Iron Ink Media: Inked Up

DIRECTV has come out with a great new app that allows you to program your DVR right from your iPhone.  With the free app, you can:

- Search for any television show up to 14 days in advance
- Browse programs by channel or date & time
- Get program information instantly, including description, length and rating
- Record a single episode or an entire series
- Program Pay Per View movies to be recorded and ready to watch anytime
- Record to any DIRECTV DVR in your home

When is Time Warner going to get an app like this??

Even though it was just St. Patty’s Day, leprechauns have nothing to dance around about. They too are feeling the affects of the recession: No more gold at the end of the rainbow. Jason Erdkamp broke the story after taking this shot with his iPhone.

iPhoto by Jason Erdkamp

Foxnews.com actually has some information that’s worth a damn! No, no, hear me out. They cite actual research this time that says that there is a way to convert human blood flow into actual energy that could power your iPhone. They say:

Researchers reported today they can harvest energy by converting low-frequency vibrations, like simple body movements, the beating of the heart or movement of the wind, into electricity by using zinc oxide nanowires that conduct the electricity.

The nanowires are piezoelectric — they generate an electric current when subjected to mechanical stress.

Other schemes have been devised to generate power in a backpack as you hike or from a device attached to the knee. Those are comparatively bulky, however.

Nano devices are tiny. The diameter and length of the wires used in the new technique are 1/5,000th and 1/25th the diameter of a human hair.

“This research will have a major impact on defense technology, environmental monitoring, biomedical sciences and even personal electronics,” said lead researcher Zhong Lin Wang, Regents’ Professor, School of Material Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Our good pals at TheiPhoneBlog.com (they have no idea who we are) tipped us off on some stats regarding the Safari speed of OS 3.0. And it seems that iPhone users can look forward to finding out who led the 2001 NCAA Tournament in scoring much faster than you can with OS 2.2.1. This means the idiot at the end of the bar will be squashed and embarrassed much quicker than he would have been previously.

Because as we all know, pounding your fists and yelling above the jukebox does not make Juan Dixon the top scorer of that tourney.

So anyway, here are the stats:

TechCrunch, and others, reported yesterday that Apple’s new iPhone 3.0 SDK agreement could bankrupt developers. Apple’s contract states:

In the event that Apple receives any notice or claim from any end-user that: (i) the end-user wishes to cancel its license to any of the Licensed Applications within ninety (90) days of the date of download of that Licensed Application by that end-user; or (ii) a Licensed Application fails to conform to Your specifications or Your product warranty or the requirements of any applicable law, Apple may refund to the end-user the full amount of the price paid by the end-user for that Licensed Application.

In the event that Apple refunds any such price to an end-user, You shall reimburse, or grant Apple a credit for, an amount equal to the price for that Licensed Application. Apple will have the right to retain its commission on the sale of that Licensed Application, notwithstanding the refund of the price to the end.

But today, CNET says it’s “much ado about nothing.” The article is pretty lengthy, but in a nutshell:

The clause has always been in the contract. And even if someone wants a refund, it’s not easy to get. Apple will most likely replace apps that have technical problems. If you really want a refund, you will have to file something legal. You can’t complain that an app didn’t live up to your expectations.

Apple has granted some refunds although it’s a very, very small number. And the money the developer loses goes towards paying the processing transaction fees.

From our good friends at Laan Labs (they have no idea who we are) comes a new iPhone app called “Light Writer – POV Effect.” You write a message or get a piece of clipart and then wave your arm around to create “magic.” Ok, so we aren’t entirely sure how this works, but we are curious to check it out. We easily stole from Gizmodo secretly obtained some images.

Thanks to our good friends at AppleInsider.com (they have no idea who we are), we found out that it appears that Apple will be discontinuing their Bluetooth headset. A couple of our their astute readers pointed it out to us them.

Check out the picture:

On Twitter today (are you on? follow me @Lindsey651) I saw someone giving away a MovieWedge “iPhone stand.” I have never had the need for a stand, but I also don’t watch movies on the iPhone. And when watching YouTube clips I am able to muster the strength to hold the phone on my own. Still, being curious I checked it out.

I headed over to the MovieWedge website and quickly realized it’s a beanbag. Just a beanbag with a $9.95 price tag. It doesn’t even come in any fancy colors or patterns. Hell, I made these things at sleep-away camp when I was a kid. For less work, you can head over to your local dollar store. Go crazy, buy two.

Maybe this company will sell a ton and can laugh at me all the way to the bank. But Inked Up is giving MovieWedge our special seal of “Worthless iPhone Accessory.”

Today begins March Madness, one of my favorite times of year. I don’t watch much (any) college basketball during the regular season, but when the bracket comes out I am hooked. This is due in large part to the fact that I won a pool my first year by picking entirely on name association. If you’re like me and want to know who is playing at all times, the iPhone has some great options this year.

The CBS March Madness on Demand app lets you watch all of the tourney games live by streaming video on your iPhone. The app costs only $5 but you will need a Wi-Fi connection.

CBS Sports looks OK on the iPhone, but their NCAA section leaves something to be desired. It loads like the regular website and takes a lot of scrolling and resizing to get around. A much better option is the ESPN mobile website at espn.com.

But the best place to get your stats seems to be on Yahoo! Check out m.yahoo.com/ncaa (don’t forget the “m”) and you can get the latest scores, the tourney schedule, and even check out your Yahoo! bracket online.

Who will you be rooting for?

The South by Southwest Music Festival started yesterday and runs through this Sunday. If you’re heading to Austin to hear some of the kick-ass bands, you should check out Wired’s five essential apps and iPhone-friendly sites first. We’ve listed them here with an abbreviated description:

1.) Bandloop – Free app that shows you a map of nearby gigs in whatever city you’re in. Use the GPS feature to see a map of your area with club markers. Each marker lists club info, upcoming bands, photos, descriptions and website links.

2.) JamBase – A free app created by the popular concert listing website. Login and filter through the database of live shows to see where your favorite bands are playing. When you find that can’t miss gig, tap the listing to see a map and e-mail the details to your friends.

3.) last.fm – The music site has created a tool called SXSW Band Aid. Login and get a personalized list of recommended shows. Add the ones you want to attend to your own personal calendar, e-mail the details or invite your last.fm friends, too.

4.) Sched.org – Head to sxsw2009.sched.org for an unofficial event listings. You can filter by date, view parties, and find concerts. It also finds free MP3 downloads for you.

5.) SonicLiving – A concert listing service with a special SXSW section. You can browse today’s shows by time, artist and venue. Login and you can build your own schedule, view friends schedules and invite friends to a show. Also connects you to Applandia’s free Taxi app to find an empty cab – good luck with that.

Bandloop