…what if you never got into sci-fi in the first place? Where would you start?
Since its inception, speculative fiction has worked as social commentary, satire, and a creative answer to the question “What if?” Here are my personal picks to get you started.
If you or anyone you know would like to get into SciFi, you won’t go too far wrong with this
| Read more »Crowdsourced review service Yelp has come under attack again over reports of business owners complaints that reviews are "too self-centered and not trustworthy" and that the company hides reviews to its own benefit. A blog post by Yelp's Vice President of Communications Vince Sollitto refutes the claims which have been reported to the media, and hopes to clear up the service's reputation.... ...
| Read more »At the CTIA conference on Wednesday, mobile device case maker OtterBox announced that it has purchased TreeFrog Developments Inc., DBA LifeProof, known commercially as "LifeProof," for an undisclosed sum and has officially dropped allegations of patent infringement against the company. ...
| Read more »Microsoft is airing a new TV ad for Windows 8 tablets targeting their main competition, the Apple iPad. The spot points out that the iPad is missing equivalents to Windows 8 features like Live Tiles and true multitasking, and that at $449, a 64GB ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet is far cheaper than a comparable 64GB iPad, which is $699. Narrating everything is a Siri-like voice trying to defend Apple.... ...
| Read more »Google has announced plans to start deprecating most download options for projects hosted on Google Code. Beginning today, both existing and new projects without any downloads will lose the ability to create them. Existing projects that do have downloads will no longer be able to create additional ones as of January 15th. "All existing downloads in these projects will continue to be accessible for the foreseeable future," Google adds.... ...
| Read more »We're still a few years away from the self-opening home front door of the Jetsons. But that's okay -- we're making progress. A few weeks ago we told you about Unikey and Kwikset's Kevo, a keyless entry system for your own front door. Now the fine folks at Engadget have had a chance to work with the system hands on, and they seem to be impressed.
The system uses the iPhone's Bluetooth LE to connect with the smartlock. Simply walk up to your front door with your phone in your pocket, tap the lock, and turn the knob. Users and security are handled via iPhone and desktop apps that allow you to share keys with family and friends as administrative, normal or scheduled users.
Having someone house sit for you? Register their iPhone with the house for the week and never worry...
| Read more »Twitter has released a new version of its free Mac client, v2.2.1. While mostly a maintenance update, it also adds OS X Notification Center integration, pushing alerts whenever a mention or direct message is received. Some of the update's fixes solve broken Growl notifications, the account switcher going missing in the composer window, and a bug that prevented un-favoriting tweets.... ...
| Read more »Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer testified before a U.S. Senate committee on the company's tax practices and the need for tax law reform. Jeff and Bryan dive into that and take a look at Samsung's delusions of relevance in the smartphone market at Google's expense.
A recently aired Microsoft ad pits a tablet running the company's Windows 8 against the iPad, with the spot featuring an unlikely narrator: Apple's Siri virtual assistant. ...
| Read more »In what seems to be a response directed at rumors saying upcoming smartphones, including Apple's iPhone, will switch from Gorilla Glass to sapphire as a cover material, Corning put its latest generation product to the test in a bid to show the material is comparatively superior. ...
| Read more »Microsoft’s latest television commercial for Windows 8 tablets uses a Siri voice-over to mock the iPad’s pricing and capabilities. The ad appears to frame Windows 8 tablets as more capable for productivity and more valuable for the price (via The Verge). Microsoft’s ad is in similar style to Apple’s late 2012 advertisement to introduce the iPad mini. Apple’s ad below:
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| Read more »With Google Reader fading into the sunset in July more and more users are looking to replace its functionality. Zite for iOS (free) has some solutions that should please many news hounds. The app was originally born out of a desire to replace Google Reader with something that learned your interests and had a more compelling display. In a new release, released today, Zite is trying to go further to embrace what's good in Google Reader and add some bells and whistles.
First, Zite has increased the prominence of sources. Those sources now appear in a topic drawer after you mark an article that you like. Another welcome feature is that articles grey out ofter you read them. One of the best additions is the ability to highlight sources that are obscure. Google Reader always had a bit of a signal to noise problem...
| Read more »I wonder what all those people that heckled Apple Maps will say when they see this.
| Read more »An an unusual show of solidarity, leaders of the US Congress intellectual property and antitrust subcommittees submitted a letter to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) reiterating the prior request that "the Commission carefully assess the substantial public interest considerations that exist with regards to this and other cases at the ITC in which SEPs are at issue."... ...
| Read more »OtterBox, a pioneer in smartphone case technology based in Ft. Collins, Colorado, today got a little bit larger. The company acquired LifeProof, a company that builds a line of waterproof cases that provide superior protection without adding a lot of bulk or weight to devices.
OtterBox will begin incorporating the LifeProof line into its own line of cases over the next month, and it appears that both companies will retain existing employees for the time being. OtterBox has about 650 employees worldwide, while LifeProof has about 250 in its San Diego office.
It will be interesting to watch this acquisition unfold. Could this be the start of consolidation of accessory manufacturers in the booming Apple market? We'll keep an eye out for other rumor or takeover talk.
Show full PR text
FORT COLLINS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OtterBox(R), the global leader in protection for handheld...
| Read more »Apple is yet again pursuing patent infringement claims against Samsung (and Samsung is counter-suing Apple too). The pair's newest patent battle is happening in the US District Court of Northern California and it's a similar lawsuit to the infringement case heard last year that resulted in a $1.05 billion verdict in favor of Apple. However, this time around Apple and Samsung are pursuing claims against the latest generation of products.
Last week, Apple added a footnote to a filing, saying it hoped to include Samsung's Galaxy S4 in its infringement suit. Now, the company has ...
| Read more »We recently asked if Apple's ongoing legal battles with Samsung were worth the effort for the computer giant. As if to answer our question, this week Apple amended their infringement claims with a new motion filed in the second California patent case targeting five patents that the Galaxy S4 infringes on. But the motion contained a new component; the targeting of Google Now's search app.
Foss Patents has a thorough run down of Apple's claims, including the specific five patents Apple says Samsung is in violation of. The main point of contention that the Android Quick Search Box and Google Now infringe upon several of their patients covering their own voice search program Siri.
In a footnote found in their motion Apple sums up their claim thusly:
Apple determined that...
| Read more »A longtime industry watcher moves to Cupertino, Steve Jobs’s email to James Murdoch is marked as read, and Tim Cook dodges an inane “rumor.” The remainders for Wednesday, May 22, 2013 are live, in the flesh.
Longtime Tech Industry Analyst Michael Gartenberg Joins Apple (Forbes)
Occasional Macworld contributor Michael Gartenberg—who has served as an analyst at Gartner, Jupiter Research, Altimeter Group, and Interpret, in addition to a brief stint at Microsoft—has joined Apple in a role that reports to Apple senior vice president of marketing Phil Schiller. Let the iBagel rumors begin!
Here’s That Steve Jobs ebook Email...
| Read more »An anonymous reader writes "The open-source Intel Linux graphics driver has hit a milestone of now being faster than Apple's own OpenGL stack on OS X. The Intel Linux driver on Ubuntu 13.04 is now clearly faster than Apple's internally-developed Intel OpenGL driver on OS X 10.8.3. when benchmarked from a 'Sandy Bridge' class Mac Mini. Only some months ago, Apple's GL driver was still trouncing the Intel Linux Mesa driver."
| Read more »I don’t think being the perfect device for stalkers is what Samsung was going for, but who knows.
| Read more »While remodeling his newly purchased home in Elbow Lake, Minn., David Gonzalez noticed something unusual amid the old newspapers that had been used as wall insulation.
It was a copy of Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, the very first comic to feature the granddaddy of all superheroes, Superman.
I’m going to rip apart my house.
| Read more »‘iWatch’ Concept (many more here)
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has provided seemingly accurate information about previous Apple hardware releases (timing non-withstanding), claims that Apple’s much-rumored wearable wrist device will not arrive until late 2014. The analyst pinpoints production to begin sometime in the second half of the year:
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Apple may not have...
| Read more »At an event today at this week's CTIA conference, major casemaker OtterBox announced the acquisition of one of its chief rivals, LifeProof. The former says it will keep LifeProof's San Diego location, and that workers will remain in their current place. "Over the next 30 days, OtterBox will begin incorporating the LifeProof brand into the OtterBox family," an OtterBox statement reads. "More information about product availability and alignment will be determined at the completion of the integration."... ...
| Read more »From 9to5Toys.com:
A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites that feature a couple exceptional deals for just 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second of the day, so we’re going to roundup the best daily deals to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want.
Be sure to follow Follow 9to5Toys so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook
Today’s Featured deals:
Otterbox announced today that it has acquired fellow case maker LifeProof, one of its main competitors in the protective case market. “This is a big strategic move for us,” Otterbox CEO Brian Thomas said. He said the LifeProof name will remain part of the brand. Thomas cited the…
| Read more »A new study from BookNet Canada notes that the ebook market may be in trouble. Paperback books, says BookNet, made up 58% of all purchases last year, with hardcover taking 24%. But ebooks were only 15% of total sales last year, a figure that's down overall from 2012's first quarter, where they made up 17.6%. In other words, ebooks are selling, but they're hardly taking over the market.
Now, those numbers reflect sales in Canada. In the US, ebooks make up 22% of the market, so the numbers are higher here. But still, given how ubiquitous ebooks now are, it's surprising to not see them taking more of the market. BookNet says buyers cite the convenience of shopping for other items at the same time and pricing as two reasons they're still looking for books in brick-and-mortar stores rather than online.
Finally, Apple's iPad only made its way up to number three on the list of the most popular ebook readers in Canada....
| Read more »Noted KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple's much-rumored iWatch will hit store shelves late next year, not in 2013 as many market watchers expect, with a 1.5- to 2-inch screen, focus on biometrics and deep integration with existing iOS devices. ...
| Read more »Nearly a year after Apple introduced its own Maps service in iOS 6 with Flyover 3D satellite views, Google is expanding its own online Maps to support similar 3D satellite imagery, with the same sorts of buckled roads and visual distortions Apple was castigated for last summer. ...
| Read more »Realmac Software is on the brink of launching its fun new camera app Analog Camera for iPhone, but it has one more major task to mark off its list before we all get our hands on it. With its latest update to Clear, that item can now be swiped right off the list.
Clear on the iPhone and...
| Read more »Today on TUAW TV Live, cohost Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I will be conversing about a number of topics. Yesterday saw Apple CEO Tim Cook being grilled by a Senate committee about corporate taxes and at the same time passing along a hint that a "refreshed Mac line" will be manufactured in the Great State of Texas, so both of those are worthy of banter. There are also some new products that have made it to the TUAW Labs in recent days, so we'll have some quick unboxings for your viewing pleasure.
To view the livestream and join the chat, visit the TUAW TV Live page here. Be sure to bookmark that page on your browser for future TUAW TV events. Past episodes can be found on our YouTube channel, and today's show will also appear on this page within 24 hours.
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| Read more »Former Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg has been hired onto Apple's marketing staff, Forbes sources say. Exactly which position he's filling is unknown, but he's expected to work under Apple's head of worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller. Gartenberg is well-known amongst analysts; aside from employment at Gartner, he was once an analyst and partner at the Altimeter Group, and a research director at Jupiter Research.... ...
| Read more »Otterbox and LifeProof executives announcing the deal at CTIA
At CTIA, notable case maker Otterbox announced that it has closed an acquisition deal for competing iPhone case maker LifeProof. Both companies offer similar cases with a focus on durability.
During a question and answer session, executives from both companies revealed that the deal was 120 days in the making.While LifeProof will be embedded into Otterbox, the companies shared that the LifeProof...
| Read more »In a post to its Chrome blog on Wednesday, Google announced plans to bring intuitive voice searches directly into the Chrome Web browser for iOS. ...
| Read more »In case you needed some proof that the rumors of Apple switching from Corning glass to sapphire crystal are unlikely, Corning has posted a video on its website showing how its current Gorilla Glass is superior to sapphire for mobile devices.
Recently, speculation has arisen that manufactured sapphire crystal might become an alternative to Corning’s Gorilla Glass. “Sapphire’s performance as a cover for high-end watches probably leads to the current speculation. But those covers are much smaller than a mobile phone and are two to three times thicker than Gorilla Glass. In one of our commonly accepted strength tests, sapphire breaks more easily than Gorilla Glass after the same simulated use. Additionally, sapphire’s cost and environmental hit are huge issues,” Steiner said.
There have been a couple rumors floating around that smartphone makers...
| Read more »There are a couple of Warhammer-related titles on their way to iOS soon, but this is the most interesting yet. Developer Slitherine has revealed that it's working on a title called Warhammer 40K: Armageddon, a turn-based, hex-tiled strategy game coming to PC and iOS next year. The game will set Space Marines against Orks across 35 different scenarios, and feature over 100 units with upgradeable stats and attributes, along with a modding system and a separate set of maps balanced out for multiplayer.
Armageddon joins a number of other Warhammer games in progress, including Warhammer Quest and the upcoming Space Hulk adaptation. This is an extremely popular game franchise, and iOS is quickly becoming the home of choice for its games....
| Read more »Apple released three updates for its Windows products on Tuesday. The company released iTunes 11.0.3 for Windows and Windows 64, as well as QuickTime 7.7.4 for Windows. The iTunes update brings the new MiniPlayer features released for Mac last week, while the QuickTime update includes security patches.
AnandTech has posted a preliminary analysis of the Xbox One’s hardware and compared it to the PS4.
| Read more »Following Apple's testimony before the US Senate, Ireland's finance minister Michael Noonan declared that neither he nor his country would be the "whipping boy" for US tax loopholes. The US-led investigation demonstrated that Apple had paid two percent of $74 billion in international income, assisted by Irish tax law -- in particular, one holding company including Apple's retail effort throughout Europe had paid zero tax in five years.... ...
| Read more »It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked selections that include some sweet deals on iOS and OS X software (all prices are USD).
Deals from Dealnews
Pandora Radio is the granddaddy of streaming music apps, and for years now, the company's iPhone app has been one of the most popular ways to use and interact with the service. Just today, the app has nabbed a big update, bringing it to version 4.3. The new update adds a redesigned interface, which lets you tap an album to see lyrics, artist info, or other notes. You can also publish information directly to Facebook and share recommendations with your friends.
The update has been able to share tracks to Twitter and email for a while now, so the Facebook integration just adds to the functionality. The Pandora app itself is free, and you can subscribe to a premium service, called Pandora One, from directly inside the app.
| Read more »A voice search option is being added to the iOS version of Chrome in "the coming days," according to Google. Users will just have to tap a microphone icon and ask the same sort of queries Google supports in Android and the iOS Google Search app. The change should in fact reduce the need to use Search, although that app is still iOS' gateway to Now and various other Google services.... ...
| Read more »German users have noticed one other change from the Apple Store downtime last night, and that is that Apple will now accept Paypal payments their Apple.com store. You could previously use Paypal as a payment service on the iTunes and Mac App Stores, but you can't (in most places) on the official Apple website. The German store, however, has now implemented Paypal. So German users can now use that extra eBay money to pick up a new accessory or charger cable.
Odds are that this is a pilot program over there, and it will likely make its way out to the rest of the world very soon. I just checked, and unfortunately this option isn't yet available on the American Apple.com store. But if German users can use their Paypal accounts to buy Apple products, there's no reason why the rest...
| Read more »Penguin Group today agreed to a $75 million settlement deal with the US State Attorneys General and a group of private plaintiffs. The settlement stems from allegations that Penguin, along with four other publishing houses, colluded with Apple to raise the price of e-books on Apple's iBookstore.
Attorney General George Jepsen today announced that Penguin Group (USA) Inc. has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve claims asserted by Connecticut and 32 other states and territories in a lawsuit alleging price-fixing and collusion in the market for electronic books, or eBooks.
Since allegations of price fixing were first levied in April of 2012, all five of the accused publishing houses have reached settlement agreements with the government, cumulatively agreeing to pay $164 million in damages to affected consumers nationwide.
"Consumers are entitled to a fair, open and competitive...
| Read more »Veteran tech analyst Michael Gartenberg is jumping the fence to work for a company he has spent decades covering during stints at Gartner, Altimeter and Jupiter Research. Forbes reports, and AllThingsD has independently confirmed, that Gartenberg has recently taken a job at Apple. Details on his role at the company are slim, though sources say he’ll be working for Apple’s marketing group, a division overseen by SVP Phil Schiller.
| Read more »Scanner Pro, which lets users scan documents, receipts, and more using their iPhone or iPad, recieved a big update to version 4.5 this week. The update enables live border detection, which allows the app to intelligently find the edges of whatever is being scanned while you photograph it.
In our testing, the border detection was very accurate, although it did have a bit of trouble when the paper and the background where different shades of the same color. The app does still allow you to manually edit the borders to fit the document perfectly, just in case there is a detection error, so any small problems are easy to correct.
The app itself is well-designed and features a solid storage solution for your documents. Multi-page scans are...
| Read more »Autodesk has announced that its first major update for Smoke 2013, Extension 1, will go live on May 29th. The update adds two main features, beginning with support for Blackmagic video IO devices including the DeckLink, UltraStudio, and Intensity lines. The other is a new Trim View, accompanied by a set of dynamic trimming tools which should allow for faster editing.... ...
| Read more »Cody Brown writing on how the New York Times sent him a cease and desist for showing how to replicate “Snow Fall” and then demanded he not even mention their name on his site.
| Read more »It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.
You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.
No Flash? Click here to listen.
Daily Update for May 22, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 May 2013 14:45:00 EST. Please see our...
| Read more »Publisher Penguin and parent company Pearson have proposed a settlement with 33 US State Attorneys General and other plaintiffs for $75 million to resolve its lawsuit accusing it of price fixing in conjunction with Apple and the iBookstore. If accepted by the judge, the settlement resolves all antitrust complaints against Penguin related to the suit on the state level.... ...
| Read more »Google announced today on its Chrome blog that a new update will soon be rolling out to its Chrome app for iPhone and iPad that will allow users to access voice search features previously limited to the Google Search app. Using the same omnibox currently included in the app, Google will soon allow users to tap a microphone icon to search using only their voice with a UI similar to the recently redesigned voice search on Mac.
Google said the updated Chrome app should be landing on the App Store in the coming days.
Google also noted that the updated iOS app would provide faster reloading of web pages and an option for third-party apps “to open links in Chrome and then return to the app with just one tap.”
Earlier today Google...
| Read more »Just when you think we got rid of the RIM co-CEOs, Mike Lazaridis comes back.
BlackBerry (BBRY) founder Mike Lazaridis said he’s confident that users of iPhones and other devices will embrace the company’s BlackBerry Messenger platform, which will be offered on rival phones later this year.
“BBM is by far the most compelling wireless experience and wireless social-networking environment,” Lazaridis, who stepped down as co-chief executive officer in early 2012, said yesterday at the Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit in Toronto.
GO AWAY!
| Read more »Ireland is in the spotlight following the U.S. Senate's investigation of Apple's alleged tax avoidance, and the low-tax nation is now calling for an international crackdown on tax dodging by multinational corporations. ...
| Read more »On May 19, 2001, the first two Apple retail store opened up for business. One was located in McLean, Virginia while the other was situated in Glendale, California. At the time, there were no shortage of critics who expressed serious doubt as to Apple's effort to get into the retail business.
12 years later, Apple's line of retail stores play an instrumental role in Apple's overall sales, and more importantly, give consumers a chance to actually use Apple products in a fun and inviting environment. It may sound absurd to anyone born after 1986, but I distinctly remember a time when the only place I could test out and potentially purchase a Mac was at a local OfficeMax -- unless, of course, I wanted to mosey on down to a shady corner electronics store that somehow managed to become an authorized Apple reseller.
In short, Apple's retail stores enabled the company to put its products out in front of consumers on its own terms. Today, Apple stores, given their ubiquitous...
| Read more »Neil Hughes:
Despite growing competition from other tablets, Apple’s iPad still accounts for a whopping 89.28 percent of e-commerce website traffic, and also rakes in more money on a per-user basis than any other platform.
Where the hell are all these Samsung tablets I keep hearing about?
| Read more »For all those conflicted souls who say the iPhone is a piece of art that should not be covered by a case, but who wish they could really protect their gear, the AL13 aluminum bumper will allow them to have their cake and eat it too.
Michael Gartenberg, a longtime industry analyst who most recently covered technology for Gartner, has taken a job on Apple's marketing team working under executive Phil Schiller. ...
| Read more »This week's roundup of iOS accessories features not one, but two ways to elegantly convert your iPad into a cash register. But the iPad and iPhone aren't all business, as there's fun to be had, too!
| Read more »A German Mac enthusiast site has noticed that the Apple online store in Germany is now accepting PayPal as a payment option, a new wrinkle that could appear in the US and other countries over time. While PayPal has been an option for payment in the iTunes App Store and the Mac App Store, it was never previously available for any kind of hardware or online retail purchase from Apple.... ...
| Read more »A German Mac enthusiast site has noticed that the Apple online store in Germany is now accepting PayPal as a payment option, a new wrinkle that could appear in the US and other countries over time. While PayPal has been an option for payment in the iTunes App Store and the Mac App Store, it was never previously available for any kind of hardware or online retail purchase from Apple.... ...
| Read more »Twitter for Mac is continuously receiving updates and today it received a highly requested feature: Notification Center integration. Users can configure the setting in the preference window within the app.
OS X already offered Twitter integration, but notifications deferred to the web rather than its native client. It was less than a month ago when the app received its first update in countless months, and today’s update demonstrates Twitter’s dedication to its continued development.
Twitter 2.2.1 is now available in the...
| Read more »Twitter joins a growing club of sites that let you reduce the chance of a hijacked login with two-factor authentication.
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| Read more »Google's Chrome browser for OS X has had the ability to do voice search for about two years now, but the latest version of Chrome appears to bring something a bit more Siri-like to the mix. Now, when you ask Google certain questions about the weather, sports scores, stock prices, directions, and calculations, you get a spoken answer.
The latest version is 27.0.1453.93, which you can update to by selecting About Chrome from the Chrome menu, and approving any updates or restarting the browser if prompted. Once Chrome is up, head on over to the google.com search page and you'll see the familiar microphone in the search field (note that the mic does not appear in the Chrome "omnibar"). Click the mic, respond to any requests to let Chrome have access to your mic and video camera, and then start asking questions.
The result is not quite the conversational search that was touted during the Google I/O...
| Read more »Simply put. iPad 2 is the best gadget I have ever used. Welcome to the post-PC era.—
Michael Gartenberg (@Gartenberg) March 10, 2011
I may abandon my quest for a proper CA home, just buy a really good car and park in other people’s driveways at night—
Michael Gartenberg (@Gartenberg) May 22, 2013
According to Forbes, long time technology analyst Michael Gartenberg has joined Apple. According to the report he is now officially working under the marketing team led by Phil Schiller. Gartenberg has always been Apple-focused/leaning in his coverage and a...
| Read more »He is working on the marketing team under Apple’s global marketing chief Phil Schiller, according to sources.
Michael is one of the good guys. Congrats.
| Read more »An iMessage notification sent to Glass
Adam Bell (@b3ll), a well-known developer for many software platforms, has figured out a way to route all notifications from an iOS device through Google Glass. The implementation, even in its early stage, seems to work quite well. Bell notes that all notifications, such as iMessages and Tweets automatically are shown via the Google Glass interface. Video and more details below:
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Video provided to 9to5Mac by Adam Bell
Notably, as also shown in the video, users are able to swipe between old and new notifications via Google Glass. Because opening up iOS Device notifications through Google Glass requires some tweaking of the core of Apple’s mobile operating system, the functionality is...
| Read more »Penguin is a step closer to ending its headaches over ebook price fixing allegations now that the publisher has agreed to a US$75 million settlement with states and consumers. The proposed settlement is part of a deal in a lawsuit that claims the company colluded with other publishers and Apple to artificially raise the price of ebooks.
The Mac Observer Spin:
Spending $75 million to end this civil anti-competition case on top of the settlement Penguin agreed to last year in the DOJ case is a lot of money, which means the publisher was probably facing the prospect of even higher penalties if it lost in court. Ouch.
Apple sent three top executives to Washington, D.C. yesterday to testify in front a congressional hearing on Apple's tax practices. Making the journey from Cupertino were Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and Phillip Bullock -- Apple's head of Tax Operations.
The hearing went on for a few hours, and as one might expect from such a controversial issue, the lively debate became intense at times. Michigan Senator Carl Levin took an especially tough stance on Apple, calling its tax practices "unacceptable."
Nevertheless, there were moments of levity we can extract from the hearing.
For starters, Senator John McCain, following his pointed questions for Apple's panel about taxation, thought it high time to ask Tim Cook about updating apps on his iPhone.
"What I really wanted to ask," said McCain, "is why the hell do I have to keep updating apps on my iPhone all the time?"
I can't really blame him though. I mean, McCain had to either ask...
| Read more »We already knew back in December that Pearson, along with a handful of other publishers had decided to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice in the high-profile Apple ebook price-fixing case. Today a statement from Peason’s Penguin unit confirms that it has now also reached an agreement that will see the publisher pay $75 million in consumer damages to the US State Attorneys General on behalf of people that were overcharged due to the alleged price fixing:
Penguin...
| Read more »Following a big update to the Pandora Radio app earlier today, the subscription based Rdio iPhone and iPad app has been updated today with UI improvements, a new “Find People” feature for finding artists and friends to follow, and the ability to search by record label to find artists and albums.
The updates to the app’s UI are most noticeable in a “new, cleaner look for sliding side navigation.” (as pictured to the right)
What’s New in Version 2.2
- Find People. New feature makes following friends and artists easier than ever.
- Labels. Search for a...
WaterField Designs has announced the launch of a new leather wallet that doubles as an iPhone 5 case. Available in two sizes, a compact version for cash and cards and a slightly longer version to fit an iPhone 5, the Finn Leather Wallet is made from a naturally deer-tanned leather. The wallet features self-locking zippers to secure all contents and is offered in six different colors, including black, camel, grey, red, green and brown. Both sizes of the Finn are sold through WaterField's website for $29.... ...
| Read more »The Sun is one of the most important stars in our galaxy. It gives us light, enables the growth of plants, is a source of energy and is the cornerstone of our calendar. To learn more about this spectacular star, you should check out the Sun By Kids Discover app.
The iPad app features interactive 3D models as well as audio and HD video to teach you about the sun. You'll learn the difference between the solstice and the equinox and follow the steps as a star is born. The app is packed full of stunning photos, clever animations and easy-to-read trivia about the Sun. Think you are an expert ? Then test your knowledge using the puzzles, quizzes and games included in the app. There is even an activities section that teaches you how to study the Sun in real life.
The Sun By Kids Discover app is available for...
| Read more »Despite growing competition from other tablets, Apple's iPad still accounts for a whopping 89.28 percent of e-commerce website traffic, and also rakes in more money on a per-user basis than any other platform. ...
| Read more »Om Malik:
HTC was the shining star during the early days of Android. Now it is reeling under the pressure of cheap Androids, a dominant Samsung and a management disarray. It’s a damn shame, as the new HTC One is actually a nice device.
I thought it would do better than it has.
| Read more »Apple has filed its amendment to its ongoing courtroom battle with Samsung, adding the Galaxy S4 to its list of infringing devices, just as it told the US District Court in California last week. The filing specifically names five patents said to be infringed by the Galaxy S4 itself, two of which are apparently infringed by Google Now.... ...
| Read more »You've heard about the phablets, notably the Samsung Galaxy Note II with a 5.5 inch display, running Android. Unfortunately, not all of the writing about the device, and phablets in general, has been phabulous. Here is an in-depth, no holds barred, technical analysis and detailed review of the Galaxy Note II by John Martellaro. It may not be what you were expecting.
OmniGroup, the Seattle-based developers of OmniOutliner, OmniGraphSketcher, OmniGraffle, OmniFocus and OmniPlan, has announced that today they are shipping OmniPresence document syncing.
OmniPresence rounds out the automatic syncing solutions that OmniGroup added first to OmniFocus in 2008 and OmniPlan in 2011. OmniGroup CEO Ken Case noted in a May 20 blog post that OmniPresence works well with Mac apps that support OS X Auto Save and Versions. To quote Case, "Using the same underlying document coordination as Versions, OmniPresence lets your app know when a document has been changed on another device, and double-checks to make sure it always syncs a current and complete copy of any documents currently being edited. OmniPresence can't prevent conflicting edits from multiple devices-but when that happens it automatically saves both versions of conflicting edits so that no edits...
| Read more »In a article that could have been written by Samsung's advertising department, the Sydney Morning Herald has published an article detailing claims from "social researcher" Michael McQueen, who tracks the ever-shifting tastes of the group he calls "Gen-Y" (meaning people who reached their teenage years after 2001). In it, he says that despite wide evidence to the contrary, Apple is "losing its cool" with youth.... ...
| Read more »LifeProof has introduced its Frē case for iPad mini. As expected from a LifeProof case, Frē for iPad mini is billed as waterproof, dirtproof, snowproof, and shockproof, notably sharing its name with the previously-released Frē for iPhone 5 rather than the Nüüd for iPad. The company says…
| Read more »It may not seem like all that much changed after last night's Apple Store downtime, but the company actually made a number of design changes that, according to MacStories editor Federico Viticci, bring "a cleaner, more subdued style for graphical elements and larger image-centric spots for products and accessories."
Rolled out just in time to start selling the goods for Father's Day on June 16, the new design does away with the thin sidebars in favor of wider blocks that provide space for larger images of items on sale. Here's the old design:
And here's the new:
The changes are more pronounced on the Accessories page. As an example, the old iPad accessories page wasted space by using a short sidebar on the left side to list different categories. The result was that the entire page was narrower than it...
| Read more »Earlier this month we noted that Apple was asking courts to add the Galaxy S4 as an infringing device in its ongoing patent dispute with Samsung in California. Now, Apple has officially filed a motion (via FossPatents) outlining five patents infringed by the Galaxy S4 and another two Siri related patents infringed by the device’s Google Now voice controlled search feature.
Apple had previously claimed that the Android Google search box feature on Samsung devices infringed the same patents, but is now moving to have Google Now included alongside the S4. Excerpt from Apple’s filing below:
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To further complicate matters, Apple’s infringement...
| Read more »Logitech has introduced its Wired Keyboard for iPad ($60), which the company is billing as “[t]he first wired keyboard for iPad specially designed for the classroom.” The keyboard comes in two versions, with either a Lightning or 30-pin connector. It features a spill-resistant design and a promised key lifespan…
| Read more »It has been busy in the App Store with a handful of new apps landing on iOS and OS X. Take a few minutes and check out our list of standout apps from the past few weeks!
iOS Apps
Video Filters [iOS Universal; Category: Photography & Video; US$3.99] Pro HD Video Camera with 100 Fully Customizable, Real-Time Video Filters.
HeartPhys [iPad; Category: Medical; $1.99] Learn physiology through interactive diagrams.
Stria [iOS Universal; Category: Music; $8.99] Multilevel Interactive Sound Synthesizer "Stria" is the title of a very important composition by John Chowning. This computer music piece rapresents the manifest of Frequency Modulation technique applied to audio synthesis, invented...
| Read more »Syncing is a hot topic these days, with plenty of alternatives and lots of angst over their perceived limitations and shortcomings.
If you happen to be a user of the Omni Group’s apps, like OmniGraffle and OmniFocus, you’ll be happy to know that the company is releasing its own sync solution—aptly dubbed OmniPresence—on Wednesday, bringing yet one more option into the fray.
Easy and powerful
From the user’s point of view, OmniPresence is designed to be simple while still offering a powerful feature set. The core of that is compatibility across both OS X and iOS apps, allowing you to effortlessly sync data back and forth.
On the Mac, OmniPresence runs in the background and resides discreetly in the menu bar, where it can be accessed at any time...
| Read more »Prompted by a study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research about perceived sensitivity to electromagnetic fields, columnist Mark Morford of SFGate.com has penned a powerful commentary about why some people may suffer very real symptoms from seeming exposure to radio waves from Wi-Fi gateways and cell phones. He doesn’t dismiss either the severity of these symptoms or the fact that there are innumerable aspects of modern life that have been proven detrimental to human health, but emphasizes that we similarly cannot discount the power of suggestion or conviction.
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| Read more »Large tech firms are coming under scrutiny over their tax avoidance measures, following the testimony of Apple executives to a US Senate Permanent Subcommittee. Google, Yahoo, Cisco, and others have been found to be using an assortment of tax loopholes and off-shoring in order to avoid paying governments in the US and Europe at least $100 billion.... ...
| Read more »Apple has revamped the look of its online store’s homepage, placing a considerably stronger focus on Apple-developed hardware and high-margin accessories. Fewer and generally more expensive items have been given prominent positions on the Store’s main pages, while text and links have been reduced. Notably, the redesign removes front-page…
| Read more »Jeff Gamet, The Mac Observer's Managing Editor joined MacVoices host Chuck Joiner to discuss Apple CEO Tim Cook's testimony in a U.S. Senate hearing on corporate taxes, and accusations that the company has been sheltering revenue to avoid tax payments.
Book publisher Penguin announced on Wednesday it has reached a $75 million "comprehensive agreement" with U.S. State Attorneys General and private class plaintiffs over e-book price fixing allegations connected to Apple and its iBookstore for iOS. ...
| Read more »The Saturday Evening Post, one of America's most iconic magazines, thanks in part to cover artist Norman Rockwell, is finally on Apple's Newsstand. Apparently many people don't know the magazine is still in publication (I didn't, and even the magazine's technology director Steve Harman admits to TechCrunch that many people don't think so either), yet it still has a subscription base of 300,000 annually. And now it's ready to enter the digital age on iOS.
The magazine will keep its general-interest focus while attempting to appeal to younger readers with articles on technology and movies. Considering the magazine's history (publishing some of the best short stories by America's most famous writers) and beautiful artwork, I'd love to see the Post begin selling digitized back issues starting with ones that featured F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories...
| Read more »Microsoft announced its upcoming Xbox One console yesterday.
And threw in some interesting iOS cooperation with it.
Per Mac|Life and Wired, Microsoft’s new gaming console will be “fully integrated” with Xbox’s SmartGlass application, thus allowing users of iPhones and iPads to connect seamlessly with the next generation of Microsoft’s popular console series.
Introduced last year and allegedly downloaded by over 10 million people, SmartGlass currently allows...
| Read more »You can’t knock an application that’s updated this frequently.
On Wednesday, Google released version 27.0.1453.93 of its Chrome web browser. The update, a 49.8 megabyte download, adds the following fixes and changes:
- Web pages load 5% faster on average
- Chrome.syncFileSystem API
- Improved ranking of predictions, improved spell correction, and numerous fundamental improvements for Omnibox predictions. Please see the Help Center for more information on our updated policies.
Security fixes:
- [235638] High CVE-2013-2837: Use-after-free in SVG.
- [235311] Medium CVE-2013-2838: Out-of-bounds read in v8.
- [230176] High CVE-2013-2839: Bad cast in clipboard handling.
- [230117] High CVE-2013-2840: Use-after-free in media loader.
- [227350] High CVE-2013-2841: Use-after-...
| Read more »As first spotted by our friends over at German language publication Macerkopf.de, Apple appears to be rolling out an option to make purchases on the Apple Online Store using PayPal. The feature appears to be limited to Germany currently, but it could mark the start of a broader roll out to other users.
Apple has never been opposed to offering the option to use PayPal for some services. Users in the U.S. have long been able to setup PayPal as a payment option for their Apple ID on the desktop, allowing them to purchase iTunes content with PayPal on iTunes & the Mac App Store. It also allows its education customers to use PayPal for volume purchases of iOS apps, but the privilege didn’t extend to making purchases from the online store at Apple.com.
Apple’s help page for payments and tax...
| Read more »In most of the world, the asymmetric nature of your average Internet connection means that, unless you are lucky enough to be on a corporate network or fiber reaches your house, sending large files to your friends and colleagues is often an exercise that requires a lot of patience. Most of it is spent waiting for files to upload and dealing with complex workflows that tend to take up more time than they're worth.
This is where the recently-launched Minbox comes into play. Its developers have set their sights on turning file sharing into as frictionless a workflow as possible, while keeping costs down to a rather cool zero dollars.
There is, of course, no shortage of competing products that attempt to reduce the stress of sharing data—Dropbox and ...
| Read more »As is traditional for the time of year, Apple has updated its main US homepage to promote items from its store in tune with the upcoming Father's Day holiday. In addition to the iPad and iPad mini, such items as iPhone 5, the Nike+Fuel band, the iGrill meat thermometer, the HipKey proximity alarm, the Nest thermostat and other suggestions are highlighted. The page also features a subtly cleaner and more geometric design.... ...
| Read more »Following a U. S. Senate hearing where lawmakers suggested Apple is sheltering revenue from taxes by using a subsidiary company in Ireland, the country is saying the real issue is that companies are working they system across borders and that international cooperation is needed to make real changes. Ireland's government is right, but some of that change needs to happen in the U.S., and there isn't any guarantee politicians want to take on that fight with corporations.
