3 minutes ago | Posted in: Apple
Apple today embarked on a new campaign to advertise its environmental protection efforts. The company's CEO, Tim Cook, narrates a video simply titled "Better" (below), in which he talks about initiatives such as renewable energy for datacenters, and efforts to use recyclable materials in products and reduce the amount of packaging Apple products come in. The company's VP for environmental concerns, Lisa Jackson, has meanwhile given an interview to Wired on the topic.
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51 minutes ago | Posted in: Apple
Via a silent update, Apple has added three channels from A&E Networks to the Apple TV. These include A&E itself, as well as History and Lifetime. In general the apps simply provide access to episodes from their respective TV shows, but Lifetime also includes its signature original movies.
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1 hour ago | Posted in iOS apps
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Totals is a calculator app that builds upon the features offered in the default Calculator. Version 3.0 introduces a new Mathpad feature, which is a notepad designed specifically for numbers. Within Mathpad users can track and annotate items such as their average grade in school, or the amount of money someone owes. A new conversion category has also been added, along with an updates to the interface.
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iBank for iPad is a financial analysis tool for the iPad. Within the app users can manage various bank accounts and sort transactions into different expense groups. Support for monitoring stocks and other financial investments is also included. The latest release has fixed some issues with auto-completing categories and sub-categories.
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Unread is an RSS reader that can help users stay up-to-date on all of their favorite news feeds. The app includes support for a number of RSS syncing services, including FeedWrangler, Feedbin, and Feedly, and offers a full-screen reading view with multiple themes. Version 1.2 adds a native image viewer to the article view and web browser, as well as new options menus just for images.
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In Faster Than Light players must manage their own spaceship while on a mission to save the galaxy. Players must give orders to their crew, manage ship power distribution and choose weapon targets when battles arise. The v1.5.10 update resolves several iPad related sound problems, including one where headphones would cause the games to mute. Music and podcasts can also now be played in the background while playing the game, and Game Center can be disabled in the Settings app when its connection fails.
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Puffin Web Browser is an alternative mobile browser that performs all processing on the company's servers. Because content is processed before being delivered to the device, Puffin can include Flash content as well as prevent any mobile restrictions imposed by some sites. A new Web Rendering Engine is including in this release, offering improved HTML5 support. Users can also now share web page links and screenshots directly to Facebook, Twitter, or via e-mail with the new Share button.
Apple and Google are each offering game developers special incentives to prefer their app store over their rival's, according to sources for the Wall Street Journal. The prime example given is EA's Plants vs. Zombies 2, which Apple promised to advertise prominently at the App Store. In return, EA was expected to keep the game an iOS exclusive for two months, which pushed the Android release into October. Another developer, ZeptoLab, agreed to three-month App Store exclusivity for Cut the Rope 2 in order to get better advertising. Asphalt creator Gameloft says it was offered exclusivity, but decided that a simultaneous iOS/Android release made more financial sense.
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As of June 30th, Apple will be discontinuing AIM iChat login support for users of OS X below v10.7.2, according to a new support document. The decision specifically affects people using a mac.com or me.com address as an AIM ID to sign into iChat. To get around the issue, people must either create a new AIM ID -- which will also require reentering contacts -- or upgrade to a later version of OS X.
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Windows 8 aside, computer users have been trained that a mouse is the proper way to navigate through the desktop for years. Trackballs, trackpads, and touch screens have entered the fray, but the staple has continued to be the mouse even as it evolved from using mouse balls to lasers. So what might the next evolution be? How about combining a Bluetooth mouse with an everyday writing utensil like a pencil? Penclic released a mouse that combines the familiarity of holding a writing instrument with the maneuverability of a Bluetooth mouse in the Penclic Mouse B2. Check our review to see how we liked it.
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Beats Music's streaming service app for iOS has received an update. Users can now subscribe to the streaming service from within the app, meaning that once the trial period is over, the transition to paid service is that much easier. Also included is the ability to find Facebook friends who use Beats, improved social network linking and new tracks in the Sentence playlist generator. The Beat Music app can be downloaded from the iTunes Store.
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Facebook's Paper for iOS app has received its first major update since its release, adding notifications for birthdays and events. Paper allows users to view their Facebook News Feed as well as other content in a simplistic layout format. Users can tap on the globe icon to check notifications that now include important dates. Photo comments are also now featured, meaning that images can be inserted as part of a comment thread, with or without text. Other features within v1.1.0 are new story buttons, more article covers, accessibility features, and group updates. Paper is free to download for devices running iOS 7.0 or later, and is available through the App Store.
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The eighth full day of the Samsung-Apple patent trial went through another raft of witnesses as Samsung struggles to make its case inside its allotted limit of 25 hours -- a problem that hounded the company in the last trial as well. Lead attorney for Samsung John Quinn was forced to read transcripts of declarations to save time, hustle through witnesses and plead with Judge Lucy Koh for more time. An expert that the Galaxy S5 maker paid $1,000 an hour for refuted a colleagues' studies as "kind of biased."
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In an unexpected move, Nike has opted to fire as many as 70 members of its Digital Sport division who were focused on hardware development and will not release a now-cancelled new version of the FuelBand fitness tracker that was expected this fall. The company will continue to support the existing FuelBand SE, but is otherwise planning to exit the wearables market just as it is gaining mainstream traction. The company plans to focus on software going forward -- possibly signalling a partnership with a hardware maker.
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Fri April 18, 2014 | Posted in: developer, Apple
Following the lapse of the deadline for Worldwide Developers Conference ticket lottery winners to pay for their entry, Apple has begun emailing other developers with a chance to purchase unclaimed tickets. The emails are likely also determined by lottery, though the company hasn't said. Reserved slots from the original lottery were held until April 14 at 5pm Pacific time, and it is thought that most of the lottery winners accepted the invitation to attend, which costs $1,600.
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Apple has again expanded its Maps program for both iOS and OS X by adding 3D "Flyover" support for the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area, including the city of Berkeley and its University of California campus, which by happenstance is the birthplace of the original UNIX used as the foundation of both OS X and iOS. The 3d Flyover feature has generally been regarded as one of Maps' best features, alongside turn-by-turn driving navigation.
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Fri April 18, 2014 | Posted in: accessories, iPad
Before we get rolling, I'll confess: I've never understood the purpose of cases like the Booqpad. If you've got a tablet, surely part of the point is being able to ditch paper entirely. In practice of course, there are times when a pen and paper are handy -- but can that justify building an entire case around the concept? I suppose we'll have to put the Booqpad to the test.
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Free media player VLC has updated its iOS ported app today, offering various fixes and new features. Users can play most video file formats, and do so without the need for conversion. File synchronization with Dropbox, GDrive, iTunes, direct download and through an embedded web upload is also permitted by the app.
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Fri April 18, 2014 | Posted in: industry, Apple
Plaintiffs' attorneys in a class action lawsuit against Apple, Google, and two other companies are asking that evidence related to Apple CEO Steve Jobs be included in the case, Reuters reports. The case revolves around the anti-poaching agreements Apple and Google -- and later, other high-tech businesses -- forged to keep salaries low and talent in place. The accused parties settled a US Department of Justice investigation on the matter in 2010, agreeing to end barriers to competitive hiring.
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Fri April 18, 2014 | Posted in: mobile phones
Samsung has been standing atop the hill of Android phones for some time now with its Galaxy line. Other manufacturers like HTC and Motorola have briefly held the crown, but Samsung always seems to find a way to yank it back with new features, ease of use and simple design. The newest in the line, the Galaxy S5, looks to push Samsung towards the top of the pile again. But what kind of features can you look forward to in the new Galaxy S5, and is it capable of competing head-to-head with Apple's iPhone 5s?
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Fri April 18, 2014 | Posted in: iPad
Newly-leaked photos show a front panel claimed to be for the second-generation iPad Air. The photos were obtained by a Dutch website, One More Thing. While the panel is similar to its equivalent for the first-gen Air, it appears to have switched to an integrated display. That could allow a second-gen tablet to become even thinner, or maintain the same size and improve battery life.
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