After 13 years, long-time Mac tipster Miraz Jordan is moving on to other projects and is selling her MacTips.info Web site, complete with nearly 1,000 Mac-related tips. If you’ve been looking for a content business...

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Guided Access is a handy feature in iOS 6 that lets you lock your child into a single app by disabling the hardware buttons on a device. It prevents your child from going hog wild through your iPhone or iPad when you hand it to them for some play time. Guided Access is great until it locks up and you can't exit from this mode.

In general, iOS devices don't freeze very often, but some unknown glitch causes Guided Access to lock up occasionally. When this happens, you are stuck in the kids app and can't get back to the home screen. I've had it happen with enough frequency that I've bookmarked this handy tip from OS X Daily that shows you how to exit out of a frozen Guided Access device.

When you are stuck in Guided Access mode, you are really stuck as the typical triple tap on the home button to quit out of...

Images for an upcoming mirrorless camera from Olympus have leaked online. The shots of the PEN E-P5 camera have also been supplemented by a separate leak describing its specifications, including its 16-megapixel sensor being similar to the E-M5, and improvements made to its autofocus and five-axis stabilization....  ...

The people responsible for a new Apple ID phishing scam have compromised 110 websites, says security firm Trend Micro. All of the sites are hosted on a specific IP address, 70.86.13.17, which is registered with an ISP based in Houston, Texas. "Almost all of these sites have not been cleaned," Trend Micro remarks....  ...

Much respect.

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Seriously?

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polychord (US$9.99) is a virtual instrument for making and creating keyboard / electronic-style music on the iPad. With its easy-to-use approach and layout, polychord makes it painless to get your head around the basics and start making some really lovely sounding and creatively inspiring music. Whether you're an expert musician looking to perform live or a novice, you'll find polychord engaging and fun.

There are two main components to playing polychord: chord circles and strum keys. There are nine Chord circles, each representing a chord that is derived from the musical key you've selected. Each chord circle has seven chord inversions around it, so you can play a variant of the root chord (minor, major seventh, augmented fifth etc). This gives you 63 chords to play in total in a really straight forward and easy-to-read (and touch) structure.

Strum keys is a virtual keyboard with 13 keys or...

The Versastand from Ergotech provides a sturdy desktop stand for your iPad that provides 360 degree rotation when needed, and then folds to 1.5-in thick for portability. This one is a winner on many levels.

An annual report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has declared that Twitter and Sonic.net are the best tech companies for protecting its users from government snooping and requests from courts and law enforcement. Out of the 18 companies examined in the report, MySpace and Verizon were judged the worst, failing to score a single star in any category, while Apple, AT&T, and Yahoo managed to attain at least one star out of a possible six....  ...

It's no secret that apps on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch can track your location, but you may not realize Mac apps can do the same, too. You can, however, control which apps know where you are on both platforms, and it's easy to do.

Once again I'd like to thank Smile for sponsoring us here at TMO, and this week I get to tell you about PDFPenPro 6. You've likely previously read my stuff about PDFPen, and PDFPenPro builds on that with a few key features, including document permission settings and a new automatic form field creation tool.

Update: Talking to AllThingsD, T-Mobile CEO John Legere says an iPhone on MetroPCS is a possibility but “not imminent.”

“The answer to that is not ‘No,’” Legere said, but added, “It’s not imminent; I think that’s safe to say.” “It’s also something that involves Apple…. we’ve started those dialogues with our partners.”

We already knew that both company’s boards had approved the merger of T-mobile USA and MetroPCS, but today the No. 4 and No. 5 U.S. carriers have officially announced the merger is now complete. Starting today the two companies will become one and begin trading under the ticker “TMUS” on the New York Stock Exchange:...

Gear4, the U.K.-based brand behind Apple accessories such as AlarmDock Halo 2 and Renew SleepClock, has gone bankrupt and cut most of its U.K. workforce, but has effectively been re-formed as a new entity in Hong Kong. Disruptive Hong Kong bought the rights of all designs, brands, and…

Amazon announced today that it is updating its Kindle mobile apps, starting with an update to the Kindle iOS app,to include new accessibility features for the blind and visually impaired. The updated app now includes VoiceOver support and new accessibility features, the addition of the Hiragino Mincho ProN (Serif) font selection for Japan, and an enhancement to the app’s ‘Before you go’ feature that now offers “the ability to download a free sample and email yourself a reminder about recommended books.”

A full list of new accessibility features available in today’s...

Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile announced on Wednesday the completion of T-Mobile USA's merger with MetroPCS Communications, creating an entity with roughly 43 million subscribers across the United States and making Apple's iPhone available to an additional 9 million customers.  ...

It’s available now for download.

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Sources for Bloomberg are backing claims that lead Apple designer Jonathan Ive is engaging in a major design overhaul for iOS 7. As has been reported previously, the sources say that Ive is avoiding the skeuomorphism favored by former iOS head Scott Forstall, for example ditching the shelving metaphor used by Newsstand. He is also allegedly pursuing "dramatic changes" to the Mail and Calendar apps, though what that means is unclear....  ...

A “sweeping software overhaul” of iOS leaves Apple at risk of delaying the operating system’s release, according to a new report. While Apple expects to release iOS 7 “on time as soon as September,” “engineers are racing to finish” the software in time for a preview at next month’s WWDC,…

Apple's Jonathan Ive is reworking so much in iOS for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch that he has apparently been pulling resources from the OS X team to keep development on track. Sources claim he's been stripping the skeuomorphic design elements from iOS in favor of a flatter interface look, and is looking at some app changes big enough that they may not be ready in time to ship with the release of iOS 7 later this year.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Mr. Ive doesn't like the skeuomorphic look that Scott Forstall loved. Even if the look isn't completely stripped from iOS 7, we're still expecting to see major changes.

...

“I’ve got a great idea for an app!”

That’s probably a sentiment most of us have uttered at some point over the last few years. But relatively few of us probably have any idea how to turn said concept into an actual app. Martian Craft’s Briefs aims to change that by providing a you with the tools you need to prototype your app, taking your idea from “under construction” to “that thing’s operational!”

Keep in mind Briefs isn’t actually for programming apps—it’s not a replacement for Apple’s Xcode. In my admittedly short time using it, the software it most reminded me of was actually Keynote: You arrange elements to mock up an iPhone app (or iPad app), deciding what screens you’ll need, how you get back and forth between those screens, and even what your app will look like on different iOS devices.

An overview lets you visualize how the various screens in your app will be connected.

Each app prototype...

John Moltz:

At the risk of sounding like your prototypical hipster, today’s rumors just aren’t as good as they used to be. The devices that we hear whispers about now — a smartwatch, a television, a cheaper iPhone—seem lackluster compared to the rumored products of days past—products that, when they actually appeared, changed entire industries.

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Instacast for iOS is a hugely popular podcast catcher for podcast fans, but aside from iTunes, there hasn’t been much activity in this space on the desktop.

Last year, Vemedio, maker of Instacast, launched version 3.0 of their iOS podcast client, which moved from using iCloud sync to their own more reliable solution.

Today, Vemedio released its first public beta of Instacast for Mac for free, but I’m sure we can expect Vemedio to be a paid app when it launches.

Download the beta here.

Instacast for Mac public...

IBM’s made a short stop-motion animation to demonstrate its ability to move individual atoms.

...

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be the featured speaker on the first night of AllThingsD's D11 conference on May 28 in San Francisco. This marks the second year Mr. Cook will be interviewed during the event, and last year he offered frank answers when asked about Apple philosphies and plans.

On 30 April 1993, the organization behind the creation of the Web, CERN, officially put the World Wide Web project software — line-mode client, basic server, and common code library — into the public domain. And thus was history written by Tim Berners-Lee, with significant help by Robert Cailliau. You can now read more of that history, and see both the first Web site and the original legal documents, at the site that CERN has put up to celebrate this momentous anniversary. (Adam here. Little did I know, when I met Cailliau at the Hypertext ’93 conference in Seattle, exactly with whom I was having lunch and helping with directions to where he could shop for his teenage daughter. I was somewhat embarrassed, since I hadn’t said complimentary things about his MacWWW browser in my “Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh” book, given that the software was primitive and very buggy, but he was nonetheless very kind.)

Read the full...

Click to view slideshow.

Now that Google has incorporated its Google Now service into the iOS Google app, the company has posted a few tips for making the most from it.

Tip 2 is particularly worthwhile, as it draws attention to a second set of settings at the very bottom of the screens (or ‘cards’) which are otherwise easily missed. These are the settings that control the personalised info Google Now delivers …

//

...

Under the control of lead designer Jony Ive, iOS 7 will reportedly see a significant overhaul that is expected to bring about new looks for the native Calendar and Mail applications for iPhone and iPad.  ...

T-Mobile customers who download the official Major League Baseball app At Bat 13 before June 30th will get free streaming access to the MLB.TV Game of the Day, as well as live & away radio broadcasts and highlights from home & away games around the league …

//

The deal is part of a multi-year partnership between T-Mobile and Major League Baseball.

The deadline applies only to downloading the app: once you have it, you retain your access for the entire season – a deal worth $19.99. The full terms and conditions are below – the most notable one of which is that you have to download the app while connected to the T-Mobile mobile data network, as that...

The first stage of Apple’s plan to spend $100 billion in share buy-backs and increased dividends was completed yesterday as Apple sold $17 billion’s worth of corporate bonds – the world’s largest corporate debt sale.

Although Apple has a cash balance of $145b, much of this money is held in overseas subsidiaries, and Apple would have to pay tax on it to bring it back to the USA. It is cheaper for it to borrow the money instead …

//

Unsurprisingly, demand was high, with the Financial Times reporting that demand for the bond reached $52b.

“Investors...

The Uncovermac line of products was created after this company's Amsterdam-based masterminds realized that the MacBook’s screen has a whole light panel behind it. They started designing the Uncovers, each of which offers glowing pieces of art—from flames to radioactivity symbols and more—to replace the Apple logo on your laptop. Prices start at €249, or around $325 in U.S. dollars. (Hat tip to Engadget.)

Michael Copeland, two weeks ago writing for Wired:

Marc Andreessen has a thought exercise for you.

Let’s say we all grew up in tech world where we only used
tablets and smartphones. Then one day, someone comes up to you
with a 27-inch display hooked up to a notebook. You could have
everything you have on your tablets and smartphones, and then
some. Except you don’t have to download anything or update it.
Everything is the latest and greatest, and just one click away. If
you are a software developer, there are no gatekeepers telling you
if your latest creation is approved, or when you can add the
latest flourish.

“We would be like, wow, that’s great,” Andreessen says from
his office at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. “It’s
why in the long run the mobile web is going to dominate native
...

Q:

You recently mentioned the HTC One as being priced at $200. I’ve just been on the phone with my carrier T-Mobile, which offers me the HTC One for $100 down and $20 a month for 24 months. They explain they “no longer offer discounted phones” under their new world order or whatever. Can you explain?

A:

In the U.S., carriers traditionally subsidize the price of mobile phones and then make back the money by requiring buyers to sign a two-year contract, so they don’t defect before the carrier has made back the subsidy from them. Under this formula, the HTC One is indeed $200 at AT&T.

But T-Mobile recently announced a new approach under which it won’t subsidize the phones, but will charge something close to what the phone maker charges it, spread out in monthly payments. In return, it won’t require a two-year service contract. In the case of the HTC One and some other high-end...

[ See post to watch video ]

Welcome to my spring laptop buyer’s guide. It should be an easy time for laptop buyers, now that we’re six months past the introduction of Microsoft’s redesigned Windows 8 operating system and laptop makers have had time to get into a new groove. Alas, I’m sorry to report, it’s still pretty confusing and frustrating to buy a new laptop, and it might be best, if you can, to wait until the fall.

After the big buildup in October around Windows 8, laptop makers stumbled. They continued to offer mostly nontouchscreen models, though the new Windows was designed for touch. And the touchscreen models they built were clustered around $1,000, far more than consumers are used to paying for Windows laptops. Plus, Windows 8 itself proved confusing, because it combines two interfaces — the tabletlike “Start Screen” and the traditional Windows desktop.

Two touchscreen models: The Acer Aspire S7, top, and an Asus S200 series model, middle. Bottom,...

This is cool.

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GDC is the Game Developers' Conference that happens every year up in San Francisco, and the company also hosts a number of other GDC events all over the world. Usually, they do GDC Online in Austin, TX every fall, but that conference has recently been changed into two different conferences, both of which are set to take place later this year in Los Angeles. One half of the conference will be called GDC Next, and will focus on the future of gaming development, featuring things like the new Ouya console, cloud gaming, and next generation platforms. And the other half is now called the App Developers' Conference, and will focus on not just game development, but mobile app development as well.

Both shows are being held in Los Angeles on November 5-7, 2013, and both shows are now open for submissions for panels and talks. ADC is obviously looking for app makers who...

Some day, when people ask Apple why it offered up a multi-billion dollar bond, it’ll tell people it was young and needed the money. Of course, if you believe one competitor’s CEO, that’s because Cupertino’s tablet business is going belly up sooner rather than later. And it’s time for the latest edition of “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Sponsored Tweeting!” The remainders for Tuesday, April 30, 2013 have a nasty habit of surviving.

Apple wows market with record $17 billion bond deal (Reuters)

Apple’s making the largest non-bank bond deal in history, putting up $17 billion for sale in order to fuel its ambitious share repurchase...

Outside the United States, Passbook-supported apps are a rarity. That's why it's especially exciting that uber-popular European discount airline easyJet has just added Passbook support to their iPhone app.

The move comes days after easyJet announced that it is eliminating check-in desks at airports. Now all easyJet passengers will be required to print or download their boarding passes before they leave home.

But that shouldn't be much of a hassle for iPhone owners. With version 2.0 of the free easyJet mobile app, fliers can download and store boarding passes in their Passbook. Currently easyJet is trialing mobile check-in and boarding passes at six airports: Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nice, Southend and...

Let's offer a salute to clever game developers, especially Patrick and Daniel Klug, the cofounders of GreenheartGames. When they released Game Developer Tycoon for Mac, Windows, and Linux, they decided to put a cracked version of the game for pirates to steal on bittorrent, but they did so with a twist: players playing the cracked version of the game will find that piracy drives them bankrupt.

Jack Lumber is an excellent game that arrived on iOS last year. It's reminiscient of Fruit Ninja, in that you drag your finger around the screen to chop through wood, though I think it's an improvement on Halfbrick's formula -- it's got a more complex meta game, and the mechanic is a little deeper as well (the action slows down when your finger touches the screen, allowing for different types of cuts and slashes). Jack Lumber is still available on iOS, but just in case you'd rather use a mouse than your finger, the game has just arrived on Steam as well.

The Steam version will work on your Mac, or on PC or Linux as well, and it's SteamPlay-enabled, so if you buy for one platform you own them all. Currently, the game is on sale for just $5.02, and...

Shares of Apple Inc. continued their rally on Tuesday, rising more than 2.9 percent, helped in part by news the company successfully completed a US$17 billion bond sale. Apple plans to use the money to finance a larger dividend for shareholders and an aggressive stock buyback plan.

It has been busy in the App Store with a handful of new apps like FocusTwist, Circles and Delicious Scanner landing on iOS and OS X. Take a few minutes and check out our list of other standout apps from the past few weeks!

iOS Apps

iLuv Drawing Vehicles HD [iPad; Category: Education; $1.99] Perfect way to introduce drawing skills to kids who love cars, trucks, planes and trains!

My Agenda [iPhone; Category: Productivity; $0.99] An...

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 April 30, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:15:00 EST. Please see our...

I'm usually very good about turning around reviews; usually within a week or two of receiving a review device or accessory I've had a chance to try it out, take photos, and write it up. But there are two things that have been sitting in my office unopened for a few months, and I finally decided to get going on them. One item is a Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 that I'll be writing up shortly now that the weather in Colorado is cooperating (except for the winter storm hitting tomorrow...), but today's focus is on what's in the big box in the corner of my office -- the Behringer iNuke Boom Junior iPod/iPhone speaker dock.

Sometimes procrastination is a good thing. I found out pretty quickly while starting to do research for this review that Behringer is no longer making this speaker dock, which was designed to be an affordable mini version of the 10,000-watt, 700 pound, US$30,000...

Other World Computing announced today the OWC Envoy Pro EX ultra-portable Solid State Drive solution. Clad in anodized aluminum to match modern Macs and PCs, the Envoy Pro EX fits easily into a coat pocket, backpack, or briefcase for rugged mobile high-performance storage or backup capacity....   ...

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be interviewed on opening-night of AllThingsD‘s D11 conference in May. Cook’s interview with Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg will be his second as the Apple CEO spoke at the conference last year as well. The conference runs in California from May 28th until May 30th. (Image via ATD).

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I am living goddamn proof of this people.

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The popular Nest Thermostat has updated its internal software to version 3.5, and pushed out a new iOS app to control it. Most people should have had their thermostats updated automatically at some point yesterday. The software is being billed as summer enhancements to the thermostat aimed at better handling of high temperatures.

Gallery: Nest updates iOS app

The new software allows the thermostat to make sure that sun shining on the hardware does not create false indoor temperature readings. The thermostat also has enhanced fan controls. The auto-...