iPad By Davis: “Seeing Apple through rose-colored blasters” plus 14 more |
- Seeing Apple through rose-colored blasters
- Two letters from Steve Jobs
- Best Buy giving Samsung the Apple treatment with in-store mini-stores
- Apple once again rumored to be readying an iRadio subscription music service
- EverClip for iPad review
- It's Easter Weekend. Save 15% on All iOS Accessories!
- Apple updates Final Cut Pro, begins new campaign to bring editors back
- Apple sued by Chinese animation studio over pirated materials in apps
- MLB At Bat for iPad Updated, Ready for Opening Day
- The Washington Post’s Updated ‘Flagship’ iPad App, in Newsstand
- How to disable location services for Passbook on your iPhone
- If cable companies said true things
- Apple’s New ‘Why You’ll Love iPad’ Page
- Hands on with Tiny Troopers 2 for iOS at GDC 2012
- Deal of the Day: 67% off DICOTA Hard Cover for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4
| Seeing Apple through rose-colored blasters Posted: 29 Mar 2013 07:54 PM PDT Apple needs to fix their crappy designs and online services. I'm talking about green felt and iCloud sync. No, wait, I'm talking about brushed metal and MobileMe sync. No, wait again, I'm talking about pin stripes and .Mac sync. No... Come on, seriously, I've got this! As much as recent complaints about heavily textured interface elements and problematic online sync solutions are important, and in many cases justified, they're not unique. "Apple has lost its way", is a variation of "Apple is doomed" -- both always true and never true. Apple does a lot of great things. A lot of visionary things. A lot of delightful things. But like any entity, they also do some some silly things, some destructive things, and some downright dumb things. That's not new. Only the instance is new. When it comes to perception over time, we often distort out own realities. We tend to forget a lot of the things that bugged us way back when, or at least remember them with far less visceral annoyance than what's bugging us now. We feel like the problems of the present, as yet unsolved, are worse than the problems of the past, many of which were solved just fine. The current hope-meme is that Jony Ive, now head of all design at Apple, will bulldoze the iOS interface and re-finish it clean. The current rage-meme is that Apple needs to fix the too-long broken promise of Core Data sync. He may and they do. Just as pin stripes and brushed metal are no more, green felt may likewise be taken out back and put down. Just like .Mac and MobileMe steadily got better over time, so to should iCloud. However, as much as these things might hold our attention now, they're no more a sign of Apple losing their way than they were last year, or the year before, or the year before that, or the-- You and your stitched leather and back-to-my-Mac get the idea. (Yes, it would have happened then too...) "Seeing the world through rose-colored glasses" means remembering past events more generously than they sometimes deserve. The consequence is perceiving present events more harshly than they sometimes deserve. And blasting them for it. By all means be upset. Be powerfully, passionately upset. Advocate for change. Just keep it in context and perspective. Jony Ive lending his considerable talents to software design is glee-inducing. Apple providing developers with sync they can count on is table-stakes. But they are signs of nothing more nor less than a company continuing to iterate and overcome challenges, just like it always has. And will always need to. (Seriously, just wait until you hear the cries of monotony over bead-blasted aluminium and hear the screams for blood over busted Apple TV game sync...) (And yes, that's a joke.) 
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| Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:14 PM PDT David Gelphman, former software engineer at Apple, shares a very personal, very human interaction with the late Steve Jobs:
Read to the end. Source: David Gelphman 
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| Best Buy giving Samsung the Apple treatment with in-store mini-stores Posted: 29 Mar 2013 04:13 PM PDT Way back in the year 2011, the big box gadget retailer Best Buy surprised us with the launch of dedicated in-store miniature Apple stores, or if you prefer fancier Apple display sections with dedicated sales staff. The move has worked well for both Best Buy and Apple, offering prospective Apple customers and current Mac and iOS users more than one thousand new spots to go check out and pick up the latest gear from Cupertino. Clearly no longer content playing second fiddle to Apple, Samsung's partnering with Best Buy to do the same, launching before the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 at the end of April. According to Geek.com, Best Buy's high traffic stores will be getting the Samsung mini-stores, with staff being told to start clearing out two aisles worth of space next to the popular in-store mobile departments. Apparently there will be "large Samsung signage" and demonstration stations to show off the features of Samsung products. And like the Apple mini-stores, Best Buy employees will receive special training, though it appears that the entire mobile department staff will be receiving this training instead of select individuals like the Apple sections. If all goes according to plan, Samsung and Best Buy plan to eventually roll the mini-store expansion out to all of Best Buy's locations. The move signals both Samsung's desire to push forward with their newfound swagger and the acceptance of the largest brick-and-mortar electronics retailer in the United States of the aforementioned swagger. It's worth giving some consideration to how Samsung's store will be adjacent to and staffed by the Best Buy mobile department, where the sales emphasis is almost exclusively on smartphones, with a handful of cellular tablets thrown in for good measure. Samsung's success in the mobile market has been almost exclusively thanks to their Galaxy S line. Where consumers see Apple as a company that makes desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets, they see Samsung as televisions and smartphones. Setting up their store inside Best Buy is obviously a step to expand consumer recognition of what Samsung does, but by pairing it with Best Buy's powerful mobile presence they're also acknowledging what customers know and expect of Samsung. It's also worth considering the benefits in the move for Best Buy. While they'll be losing significant floor space to the Samsung sections, this is a chain that's in the midst of an upheaval of sorts, faltering through a botched bid to take the company private and closing numerous stores over the past year to save costs. No doubt Samsung has paid well for the privilege of getting the same treatment as Apple, and that's money Best Buy desperately needs. Source: Geek.com 
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| Apple once again rumored to be readying an iRadio subscription music service Posted: 29 Mar 2013 03:47 PM PDT Once again, just like clockwork, rumors are swirling around an alleged Apple "iRadio" subscription music service, similar to the likes of Pandora and Spotify. These rumors always seem to crop up right before an expected announcement period from Apple -- like spring, summer, or fall, and then disappear when music executives leak that they haven't come to terms on licensing agreements. Which brings us to the latest incarnation, according to the Verge:
Streaming radio services have long been struggling to make a profit and manage revenue streams. According to the sources inside the industry, Apple is in talks with Warner and Universal on streaming agreements: When and if iRadio happens, it'll be interesting to see how Apple implements it and how pricing would work. It probably isn't likely that record labels would negotiate free deals unless they're advertisement based, which Apple may not be a fan of. How much would you pay to have native streaming on your iOS devices and Apple TV? And how much content would Apple have to have to make you switch from your current streaming service? Source: The Verge 
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| Posted: 29 Mar 2013 12:14 PM PDT EverClip for iPad is an app that allows you to clip various things from across the internet as well as many third party apps. Once you've clipped it, you can launch EverClip and automatically send it straight to your Evernote account right from your iPad. This can include links, any amount of text, images, and more. If you like to keep track of things in your Evernote account, EverClip can make getting the content there even easier. The premise of EverClip is simple enough. You'll first be asked to link the app to your Evernote account and from there you're ready to start clipping. You can launch any app that allows you to copy text and images to your clipboard. This includes Safari, Mail, Photos, and pretty much any third party app. There are some apps that are a little painful but not many. For example, Facebook doesn't allow you to natively copy photos so you'll have to save them to your camera roll and copy them from there. It may be a little annoying, but it's workable. This isn't a limitation of EverClip, but of Facebook itself. You may come across this scenario with some third party apps but most allow you to copy content so it isn't an issue that'll present itself frequently. Once you've copied an item you'd like to save in EverClip to your clipboard, just launch the app and you'll see it automatically appear. Tapping on it will show you its contents and the clip in its entirety. From here you can easily export it to your Evernote account by tapping on the share button in the upper right hand corner. You can also tap the edit button and a new menu will appear in the lower right hand corner that allows you to manually add media or text notes. EverClip remains aware of what you're copying if you have it opened and running in the multitasking tray, when you copy an item you'll automatically hear a sound that indicates that it's been copied to EverClip. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. If you're copying text or media for another purpose that you may not want in EverClip, you'll have to delete it or remember to close EverClip when you're done. If you clip a lot of things you want, it may be a good thing. You'll just need to remember to close it out when you don't want it saving copied items. The good
The bad
The bottom lineEverClip is a great buy for anyone who routinely needs to save content to Evernote. Instead of manually copying and pasting into new notes, EverClip can do the heavy lifting for you. The persistent background copying could be an issue for some users but it's somewhat of a double edged sword. You may end up copying things you don't mean to but for convenience, to take it away could hinder some users. For what it is, EverClip works great and imports content accurately and efficiently. Users that depend on Evernote heavily for importing information will find it more than a worthwhile purchase.
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| It's Easter Weekend. Save 15% on All iOS Accessories! Posted: 29 Mar 2013 11:31 AM PDT Use coupon HOP13 at checkout to save 15% on ALL iOS accessories
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| Apple updates Final Cut Pro, begins new campaign to bring editors back Posted: 29 Mar 2013 11:05 AM PDT Apple has updated its Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor applications, coinciding with the launch of a new campaign to bring former Final Cut Pro users back to the software. Final Cut Pro X now supports Sony's XAVC codec up to 4K resolution, along with ProRes Logic C from ARRI ALEXA cameras. There have been a number of other tweaks and fixes. Motion and Compressor have also had numerous bugs fixed. This update comes as Apple launches a campaign aimed at wooing back professional video editors that may have turned to other software solutions after the initial launch of Final Cut Pro X. The changes made between Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro X angered a great number of users, who were unable to do things like edit footage from multiple cameras or import their projects from Final Cut Pro 7. Apple's competitors in the space, Avid and Adobe, successfully convinced many video editors to switch to their software.
Over the past couple of years, Apple has steadily adding features back into Final Cut Pro X, including the aforementioned multi-camera editing, and they have been able to get some users back. Their new campaign to bring editors back to Final Cut Pro features stories from profession video editors that are well-known within their industry talking about how they benefit from Final Cut Pro X's features, including its speed.
Source: The LA Times 
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| Apple sued by Chinese animation studio over pirated materials in apps Posted: 29 Mar 2013 09:16 AM PDT Apple is being sued by a state-run animation studio in China over apps that contain unlicensed material from the studio. Shanghai Animation Film Studio is seeking total damages of 3.3 million yuan, or $530,000. The studio says that Apple violated the copyright of 110 of their films, which resulted in siginificant financial losses for the studio. According to M.I.C. Gadget:
This is another in a recent string of legal problems for Apple in China. They previously lost a similar case regarding unauthorized distribution of a Chinese encyclopedia. Additionally, they have been sued by a company claiming that Siri violates one of their patents. Last year, they were ordered to pay Proview $60 million over the Chinese trademark for the iPad. Source: Sina Tech, via M.I.C. Gadget 
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| MLB At Bat for iPad Updated, Ready for Opening Day Posted: 29 Mar 2013 09:36 AM PDT The MLB At Bat app for iPad and iPhone has been updated today, and looks all set to go for Major League Baseball's Opening Day this weekend. The new version of the app released today is Version 6.1.0. Here's a rundown of what's new in this latest version:
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| The Washington Post’s Updated ‘Flagship’ iPad App, in Newsstand Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:35 AM PDT The Washington Post for iPad has been updated and revamped this week. The 2.0.0 update seems almost more like a brand new app release. Even The Washington Post itself describes the app update in those sort of terms:
The first big change in this update is that The Washington Post is now a Newsstand app. It's a free app and currently has no subscription options.It offers complimentary access for everyone through 'Summer 2013', and appears to have monthly sponsors in addition to being ad-supported.
The app has also had a full design makeover, and is...  Related Stories
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| How to disable location services for Passbook on your iPhone Posted: 29 Mar 2013 09:02 AM PDT Passbook for iPhone may be a great tool for managing boarding passes, reward cards, and more, but it can also be a drain on battery. Since Passbook continuously checks your location to see if you're in range of somewhere you may want to use one of your passes, it can significantly decrease your battery life. While it's a convenient feature, if you're finding your battery life is suffering, you can disable location services to lessen the strain on your battery.
That's it. Passbook will now stop searching for locations where you have passes. The down side is your passes will no longer show on your lock screen, meaning you'll have to manually open Passbook to use them. The bright side is that you'll probably get a little more battery life out of your iPhone. You can, as always, return into settings and re-enable the feature anytime you'd like. 
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| If cable companies said true things Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:47 AM PDT The saddest part of this video by Extremely Decent Films [NSFW-L] isn't that it's true, or that it's supported by our governments, or that it's merely representative of many anti-consumer media and technology infrastructure oligopolies, but that we tolerate it to exist. Does this sound like your cable company? Your cell carrier? When did that become okay? Source: Extremely Decent Films via The Loop, thanks Anthony! 
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| Apple’s New ‘Why You’ll Love iPad’ Page Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:02 AM PDT Apple has got a new page up highlighting the many benefits of owning an iPad. The new 'Why You'll Love iPad' page on Apple.com has a strong opening section:
It then goes on to list a set of reasons why people love the iPad and some impressive numbers to show the love. These include: – 81% of tablet web traffic comes from iPad – 95% of Fortune 500 companies are piloting or deploying iPads – 65% of US school districts are piloting or deploying iPads. – iPad ranked highest in customer satisfaction among tablet owners – Over 300,000 apps designed specifically for iPad – Two great sizes – the iPad and iPad mini – Outstanding battery life – Ultrafast...  Related Stories
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| Hands on with Tiny Troopers 2 for iOS at GDC 2012 Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:07 AM PDT Live from GDC Simon and I went hands-on with Chillingo's latest tile, Tiny Troopers 2. If you're familiar with the first game, the sequel brings you more of the same great stuff -- more gear, more guns, more machines, more mayhem. We're talking Humvee's with .50 caliber machine guns. Check out the video up top and if you like what you see, Tiny Troopers 2 has just hit the App Store so go grab it now.
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| Deal of the Day: 67% off DICOTA Hard Cover for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:53 AM PDT | ||||||
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