Apple’s newly released iAd Producer aims to ease the iAd creation process with a set of powerful tools that allow Mac users to create compelling interactive advertisements fit for the iOS platform. iAd Producer features an easy to use visual editor that manages the creation of all HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript behind the iAd, greatly simplifying the development process. Advanced developers will be pleased to learn that they can also dig behind the easy interface and directly edit and debug the code on their own.

iAd Producer features include:

• Over a dozen page templates for drag-and-drop creation of interactive advertisements
• Component library of prebuilt interface elements and items
• Built-in animation and transition effects
• iAd Simulator to test the iAd directly on your Mac or iOS device
• Asset library of all your iAds visual assets
• Advanced Javascript editor and debugger with code completion, syntax coloring, breakpoints, code stepping, and more
• Project validation to ensure iAd compatibility and proper configuration
• Automatic optimization includes Javascript minification

iAd Producer requires Mac OS X 10.6.5, Safari 5, and iOS SDK 4+, if you want to test iAds on an iOS device, that device requires iOS 4 or later.

You can read more about iAd Producer and download it for free if you’re in the iOS Developer program by visiting the iOS Developer Center.

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I’ve always liked the way Cover Flow looked and I found it a pretty nice way to flip through albums in iTunes and files in Mac OS X. Well, Cover Flow’s days may be numbered, as a recently discovered Apple patent reveals a touch responsive spiral user interface to navigate through iTunes albums, and possibly, files in both Mac OS X Finder and iOS apps.

As you can see in the patent image above, the items in the file spiral will be touch responsive allowing someone to ‘grab’ one of the items in the spiral and manipulate it in a virtual 3D space. It looks like the patent is specific to iTunes playlists, but considering Cover Flow is included in iTunes, iOS, and Mac OS X, it’s quite possible this touch spiral could appear everywhere that Cover Flow currently exists.

The patent also details an alternative “V” style interface that may look and function similar to how the Time Machine interface works, with items moving back and forth in a virtual space. Here is the patent image of the “V” style UI:

Uncovered by PatentlyApple, they interpret the patents use as follows:

At the end of the day, I think that both the sprial and receding-v designs have their place. The receding-v design would appear to be a natural for replacing Cover Flow in Apple’s Finder. It’s not overly drastic and would provide us with a superior viewing angle, which is the purpose for the change to begin with. Apple’s proposed Spiral design is more geared for iTunes. Apple could simply make it another viewing option or replace Cover Flow. It appears to be geared for a touch display like the iPad where it’s better suited. It would provide more room to maneuver than an iPhone. So it’ll be interesting to see how Apple introduces these new UI elements in the future.

Assuming this spiral and V UI does appear in Mac OS X, I imagine it would respond to both multitouch input devices and a mouse by using the scrollwheel to navigate through the spiral, just like the existing Cover Flow interface does.

Sometimes you will run into a song that plays notably more quiet than other music in iTunes. Rather than turning up your speakers for just one song, or getting frustrated at a particular songs audio level, you can manually adjust a songs volume level directly in iTunes. This is by far the easiest way to boost a songs audio level to make it play louder, it’s done in seconds, and it works on Mac and Windows iTunes.

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How would you like a 5 in 1 connector kit for your iPad? It has USB, Micro-USB, SD, Micro-SD, and a TV connector. Discovered by GizChina, it looks like this is only available in China at the moment. Let’s hope someone brings it to the rest of the world, I bet this would sell quite well.

This is just one of many cool Apple add-ons and gadgets you can get in China but you can’t get here, including the elusive white iPhone 4.

Amazon is at it again, this time they’re offering the newest iPod touch 8 GB for $210 with free shipping plus a free $25 Amazon gift card.

• iPod touch 8 GB for $210 – includes free shipping
• $25 Amazon.com Gift Card – free at checkout

Add both items to your cart, and the $25 Amazon gift card becomes free at checkout.

Ordering today (12/19) guarantees delivery by December 24 with the free shipping, so if you’re shopping for last minute Christmas gifts, this is it.

If you have an iPhone you can turn it into a WiFi hotspot very easily through the help of a jailbreak app called MyWi. This lets you wirelessly connect any other computer or hardware to the iPhone and use its cellular connection as your primary internet access. Outside of the official “Personal Hotspot” features offered by nearly all cellular carriers now, this is without a doubt the easiest way to tether your iPhone wirelessly, and use an iPhone as a wireless router. Do note this is an unofficial method, and some cellular carriers will detect the usage of tethering and may add a fee onto the data plan once they detect you doing so. This also requires the usage of a jailbreak, which is a separate process, but it allows you to install the MyWi app onto your iPhone.
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If you were wondering whether to get Parallels 6 or VMware for virtualization, then some recent tests by MacTech may have the answer for you. In a series of benchmarks pitting the new Parallels 6 vs VMware Fusion 3.1, Parallels is the hands-down winner. In 84% of the tests performed, Parallels 6 beat the competition in everything from general performance benchmarks to I/O, CPU footprint, Office performance, and 3D graphics and 3D games.

The scores in 3D graphics and games are even more in Parallels 6 favor, with Parallels beating VMware in 92% of the tests run. This doesn’t surprise me considering the amazing Parallels 6 gaming performance we saw earlier in the year.
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Today is the last day to get the new iPod Touch 32GB plus a free $25 Amazon Gift Card for just $269.99:

• iPod touch 32 GB (4th Generation) for $269.99 with free shipping – $30 off from Amazon, usually sells for $299
• $25 Amazon.com Gift Card – add this to your cart as well, becomes free at checkout

To get the deal, add the iPod touch 32 GB and the $25 gift card to your Amazon shopping cart. When you check out, the gift card will become free. Free shipping is included as usual. The deal expires 12/18 at 11:59 PST, so hurry up!

This continues to be the best deal on the 4th gen iPod Touch 32GB model available right now, it’s $30 off the regular price plus you get a free $25 gift card, where can you beat that?

Unreal Development Kit, or UDK, is now available to download for developing on the iOS platform. UDK offers the same Unreal Engine behind hit games like Unreal, Gears of War, and the recently released iPhone hit Infinity Blade.

The kit offers multiple tools a developer needs to create impressive 3D visualizations and graphics for the iOS platform including Unreal Editor and various lighting, scripting, cinematic, and particle designer tools. Additionally, UDK includes the full source code to the iOS game “Epic Citadel” so you can see a working example of just how everything operates together.

UDK for iOS: Windows-based iPhone Development?
Now here comes the odd part, despite the UDK release supporting iOS development, the current beta tools only run on Windows. This is odd for two reasons; one, and most obviously odd, all other iOS development must be done on a Mac through the iOS SDK; and two, UDK running on Windows means that Windows based developers can now build and deploy iOS applications directly from Windows to an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad (at least for testing purposes).

The Silver Lining: Infinity Blade is Just the Beginning
While this Windows-only limitation is sure to frustrate many Mac based game developers, the potential upside to consumers is this; the Windows gaming world is already full of great games that are built with UDK’s Unreal Engine. This means, theoretically at least, that complex games like Gears of War, Mass Effect, Medal of Honor, and Unreal Tournament 3 could come to the iPhone and iPad some day in the near future. So while Infinity Blade is undoubtedly impressive, it’s very likely just the tip of the coming iOS iceberg of graphically rich games.

Check out the UDK demo video below, it’s a pretty impressive walkthrough:
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This has to be the geekiest Christmas concert ever performed, as the North Point iBand (what?) performs Feliz Navidad entirely on iPhones, iPads, and the iPod touch using various apps.

If the first video wasn’t enough for you, here’s another with even more Christmas songs:
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It’s no secret that we’re heavy proponents of dual monitors, but this setup goes even further: this is a MacBook Air 11″ model driving 4 screens! OK now a few of the screens are really just for novelty, but this setup looks cool regardless.

That little tiny screen below the Apple Cinema Display is a MIMO UM-710S USB Powered 7 Inch LCD which apparently has a 800×480 resolution. It looks like it’s running an IRC client but a screen that size would also make for a good full-time Twitter, iTunes, or news feed display.

The picture is from Flickr via CultOfMac, and they say the Apple IIc on the far left is powered through a USB to Serial adapter.

The MacBook Air 11″ is clearly serving as the primary machine here, something that many critics argued the 11″ wouldn’t be powerful enough to do. Nonsense, just hook up an external monitor (or 4) and you’ve got yourself a workstation!

Whether you are already an iOS developer or you’re looking to get started, you’re in luck. Apple is offering six free iOS development books to download through their iBooks app. The free development books are:

• iOS Human Interface Guidelines
• iOS Technology Overview
• Object Oriented Programming With Objective-C
• iOS Application Programming Guide
• Cocoa Fundamentals Guide
• The Objective-C Programming Language

To download your own copies, launch iBooks, tap on “Store” and search for “Apple Developer Publications” where they’ll all be listed.

Apple recommends grabbing the latest iBooks 1.2 update before downloading the free books. Due to the iBooks requirement, you’ll need either an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to download them for now, although I wouldn’t be too surprised to see iBooks come to the Mac when the Mac App Store is released next month.

Considering the high cost of iPhone app development, grabbing a few free books and learning on your own may be the best way to have an app idea come to fruition.

The ability to set iTunes allowances is a great way to manage a kids spending habits on the iTunes Store. An allowance on the iTunes Store encompasses music, video, and app purchases. If you plan on gifting an iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone to a child, this is a helpful service to implement beforehand.

Setting up an iTunes Store Allowance

You can adjust the allowance amount and even have it recurring. Here’s how to set it up:

• Launch iTunes
• Click on ‘iTunes Store’ on the left
• Select “Buy iTunes Gifts” from the Quick Links section on the right
• Scroll down to the bottom and look for the piggybank graphic in the Allowances section
• Click on “Set up an allowance now”
• This next screen is where you set the allowance information:

• You can set a monthly iTunes allowance from $10 to $50, and you can set the allowance to become active immediately and to renew on the first of each month
• Fill out the recipients Apple ID and a personal message, and click ‘Continue’

The other nice thing about the iTunes allowance program is that any unused funds roll over into the next month. If the money continues to go unspent, you can close the account and withdraw the funds that are left in it.

Combining this with disabling in-App purchases is a good way to control spending habits and avoid excessive bills. If it comes down to it, you can also request a refund from the iTunes App Store.

If you want to set your Mac to always have the same IP address (also known as a static IP address), you can easily configure this to be set in the Network settings of OS X. This can be valid for both wi-fi networks and wired ethernet networks, and it can also be set under a specific network location if desired.

We’ll walk through how to set a manual IP address in Mac OS X, this is the same in all versions of OS X system software so it will not matter what version is on your Mac.

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If you want to take a screenshot of an iPhone that has a Home button, then you’ll find the process to be super simple. In fact, taking a screenshot using an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad is really easy, and the process is the same on all devices regardless of which model it is as long as they have a physical Home button to press.

Let’s jump right in and learn how get a picture of the devices screen captured:

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If you’re looking for an iPad stand that actually looks like it belongs to an Apple product, this just might be it. The Elago P2 stand is made out of aluminum and looks like it came right out of Apple to go perfectly with the iPad, in fact it makes the iPad look a lot like a miniature iMac.

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You can save phone numbers that automatically dial extensions with your iPhone. Essentially this allows you to add the extension number to a contact number, and when that contact is dialed, the extension will automatically dial after the call is answered by the automated phone system. There are so many uses for this as you can imagine, and it can really help to navigate through phone menu systems. Let’s learn how to set this up on any iPhone.

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Update: The Mac App Store and Mac OS X 10.6.6are now available through System Update. You can also Download Mac OS X 10.6.6 Directly and the updaters include the Mac App Store.

Apple has announced that the Mac App Store will be released on January 6, 2011. The Mac App Store will be available in 90 countries at launch date, and both free and paid apps will be available through the store. Steve Jobs is looking to replicate the iTunes App Store success on the Mac platform:

“The App Store revolutionized mobile apps,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC apps easy and fun. We can’t wait to get started on January 6.”

The Mac App Store will feature the same one click purchase and install process that has been widely popularized on the iOS App Store. Apple goes on to say that purchased apps will be able to run on all of your personal Macs, and updates to these apps will be delivered through the Mac App Store.

The Mac App Store will run on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (and beyond) and will be available to users as a free download through Software Update.

You can read the full press release from Apple.