30 octobre 2009


No Hablas Español ? There Is An App For That!

Jibbigo _ Voice Translation iPhone App

If you are a Spanish teacher, you should seriously consider freaking out right now. Jibbigo is bringing on-the-fly speech translation directly to the iPhone.

For $25 you can now simply press a button, talk, and Jibbigo will repeat what you said in another language. It does Spanish to English or English to Spanish for now but the developers are announcing more languages to come.

What’s also great is that it uses an internal database so no need for an Internet connection. It works the best on the 3GS but you can still use it on older models as long as you’re ok switching the translation direction every sentence.

Here is the app in action :



It’s pretty neat right ? Think about the power of such solutions and the impact of implementing them for such a low price, it’s a little revolution. American soldiers in Iraq already use iPods to communicate with locals using prerecorded sentences but Jibbigo takes it to a whole different level.

Is this going to make you give up on learning Spanish ?

[via 9to5mac]

Créer des coins arrondis en CSS et sans images

Vouloir créer facilement des blocs aux coins arrondis est un rêve de webdesigner aussi vieux que le Web lui-même.


Coins arrondis


Traditionnellement, depuis les débuts du web, on réalisait ceci à l'aide de plusieurs éléments <div> imbriqués (ou autres), ou à l'aide d'un tableau à 9 cellules : la cellule du centre accueillait le contenu, tandis que les autres recevaient des images ou des images de fond étirables, pour dessiner les quatre coins et les bordures. Cette technique est généralement lourde et peu accessible.


C'est pourquoi depuis quelques années et l'avènement des feuilles de style, de multiples techniques ont vu le jour pour proposer des solutions que l'on peut regrouper selon les critères suivants :


  • Avec ou sans images,
  • Avec ou sans JavaScript,
  • Avec ou sans ajout de markup (éléments dans le code HTML),
  • Fluide ou non fluide (blocs étirables en hauteur et/ou en largeur selon le contenu),
  • Compatible tous navigateurs ou non,
  • Plus ou moins accessibles.


Simple et approprié : border-radius



border-radius est une propriété CSS3, encore à l'état de brouillon mais tout à fait utilisable en production dans les navigateurs modernes. Elle permet de manière très intuitive d'arrondir un ou plusieurs angles d'un élément en indiquant la valeur de l'arrondi souhaité.



Compatibilité et utilisation concrète
A l'heure où ce tutoriel est écrit, seuls les navigateurs basés sur Gecko (Mozilla Firefox) et sur Webkit (Safari, Chrome) reconnaissent la propriété border-radius. En pratique, la propriété doit être préfixée par -moz- sur Gecko ou -webkit- sur Webkit pour fonctionner sur ces navigateurs. border-radius devient donc -moz-border-radius et -webkit-border-radius.

Par souci de clarté, l'article se passe de ces préfixes. Les exemples construits utilisent naturellement ces préfixes pour fonctionner.



Exemple :


#cadre {
border-radius: 10px;
}


coins arrondis en CSS3


Voir le résultat avec votre navigateur


Il est possible de définir l'arrondi de chacun des angles, à l'aide d'une écriture raccourcie qui se lit comme à l'accoutumée dans le sens des aiguilles d'une montre en débutant par le haut (top, right, bottom, left).

Ainsi la règle suivante va créer un bloc arrondi de 5px en haut à gauche, 10px en haut à droite, 0px en bas à droite et 5px en bas à gauche :



#cadre {
border-radius: 5px 10px 0 5px;
}


coins arrondis en CSS3

Note : l'écriture raccourcie de type -webkit-border-radius: 10px 10px 0 0; ne fonctionnant pas sur Chrome, il faudra écrire chaque propriété complètement, soit -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 10px; et -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 10px; pour obtenir un arrondi sur les angles du haut.


Il est tout à fait possible de réaliser des courbes non circulaires en précisant le degré d'arrondi horizontal et vertical.



Roundies : du JavaScript pour Internet Explorer



La propriété CSS3 border-radius n'est pas reconnue par Internet Explorer (jusqu'à sa version 8 incluse). Pour réaliser ce genre d'effets esthétiques sur ce navigateur, il va donc falloir ruser.


Il existe plusieurs techniques basées sur JavaScript pour permettre d'émuler automatiquement la création de coins arrondis, nous en listons quelques unes en fin de tutoriel. Chaque technique a ses avantages et inconvénients (poids, complexité, accessibilité) et c'est pourquoi nous avons fait le choix de nous intéresser à la mise en application de la plus légère d'entre-elles : Roundies.


Roundies, c'est quoi ?



Roundies est un petit JavaScript de 8 ko très simpliste qui se contente de réaliser ce qu'on lui demande, des angles arrondis sur IE sans image et sans ajouter de contenu inutile.
Nous n'allons l'appliquer qu'à Internet Explorer puisqu'il nous servira de béquille pour ce navigateur tant qu'il ne reconnaîtra pas border-radius.
Notez que Roundies ne fonctionnera pas sur les images d'arrière-plan et qu'il est malheureusement inopérant sur Opera.


Vous trouverez ce script roundies.js à l'adresse suivante sous deux formes : non-compressée (17 ko) et compressée (8 ko).


Appliquer Roundies



Pour mettre en application Roundies, commencez par le télécharger et copiez le fichier roundies.js (8ko) sur votre hébergement.


Puis, à l'aide d'un commentaire conditionnel judicieusement placé dans l'entête de votre page, liez roundies.js à votre document HTML.


Le code HTML suivant ne va s'appliquer qu'à Internet Explorer (versions égales ou plus anciennes que IE8) et il va récupérer et appliquer roundies.js que nous avons placé dans un répertoire nommé "script" :


<!--[if lte IE 8]>
<script type="text/javascript" src="script/roundies.js">
</script><![endif]-->


A présent, il faut indiquer quels seront les éléments qui bénéficieront des coins arrondis. Pour cela, vous devez ajouter une instruction DD_roundies.addRule, soit l'ajoutant à la fin du fichier roundies.js, soit dans le code de votre page (de préférence avant la fin de l'élément body, après l'appel à roundies.js).


Voici les règles que nous avons mis en place pour notre page d'exemple :


DD_roundies.addRule('div.arrondi', '10px');
DD_roundies.addRule('h1', '10px');
DD_roundies.addRule('a', '8px');


La première règle indique que nos éléments HTML <div> de classe arrondi bénéficieront d'un arrondi de 10px; la seconde s'applique éléments de liste (<li>) et arrondit les coins supérieurs uniquement; la dernière ligne génère un arrondi autour des liens hypertextes (<a>). Il est également possible de cumuler les éléments sélectionnés au sein de la même règle.


Côté HTML, les éléments sont structurés ainsi (exemple pour le bloc <div>) :

<div class="arrondi">
<p>ici un bloc arrondi</p>
</div>


Visualisez notre page d'exemple avec votre navigateur


Exemples de résultats avec la combinaison border-radius + Roundies (sur IE, l'image d'arrière-plan sera remplacée par la couleur de fond alternative) :


coins arrondis avec Roundies


Léger et simple à mettre en place, le script roundies.js permet la gestion des coins arrondis sur Internet Explorer. Elle représente une excellente alternative aux solutions lourdes basées sur des images mais reste très limitée et ne fonctionne pas sur tous les navigateurs. Elle ne fait qu'émuler la propriété CSS3 border-radius sur IE.


Il s'agit toutefois d'une technique qui peut être idéale en production : en pratique, vous commencerez par appliquer border-radius (avec ses préfixes) pour les navigateurs modernes, puis appliquerez la béquille Roundies pour IE. Au final, la technique sera fonctionnelle sur un large panel : IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Camino, Konqueror, Safari Mobile, Fennec, etc. Seul Opera sera en reste.


Application : un menu à onglets



Mettons en pratique cette technique pour réaliser le menu suivant :

menu à onglets


Notre structure xHTML sera très classique, sous forme de liste :


<ul id="menu">
<li><a href="*">onglet 1</a></li>
<li><a href="*">onglet 2</a></li>
<li><a href="*">onglet 3</a></li>
<li><a href="*">onglet 4</a></li>
<li><a href="*">onglet 5</a></li>
</ul>


Et notre mise en forme CSS va se résumer (outre les fioritures habituelles) à arrondir les angles supérieurs des liens hypertextes :


#menu {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
list-style: none;
}
#menu li {
display: inline; /* affichage horizontal */
}
#menu li a {
padding: 5px 20px;
margin: 0;
background: #98B924;
color: #fff;
border: 1px solid #89a;
text-decoration: none;
-moz-border-radius: 10px 10px 0 0;
-webkit-border-radius: 10px 10px 0 0;
border-radius: 10px 10px 0 0;       
-webkit-border-top-left-radius: 10px; /* pour Chrome */
-webkit-border-top-right-radius: 10px; /* pour Chrome */

}
#menu li a:hover, #menu li a:focus {
background: #b8da40;
color: #000;
}

A cet instant, le menu est parfaitement stylé sur l'ensemble des navigateurs modernes, mis à par Internet Explorer et Opera où les coins demeurent en angle droit.


Il ne suffit plus que d'appliquer Roundies.js, de l'appeler via un commentaire conditionnel pour IE et d'y ajouter l'instruction DD_roundies.addRule('#menu li a', '10px 10px 0 0'); pour que le script soit fonctionnel. C'est tout !


Voir le résultat sur votre navigateur


Ressources et variantes



The iPhone 3GS, Motorola Droid, Palm Pre and MyTouch 3G Compared In A Chart

4055684315_f6f3f98cce_o.jpg

The Motorola Droid is due to launch in a couple of days now and BillShrink put together a nice chart comparison of the four main Smart Phones out there to help you compare and eventually make a choice:

4055684315_f6f3f98cce_o

What’s the most surprising really is how Motorola’s Droid fits the iPhone offering to the cent. As you can see also the App Store has a clear advantage over the other platforms which can only brag about (and that’s not totally true because you can actually still do it) multitasking.

Does it comfort you in your choice ?

How To Get An iPhone App Refunded

iphone-price-drop-refund

It is common belief that all purchases on the App Store are definitive. Well, it’s not the case. It’s true indeed that you might get disoriented in iTunes but if you know how to proceed and as long as you have a valid reason, there is no obstacle to getting your money back.

1. Launch iTunes

2. Log on to your account (using the upper right box)

3. Proceed to Purchase history (iTunes link)

4. Report a problem

5. Fill out the form politely and concisely. You’re going to have to provide a valid reason to be refunded

5b. In case you’re unsuccessful or unable to access the form just use the online form, don’t forget to give your purchase number and such

There are hundreds of stories around the web of people obtaining a refund because of a purchase mistake or because the app didn’t function properly (like push notification wouldn’t always go through). You also need to precise that a refund is what you would like to obtain.

After that you should receive an answer in the next 48 hours and you’ll be refunded in 4 to 5 business days.

However, there is an issue with obtaining a refund. When Apple grants you a refund it keeps its 30%, so basically when you ask for a refund the developer is gonna be billed 30% of his app price.

Try to use this possibility with parsimony and be fair

Developer Tip: When Sending Out Promo Codes, Use This Handy URL

itunes_redeem

The hardworking folks over at tap tap tap, the developers of the extremely useful and intuitive Convert iPhone and iPod touch app, have chosen to reveal a handy little time saving tip for anyone looking to give away some app promo codes.

As some of you may or may not know, iPhone developers are able to provide anyone within the U.S. promo codes for their apps. These promo codes are usually reserved for blogs and news sites for reviews since developers are limited to 50 promo codes per app update, but some developers also choose to give them away to regular users for contests or even just when they are feeling generous. The problem with promo codes, however, is that sometimes the developers don’t provide enough information on how to redeem them, so if you haven’t done it before, it can be a tad confusing. Also, a more common issue is if you are attempting to redeem a promo code on your iPhone or iPod touch, it can be difficult to find the redemption area in the mobile App Store, and it can also be tedious copying and pasting the code. But apparently there is a better way to provide promo codes, a more intuitive way.

Below is a little-known iTunes Store URL that makes promo code giving a breeze for you and for your recipient. Just replace the “REPLACEWITHPROMOCODE” part with the actual promo code for your app. The recipient will then be able to simply click, or tap if they are using an iPhone or iPod touch, and the app will begin to download from the App Store. No need for any copying or pasting, or searching around for the redemption area within iTunes or the App Store.

https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/freeProductCodeWizard?code=REPLACEWITHPROMOCODE

Neat, huh? You better believe that the next time I send you a promo code after you have been crowned the winner of one of our giveaways, you will be provided with this simple URL instead of a long winded explanation on how to redeem a promo code.

26 octobre 2009


Are you a good Scrum master ?

crum master is a servants leader .. We say this all the time.. So Scrum masters .. how good you rate yourself as a leader is scrum project. check out this matrix introduced by Bob Hartman (Agile Bob)




1. Listening – actively listening to what others are saying
2. Empathy – feeling the pain and thrills of others
3. Healing – helping others after they have been hurt
4. Awareness – understanding the big picture
5. Persuasion – persuading others to do what is right
6. Conceptualization – helping the team understand
7. Foresight – seeing problems before they arise
8. Stewardship – helping the team use resources most effectively
9. Commitment to growth of others – helping others improve
10. Building community – helping the team become more than a
group of individuals


From http://projectized.blogspot.com/2009/10/are-you-good-scrum-master.html

23 octobre 2009


Kensington's Sound-Amplified Car Mount for iPhone


The Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount with Sound Amplified Cradle for iPhone is a car mount that's specifically designed to be used with a turn-by-turn GPSnavigation app. What makes this mount special is that the cradle acoustically amplifies your iPhone's speaker so that GPS instructions can be heard clearly. It comes with a windshield mount, vent mount, and four sets of rubber inserts that work with any iPhone, with or without a case.
There are two separate mounting types which the cradle can be attached to. Both the windshield and vent mounts hold the cradle quite well, but I definitely recommend the windshield mount over the vent mount.
The windshield mount uses a lockable suction cup that's incredibly secure and simple to attach to your windshield. I like it because it uses a flexible neck which bends at any point and stays there relatively well. This means that you can easily adjust it to the perfect viewing angle.

The vent mount securely hooks onto most air vents with spring-loaded clips. There is one ball joint that allows you to change the viewing angle of the cradle and it's surprisingly rugged. Most vent mounts don't work well but this one is solid. Again, I recommend the windshield mount, but if you can't mount something to your windshield, it works quite well.
The cradle has been designed to accommodate the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and the iPhone 3GS without any adjustments. A spring-loaded clamp holds your device securely and only requires one hand to insert or remove your phone. Kensington also touts the cradle's ability to hold an iPhone even when it's in a case. I found that my iPhone sat comfortably in the cradle even while it was in an Incase Slider. Just be advised that each case is different so your mileage may vary.
The cradle also rotates 180 degrees for landscape viewing in either direction. The actual rotation mechanism seems to be sturdily made since it's part of the cradle, not the mounting armatures.

Of course the most important feature is the sound amplification. I found that the cradle does, in fact, increase speaker volume enough to hear GPS instructions; even on the highway. It does this by acoustically redirecting speaker audio through the bottom of the cradle and out the left side. Rubber inserts sized to fit the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, and iPhone with or without a case are provided to create a seal around the speaker. These worked pretty well with my Slider, although you'll get the best sound amplification without a case.
For those who plug their iPhone into their car's stereo system, this mount also allows access to both the dock connector and headphone jack.
Overall, the Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount with Sound Amplified Cradle for iPhone is an incredibly well made car mount. I can definitely tell that Kensington put a lot of thought into this product. It's a must-have for anybody with a GPS navigation app on their iPhone. I highly recommend it.
Price: $ 39.99
View the product's website here.

How To: Create Free Ringtones For Your iPhone

Don’t you love paying for ringtones of songs you have already purchased? Yeah, me neither. That is why I have discovered multiple methods for creating free ringtones. Some methods are simpler than others, although some are more customizable too. Check this article out and find out for yourself what method is right for you!

1st method - iToner 2

This method includes software that is only available on the Mac called iToner 2. Although this software is $15, it is the simplest method I have found. The software has a free fully functional trial available for 30 days so check it out!

iToner is very simple to use. Just open it, drag a music file in the window, and hit sync. There are also options to trim the song or to sync an iTunes playlist to iToner so any song you drag in that playlist will be synced as a ringtone.

My most favorable feature in this program is its ability to sync full length songs as a ringtone as well as trimming to whatever length you want. If anyone uses there iPhones alarm clock to wake up in the morning, they know how annoying it can be to wake up to a 30 second music clip repeating over and over again!

screen-shot-2009-10-20-at-52112-pmscreen-shot-2009-10-20-at-52209-pmscreen-shot-2009-10-20-at-52219-pm

2nd Method - GarageBand

Though this is not as simple as iToner, it comes with every mac. The trick to making ringtones in GarageBand is to keep the audio in the timeline less than 40 seconds. Heres How.

  • Launch GarageBand and create a new project. The tempo, signature, and bpm settings don’t matter so much if your just dragging an audio file in to convert to a ringtone.

screen-shot-2009-10-20-at-55657-pmscreen-shot-2009-10-20-at-55738-pm

  • Create a new track in the timeline. Unless your planning on writing your own ringtone with software instruments, Just click Real Instrument and click Create

screen-shot-2009-10-20-at-55812-pm

  • Search for the desired audio file on your computer and drag it into the previously made timeline. From here you can navigate to the menu bar and select Share>Send Ringtone to iTunes.

Note: If your audio file is more than 40 seconds long you will receive a message saying your song exceeds the 40 second time limit. From here you can click adjust and GarageBand will automatically place a cycle timeline on your track. To adjust this timeline, simply drag the ends of the yellow bar to the right and left. Remember, this track shows what part of the song is playing and has to be less than 40 seconds

screen-shot-2009-10-20-at-55856-pmscreen-shot-2009-10-20-at-60103-pm

  • Once the cycle bar is set to less than 40 seconds and in the position you want your ringtone to start, you can again go to the menu bar and select Share>Send Ringtone to iTunes. This will convert the song, open iTunes and play a preview of the song for you. The next time you sync your iPhone, your ringtone will be on there.

note: If you want your ringtone to fade in and out, just adjust the track volume to fade in and out at the start and end of the cycle bar.

3rd Method - audiko.net

I’ll bet you thought I forgot about you iPhone users with Windows! Well here’s a web app that can be used for windows and mac through a web browser and is absolutely free and simple. audiko.net allows you to upload songs from your hard drive, trim the song with fade ins and fade outs, and download the ringtone. its a 3 step process and requires no tutorial. Also they have a library of pre made ringtones you can download for free.

4th Method - iTunes

Yes that’s right, you can create free ringtones just using iTunes although there are a series of steps to complete the ringtone making process. An earlier post details the steps in creating ringtones via iTunes.

These are just a few methods I have found handy while enjoying my free ringtones. How about you? Please submit your vote and tell us which method you like best.




What Method For Creating Free Custom Ringtones Do You Prefer

(polls)




Related Posts



Original story by AppAdvice.com | How To: Create Free Ringtones For Your iPhone

"

22 octobre 2009


App Review: Babelshot for iPhone 3GS

For quick text translation, I usually jump on Safari but today, there’s an app for that! Introducing Babelshot.

Babelshot by Codium Labs LLC


Babelshot for iPhone 3GS is a shoot-to-translate application that makes use of the iPhone 3GS camera. Any text in any language that you want translated is done quickly and easily through the app using a built-in OCR engine and Google Translation services (Internet connection required).

Translation


Using Babelshot, you take a photo of a block of text and then choose the source language and the language that you want the text translated. Before translation, the app allows you to adjust the area of translation by using a cropping tool in case your area of text is larger or smaller.

After the text is translated, you can easily swap translation languages using a Swap button and also archive the translation session for later use.

However, using the camera to take photos of text is one method of translation. The app also allows you to manually type in or paste in text without the need of the camera. In this case, the app is a 2-in-1 translation service.

I tested the app using a few different methods of translation such as from a newspaper, regular white paper, an Internet Browser and a street sign. Overall, I would give it about 75% accuracy as it translated most words correctly, but some were either missed or not translated at all, even though the word should have been translated.

You can check out a video of the app in action here.












Language Support


When using the camera for translation, Babelshot supports the following languages:

Afrikaans, Albanian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish.

When using manual input for translation, Babelshot supports the same languages as above, plus:

Arabic, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Macedonian, Persian, Russian, Serbian, Thai, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.

Upcoming Updates


Since this type of app can always benefit from fixes and refinements, the following updates are coming:

  • Adding camera input for more languages
  • Improving speed and accuracy of text recognition
  • Optimizing text selection work flow
  • Landscape mode

Overall, Babelshot delivers a quick method for translation services on the iPhone 3GS. The navigation menus are quick and intuitive and it is simple to swap between languages. The translated text was not always completely accurate but this is something that will likely improve with increased usage over time. The supported languages is what you would expect from a translation application with more coming in the future.

Babelshot is scored a 4 out of 5.

Babelshot is available on the iTunes App Store for $1.99.
Hindi,Japanese, Korean, Macedonian, Persian, Russian, Serbian, Thai, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.