Dogs may be a man’s best friend, but for a pet that can take control of your life and force you to do its bidding, nothing beats a cat. So with a tip of the cap to our feline overlords, these are the Remains of the Day for Thursday, May 19, 2011.
Friskies presents games for cats (via 9to5mac, Mashable)
They’re not exactly the first iPad games specifically for kitties, but Friskies has gotten aboard the iPad bandwagon in a big way with its release of Cat Fishing, Tasty Treasures Hunt, and Party Mix-Up, games designed specifically for cats. And why not? My cat used to bat at Olympic speed skaters on our TV, and he still steps on my iPad and wrecks my iPad games, perhaps even on purpose. Perhaps the iPad is the technology that finally puts cats over the edge in their quest for world domination.
New phishing email pretends to be from Apple’s online store (TUAW)
Kitties love fish, but they’re morally opposed to phishing. Still, humans beware: TUAW reports that a set of e-mails are going around posing as messages from Apple’s online store. The message sender is hinky and the Website it refers you to is not the real Apple online store. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but don’t let it bite you: toss this e-mail in the trash.
EU opinion on location privacy in smartphones (Bloomberg via Apple Insider)
Never one to be lapped by U.S. lawmakers, those cool cats (ugh, sorry) in the European Union have decide to launch another front in the smartphone location privacy war. A new EU opinion suggests that users must be given clear and comprehensive information about location data and how it’s used, and suggests that Wi-Fi and other location data are covered in privacy restrictions involving “personal data.”
Nisus Writer Pro 2 released (Nisus Software)
The venerable $79 word processor Nisus Writer Pro has reached version 2, with a slew of new features including Epub export and change tracking. The company claims more than 500 “fixes, additions, optimizations, and other changes.”
Ask 2.0 for iPhone (Ask.com)
A new version of the Ask.com iPhone app has been released, with social features including the ability to follow certain Ask.com users and browse their questions and answers.
Kittens on a Roomba (Animated GIF)
Finally, here’s a video (actually an animated GIF—wow, old school!) of a pile of kittens on a Roomba. Maybe the iPad is the wrong technology for our feline masters after all.