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| 05-31-09 / 04:10 PM : Cappuccino performance on iPhone/fat binary (cjed) |
| Cappuccino performance on iPhone isn't satisfying for now, due to the device's processing power and limited memory (that are also main reasons for the absence of a full Flash version - besides strategic matters and historic poor peformance of Flash player on mac compared with the Windows version). From the Cappuccino team leader, it appears that WebKit team may have discovered a bug in iPhone's Safari that leads to an additional parsing of each js file, thus requiring twice the time (moreover that step takes half the whole time of a CP application load). Besides that large improvement area (that could be provided soon through the iPhone 0S3.0 update), the Press tool could filter on a method basis instead of on a whole class basis. Indeed some classes such as CPArray include a hundred of methods, that aren't likely to be used all in a given application. However this could be problematic with dynamic calls, where used methods aren't known before execution. Then it is planned to allow deploying Cappuccino applications targeted for various environments (desktop, mobile). A new archive format (that reminds OSX universal binary concept) will be provided (no compilation however there). The Atlas editor could then produce archives optimized for all devices. Use of Cappuccino for portable applications is a straight choice however, as if performances are a concern, migrating to iPhone SDK would be easy (same frameworks and concepts). |
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| 05-29-09 / 05:20 PM : Return to Mysterious Island available / RTMI2 (cjed) |
 Return to Mysterious Island is finally available at the AppStore (priced 4,99$). The game archive to download weights 263 Mb (that is a third Myst size). First reviews are very positive (we can also read a review of the PC version here).The sequel, Return to Mysterious Island 2, is planned soon, and also on iPhone (the game will feature a PC/iPhone savegames synchronization feature, in order to play/resume the game both on PC and iPhone). |
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| 05-29-09 / 12:49 AM : Space Ace on iPhone (cjed) |
| The famous action/adventure game Space Ace (took many disks on Atari/Amiga and provided first time ever full cinematics and digital sounds/soundtrack, all that with interaction, even basic) is available at the AppStore (priced 5,99$). We can watch a video here. We hope soon Bionic Commando from Capcom, and Gauntlet (Atari), to follow on the retro wave (waiting for Marble Madness) ! |
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| 05-29-09 / 12:41 AM : NI DEEP RECONSTRUCTIONS soundpack (cjed) |
 Native Instruments presents DEEP RECONSTRUCTIONS, a new Kore Soundpack that includes 150 evolving/sequenced patchs : lets you tweak sounds in real-time and repeat, freeze and sequence your signal into ever-evolving poly-rhythms. Audio demos are available. It is priced 79$. |
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| 05-28-09 / 01:02 AM : Return to Mysterious Island trailer (cjed) |
| A trailer of Return to Mysterious Island for iPhone (due this June) is available at youtube. We can also find a video of Ground Effect, and another of Blimp. |
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| 05-27-09 / 01:19 AM : AF : Kurzweil PC361 review / history (cjed) |
| Audiofanzine provides a review of Kurzweil PC361 (see the audio and video demos - announced price is 2395$), and an interview/history of the project's leaders. We notably learn that the PC361 brings back the VA module from the VA1 synth (that was cancelled after Samick acquired Kurzweil in 2004), thanks to original staff return when Hyundai buyed the company later in 2006. Now Kurzweil has new dealers for all countries (including France), and new projects are being worked on. Meanwhile, a lite version of the PC361, the PC361 LE, is planned. It will provide half the polyphony and simultaneous effects, probably for close to half the price (and probably close to Korg M50 price). |
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| 05-23-09 / 04:54 PM : iPhone : Toki Tori / Dinosmash Online (cjed) |
| Among recent interesting and/of low priced iPhone games we find : Toki Tori (4,99$) from Chillingo (we can watch video walkthroughs here), Dinosmash Online (multiplayer game at introductory price of 0,99$), Dark Raider (reminds in someway Gauntlet) at 0,99$, and 7 Days Apocalypse (0,99$). |
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| 05-23-09 / 12:03 AM : Cappuccino 0.7 available (cjed) |
| Cappuccino 0.7 is finally available. It includes many bugs fixes, Aristo theme, checkboxes and radio buttons controls, support for themes (and display modes), CPBezierPath class (so direct calls to CG aren't required anymore). Moreover nib2cib tool has been enhanced (it however requires OSX - Atlas hasn't been released yet). The CPTableView component, considered as of alpha status, isn't included for now. |
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| 05-22-09 / 10:42 PM : PLAY 1.2.5 update (cjed) |
| A 1.2.5 update to PLAY is available at soundsonline.com. It brings these enhancements : - fix for issue with Nehalem processor in new Mac Pro - Logic corrupt fonts bug fixed - Protools sticky menus bug fixed - Protools blank GUI bug fixed - additional fixes to prevent stuck notes on some hosts |
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| 05-21-09 / 04:54 PM : iPhone : Sonic the Hedgehog (cjed) |
| Sega released on the AppStore the famous Sonic the Hedgehog game (5,99$). It may use a Genesis emulator internally (there still exists one on mac and even on iPhone), as a rom file has been reported inside the game archive. From that video and first reviews, it seems iPhone version isn't perfectly smooth. However it brings a fullscreen mode, besides the centered native resolution mode (that is however smoother). We can hope some enhancement in that area in future updates. We can watch a video of the game running through the Genesis4iphone emulator. |
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| 05-21-09 / 04:12 PM : iPhone Flashback : full screen/landscape/3G install (cjed) |
| A 1.1 update to iPhone's Flashback game is finally available. It brings the awaited fullscreen mode, and controls have been enhanced (more practical and more precise). An automatic landscape mode switch is also included, and the help has been added in the game. Moreover is seems we can now install the game throug mobile internet connection (3G/Edge) besides Wifi : Game requires WiFi or mobile internet access for a one time 2.9MB download.. We can find the game levels access codes here, and a full walkthrough there. |
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| 05-21-09 / 02:46 PM : ToyBot&HydroTilt updates / Kroll price drop (cjed) |
| We can also find at the AppStore updates to the three ToyBot games (they notably now use less memory) and to HydroTilt (includes a levels editor). Finally Kroll, that was technically a step forward when it was released in September (despite a short lifetime), is now priced 0,99$. The same for recent Siberian Strike shoot them up (well known by MAME users) and Diablo like Underworlds. Gameloft's Assassin's Creed and Terminator Salvation are priced 5,99$. |
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| 05-21-09 / 12:55 AM : iPhone X-Plane 9.10 update (cjed) |
| A 9.10 update to iPhone's X-Plane version is available at the AppStore. It notably brings a better rendering (stars at night, water) and a better framerate. Details on various iPhone X-Plane games can be found here. |
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| 05-21-09 / 12:43 AM : iPhone Shift game (cjed) |
| Shift is an original action game, that was initially available in Flash. Is is now at the AppStore (0,99$). |
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| 05-21-09 / 12:36 AM : Pianoteq Vibes add-on (cjed) |
 Following Electric pianos addons for Pianoteq 3 (49 euros), we can discover the new Vibes add-on. Audio demos are available. A 3.0.3 update to Pianoteq was released recently, and we can still download a demo version. |
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| 05-18-09 / 02:03 PM : The "Pouzin society" (vincent) |
| A french article about the Pouzin society to save the internet. |
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| 05-16-09 / 05:24 PM : MacOSX 10.5.7 / Altivec performance regression (cjed) |
| About 6 months after Leopard's 10.5.6 update fixed a performance regression with Altivec (-50% under xbench between Tiger and 10.5), the new 10.5.7 update makes a step back (the 1,25Ghz G4 obtains a 172 score on Altivec tests against 249 on 10.5.6 and 10.4, and 167 on 10.5). However Floating Point Basic tests (most important after integer test) are up by 10% compared with previous versions of Leopard. Globally CPU tests are slightly lower than with 10.5.6. The Altivec performance problem could be fixed again in a following update. |
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| 05-15-09 / 11:18 PM : iPhone Sims 3 : new screenshots and video (cjed) |
 New screenshots of iPhone's Sims 3 version are available here. We can also access to a video, from the iPhone OS3.0 conference (the game was used to present the new in-game extensions/elements buy feature). |
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| 05-15-09 / 12:21 AM : 3D Cube using CSS transforms/parallax (cjed) |
| The site fofronline.com provides examples that use CSS transforms (require Safari 4 beta or Firefox 3.5) : 3D Cube using CSS transformations. We can also find examples that use CSS transitions from WebKit (Safari 4 or Chrome) : Auto-scrolling Parallax Effect without JavaScript, An analogue clock using only CSS. |
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| 05-14-09 / 11:22 PM : OpenDoc history from inside (cjed) |
| We can find at Greg Maletic blog a full history of Apple's OpenDoc project, with exclusive informations. Among these we learn that following the project's dismise, many engineers left Apple to work on Java at Sun (we still knew that language took inspiration from Smalltalk and Objective-C) : OpenDoc had many of Apple’s best engineers, and they–and many of our third-party developers–truly loved the technology and put their all into it. It didn’t matter. Everyone’s interest drifted to the web, and most of the folks working on OpenDoc went to Sun to work on Java; after my marketing team of six people dwindled down to just me, I left to start a Java tools company with a friend. |
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| 05-14-09 / 10:59 PM : Cleopatra: a Queen's Destiny demo (cjed) |
| Coladia also provides a demo of Cleopatra: a Queen's Destiny, that works on G4 (the same for their first game, Secret of the Lost Cavern). We are expecting the demo of Return to Mysterious Island (same minimal configuration), that will also be released on iPhone. |
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| 05-14-09 / 01:01 AM : Destination Treasure Island demo (cjed) |
 A demo of adventure game Destination Treasure Island for MacOSX is available (despite a close name it isn't the same game as Return to Mysterious Island, expected soon on iPhone). Minimal requirements state a 1,6Ghz G5 or an Intel mac, however the demo runs fine on a single 1,25 Ghz G4. |
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| 05-14-09 / 12:55 AM : Snow Leopard final Developer Preview at WWDC (cjed) |
| We learn that Apple will release the final Snow Leopard Developer Preview at WWDC2009. The system should then be available in September or October. |
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| 05-12-09 / 11:51 PM : NI : North India Discovery Series (cjed) |
 Native Instruments presents NORTH INDIA: DISCOVERY SERIES, a new Kore Soundpack targeted to ethnic sounds (3Gb) :10 acoustic sounds, 10 contemporary sounds and 10 synthetic drones (sitar, tabla, tanpura, and harmonium, modern synthetic drones and melodic sounds). Audio demos are available, and it is priced 79$. |
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| 05-12-09 / 11:44 PM : iPhone : Resident Evil (cjed) |
| Resident Evil game is available on iPhone. We can watch a video here. It is priced 6,99$. We can also find Terminator Salvation at a reduced price (5,99$). |
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| 05-12-09 / 11:40 PM : MacOSX 10.5.7 available (cjed) |
| MacOSX 10.5.7 update is available. Details about new features/fixes and download links can be found here. |
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| 05-11-09 / 11:32 PM : Propellerhead unveils Record (cjed) |
| Propellerhead unveiled Record, a new sequencer, targeted for audio recording. It includes a virtual Line 6 Pod module (guitar effects) and the mixer emulates components from SSL consoles. A complementary multitimbral instruments module is included, ID-8 instrument (Record also manages Midi tracks). It can be integrated with Reason and is priced 299$. |
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| 05-11-09 / 11:26 PM : Quidam 3 demo (cjed) |
| A demo of 3D characters editor Quidam 3 is available (250 Mb). It is also compatible with G4. |
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| 05-11-09 / 11:23 PM : Snow Leopard : frozen APIs / AAC HE (cjed) |
| While Snow Leopard APIs are now frozen, we learn that it will include High profile (High Efficiency) Mpeg4 AAC. |
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| 05-09-09 / 04:08 PM : Roland V-Piano available / new videos (cjed) |
| The Roland V-Piano is now shipping. We can watch new videos on the Roland site. Despite using many processors, the instrument only requires 27W of power. That has to be compared with Quad Core computers required to manage some recent samples libraries (that even don't use modeling techniques), that use 10 times more power ! |
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| 05-09-09 / 03:52 PM : iPhone FourTrack 2.0 : bounce/duplicate/metronome (cjed) |
 A 2.0 version of FourTrack recording application for iPhone is available at the AppStore : it brings a bounce function (to save tracks), duplicate and a metronome. Pricing is the same (9,99$). |
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| 05-09-09 / 03:29 PM : Riven X : install Riven on MacOSX (cjed) |
| Riven X is a wizard application that allows to install Riven on MacOSX. It provides selection for the Riven version (original version on CDs, DVD version, Trilogy or 10th anniversary versions). A new 0.7.3 version is available. |
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| 05-09-09 / 03:19 PM : OpenOffice.org 3. available (cjed) |
| OpenOffice.org 3.1 is available (for PPC/ and Intel). Among enhancements and new features are the use of antialiasing for drawing. |
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| 05-09-09 / 02:52 PM : iPhone OS3.0 : magnetometer / Bootcamp&HFS (cjed) |
| While iPhone OS 3.0 should bring far more better photos quality when using the camera (by using the accelerometer to trigger the shot at the best time - such principle is used in some apps on the AppStore), it could also onboard a magnetometer (the GPS can only provide north when moving). On the mac side, the Bootcamp version shipped with Snow Leopard may allow to access to HFS partitions from Windows. Windows virus can still damage these partitions, despite being mainly targeted to Windows boot partition and other Fat/NTFS partitions. |
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| 05-08-09 / 10:48 PM : Flashback, NFS, Dig Dug, Rolando 2 trailer (cjed) |
| Following Myst release, many new interesting games appeared on the AppStore this week : the famous Flashback adventure/action game (4,99$) from Delphine Software (92), Need for Speed Undercover (9,99$), Dig Dug Remix (5,99$), Terminator Salvation. We can also watch a stunning trailer of the upcoming Rolando 2 (2.5D effects wih zoom). |
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| 05-05-09 / 12:17 AM : NI Kore 2 / Kore Electronic Experience offered (cjed) |
| NI offers (until June end) with each Kore 2 buyout Kore Electronic Experience, a collection of 7 Kore soundpacks + 1 voucher (59$) that can be used to get another Kore soundpack (box version however, more expensive). The collection is priced 189$. |
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| 05-05-09 / 12:09 AM : Quake Live soon (cjed) |
| The mac and Linux versions of Quake Live finally made progress, and will be tested internally during May. We can then expect the public release by June. |
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| 05-03-09 / 06:39 PM : iPhone : Caster / Pandemonium (cjed) |
| Recent game Caster is now available at the AppStore (4,99$), and a Lite version is also provided. We can watch a video here. We can also find (on the US AppStore for now, 4,99$) Pandemonium, a platform game from 1996 (was originally developped by Eidos for PC, Playstation and Saturn), that has been ported to iPhone by EA. |
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| 05-03-09 / 05:59 PM : Return to Mysterious Island / Siberia for iPhone (cjed) |
| Chillingo company is completing porting of two adventure games for iPhone, that were originally developped by Tetraedge : Return to Mysterious Island - will be released in June and sized 300 Mb (see a video of that version, compared with the Symbian version), and the famous Siberia (that was ported to Windows Mobile). |
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| 05-03-09 / 05:27 PM : Myst for iPhone released (cjed) |
 Myst for iPhone is finally available at the AppStore. Moreover it is reasonably priced (5,99$). Its size is huge (727Mb - that is more than the original game, whose resolution was higher but with a lower bits depth) and the install process requires 1,5Gb of space left on the device (this additional space is retrieved once the install completes). Here are the features list :• All the original Ages & gameplay • High quality images (better than original Myst) • Full music & sound effects • Original movies & animations • Auto-save (when quitting or phone call) • “Bookmark” system to save & restore progress • Swipe to turn • Auto-zoom in certain close-up areas • Quick access to hint guide It works with iPhone 3G, the original iPhone, and iPod touch. UPDATE : about saturated and distorted music (sound effects are ok however) it seems the DS version also experienced that problem (moreover with worse graphics) : http://www.gamespot.com/ds/adventure/myst/player_review.html?id=529401 (the sound effects and music are crackly and distorted...)s |
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| 05-02-09 / 05:06 PM : CP2JavaWS 0.6 : custom digest authentication (cjed) |
| A new 0.6 version of CP2JavaWS bridge is available at Sourceforge. It includes the following new features : - added a mode for custom (Cappuccino based) digest authentication dialog (previous version client-side digest authentication and dialog were managed by the browser only). The mode is setted on the server-side authentication filter configuration (browserMode parameter in the web.xml - set it to false for custom dialog). - a default Cappuccino authentication dialog is provided (CP2JavaWS client code also manages transparently digest authorization request creation, cnonce and and nonce counter, and sending of original request when authentication successes). That dialog also shows the endpoint's url (we could use a composite app that makes calls to various enpoints/different webapps on the same domain - same protocol, host and port -, and then have multiple authentication challenges). - a custom CPWindowsController can be set when creating an endpoint to use another window. It has to implement the initWithTarget:(id) okAction:(SEL) cancelAction:(SEL) method (see the provided CP2JavaWSLoginWindowController). - passing sameDomain information isn't required anymore when creating an endpoint. CP2JavaWS compares the passed endpoint url with the index.html document.location (protocol, host and port) to determine the proper mode. However the sameDomain parameter can still be passed if needed (required if the index.html is local - for dev configuration). |
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