by Chris Ullrich, Jun 9 2011 // 11:00 AM
With all the talk about E3 let’s not forget Apple is having a little confrence of its own: WWDC. At that show, several things were announced by our favorite fruit flavored tech company.
Also announced, and in keeping with the gaming-related week we’re having, was a new title from Madfinger Games, creators of Samurai II: Vengeance. This new title, called SHADOWGUN, “showcases next-gen graphics and immersive gameplay authored in the Unity development platform.”
Interested? Cool because here’s more about the game from the official press release:
Authored with the Unity development platform, SHADOWGUN combines tactical combat with third person harrowing action, ushering in a new visual standard for handheld gaming. SHADOWGUN puts players into the role of John Slade, a professional bounty hunter in the year 2350. Slade’s mission: hunt down Dr. Edgar Simon, renowned geneticist and former employee of the trans-galactic corporation Toltech Enterprises.
Players must lead “shadowgun” John Slade as he infiltrates Dr. Simon’s mountain fortress and fights his personal army of mutants, cyborgs, and genetically-enhanced humanoids using state-of-the-art weaponry, ships, and the assistance of S.A.R.A. — Slade’s personal android assistant. The story is written by award winning author Micah Nathan who has joined the MadFinger team as executive creative consultant for SHADOWGUN.”
With how good this looks on the iPad I have a hard time beging excited about something like the PS Vita. Sorry Sony, too little too late.
Click through to check out the trailer fror this new game.
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Posted in: E3 2011 · Games · News · Trailers · Video Games · WWDC
Tagged: Apple, E3, E3 2011, iOS 4, iOS 5, iPad, iPad 2, Madfinger Games, Shadowgun, Unity, WWDC
by Chris Ullrich, Jun 6 2011 // 1:00 PM
This morning at a keynote event held to kick off its Worldwide Developer Conference and hosted by Apple CEO Steve Jobs the company announced details of several of its upcoming products. These included the much rumored iCloud service as well as the upcoming updates to iOS, called iOS 5, and Mac OS X, code named Lion.
Here’s the scoop and highlights on the announcements:
iCloud
According to Steve Jobs: “Keeping these devices in sync is driving us crazy. We’ve got a great solution to this problem… We’re going to demote the PC and the Mac to just be a device. We’re going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud.”
• Store all content in the cloud and push it to all devices – “iTunes in the Cloud”
• Mobile Me Out, iCloud In – 100% Free
• iTunes Match – Will look for your songs and match them in iTunes – $25.00/Year
• Backup – Your device will backup important info once daily. To restore or with new device, just sign in and all info will be there
• Photo Stream – Photos (first 5000) uploaded to cloud and available on all devices and Apple TV
• Documents – iWork app sync files with the cloud so available on all your devices. Will still sync Mail, Contacts and Calendar as well
• 5 GB Free Storage
• Developer Beta Available Today. iTunes in the Cloud will run on iOS 4.3 today
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Posted in: Announcements · Apple · Mobile · News · Software · Tech
Tagged: Apple, iCloud, iMessage, iOS 5, iTunes Match, Lion, Mac, Mac OS X 10.7, Newstand, Notification Center, Steve Jobs, The Cloud, Twitter, WWDC
by Chris Ullrich, May 31 2011 // 10:00 AM
In a move that was somewhat unexpected Apple confirmed today that CEO Steve Jobs will appear in person at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference next week to unveil Apple’s newest shiny goodness. According to the company, Jobs and other Apple executives will finally unveil iOS 5, the highly anticipated software update iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Among the enhancements expected to be come with iOS 5 are widgets (thank goodness) and a completely revamped notification system. During the event, Apple will also give details on its new iCloud, which is expected to be a suite of cloud-based services including a music streaming service backed by major record labels.
Apple also said it will provide new details surrounding Lion, the eighth major release of the Mac OS X operating system. However, the company made no mention of the highly anticipated iPhone 5 (or other hardware) or if Jobs will talk about it at the event. Perhaps they thought the WWDC Stevenote was already packed enough?
Click through for the full press release from Apple. The WWDC Keynote takes place at 10 AM Pacific on June 6th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco..
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Posted in: Announcements · Apple · News · Software · Tech
Tagged: Announcements, Apple, Apple WWDC, Cloud Services, iCloud, iOS, iOS 5, Mac OS X Lion, Steve Jobs, Streaming Music, Worldwide Developer Conference, WWDC
by Chris Ullrich, Mar 28 2011 // 9:00 AM
It’s beginning to smell a lot like iOS as Apple today announced the dates for its Worldwide Developer Conference, which will take place June 6th to the 10th in San Francisco at the Moscone Center. The software-centric, annual event provides developers and fans a look at what Apple has in store for its operating systems and, as is sometimes the case, its hardware.
“At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS,” said Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller. “If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.”
So, what can we expecgt from this event? Well, if tradition holds we should see a nice demo of the next generation of Apple’s iOS as well as a preview of the next version of Mac OS X, code named “Lion.” We should also see a preview of the next generation iPhone, which we will call the iPhone 5 for now. Although, there has been some speculation we might not see that last thing.
Whatever happens, WWDC is always a great time and often a perfect indication of what Apple has up their virtual sleeve for the next year. If you’re interested in attending, head on over to this website to pick up tickets.
Posted in: Apple · Events · Mobile · News · Software · Tech
Tagged: Apple, iOS, iPhone, iPhone 5, Mac OS X, World Wide Developer Conference, WWDC, WWDC 2011
by Chris Ullrich, May 24 2010 // 10:00 AM
Speculation as to if Apple CEO Steve Jobs would make the keynote address at this year’s Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco can finally be put to rest. Today, Apple issued a press release officially announcing that Jobs will deliver the WWDC keynote on June 7th.
The event, which sold out in a record eight days, will take place at the Moscone Center’s West building with Jobs kicking things off at 10:00 AM Pacific. Of course, now that Jobs has confirmed his appearance for the keynote, the real speculation can begin as to what he will announce that isn’t already out there.
The folks at Gizmodo and others have probably already revealed the new iPhone. Fortunately, we haven’t seen the final version of iPhone OS 4.0 and had an exhaustive demo of its features so expect that. Plus, even though Gizmodo supposedly had the real iPhone, there’s no guarantee it was the final design. The phone could look a lot different once its “officially” revealed by Jobs.
Not only that, WWDC isn’t only about the iPhone, so expect to see some other things announced during the keynote. On that note, here’s a few predictions of what you may see announced by Jobs:
• iPhone 4th Generation with A4 processor (like iPad), more memory and storage. Front facing camera for iChat. Released end of July.
• iPhone OS4 release announced for end of July also.
• New version of iTunes.
• Mac OSX 10.7 Preview. Look for more improvements under the hood and less “amazing” features. Also, may see more of Apple’s move to the ‘cloud.”
• Updated Mac Pro systems.
Check out the full press release after the jump.
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Posted in: Apple · Events · News · Software · WWDC
Tagged: Apple Developer, Hardware, iPad, iPhone, iPhone OS 4.0, iTunes, Keynote, Mac Pro, Moscone Center, Software, Steve Jobs, WWDC
by Chris Ullrich, Jun 8 2009 // 12:32 PM
Today, at its World Wide Developer Conference, Apple announced many things including new iPhone hardware and software and new laptops, that will have fanboys (and girls) rushing to their local Apple stores for new laptops or saving their pennies until next month for shiny new iPhones.
Following is a summary of the major announcements. For a much more in-depth overview, check out my colleagues over at TUAW. Also, be sure to tune in Wednesday for The Flickcast where we will discuss all these announcements, and more.

- New iPhone 3G S – The iPhone 3G S — the “S” stands for speed. Much faster. Data speeds are upped to 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 3 megapixel camera with tap-to-autofocus and auto white balance, ow supports 30fps VGA video recording with editing features.
Also has built-in compass, Nike+ support and a new battery that offers 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WiFi internet use. $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB when it goes on sale June 18th. Current 3G model will remain on sale for $99, effective immediately.
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Posted in: Apple · Gear · Geek · News · Tech
Tagged: Apple, iPhone, iPhone 3GS, OS X, Snow Leopard, WWDC
by Chris Ullrich, Jun 8 2009 // 7:30 AM
At The Flickcast we’re big fans of all things made by Apple. From Mac computers to iPods to the iPhone to Apple TV, we think Apple has its proverbial stuff together and makes some of the most innovative, interesting, useful and fun technology around. They are also a company fond of keeping secrets and don’t like to talk about new products until they absolutely have no other choice. Fortunately, there are a couple of times a year when Apple is forced to show its hand and talk about those new and upcoming products. The World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco is one such time.
Today at 10 AM Pacific, the WWDC kicks off with a keynote address by Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Product Marketing. During this address he will undoubtedly talk about such products as Mac OS X and the upcoming update to the iPhone’s software.
He may also mention a new version of the iPhone hardware sometime during the keynote. No matter what he ends up saying, its always pretty interesting to find out what Apple’s got up its sleeve. Also, whatever happens, we will definitely be talking about it during The Flickcast this week, so look for that brand new episode on Wednesday.
Finally, for all your WWWDC keynote coverage during the actual event, be sure to check in with my colleagues over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog. They’ve got it covered. Who knows, I may drop by over there as well.
Here’s the official word from Apple about the WWDC via press release (After the jump, of course).
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Posted in: Apple · Gear · Geek · News · Tech
Tagged: iPhone, iPod Touch, Mac OS X, WWDC