Although you can’t read a Mac publication or talk about Apple without stumbling over lengthy coverage of the iPad, for developers wanting a sneak peak before April 3, the story is much different. Much. In a 10-page document, Apple binds developers to the strictest rules of secrecy outside the CIA. In a requirement harkening back to

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Apple Swears Developers to Secrecy for Early iPad Access

Have Google and Apple stopped having super-fun sleepovers with smores and pillow fights? The New York Times seems to think so and we’re not that surprised. An analytics firm points to some surprising sales information concerning Android and iPhone handsets. Finally, one of our favorite apps and services makes an announcement that makes us sad. So very sad.  Plus, we answer your hard-hitting Twitter and Facebook questions! Okay, they weren’t that hard-hitting. Got a question, but you’re afraid to leave a voice message because of Witness Relocation Dept. rules? Drop us a question via Twitter twitter.com/maclife . This week’s Battlestar Applactica picks: More Toast! – $.99 Curious George Coloring Book – $2.99   Don’t forget, the Mac | Life staff would love to hear your thoughts, comments and ideas for the new podcast. Just leave a message on the Mac | Live question/comment line: (877) 404-1337, extension 622. Please limit the length of your messages to 1 minute max

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Podcast #132: Apple vs. Google and Android vs. iPhone

Though some critics like to vilify Apple for its practice of building devices with inaccessible batteries, the benefits definitely outweigh the consequences for such a tradeoff. The MacBook Pros are rated for up to eight hours of battery life, the iPod nanos get up to 24 hours of audio playback and the new iPad is touted to go for 10 hours on a single charge. But what happens when your iPad doesn’t get a great charge anymore? Similar to programs in place for the MacBook Pros and iPhones , Apple has announced its  iPad Battery Replacement program and it’s not a bad option, all things considered. The rules are pretty simple. If your iPad no longer holds a charge as good as it used to, you can pay Apple a service fee ($99 plus $6.95 shipping) and it will replace it. Of course, if your iPad is damaged because of an accident, neglect, liquid contact or if there is another hardware issue, then Apple reserves the right to say “No, sorry.” Fortunately though, unless your glass screen has been smashed, Apple is rarely picky on these types of issues. If your device turns on and displays what its supposed to on the screen and can connect to a computer to sync, it’s pretty much eligible for a battery replacement. What is interesting about the iPad Battery Replacement program is that Apple outright acknowledges that your data will not be preserved because you will receive a replacement iPad.

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iPad Battery Replacement Program

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , iDevice Accessories , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 9, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh FileMaker, Inc. has announced the immediate availability of FileMaker Pro 11 . Packed with new and innovative features led by charting, “on the fly” reporting, a new Quick Find capability, and a host of productivity tools for easier database creation, FileMaker Pro 11 makes using databases easier and quicker than ever. For advanced FileMaker users and developers, FileMaker Pro 11 delivers many new features for creating professional solutions in record time. Also available today with new features is the entire FileMaker 11 product line, which includes FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced, FileMaker Server 11 and FileMaker Server 11. Araelium Group has released Querious 1.0 , its all-new database management application for Mac OS X. Querious includes the ability to view, edit, and search data, manage table schema, indexes, queries, and users for MSQL 5. Direct, SSH, and SSL connections are all supported. Querious has been built from the ground up for Mac OS X, featuring a well-crafted user experience that is both comfortable and manages to stay out of the way of experienced developers and database administrators. Mapdiva has announced Ortelius 1.0.7, the latest update of their map design software for Mac OS X. Ortelius is a vector-based cartography application that helps you create high-quality custom map graphics, plans, and scaled drawings

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 9, 2010

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Reviews Arachnadoodle Genre: Arcade Game Developer: Connect2Media File Size: 9.8 MB Version Reviewed: 0.3.5 Requirements: iPhone 2.2 Software Compatibility: iPhone or iPod touch Age Rating: 4+ Retail Price: $0.99 Arachnadoodle is a charming throwback to the arcade games of my youth, but with better graphics. It takes a simple premise—a spider building a web to catch flies—and makes it goofy and fun with bright colors, surprisingly difficult gameplay, and heartless rules. If this game had come out in the ‘80s, we’d have seen Arachnadoodle lunchboxes, Trapper Keepers, and a Saturday morning cartoon that hipsters would look back on with ironic fondness. Boris the spider, in all his googly-eyed glory, must be launched by the player to connect strands of webbing to the pins scattered randomly about a room. You primary goal is to hit all the pins—fail to do that and the game ends—but your secondary goal is to attach strands to as many pins, multiple times, as possible. This makes your web stronger, and you’ll catch more flies during the bonus round that follows each level. The game starts simply enough, then gets harder as more pins are added, along with later obstacles such as pins that change your trajectory and bombs that explode when touched, destroying the webwork. Connecting all the pins is hard enough (you only have a limited number of jumps), and at later levels figuring out how to get a web strong enough to catch the most flies will leave you puzzling over levels. It’s an odd mix of outright crazy, physics, and colorful cartoon characters. Appletell Rating: Buy Arachnadoodle Star*Burst Genre: Arcade Developer: Super Happy Fun Fun File Size: 21.5 MB Version Reviewed: 1.0.5 Requirements: iPhone 2.2.1 Software Compatibility: iPhone or iPod touch Age Rating: 4+ Retail Price: $1.99 (Free Lite version available) Speaking of arcade throwbacks, Star*Burst was developed by the creator of KLAX, and it shows.

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Appletell reviews Arachnadoodle and Star*Burst for iPhone, iPod touch

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 8, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh Zevrix Solutions is offering BatchOutput Server —its output workflow automation solution for InDesign—at 50% off on maczot on Tuesday March 9th. BatchOutput Server offloads printing and exporting to PDF and PostScript to a central system by processing InDesign files from hotfolders. Originally developed for a major magazine publisher in the United States, the software saves companies countless hours that are lost each year because operators have to wait for InDesign to output files. Macgamestore.com has announced Murder, She Wrote . The game was developed by leading casual games developer and publisher, Legacy Interactive. Murder, She Wrote is an interactive seek and find who-dun-it mystery adventure with unique minigames in every scene. Play as the lovable murder novelist Jessica Fletcher and solve each of the five cases by carefully and methodically investigating murders using an innovative new style of hidden object and light adventure gameplay. Eternal Storms Software has announced the immediate availability of flickery 1.8 for Mac OS X. flickery is a unique desktop flickr client which combines the flickr photo-community with the ease-of-use and elegance of Mac OS X. Easily upload photos and videos to your Flickr photostream, organize items in photosets and groups, browse Favorites, and more. flickery 1.8 adds Google Maps to the search functionality to bring more powerful searches to flickery users. Badia Software has announced the public beta release of Exportools Professional 3.0 , its flagship software for high-end exporting and printing of multiple Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress documents. Exportools Professional 3.0 has been entirely rewritten in Cocoa, and it’s the first add-on for InDesign and QuarkXPress built with 64-bit code, boosting overall performance and stability.

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 8, 2010

Section: Macintosh / Apple Hardware , Laptops , MacBook Air , MacBook , MacBook Pro , Peripherals , Cases / Bags , Features , Contests and Giveaways A few months ago, the fine people at Saddleback Leather provided us with a medium laptop case for review. Now they’re extending that generosity to you by allowing us to give it away to one of our readers. This is 100% waterproof full grain boot leather with a high density Neoprene padding, and is valued at $265. It’s lightly used, but as is the case with all quality leather products, we like to refer to it as being “broken in.” If you read my review (all pieces covered in the review are included in the giveaway) but didn’t get your order in for the Saddleback Leather laptop case, this may be your last chance. Saddleback Leather has discontinued their laptop case line, directing portable computer users towards their line of thin briefcases , instead. Good thing we’ve made winning this one easy to do. To enter, just follow these three easy steps: Read the Saddleback Leather Laptop Case Contest Rules . Make sure you’re registered with Appletell and logged in. Leave us a comment below on this page , not on the contest rules page. Doesn’t matter what you say, just tell us hello if you want to. That’s all there is to it. Entries will be accepted from March 8th through March 21st. The winner will be randomly selected from all qualified entries, and will be notified by March 28th.

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Appletell giveaway: Saddleback Leather laptop case

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for March 3, 2010: Macintosh publicspace.net has announced A Better Finder Rename 8.53 , an update to its popular file, music and photo renaming utility. A Better Finder Rename is a sophisticated tool that caters for the full range of file renaming tasks encountered by the modern creative professional. The new release allows diacritical marks such as accents and umlauts to be removed from file names automatically. BeeSoft has announced the update of ProTA and ProTA Gold , their leading stock market charting and technical analysis software for Mac OS X. Featuring a modern user interface, ProTA delivers professional-level market analysis to ordinary investors and short-term traders. Version 3.23 has been updated for compatibility with the February 2010 changes to options symbology as set forth by the Options Clearing Corporation. This upgrade is free for existing customers. SuperSync 3.5 is a software program that lets music fans visually compare, access and merge iTunes libraries across multiple Macs, PCs, iPods, and iPhones. Any new content that is added on one computer can be instantly uploaded to the master library. Released today, version 3.5 adds instant access to all of Apple’s iPhone and iPod products. Now users can retrieve, backup and merge their iPod/iPhone music/video collection and playlists to any computer running SuperSync. Managing Editor Inc. (MEI) has announced InPorter 2.0 , the latest version of MEI’s versatile add-on module for the vjoon K4 Publishing System. InPorter is a server-side utility that streamlines and automates the process of moving content into K4. InPorter handles any kind of object that can be managed in the K4 system, including InCopy articles, InDesign layouts, photos, ads, and more.

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 3, 2010

Illustration by Pasquale D’Silva   We’re giving away a ton of cool stuff on Twitter! Follow us and watch for Twitter Giveaway posts, then reply to @MacLife to be entered to win. Check out the prizes: Urbanears Plattan Headphones   http://www.urbanears.com/press.html   Joby Gorillamobile   http://joby.com/gorillamobile/3gs/   Ten One Design Pogo Stylus   http://www.tenonedesign.com/stylus.php   iBend stand for iPhone/iPod touch   http://www.myibend.com/   iSkin ( @iSkininc ) ProTouch keyboard cover for MacBook   http://www.iskin.com/protouch_macbook/common_features.html   iSkin iPhone cases (solo, solo FX, revo2, Fuze) http://www.iskin.com/products_iphone.tpl To find out more about the contest and have a chance to win, you HAVE to be following us on Twitter. ( http://www.twitter.com/maclife )     RULES! 
Twitter Giveaway rules: The sponsor of the contest is Future US, Inc., 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080 (“Sponsor”). Winners will be determined by a single random drawing of all valid entries posted to Twitter.com and referencing @MacLife by followers of @MacLife after we tweet that each giveaway has started. The decision of Sponsor shall be final and binding and within its sole discretion. Winners will be notified by Twitter private message within ten (10) days of the drawing. The winners will be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility/release of liability/prize acceptance within seven days of receipt; failure to do so upon request will result in forfeiture of the prize. By acceptance of the prize, the winner agrees to the use of their name and/or likeness for purposes of advertising, trade, or promotion without further compensation, unless  prohibited by law. Employees of Sponsor, its respective parent, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, and agents, and foregoing employees’ household or immediate family members (defined as parent, spouse, child, sibling, or grandparent) are NOT eligible to enter Contest. By their submission of entry, participants warrant they are legally entitled and authorized to make such submission. In the event of a dispute as to the winner’s identity, entries will be deemed made by the holder of the Twitter account associated with the entry. All prizes will be awarded. Prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parents or legal guardians.

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Mac|Life Twitter Giveaway!

It’s that time of the year, patent lawsuit time. Apple has unleashed its lawyers on the folks over at HTC. We wonder why HTC was the target of the suit and not Google. A new Mac mini rumor merges with HDMI hitting the port mix. What does this mean for the Apple TV? And finally Netflix is asking its customers if they would like an iPhone/iPad app. Uh, yes. Plus, we answer your hard-hitting Twitter and Facebook questions! Okay, they weren’t that hard-hitting. Got a question, but you’re afraid to leave a voice message because of Witness Relocation Dept. rules? Drop us a question via Twitter twitter.com/maclife

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Podcast #130: Apple Sues HTC and Mac mini Rumors