genius

How will Apple spin iTunes on iPad?

Apple posted some short Guided Tour videos about the iPad on Monday, confirming my first impression that the iPad isn't a great leap forward for music. That's understandable, since there are other gaps that the iPad is trying to fill first--I think the big draw will be iBooks and Web surfing from the couch over a Wi-Fi connection, which can be done with an iPhone today with much eyestrain.

But the video about music playback (labeled "iPod") did give a couple of hints on how the iPad might evolve to take advantage of all that extra … Read more

Effin Genius is like Pandora's smart little brother

No matter how much music you have on your iPhone or iPod Touch, sometimes you get bored with it or just want somebody else to drive.

That's the appeal of apps like Pandora and Slacker, which build personalized radio stations based on a particular artist, then let you customize those stations to various degrees.

A new app called Effin Genius, from Seattle company Melodeo, takes a different approach: instead of forcing you to enter the name of an artist or musical genre--or anything at all--Effin Genius analyzes the playlists in the iTunes library on your iPhone or iPod Touch, … Read more

iTunes Store: Genius feature not updating

Several users, for the last few days, have been reporting issues surrounding the Genius feature in iTunes. Genius mixes allow users to forget about taking all that time it takes to search through you iTunes Library to find the perfect array of songs that blend seamlessly into an original set of tunes by doing it all for you. With data gathered by the iTunes Store and synced to your specific list of songs, iTunes can create perfect playlists in seconds. Issues with syncing, however, have limited this function in recent days for some users.… Read more

Smarty lens

What will ninety-nice cents get you? A handful of camera enhancements stuffed inside the Camera Genius app. While the digital zoom was hit and miss in our tests, there's much to like in this "genius," even if you pack an iPhone 3GS that already comes with digital zooming in its updated 3 megapixel camera.

An antishaking feature stalls the image until your hands quell the jitters. You can turn on guides to lay down ruled lines in any number of configurations, which can help you angle your shot. A timer makes taking group photos possible--assuming you've … Read more

Bear ambushes hiker, attacks her iPhone instead

Bears have some awfully funny inclinations. Back in 2004 there were all those wackynews stories about the bear who'd downed three dozen cans of beer at a campground and proceeded to pass out.

But this one takes the cake: this summer, when Vermont hiker Kris Rowley was approached by a bear and it kept following her, it proved more interested in chowing down on her iPhone.

Rowley, who serves as Vermont's chief information security officer, tells CIO.com: "In a semi-panic, I threw the phone at the bear."

The bear proceeded to ignore Rowley and started … Read more

School problem helper

Genius Maker Free Edition provides more than 30 calculators and tools for various physics, chemistry, and math problems. By giving an alternative to figuring problems out with a paper and pencil, this program ensures accuracy and saves time.

We completely skipped the instructional Help file because the program's interface was very intuitive. With great onscreen direction and a simple layout, high schoolers and adults will have no trouble navigating things. The various tools were broken into categories of Physics, Chemistry, and Math, with the bulk of the 38 tools in Math and Physics. Ranging from PH Calculators, to Graph … Read more

The 404 435: Where we use our NPR voices

If you're thinking about buying a portable gaming system this holiday season, you should definitely listen to this show before making a decision. After a few weeks of teasing you guys about the new PSP Go, we've got all the details from the man who wrote the CNET review himself and now must defend himself from Sony snipers perched across the office. That's right, Jeff Bakalar breaks down all the reasons why the PSP 3000 is still the best Sony portable gaming device. The Go, on the other hand, didn't fare so well in Jeff's eyes. It costs more than the 3000, has a smaller screen, and an awkwardly placed analog stick, and worst of all: you can't play UMD games or use old PSP accessories! On top of all of that, the games take so long to download that you can probably watch a full length movie while you wait. Save your money and buy the best mobile video game console on the market today...the Apple iPhone.

Speaking of products that sound good on paper but don't actually work in real life, a guy in New York discovered something particularly disturbing about his iPhone: the average iPhone drops 30 percent of all calls. After taking his iPhone into an Apple Genius Bar for multiple dropped calls, the Genius informed him that it was indeed dropping 22 percent of outbound calls, which is actually excellent compared with the 30 percent average in New York. Listen in to hear us groan and moan about AT&T service and why Sprint or Verizon might be in my immediate future.

Finally, we want to give a huge thank you to Debbie from Toronto for sending us the image you see at the top of this blog entry. Deb, a long time listener and special guest of The 404 made a custom hockey jersey and goalie mask for her husband to wear during his Sunday game! Now, Wilson and I are the first to admit our zero interest in hockey, but even we can appreciate the time and effort that must have gone into the cutting and application of the logo onto the uniform. Debbie, you rock, and if there's anything we can do (short of flying up to Canada to thank you personally) to repay your kindness, please don't hesitate to let us know. Everyone else should be carefully taking notes from Deb and sprinting to the nearest phone to leave us a voice-mail. You know the number right? 1-866-404-CNET: GET ON IT!

EPISODE 435 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

iTunes 9 Genius Mixes: Mixing up users

Several users who have recently installed iTunes 9 hoping to enjoy the new Genius Mixes capability have run into issues with their mixes not appearing in iTunes. Forum postings suggest several possible fixes, though some users have reported that they still encounter the problem (systems include Mac OS X 10.5.x and 10.6.x). Common solutions that users have found are:

From the iTunes 9 menu bar, select Store, Turn on Genius. If Genius is already turned on, select Update Genius. Delete Safari Cookies. Reinstall iTunes 9.

For users who have Genius Mixes activated in iTunes 9 but … Read more

A utility suite for cheap and Madden football: iPhone apps of the week

Have you updated your iPhone to version 3.1 yet? Among the fixes and feature enhancements in the latest update, Apple added the Genius feature (formerly found in iTunes) to the App Store. Like its iTunes counterpart, Genius for iPhone apps looks at the apps you have on your iPhone and makes recommendations for apps you might like. I should point out that you need to digitally agree to Apple's terms and conditions, which you should read carefully before turning the feature on. The potentially objectionable part (that I have no objection to) is that Apple will track information, … Read more