Angry Birds: The All-Purpose Guide to Three Stars [Part 1]
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Headlines at The Mac Observer for Wednesday, December 15, 2010
<http://www.macobserver.com/>
1. Ted Landau's User Friendly View: Angry Birds: The All-Purpose Guide to Three Stars [Part 1]
2. Product News: Apple Releases MobileMe Calendar Update
3. Quick Look Review: Hibari: a Good, Lightweight Twitter Client for Mac
4. Product News: Apple Updates iBooks with Illustrations, Collections
5. Product News: Apple Updates iTunes 10.1.1 with Bug Fixes
6. Product News: Stream Your Music from Cloud to iPhone with mSpot [Update]
7. Editorial: Storm Clouds Are Coming
8. Deal Brothers: Refurbished iPod touch, 64GB (Previous Gen): $299
9. Product News: TextExpander Update Improves Dropbox Support
10. Apple Stock Watch: Analyst Calls Verizon iPhone a Sure Thing
11. Games: Myst Sequel Riven Comes to the iPhone
12. Hot Forum Topic: Reader Discussion: Apple, iPhone and Big Market Changes
13. Product News: Mathemagics for iPhone Adds iPad, Game Center Support
14. Product News: MIC Gadget Unveils 3-in-1 iPad Camera Card Reader
15. News: Apple TV Update Addresses Resolution Bug
16. News: Thieves Rob Greenwich Apple Store Tuesday
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1. - TED LANDAU'S USER FRIENDLY VIEW: ANGRY BIRDS: THE ALL-PURPOSE GUIDE TO THREE STARS [PART 1]
If you play Angry Birds (or plan to do so) and you are seeking three-star enlightenment, I offer the following guide to getting top scores. This is not a set of tutorials for each level. I consider those “tutorials” to be cheating. The fun of Angry Birds is to discover the solutions on your own. Rather, in the first part of this two-part series, I’ll provide general guidelines that should help you through any level of Angry Birds. In the second part, I’ll show specific examples of these principles in action.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/angry_birds_the_all-purpose_guide_to_three_stars_part_1/>
2. - PRODUCT NEWS: APPLE RELEASES MOBILEME CALENDAR UPDATE
Apple updated MobileMe calendar today, giving users a bevy of new features including the ability to invited others to events. The update also includes sharing features and n updated Web interface.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_releases_mobileme_calendar_update/>
3. - QUICK LOOK REVIEW: HIBARI: A GOOD, LIGHTWEIGHT TWITTER CLIENT FOR MAC
Hibari is a lightweight, minimalist Twitter client for those who aren’t power users. Yet it has a remarkable number of essential features.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/review/hibari_a_good_lightweight_twitter_client_for_mac/>
4. - PRODUCT NEWS: APPLE UPDATES IBOOKS WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, COLLECTIONS
Apple updated its iBooks app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad to version 1.2 Wednesday. The update adds support for illustrations, the ability to print through AirPrint, and improved text layout for books. The company also added the ability to organize your books and PDFs into Collections.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_updates_ibooks_with_illustrations_collections/>
5. - PRODUCT NEWS: APPLE UPDATES ITUNES 10.1.1 WITH BUG FIXES
Apple updated iTunes to version 10.1.1 for Mac and Windows Wednesday, an update with several bug fixes, including issues with Nvidia graphics cards, crashes, and synching issues.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_updates_itunes_10.1.1_with_bug_fixes/>
6. - PRODUCT NEWS: STREAM YOUR MUSIC FROM CLOUD TO IPHONE WITH MSPOT [UPDATE]
mSpot announced Monday the release of mSpot Music, an iPhone and iPod touch app that allows you to store your music collection in the cloud, and stream it directly to your device. The company already offered the ability to stream your music from a desktop browser or Android device, and today’s app release brings the service to Apple’s iOS platform.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/stream_your_music_from_cloud_to_iphone_with_mspot/>
7. - EDITORIAL: STORM CLOUDS ARE COMING
Many high tech services are thrown out to see what sticks, hoping that customers will misjudge the utility and security aspects. Sometimes, the service can slowly boil the customer’s frog into a financial commitment and generate a cash flow. It’s the new game for tech entrepreneurs. <http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/storm_clouds_are_coming/>
8. - DEAL BROTHERS: REFURBISHED IPOD TOUCH, 64GB (PREVIOUS GEN): $299
The Deal Brothers noted that Apple.com has the Refurbished iPod touch, 64GB (previous generation) for $299. It ships for free, and comes with one year of AppleCare.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/go/refurbished_ipod_touch_64gb_previous_gen_299/>
9. - PRODUCT NEWS: TEXTEXPANDER UPDATE IMPROVES DROPBOX SUPPORT
Smile Software released TextExpander 3.2.2 for the Mac earlier this week with improved support for the Dropbox cloud-based data storage service. The update also improved automatic word capitalization and added more backup options.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/textexpander_update_improves_dropbox_support/>
10. - APPLE STOCK WATCH: ANALYST CALLS VERIZON IPHONE A SURE THING
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster thinks the Verizon-compatible iPhone is more than a rumor. He’s even going so far as to include the Verizon iPhone in his Apple sales estimates for 2011.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/analyst_calls_verizon_iphone_a_sure_thing/>
11. - GAMES: MYST SEQUEL RIVEN COMES TO THE IPHONE
Cyan Worlds’ Riven, the sequel to the popular game Myst, is available for the iPhone and iPod touch as of Tuesday. Riven was originally released for the Mac and Windows in the late 1990s, and the new iPhone version faithfully recreates the game play from the original release.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/myst_sequel_riven_comes_to_the_iphone/>
12. - HOT FORUM TOPIC: READER DISCUSSION: APPLE, IPHONE AND BIG MARKET CHANGES
Today TMO readers are taking a look at the game-changing impact the iPhone has had on industries such as smartphones, handheld gaming, and portable GPS, and are debating what markets will see big changes next thanks to Apple’s product designs.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/go/reader_discussion_apple_iphone_and_big_market_changes/>
13. - PRODUCT NEWS: MATHEMAGICS FOR IPHONE ADDS IPAD, GAME CENTER SUPPORT
Blue Lightning Labs announced the immediate availability of Mathemagics 3.0 for iOS devices on Wednesday. The new version of the iPhone and iPod touch math skills training app added a native iPad interface along with Game Center support.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/mathemagics_for_iphone_adds_ipad_game_center_support/>
14. - PRODUCT NEWS: MIC GADGET UNVEILS 3-IN-1 IPAD CAMERA CARD READER
MIC Gadget is hoping to make iPad owners lives a little more convenient by combining the features of Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit into a single device with its 3-in-1 Camer Connection Kit. Unlike Apple’s kit that includes Dock port adapters, MIC Gadget’s kit is a single adapter with a USB port, SD card slot and Micro SD slot.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/mic_gadget_unveils_3-in-1_ipad_camera_card_reader/>
15. - NEWS: APPLE TV UPDATE ADDRESSES RESOLUTION BUG
Apple released Apple TV 4.1.1 for the second generation Apple TV on Tuesday to address what the company called issues that caused high definition TVs to incorrectly display at 480p. The update also fixed a bug that could cause movies and TV shows to re-download.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_tv_update_addresses_resolution_bug/>
16. - NEWS: THIEVES ROB GREENWICH APPLE STORE TUESDAY
Thieves robbed the Apple Store in Greenwich, CT Tuesday morning, the most recent robbery Apple has had to deal with in its fleet of retail stores. CTNow reported that police said at least five people were involved in the smash and grab, as you can see in the photo below.<http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/thieves_rob_greenwich_apple_store_tuesday/>