Comic Lee Ridley, who lost his voice as child due complication at birth, has found his voice on stage as a comic, thanks to the iPad. Using the Speak it! app ($2, iTunes), Ridley has fashioned a stand-up routine that is self-mocking, but highlights how he has been able to overcome his physical challenges using technology. The Speak it! app enables text to speech in what approaches a very natural sound, belying its electronic origins, as the video of Ridley in action embedded below shows.
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Microsoft is looking to redo its music service strategy, leaks uncovered Friday. Those said close to major label discussions told CNET that Microsoft was aiming for a mix of streaming and downloads. The focus would be on the Xbox and an unnamed Windows Phone, possibly made by HTC or Nokia.
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The ITC in a new ruling (PDF) upheld its decision that Apple wasn't violating patents in HTC's original trade complaint. The conclusion followed a minor review and determined that Apple wasn't copying HTC's energy management and phone dialer technology. HTC can appeal the verdict, but may have trouble persuading the court.
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Fair Labor Association chief Auret van Heerden updated his opinions in a conversation on Friday that signaled possibly drastic action ahead. In talking to Bloomberg, he partly rescinded an earlier warm reaction and said the group was "finding tons of issues" at the contract manufacturer. He wouldn't say what these were, but he anticipated "very significant announcements" soon.
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A rare, direct hands-on with what's believed to be a leaked iPad 3 display may have confirmed its 2048x1536 resolution. The MacRumors investigation went beyond surface checks to show that the pixel density was exactly four times higher than on the iPad 2 while keeping the 9.7-inch size. As expected, the display couldn't be powered up to show the effect, although at 264 pixels per inch it could appear near-seamless.
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5 hours ago | Posted in: education, iPad
A study conducted in Auburn, Maine suggests that the iPad may be able to improve literacy rates among kindergarten students, notes The Loop. The Auburn School Department recently assigned iPads to half of the district's 16 kindergarten classes for a period of nine weeks. This translated into 129 students being taught with iPads, and 137 without; to gauge results, all of the students were tested before and after the trial.
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Today in the MacNN forums one Fresh-Faced Recruit asks "why bother with Apple's desktops (as opposed to their notebooks)?" as they are considering getting a computer as a gift for their parents. Also today iM@k was given a 30-inch Apple Cinema Display with a faulty tension spring, as such they are looking for a the correct part number for a VESA mount plate for it, click here to join in.
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Chitika highlighted what it saw as a possible tidal shift in the computing industry based on its web tracking. Windows' share of the web dropped by 10 percent of its relative value in the past six months, down from 78.3 percent in August to 71.4 percent in February. An unusually sharp drop came in January, where it lost 4.2 percent of relative (3.2 percent absolute) share in a matter of weeks.
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Following yesterday's Mountain Lion announcement, Firemint has detailed its plan to incorporate some of the operating system's new features into Real Racing 2. Game Center integration will add achievements, leaderboards, and friend invites for online play, while AirPlay support will allow users to easily play the game on external displays. Additionally, the update will add support for synchronizing game saves between iOS and Mac versions of Real Racing.
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This week at Apple's online store save on refurbished iMacs like the 21.5-inch iMac with a 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive, now $929 after a $170 price cut. A $340 price cut is available on the refurb. 27-inch iMac with a 3.1GHz Intel quad-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, now $1659.
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Amazon may be hoping to shave even more costs on its possible spring Kindle Fire follow-up. Rumors Friday from suppliers given to China Times had it hand-picking which individual contractors it would use instead of giving a blanket deal with Quanta for the original. One of the new entrants might be contract manufacturing giant Foxconn (Hon Hai).
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7 hours ago | Posted in: software
The Messages app introduced alongside OS X Mountain Lion will become exclusive to the new OS after the current beta period has finished, French site Consomac says it has learned. Buried in text strings for the app is a future alert for users of the Lion-based beta. "Thank you for participating in the Messages Beta program. With the inclusion of Messages in OS X Mountain Lion, the Messages Beta program has ended," the notice reads. "To continue using Messages, please visit the Mac App Store and purchase OS X Mountain Lion."
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Apple capped the week with a countdown that confirmed it was getting close to its 25 billionth App Store download. The figure is the first App Store-related countdown since the 10 billion mark in 2010. As in its more recent countdowns, Apple is promising a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card to whoever either downloads the 25 billionth app or makes a free contest entry at that point.
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8 hours ago | Posted in iphone apps
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Meetup 2.3 is an upgraded version of the iPhone and iPad app that helps users find local places to meet-up and share similar interests. This particular release is designed to make it easier to see who's going to meet-ups, and offers both a sliding navigation menu and a simpler way to find descriptions. The update also provides new “How to find us” instructions that help users get to their meeting place.
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Kraft has announced a major upgrade to its food-based recipe creation and management app for iOS devices, iFood Assistant 4.0. Aside from being a free application, the new version also offers special recipe collections via in-app purchase, support for sharing recipes through Twitter, and multi-tasking support. Users also have the ability to use voice to add items to a shopping list, or search for items.
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Beat Sneak Bandit is a new game for the iPhone/iPad where players must steal back all the clocks of the world by tapping along to the beat. The game has players sneaking past guards, trapdoors, and a variety of unique contraptions, all the while moving rhythmically to different patterns. In addition to working with the music, players will also have to time their moves to avoid being seen by enemies.
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TripAdvisor City Guides provides iOS users with a free guide to restaurants, attractions, hotels, and other nearby places of interest. With the latest 2.0 version, new Neighborhood and Best in City search options are available, along with the ability to view neighborhoods on the map. Other changes range from various performance enhancements to new categories on the home screen.
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Ayopa Games has recently unveiled Mailmen, a new puzzle game for the iPad. The mailman's task in the game is simple, to pick up and deliver the mail while avoiding guard dogs and other dangerous obstacles. Features include bags of special abilities to help players succeed, secret pick-ups and hidden areas, and the ability to call on team mates to help overcome difficult situations.
8 hours ago | Posted in apps
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Default Folder X provides users with quick access to folders and commands by attaching a toolbar to the right side of Open and Save dialogs in OS X. Version 4.4.9 includes a new command that allows users to quickly add the selected folder as a favorite, as well as support for Automator workflows in Lion. An issue with Default Folder X forgetting favorite folders on some networked drives has also been resolved.
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Sandvox is a website creation tool that features a drag and drop based interface. The v2.5.2 release includes a new preference for dialing Versions support, resolves an issue with saving and duplicating documents, and improves the recognition of dragged or pasted items. Additionally, a bug that stopped archives from being published has been fixed.
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Bean is a basic word processor that offers greater simplicity than larger programs, but more features than basic text editors. The software includes a live word count and an Inspector panel with various formatting options. In the latest release, saving a new document with the same name and path as an open document is now rejected with an alert, a bug that could cause the text cursor to disappear due to a negative window number when moving a document from one window to another has been fixed.
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Totals is an invoice creation utility that combines all of the necessary tools into a single window. Version 2.0.3 adds second tax support for non-cumulative calculations, such as IRPF in Spain. Payment reports are also now sorted by pavement dates, and a crash that could occur when closing the main window under Mac OS X 10.6.8 has been resolved.
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MacFamilyTree is a genealogy program that can help users discover and visualize their family history. The software also features a number of built in reports and charts, and allows users share genealogical data using the GEDCOM standard. Several sync issues with MobileFamilyTree Pro have been addressed with this release, and overall memory usage has been reduced. In addition, state is now properly displayed in the Person Report.
8 hours ago | Posted in: Apple, iPad
Proview is holding to the position that it retains the iPad trademark in China, the company has announced at a Friday press event. "If we are not compensated properly, then Apple doesn't use the iPad trademark in mainland China," states Yang Rongshan, chairman of Proview Shenzhen, and the main shareholder in Proview International. A representative for Proview creditors in fact suggests that Apple could end up paying as much as $2 billion in compensation, even though Proview has previously only sought up to $1.6 billion in its lawsuit.
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Apple's much-rumored TV set might have had one of its first non-obvious part suppliers named through new tips. Contacts claimed to Digitimes that Genesis Photonics was expected to supply the LED backlighting circuitry for a Sharp-made panel. The Japanese company is believed to have switched some of its ordering from local firm Nichia to Taiwan's Genesis as far back as the first half of 2011, making Genesis' contribution to Apple more likely.
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iPad owners are increasingly more likely to be wealthier and older than their counterparts, the NPD Group uncovered on Friday. Over 40 percent of iPad owners have a combined household income of over $100,000 a year where just 26 percent of those with Android and PlayBook tablets can claim the same. These more comfortable homes were more likely to have tablets as a whole.
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