If Motion 5 isn't performing as expected, try these basic troubleshooting steps to attempt to isolate and resolve the issue. Note that these steps are not intended to address a specific issue and are not comprehensive.

There has been much written and even more said about the icons in Apple's new iOS 7. Flat when compared to the icons in iOS 6, the icons dump depth for simplicity, and rather than textured backgrounds, they have either a monochrome or a gradient background. Of course, all that could change by the time Apple releases iOS 7, but someone has launched a site that will let you compare the major Apple icons and vote on which one you like best.  It's cleverly called Neue vs. Old, a play on iOS 7's use of Helvetica Neue as the system font. To start, just click on the icon you like best and you'll be taken to the next set. At the end you can see the results. Pretty cool!

Martin Hajek has done it again. This time, he's conjured up some incredible renderings of not only what the rumored, lower cost, colored case iPhones might look like, he's even created an iOS 7-inspired rendering of what Apple's home page might look like as well. Mr. Hajeck's "iPhone budget" site even has a 3D model plus a file in .STP (NURBS) format so you can use a 3D printer to design your own cases.  It's color iPhone mania -- and very cool stuff.

As the fourth game in Eidos’s well-respected Deus Ex series, Square Enix’s new universal release Deus Ex: The Fall ($7) is a remarkably rich first-person shooter—an original title that looks and plays far better than one would expect from a purely mobile release. Continuing the franchise’s dystopian cyberpunk storyline,…

As expected, SoftBank and Sprint completed their merger on Wednesday. The US$21.6 billion deal landed SoftBank 72 percent of Sprint's shares and saw the formation of a new company called Sprint Corporation.

The Mac Observer Spin:
SoftBank wants to be the biggest cell service provider in the world, and Sprint wants to better compete with AT&T and Verizon. The merger helps both companies get closer to their goals, and hopefully proves to be a win for consumers, too.

Gartner has released a report showing worldwide and U.S. shipments of PCs for the second quarter of 2013. There was a 10.9 percent decrease in total shipments worldwide and 1.4 percent decrease in the U.S. compared to a year ago.  The data suggests a reduction in the rate of decrease and an explanation is provided. Data for Apple is incomplete.

Maclocks has introduced the Apple TV Security Mount ($45). Made from aluminum and colored black to match the Apple TV, the security mount includes a bracket and lock to keep an Apple TV secure. The design allows for proper ventilation to prevent overheating, and protecting against Wi-Fi signal loss.…

Apple doesn't plan on accepting Judge Denise Cote's ruling that it conspired to artificially raise ebook prices and plans to appeal. Judge Cote issued her ruling Wednesday morning in favor of the Department of Justice and their claims that Apple was the ring leader in a conspiracy with publishers to force retailers into higher book prices.

The Mac Observer Spin:
The DOJ's real message, whether it intends it or not, is that it's OK for Amazon to use its monopoly power to control the book market, but it isn't OK for Apple and other companies to actively try to change that.

The latest iOS 7 beta makes two significant changes to non-Retina iPads’ handling of apps with iPhone/iPod-specific interfaces. Previously, non-Retina iPads displayed iPhone/iPod apps at a classic 480x320 resolution, upscaling them with a “2X” button to a larger, chunky-looking 960x640 window. On a non-Retina iPad 2 or iPad mini running…

Google Latitude, the location-based social network most of you may not have realized still existed, has been given its death notice. Google is shutting down Latitude on August 9 and is dropping support in its apps as well as third-party apps on all platforms.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Latitude may not have been a popular service, but its demise drives home the point once again: Don't get too attached to any of the Google services you use. At some point they may go away, and there isn't any guarantee you'll have an easy way to transition into a replacement.

Aspyr announced on Tuesday that Civilization 5: Brave New World, the newest expansion for the strategy game, is now available for the Mac.  The expansion adds nine new civilizations—Assyria, Brazil, Indonesia, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Shoshone, Venice and Zulu—to the game, as well as, "international trade and a focus on culture and diplomacy." There are new units and buildings, a new Culture Victory, a World Congress, international trade routes, new Wonders, and new scenarios. That sounds pretty cool, and if I'm not around as much, you'll know why. The expansion is priced at US$29.99.

A developer claims that a previously-announced new iOS 7 feature — higher frame rate video recording — will actually be more powerful than expected. During WWDC, Apple announced that iOS 7 would add support for 60 frame per second video recording. According to Hamza Sood, hidden references inside the latest…

Expedia has updated its Expedia Hotels & Flights (free) app to version 3.2. Previously capable of helping users compare hotel and flight prices, the app now features local experts that can help users book reservations and find activities in Orlando, Las Vegas, and Hawaii, as well as synchronized FlightTrack…

Apple and Amazon have both decided to end their lawsuit over the rights to use of the term “app store,” according to Reuters. Following an initial ruling that suggested Amazon would prevail in the case, a spokeswoman for Apple said that the company no longer needed to pursue the…

CableJive has introduced dockBoss5 ($30), an adapter that converts a 30-pin Apple-compatible dock into a universal charging station, complete with audio output. The adapter uses a full-sized USB port, allowing for non-Dock Connector devices to charge or play audio. CableJive’s…

Apple has been targeted in a class action suit for selling iTunes customers HD video downloads even when the customers had older devices that didn’t support HD. The suit was reportedly filed by a Florida lawyer who claimed Apple deceived him into paying an extra $1 for an HD version…

Grasping the scale of time can be a pretty difficult concept, especially when waiting in line for your morning coffee can feel like forever. Here Is Today is an amazingly cool website that makes it a little easier to see how much time has passed and just how short our presence in the universe has been. HIT offers up a a slick timeline visual that shows today in comparison to this month, this year, the century, epochs, and more. It doesn't make your latté wait feel any shorter, but it does put it into perspective.

Apple released the third seed for developers beta testing iOS 7 on Monday. iOS 7 Seed 3 includes a number of bug fixes and improvements, as well as new features and tweaks to many of Apple's built-in apps and services.

Larry O'Connor is the president of Other World Computing, legedary for sales of Apple storage, upgrades and Mac and iOS device acessories. We thought it would be interesting to get Mr. O’Connor’s take on Apple’s WWDC announcement of the new Mac Pro. Here are the hottest questions that were on on our mind in a Skype chat.

If you have a later version of the Remote Desktop client software than what was installed from your installation disc, you may see an alert when opening Remote Desktop Admin.

Olloclip is already popular for its three-in-one lens macro, wide angle and fisheye attachment for the iPhone. What's been missing is a telephoto lens, and now Olloclip has answered our pleas by introducing just that: A 2x telephoto lens that also includes a snap-on polarized lens filter. Even better, the polarized lens is also compatible with the three-in-one lens kit that's already available. For many of us, the iPhone is the best camera because it's the one that's always with us. Olloclip made our iPhones more versatile with its three-in-one lens kit, and now we'll be able to bring images in even closer with a telephoto lens. Versions for the iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5 will be available in Apple stores by the end of July for US$99.99.

A new “Only on the App Store” promotion has made a number of top iOS apps and games free from iTunes. Infinity Blade II, Where’s My Water?, Badland, Tiny Wings for iPhone and iPad, Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP, Day One, Over,…

Garmin has a new spin on using your iPhone as an in-car GPS system with its HUD. Like the name implies, the HUD is a heads up display that projects navigation information onto your car's windshield. It gets the data from Garmin's StreetPilot or NAVIGON iPhone apps via Bluetooth and automatically adjusts its brightness so your directions are readable in sunlight or at night. Since HUD gets data in real time from your iPhone, it displays current traffic conditions, speed warnings, maps, and more. It includes its own power cable and a USB port so you can keep your iPhone charged up, and works as a hands-free phone system, too. This is especially cool in places like California where dashboard smartphone mounts are forbidden. HUD is priced at US$129.99 and will be available some time this summer.

...

For the most part, Spotlight on our Macs is fast, and its accurate. It almost always "just works." In this article, Sandro Cuccia discusses how and what Spotlight indexes, and how you can apply a fix the rare times that Spotlight fails.

A recently published Apple patent application details flexible battery packs for use in electronic devices. Apple’s application focuses on battery packs that may consist of multiple cells, which could be connected by laminate layers. The arrangement allows “the battery to be shaped to fit a form factor of the…

Apple looks like it's pushing for even more independence in its Maps venture. First was starting it's own Google-free maps alternative, and now the company is hoping to patent its own version of Waze's crowd sourced mapping and traffic service -- a service that Apple currently uses.

Apple made it easy to use iCloud to backup the data and settings on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and the process is automatic so you don't have to remember to start the backup process yourself. But what if you need a backup to happen right now? No problem. It's easy, and we'll show you how.

Ireland's finance committee has decided against questioning Apple about its tax practices in the country despite a similar inquiry recently held in the United States. The parliament's decision extends beyond questioning Apple to include other large multi-national companies, too.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Ireland's decision to drop plans to question companies about their tax practices sends a pretty strong message: They like things just the way they are, and it's up to other countries to change if they want more tax revenue from multi-national corporations.

As our U.S.-based editors are celebrating Independence Day with our families, iLounge will be on a limited publishing schedule today, July 4, 2013. Happy Fourth of July to our U.S. readers—we’ll be back in full force tomorrow!

BlackBerry has all but killed its tablet business and Jeff and Bryan have different thoughts on where the company is headed, which leads them both down a Microsoft-filled rabbit hole. They also have some thoughts on the entertainment industry and how Time Warner fits into the Apple TV strategy. Plus Bryan tries to burn down the ACM studio.

Martin Hajek has conjured up a very cool alternative design concept for Apple's recently announced Mac Pro. What if, say, the outer casing were glass instead of aluminum? Also, what if the aluminum came in bright anodized aluminum colors? What if naked aluminum had thousands of pinholes? The possibilities are tantalizing.

In fact, a glass or plastic case, showing off the innards of a computer, is a time-honored concept. We don't know if the thermal properties would be right, but hey, it's just a very cool idea, beautifully rendered. To see more, check out Mr. Hajek's website. (All photos used with permission.)

It's a red LED laser pointer to be precise. Think Geek is selling a Star Trek, Original Series, officially licensed, "Phaser Laser Pointer" that will set your "corporate presentation skills to stun."  The acrylic tip glows when the laser is on. For the geeks: Class IIIA laser, 640 nm wavelength, less than 5 milliwatts. Note, however, that it's smaller than it looks, keychain sized, and is only 4.4 inches long.

There can be too much of a good thing. When immersed in apps and technology and products, it's all too easy to grow listless.   John Martellaro suggests that the effect on writers is not very different from another not so surprising effect in society. The wealthy.

The Federal Communications Commission has approved SoftBank's plan to buy U.S. cell service provider Sprint Nextel, according to insider sources. The approval means SoftBank can move forward with its US$21.6 billion deal, and also gives Sprint the greenlight to complete its purchase of the remaining part of Clearwire that it currently doesn't own.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Getting a boost from Japan's SoftBank looks like good news for Sprint and ultimately for consumers, too, since part of the deal includes more LTE expansion for Sprint's customers.

Apple has hired Paul Deneve, former CEO of French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. Deneve will report to CEO Tim Cook as a vice president working on “special projects,” according to Bloomberg. He previously worked for Apple in Europe in the 1990s. Considering Deneve’s fashion background, it’s possible those…

Apple has yet another new senior executive in its ranks: Paul Deneve from Yves St Laurent. With some time at Apple during the 1990s and his extensive retail background you'd think he'd be in charge of the company's retail stores. Guess what? He isn't.

Apple is reportedly close to a deal with Time Warner Cable that would allow the company to offer the cable provider's content through the Apple TV. The company has also hired Pete Distad, formerly senior vice president in charge of marketing and distribution at Hulu, to help with industry negotiations. Bryan Chaffin looks at the implications.

Apple is close to a deal with Time Warner Cable that would give Time Warner subscribers access to channels on Apple TV, Bloomberg reports. An agreement between the two companies could be announced “within a few months,” according to sources. A recent Apple TV update added HBO GO…

After updating to Apple Configurator 1.3, the application may quit unexpectedly in OS X Lion when attempting to supervise or refresh an iOS device.

Based on the acclaimed kids’ book by Herve Tullet, Press Here: The App from Chronicle Books is available for iPad ($2) and iPhone ($1) — the latter as a “small version.” The app features 15 simple games and activities, focused on the three colored dots featured in the…

Apple and Samsung are scheduled to square off in court this November to redetermine part of the damages the iPhone and iPad maker is owed in its big patent infringement win last August, but Samsung is crying foul and claiming Apple is using the new trial to push the damages even higher. A jury awarded Apple over US$1 billion in damages, but part of that was thrown out because the values assigned to some of Samsung's infringing devices was improperly calculated, and now Samsung is fighting to stall the new trial.

Lifeproof has announced its Frē ($50) case for the fifth-generation iPod touch. Recently acquired by OtterBox, the company is known for waterproof, dirt proof, snow proof, and shock proof cases; Frē is a design with integrated screen protection. Lifeproof recently released…

It has been discovered that Apple has filed for an “iWatch” trademark in Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey, and Colombia, just one day after learning the company filed for the same trademark in Japan. Apple has also apparently filed for the trademark in Russia. The easily found, widely reported trademark…

Apple kicked off its annual Back to School deals on Tuesday for educational buyers and includes iTunes Store, App Store and iBookstore gift cards worth up to US$100 with new Mac, iPhone and iPad purchases. The special deals are available now and run through September 6, 2013.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Apple's $50 and $100 iTunes gift cards are nice perks on top of the Macs, iPhones and iPads you were already planning on buying for the new school year. Break out your credit cards!

The ISO in-ear, active noise canceling Bluetooth stereo headphones from Antec Mobile Products weigh 24 grams, including the control unit. It includes a lapel clip, internal Lithium-ion battery and charging cable.  While the sound is crisp, the noise cancellation is less than spectacular.  

Apple's stock jumped more than 3 percent Monday, helped by news that the company filed for a trademark for "iWatch" in Japan and an upgrade from Raymond James Equity Research. Shares of $AAPL closed at US$409.22, a gain of $12.69 (+3.20 percent), on moderate volume of 14 million shares trading hands.

You've heard it threatened for more than a year, and now it's here—the first Firefox OS-based "smartphone" will be released on Tuesday in Spain. The ZTE Open will be priced at €69 (roughly US$90), and that includes €30 (roughly $39) in pre-paid credit. Is this something Google and Apple should be concerned about? Bryan Chaffin says the answers are yes and no, in that order.

If you've got an iPhone 5, iPad 4, or iPad mini and you're on the go a lot, you should check out the Kero Nomad Cable. It's a USB-to-Lightning cable small enough to fit on your keychain.  Originally funded through KickStarter, the Kero Nomad Cable is shipping for US$24.99 (with free shipping). It's a clever idea that many will find very convenient—you never know when you might need a charge.

French authorities have conducted a raid on Apple's local offices as part of an investigation into whether or not the Mac, iPhone and iPad maker was unfairly blocking competition by holding back on product shipments to other retailers. Government agents seized documents linked to complaints about Apple's pricing practices.

The Mac Observer Spin:
If Apple was improperly engaging in practices that made it difficult for partner retailers to compete, shame on them. But complaints about not being able to transfer app purchases to other platforms? Really?

Recent U.K. tax filings have revealed Apple paid no corporation tax last year, despite making about $103 million in pre-tax profits. A report states, “Tax deductions from share awards to employees helped wipe out the corporate tax liabilities of the UK subsidiaries in the year to September 2012.” Apple paid…

Fitness tracking is a great way to help find and then stick with a healthy lifestyle, and the Withings team has added to their fitness tech lineup with the Pulse. The Pulse is a wearable fitness monitor that tracks how many steps you take each day, calories burned, elevation, and sleep patterns, and also auto-detects when you're running, plus it also monitors your heart rate. It sends your activity data wirelessly to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, and includes a clip so you can attach it to your clothes. The Pulse is priced at US$99.95 anbd is shipping now in the United States.

Apple hasn't confirmed that it is working on a smartwatch, or that the rumored device will be called "iWatch," but it has filed for a trademark on the name in Japan. That, in and of itself, isn't confirmation that Apple really does have a smartwatch in the works, but it sure does make the idea more plausible.

Those who text (who doesn't these days?) often want to punctuate their words with images. If you want that then read on. Vern Seward points out three freebie iOS apps that'll glam up your messages in this week's Free on iTunes. Emoji New Style Free, SMS Rage Faces, and Pimp My Text.

Much has been made of the color palette in Apple's new iOS 7. It's been called girly in a misogynist rant, ugly, beautiful, striking, and designed with Asia in mind. Some pieces have even covered most of the full gamut in one go. Reddit user Matt-Irwin, however, has done some thinking and sleuthing on the topic, and we like his thoughts.

Mac Geek Gab listener Chad sent us a note on Friday with a joke. It's a funny one about Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, chock full of nerdy humor. Two physicists speeding in a car? What could go wrong, right?

Gaming site GameInformer has posted a raw 45 minute video interview with Apple cofounder Steve "The Woz" Wozniak. It's pretty entertaining, with The Woz telling us about his history with gaming, including some comments about making Breakout for Steve Jobs (for Atari). That's some pre-Apple lore for you that you'll find very interesting if you don't already know the tale. At the beginning of the video, The Woz—an infamous prankster—also talks about some of the pranks he has played with lasers in the early days of handheld consumer lasers. Fun stuff.

Learn about FIPS in iOS 6.

Following Virgin Mobile's announcement that it will offer Apple's iPhone 5 contract-free, Radio Shack has stepped up as as the first retailer to offer the Virgin deals. Shoppers can pick up the 16GB iPhone 5 off contract for US$549.99, the 32GB version for $649.99, and the 64GB model for $749.99.

BlackBerry's PlayBook is all but dead now that the company has announced that it won't be migrating the tablet to the new BlackBerry 10 operating system. The PlayBook suffered from dismal sales, and by leaving the device behind as BlackBerry's other products move to the newest version of the its operating system, the writing is on the wall: PlayBook is on death row.

The Mac Observer Spin:
The big surprise isn't that BlackBerry is all but killing its PlayBook tablet now; it's that the device was still on the market.

What happens when you see glitches in Apple Maps not as a bug, but as art? Perry Norrby of Trapcode has done just that, gathering a lot of images from Apple Maps that look more like surrealist art than a screenshots from a mapping app (see below). Better yet, the folk at WebUrbanist spotted the collection of images on Flickr. They also added a couple of images from Google Maps. Check it out. Thanks to TMO member Lee Dronick for the heads up.

Digital camera RAW formats retain more image information than JPEGs and can produce better results when used with imaging applications such as Aperture and iPhoto.

Apple has released Canon Inkjet Printer Drivers v2.11 for OS X. The sparse patch notes say simply that the update, "Installs the latest software for your Canon Inkjet printer or scanner."

Learn about which printer and scanner models are supported, and what third-party vendor software is available for download using Software Update.

Up until now, iOS has operated under a very inefficent model with regards to apps and network requests. Apple aims to change that with iOS 7's coalesced network updates, allowing multiple apps to synchronize their network requests.

Refuting an earlier report claiming Microsoft would release Xbox games for iOS this year, Microsoft Studios corporate VP Phil Spencer tweeted that the company won’t be bringing Xbox games to non-Microsoft devices. Spencer said the earlier article was a “translation error.” The first report also noted Age of…

Apple will pay royalties for iTunes Radio based on both how many times listeners hear a song, and how much advertising Apple sells, according to a report. iTunes Radio will pay labels 13 cents each time a song is played, in addition to 15 percent of net advertising revenue, “proportionate…

The Galileo shuttlecraft from the original Star Trek series survived the harsh vacuum of space and alien attacks, at least on a soundstage, but didn't fare so well for the next 45 years stashed on back lots and outside in storage yards. Luckily, a group of dedicated fans took on the project of restoring the crumbling set piece with the help of actual ship builders. The video starts with some clips from Star Trek, and the restoration itself starts at about 5:30. The fully restored Galileo looks fantastic, and is going to be available for anyone to see because the group donated the shuttlecraft to NASA's Visitor Center at the Houston Space Center.

There are several ways an OS can telegraph the status of its health and well-being.  However, how that's communicated to the user, the developer and Apple are all very different things. Providing information to the Mac user that they can really use is a better approach. No intelligent agent required.

With the July 1 death of Google Reader quickly approaching, it's time to stop procrastinating and move your RSS feeds to another service. The Mac Observer has been watching the RSS landscape, and here are some of the options we've for you found so far.

The BtX350 wireless compact bluetooth stereo speaker provides rich, full-bodied sound, strong bass and wirelessly streams via Bluetooth or connects to non-wireless items, such as iPods, with a standard 3.5mm plug. The addition of easy to reach operational buttons, makes this a useful speaker.

Apple has now publicly announced some of the new enterprise and education targeted features of iOS 7, and while all of the newly announced features are exciting, the most important one is the addition of App Store license management.  This will solve many headaches that organizations have encountered when having to deploy applications to users, especially paid ones.

Today, with iOS 6, if an organization wants to deploy a paid application to its users, there are a few options, but all of them have serious drawbacks:

• Supervise devices, installing applications via Apple Configurator or an MDM solution.  This will get the applications on the devices, but users will be unable to update the applications as their Apple IDs do not own them.
• Buy applications through VPP, and distribute the codes to users.  Users can then register with their Apple IDs, and...

New image detectors that recognize facial expressions — such as blinking or smiling — have been added to iOS 7 beta 2, according to a report. Facial recognition has been around since iOS 5, but the new APIs could allow developers to add new features based on particular expressions, such…

Many people really love what they consider their ultimate iPhone case. For those folks, a bulky battery pack inside a case just won't do. If that describes you, but you still need additional power for your iPhone, the best choice is a small, handy, external battery pack that can be used with any iOS device. That's just what the Antec Advance PowerUp 6000 is. It's small, cleanly designed, full of 6000 mAh goodness, and could save the day by being able to charge your iPhone four times before exhaustion. And the price is great.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung is in talks with European Union regulators to settle patent abuse charges. The EU charged that Samsung violated EU antitrust rules when it tried to win injunctions against Apple using standards-essential patents. Bryan Chaffin explains the nuts and bolts of what's going on.

Amazon Mobile’s Amazon Instant Video (free) has updated to version 1.4.3, which makes finding videos faster and easier using a dropdown menu on the home screen or a navigation bar on the browse screens. More personalized carousels have also been added to the home screen. However, the app still…

Book retailer Barnes & Noble revealed on Tuesday that it is abandoning the Nook tablet hardware business to focus on the company's line of dedicated ereaders. Instead of killing the Nook tablet business outright, however, B&N is working to find third-party manufacturers to build co-branded Nook tablet devices.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Apple has the iPad, and Amazon has the Kindle Fire, while Google's Nexus tablets and Samsung's Galaxy Tab devices take most of what's left of the non-iPad market. With that in mind, it isn't much of a surprise that Barnes & Noble is throwing in the towel.

YouTube user Alex McKenzie has posted a video of Siri's new female voice. Apple announced that Siri would have new voices in iOS 7, but the feature wasn't part of the first developer seed of the new OS. On Monday, Apple released iOS 7 Seed 2 to developers, a release that did include two new voices, one male, one female. Siri's first voice is amazing, but as you can hear in the video, her new voice sounds perfectly...human.

Samsung is in discussions to settle with the European Union regulator regarding charges that the company blocked Apple from using an essential patent. In December, the European Commission informed Samsung it was unfair in seeking injunctions over the use of essential patents. Samsung has been discussing a settlement for months,…

The folks at 9to5Mac reported that Siri will become a lot more proactive in learning how to pronounce names in iOS 7. This will happen in two ways: the first is that she will ask for pronunciation tips if she doesn't immediately understand you. Users will also be able to tell Siri "That's not how you pronounce [any name]" in order to start the same name-learning process. There's no word yet on whether there will be other ways to say it. This wasn't a feature announced by Apple—the company barely scratched the surface when showing off the new mobile OS—but it will be a welcome one that greatly enhances the Siri experience for all users as the data gets added to Siri's knowledge base. There are a couple of screnshots in the 9to5Mac story.

Microsoft will bring Xbox and PC games to the iPhone within this fiscal year, according to a report. Japan’s Nikkei says that Microsoft plans to team up with Japanese company Klab Inc. to bring its games to the iPhone, including Age of Empires—a title that will be free to play…

Apple Configurator was updated to version 1.3 on June 18, 2013. With the new update, some new features were added, some old features returned, and some things have changed.

Backups are encrypted again!!!
This means that keychain data (passwords, restriction pass codes, etc) are now stored in backups! This is huge!

Update when available, Update when device is in recovery
This means you can leave Configurator running and it will run any iOS updates only when they are available, or you can make it update only when devices are put into recovery mode.

Administrators can install apps on devices configured to not allow users to install apps
This means you can install an app on a device that has the App store disabled. Big time saver, as previously you had to turn the app store back on, install apps...

Apple has released the second beta of iOS 7 to registered developers, just two weeks after the first beta release of the new operating system. The second beta is available through Software Update in iOS settings. iOS 7 beta 2 is…

It is my pleasure to again welcome Smile back as this week's sponsor here at TMO. They've been making great software for over a decade now, and I don't suspect they'll stop that any time soon! This week I get to talk about TextExpander, which makes this even better because it's something I use constantly. Read the full post for examples of some of my favorite snippets!

A new website details consumers’ rights in the iTunes Store child in-app purchase class action settlement against Apple. As previously reported, Apple will offer iTunes credits or cash refunds to qualified users who found their iTunes accounts charged due to a minor making an in-app purchase. The new…

Ballistic has announced the Hydra ($80), a waterproof and dustproof case for iPhone 5 that’s made to be particularly easy to assemble and disassemble. The company claims the case can protect an iPhone while being submerged in up to seven feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Made…

Apple's iPhone isn't any stranger to the music world and has found its way into songs on more than one occasion. The iconic Marimba ringtone, however, hasn't been the featured performer in a song -- until now. "Don't Call Me," the latest single from indy band Mars Ago does that with a pop song style and a cute smile. We're just glad they didn't go with Old Car Horn or News Flash because Marimba plays in the background through the entire piece.