Coda is Panic's legendary Mac app for editing HTML and other web files, and today Panic has announced the followup to Coda, called (surprise) Coda 2. As you might expect, the hugemongous feature list over on the Coda site has web developers frothed up into a frenzy of anticipation. In addition to the usual suspects like a better editor, UI improvements, and compatibility with FTP, iCloud, and other services, Coda 2 will also include a built-in MySQL editor, code-folding to get code you don't need to see out of the way, and an active path bar to let you find any file you need right away. It looks like the premiere tool for working with web code -- Coda 2 -- will be available on May 24.

And that's not all. Panic is also releasing Diet Coda for the iPad on the App Store that day as well. Diet Coda is a version of the editor engineered for the iPad itself, and not only brings the best of Coda's features to Apple's tablet, but also works with a Coda 2 installation for "AirPreview": Make changes in Coda 2, see them live on your iPad right away. Diet Coda will be $9.99.

Coda 2 for Mac, Diet Coda for iPad available May 24 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 21 May 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm always looking for impressive free apps to show what the iPad can accomplish, and I've done that this week with 123D Catch from AutoDesk.

This iPad app (iPad 2 and new iPad only) allows you to use the iPad camera to photograph any object from a number of angles and elevations. Then the app sends your images up to an AutoDesk server where the object is rendered as a 3D file. You can even create 3D files for large objects, like a building, by moving parallel to it to allow the rendering to display the changing perspectives. Even people can be rendered in 3D if they don't move during the imaging sequence. It's all covered in the included help files and videos.

This is pretty amazing on any computer, and even more impressive on a tablet. Once you get the image back, you can rotate it in 360 degrees, zoom in or out, and even change elevation if you provided the appropriate images for the rendering. You can submit up to 40 images. Rendering can take a bit of time. Some complex objects took about 20 minutes but the app will send an alert when your file is ready.

The resulting 3D object can be shared with other AutoDesk users, or viewed on a Mac or PC with a free viewer. Just trying it out on some household objects worked very well. The renderings were complete and in sharp focus. It's pretty amazing to do this on an iPad and it is a good demo if you don't mind waiting for the rendering to finish.

AutoDesk also offers an app we've previously reviewed called 123D Sculpt. It allows you to create a virtual 3D sculpture on your iPad. I consider these free apps sort of a gateway drug to get people interested in the amazing capabilities of the AutoDesk family of products. AutoDesk even sells some of its industrial strength products through the Mac app store.

Give this free iPad app a try and prepare to be impressed.

Gallery: AutoDesk 123D Catch

AutoDesk provides impressive 3D captures on an iPad with a free app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 14 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You have to give them credit. The developers at Sparrow don't waste any time when it comes to improving their apps. It's only been a little over two weeks since Sparrow for the iPhone launched and there's already an update in the iOS App Store. The 1.1 version of Sparrow rolled out on Wednesday and has some new features and bug fixes.

According to the changelog, Sparrow now lets you send and archive mail as well as empty the trash and spam folders from your phone. You can bring important emails to the forefront by selecting which accounts show up on dock badges and which specific labels and folders you want to see. There's also a new built-in browser which will knock the socks off users who receive links in their emails.

Besides the new and exciting features listed above, Sparrow 1.1 also fixes both authentication issues with some Google apps account and custom SMTP for aliases. Oh, and that missing push notification feature. Sparrow is determined to get push notification into the app. The company said in a blog post, "Push is coming. If Apple can't help us yet, we have other ideas."

You can download Sparrow from the iOS App Store for US $2.99.

Sparrow 1.1 adds built-in browser, delete options originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Do you like reading articles on the web, but hate all of the cruft that ends up making posts hard to read? Relax. Readability is going to be available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch for free on March 1, 2012.

Readability is somewhat akin to Reader in Safari on the Mac, only much better. Both provide the capability to read web pages sans ads in an very text-centric format, but the similarity ends there. Readability adds extra functionality, including the ability to change text size to accommodate aging or tired eyes, swap fonts, tweet links to posts to your followers, and easily browse a pre-saved reading list.

Users of the popular Tweetbot apps for iPhone and iPad know just how handy Readability can be. The Twitter client includes a way to switch linked web pages to a Readability format for easy reading -- I've found that it's my preferred way to view websites on an iPhone.

For a tantalizing glimpse of Readability for iPad, be sure to watch the video below.

Readability: Coming to an iOS device near you on March 1 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Each app in the iOS App Store must go through Apple's notorious approval process. Previously known for its heavy ban hammer, Apple is now earning a reputation for being lax and letting a myriad of cloned and counterfeit apps into the App Store. According to reports from Develop and Ars Technica, the latest titles to raise suspicion are a pair of Pokémon apps, one from developer Jonathan Milanovic and another from House of Anime.

In both cases, the apps are present in the iOS App Store in the game category and have gotten the attention of customers. One app, Pokémon Pocket Edition by Milanovic, was not even a game, but merely a gallery of Pokémon photos. Customers were understandably angry when they realized they paid $5 for a bunch of images. After the Develop article was published, Milanovic pulled the app because people misunderstood what they were buying. He told Develop, "I did note that it was only a gallery, and supported this by listing the game in 'book' section on the App Store."

The other app, House of Anime's Yellow Pokémon, debuted this weekend and climbed as high as No. 3 on the App Store's paid apps chart. It, too, is the recipient of many stinging comments, criticizing the app because its doesn't work. As Ars Technica points out, this game uses screenshots and characters taken directly from Nintendo's Pokémon series. It's not just inspired by Pokémon, it's a blatant ripoff of Nintendo's popular franchise.

These titles slipped through Apple's review process because Apple apparently relies on the copyright owners to police the app store for infringing titles. Apple looks for technical issues with apps, but not copyright infringement. When you think about it, the company is in a similar position as YouTube, which also struggles with users who upload infringing content. Just like YouTube, the app store is so big, that Apple can't adequately police existing and incoming titles.

Until Apple develops a tool or improves it manual method to scan submissions for infringement, it will be the responsibility of developers and copyright holders to keep a watchful eye for clones and ripoff titles. Hopefully, when a copyright owner brings a knockoff app to Apple's attention, Apple will step up its policing and remove the title promptly.

Counterfeit Pokemon apps sneak into App Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about letting your children use an iPad. I mentioned locking it down, filling it with apps and letting them use the tablet in small increments. In a minor oversight, I didn't mention any of the apps that I put on my iPad.

To make up for that mistake, I've decided to do a series of posts on educational apps for kids. Below you will find five apps that are both entertaining and educational for four to six-year olds. In the next few weeks, I'll do another post for older kids and one for toddlers, too. If you have a favorite, feel free to share it in the comments.

AniMatch ($0.99)

Made by Lima Sky of Doodle Jump fame, AniMatch is a fun, matching game for youngsters with cute graphics and whimsical sounds. The game has a grid of twenty tiles and hidden behind each one is a cartoon animal. Each animal makes a sound when you touch it. As expected, the cow will moo, the lion will roar and so on. It's a cute game that combines memory training with sight and sound recognition.

See.Touch.Learn (Free)

See.Touch.Learn is a multimedia-rich flash card game for little kids. The app is available for free and includes several free flash card libraries. You can even more flash card libraries or create your own via in-app purchases. There's also a premium version for $24 that gives you access to 1,700 images and 1,300 exercises. The game is fun for kids and powerful for parents.

Monster Coloring Book ($2.99)

Monster Coloring Book is high on the fun value as it combines monsters and coloring- two topics kids love. The app lets you pick different brushes, patterns, and stickers to color your monsters. WHen you are done, you can save it to your iOS device or send it to an AirPrint printer. The Monster Coloring Book is available for both the iPad and iPhone, but it works best on the larger screen of the tablet.

Lakeshore Learning Phonics and Letter apps (Free to $1.99)

Lakeshore Learning has a series of inexpensive apps to your children about the letters in the alphabets and their sounds. The company makes a basic alphabet game which introduces a new letter each day. There's also a tic-tac-toe phonics game and an interactive game that teaches beginning sounds.

Jr. Bingo ($0.99)

Jr. Bingo is a Bingo-style game that teaches little ones about colors, shapes, numbers, letters and letter sounds. Its is one of three games by ABCya that uses Bingo Bugs. These colorful bugs are given as a reward when a child completes a game of Bingo without a mistake. The more games the child completes, the more Bingo Bugs they earn. When the children are done with the game, they can then play with the Bingo Bugs which hop around the screen and can be flicked all over the place.

Five apps to keep your young children entertained and educated originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dear Aunt TUAW,

I'm a Mac IT professional, and often find myself configuring, troubleshooting, and optimizing wireless networks.

In the past I used AP Grapher to graph wireless strength and find competing Wi-Fi networks as I walk around my clients' offices. This allows me to pick the best channel to use with the least competition, troubleshoot wireless strength, and find the optimal location for my hardware.

In Lion, AP Grapher has gone from unstable to unusable. I've found that it hasn't been updated since 2007.

I have tested other Mac stumbler applications, but have yet to find one that works with Lion. Most crash on launch and others don't reliably detect wireless networks.

Can you recommend a Mac application for graphing my wireless strength and recording info about competing wireless networks?

Thanks!

Your loving nephew,

Aaron

Dear Aaron,

Auntie asked around and it looks like iStumbler will be your best bet. Note that it's currently at its 100 GM Candidate 3 beta stage of development. Another suggestion is the open source KisMAC.

You might also want to try out the Wi-Fi diagnostics app that's bundled with Lion's Core Services.

Hugs,

Auntie T.

Special thanks to Fraser Hess, Adrian Burgess, Alex Patsay, Harris Kleyman, Alex Sebenski and Julian Kussman.

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me find a WiFi stumbler app for Lion originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One major complaint about reading an eBook is the experience; holding an iPad is just not the same as holding a book and thumbing through the pages. This complaint may lose some of its weight if the folks at the KAIST Institute of Information Technology Convergence can get their patented Smart E-Book Interface Prototype out of the lab and into the wild.

The interface uses the private Apple API for the page flip and turns it upside down and inside out. Not only do you get a beautiful page flip like the one in iBooks, you also get page flipping that lets you scan 20 or 30 pages at a time, multiple page flips that are controlled by the speed of your finger swipe, and a way to hold your thumb on one page and flip through the book with your fingers. You can see it in action in the video below to marvel at how the interface mimics the way most people flip the pages of a softcover book.

[Via Macgasm]

Students demonstrate innovative iPad book page flip originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During December and January, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is soliciting your nominations and votes for the best products for Mac, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad. We'll start with nominations in a category, and then tally your votes for the top-nominated products a few days later. The winner in each category receives the highly-coveted title of TUAW Best of 2011.

In the next category for the TUAW Best of 2011 awards, we want to know what you consider to be the top iPad utility app of the year.

Before you enter your nomination into the comments at the bottom of this post, please be sure to check that the app you're thinking about is listed in the utilities category in the App Store.

What's in this category? Apps like the Photon Flash (US$4.99) and Skyfire ($4.99) Web Browsers, iHandy Calculator HD Pro ($0.99), Living Earth HD ($1.99, on sale for $0.99), Air Display ($9.99), and 1Password Pro (on sale for $8.99).

There are thousands of additional apps in the utilities category, so let us know what you think is deserving of the Best of 2011. Leave your nomination in the comments below. Voting starts soon!

Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on December 31, 2011.

Nominate your favorite iPad utility app for TUAW's Best of 2011 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During December and January, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is soliciting your nominations and votes for the best products for Mac, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad. We'll start with nominations in a category, and then tally your votes for the top-nominated products a few days later. The winner in each category receives the highly-coveted title of TUAW Best of 2011.

In the next category for the TUAW Best of 2011 awards, we want to know what you consider your favorite iPad productivity app.

Before you enter your nomination into the comments at the bottom of this post, please be sure to check that the app you're thinking about is listed in the productivity category in the App Store.

Some of the top apps in this category include Pages, Penultimate, Notability, GoodReader for iPad, PDF Expert, and Skitch for iPad. But there are thousands of other iPad productivity apps, one of which may be your favorite and a potential winner.

It's up to you to tell TUAW about your favorite iPad productivity app. Leave your nomination in the comments below. Voting starts soon!

Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on December 30, 2011.

Nominate your favorite iPad productivity app for TUAW's Best of 2011 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.