On Thursday, Apple updated its supported drivers for Epson printers and scanners for all OS X Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7), Mountain Lion (10.8) and Mavericks (10.9) users, and also added an update intended only for those testing the forthcoming OS X 10.10 Yosemite beta (either developers or members of the Beta Seed Program). The latter is just a small incremental update to the Feedback Assistant used to send Apple data on issues with the beta, and is available to all Yosemite testers.
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Square, a company that helped open mobile payments up to the masses, released news today that it would be expanding its device offerings with a reader for chip-based credit cards. While the company states that typical Europay, Master Card and Visa (EMV) solutions are costly, it will release an affordable model to enable sellers to accept the secure payments.
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On Thursday, Facebook updated two of its applications for iOS users: the now-required Messenger chatting program, and its SnapChat-like photo-messaging app Slingshot. The latter's biggest change is the removal of what was previously a puzzling core requirement of the app -- users no longer have to "reply" with a message, photo or video before being allowed to see the message, photo or video sent to them. The now-mandatory Messenger app has been updated to allow full-screen viewing of photos and videos.
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During last's weeks San Diego Comic Con, Telltale Games, the developer of narrative-based adventure games like The Wolf Among Us, announced that it would be producing a third season of its popular The Walking Dead game. Details on the next season of the title are scarce as it was only mentioned during a panel for Skybound Entertainment, The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman's imprint. The game likely won't be out and time soon as the company still hasn't wrapped up season two of The Walking Dead. It's also looking to release narrative games in the same style with Tales from the Borderlands and Game of Thrones.
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8 hours ago | Posted in: iPad, iPad apps
Microsoft has updated its trio of Office apps for the iPad -- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint -- adding a number of significant features. Perhaps the biggest addition is support for PDF export, but new third-party fonts have also been added, as have new Picture tools that let people crop an image or reset it to an unaltered state. Other changes are specific to Excel and PowerPoint.
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Apple's proprietary content delivery network is now operational in the US and Europe, says Frost & Sullivan analyst Dan Rayburn. Its status was determined by conducting traceroutes for OS X downloads, which show that files are being shuttled directly from Apple to ISPs. The network is estimated to be capable of delivering multiple terabits per second.
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US and Canadian Apple Stores will finally start conducting iPhone 5s screen replacements on or around August 4th, sources say. Some US stores have been piloting the service for the past several months, but now Apple Stores are reportedly receiving "large quantities" of replacement screens. iPhone 5c screen services began in January.
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Sky Communications has launched a new wireless provider, Sky Mobile, across the US. The new carrier offers several options for mobile users with basic users still being able to purchase flip phones, with smartphone users being able to choose from devices from Apple, LG, Samsung, and Kyocera.
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11 hours ago | Posted in: industry, Apple
Apple has confirmed reports of job losses at Beats as a part of its $3 billion acquisition. "We're excited to have the Beats team join Apple, and we have extended job offers to every Beats employee," says Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr. "Because of some overlap in our operations, some offers are for a limited period and we'll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple." Sources say that last week, about 200 out of Beats' 700 employees were told that their positions are now temporary, and will be cut within the next few months.
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Photo software maker Macphun has unveiled a fourth tool in its suite of image-editing apps, this time creating one aimed at the art of black and white photography, whether the image was originally shot in color or not. Called Tonality, the program works with up to 16-bit RAW images or JPEG files and offers a range of tools that go far beyond simply removing color. In addition to serious tools like adaptive exposure, smart contrast and structure detailing, the program brings various styles and filters into the mix.
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A pair of researchers are going to discuss a giant security exploit in how the Universal Serial Bus (USB) firmware can be exploited. Security researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell have developed "BadUSB," a malware package resident in USB firmware that can be used as an attack vector to install any manner of software on a PC, with little or no warning to the user, and as of right now, no effective way to stop the attack.
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12 hours ago | Posted in: Apple
As anticipated, Apple has launched its first-ever "open-air" temporary store, located inside of the Glattzentrum mall in Wallisellen, Switzerland. The mall's primary Apple Store is undergoing an expansion. Workers won't say how long construction is expected to last, but the temporary shop has opened earlier than rumored, which could mean that the expansion will be ready in time for product launches expected in September and October, such as new iPhones and iPads.
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14 hours ago | Posted in: software, audio
Music and TV recognition service Shazam has today launched its first-ever Mac app. While similar in design to the iOS client, the Mac app is able to listen constantly, generating an ongoing list of items it hears. Notifications give users the ability to jump quickly into pages for lyrics and/or buying the media in question.
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14 hours ago | Posted in iOS apps
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Facebook Pages Manager gives users all the tools needed to manage a Facebook Page and connect with an audience. Users can post updates and photos, as well as respond to comments and send private messages. Version 5.0 now allows users to see star ratings and reviews on their Page. Various bug fixes and performances updates are also included in the update.
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Amazon's Kindle app allows users to shop for books through the online Kindle Store. Users can also download any of the books they have previously purchased for reading on an iPhone or iPod touch. The v4.4 update features several customer-requested features that make syncing and navigation easier. Users can now choose to sync to the most recent page read, and any books that are being read on iOS will automatically sync the page place across all Kindle devices. Notes can also now be exported to e-mail from any “Print Replica” textbooks.
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LinkedIn is a tool that allows users to access their professional contacts through a mobile device. The software provides up-to-date news and messages from a network of contacts, and allows users to post their real time status. Version 7.2 introduces a new profile page for both the iPhone and iPad. In the iPhone side users can now edit their profile directly in the app, as well as see who has viewed the profile and what common traits are shared. Meanwhile, on the iPad users can now check out other people’s interests, as well as the companies, news, and influencers that they follow.
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Dropbox provides users with access to all of the files that have been stored in their cloud-storage account. Furthermore, users can select favorite files that can be viewed even when no internet connection is available. A bug that prevented some users from viewing images has been resolved with this update.
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The Playstation App allows users to stay connected to their Playstation account through a mobile device. Within the app users can see what their friends are playing, compare trophies, and view recent activity. Support is also included for sending and receiving messages, as well as accessing the Playstation Store. Stability while using some of the app’s features has been improved with this update.
22 hours ago | Posted in: industry, Apple
In a new report for the UK newspaper The Guardian, Apple Senior VP of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson has acknowledged that the company needs to do more to facilitate more use of renewable energy by its suppliers and partners as well as itself. The iPhone maker has had tremendous success in converting its data centers to renewable energy, and has implemented similar measures in 120 of its stores. The next target, the paper says, is its Arizona sapphire glass plant.
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Parliant has announced the release of its new voice messaging product for Mac users, Echoes. Functioning on a local network, users can contact other Macs running Echoes and send a voice message instantly, without the need for "dialing" like Skype or FaceTime. To send a voice announcement, one selects "Announce" from the Echoes icon found in the menu bar. Users can announce to both individuals or groups, and quickly reply to the sender of the last received announcement. Keyboard shortcuts for sending and replying can be set, and the last announcement made can be re-sent without re-recording. Priced at $10, Echoes is available through the App Store.
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Wed July 30, 2014 | Posted in: industry, Apple
Customer service analytics company StellaService has released a new report that ranks Apple as number one for online delivery speed, up from an eighth-place ranking in April. The iPhone maker captured the top spot for the first time in June with an average processing-and-delivery time of just 2.3 days, beating mostly online clothing outlets such as Abercrombie, Zappos, Nike and others. In a separate study that ranked all aspects of customer service, Apple was topped by J. Crew and Mr Porter.
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