HappyMac
Apple Macintosh User Group Wien [HpMUG]

Manila, Philippines – Casual Games Developer Appsiedaisies today is pleased to announce the release of Ants Vs. Zombees 1.0, their first major title for iPad. It will be available in the iTunes Appstore starting Feb. 4, 2012. Ants Vs. Zombees offers a new twist in the Tower/Base Defense games genre. Set in the land of Insectasia, your goal is to defend its Anthills from the Zombees. Summon your Ant Heroes and cast powerful Spells to repel the invaders. Buy Passive & Skill Upgrades thru the in-game Store & challenge worldwide scores thru the Gamecenter Leaderboard. The Achievements and Upgrades also adds spice & replay value to the AvZ gameplay.

Gameplay:
You will be defending the Anthills of Insectasia. During your journey, you will fight Zombees of different types while rescuing your fellow ant heroes. You can then summon them to aid you in battle. Collect loot from the Zombees to buy Skills & Upgrades from the Store.

Game Features:
* 12 Unique Superhero Ants
* 12 Usable & Upgradable Skills
* Battle Zombie Bees & Bosses
* Tower/Base Defense Gameplay
* 30+ Challenging Stages
* Tons of Unlockable Achievements
* Store & Upgrade System
* Retina Graphics
* Challenge Mode – Game Center Enabled

“We’ve made AvZ more interesting by creating Superhero characters & villains that are familiar to everyone which adds the fun factor to the game,” says Betsy Castaneda, Co-founder & CEO of Appsiedaisies. “In the coming weeks, we will be adding more content thru the in-game Store. These upgrades will allow users to customize the game to fit their playing style.”

Device Requirements:
* Compatible with iPad
* Requires iOS 3.2 or later
* 45.5 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Ants Vs. Zombees 1.0 is only $0.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category.

Ants Vs. Zombees 1.0
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Appsiedaisies is an independent game developer from Manila, Philippines. Formed in late 2010, we are a small company with big dreams. We are a group of young, dedicated and creative entrepreneurs with one goal in mind – to create quality, non-boring, out-of-this-world casual games. Yes, we make casual games – but we make it fun and challenging. Copyright (C) 2010-2012 Appsiedaisies. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

So I can simplify things for myself and make it more likely Iâ•˙ll actually post to my weblog, Iâ•˙ve decided to put this weblog on hiatus and post everything on inessential.com.

That little bit of friction ╉ answering the question of which weblog to post to ╉ was enough to make posting seem like too much of a chore. So now I donâ•˙t have to answer that question.

Hopefully that means Iâ•˙ll post more often. Iâ•˙d like to.

If you read Apple Insider you've heard the rumor, the next product to be jettisoned by Apple will be the Mac Pro. The main culprit, as was the case with the Xserve, is slow sales. Which all makes perfect sense but doesn't address the deeper question of…

T.C. Sottek, The Verge:

We've recreated all this in a controlled environment, but that doesn't exactly mean it might come up in a real world setting ╉ the biggest danger here is that someone might swipe your SIM card, slap it in a spare iPhone, put it back in your iPhone after verification, and then monitor all of your conversations without you ever knowing. And since this all takes place on the physical level, your messages can be swiped even if your phone is passcode locked. And what if your phone is stolen? In that case, you can always default to normal panic mode, which is the same on all platforms.

Of course, if someone ever does get their hands on your iPhone, there's a whole host of other nefarious things that they could do than swipe your SIM card ╉ so the issue might not deserve some of the hysteria we've seen across the web, but it's also clearly a risk that Apple needs to address. Until then, it's just one more reason to think twice the next time you consider leaving your iPhone unattended at the bar.

Listen Now… Download audio file (imr081227.mp3)

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This week, host Scott Sheppard speaks with industry experts, Adam Engst, Author/Raconteur, TidBITS & Bob "Dr. Mac" Levitus, Raconteur, wordsmith, consultant and author of 50+ books about Apple’s recent decision to "Announce Its Last Year at Macworld". Hear their insights and commentary on this surprising announcement that this will be their final showing at theMac OS community’s premier trade conference and event. The Macworld event has been Apple’s showcase of new products and announcements since 1985, bringing together Mac OS enthusiasts from around the globe, without Apple’s presence it’s likely this event will fade from the landscape. Is it due to lack of product announcements which is why Steve Jobs relinquished the keynote address to Philip Schiller? Steve Job’s health? Or simply because Apple has built up a perfect platform for launching their latest directly through their expanded network of retail stores. Scott, Adam, & Bob share their thoughts about the impact and overall future direction of the annual gathering of the "Mac Tribe".

For more information about Adam’s latest projects visit: http://www.tidbits.com, or visit Dr. Mac’s site at: http://www.boblevitus.com or read his reviews at http://www.ipodobserver.com

Dr. Catherine Lucey, M.D., Vice Dean for Education, Ohio State University College of Medicine joins Inside Mac to discuss some details about their decision to include Apple iPods in their curriculum for their medical students. Over the next two years, each Ohio State medical student will receive a standard iPod Touch, equipped with specific medical software programs planned by the OSU College of Medicine. Dr. Lucey explains the impact of handheld technologies on patient care and the importance of keeping abreast with technology tools such as the range of applications available on the iPod Touch. Students and Doctors are able to instantly look up patient care notes, medical references, drug reference and interactions, view videos and patients scans. The handheld technology also facilitates a great method for explaining treatment and illness to patients and their families right at the bedside. Dr. Lucey also shares how students are able to listen to the OSU Medical Center lecture podcasts, which they produce to supplement their curriculum. OSU College of Medicine has long been committed to using the latest available online technologies and the addition of the iPod Touch delivers this information and tools directly to the physician’s hands.

For more information about their program and announcement visit: http://medicine.osu.edu/feature03/

Mike Romo, Mac Product Manager, Symantec discusses the changing landscape of security and virus threats for Mac OS users. Mike explains the benefits of using Norton Internet Security for Mac. Just as it’s critical to backup your data, considering security risks for your Mac OS is cause for rising concern and whether you are a beginning user or an expert Symantec’s new suite of tools not only protects against macro and other viruses but also helps you control access through your firewall minimizing any risks. Mike discusses some tips on using a dual-boot environment such as Parallels, reminding us that if we choose to run Windows on our Macs we are subjected to the myriad of threats and security issues inherent to that OS. Norton Internet Security for Mac also helps scan for spam and fraudulent websites, scanning sites before you are able to click into the phishing sites.

For more information on Norton Internet Security for Mac and their other great products visit: http://www.norton.com/mac/ or you can get your questions answered in their forum at: http://community.norton.com

Video Post Production News of the Week with Philip Hodgetts, Founder, Intelligent Assistance and developer of Assistant Editor Software. Find out more at: http://www.intelligentassitance.com/ or his blog at http://www.philiphodgetts.com

Andy Shalat, Design Guru and Author of "Mac Design Out Of The Box" shares his Design Tip of the Week. For more about Andy and his latest works visit: http://www.shalat.com

April has been a tough month for my running, after I suffered from a hamstring pull at the end of March that has forced me to forego running the Tacoma Marathon this coming weekend. While I am back to doing some running now, for the last week or so I have been doing some vicarious living through reading the words of another runner - the book "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running", by Haruki Murakami.

This is a short and approachable translation of the Japanese novelist's memoir about running, and it hits home for this runner who has been suffering from withdrawal symptoms in this month when I have only managed to run about 50 miles...

If you run and you want to get inside the head of a fellow long distance runner, this should be a good read.

We're going to Macworld 2008!

MacZealots editor Justin Williams will be on the expo floor Tuesday - Thursday to see what is new in the Apple universe. If you're a company demoing a product you'd like us to see or just want to meet up for some food and drinks, email justin@maczealots.com to schedule it.

This is our fourth trip to the Expo and hopefully the best. See you there!