Thanks to our ever-industrious Chief Typist, our previous report that none of the workers had hacked or modified their iPhones is now but a distant memory. If you follow Craig’s blog over at Furbo.org, then you know he’s broken into his iPhone like an otter cracks into a clam. We can blame the
The Breakroom
Yeah, Scratch That
August 20, 2007
Announcing Frenzic 1.2
July 31, 2007
Announcing the immediate release of Frenzic version 1.2 for Mac OS X. This latest release introduces new options designed especially for colorblind players. Game play in Frenzic depends on being able to quickly place pieces based on their color – not an easy task if you’re colorblind.
Version 1.2 features new preference settings that allows players who may have trouble distinguishing the appearance of the default pie pieces, to color combinations that are easily visible. Three new color settings are now available in version 1.2, as well as other minor performance updates.
Frenzic version 1.2 is free to registered users and is available today for $14.95. A special Guru Bundle is also available with unlimited online features for life for the low price of $24.95.
No Guts, No iGlory!
July 28, 2007
It’s safe to say we love our iPhones. So far, Talos, Craig and Ged have all taken the plunge and become early adopters of Apple’s cool 1.0 product, with no regrets. The iPhone is a perfect testament to Apple’s philosophy of elegance, ease of use and friendly user interface design, and all indications point to a success of “iPod proportions” for our favorite fruit company.
Of course, there are those who are never satisfied with the status quo, and feel the need to tinker and tweak even the coolest gadget. Developers and users alike have started to modify or “mod” their iPhones using a wide range of tools from the Terminal to new GUI based apps like iFuntastic. Hacking your iPhone with these methods can be downright risky, and although the iPhone can be “reset” to factory condition easily, we’re still not completely sold on the idea.
For those willing to take the risk however, a whole new world of iPhone goodness opens up. Users can customize their home screens, change icons at will, install custom ring tones and more. To get an idea of just what awaits you in the world of iPhone modding, head on over to One Button Mouse to check out Tim Brown’s customized home screen. Tim used Anthony’s popular Litho series to give his iPhone a fresh feel that would have any geek foaming at the mouth.
Although none of the workers have played mad scientist on their own phones yet, we’re none-the-less excited to see where these modding tools and techniques will take us in the months ahead. Perhaps an app will come along that safely does for the iPhone what CandyBar does for the Mac. In the meantime, we’ll keep using Marimba and loving every minute of it. To quote our favorite Phil, “Have fun, and travel safe!”
Dine-O-Matic Icons On Special!
July 18, 2007
Anyone who’s tried our fun, free desktop widget Dine-O-Matic, will be familiar with this week’s freeware icon release. We’ve taken all of those fun, neon eateries and created a slick icon set for use on the desktop just for you. These icons make great folder icons, iChat avatars and even clever Address Book icons for use with the new iPhone.
How’s that you say? Well, using the Dine-O-Matic icon set, you can now assign a cool neon icon to all of your local restaurants in your Mac’s Address Book. Once you sync those updated eateries with your shiny new iPhone, they’ll be no doubt about who has the coolest contact list! Ged’s even put together a short video tutorial over on his blog showing step by step how you can get the most out of this new icon collection for your iPhone. Head on over to gedblog and check it out.
Lastly, be sure to stay tuned to the Dine-O-Matic home page in the days to come as we get ready to unveil the all new Dine-O-Matic v.2.0 Dashboard widget! Yep, you heard right, an improved DOM is heading your way very soon with new and exciting features that we know you’ll be excited to sink your teeth into. Grab the icons for your Mac or PC today, and then keep your eyes open for the all new Dine-O-Matic 2.0 coming soon to a factory near you!
TARDIS In Trouble Desktop
July 11, 2007
This past weekend marked the end of Season 3 of the popular sci-fi series Doctor Who in the United Kingdom. At the same time, we here in the U.S. are just now starting to get the Doctor and Martha’s adventures through the summer and into the fall. Seems fair enough since they have to wait to watch Battlestar Galactica after us. :-)
To help mark the occasion, Ged has worked up a fun desktop picture based on his Doctor Who icon collection released back in February. This hi-res picture plants the Doctor and his companions firmly in a “suitcase full of bad”, and is available for your Mac, PC or iPhone. Head on over and check it out today.
The Dock, Leopard and You
July 4, 2007
Just a quick note to let any of our fellow icon designers out there know about some issues we’ve discovered with the new Dock in Leopard. The details of the changes and how they might affect you are available on my new weblog: The HIG still matters, even with special effects.
I’ll be using this weblog as a forum for discussing a variety of issues related to interface design and software development. Check it out: furbo.org.
Iconfactory Wallpapers for your iPhone!
June 27, 2007
Just like the rest of the entire world, we’re caught up in the wave that is iPhone mania. Call it boundless enthusiasm or a desire to support the latest and greatest from Apple, but we’ve got something new, just for you. We’re pleased to announce that our entire library of desktop pictures has been resized, cropped and formatted especially for use on Apple’s cool new cell phone! Now you can customize your iPhone’s background with any one of our fun, graphic desktop pictures and set your iPhone apart from the pack. We invite you to head on over to the desktop pictures page and browse the plethora of wallpaper choices that await you. Decisions, decisions!
UPDATE: We’ll be adding instructions to the freeware support section soon on how to set web-based wallpapers on your iPhone, but in the meantime, head on over to gedblog for the steps.
UPDATE II: A new FAQ item for setting custom wallpapers on the iPhone has now been added to the Freeware Support section.
