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Video streaming service Vdio has exited its pre-release phase and is now open to users in the United States and the United Kingdom. The service, created by streaming music provider Rdio, will allow anyone in the two countries, including those not subscribed to Rdio, to access the service through the website and through its companion iPad app.
Fabrication powerhouse Stratasys and startup 3D printer manufacturer MakerBot have merged. Under the terms of the deal, the pair of companies are merging in a stock-for-stock transaction worth $604 million, with two-thirds payable immediately as stock, with the remaining third depending on MakerBot performance following the merger. The deal is expected to close in the fall.
Retailer Best Buy is recalling 5,100 third-party battery replacements for the black and white MacBooks, made by a company called ATG and sold through the retailer's Geek Squad service division or online between 2008 and mid-2012 due to the risk of overheating and fire. The US Product Safety Commission has collected 13 reports of incidents with the replacement batteries, including one where the buyer suffered a serious burn on their leg. The batteries are also sold through other retailers, but only Best Buy has initiated a recall at this point.
Apple has begun seeding the first beta of OS X 10.8.5 to developers. The initial release is listed as build 12F9, and like v10.8.4 concentrates on bugfixes instead of new features. Developers are asked to test graphics, Wi-Fi, PDF viewing, and wake-from-sleep functions.
A Texas company, Bluebonnet Telecommunications, is suing Apple for patent infringement in relation to call forwarding technology. Specifically Bluebonnet says that the iPhone 4S and 5 violate US Patent No. 5,485,511, a patent that previously belonged to Siemens Rolm Communications but was picked up by Bluebonnet in June 1996. The patent describes a phone communicating with a central switch to generate a list of options, which are then displayed for the phone's user.
The auto-generated passwords for iOS Personal Hotspots can be cracked in under a minute, a group of German researchers claim. In a paper (PDF) out of the University of Erlangen, the people explain that iOS generates passwords based on word list of about 52,500 entries, but only relies on 1,842. The word selection process is moreover said to be insufficiently random, making it easy to brute-force an attack.
Despite slightly late adoption of the 802.11g standard, which had more to do with the hardware refresh product cycle than anything else, Apple has been on the forefront of wireless home networking. From the first failure-prone Airport base station with an Orinoco Gold PCMCIA card to the newest equipment with custom chipsets built for Apple, Cupertino has seen the value of Internet access not tethered by a cord. The latest effort is the Airport Extreme and Time Capsule 802.11ac model, which brings some advances to the line. Join us with this first look at the new networking peripheral from Apple.
Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac has been updated with support for the OS X Mavericks beta. The new Desktop build, 8.0.18494, lets users run Mavericks virtualized within another copy of OS X. Parallels classifies its Mavericks support as "experimental" however, and notes that since the OS is still unreleased, people must be registered Apple developers to make use of the feature.
Apple has won a $30 million contract to provide iPads to every student in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the LA Times reports. The Board of Education voted 6-0 in favor after hearing senior staff claim that the iPad was both the best and least expensive option for meeting the District's specifications. The tablet "received the highest scoring by the students and the teachers," according to Deputy Superintendent Jaime Aquino. The vote authorizes deployment at 47 campuses; since Apple is the only authorized vendor though, the District will end up paying hundreds of millions to Apple over the course of two years.
Apple's most recent head of Patent Licensing & Strategy, Boris Teksler, has left the company to become president of the Technology Group at French media company Technicolor. The departure is confirmed by a Technicolor press release issued this week. At his new employer, Teksler will also serve on the company's executive committee, where he will help in the "exploitation of its IP assets."
A new listing for a rare Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh has appeared on eBay. Recognized as the first major design project for Jonathan Ive, the TAM was introduced as a limited production in the spring of 1997. Only 12,000 machines were ever produced, and 399 of those were kept by apple to be used as spare parts. The system comes in all of its original packaging and includes all of the accessories that came with the system when it was shipped. Biding will remain open until June 23 with shipping limited to locations with the United States.
Cinema camera manufacturer Red has started shipping its 4K media player. Users of the Red User forum have started to receive their pre-orders of the Redray Player, which Red bills as a comprehensive media source for owners of Ultra HD televisions that is capable of playing back native 4K video, upscaled HD video, and the company's own 4K .Red file format.
Apple has issued a v5.3 update for second- and third-generation Apple TVs. The new firmware adds support for several video services, most notably HBO Go, WatchESPN, and Sky News. Also included are Crunchyroll, which concentrates on anime and other Asian content, and Qello, which hosts concerts and music documentaries.
Leaked schematics -- allegedly drawn by Apple, and now in the hands of a major accessory maker -- show the dimensions of the iPhone 5S and an "iPhone Lite/Light," according to AppleInsider. The 5S appears to maintain roughly the same design as its predecessor, but with a pill-shaped flash on the back that may fit dual LEDs. The iPhone Light plans match recent rumors and case production surrounding a low-cost iPhone. That includes details like a thicker body, and rounded edges.
Apple is considering LinkedIn integration for iOS 7, beta code references suggest. In particular the references hint that LinkedIn could be supported in the same manner as Facebook and Twitter, meaning single sign-in support, and the ability to quickly post content via a share sheet or hooks in iOS apps. Some essential code strings are missing though, preventing LinkedIn options from turning on in the current iOS 7 release.
Siri is a feature that was unveiled with much fanfare during the iOS 5 launch two-years ago, bringing with it more fully featured voice actions to the iPhone. Although Siri has received a mixed reception from critics and users, Apple has continued to pursue the voice-controlled interface, giving it an all-new look and functional tweaks in the iOS 7 beta that help to refine the user experience. Has Apple done enough with the revisions in Siri to warrant a second look?
Security software company Cloudmark has made a version of its award-winning anti-spam software available for Mac users in both a free and paid version. In addition to supporting Apple's default Mail program and Microsoft's Outlook 2011, the company has added support for Mozilla's Thunderbird 17 and later email client, running on Snow Leopard (10.6.x) and later versions of OS X. The program acts as a plug-in to each of the mail programs, allowing users to set filters and flagging any potential spam or phishing emails.
The graphically-violent third-person shooter Max Payne 3 is coming to the Mac App Store beginning on Thursday, June 20. The game is reported to "include a number of advanced graphics options, scaleable high-resolution textures and character models, DirectX11 features, multi-monitor support and 3D," according to the announcement from Rockstar Games, and has exceptionally high Mac system requirements.
Samsung Electronics today introduced the industry’s first Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled color laser printer and multi-function printers. The new Xpress C410W series allows users to print high quality photos and documents from their smartphones or from a computer wirelessly. The new printers consist of the C410W color laser printer, the C460W color laser MFPs with print, copy and scan functionality, and the C460FW color laser MFPs with print, copy, scan and fax capabilities.
In apparent response to a question that compared the computer and Internet revolution of the 80s and 90s to a new Renaissance, a never-publicly-seen video of Steve Jobs in 1994 -- while he was still with NeXT -- sees the bearded and reflective Apple co-founder commenting on his likely legacy and the place of the industry he helped create. The video was uploaded to a YouTube channel called "EverySteveJobsVideo" on Tuesday and comes from the Silicon Valley Historical Association.
Social network Facebook has updated its iOS app to v6.2, which brings new access to change who can see something a user has shared, the ability to start a conversation based on photos users receive in messages, and the addition of icons to status updates that show emotions or what a user is reading or watching. The "status update icons" were added to the desktop version of the program in April, but mobile support has been missing until now. The update also includes the usual bug fixes, and the app can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
Apple has updated its iOS mass-deployment configuration and management tool, Configurator, to version 1.3. The free app works with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, and now offers "significantly improved" reliability, scalability and performance, the ability to cancel scheduled or even in-progress operations, and more. There is a new status view that includes time estimates and error information with recovery suggestions, and administrators can now install apps on devices configured to not allow users to install apps.
Apple has posted twin Java updates for OS X, Java for OS X 2013-004 and Mac OS X v10.6 Update 16. Both deal with security, stability, and compatibility flaws. The first is targeted at Lion and Mountain Lion users, while the second is for Snow Leopard only.
Soundfreaq has announced the Sound Step Lightning, a new speaker dock. The unit takes its name from a Lightning port compatible with the latest generation of Apple mobile devices. Significantly, though, it also accepts input via Bluetooth, a stereo cable source, or 30-pin Apple devices connected through USB. The USB port can charge any connected device. Playback is controlled with capacitive touch buttons, an IR remote, or connected hardware.
Digital games distributor Good Old Games (GOG) has added System Shock 2, called one of the most influential games in history, to its cross-platform library. In addition to the seminal first-person shooter, the company has also added 10 more titles to its library for the Macintosh, and has made dungeon crawler Torchlight free until 12:59 GMT on June 20 to kick off its "No DRM" summer sale, with daily deals of up to 85 percent off.
Peripheral maker iHome has announced three new FM radio alarm docks, all equipped with Lightning docks for later-generation Apple devices. The standard model is the iDL45, which also has a secondary USB port that can be used to play and charge older Apple devices with 30-pin connectors. Some other features include time sync, EQ controls, programmable snooze lengths, and dual alarms with custom day and time settings.
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