AppStore is Stylem Media ’s Backgrounds app. Offering thousands of wallpapers in expected categories such as Nature, Beaches, City, Cars, Stars, Sunsets, Patterns, Swirls, Hearts, Animals, Models, Trees…the app appears to be a wild success. Has the iPhone begun to diminish Apple users’ reputation for creativity? I mean, how hard is it to find a wallpaper of your own design?

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Section: Software + Apps , Video , iPod + iTunes , iTunes , Movie Rentals , Mac + Computers , Laptops , MacBook , MacBook Pro Some owners of the new MacBook and MacBook Pros have discovered something strange when you try to play some iTunes video content to an external display. If that display is not HDCP compliant, then iTunes will return an error saying that a connected display is not authorized to play protected movies. While this may seem like a minor issue, consider if you plan on playing a purchased iTunes movie through a projector. Most projectors these days still feature a VGA input for connecting a computer. These users will now be unable to play content purchased from the iTunes Store. So far, only the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros have prompted users when attempting to play videos to non HDCP sources. It has also only been reported to happen with some videos, but an exact list has yet to be gathered. HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection. It was developed by Intel to stop copying of protected media over digital connections such as HDMI or DisplayPort. There has not yet been an official word from Apple regarding this issue. It may remove some of the recent momentum that the iTunes Store has accumulated, and turn more users toward Netfix Streaming service that has recently become available for mac users

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Filed under: Software Update , Apple If you’re a regular visitor to the Apple support downloads website , then you might have noticed a change last night. In addition to releasing two updates , Apple also redesigned the site. If you’ve used the update website before, then you know what a challenge it was to find any useful information. Before, Apple just showed a list of updates (with the newest ones at the top); now you are able to browse by specific product. By clicking a product link at the top, you can see updates for iPhone, iPod, Desktop Computers, Portable Computers, Mac OS and Software, Peripherals, Servers and Enterprise Software, and Internet (.Mac, MobileMe, Safari, Photo Services). Two interesting notes on the new design: First, Apple doesn’t use the word “Mac” after Desktop and Portable, but instead uses “Computer.” Second, Safari is categorized under their “Internet” group alongside MobileMe; they also still have updates for .Mac despite the branding change to MobileMe. You can see the new site, and get your new updates, by clicking here .

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In what seems like another addition to a long list of examples of how when you rent digital content, you’re actually renting it with a strict set of conditions, Apple owners are running into trouble with High Definition Content Protection ( HDCP ). The problem, affecting owners of the new aluminum MacBooks and MacBook Pro, occurs when you try to play some iTunes-rented movies on an external display attached to your notebook. The HDCP causing the problem is intended to prevent copying high-def content across an HDMI connection. It’s also included in DisplayPort tech, which is the new standard for video output on current generation Mac portable computers. According to Ars Technica , the problem seems to affect movies protected by Apple’s FairPlay Version 3 DRM, although not all files which have Version 3 protection are affected. Whether or not the movie plays appears to be somewhat random, at least in Ars’ limited sample pool. The person who pointed out the problem to Ars was just trying to play Hellboy 2 for a class of high school students using an external projector.

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Gameloft’s Guitar Rock Tour , a Guitar Hero/Rock Star-style game already available on numerous cellphone platforms, is now an iPhone app.  Players can select either guitar or drums and bash away to seventeen songs, ranging from the Police to Michal Jackson to Nirvana to “Smoke on the Water.” Interestingly, the iTunes listing for GRT comes with the following warning: “GUITAR ROCK TOUR MAY CRASH IF YOU HAVE NOT REBOOTED YOUR iPHONE IN SEVERAL DAYS (as with all large iPhone apps).”  Gameloft promises improved stability in upcoming updates. GRT (US$7.99) requires the iPhone 2.0 software update.  Caveat emptor : it’s also not compatible with the iPod Touch. [Available on iTunes ]

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Section: iPhone + Communications , iPhone , iPhone SDK & Apps Before we say anything, you should be aware that Appletell does not condone or encourage speeding or any other illegal actions involving cars in any way. That said, the NMobile application from Njection, which aims to notify users of speed traps, does look like a pretty nifty iPhone application. It was built to audibly notify drivers of speed traps, red light cameras, and speed detection devices based on Njection’s database, as well as submissions from other users. It uses a formula based on your speed and the time of the day. This application will run you $9.99, but that is just a small price to pay compared to the speeding ticket you may get without it if you are one of those speedy drivers. The application supports both portrait and landscape mode, and suggests that you use the 3G iPhone due to it’s GPS capabilities (however, the first gen iPhone will work with it, it just won’t be as accurate). The Njection website also points out that there are many more features to come. Product Njection NMobile Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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