by Cecily Glowik MacDonald Originally published on her blog, Winged Knits.

I am so thrilled to have a design included in twist collective's Winter 09 issue. For this design I began with the idea that I wanted a pullover that could be worn dressed up with a skirt or just thrown on with jeans, something very versatile and easy to wear.  I really wanted it to be a rather simple knit with a few easy details to keep it interesting, what I think of as relaxing, almost meditative knitting.

I love the texture of the Reverse Stockinette Stitch up against the smooth Stockinette Stitch panels.  Down the center of the Stockinette Stitch Panels on the front and back is what I called a “shadow cable”.  This cable is twisted many rows apart to keep it from pulling the stitches as much as a traditional cable does, this keeps the panel more flat and adds a bit of “Mystère” as to what the stitch is. 

And the saddle shoulder is an unexpected touch.

The lovely gray in the model sweater is a wonderful choice for a garment that can be worn with many outfits, but I also think that this design would work well in a strong, bright color. However, when choosing a color for this sweater it is important to note that the darker the color, the less visible the shadow cable will be.  The cable is basically visible because of the shadows cast by the twisted, raised stitches, the darker the color, the less contrast there is between the shadows and highlight areas.

Julia here.

One of my favorite things about the internet is how it spreads the inspiration around, be it a spark of an idea for an entirely new design, or a full blown finished object from another knitter to admire, and heck, copy stitch for stitch.  In this post, I thought I'd share with you some of  the "jazz riffs" on Twist projects I've come across in the last few weeks  (including an FO of my own, if you'll indulge me a bit), and a few ideas I have for projects to come (again, with the indulgence).

I always enjoy it when a knitter transposes a chart or a cable pattern from one pattern into another silhouette or socks or mitts.  The Sleepy Monkey Blanket, Little Birds, Harika, and Sylvi have all enjoyed alternative incarnations since they were released to the creativity of knitters.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will similarly take Robin Melanson's Frost Tapestry to a new level, perhaps as a black and white sweater with that chart emblazoned across the chest.

Sometimes it's proportion that transforms a pattern from a "nice enough" to a "must knit", like the Karazuri Bag from Leila Wice.  Here it is in the original size, and also a shorter version which I think is delectable.

The potential of any pattern for personal translation is terrific, but Twist knitters seem to be particularly attuned to how to make our patterns work for them. No one has put sleeves on Uhura yet, but I have seen a sleeveless Pas de Valse, and a Kelmscott in process that convinced me it would also make a great vest. These are tweaks of detail that make a finished project special.

Martha's version (ravelry link) of Mari Muinonen's Luminen really grabs me.  Martha omitted the snowflakes of the original design, and continued the cable that borders the front edge and pockets so that it became a low slung belt around the back.

Suddenly this design has traded a bit of the wholesale whimsy of the original for some sophistication.  And if you ask me, that gorgeous shade of Cascade 220 Heathers doesn't hurt a bit.

It's wonderful how colour can change the perception of a pattern.  Often we photograph a sweater in cream or light colours so that all the little details won't be missed on the webpage.  Fiona Ellis's Paula is a good example of such a sweater whose wonderful cables and traveling stitches could have been lost if we chose a dark yarn.  I couldn't wait to make my own version in a bright happy green, a perfect antidote for the gloom of winter in New England.

Another sweater I think can be jazzed with as far as color goes is Kate Gilbert's Kirigami.  It's a sweater of unique construction techniques, and the two knitters I have heard from so far who have made it say it was the most fun sweater they ever made.  I can't wait. This image of a striped iceberg (via WebEcoist)

has planted an idea in my head to knit Kate's sweater out of Kureyon or Silk Garden, with a complimentary plain yarn, but probably not snow white.  Can't you just picture it?

Like I said, you never know where you're going to find ideas out here.

Not so long ago we had the pleasure to work together with the mighty Andy Clarke from Stuff and Nonsense. He was working on a site called “Stay in Wales”  and his client needed a logo for this project.

Visit France

Andy's client liked the logo very much so we had the pleasure to design another logo for a similar project called "Visit France", a site that is specialized in finding accommodation in France.

Thinking process

As you have noticed, both sites use the same design, and so it was very clear from the start that this logo should use the same design style and typography. We've used Keedy Sans in combination with a slightly modified version of Suburban (both by Emigre).

In this particular situation we didn't have to consider a black & white, or grayscale version for the creation this logo. This gave us more design freedom to work with. So we approached the same thinking path of a rather illustrative logo, just like we did for Stay in Wales.

Proposal 1

Logo design proposal: using the typical French beret in combination with the French flag.

First thing that comes to mind for the creation of this logo is obviously the French flag. Using the flag in the logo was also requested by the client and so that got us thinking of combining the flag with something typical French. One of the symbols we thought of was a beret. Another idea was to use the Eiffel tower. Although the Eiffel tower makes me think of Paris, the city, instead of France as a country. After giving that some thought we decided to pursuit the idea of a beret hat instead.

Proposal 2

Logo design proposal: applying the colors of the French flag on a simple abstract shape

What bothered me a bit in the previous proposal was that the illustration style was a bit too cartoony. We also tried something totally different and experimental: applying the colors of the French flag on a simple abstract shape. We wanted to see if this would work, but it didn't feel strong enough in the end compared to a simple flag.

Proposal 3

The proposal that did work however, was one using a brush stroke with the French flag applied to it.

Logo design proposal: using a brush stroke.

This proposal was getting in the right direction, but wasn't 'there yet'. The client felt we should give it a more typical flag shape, and we agreed. Even though we tried to come up with something different, we couldn't get around the fact that a typical flag shape was the right option. It would give the logo a more interesting shape, and it would definitely make the logo more recognizable. The link with France would be obvious and the brush line would add some uniqueness.

Process of how to use a brush stroke in with the French flag applied to it.

First try on the left and second and final try on the right

Final & approved design proposal

I played around with the brush shape and went back to the initial shape of it. Using the starting of the brush stroke for the blue part of the flag, and the ending of the stroke for the red part of the flag. I tweaked the ending lines and structure of the stroke for the red part a lot, as it seemed to have lost some balance once I applied it to the flag.

Then lastly, the curly shape that is used for the white part of the flag is added using the Pen tool. To finish things off and to give the flag some depth and realistic feel, we applied subtle gradients to each part of the flag. I'll follow this up with a tutorial that reveals more details about the creation of this logo.

What we did

Brand design and consulting

Time for a bit of design background of this recent project we just launched. SLV Rent is a company specialized in sound, light, and vision. Duoh! also designed the logo, business cards, invoices, and advertisements for them. This project seemed the perfect fit to try something we didn’t to use before.

One Page Sites

This project was an interesting case to see what we as a designer could do with just a single page. The fact that our client wanted to differentiate himself from his competitors played an important role in the decision to opt for a one page site. As far as we could tell from our research none of his competitors resort to a one page site. A one page site allows visitors to see the content easily. This allowed us to create something more unique.

Harmony between typography and color

The typeface I chose for this project is Avenir, available at MyFonts. Personally I have a soft spot for a combination of using a large and sometimes bold or heavy Sans Serif font for highlights and titles in combination with a Serif font for body copy. In this example the Avenir light works very well together with Avenir Black, it creates this nice typographical contrast.

Colorful footer

I've used elements from the logo to create a composition that would serve as an eye catcher. One of the shapes I used for this is the inside of the SLV logo. The rays symbolizes the light beams created by the typical equipment you see in this sector. I've played around with layer modes and transparency in Illustrator to get a rich contrast effect.

Julia here.

Bright Star by Cathy Caron is a sweater that really grew on me as we were planning photography for the winter issue.  I liked it the way Cathy pitched it — on a mannequin — but how would we style it? At first I didn't know, but a little thought later, I couldn't stop thinking of ways to wear it. 

You've seen the sweater over that vintage dress with the amazing skirt as we showed it in the magazine.  The cardigan covers the halter-style top of the dress; as a strategic piece, Bright Star turns a season-and bra-specific dress into something that can be worn almost year round, into a practically indispensable wardrobe option.

Another vintage profile was this rayon dress I had on loan, but I thought it had a seriousness to it that we weren't looking for in the Faneuil Hall story. I would put this particular silhouette with brown oxfords and ankle socks for a 30's feel, like a young Judy Garland running down to the drugstore to get an egg cream.

Personally, I don't really think of myself as someone who would wear a cropped sweater, but lately, I've become somewhat enamored of the idea of smaller lighter sweaters worn as layers, with longer sleeves of jersey t-shirts showing, and maybe even a great "on trend" boyfriend jacket thrown over the whole thing with the sleeves rolled up.  Even north of 45 (as I am), I understand that it's possible to be youthful without being ridiculous. Serious boots with warm textured tights ground the whole look.

Movie Date for Bright Star by farwellclay

Over smart trousers, Bright Star can be polished and professional looking.  So long as you keep the under-layer longer, mixing up the proportions, you'll look stylish and intentional. This has a Murphy Brown feeling to me.

To be sure, you're going to need your Spanx for that one, but I think many knitters would look taller and leaner with a sweater fitted through the ribcage, and the illusion of a higher waist that Bright Star has. And of course, anyone is free to give it a few extra inches of ribbing to cover the trouser waistband, if they were so moved.

How would you wear Bright Star?

Here is a little update on what is going on over at Duoh! HQ. The new blog is coming along slowly and I am almost at the stage of adding content. Currently I need to work on the archive page and my about page. Those are still two big pages that I need to finish. When these are done I can concentrate on getting some content in there.

Slowly moving forward

I hoped I would be further along by now but life and work got in the way. A few weeks ago I was in Leiden for EECI 2009 and we recently had some friends over from the US that we showed around. Since it is only during the weekends that I can work on it it isn't going as fast as I want. I also had to do some extra urgent work on an exciting project during one weekend, a project that should see the light of day soon now.

DealTattle

Project wise we have been very busy as well. A recent fun one was DealTattle. I recommend that you read the full background and watch the site mascotte come to life in a movie that I created to show the process from sketch till finish.

The break between Xmas and New Year was over before I even fully realized that two weeks have past. I’ve made some great progress working on my new blog during that break. Work has been in full swing already so I hope that I can spend my weekends working on it further. I started sharing some random bits on my Twitter feed. If you follow you’ll understand why it is taking so long, plus I don’t like half work ;)

Twenty Ten

In other news, partner of this site Authentic Jobs is running a sweet campaign. Regular readers will know that there is this yearly promotion. This year however we are going to do something a little different.

We're calling it the Twenty Ten promotion. It works like this: Post a listing between now and January 22 and you'll receive 20% off your listing. More importantly, 10% of your purchase will be donated to Charity:Water to help bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Promo code

Use promo code VEERLE10.

You may also join in and donate to our campaign independent of posting a listing. We're hoping to raise $5,000, which is enough to fund the development of a freshwater well in one village.

Here's to a fantastic (and cleaner) 2010. Oh right, one more thing!

Veerle's blog 3.0 sneak peek

Here is a little sneak peek of my new blog :)

I remain intrigued by the wardrobe potential for Kristen TenDyke's Sarabande. We shot it for the magazine with a grand ball skirt in a luxurious lair, but I would probably get a lot more use out of it with a pair of jeans. Here's I would wear it, over a striped top with snow boots and a fun satchel. I apologize if the price of the bag throws you off, but this is fantasy after all.

For those of us who love a party: imagine Marnie MacLean's lovely Pas de Valse cardigan thrown over a Little Black Dress, out for the evening, perhaps at the opening party for the Andy Holden Exhibit at the Tate Britain (see previous post).  This is my purple Pas de Valse (still on the needles) with sparkly sandals, chunky bracelets with a bit more twinkle, and long earrings that tie it all together with purple jewels.  The young Michael York look-alike cast in the role of champagne-refreshing waiter is pure fancy, of course.

Pas de Valse at the Tate by farwellclay 

by Carol Sunday, originally posted to her blog, Sunday Knits.

tutorial photographs by Robert Sunday

I've always liked the look of crocheted trim and buttons on a sweater — traditional in a very charming sort of way, so it seemed like a pretty way to finish off my Kelmscott sweater.

Crocheted edges also add some firmness to an edge and help keep it from stretching out.

I'm no expert when it comes to crochet, but that doesn't keep me from adding a little, because it's not all that difficult. For the rest of you non-crocheters, here's a little tutorial.

For a slip stitch (sl st) edge, start with a slip knot and place on hook. Insert hook into a knitted stitch at the bottom of the right front edge.

 

I'm not sure if it's standard to insert into a whole stitch or into just the outside leg of a stitch, but I get the nicest looking edge by going into just one leg. One row will have a long easy leg; the next will have a short bundled — and not so easy — leg.

 

As with knitting, a crochet stitch can be made by throwing or picking. Picking may be more efficient, but I'm a thrower. Wrap the yarn in front of the hook, pull the loop down through the knitted stitch then through the stitch on the hook.

For this sweater, I used a hook that's small for this weight of yarn, which makes it slow going, but does tighten up the edge nicely.

 

At the buttonhole marker, end the stretch of slip stitches with a short leg — it's firmer; make a chain as follows: yo, hook the yarn, drawing it through the loop; repeat 7 times.

 

Reinsert into the next short leg, and resume slip stitch.

Stay tuned for how to make the lovely crochet buttons.

From January to April 2010, artist Andy Holden will be displaying a giant knitted rock as part of Tate Britain’s Art Now program of contemporary displays. Never before shown in the UK, Pyramid Piece 2009 is a vastly enlarged replica of a small Egyptian stone fragment, created from knitted yarn and foam over a steel support. It will be on display alongside a companion film work, Return of the Pyramid Piece 2008, and a collection of tourist souvenirs, In Place of an Ending (Pyramid Souvenirs, Second Visit) 2008.

Holden’s practice is driven by an investigation into the relationship between stories and objects. While on a trip to Egypt as a young boy, he took home a small lump of rock from the pyramid of Cheops in Giza. Over a period of 13 years the object came to embody the artist’s sense of guilt, until he decided to travel back to Egypt and return it to the exact spot from which it was taken. A shaky amateur video, filmed by a man Holden met in a café and enlisted to help him, documented this mission and became the film Return of the Pyramid Piece 2008. The transformation of this rock from building material to historical relic to stolen souvenir is contrasted with a collection of more conventional pyramid merchandise, entitled In Place of an Ending (Pyramid Souvenirs, Second Visit) 2008, which use similarly small, solid objects to suggest a variety of multi-layered stories and histories.

After returning from his pilgrimage to Egypt, Holden set about creating a giant knitted replica of his stolen fragment. Working from paintings, diagrams, models and notes made before the trip, Holden’s colossal reproduction embodies the emotional importance of this tiny rock. The scale of the resulting work, Pyramid Piece 2009, seeks to convey the wide-eyed, awestruck feeling that Holden experienced during his first encounter with the pyramids. The laborious, repetitive process of knitting could also be seen as an absurd work of penance for the artist’s theft, or even as a scaled-down recreation of the mass labor it took to build the pyramids in the first place, with each woollen stitch or block of stone charting the time it took to construct the whole. This complex, millennia-spanning narrative becomes a kind of parable. At once charmingly quixotic and boldly monumental, it explores how we understand our place in the world through the objects that surround us.

Andy Holden was born in Bedford in 1982. He graduated from Goldsmith’s College in 2005 and now lives and works in Bedfordshire. Holden has exhibited widely, including recent solo shows at Hidde Van Seggelen, London; Works/Projects, Bristol and Kunstfort Vijfhuizen, Netherlands, and will be curating a music festival at Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge in September 2010.

The Art Now program at Tate Britain reflects the latest happenings in contemporary British art. Supported by Tate Patrons, it consists of a regular series of exhibitions, designed to demonstrate the quality and variety of new art in the UK.

Art Now: Andy Holden
Pyramid Piece and Return of the Pyramid Piece

9 January – 10 April 2009
Tate Britain, Level 2
Supported by Tate Patrons
Open every day 10.00-17.50, first Friday of every month open until 22.00
Admission free

by Connie Chang Chinchio

originally posted to her blog.

For Sabbatical, I was aiming for a cardigan with long, clean lines and a large scale lace motif.

Originally, I thought a worsted weight yarn would be nice in order to emphasize the scale of the lace, but after a bit of consideration and swatching, I realized that a worsted weight yarn would allow only one or two repeats of the lace and might cut off the lace strangely. Since the lace repeat is 22 sts wide, a DK to sport weight yarn (and Road to China Light fell in between these gauges when knit with a size 6 needle), seemed more appropriate. One repeat would be around 4″, meaning that even the smallest size would have at least 2 repeats per front. Because it’s lace, the sweater zips along surprisingly quickly despite the relatively small gauge of the yarn.

Here is my submission sketch, with the swatch worked in Plymouth Silk Merino:

I wanted the focus to be on the large lace motif, so other than a k3p3 rib along the sleeve cuffs and hems which flows into the lace, nothing else distracts from it. Simple waist decreases and increases help define the shape in what might be otherwise an overly boxy garment. The sweater is finished off with a plain, stockinette band which is picked up along the fronts and neck; and to keep it from rolling, a very short doubled hem is turned at the very edge. In addition, I’d recommend a shot of heavy steam to flatten out the band.

One of the things I love about designing is the opportunity to experiment with different yarns. And the Fibre Company’s Road to China Light certainly does not disappoint. It’s a wonderful combination of alpaca, cashmere, silk, and camel, and comes in subtle, kettle dyed colors.

On a parting note, I am hopeless with naming my designs. Fortunately, Julia was helpful in naming this design. She was also the one who named my Uhura in the Summer issue. As a die hard science fiction aficionado, that name delighted me. For this cardigan, she said it had an Edwardian feel about it and suggested a list of names adhering to that general theme. I liked Sabbatical because it connotes rest and lounging around to me; and at the same time reminds me of academia. So, Sabbatical it is then. I hope some of you decide to either knit it, wear it, or both, on your Sabbaticals, however long they may last.

This edition of Twist Collectors features the work of Irmgard, (ravelry name, interknitty) who is a skilled knitter from Germany.

She didn't have a lot to add to her project notes, but I do think her knitting speaks for itself.

Of Robin Melanson's Stormsvale she wrote: "When I saw the new edition of twist collective I knew at once that I had to knit Stormsvale. I already had the contrasting colours [as hat leftovers] in stash."

She recently finished this delicious version of Gudrun Johnson's Vaila in Malabrigio, Frank Ochre. Irmgard wrote "As always with twist collective, the Vaila pattern is very well written and was fun to knit."

She knit Marnie MacLean's Lily, and although she found the bobble method in the pattern left her with a small hole, she found a method that worked for her knitting style, and ended up with a lovely sweater.

Irmgard also personalized Ysolda Teague's Vine Yoke (and who hasn't?) to get a smaller yarn to match up with a pattern she had to knit.  She lengthened the body and arms, but after it all she concluded "Perhaps I should have followed the pattern without modifications. I like it all the same!"

No Twist collection would be complete without a version of Wisteria by Kate Gilbert. Irmgard wrote "The ideal sweater: A beautiful pattern, fun to knit and warm for our frosty january!"

For Connie Chang Chinchio's Broderie, she played with the length of the sweater, and stabilized the front edge with a row of single crochet.

And for Kelmscott, she wrote: 

"A beautiful pattern — I love the lace pattern and the collar! . . . This is not an easy pattern — the lace is patterned on both right and wrong side, it requires a lot of finishing and I had difficulties getting the crocheted button covers right." Oh, Irmgard, if only you had Carol's button tutorial to help(scroll down two posts from here).

Thank you Irmgard, for letting me share your beautiful knitting with Twist readers. 

by Carol Sunday, originally posted to her blog, Sunday Knits.

For button covers, start with a slip knot again; this counts as the first chain. Keep it loose — it'll need to be. Chain 3 more.
Connect the circle by slip stitching into that first chain.

 

Expand the circle by slip-stitching 3 more times into the same chain. Slip stitch 2 into each of the next 3 chains, slip stitch 2 into the next stitch. Continue increasing according to pattern instructions until there are 16 sts.
The crocheted disc should be nice and flat.

After slip stitching a full round and doing a few decreases ((skip 1 slip stitch 1) five times), insert button into cap. I used a flat button with holes big enough for my tapestry needle.

Once the button is inside, it's easier to hook the stitch from its top than its bottom.

Keep decreasing until there are 5 stitches left in the round. Cut yarn, pull through, and sew the button on, sewing it far enough from the edge to avoid gaping. Allow for a 3/4" to 1" overlap.

As you've come this far, the only thing left is to wear and enjoy!

Yeah, can you tell I couldn’t come up with a clever post title for today? Well, it is what it is, right? Time to whip out the WiPs. First up, the purse sock. Serendipity #2 is closing in on toe time.

Emergency Knitting Bag by Illiane

The stitch pattern is nice and easy to memorize so the sock has progressed pretty fast. When I work on it. Some days it’s been just a row or two. Some days I get a chance to work on it for an hour straight. You know how it goes. But when I’m home, this is where my mojo goes.

Everything above the pencil is what I’ve done since last week. I need to measure again before I pick it back up and see if I’m ready for the next step in the pattern. Why no. No I haven’t read ahead. Surely that won’t be my downfall will it? Meh, I’ll roll with it. Embrace your shortcomings, right?

I did have one other project that I worked on since last Wednesday, but it’s already done and gifted to a very special birthday girl. You’ll see tomorrow. We had a pretty cool photoshoot. Any of you photogs out there familiar with “through the lens” photography?

Monday was my awesome best friend D’s birthday. So like any knitter friend, I finally caved after 4 years of her asking and made her some fingerless mitts.

Yeah, 4 years and she still hangs out with me. I have no idea what took me so long to make these for her. It’s a small, simple request. But perhaps it was because I hadn’t come across the right pattern until now. (Yeah, that’s it. Blame the lack of pattern.)

But D is a huge Johnny Depp fan. And I knew she wanted the kind without the finger nubs, so when I say Ysolda’s Garter Stitch Mitts, I knew it was the perfect pattern. What does that have to do with Johnny Depp? If you’ve seen Sweeney Todd, then you probably already knew where I was going with that reference. If you didn’t, then, well, the comparison is lost.

D hasn’t seen Sweeney Todd either (her love of Johnny does not exceed her hate for gore and blood) so now she has a piece of the one film of his she hasn’t seen.

That was my only attempt at a “through the lens” shot. D’s been collecting old cameras lately to play with this technique. She hasn’t got a light tube yet, but for just playing around, I think this is pretty cool. We liked that you could see both of our gloves in the pic. Heh. But the fun came when I started taking pics from the other side of the lens.

Originally I was just going for a picture of her holding a camera, since that’s why she wanted the mitts to begin with. Then I noticed I could see her face through the top lens. Pretty cool, eh?

Pattern: Garter Stitch Mitts by Ysolda Teague
Source: Ysolda’s Blog or Ravelry
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed
Needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm
Started: Saturday, January 9th
Finished: Sunday, January 10th
Mods: None.

These socks were so much fun to knit. Normally I start out with a pic of the pair, but since I only have one, I’ll save that for last. Heh. Let’s start from the beginning. Like every fantastic pair of socks, these are started from the toe up.

Toe Pic!

Normally, I do a lifted increase for my toe (a la Cat Bordhi) but I promised Artsygal I’d knit them as written. And, you know, pay attention to the details so I didn’t accidentally modify anything. It turned out nice, and since the yarn was so nice and bright, it made it easier for me to see if I had done an M1 or if I had just finished a knit row. I’ve very visual so this helped.

Now, my favorite part of this pattern is the heel. Artsygal came up with a clever way to do a short row heel and not have any holes after. On the plus side as well, the visual element that the decrease line adds to the heel is pretty cool. Behold.

You have to agree, those heels look pretty spiffy. Add that to the ubercool and fun slip stitch pattern on the sock, and you have a pretty cheerful pair of foot ornaments.

The slip stitch pattern was really easy to memorize and get into a groove on. Much like the Calvin pattern was. So I really enjoyed it. The added bonus, since the slips aren’t slanted at any point, they’re just straight up and down, the fabric of the sock is still really stretchy. Normally slip stitches can create a bit of an unforgiving fabric, but in this case, it takes on the qualities of stockinette quite well.

My second favorite part of the pattern is the cuff. Artsygal took inspiration from a very clever knitter and added a double knit hem to the top of the sock.

Always a joy to create. The hem really adds a clean finish to fun fabric. And the yarn! Can I just say, sproingy? I’m wearing them now and can feel the sponge factor on my feet. Love it!

Pattern: Everyone Outta The Pool by Artsygal
Source: Artsygal
Yarn: Artsygal Superwash Merino Sock – Handpainted in “Millions of Peaches”
Needles: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
Started: December 2nd 2009
Finished: January 1st 2010
Mods: None. I promised!

Believe it or not, I think I may have exhausted my supply of yarn to show you on Fridays. So, now that I have the Expodisc, I believe I’ll be retaking some pictures of the more challenging colorways. First up, Sanguine Gryphon’s Bugga in Goldenrod Crab Spider. Shall we take a look at the before?

I just could not capture the color correctly on it. It drove me mad. But tonight, I had plenty of pictures to choose from. Behold.

I’ve fallen in love all over again with this yarn. And I STILL haven’t figured out what to make with it.

Continuing in my “Before and After” series, this one is a rather recent update. I just showed this to you back in November. But check out the difference. Green isn’t always that easy to capture either.

Before:

After:

Gotta love the Expodisc.

In other news, I just upgraded to Windows 7, and dang. I have some software to reinstall. I had to uninstall all sorts of stuff to get the upgrade to go through. And one was my Canon EOS Utility. The program I use to import pictures from my camera. I was able to use the Windows software to do it, but it’s not as slick. And I suppose I should reinstall my Anti-Virus software too. Tonight is going to be fun, I can already tell.

Another Wednesday, and I find myself with 3 projects, all different colors for once! It’s funny, the past few Wednesdays, it was pointed out to me that I was working in the same color family. I don’t consciously pick my project colors to coordinate with each other, it’s just what yarn I happen to choose for the project I find in my hands. Like my new purse sock. The yarn was already wound and ready to go, so that’s what I grabbed.

I know you can’t see inside my emergency knitting bag, but the yarn is a gradient yarn. It’s Knit It Up! Squishy in the Dr. Jones colorway. The labels says this yarn is from the Sock Yarn Cinema October 2008, Indiana Jones. I got this yarn from RosiG. I’m fairly certain I plucked this from her stash during one of her destashes. She hadn’t moved it to her destash yet, but I conned her out of it was lucky enough to pick a yarn she was ok with letting go. I’m in design mode with this sock. We’ll see what comes out of it. Right now, it’s just a 1×1 rib cuff.

Speaking of design mode. I have a free pattern that I will be putting out soon, but I still need to get modeled pics of the original FO in order to do it. Right now, I’m working on the 2nd version in a slightly heavier yarn. But I’m worried I’ll run out.

The yarn was hand dyed by Jesh as part of a Secret Pal thing a couple years ago when she spoiled me but good. The color makes me unbelievably happy. And I’ve gotten several comments from coworkers, watching me work on it at lunch, at how vibrant the color is. Even the guys like it. I wish she could duplicate it. It’s some really pretty stuff. But I’ll have to dig into the stash most likely, and stripe in a contrasting color. We’ll see. For now, I’m pressing on, hoping that I really do have enough. I might be living in denial on this one, but we’ll see. If I have to rip it out, then I will. Maybe.

In the meantime, I’ve started the front shaping on the February Pullover.

Can’t tell? Let’s take a closer look.

Yeah, so, I may have barely just started the shaping. But I’ve had to put this project down for a bit so I can concentrate on a test knit. I’ve been remiss on this test knit, and not giving it the time and attention it deserves. So I’m trying to concentrate on that. I didn’t get any knitting done last night. I was too busy dealing with having another little piece of my heart broken. Mostly, I’m mad at myself for letting it happen again. I’m smarter than that. At least, I thought I was. But I digress. On to happier thoughts, mkay?

First finished pair of socks of the new year!

Looking at the calendar, it took way longer to make these than it actually felt. They were actually a fairly quick knit, I just didn’t work on them all the time. That’s how purse knitting goes though. And it all started with just a basic, long tail cast-on this time.

I would have fancied it up a bit with a different cast-on, but it was just me and the pattern, traveling at the time. So I stuck with the old stand by. It’s still a nice stretchy cast-on and looks good with the 2×2 ribbing. The pattern on the cuff was a bit tricky at first, but once I got through the first pattern repeat, I had it memorized and it zipped by.

I was going to try and get the cats involved in this photoshoot since it is Tuesday and all, but they weren’t very cooperative.

Da sox on da big wudun tings freaked me owt. I wuz skeered.

Then I tried laying them against Ripple, but he kept moving and trying to be all cute.

You can’t handle the cute.

Right. So anyway, where were we? Oh, time for the short row heel. Just a regular, double wrap, short row heel. The only difference with this one is that you never pick up your wraps.

I’m fairly happy with it. I dunno. With the club patterns (this one is from 2008) I just don’t like to mess with the pattern too much. Even if I’m not knitting it with the yarn that came with the pattern, I feel compelled to just knit it as written. The heel feels good on my foot. I didn’t used to like short row heels on my feet, but I think the more different ones you try, the better you get at them no matter the style in which they’re done. I’m sure my first few didn’t feel right simply because they were some of the first ones I did.

The foot went like any other foot. Just waiting for the toe.

Toe Pic!

I love round toes. They’re so much fun to knit, and they look cool too! Overall, I’m really pleased with these socks. The yarn is cheerful, and reminds me of the friend that gave it to me. That’s a pretty special pair of socks.

Pattern: Serendipity by Adrienne Fong (rav link)
Source: Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight in Firebird
Needles: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
Started: January 2nd 2010
Finished: January 14th 2010
Mods: None that I recall.

Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Odds and ends, Apple, iPhone

Filed under: Software, Internet, Internet Tools

Filed under: Video, Internet Tools, Beta Beat

We haven't exactly been secretive about our distaste for Adobe's Flash Player here at TUAW. Flash on the Mac has traditionally been a terrible resource hog, and while the pre-release of Flash Player 10.1 alleviated (to an extent) Flash's inordinately high CPU usage, many of us still dreamed of a golden age when Flash would be supplanted by something else, especially if that something else was HTML5.

Dream no longer, because the first step toward realizing a Flash-free internet is here. YouTube has introduced an HTML5 beta. The formerly Flash-laden site, whose popularity most likely led to the profusion of Flash on the internet within the past few years, can now be viewed without using Flash at all if you opt into the beta.

The HTML5 option is only available for browsers that support HTML5 (obviously) and h.264. Safari (version 4 and above), Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer with Chrome Frame are a few of the qualified browsers.

There are a few caveats to the HTML5 beta. Videos with ads aren't supported (awww...) - they'll play in the standard Flash player instead. There's also no support for full screen; clicking the little expander button on the lower right corner of the video will instead expand the video within the window to about double the normal size. Honestly, YouTube's full screen video has never impressed me much anyway, so this isn't a huge loss. Macworld notes that you also lose support for annotations and closed captioning, though, which might be a deal breaker for some.
Although YouTube is calling the HTML5 beta an "experiment," this is an experiment I'd encourage everyone reading this to take part in. While the pre-release of Flash Player 10.1 reduced Flash's CPU footprint considerably, using HTML5 instead results in a dramatic reduction - YouTube videos played in Safari using HTML5 never used more than 15% of my CPU. Even compared to Flash 10.1, which generally used about 35% of my CPU, that's pretty tremendous.

One other thing I've noted in my brief experimentation with the HTML5 beta: the scrubber bar on videos seems far more responsive, without any lag at all. Flash videos were very jittery when switching between different spots in the video using the scrubber bar, but the response using HTML5 is instantaneous and seamless.

I hope YouTube's HTML5 beta is a smashing success. If the biggest video site on the internet eventually abandons Flash Player, it's only a matter of time before everyone else does, too. Personally, I can't wait.

[Via Macworld]

TUAWYouTube videos now available in HTML5: Good riddance, Flash originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Multimedia

Maybe it was inevitable. Amazon today announced a Kindle Development Kit which allows software developers to build "active content" for Kindle readers.The kit gives developers access to programming interfaces, tools, and the needed documentation to create content. The kit also includes a Kindle Simulator for testing on Mac, PC or Linux computers.

Content could be interactive books and magazines, cookbooks, travel planners that incorporate real time weather, or whatever else the developers dream up. Zagat, Electronics Arts and others say they are on board. Games like Chess and Othello would be a good fit. The possibilities are endless, just as they are on any computer platform or smartphone. What's lacking, of course, is color and a fast screen refresh, so games with any action are going to be kind of lacking. I don't think the Kindle is a good platform for Need for Speed or Skeeball.

Amazon is surely reacting to the upcoming (probably) tablet from Apple, which is likely going to offer e-books and magazines in full color. Of course the battery life likely won't match the Kindle. I get about 2 weeks between charges on my Kindle if the wireless feature is turned off. Amazon has also adjusted the royalty split, announcing yesterday that authors will get a 70% share of sales of e-books, matching what Apple pays developers through iTunes.

Amazon could also get a place on the tablet itself. It already has a Kindle app for the iPhone, so it wouldn't be a stretch to give people access to their Kindle purchases on any new device Apple comes up with. It's interesting to watch everyone scrambling after a product not yet released. If Apple, as expected, announces a color tablet next week, would it kill your desire for a Kindle or other e-book reader?

TUAWAmazon reacts to not yet here Apple tablet with SDK for Kindle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iLife, Software, Video, Reviews

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware, iPhone

There's some good news from China this week. The violent strike that happened at a Wintek factory on the 15th has been resolved. According to DigiTimes, Wintek offered previously-denied pay bonuses to the striking employees and that got them working again.

Additionally, Wintek claims that production was unaffected by the strike, which is good news for Apple. Wintek provides Apple with touchscreens for iPhones and, we assume, the forthcoming tablet.

The initial story about the strike mentioned the dispute over pay but also the workers' outrage over alleged deaths suffered by their coworkers due to prolonged exposure to a chemical called hexane, which is used for cleaning touch panels. The latest report from DigiTimes fails to mention that aspect of the story.

Last March it was rumored that Wintek would be producing screens for "... a new Apple product," then thought to be a netbook of some sort. Today, we assume that rumor was about the tablet.

[Via AppleInsider]

TUAWWintek strike settled, Apple's supply chain unaffected originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Odds and ends, Developer, iPhone, App Store

Filed under: Accessories, Odds and ends, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air

Filed under: Software, How-tos, Productivity

Filed under: Hardware, Software, Apple

Filed under: Multimedia, Odds and ends, Reviews, Beta Beat

It's not every day that I get to view a product introduction on my iPhone. In fact, today may have been the first time ever that a product intro has been done through mobile messaging.

Eric Hoffert was one of the original developers of QuickTime and is now the CTO for Thwapr, so he really understands video. Thwapr provides mobile-to-mobile video sharing -- in other words, it's a way to create a video on your iPhone and share it with friends on a variety of mobile phone platforms. The idea is that you or your recipients don't need to download any special apps, and that the video is shown in its best possible format for the mobile device that receives it.

That's the idea. However, I found the beta of Thwapr somewhat clunky to use, and I'm not sure I really "get" the reason for the service as it is currently set up. To start with, if I want to share a video message or photo with a friend (at least a short one), I can use MMS. If it's a longer video or I want to share it with the world, I'm going to use something like YouTube and send friends a link. I asked Leigh Newsome, Thwapr's VP of User Experience, why I wouldn't just use MMS?
His reply? "MMS is very, very limited - it works poorly cross-phone/cross-carrier, has limited file sizes ~300k, and doesn't store info in the cloud. Thwapr works cross-phone/cross-carrier, with large files, and stores info in the cloud. So, even if your phone gets wiped out, you can still get to your content either from your mobile device or the web."

Eric Hoffert's reply was similar: "Another benefit is that the ThwapBack experience of rich media conversations is (a) accessible across a wide range of mobile phones, more than a hundred and seventy, and (b) is stored in the cloud. MMS conversations are stored on each device."

The way Thwapr works at the current time is that you record a video with the iPhone's camera (it also works on Android phones), then email it from your registered email address to "me@thwapr.com." Once it's there, you go to the thwapr.mobi web site using Mobile Safari, sign in, and the movie is sitting there in an "uploaded Thwapr" folder. You choose a friend or group of friends from a list of registered users, and then you share the movie or picture with them. Within seconds, they receive a text message (standard text message fees apply) with a link in it. They tap the link, which opens Mobile Safari, and they can view the message and even "Thwapback" (reply) to it.

That's the problem with the beta, in my opinion. It just takes too many steps to Thwap somebody. I was able to ask the executive team if they are planning an iPhone app to improve the user experience, and received this reply: "The approach with using email, camera, browser, SMS is targeted to enable many phones across many carriers. We are advanced on an iPhone app that provides a seamless integrated experience for capture and Thwap. We plan to deliver the iPhone app in Q1, please stay tuned and we will keep you posted."

That's good to hear, because I'm not sure I'd use Thwapr in the current form. I do like the ability to see a thread of text, photo, and video replies, but I just don't think that switching between Messages, Camera, and Mobile Safari is the way to get things done efficiently. It's apparent that I'm not the only person who feels this way, since I saw a message from another person involved in the product intro today who said, "Upload, send link, view on mobile browser. Can't this already be done without regard to platform?"

I'll keep my Thwapr account for now, because I think it would be useful to eventually be able to zap longer video messages back and forth quickly and easily. If you're interested in getting in on the beta, point your browser to Thwapr.com to sign up and give it a try.

TUAWThwapr: Mobile-to-mobile video sharing from one of the creators of QuickTime originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Desktops, Software, Cool tools, MacBook, Developer

Filed under: Software, How-tos, Productivity, TUAW Tips

I've previously demonstrated how to use LaTeXiT to create and display complex math formulas and other symbols, and thank you readers for the additional recommendations!

While providing a means to display almost every imaginable existing symbol or character, a LaTeX-based solution may prove too complex and unnecessary for some. For the less "mathletic," Mac OS X's built-in character viewer is one of the easier ways to display characters of all sorts.

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch

Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family, Peripherals, iPhone

A quick note to our European readers. Apple has released a new, slimmer USB power adapter for iPods and iPhone.

This new adapter supports all iPod nanos, iPhones, iPod Touches, iPod classics, the second and third gen iPod shuffle, the fourth and fifth gen click-wheel iPod, and even the iPod mini.

Here is the Google Translation link to the Norwegian Apple Store new Apple USB Power Adapter page.

Thanks to reader Christian S. who sent this in.

TUAWApple releases new, slimmer European power adapter for iPod/iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple Corporate, Rumors

Electronista is reporting today that Apple is in talks with "probably all six" of the largest publishers in preparation for the tablet's release (I think it's safe to officially call it real now). Publishers Marketplace notes that it's all going down in New York City, with ebooks being the topic of conversation, specifically pricing and all of that good stuff.

It's assumed that Apple will sell books through iTunes with a revenue-sharing model similar to what's currently behind the App Store. The report states that the publishers are keen to control pricing and retain access to the files themselves. It's interesting to note that Amazon recently (as in yesterday) announced a revised and similar business model for the Kindle, scheduled to go into place on June 30th.

Now, just because Apple is in talks with all six publishers doesn't mean each deal is a lock. At least not before next week's dog-and-pony show. Expect a demo, some partner announcements (with select CEOs briefly sharing the stage) and a fanboy-crushing delay of 4-5 months.

TUAWApple meeting with "nearly all 6" largest trade publishers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Retail, iMac, Apple

Did you order one of those sweet 27-inch iMacs from the Apple online store recently? Well, if you did, expect to see a delay in getting it.

AppleInsider is reporting that the 27-inch models currently have a three-week shipping time. Earlier this week, Apple's web store showed estimated shipping times of less than a week.

The delay could be due to several factors. First, initial users of the 27-inch model had been experiencing screen flicker issues, which caused orders made in December to be delayed about two weeks. Apple released a software patch for the big-screen iMac on December 21st that was meant to resolve the screen flicker issues, but many purchasers are still experiencing the problems. It could be that Apple is slowing the pace of manufacturing until the situation is resolved.

Another possibility not addressed in the AppleInsider post could be that the demand for the 27-inch iMac is reaching a new peak. The iMac line made up the best-selling desktop computers in the U.S. in the last quarter of 2009, with the 21.5-inch model topping the charts. It's not entirely out of the question that demand at Apple resellers, including the Apple Stores, is finally being met by the supply of the 27-inch model and that fewer of the machines are available for purchase online.

If you're looking for a 27-inch iMac, we'd recommend visiting a local Apple reseller rather than attempting to purchase it directly through the online Apple Store.

TUAW27-inch iMac shipping delays extended 3 more weeks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Blogging, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Have you ever secretly wished that you could have your own personal iPhone app? An app that you could give to friends, relatives, and your adoring fans?

Now you can have your own iPhone (or Android, if you swing that way) app featuring all of your personal feeds from sources such as Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Posterous, Tumblr, and more. The really cool thing is that it's not going to take you much time, nor will you need to learn how to program. Through a new service called iSites, you can take all of your life feeds and have an iPhone app created just for you. The cost? Only US$25.

If you think that your hordes of faithful followers are going to download and use the app, you can spend another $99 to integrate AdMob ads into your personal app, meaning that you might be able to become rich (you're already famous, right?) beyond your wildest dreams by giving away your app in the App Store.

Everything about the iSites app you create is customizable; the feeds that make up the content (see photo above), the colors, even your icon and store banner. Anyone using your app can easily share an article with others via Twitter, Facebook, or email, and the app has support for video, image thumbnails, and the ability to mark a post as a favorite.

I'm not sure that I'm ready to bore the world with my personal iPhone app, but when I finally get to that point, I'll probably use iSites to create it.

[via Mashable]

TUAWMake your personal iPhone app in just 10 minutes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: App Review

Filed under: Hacks, Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, iPhone

So, like me, you've been doing a lot of driving around with your iPhone lately, and you've come to the conclusion that just having it sit next to you on the seat isn't the best way to do things. You need an in-car mounted dock, but you're not ready to shell out a bunch of money for something with "premium" in the title. Solution? Follow these directions and make your own. For just a couple of bucks in materials, you can build what looks like a pretty worthwhile way to mount your iPhone in the car.

It's basically a little PVC pipe with some foam to hold it in place on whatever extra ridges or slots you might have free in your dashboard, and some plastic coated wire at the top to hold your phone for you. Hey, you get what you pay for -- it won't pair with your iPhone, and any charging it provides will have to come from an external charging cable that you buy. But if you just want something to keep your iPhone handy and up off of the seat next to you -- or out of the cupholder, I do that one a lot, too -- this weekend project might just do the trick.

[via Lifehacker]

TUAWA DIY iPhone car mount for just $2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Apple, Macbook Pro

Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Reviews, iPhone, iPod touch

Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Odds and ends, Apple, Mac Pro

Filed under: Multimedia, Music

Whenever I heard "robots" and "Los Angeles" used in the same sentence, I thought of only one thing: the end of the freaking world as we know it. But all that's changed after I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak at a current rise of a group of machines happening at a company called KarmetiK, and what I saw there literally rocked me.

If you're into Macs and music and live in the LA area, I've got a treat for you. The world premiere of The Machine Orchestra will take place at REDCAT Theater in downtown LA on Wednesday, January 27th at 8:30pm. If you're in the area, I highly recommend you check it out.

What is a machine orchestra, you ask? Imagine a crate full of Apple computers, musical instruments, Terminators, and cutting edge technicians and musicians. Now take that crate, shake it up, and spill it out onto a stage. What you're left with is a group of robotic machines that play musical instruments alongside human artists - all controlled by software written for and running on Macs.

The Machine Orchestra is the brainchild of Ajay Kapur, Director of Music Technology at CalArts who wanted to breathe new technological life into the instruments and music normally found playing in traditional World Music ensembles.

Students from the emerging Music Technology program at CalArts will not only play alongside audio pioneers like Perry Cook and one of the most famous North Indian Classical musicians, Aashish Khan, but alongside robots as well. Man and machine work together to give the listener not only an auditory experience of the fusion between electronic and world music, but a visual one as well.

Electronic music is computer-based by its very definition. The audience can't see the instruments used to create the original sound. What's so cool about The Machine Orchestra is that it allows for the creation of electronic music using actual instruments controlled via Macs, all in front of a live audience.

On the robot front you've got three stars: GanaPatiBot - a drum robot with multiple solenoid systems for striking. The back of GanaPatiBot is a "propeller Leslie system", where two speakers are placed at either side of a spinning bar, which plays sounds and drones from an iPod Mini. MahaDeviBot is another drum robot with the ability to strike 12 different percussion instruments gathered from around India, including frame drums, bells, finger cymbals, wood blocks, and gongs. MahaDeviBot even has bouncing head which can portray tempo to the human. Last but not least is (the simply-named) Tammy. Standing at six feet tall, Tammy plays instruments including the hand-crafted marimba, drone string, and bells.

All the music and robots are performed and controlled via custom controllers and modified instruments like Arduinome and MLGI. "The ensemble is really an Apple powered beast, with over 10 performers (including our robotic counterparts) running on Apples," says Jordan Hochenbaum, one of the musicians in the show, who is currently a PhD student in Sonic Arts at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

"We mostly use Macbook Pros, although there is one Macbook, and we also have an iMac server which sends out 'sync' signals to keep everyone's Macs and robots in time with each other. We wrote custom client/server software to help address some sync issues we had using standard sync from our music software, Ableton Live."

Wednesday is going to be a big day for the Mac if that rumored tablet appears. If you're in LA, why not go out and celebrate by rocking to a bunch of Mac-controlled machines? Besides, when was the last time you saw a robot play a killer drum beat? Let's see the T-800 do that.

Tickets can be bought here for $20 general admission/ $16 students.

TUAWApple and the Rise of the Machines: Don't worry, they're just here to rock originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Odds and ends, Apple

Apple's reputation as an innovator doesn't seem to be waning at all. Two recent patent applications published Thursday on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Web site show that Apple is dreaming of new gestures using input devices and solar-powered iPods and iPhones. These applications are just a few of a recent parade of patents we've been following.

While these are just filings for patent protection and not actual products, Thursday's "Methods and Apparatus for Processing Combinations of Kinematical Inputs" filing is very intriguing in light of the upcoming announcements. As described in the filing, "Some embodiments of the present invention therefore enable a user to provide a series of gestures as input to the receiving device. Such gestures may include, for example, brushing motions, scooping motions, nudges, tilt and slides, and tilt and taps. The application can then respond to each gesture (or gesture combination) in any number of ways."

Hmmm... using a mouse on a "receiving device?" That could be an interesting way to perform tasks on a tablet device. We've heard some rumors about the tablet that describe new gestures that may take a bit of getting used to, and perhaps some of those are made to use a mouse in the manner described in the filing.

It's also apparent that Apple is quite interested in making devices with virtually unlimited battery life. Another filing unveiled on Thursday, titled "Power Management Circuitry and Solar Cells," describes power management circuitry allowing portable devices like the iPod and iPhone to operate on solar power.

The application details how both solar and battery power sources can be used to power the devices, using switches to reconfigure solar cells on the fly so that the device receives a constant voltage even when some cells are "shadowed" by a hand.

How about it, TUAW readers? Are you ready for a solar-powered tablet you can tap, brush, and nudge with a solar mouse? It could happen some day, although these are patentable ideas and not actual products.

[via MacRumors]

TUAWApple patent filings outline input device gestures, solar iPods and iPhones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cult of Mac, Apple

New York Times columnist John Markoff recently interviewed Beat-era poet Gary Snyder, who usually writes about the American wilderness. Markoff found that the 79 year-old Snyder, who confesses to writing his poetry on "whatever was at hand," is an avid and devoted Mac user.

According to Markoff, Snyder wasn't aware of the upcoming announcement of an Apple book replacement, as he lives in the California back country and apparently doesn't have the interruption of broadband noise to bother him. Snyder rarely uses a mobile phone and is quoted by Markoff as considering texting "abhorrent." But he waxes poetic when he uses his Mac.

Snyder noted about his Mac, "I like the storage space it has," he said, "and I like the ability to have back files accessible to me wherever I go." Those weren't the only words he had to say about the Mac. In a short, previously unpublished poem titled "Why I Take Good Care of My Macintosh," the "poet laureate of Deep Ecology" describes why he says that personal computers feel like sentient beings.

Fans of poetry and Macs can read the poem by visiting the title link in the previous paragraph. It's crazy, daddy-o!

TUAWBeat poet digs Macs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Odds and ends, Internet Tools, MobileMe

It was just a couple of weeks ago that we warned you that there were a bunch of phony Apple emails being sent to MobileMe subscribers designed to trick them into giving up their credit card info.

Now, Apple has published a couple of Knowledge Base articles designed to help you if you get some mail that might not really be from Apple.

The first posting helps you to renew your account, update your credit card information, and to deal with messages MobileMe may send you about your storage limits.

It also has an additional older specific link to help you identify fraudulent emails that look like they are from Apple but aren't. For whatever reason, crooks love to prey on MobileMe users, and there have been issues with fake renewals and credit card phishing schemes for a couple of years now.

If you have any doubts, check the Apple articles, and report any problems to Apple. A credit card is a terrible thing to waste, or lose.

TUAWApple posts articles to help protect MobileMe members against 'phishing' schemes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple Corporate

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store

Filed under: iPhone

The news isn't that terribly shocking. AdMob has released its latest report that the iPhone is not only the leading smartphone in North America, but in other parts of the world as well. We've covered some of their previous reports charting the iPhone's growing dominance. The iPhone is topping smartphone operating system use in the following markets:

• North America: 54 percent
• Latin America: 56 percent
• Western Europe: 78 percent
• Eastern Europe: 51 percent
• Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand): 92 percent

Apple has yet to overcome Symbian loyalty in Asia and Africa, where the platform has been long-established.

The report also shows that even though the iPhone is still the top smartphone in North America, Motorola's Droid is gaining ground. It was the third most commonly used device, just behind the iPhone and iPod Touch, and the second most-used smartphone. The much-hyped Palm Pre barely takes a sliver of the market here.

You can study the entire report over at AdMob's site.

[Via Electronista]

TUAWiPhone dominating mobile web in Americas and Europe originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Freeware, Open Source

Transmission, the venerable BitTorrent client for Mac, has just received an overhaul in the form of a "huge listen-to-the-users release." From the release notes the following enhancements are included:

• Added support for magnet links
• Added support for trackerless torrents
• Redesigned tracker inspector tab
• Quick Look restored for Snow Leopard users

According to the release notes there are over 100 changes that have been sourced from the users. Transmission is free and open source and can be downloaded here.

TUAWTransmission 1.8 released, now featuring support for magnet links originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Rumors, iPhone, iPod touch

Your latest serving of Apple's tablet rumors comes courtesy of iLounge, which is claiming two "double-confirmed" details about the forthcoming device:

1. The tablet will have dual dock connectors: one on the bottom just like the iPhone and iPod touch, and one on the long side so you can charge the device in landscape orientation.

2. Similar to the original iPhone, which had a mostly aluminum back, the tablet has a metal backside with a long, non-metal strip allowing for wireless access. There could be any number of antennae behind that strip, from the 802.11g wireless currently in iPods and iPhones, to 802.11n for faster networking, and even - potentially - a 3G antenna. iLounge goes on to speculate what sort of fees might be involved with the tablet's data services through a provider like Verizon or AT&T; short answer is, based on current rates, it won't be cheap.

In other tablet-related news, Gizmodo has posted a lengthy article proposing that the tablet's interface will basically be a blown-up version of the iPhone OS. After reading Gizmodo's argument, it's hard to disagree with them. While a traditional desktop and folder OS would probably appeal more to the geeks among us, that approach has historically been a failure with Windows-based tablets, and the iPhone interface expanded into a full-sized computer could be exactly what Joe Consumer needs to get over his unease and fear toward computers. The iPhone's interface is much more intuitive than Windows or even the full version of OS X, so running an entire, full-fledged computer off of it seems like exactly the next logical step in the user interface evolution that Gizmodo claims it to be.

What do you think? Is the tablet destined to be just a blown-up iPhone? Let us know in the comments.

TUAWTablet rumors: 3G, dual dock connectors, user interface originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Reviews, iPhone, iPod touch

Magellan was nice enough to loan me a Premium Car Kit for the iPhone or iPod touch, so I put it in the car and drove around on both city streets and highways to get an idea how it worked, particularly with the excellent Magellan Road Mate software [iTunes link].

The Magellan kit is advertised to work with most other GPS apps, and can be used with many iPhone cases so you don't have to pull your iPhone out of a case to get it into the cradle. Setting up was easy: just plug in the cigarette lighter power adapter, plug the other end of that cable into the cradle, and using the provided suction cup to attach it to your glass windshield. I was able to do that without incident. When the unit powers up, it is automatically in pairing mode, and my iPhone found it quickly and paired.

I have an InCase rubberized case for my phone, and even with the case, my iPhone seemed to fit into the cradle just fine, but more on that in a moment. The Premium Car Kit has a built in GPS receiver, and I found that signal acquisition seemed faster than using the iPhone built-in GPS. The product is advertised as working with any iPod touch (2nd generation or better) but since I don't have one of those laying around, I didn't get a chance to test that claim.

The unit also has an internal speaker, and it was louder than the iPhone alone, so hearing traffic directions was easier. The Magellan app allows access to your playlists, and I was able to get some music playing, and while it too was louder than the speaker on the iPhone, I didn't find the volume high enough to want to listen to music that way.

The cradle lets you flip the phone to either a portrait or landscape orientation, so I used the landscape view, which the Magellan app supports, along with most of the GPS apps available. The cradle also has a mini jack for audio out which will allow you to listen to music through your car system if you have the proper inputs.

There were some negatives, though. First, I received messages each time I put my iPhone in the cradle that the hardware was not built for the iPhone, the unit then asked me if I wanted to go into Airplane Mode. I thought that was a bit strange, so I said no, and continued to navigate. I began to suspect that my case was the issue, and sure enough, when I took my phone out of the case I did not get the warning. While my case is pretty thin and seemed to fit fine in the cradle, it is clear that all the contacts weren't lining up exactly right.

Once I had my bare iPhone settled in, I drove around and found navigation was excellent, the turn by turn directions were clearly audible, and it was a lot easier than just having my iPhone on the seat next to me.

I took 2 calls while I was navigating. Neither call was very loud, unfortunately, and at highway speeds one call was almost impossible to hear. I did turn the volume of the cradle all the way up, but it just wasn't enough, especially if the road noise was high. In contrast, navigation directions were quite audible.

With the iPhone in the cradle, power was not a problem, but when I plugged my phone in it had a 58% charge. After an hours driving, I still had only 58% charged. That suggests that the charger is maintaining power levels but not adding anything. My guess is that keeping the screen on and using the GPS full time wasn't giving the iPhone a chance to catch up.

So what were my overall impressions? I think the unit is a lot easier than holding your phone or depending on the built in iPhone speakerphone to hear directions. Although plastic, the unit seems sturdy enough. It was a lot easier to navigate with the Car Kit than without, and I believe the built-in GPS receiver enhanced performance. I really did think phone call volume was just too low, and I expect the promoted ability to work with your iPhone in a case may disappoint some people.

I did try the unit with the Navigon app [iTunes link] (which, it should be noted, costs another $90 to buy), and it worked fine; directions were quite audible. At U.S. $129.99 I find this item a bit pricey, close to the price of buying a small, low end dedicated GPS unit. TomTom has a similar unit at $119.95 and Navigon has a simpler cradle which is just a suction cup and charger. For the price, the Magellan works as promised -- as a cradle with a lot of bonuses -- but it's one of the more expensive options out there. If all you need is dedicated GPS device, you can probably find one of those on sale for about the same price.

TUAWReview: On the road with the Magellan Premium Car Kit originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Rumors

In light of the current tablet frenzy, TUAW is not alone shouting "Tablet, Tablet!" from the rooftops. The tablet has been a widespread and consistent story from several directions which we have been compiling and discussing. Over the last few weeks, TUAW has depended on multiple background sources who have information about the device, as do scores of other sites and news outlets.

In that light, we've assembled this round up of analysis and opinions posts, based on the most-likely credible rumors and sources we've been able to dig up from the last few years. Here are some of our longer discussion pieces that you might have missed the first time 'round.

	Publishing different: What the tablet brings to the table Like newspapers before them, traditional book publishers are facing the reality of the new digital world. With Apple's much anticipated tablet expected to debut within the next few months, they're...		App Store approvals and the tablet: why it matters When iTunes Connect returned after its Christmas break, developers noticed that things had changed quite a bit on the App Store approval front. Applications that had formerly taken ten to fourteen...
	Tablet speculation: How could a tablet connect to the world? Do you know what word Dave Caolo is hearing in his sleep? Tablet. What phrase is trending mightily on Google Search? Tablet. What is every Apple fanboy and fangirl dreaming of for...um...some new...	Also of interest: Talking tablets with Aaron Vronko of RapidRepair iPhone devsugar: Working with tablet resolutions Pricing the tablet: How high can they go? TUAW Watercooler: Apple's next big thing A Mac tablet? Not just yes, but 'heck yes' Buyer's Guide: 33 things you don't need if you have an iPhone Apple's original tablet Our iTablet Dreams: What TUAW is wishing for

TUAWTablet analysis and opinion: What TUAW has put on the table originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail

The weekend's almost here, thank goodness. Here's some Apple Store news to get you in a recreational mood.

First, the new Frankfurt Apple Store is set to open this weekend after a brief delay. Originally slated for December, the grand opening was canceled just two days before the scheduled date. The reason given was (and I'm relying on Google translate here because I don't speak German) that "it still wasn't completely perfect for an opening," so we assume that construction delays or other finishing touches took longer than expected. The event was re-scheduled for January 2010 without a specific date.

That mystery date turned out to be this Saturday, January 23rd at 11:00 AM. You'll find full travel directions here. Let us know if you attend the opening!

Additionally, ifoapplestore reports that Spain's first Apple Store will appear in Valencia. According to ABC.es, the store will occupy a part of the beautiful and historic building at Calle de Cristóbal Colón 25, designed by architect Lucas Garcia Cardona in 1889. The city is keen to ensure that changes made to the structure by Apple will not violate the "...the special protections afforded the (historic) building."

If you're in Valencia and notice any construction or other obvious signs of large-scale work on this building, let us know.

TUAWWeekend Apple Store news originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Humor, Odds and ends, Found Footage

Filed under: Software, Productivity

As we've previously pointed out, in many ways, Dashboard Widgets are the precursor to iPhone apps. Need to know when your latest packages will arrive? Yes, there's an app for that. But there's a widget too. Need to figure out how many pesos are in a dollar, or what a Quarter Pounder with Cheese comes out to in the metric system? There's an app, and a widget, for that as well. For this Friday afternoon, here are five useful Widgets to help you make the most of your Mac. And best of all, they're all free.

Screenshot Plus
At the top of the list is Steven Chaitoff's Screenshot Plus. The app, err widget, is in many ways just as functional as a full-fledged desktop app. Although Realmac Software's Little Snapper (which I use regularly) offers advanced editing and capturing niceties, for many Screenshot Plus is more than adequate to suit their screen capturing needs. The Widget allows you to capture your full desktop, any window, a defined area and, yes, even individual Widgets (it's what I used to capture the images for this post).

Christmas/New Year was full on, and full of food.

Unfortunately, I woke up feeling “more hungover than New Years Day” on he 2nd, and I have abit of a throat infection. Blech. So I’m uploading photos to Flickr now, but will spill out the posts as I feel like it.

Happy New Year!

Back in Canberra after five nights at The Golden Door health retreat in Pokolbin…

A week of eating delicious and healthy food, having spa treatments and waking at six for Tai Chi and a brisk 5.4km walk before breakfast :)

Loved it.

Yes, I bought the cookbook. I have also not had caffeine (including diet coke!) since the maccas stop on the drive up…

The rest of my pics are here at Flickr. Maybe if I cut out the diet cokes and coffees, I can afford to go back next year? :p

via Ian: Do you have suicidal thoughts after watching Avatar because you realise that Earth sucks and you wish you were on the blue people planet, Pandora? I think it might be worse that we paid $20/ticket for the pleasure of getting that way :p oh, wait, $19, but an extra $1 for a pair of glasses we can now use when the new Shrek comes out. If I don’t break them.

And I can’t believe I’m putting this here :p
India Foxtrot Yankee Oscar Uniform Charlie Alpha November Uniform November Delta Echo Romeo Sierra Tango Alpha November Delta Tango Hotel India Sierra, Charlie Oscar Papa Yankee Alpha November Delta Papa Alpha Sierra Tango Echo India Tango Tango Oscar Yankee Oscar Uniform Romeo Lima India Victor Echo Juliet Oscar Uniform Romeo November Alpha Lima/Bravo Lima Oscar Golf.0:) Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Mike Echo Mike Echo.

Off here for the next week.

Contraband Items
Mobile phones (for use in your room only)
Alcohol
Tobacco
Drugs (not prescription)
Food (they will feed me there, don’t worry!)
Sweets
Coffee/Tea

See you on the other side!

I still haven’t uploaded all my photos! Some are here at Flickr, but below are a few of my highlights from day one!

Geelong Beach

Fish and Chips at Geelong

Our hirecar (just outside ?Angelsea)

Putting the roof down.

Church in Lorne

Paper plane public art in Lorne

Love a windey road…

View

Heh. :p

Cute little room at Apollo Bay. Not bad for $115.

Mussels at the Great Ocean Road Deli, Apollo Bay.

I won!

Tart!

Enjoy this Flying Spaghetti Monster rendition of the first Xmas. I’m sure it’s just as accurate as any other ’story’ we’ve been told about the true meaning of Chrifsmas!

(as seen at The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Enjoy your day, eat too much and hug your family!

Rish gave me some little plants for xmas to help along my little pot plant garden. There’s a rose, some rhubarb, strawberries and a plant with teeny tiny flowers :)

We also nabbed some irises from his Mum’s garden in Newcastle to plant in our yard.

Getting there!

On our drive along The Great Ocean Road in November, we had to of course go to the Twelve Apostles.

A slightly overcast day, but gorgeous!

I really like the millions of years you can see in the lines on the rocks and cliff faces. I never quite “got it” when it came to the rock layers in highschool geology, but I love to see it, and try to contemplate the time frames!

Another awesome part is the erosion and the caves:

Make that another “Awesome place in Australia” that I’ve now seen :) Getting there!

Arrived home this afternoon to find this on my doorstep:

My brown paper package gift from Valerie!!! Perfect timing – if it had arrived last week, it would have sat outside until we arrived home from Newcastle.

Rather Australian card there ;)

Jam Packed! (Rish likes the bubble wrap! Thanks!)

Awesome bird necklace and earrings. That purple is completely my colour :)

Another pair of earrings. Birds, too. Really hard to get a pic of though, sorry

The pegs have magnets to hold notes to my fridge :)

Something heavy in this!

Coasters! No wonder the postage was so high, silly thing!

Home mixed spices!

Valerie and her friend have their own Etsy store: Spunk and Sass Designs :)

Thanks for the awesome gifts :) Always fun to see what you will get in these things!

Back from a very quick dr’s visit. I was pleasantly surprised that I got in so easily – with a doctor new to the surgery so isn’t booked up yet.

Seems to be a generic viral infection getting to my throat and mucous-producing bits. Enough to knock me about long enough to be given til Friday off work on a medical certificate.

One thing I hate though it when I’m asked whether I would like antibiotics or not. Just tell me if you think I need them, if I need them I’ll take them if I don’t I won’t. Don’t ask me because you assume I want pills because it’s a great placebo.

We had that exchange, during which he confirmed that no, he didn’t think I needed them, but still offered to write a script for antibiotics in case I got worse, to which I replied that if I was worse by Thursday, I’d be coming back and could get given something then.

So, rest, watching the cricket, zooper doopers and mangoes til Friday.

I was a very happy girl when I found soy based gelato on Lygon Street. I think I had coffee and hazelnut flavours. Nice to have them without then getting an upset stomach in return!

It had a slight different feeling on my teeth, but it’s easy to get through that because of the flavour!

Casa Del Gelato 163 Lygon St, Carlton Victoria.

I’ve noticed that a number of my dear commenters don’t have a Gravatar! I would love to see your pretty faces next to you comments!

Here’s a video telling you how awesome gravatars are.

Go on, get one!

One of many lunches out over this Chrissy/New Year was with my family at a new cafe on Darby Street, simply called The Kitchen.

I started with a soy latte (they recently had to switch off the Bonsoy) while waiting, cos it takes a little longer for my sister to get going now there’s also a baby to bundle into the car too!

hehe Liam.

Menu

I had a pear, honeyed walnut and blue cheese salad. Oh yum!

Rish rocked up later and had a pizza with King Prawns and Salami!

Then his mum came, and tried to steal the baby… not that my father was going to have any of that, and whisked him off to the car later :p

Rish’s mother goes a bit over the top when she buys chrissy presents for her boys, and in amongst the wrapping paper was a package of squid ink pasta. I haven’t tried it before now, so was quite curious about how it would cook up and, more importantly, taste.

It was very quick to cook – 7 minutes to a good biteyness. Cooked up some chicken in a Barilla ricotta/tomato sauce, and made an awesome coloured salad with mushroom, feta, avocado, roquette, baby spinach, egg tomatoes and cucumber to make me not feel so pasta-ey.

The taste – well it just tasted like normal, nice, pasta. Looked really cool though. Any suggestions for how to cook up the second half of the packet?

jealous?

i am so lucky to have wonderful friends. b found this orla kiely multi-stem duvet cover online a few weeks ago, and i had been coveting it ever since. of course, it's only available in the UK. i got to the point where i decided it was totally worth the exorbitant shipping costs - and then i found out a friend from london was coming to town, and he would be happy to pick one up for me! the jaffa cakes and tea? total bonus. now we need to find a duvet that'll fit properly inside... any tips other than ordering from amazon.co.uk?

i also made some new friends over the weekend. i decided it was finally time to find a knitting group on the west side of los angeles - i hadn't joined one since moving from pasadena (rose city knitters, i miss you!). so on saturday i headed up the street to the fairview public library and peeked into their community room, where i was greeted by lovely knitterly ladies, tea, and cookies! i will definitely be going back.

while i was there, i swatched for rosamund's cardigan, and sunday i cast on. i suspected i'd need to go down a needle size, and splurged on some wonderful addi turbo #7s (32"). as you may remember, this one's a KAL with malaraky and beigeberry. we're all using very different fibers and emailing each other daily with our progress - during which, we discovered that we're all using a knit picks harmony cable needle that beigeberry gifted us years ago!

i am so looking forward to the long weekend - no plans, lots of yoga and knitting. is it friday yet?

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An event has been triggered in the continuum. The Twimline has been compromised.

Well now, this is a sort of farewell. An au revoir more than an adieu but a valediction all the same. This morning I switch off most of my connections with the outside world, for I have work to do. I must deliver a book to my publishers by the end of April or my soul and testicles will be forfeit.