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ExtraBITS for 14 April 2014

In this week’s ExtraBITS, we have a profile of legendary Macintosh icon artist Susan Kare and recollections of Steve Jobs from Don Melton, the creator of Safari. Microsoft poked a bit of fun at itself with an Escape from XP game, NPR has arrived on iTunes Radio, and a former Apple Genius tells you how to maximize your iPhone’s battery life without turning off every feature. Finally, Managing Editor Josh Centers was interviewed on the Ask TUAW Live and The Tech Night Owl podcasts.

The Woman Who Gave the Macintosh a Smile — Priceonomics has published a profile of Susan Kare, the woman who designed the original icons for the Macintosh, such as the Happy Mac. She later followed Steve Jobs to NeXT and also created the graphics for Microsoft’s iconic Solitaire game. Now she works independently, and has made icons for Facebook and PayPal.

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NPR Now Playing on iTunes Radio — You can now listen to content from National Public Radio on iTunes Radio. The station is a mix of live news and pre-recorded shows. To listen, play the NPR News and Culture Featured Station in iTunes Radio.

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The Man Behind Safari Remembers Steve Jobs — Don Melton, perhaps best known as the man behind the Safari Web browser, has republished his memories of Steve Jobs, which first appeared in Jim Dalrymple’s The Loop Magazine. Melton recollects his first embarrassing contact with Jobs, a Safari feature that he and Jobs came up with simultaneously, and an “epic” joke that Jobs played on Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

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Microsoft Launches “Escape from XP” Game — Wow! So 8-bit! Having ended support for its superannuated Windows XP operating system earlier this month, Microsoft has released an online game to convince users of the old operating system to get over it. In the browser-based game, Escape from XP, you first see XP boot up (faster than in real time), and then crash into the game itself, where you battle armies of marching PCs and flaming Recycle Bins, rendered in full 8-bit glory and accompanied by crunchy synthesized audio. Escape from XP is designed to show off the capabilities of modern
browsers.

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The Ultimate Guide to iPhone Battery Drain — Scotty Loveless, a former Apple Genius, has posted the best guide we’ve seen to solving iOS battery drain. Unlike many guides that tell you to turn off every feature, Loveless offers a more targeted approach, including instructions on how to test battery drain and specific suggestions that are likely to improve battery life. Two surprises: the Facebook app is a huge battery hog and quitting apps may hurt battery life.

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Josh Centers Talks Apple TV, WWDC on Ask TUAW Live — Josh Centers swapped between his “Take Control of Apple TV” author and TidBITS managing editor hats while joining hosts Shawn “Doc” Boyd and Kelly Guimont on the Ask TUAW Live podcast to discuss what’s next for Apple TV, what Apple will announce at WWDC, the TidBITS workflow, and security tips.

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Josh Centers Discusses Office for iPad and Fire TV on Tech Night Owl — TidBITS Managing Editor Josh Centers and Kirk McElhearn, author of “Take Control of iTunes 11: The FAQ,” joined host Gene Steinberg on The Tech Night Owl podcast. Josh discussed paranormal attorneys, what Microsoft has been up to, his first Macworld/iWorld experience, and Amazon’s new Fire TV. Kirk talked about his problems with satellite Internet, why expensive cables are a rip-off, and vinyl versus digital music.

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