Following US District Judge Denise Cote's decision that Apple conspired with book publishers to raise the price of e-books, the DOJ last week announced a sweeping proposal aimed at remedying the fallout from Apple's allegedly "illegal" activities.

The proposal, which you can read about here, is extremely broad and curiously heavy handed.

The proposal reads in part:

The department's proposal, if approved by the court, will require Apple to terminate its existing agreements with the five major publishers with which it conspired - Hachette Book Group (USA), HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C., Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, Penguin Group (USA) Inc. and Simon & Schuster Inc. - and to refrain for five years from entering new e-book distribution contracts which would restrain Apple from competing on price.

Under the department's...

Jim and Dan are joined by Peter Cohen the other half of The Loop to discuss AMBER alert disruptions, The Newton’s 20 year anniversary, PDAs as the predecessor to the MacBook Air, the sale of the Washington Post to Jeff Bezos, and more.

Sponsored by Hover (use code DANSENTME for 10% off), Squarespace (use code DANSENTME8 for 10% off), Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME8 for 30% off), and Igloo.

∞ Read this on The Loop

I’ve been watching Barley for the past few months and I’m impressed with what I’ve seen. The company provides an inline editor, so you don’t need experience in coding to build a Web site. They provide unlimited storage, hosting and templates to get you started.

∞ Read this on The Loop

With jAlbum, you can create gorgeous custom photo galleries for the Web without writing a line of code!

Beginner-friendly, with pro results
Simply drag and drop photos into groups, choose a design from hundreds of beautiful album skins, and you're done!

Share the memories
Effortlessly upload your album to your website. If you don't have one, select one of jAlbum's affordable storage plans.

Photo galleries for everyone
jAlbum is the perfect photo-sharing tool for bloggers, small business, social groups, and families.

Version 11.4.1:

News and Updates:

• Double-clicking template pages that have no embedded user interface will now revert to opening in the embedded text editor.
• Bundled with updated Turtle 4.3.4 skin (fix for Facebook commenting).
• Updated Korean translation.

Bug fixes:...

The five major U.S. publishers that settled with the U.S. government prior to trial are objecting to the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed remedy for Apple’s e-book price fixing, The Wall Street Journal reports. In a court filing, publishers said eliminating the “agency model” for five years as…

If you liked that slideshow, check out last week's edition, Beautiful words.

Apple has applied for a patent with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (via AppleInsider) on methods for using hyperlinks embedded into audio streams that could offer content creators the capability to link to other forms of media or control a device altogether. The main concept of the patent is outlined in the abstract of the filing, and explains how audio hyperlinks could be used to allow listeners to access such content within audio:Hyperlinks within an audio stream provide a way for a listener to access linked resources. An audio hyperlink encoded in an audio stream...

PatentlyApple spotted an interesting-looking patent that could have both editorial and advertising applications in podcasts and iTunes Radio broadcasts. It’s of course written in the usual dense patent language:

Hyperlinks within an audio stream provide a way for a listener to access linked...

China Unicom has turned its focus to low-cost smartphones in an effort to win over new customers now that the carrier is no longer China's exclusive iPhone provider, and the strategy appears to be working.
  ...

A U.S. Federal Court has ruled that Bitcoins can be considered an actual currency, and as such falls under government regulation. The ruling was part of a case where a man was charged with using Bitcoins in a ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of over US$1 million.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Letting the Bitcoin economy happen outside of government control doesn't sit well with lawmakers, and Judge Mazzant's ruling is a pretty clear argument for why it should be treated like any other currency. Like it or not, governments will keep working to bring Bitcoin under their control.

Ever wondered how much technology companies spend on government lobbying? The Washington Post has a graph of just that, and it’s fascinating. Google, once reticent to lobby Washington, now spends $16 million a year — more than any other tech firm. Microsoft, despite heavy cuts to lobbying in recent years, is still a distant second to Google. Facebook, which entered the lobbying game only in 2009, has drastically increased its lobbying spending in recent years. Apple has slowly raised spending, but lags far behind at about $2 million per year, just a bit less than Amazon.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make...

Five book publishers have objected to restrictions that would be placed on Apple’s business after it was found guilty last month of conspiring to fix prices for ebooks.

A New York federal judge ruled in July that Apple conspired with the publishers to fix prices for ebooks, snuffing out competition and leading to “significantly higher prices” for consumers.

The accused publishers, including Penguin, HarperCollins and Macmillan, had all settled the charges against them with the U.S. Department of Justice, but Apple went to trial and lost. The company says it plans to appeal.

In the meantime, the DOJ proposed a set of remedies last week to prevent Apple from engaging in the same conduct again. In a...

BenQ has added another projector to its 3D-capable range of devices. The W1500 can project a 1080p-resolution 3D video measuring 84 inches in size from as little as six feet away, and is said to be the first wireless projector to have a built-in 5GHz Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI), for uncompressed 1080p video from AV sources without HDMI cables....  ...

On August 8, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a very interesting future application that involves the building of audible or inaudible audio hyperlinks into an app that could be played back on podcasts, TV shows or as an in-store sale carried over in-store speakers. It could be a message sent directly to your iPhone by a band at a concert notifying you that there's a special deal on music or promotional items because you attended their concert. The inaudible hyperlink is triggered at some point in an audible or inaudible message that's broadcasted. It's easy to see that there's a lot of potential for this type of future application.

Using Apple Maps on an iOS device, you can save businesses, picnic spots, or any other locations as bookmarks to come back to later. It's an easy way to remember where you've been and what you've done in this big ol' world. In this tip, Melissa Holt will discuss how to use this feature, and she'll even provide a screenshot of some of her bookmarked locations! Juicy! Or possibly boring! We'll let you decide!

Apple today added eight new countries to its iTunes in the Cloud for Movies service, allowing customers to re-download any movies previously purchased from the iTunes Store.

The service has been rolled out to Japan, and seven European countries: Austria, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Switzerland.

U.S. customers were first to get movies added to the iTunes in the Cloud service in March last year.

Related articles

• ...

Nokia saw an opening to attack Apple through the world's most-used camera, the itty bitty unit on the iPhone. The attack? A politely sarcastic ad on YouTube that parodies the generally excellent Apple version that -- also politely -- brags that every day, more photos are taken with the iPhone than with any other camera. While Apple won't feel the sucker punch, I've got to admit, the Nokia version was speaking to my heart. I currently pack an iPhone 5, and the 8-megapixel camera and brains represent a massive leap forward from my iPhone 4.

The founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, have launched their new video app. Revealed previously by Hurley on April Fools' Day, MixBit [Free, App Store] allows users to record between one second and 16 seconds of video on a smartphone, edit the videos, add content from others, and share the results online through social networks....  ...

Nattress Contrast is a nifty effects pack that's compatible with Final Cut Pro 7 and X, Motion, Premiere Pro and After Effects.

It contains four filters: Bleach Bypass, Detail Preserve Contrast, Hyper Contrast, and Luma & Saturation Contrast. Because some lenses naturally produce a lower contrast image due to the way light diffuses through the lens elements, adding post-production contrast effects is a great way to increase visual impact.

read more

On August 8, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new tabbed browser design and methodology, the second in the last three weeks. Apple introduces us to tabbed browsing in "array mode" and a new tab pile metaphor.

A closer examination of iOS in the Car, unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference last month, reveals both a deeper glimpse at its user interface and indicates it's actually a real product, not just a conceptual demo.  ...

MegaSeg is a complete solution for pro audio/video DJ mixing, radio automation, and music scheduling with rock-solid performance and an easy-to-use design. Mix with visual waveforms and Magic Trackpad cue and sync. Preview tracks with optional audio outputs and MIDI control. Enjoy fast access and elegant management of your iTunes library, including iTunes Match. Segue or beat-mix between songs or music videos, trigger sound effects via hot keys, note requests via color-coded request lists, cue and preview tracks via multiple sound outputs, create dynamic scheduled playlists, program automatic playlist events, and more...

• Full iTunes library and playlist integration, including iTunes Match.
• Visually sync beats in real-time with the waveform viewer.
• Use Multi-touch trackpad controls for cue-scrub, pitch shift, and click-drag sync.
• Kick back on autopilot with automatic segues.
• Change the font face, color, and size.
...

Now that it has consolidated its web-development tools under the Creative Cloud banner, Adobe today announced a number of updates that will be automatically rolled into existing software at no additional charge to subscribers. The company says the updates are part of the advantage the Creative Cloud suite gives the company, allowing it to unveil updates as soon as they are available rather than up to two years later. The changes mostly add features to the Edge family of HTML and CSS editing tools, bring integration to selected tools and other programs, and offer some third-party plug-in suppor... ...

Seiko Epson Corporation has successfully developed the world's smallest inertial measurement unit (IMU), widely used in mobile devices to detect movement. Epson will begin shipping samples of the M-V340, the first product in the new V series of IMUs, in December 2013 with mass production likely to begin some time in the second quarter of 2014. The chip is intended for smartphone and other mobile applications, is less than 10 percent the volume of its Epson-made predecessor, and takes 40 percent less power to operate at 18mA.... ...

On Wednesday afternoon, five US publishing companies told the District Court for the Southern District of New York that they objected to a recent proposal made by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to punish Apple for allegedly fixing prices on e-books. Apple was found guilty in July of conspiring to raise e-book prices, although the company says it will appeal the decision.

The five publishers—HarperCollins, Lagardere, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, and Macmillan—were all defendants along with Apple in the price-fixing case, but all five...

Newer Technology has announced the immediate availability of the NuGuard KX case for the iPad mini. The new version of the case, like its iPhone counterpart, also uses the "X-orbing" gel inside the case material for distribution of kinetic energy upon impact. the NuGuard KX allows for full operability of all function buttons and access to all of the ports on the iPad mini. NewerTech's NuGuard KX protective case for iPad mini sells for $70 and is available for immediate ordering....  ...

Industry analysts MobiLens comScore have released their three-month average (covering April through June of 2013) survey of the US smartphone market and found that again Apple is the dominant smartphone vendor, gaining almost a full percentage point to end up at 40 percent marketshare based on end-user subscribers age 13 or older. While Samsung remains far behind at 23.7 percent, its share grew two percent -- twice as fast as Apple's rate, largely on the strength of newer models of smartphone.... ...

According to a research report published by IDC today, Apple's share of the worldwide smartphone market took a slight dip during the second quarter of 2013.

IDC's press release reads in part:

The iOS decline in the second quarter aligns with the cyclicality of iPhone," says Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team. "Without a new product launch since the debut of the iPhone 5 nearly a year ago, Apple's market share was vulnerable to product launches from the competition. But with a new iPhone and revamped iOS coming out later this year, Apple is well-positioned to re-capture market share.

Specifically, IDC found that Apple's share of the worldwide smartphone market during Q2 2013 checked in at 13.2 percent, representing a slight decline from the 16.6 percent share Apple registered during the same quarter a year-ago. While Apple's share of the smartphone market declined,...

Knightmare Tower -- a fast-paced action game for iOS -- plays off some extremely worn out videogame tropes: You have your faceless knight, tons of cookie-cutter monsters, and even a story that revolves around rescuing not just one, but ten princesses. And despite this laundry list of things gaming could do without, this one is an absolute blast to play.

The kingdom is gripped with terror as the good king's ten princess daughters have been kidnapped by a demonic force. They are being held on different floors of a massive tower, and you, as a loyal servant to the king, must jump on your rocket and blast as high into the tower as you can in an attempt to bring the captives home.

On your way up you must slash your way through dozens of monsters, each of which provide a small boost to your flight. You can gain additional bonus boosts by completing combos and you'll also find items like bags of...

There's been a bit of controversy recently regarding the security of passwords saved within Google Chrome. While Google's head of browser security says it isn't a big deal, some users aren't comfortable with the level of security automatically provided by Chrome. If you're one of those people you're in luck. The good folks over at iMore have put together an overview of different ways OS X users can quickly secure their computer, even if they can't secure Chrome.

The first step is to go to your Security & Privacy settings, found in the System Preferences section of the Menu. Under the General tab click "Require password after sleep or screen saver begins."

This will require anyone who opens up your computer when you're not using...

In a court filing on Wednesday, five major U.S. book publishers objected to the penalties proposed by the Department of Justice against Apple's e-book business, saying the program would change the terms of their respective settlements with the government.  ...

Analysts at investment firm Piper Jaffray, after monitoring online auctions for Apple and Samsung smartphones, have found that the three-year-old iPhone 4 has actually gained in resale value by just over 10 percent, while the later iPhone 4S and 5 models dropped in resale value -- but nowhere near as much as Samsung's former flagships the Galaxy S III or Galaxy Note II. A similar study conducted in China looking at resale auctions there saw similar results, with the iPhone 4 gaining resale value while newer iPhones and Galaxy products dropped.... ...

Two ITC rulings against Apple have been shot down in the past few days, which is good news for the iPhone and iPad maker. The bad news is that the DOJ wants to have broad sweeping control over Apple's iTunes Store. Jeff and Bryan share their take on both, along with fitness tech and Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post.

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.

Subscribe via RSS

Daily Update for August 7, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 18:45:00 EST. Please see our...

Users of Apple's various online stores including the App Store, Mac App Store, iTunes, and iBookstore saw outages today from 11:23 AM to 1:54 PM EST. According to Apple the outages only effected "some users," but those users were were unable to download previous purchased content or restore apps from iCloud.

The company has faced a wide range of outages this year across various services for users and developers alike. As Apple and other companies begin to require more and more online connectivity from customers to use the apps, content, and services they pay for these outages will begin to impact more users ability to get what they've paid for. Thankfully these outages have been sort term, lasting only a number of hours in each case. As of this posting all services are back online except FaceTime, for which "some users" are still seeing...

Deus Ex: The Fall hit the App Store a few weeks back and instantly made headlines for an anti-piracy scheme whereby users with jailbroken iOS devices were precluded from playing the game, even if they spent the full US$6.99 to download it.

The developers were quick to respond to user outcry and promised that an impending update would soon change that.

Yesterday, Deus Ex: The Fall was in fact updated, but the bigger story here is that the game is now compatible with the iPad 2. So for all you iPad 2 toting folks who want to get some action style gaming on, have at it.

The changelog also indicates that the recent version of the game includes a major update to the game's artificial intelligence.

Lastly, bear in mind that the game is not compatible with the iPhone 4, but will work on the iPhone 4S and above, the iPad 2 and above, and the iPad Mini.

...

Image: wallsfeed.com

comScore has released their June 2013 stats for the US smartphone market showing Apple remaining at the top of the OEM list with 39.9% market share, up from 39.0% in March. The stats pertain to current US mobile subscribers rather than sales or shipments.

Samsung, at #2, grew from 21.7% to 23.7%. HTC, Motorola and LG all lost market share during the period.

While Apple remains as the #1 OEM, iOS is still #2 behind Android for operating system marketshare. Yet, iOS took market share from BlackBerry and Symbian while Android remained at the same exact 52%. iOS stands at 39.9% of smartphone subscribers.

Android and...

What's the most annoying technical glitch you've ever run into? Have you ever found yourself cursing loudly at your "favorite" Internet Service Provider? Are you tired of apps that suddenly crash for no reason after they've been working just fine for months? Today on TUAW TV Live, I will dish on the crashes, bombs and flat-out customer service screwups that make me furious. Co-host Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd is busy remaking "Joe Versus the Volcano" (don't ask...).

To join in to watch the live feed and participate in the chat, just click here or click that image you see at the top of this post. You'll join us on the AOL On Network. If you can't watch the entire show today, come back to this page within 24 hours to see the video below or visit http://tuaw.com/...

Hawaiki Color has released its plugin software for Final Cut Pro X. Created by Noise Industries, the color grading tool possesses three color wheels, and four sets of sliders that adjust the temperature, exposure, saturation and basic controls (such as hue and sharpness). Detailed parameters for a selected category are available to make minute changes, and scopes visually demonstrate colour intensity levels for accurate adjustment. Hawaiki Color is available online for $50, with a free trial available through FxFactory.... ...

The 800 pound gorilla in the room with notebook case design is the care, or lack thereof, taken in striking the right balance between portability and protection. An attempt at striking a harmonious balance is more than evident with WaterField's CitySlicker case for the MacBook Air. The CitySlicker shows just how hard it is, though, to really hit the right form factor for protecting an ultraportable, a reality we explore in our review of the accessory....  ...

Efexio is a free universal app (with many in-app purchase options) that lets you add professional visual effects to videos you shoot on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. The app comes with free dinosaur and dragon effects, and you can purchase more from within the app. The extra effects are US$1.99 each.

Efexio excels with the control of the effects. You can rotate them, change the lighting position, add haze, and even adjust the color cast to smoothy integrate the effects into your videos. The objects cast shadows, which makes them all the more realistic.

You can take a video from within the app, or use one you have already taken. Effects are easier to add if the camera is held very steady or on a tripod. Once a video is created, you can share it to YouTube, Facebook, or email it. Movies are not rendered at full resolution; you can choose 640x360 or 960x540. The Pro Version of the various effects,...

Facebook-owned Instagram has issued an important update to its iOS and Android apps, v4.1. Both apps can now upload videos from a phone's library, instead of forcing users to record new clips. Once imported, library clips can be trimmed down to the right section, with adjustable square cropping so the right part of the image appears....  ...

Great article by Horace Dediu looking at Apple and Amazon.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Amazon, Kobo and Sony are petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to permanently exempt e-readers from certain federal accessibility laws for the disabled, arguing that e-readers are barebones devices designed for a single purpose: reading text.

The petition is interesting because it argues that e-readers’ value lies in the fact that they are inherently limited devices and that any non-reading functions they include, like experimental web browsers, are “rudimentary” and not very useful. Amazon, Kobo and Sony say that if they were forced to comply with FCC regulations and make e-readers fully accessible to people with disabilities, the essential nature of the devices would change, making them more like tablets, more expensive and, overall, less useful for their express purpose.

Okay, admittedly your products suck balls, but to go against implementing accessibility is wrong.

...

Just over two weeks following the release of OS X Mavericks Developer Preview 4, Apple has seeded the 5th preview to developers via the Mac App Store Software Update tool.

Also released is OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 build 12F33. That build comes one week after the previous 10.8.5 seed. Safari 6.1 beta 5 has also been released for Mountain Lion.

The new Mavericks beta brings iBooks app. Full tour here.

If you find anything new, you can let us know...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has given Apple new life in its patent claims against Google-owned Motorola Mobility.

The court on Wednesday partially vacated a March 2012 U.S. International Trade Commission decision that Motorola did not infringe three touchscreen-related patents held by Apple. The court has ordered the USITC to reexamine its decision in two of the three patents, patent No. 7,663,607 on a multipoint touchscreen, and...

Lingering issues with Apple's Internet-based services caused its company's digital storefronts and FaceTime video chat to be unavailable for some users for hours on Wednesday.   ...

Several Apple online services encountered outages earlier today, according to the company's system status page. Between 11:23AM and 1:54PM Eastern, people may have been "unable to make purchases from the App Store, iTunes Store, Mac App Store, or iBookstore," the page states. "Users may also have been unable to download previously-purchased content, use iTunes Match, or successfully restore Apps and Music from an iCloud backup."...  ...

Having a pricey gadget stolen is never a pleasant experience, and while the victim rarely ever sees the thief's face, modern smartphones make it possible to both track and document the path your stolen device takes once it leaves your possession. As Mashable reports, one unfortunate iPhone owner had her handset yanked while vacationing in Spain, and although she hasn't been reunited with her device, she's learned an awful lot about the person who now possesses it.

His name is Hafid; he's from Dubai; and he likes standing next to cars, posing in tanktops and taking photos of his food. You see, unlike the smarter iPhone thieves out there, Hafid didn't wipe the device after stealing it, and the former owner's automatic Dropbox photo upload feature is still grabbing new snapshots and adding them to her account, painting a detailed picture of the life of the perpetrator....

The June quarter saw some changes in the battle for smartphone share, according to new numbers from research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). In that quarter, Android gained share, while Apple lost share. The biggest surprise, however, may be the sharp uptick in Windows Phone sales that saw Microsoft pass BlackBerry to take over as the #3 platform.

AppleInsider highlights a new research report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster which found that the resale value for Apple's iPhone 4 has risen since April.

Specifically, Munster and his team found that the average resale value for the iPhone on eBay increased by 10.31% over the past few month. In contrast, the resale values for both the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 both dropped a bit on the popular auction site.

Clearly, there's still a significant number of people who want the iPhone 4, which is rather remarkable given that the device is more than three years old at this point. Indeed, Tim Cook has stated on more than one occasion that Apple has been surprised by the consistent interest in the iPhone 4.

As for the drop in resale value for the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5, that can also be interpreted as a good sign. If...

Mac owners in the US have had the ability to purchase and download software from Amazon for quite some time. Now Electronista is reporting that the online retailer has opened at Mac-friendly download store in the United Kingdom.

The store offers software downloads for Mac and Windows, and implies that Amazon might be providing similar country-specific digital stores going forward. At the present time there's not exactly an avalanche of Mac-specific software in the store compared to the US store; the UK store currently has less than a hundred titles while the US store features a whopping 1,372 results.

What...

XBMC on Android has been updated to include support for Zeroconf, effectively allowing it to be used for AirPlay. The update to the media player software also includes the ability to rip CD audio directly to the music library, ripping support for WMA and AAC encoding, the option to lock settings on a profile, and new descriptions for the settings menus....  ...

9to5Toys.com exclusive:

Zagg, the company that made its name creating military grade “invisibleShield” screen protectors (and more recently some of our favorite iPad keyboards), is teaming up with 9to5Toys to offer 50% off any invisibleSHIELD for a limited time.

Through tonight, you can get 50% off invisibleSHIELD products through Zagg’s website using the discount code “9to5ZAGG″ at checkout. The deal ends at 11:59 PM MDT tonight and the code is valid for up to three items per order.

Not only does Zagg offer invisibleShield protectors for iPhone, iPad, and iPods, it also offers the incredibly tough transparent shields for MacBooks/laptops, digital cameras...

Hitting the App Store soon, Instagram just announced on their company blog that version 4.1 will bring some nice improvements and features:

A little over a month ago we launched Video on Instagram, and today we’re happy to bring you our next major app update. We’ve included a few of the most requested features and added something special as well. Here’s what you’ll find in Instagram 4.1:

Import Video from Library
Starting today you can upload videos from your phone’s media library and share those moments to Instagram regardless of when they were captured. Once you select the video clip you’d like to import, you can trim it down to the exact part you like best. We’ve also made it so that you can choose how you square-crop your clip so you can keep the action front and...

Analytics firm ForeSee's recent Mobile Satisfaction Index: Media and Entertainment Edition has a nice plum for Apple: the firm's survey of customers found that iTunes scored the highest in terms of satisfaction, beating out HBO GO, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu Plus.

As ForeSee points out, iTunes uses a "slightly different model than its streaming counterparts," actually requiring iTunes customers to download the content prior to viewing. The survey notes that this eliminates the performance issues seen with competing services, which are often plagued with error messages or playback problems, particularly when streaming on public Wi-Fi systems.

iTunes managed a satisfaction score of 80, with HBO GO and Netflix close behind at 79. The average of all of the services surveyed was 78, meaning that for the most part consumers are fairly happy with streaming media...

Google is drawing criticism from security commentators and tech media observers for what is being called a flaw in its Chrome browser that allows anyone with access to a user's computer to see all of that user's passwords.   ...

It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring exclusive TUAW Deals, a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked iOS and OS X selections.

TUAW Deals

Koala Wall Mount from Dockem [On sale for $15, down from $30]

The Koala Wall Mount from Dockem is the perfect combination of aesthetics, functionality, and affordability in a iPad wall mounting system. It attaches to the wall with Large Command adhesive strips - they have been extensively tested and will provide an exceptional hold.

Save 50% off the Koala Wall Mount from Dockem at TUAW Deals. US Only (free shipping). Available in 3 colors: black, chrome, or white.

Deals from...

You have money. You want to give that money to Apple, in exchange for digital goods at the iTunes Store. The problem: Right now, you can’t.

Apple’s System Status webpage states that “some users” may be unable to make iTunes purchases at the moment. The issues began cropping up around 11:30a.m. ET, according to the website.

Indeed, a quick Twitter search shows that a number of people are encountering issues not only making purchases, but connecting to the iTunes Store at all from iOS devices. (It's not clear if the issue also affects iTunes under Mac OS X or Windows. The Store is working normally, on all platforms, for several Macworld editors who tested it.)

Generally speaking, these are the...

Apple is planning to make key changes to AppleCare support during the next few weeks, sources say. One change is 24/7 online chat support, expected to take effect as soon as August 12th, although the sources caution that the date is merely a target and could shift. The company once tested 24/7 chat more than eight years ago, but is now thought prepared to make the service standard. The sources add that if extended chat is successful, Apple could consider 24/7 phone support as well....  ...

Update: Apple has updated its status page to reflect outages for multiple services including the App Store, Mac App Store, iBook Store, and a few iCloud services:

Many users (and Apple’s own iCloud Status Page) are reporting the inability to make purchases from the iTunes Store on both iOS and the OS X iTunes Store. Some users are also noting difficulty with downloading apps from the App Store, but Apple does not say that the App Store is officially seeing issues. However, the App Store and iTunes Store are seemingly all part of the same system, so perhaps issues from the iTunes Store could affect app downloading as well.

Update 2: Apple now says everything is back online:

Update 3: Now FaceTime is down for some.

...

Apple will soon make major changes to its AppleCare support service, including making online chat support available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, according to a report. Around-the-clock chat support could go live as soon as Aug. 12, with the online chat “likely” to support users of both…

It's Shark Week -- that time of the year when sharks take center stage on the Discovery Channel and beyond. This year's shows have been marred by the Megalodon controversy, but that doesn't mean you still can't enjoy learning about the shark species. Below you will find five shark-related apps to supplement your knowledge of the finned fish.

Discovery Kids Sharks [iPad; Category: Education; $4.99]

A fact-filled app from Discovery that teaches children about sharks. The app also includes interactive games and digital trading cards.

Expedition White Shark for iPad [iPad; Category: Education; $3.99]

Expedition White Shark allows you to receive near real time Great White...

Samsung's forthcoming smart watch accessory may be dubbed the "Galaxy Gear," based on new trademark filings by the company in its home country of South Korea, as well as in the U.S.  ...

Misfit has a different take on the wearable fitness tracking trend: Make the device look sleek and classy instead of like tech on your wrist. That's the Shine. The aluminum disk tracks your daily activity and sleep patters, much like other fitness trackers on the market, but with a very different look. Shine's body is all aluminum -- even the LED-lit face -- and fits into wristbands, necklaces, and pocket clips. It syncs with your iPhone via Bluetooth, includes a replaceable battery that lasts for about four months, can be worn swimming, and will even survive runs through the wash. Shine is priced at US$99.95 and is available at the Misfit website and Apple retail stores. Misfit also has ties of sorts to Apple: The company name is a tribute to Steve Jobs, and one of the co-founders os former Apple CEO John Sculley.

...

The Android may be outpacing the iPhone in new sales, but the Apple smartphone has better resale value, according to new data from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, as reported by "CNET" (http://tinyurl.com/ktvgfj6).

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In the coming weeks, Apple will be making significant enhancements and changes to its AppleCare support service, according to sources. Planned to go live as soon as Monday, August 12th is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week AppleCare support via online chat. Sources did warn that August 12th is a “target date” that could be pushed back.

Users who have support questions and issues at anytime of the day will now be able to have their concerns answered. Apple tested such a service over eight years ago, but next week’s scheduled rollout appears to be a major event for AppleCare that will go beyond just a pilot phase.

The 24/7 chat support will likely be applicable for both Mac and iOS Device users. As Apple’s iPad and iPhone hardware competition increases from companies such as Samsung, Apple will need  to...

According to a new report from market research company NPD DisplaySearch as related by CNET, Samsung has supplied more 9.7-inch panels for the fourth-generation iPad in recent months than any other Apple supplier, including longtime partners LG and Sharp.

Apple, in fact, has been boosting purchases of displays from Samsung since January, according to the market analyst. Apple got about 2.3 million units from Samsung in the first quarter. That figure jumped about 80 percent quarter-to-quarter to more than 4.1 million units in the second quarter, according to DisplaySearch.
The report also claims that Samsung, LG, and Japan Display will also begin supplying 7.9-inch panels for the next-generation iPad mini, although it declines to state whether the displays will be...

A newly-leaked camera module -- claimed to be for the iPhone 5S -- uses a separated LED flash, a report says. French site Nowhereelse.fr notes that the module for the iPhone 5, by contrast, keeps its LED flash attached via a ribbon cable. A module similar to the new one was seen in an earlier leak, but at the time it was believed to be associated with the upcoming low-cost iPhone....  ...

FileZilla (ported from Windows) is a fast and reliable FTP client and server with lots of useful features and an intuitive interface.

Version 3.7.2:

• Apply a fix for a security vulnerability in PuTTY as used in FileZilla to handle SFTP.

OS X 10.5 or later

Download Now

You can’t argue with a good release candidate.

Adobe on Monday announced the availability of the latest version of its prosumer photo editing software, Lightroom 5.2. The new version, a 467.2 megabyte download via MacUpdate, offers the following fixes and changes:

New features:
- A Smoothness adjustment slider has been added to the Detail Panel under Color Noise.

- Reduction. This helps...

This script opens a new Safari window if none is open, maximizes the front window if minimized, and opens a new focused tab on the left with your bookmarks, with the text caret in the address bar.

I Googled for such a script to no avail so I made it myself. Bound it to ⌘T and scope Safari in Quıcĸsıɩⅴεʀ (of course you're using Quıcĸsıɩⅴεʀ, what else?) or any other lesser hotkey application. You can still use New Tab menu item to open tabs on the right by changing the shortcut in the Keyboard Shortcuts section of System Preferences, say to ⇧⌘T.




If you open bookmarks:// you may notice a flicker when setting the focus on the first tab. It may be due to the applescript command used — if you find a better method put it in the comments.
Also, I used clicking "Open Location…" instead of setting the "AXFocused" attribute because the item hierarchy changes when in full screen mode.

...

A customer satisfaction survey of streaming video services by analytics firm ForeSee has placed Apple’s iTunes Store in first place with a score of 80, ahead of other popular video services such as HBO GO and Netflix, which both finished with a score of 79. The survey also revealed tendencies about individual usage, such as how often users make visits to premium video services and the number of minutes users spend on streaming services per visit.

iTunes is the de facto experience when consumers are using Apple’s iOS platform. The iTunes app comes pre-installed on iPhones and iPads. It is a significant market advantage that users do not have to elect to download the app. Also, it provides guidance to other content and media apps since the iTunes app’s...

Our launch video review of Infuse

FireCore has released an update for Infuse, the popular video app for iPhone and iPad. The new update boasts new features such as the ability to transfer videos to your iOS device through a web browser, fullscreen TV-out support, new sharing options, and more.

Infuse 1.3 is a free update for existing owners. New owners can get the app for $4.99...

Facebook has updated its Facebook Messenger app for iPhone. The biggest new feature is deeper Instagram integration. Now users can attach photos to messages from Instagram right within the Messenger app. Facebook bought Instagram last year for US$1 billion, and it's nice to see the company put the photo sharing service to use.

Another improvement in this update is a small paper clip icon that users can tap to share Instagram photos and emoji icons. Here's the full release notes:

What's New in Version 2.6

Now it's easier to send photos and emoji:
- Just tap the paper clip from any message
- Choose photos from Instagram and any other album on your phone

Don't forget about stickers: Tap the smiley to see what's new in the sticker store.

Apple is the single largest PC maker, according to data from Canalys, topping companies such as Lenovo, HP, and Samsung. To find the single largest PC maker, Canalys combined desktop and laptop figures with tablets and those tablets are about to start outselling other computers, and that's a big problem for Microsoft.

Apple boutique accessory maker Twelve South has taken the wraps off its new HiRise adjustable desktop stand for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. The stand is designed to work with a user's Lightning cable and is compatible with most iPhone and iPad mini cases, unlike many other docks that only work with iPhones and iPads without a case. The HiRise is able to adjust the position of the Lightning connector according to each case and a sliding stand at the rear can also be positioned for optimal support, as the video embedded below highlights.... ...

In May, popular European discount airline easyJet announced that it was testing Passbook ticketing support at six airports in Europe, with support to come from more airports if the trial was found successful. And judging by today's easyJet app update, it looks like that's the case. Now the company is offering Passbook ticketing support at a whopping 75 airports in Europe.

This is significant because easyJet is one of the most popular discount airlines. Passbook-supported apps have been slow to catch on outside of the US (and even inside the US).

But Passbook support isn't the only thing new in the latest easyJet update. Check out the other goodies and the release notes below:

What's New in Version 2.3.0
- More airports enabled for mobile boarding passes. Now live at over 75 airports across Europe
- New options to book a hotel or car - via...

Amazon has opened up its software downloads store in the United Kingdom. The new store, providing downloads for both PC and Mac, expands the original software store it launched in the United States a few years ago, and strongly suggests that the online retailer will be providing similar purchase options for software in other countries in the future....  ...

In an alleged internal design change, the camera for Apple's next-generation iPhone may have its LED flash component completely independent from the lens.   ...

Will it really happen? Will the latest version of SimCity finally make its debut for the Mac? Possibly—Electronic Arts announced through the SimCity Twitter account that the Mac version of the city simulation game will ship on August 29.

You can’t blame Mac gamers for taking the announcement with a grain of salt. When the game started shipping for the PC, Mac gamers eventually heard that the Mac version would be available in June. Then in June, the ship date was pushed to August. At this point, I’m taking a “believe it when I see it” approach.

SimCity for Mac includes the SimCity Launch Park, an area that was made available to early adopters of SimCity for PC in update 4.0.
You can...

Apple may have won the battle, but it is in danger of losing the war. The battle was last Saturday's veto by the Obama administration of the International Trade Commission's decision to ban certain Apple products that it found to have infringed Samsung's patents. As for the war, that would be Apple's long struggle to preserve its reputation for delivering startling innovation. Let me be clear about a few points first: Patents in the mobile space are a multibillion dollar asset class, and Apple would be doing a disservice to its shareholders if it did not protect its IP.

Ohanaware (www.ohanaware.com) has announced App Wrapper 2.2, an update to its development utility for Mac OS X developers. The upgrade is compatible with Xojo 2013r2 and includes a new icon editor.

App Wrapper offers a simplified approach to performing menial tasks that are required in order to distribute applications for Apple's Mac App Store and OS X Mountain Lion. It's designed to help simplify the process of code signing, sandboxing, compressing applications, generating Retina display compatible icons and more.

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InfoLogic (http://www.mathmagic.com/) has released MathMagic Personal Edition 8.6, an update of their multi-purpose mathematical equation editor for Mac OS X 10.6 or higher. The upgrade supports SVG saving, more frame types and templates, and comes with more math fonts.

MathMagic Personal is a standalone equation editor for mathematical equations and scientific symbols. It's available for US$69 (academic licenses are $49). The software is available in a fully functional trial version for up to 50 equations.

According to the "Quarterly Multi-Screen Usage Study" from NPD DisplaySearch (www.displaysearch.com), 88% of tablet PC owners and 82% of smartphone owners in 15 countries surveyed use their devices at least some of the time while they watch TV. Email, Web browsing, texting, Facebook, and weather were among the top applications accessed while watching TV.

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Popular chat app whatsapp now allows iPhone users to exchange voice messages with a push-to-talk style function. The feature is also being pushed out simultaneously on the app’s other platforms: Android, Blackberry, Nokia and Windows Phone.

We spend a lot of time at WhatsApp thinking how we can make keeping in touch easier, and we know there’s no substitute for hearing the sound of a friend or family member’s voice. So today we are introducing a new feature we are truly excited about: Voice Messages

While there are other push-to-talk apps out there, whatsapp has introduced a number of features which it says makes the functionality particularly easy to use … ...

In a market saturated with smartphones that all increasingly look the same, Apple wants its next iPhone to stand out and be difficult for cloners to duplicate.  ...

Phone cases generally follow the "pick two" maxim, with the three axes being protection, style, and cost. The NuGuard KX case by Newer Tech is no exception to this, but it does at least attempt to pick two and a half out of three. Boasting mil-spec protection, the case aims to protect the iPhone 4 series and iPhone 5 with at least a modicum of style at an affordable price point. How well does the phone protector hit (or protect!) its target? We've been living with the case for a few months now: read our review to find out how well the NuGuard KX case has handled the test of time.... ...

Apple Stores are offering some notable discounts on certain accessories this month, according to promotional material sent to us in a tip. Two of the deals started this week and a third starts on August 11th.

The first deal is 10% off of select Beats by Dre headphones and speakers. This deal ends on August 10th. The second deal ends on August 31st, and it is for $50 off of the Jawbone Big JamBox.

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Phone cases generally follow the "pick two" maxim, with the three axes being protection, style, and cost. The NuGuard KX case by Newer Tech is no exception to this, but it does attempt to pick two and a half out of three, at least. Boasting mil-spec protection, the case aims to protect the iPhone 4 series and iPhone 5 with at least a modicum of style ......   ...

A study done by customer experience research firm ForeSee has surveyed customers of mobile media and entertainment sites and found that generally, customers are more satisfied with such services than they were a year ago: the average score was 77 out of 100, compared to 67 a year ago. In the streaming TV and movies category, Apple's iTunes squeaked out a surprise win over competitors such as Netflix and HBO Go, Amazon Instant Video, Crackle and Hulu Plus. The study also found that customers were much more satisfied with home Internet service than cellular data.... ...

The iPhone -- even going back to it's original iteration -- has always been capable of visually impressive mobile games, and some of the latest titles for the iPhone 5 can rival console-quality visuals. But as any gamer will tell you, great graphics don't make a great game, and A Ride Into The Mountains is undeniable proof that a lot can be done with a comparatively small number of pixels.

The very first thing you'll notice about the game is that it looks like a cross between an early Nintendo title and something from the Atari days. There are no jaw-dropping graphics and not a single polygon to be found, but the washed-out look of the ultra-basic visuals fits the zen-minded nature of the game perfectly.

You play as Zu, a man living a solitary existence guarding a mysterious relic tucked away in the mountains. When a strange object falls out of the sky and dulls the relic's glow...

We've spoken about the convenience of drive docks in the past. If a user has any significant quantity of data to back up, optical media just won't do -- magnetic high-density media, like hard drives, are the way to go. Docks are a logical and flexible device to procure to eliminate the need for costly c ......   ...

Apple runs the App Store with an incredibly strict set of guidelines. No pornographic, explicit, crude or otherwise objectionable content is allowed. Apparently that includes satire. In keeping with the company's move this past January rejecting Endgame: Syria Apple has blocked a new game called Joyful Executions from sale in the App Store. Both games were blocked under guideline 16.1:

Apps that present excessively objectionable or crude content will be rejected.

So where did it all go wrong? Probably from its moment of conception. Developed by 8-Bit Underpants, Joyful Executions is a turn-based strategy game where the player controls commissar Kim Bok Kyong and his four-man firing squad. Racing against the clock, you must manage your ammunition supplies and modify your tactics to ensure each wave of executions go... well smoothly...

Facebook updated its Messenger iOS app today making it easier to send photos and emoji with a few new features. Facebook is deeper integrating Instagram into Messenger, allowing users to attach photos from Instagram albums (in addition to any other album on their iPhone) right in the app. Version 2.6 of the app also makes it easier to send photos and emoji with a new paper clip icon that users can tap from any message.

What’s New in Version 2.6

Now it’s easier to send photos and emoji:
- Just tap the paper clip from any message
- Choose photos from Instagram and any other album on your phone

Don’t forget about stickers: Tap the smiley to see what’s new in the...

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.

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Daily Update for August 6, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 06 Aug 2013 18:15:00 EST. Please see our...

Adventures for iPhone is a travel log (currently on sale for US$1.99 in the App Store) that syncs photos with Evernote. The idea is that you create an album, or "adventure," snapping photos along the way. The app collects meta information like location and your custom tags, then sends the lot to a notebook in Evernote.

I spent last Sunday exploring Boston and took Adventures along for the ride. My experience was mostly positive. Read on for my day of capturing Boston with Adventures for iPhone.

Last May, Evernote's Brett Kelly published an article on 52 Tiger about using Evernote as a traveler's companion. His idea was solid: by capturing photos in Evernote, you've got everything tagged, categorized, accessible and ready to share. I like...

EliSowash writes "In response to recent reports of safety concerns around third-party chargers for iDevices, Apple announced today that beginning August 16, 2013, you can trade in your third-party adapter and purchase an official Apple charger at a 'special price' — $10 USD. From their website: 'To qualify, you must turn in at least one USB power adapter and bring your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to an Apple Retail Store or participating Apple Authorized Service Provider for serial number validation. The special pricing on Apple USB power adapters is limited to one adapter for each iPhone, iPad, and iPod you own and is valid until October 18, 2013.'"

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