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Here's a great and super-simple mod that turns an iPhone 4 into a portable digital microscope. Using an inexpensive microscope found on Amazon (seven bucks as of this writing), an iPhone case and some superglue, this user has hacked together a stable, portable digital microscope that also takes pictures.

The iPhone's flat back makes attaching the microscope super easy. After getting it glued to the case, simply snap it onto the iPhone and start observing things close up! For bonus points, pair the iPhone with BlueCam for iPad, which feeds an iPhone 4's live video stream to an iPad via Bluetooth for big-screen observations.

We love this mod! Very well done.

[Via DVICE]

Cool mod: iPhone as digital microscope originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cool mod: iPhone as digital microscope originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SAP has embraced its devotion to mobile solutions by distributing 1,000 iPads to employees with more to come. ZDNet reports that SAP's CIO Oliver Bussmann shared news of the iPad program late last week on Twitter.

Bussmann notes that the iPads are ready for duty. Each is equipped with access to Citrix tools via a virtual private network (VPN) and email for participating employees. Additionally, the users will pilot the Mobile Sales for SAP CRM app for iOS. The iPads have been spread across SAP employees around the world.

We can assume this is just the beginning of the program, as Bussmann took to Twitter once again to suggest that there's "more to come." Best of luck to SAP in their new initiative.

SAP deploying 1000 iPads to employees, more on the way originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SAP deploying 1000 iPads to employees, more on the way originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here's an extension that's quite at home with Cleaner YouTube. Naked Twitter relieves your Twitter account's homepage of all the sidebar clutter. The only remaining links (profile, replies, direct messages and log out) are represented by small icons at the top of the page. Additionally, there are no pop-up hover tips or lists. Boy it looks nice.

It's certainly not for everyone. Like I said, the groups, lists, trending topics, etc. that typically populate the page are gone. If you use those things, don't install the plugin. However, if you like the clean simplicity as I do, definitely check it out.

Speaking of YouTube, developer Jacob Bijani has released Naked YouTube as well. Much like Naked Twitter, Naked YouTube removes everything but your video.

TUAWSafari extension highlight: Naked Twitter originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iHome, makers of iPhone and iPod accessories, is the first to announce an AirPlay compatible wireless speaker system. So far, the details are slim, but what we do know is that it will incorporate Apple’s new AirPlay technology, have a rechargeable battery, and be available for the holiday season!

In related news, Apple’s official AirPlay website reveals a lineup of other featured partners who are incorporating the AirPlay technology. JBL, Marantz, B&W, and Denon have also signed up, but as of yet, no further information is available.

In case you missed it, our own Richard Gaywood did a great piece on why he’s looking forward to Airplay. If streaming music, video, and picture tickles your fancy, check it out here.

We’ll keep you posted on any further Airplay developments as they happen.

TUAWiHome reveals first AirPlay wireless speaker system originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Todd Ditchendorf (Celestial Teapot Software) is probably best known for creating Fluid, a Site-Specific Browser app that we love to talk about. While Fluid was a great and well-executed idea, Todd’s latest app, Fake, is truly inspired. The easiest way to describe Fake is to say it’s Automator for the Web. It may not have the mass appeal that Fluid does, but its target audience (Web designers and developers, as well as Web power users) will have no trouble appreciating its capabilities.

Fake, like Automator, offers an Actions library and allows you to create drag-and-drop workflows with Web-specific capabilities. Fill a form, click a button, follow links … basically, you can automate anything that deals with HTML and DOM elements. You can even inject CSS and JavaScript into pages, which opens doors to extensive security testing, among other things. Sound intriguing? Read on …

TUAWFake.app makes powerful Web automation easy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I finally picked up an iPhone 4 last Friday, and one of the best things about the new handset is the beautiful shots I've taken with the camera. I'm not a professional photographer by any stretch, and people who have actually done tilt-shift photography might have a whole lot of bones to pick with the "'shopped" version of the technique, but I've already had plenty of enjoyment from TiltShift Generator Free. It's one of a few apps on the store that will edit taken pictures to give them the short depth of field and selective focus that creates the effect. The aptly named TiltShift and Tilt Shift Focus are two other (slightly more expensive) options, but TiltShift Generator Free worked great for just messing around, and it has the added bonus of being completely free.

With the free app, you get options to blur or "vignette" (that's the shadow effect seen around the outside frame) the images, as well as adjust the saturation, brightness, and contrast. Once you save the image, you can put it back on your photo reel or export it out to email, Twitter, or Facebook. Getting the paid version for 99 cents allows a higher resolution for output, but as an amateur just having fun, I had no issues with the free version.

Again, if you're a photographer who knows his or her way around Photoshop, something like this probably isn't what you need; you already know how to dive in and edit pictures, and your best shots probably aren't taken with an iPhone anyway. But as a super casual photographer who likes the tilt-shift look and playing around with the iPhone 4's great camera, I really enjoyed this free app. It's definitely worth a download.

TUAWTUAW's Daily App: TiltShift Generator Free originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Holiday weekend or no holiday weekend: we're live tonight on Talkshoe, so call in and chat with us. Of course, there were a few announcements of note this week, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about anything besides iTunes 10 or new iPods! Bring your interests, your questions and/or your gripes and we'll lay it down.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantage of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac or your PC, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients or using the Talkshoe client's ShoePhone tool; basic instructions are here.

We'll kick things off at 10pm ET/ 7pm PT. See you there!

TUAWTalkcast reminder: iTunes, iPods and all the week's news, 10pm ET originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over the weekend I went to visit some relatives I haven't seen for some time. As is required by such family gatherings, I brought a large number of photographs to share with them.

I planned to show the photographs on my MacBook, which has recently been refurbished, but hasn't had iPhoto reinstalled on it. Running late, I didn't have time to install it as planned. As a last resort, I thought I'd just show the photos using Quick Look and scroll through them in full screen.

When I eventually got round to showing off my photos (you know, that rather drowsy time just after dinner), I realized that Quick Look won't let you scroll through items when in full screen, let alone do a slideshow (which would be pretty useful). However, you can resize the Quick Look window to almost full screen.

Well, to say the least, with hundreds of photos to get through, people already getting bored, my finger hurting from scrolling and my wife giving me the look that says "I told you so," I began to wish I had made the time to reinstall iPhoto. There was no internet access either, so I couldn't even download something like Picasa.

At that point my cousin strolled into the room and said, "That must be taking you ages, why don't you just do a slideshow using Preview?" He then selected all the photos in the folder, right clicked and selected 'Open With Preview.' With the Preview app open, he selected 'View' from the menu bar and then 'Slideshow.' It was that simple.

Thankfully, I was able to leave the photos to display themselves. People could watch as much or as little as they wanted, when they felt like it (the way such photo exhibitions should be!).

You can check out more things to do with Preview at this Apple support page.

Update: A few bright commenters have pointed out that you can, in fact, do a slideshow using Quick Look. First, select more than one photo, then hit the space bar or the Quick Look button. By selecting more than one photo the slideshow options will appear in the Quick Look window. Thanks!

TUAWMac 101: Use Preview to display a slideshow (update) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Along with the up-front iTunes 10 changes (social awareness, monochrome sidebar, new-attitude icon), it looks like Apple has quietly dropped one store-centric feature from the latest version. Roberto Baldwin at Mac|Life notes that the feature allowing users to buy a section of a track from the iTunes Store for use as a custom ringtone has gone AWOL between 9.2.1 and 10.

Granted, there are lots and lots of ways to make DIY ringtones from tracks you already own or other sources, but the iTunes-authorized method was certainly convenient. Apple may be proud to announce that Ping already has over 1 million users, but now we know that none of them are making ringtones straight from the store.

[via MacRumors]

TUAWiTunes 10 drops custom ringtone purchasing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No official announcement from the virtualization mavens at Parallels, but it appears that the next version of the company's Mac app for Windows virtual machines is already popping up at retail. Sharp-eyed reader Matthew Fern snapped this shot of Parallels Desktop 6 already on sale at Fry's Electronics in Roseville, CA.

We've got a call into the Parallels press office to find out about upgrade options and actual yes-we-admit-it release info, but chances are we'll have to wait until after the Labor Day holiday to get the final word.

Thanks Matt!

TUAWParallels Desktop 6 appears on store shelves originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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