Apple recently introduced two-step verification for your Apple ID in certain countries, and the process is now being expanded to the rest of the world. The feature, which requires two different codes for verifying your Apple ID (if you want to be extra safe) was initially only available in the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. But Apple has now included Canada in on the feature, as well as users in Argentina, Pakistan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, and Portugal. In other words, two-step authentication is now rolling out to a more or less worldwide release.

The authentication process is still optional -- if you don't think you need it, you can still stick with just your Apple ID password as a login. The...

In case you haven't launched Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 in the past few days, there's an update for the office suite that became available on May 7.

The 14.3.4 update of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 is considered to be a "critical" update, and includes a number of fixes. Most of the fixes appear to be for Outlook for Mac and PowerPoint for Mac, although there is one issue with saving files to SkyDrive and SharePoint in Microsoft Word for Mac that has been fixed as well.

Microsoft also took the opportunity to let those who read the knowledge base article about the update know that Office for Mac 2011 is now available as a subscription offering as part of Office 365.

Owners of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 can either wait for the update to show up and annoy them when they're trying to get some work...

The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a preliminary rejection of some claims in an Apple patent, Method and apparatus for providing translucent images on a computer display, says FOSS Patents. Claims 29-30 and 33-35 have been rejected. The USPTO says that aspects of the patent were obvious or anticipated in light of another patent, Method and apparatus for displaying simulated keyboards on touch-sensitive displays, as well as prior art....  ...

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 May 10, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 May 2013 15:15:00 EST. Please see our...

Your mum might like this for Mother’s Day.

Per TmoNews, wireless carrier T-Mobile has begun highlighting Apple’s newest smartphone to push the trade-in program that it’s had running since April 12. That program allows new and existing qualified customers to trade in an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S, with the resulting trade-in value wiping out the purchase price for the iPhone 5.

The deal — good for both GSM and CDMA iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S units — requires that the device be able to power on, have no cracks in its screen, and bear no liquid damage or other physical damage.

T-Mobile will be running iPhone 5-specific advertising...

I don't have an interactive R2-D2 in my life. Welcome to my first world problems, but there is at least a first world solution: the Star Wars R2-D2 Interactive Astromech Droid. This is a roughly foot-tall robotic replica of R2-D2 that not only moves, it responds to (a limited range of) vocal commands. It will activate a light, alert you to movement, and play Princess Leia's recorded message. Oh, and it makes all those awesome R2-D2 noises that continue to delight us almost 40 years after Star Wars was released. This has been around for a while, but if you haven't seen it check it out (there are a lot of videos on YouTube). It's priced at $199, but Amazon is offering it for $175.85 to Prime members right now.

Fuckin’ magnets, how do they work?

Now that Google Glass is being widely tested and written about, reactions are all over the map -- as they should be. That's a good sign for a new technology: our inability to come to consensus on the technical and social aspects at first. But in the long term, the technology always settles out.

The Reset Print System routine in OS X performs a number of adjustments to the print service's files and configurations to restore factory default settings, but these steps can be manually performed or can even be undone, if needed.

If you’re looking for more of a challenge from casual iOS games, then our own Matt Neuburg’s apps will hit the spot.

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 long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Nancy Carroll Gravley has three great Mac tips to make our computing experiences more fun and less stressful, including some tips on using the built-in dictionary, some scrolling shortcuts, and information on how to use the 'proxy icon.'

If you want to stay heart healthy, you should exercise, eat right, not smoke, and… stay away from iPads? As Bloomberg reports, 14-year-old Gianna Chien has discovered that the 30 magnets in the iPad 2, which are used to hold the Smart Cover in place, could accidentally disable a pacemaker if the user falls asleep with the iPad on his or her chest. Apple warns of this danger on page 126 of the iPad User Guide, but how many of you read that far? Chien made the discovery while working on a science fair project, which sadly didn’t win first place. (We hope the media coverage of her project helps makes up for that!)

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...

Despite recent complaints about iOS security, it’s effective against at least one group: law enforcement. According to Declan McCullagh at CNET, police departments around the country are sufficiently stymied by iOS device encryption that they’re turning to Apple for help. They’ve flooded Apple with so many requests for assistance decrypting confiscated iPhones that Apple is putting them on a waiting list of up to 4 months. Of course, the flip side of this story is confirmation that Apple has a backdoor method of cracking iPhone encryption.

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 long comments with live links,...

Earlier this week in the MacNN forums, Mac Elite "abbaZaba" was trying to figure out why the Apple Bluetooth keyboard that they have paired with an iPad 4 will stutter the first letter when typing. After making a digital copy of a 20-year-old VHS home movie, one Fresh-Faced Recruit turned to the forums looking for any advice on ways to make the imported footage look a little less faded....  ...

This week at Apple's online store, save on refurbished iMacs starting as low as $1,099 for the 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. For $1,269, after a $230 price drop, is the refurbished 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.9GHz Intel quad-core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive....   ...

Currently, Walmart.com has the 16GB iPad mini with Wi-Fi for the rollback price of $299. That's $30 less than the MSRP and the lowest price available on this iPad brand new anywhere. In fact, it costs the same as a refurbished model from Apple's online store. The iPad mini features 16GB of storage space, Wi-Fi, an A5 chip, FaceTime camera with 1080p HD video recording, and it comes with iOS 6 pre-installed. A one-year warranty on parts and labor is included from Apple....  ...

While Microsoft has invited Apple to produce a Windows 8 iTunes app, Cupertino's response has essentially been "don't hold your breath."

Speaking to CNNMoney, Microsoft's chief financial officer Tami Reller said, "The welcome mat has been laid out [for Apple]. It's not for a lack of trying." Note that Windows 8 customers can use iTunes, but only on the desktop. That's a less-than-optimal experience, and poor Surface RT users are without iTunes altogether, as the device wont' run non-Microsoft desktop software.

As CNNMoney points out, Apple's position is understandable. With the best-selling tablet in the market, why would it rush to make Microsoft's offering more competitive?

Still, Reller believes that the Windows app store will feature all of the most popular apps from Apple's App Store by the holiday season. "That's not just our goal, but it'll be realistic to achieve that....

Bloomberg is reporting on a 14-year-old student in Colorado who found herself presenting data to the Heart Rhythm Society meeting in Denver this week. Gianna Chien's study of the effects of an iPad 2 on implanted cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) is making some waves among the medical community because it appears to demonstrate that in a statistically significant number of cases, close proximity to an iPad 2 can disable someone's ICD and potentially lead to their death.

A typical implanted defibrillator device....

Apple is inundated with so many requests from law enforcement agencies to decrypt seized iPhones that officials must endure a waiting list before their case is handled.   ...

Have a Mac equipped with Thunderbolt? Then head on over to your friendly neighborhood Mac App Store this morning, click on Updates and get yourself a nice firmware update.

Firmware update v1.2 for Thunderbolt "provides stability fixes for Thunderbolt and Target Disk Mode" and requires a machine restart. If the update hasn't made it to the Mac App Store yet, you can also download it from the Apple Support Pages.

Apple issues stability fix firmware update v1.2 for Thunderbolt originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

...

T-Mobile is continuing to tout the recent arrival of Apple's iPhone on its network, and this weekend will see the "UNcarrier" offering the iPhone 5 for no money down with a valid trade-in.  ...

Jacqui Cheng

If your smartphone is encrypted and protected by a long passcode, you're going to keep most people from being able to get at the data stored on it. However, companies like Apple and Google are being asked by law enforcement officials to bypass these protections to aid in investigations, and the frequency of requests is creating lengthy wait lists—one agent at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) was reportedly told by an Apple legal representative that the agency would need to wait at least seven weeks to have a phone unlocked.

CNET reports that the ATF agent tried for three months to find "a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency with the forensic capabilities to unlock" an iPhone as part of a drug investigation last year but came up short. At that point, he...

Windows 8 “Metro” users shouldn’t get their hopes up regarding an iTunes app on their operating system, according to a new report. “You shouldn’t expect an iTunes app on Windows 8 any time soon,” said Tami Reller of Microsoft’s Windows division. “ITunes (sic) is in high demand. The welcome mat…

ESPN wants you watching streaming video, even if they have to pick up part of the check…

Per the Wall Street Journal and AppleInsider, cable sports network ESPN has expressed interest in potentially subsidizing those data plans to allow users to stream video without worrying about overage fees.

ESPN has allegedly had discussions with at...

The International Space Station has switched laptops from Windows XP to Debian Linux in an attempt to improve reliability.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Since we’ve posted our exclusive details on what Apple and Jony Ive has in store for iOS 7, there have been a ton of great concepts popping up that take into account the company’s new “very flat” approach to redesigning the OS. The first concept, above, comes to us from Simplyzesty.com’s  art director Philip Joyce who has imagined a flat iOS including a new look for Siri and the lock screen, a customizable home screen, and redesigned icons that all take the “flat” approach to heart.

Another new concept for iOS 7 was posted today by apfelpage.de, below, that shows off a flat look for shortcuts, a new...

Well, this is kind of a new one.

Per Mac|Life and CNN Money, Microsoft has apparently been pushing Apple for a Windows 8-native edition of iTunes, which currently only runs in traditional Desktop mode on the company’s Metro-style software — and not at all on the tablet-centric Windows RT.

“You shouldn’t expect an iTunes app on Windows 8 any time soon,” laments Windows Division CFO Tami Reller. “ITunes is in high demand. The welcome mat has...

Adobe is considering doing a "photographer's bundle or photography cloud solution" to cater to one of its key markets, the company said in a blog post earlier this week. Under original plans announced on Monday, getting access to the next version of Photoshop, Photoshop CC, will normally cost at least $20 per month. People wanting the companion app Lightroom will still be able to buy a permanent license for that software, but getting access to both Photoshop and Lightroom -- as well as other apps a photographer might want -- could potentially be expensive.... ...

Like shooting videos, but hate making movies with them? Vern Seward offers up three quick movie makers for iPhone or iPad that may fit the bill in this week's Free on iTunes. Perfect Video Lite, Drop n Roll, and Takes.

Microsoft would love for Apple to bring iTunes ? one of the world's most popular software offerings ? to its Windows 8 "Metro" platform, but executives at the Redmond giant say Windows 8 users shouldn't expect a touch-friendly version of the application any time soon.  ...

With iPhone owners restricted by capped data plans on the largest U.S. carriers, cable sports network ESPN has expressed interest in potentially subsidizing those data plans to allow users to stream video without worrying about overage fees.  ...

Apple won another small victory in its ongoing patent infringement fight with Samsung on Thursday when Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal ordered Google to hand over the search terms it used when providing court ordered documents related to its Android OS code. The order came in Apple and Samsung's second patent infringement case in the United States where Google has been resisting requests for information while claiming it is an impartial third party that shouldn't be involved.

The Mac Observer Spin:
It's understandable that Google wouldn't want to reveal any more than it has to, but if the company intentionally sandbagged its searches there's a good chance we'll see Judge Grewal order a new search that compels the company to release far more than it wants to.

...

Erica Ogg breaks down what Apple means when it says it’s “sold” something – and channel inventory weighs importantly.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Don't blame Jason Cheng for the latest news that iPad Mini sales may be declining in the second quarter. Cheng is CEO of Pegatron, an Apple supplier based in Taiwan, who this week reportedly blamed declining iPad Mini sales for contributing to the company's flagging revenues. Cheng denies he made any comments about the iPad Mini or any other specific product. Pegatron assembles iPhones and iPads as well as Microsoft Surface tablets. It will soon boost its current workforce of 100,000 by 40 percent.

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In its latest report, industry research firm Canalys is reporting on what it calls "worldwide smart mobile device shipments" for the first quarter of the year -- a term that includes smartphones, notebooks and tablets. Of the 308.7 million devices that fall under one of those categories that shipping in Q1, around 60 percent were said to be Android devices, reflecting the platform's strength in smartphones -- the fastest-growing area of mobile electronics. Apple's iOS placed second again, despite a dominant presence in tablets.... ...

Addresses stability issues with using Target Disk Mode (Free, 1.22 MB)

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 long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Of the many contentious and complex legal battles Apple has had to fight, some are easier to sort out than others. In a New York courtroom on Wednesday, Judge Denise Cote -- who is also handling the complicated battle between Apple and the Department of Justice over e-book pricing -- made short work of a trademark dispute between Apple and a small-press publisher of sci-fi and horror novels. At issue was Black Towers' line of "ibooks" it obtained in the purchase of a smaller rival, and Apple's "iBooks" trademark.... ...

A U.S. district court judge on Wednesday handed down a summary pro-Apple judgement in a case involving the "iBooks" trademark, denying plaintiff Black Tower Press its request for injunctive relief and corresponding damages.  ...

At the High End 2013 conference in Munich, Germany. electronic gadget company iRiver announced the launch of the second model from the Astell & Kern line of Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) portable players, the AK120. Astell & Kern was first launched in 2012 as the high-end brand of iRiver with the first MQS portable player. The AK120 was developed for professional users and audiophiles who demand the very best sound available....  ...

Apple may have hit another snag in its alleged plan to launch an "iRadio" service in the near future, according to an unconfirmed report from London's Financial Times. The forthcoming service, should negotiations get completed, would allegedly see iTunes offering a streaming music service that leveraged its enormous statistical and purchasing information from users to serve curated songs they would be likely to enjoy from artists they have bought before or would probably like. Sony, according to sources, is still holding out.... ...

If you have a Thunderbolt-equipped Mac—lucky you!—it’s time to back up your data and set a little bit of time aside to download and run Thunderbolt Firmware Update v1.2, released by Apple on Thursday.

According to Apple, the update is a stability fix for Thunderbolt and Target Disk Mode. The update is a scant 1.2MB in size and requires OS X 10.8.3 or later.

If you have a Mac laptop, be sure to plug it in before you run the update. During the installation, your Mac will restart and the screen will go gray with a status indication bar.

Zynga has released a new game in the 'With Friends' series (which started back when the company acquired Words with Friends, a very popular Scrabble-like iOS game). Running With Friends is, as you can see above, not a fitness app, though that does sound fun. Instead, it's an endless running game, based on the Running of the Bulls, where you compete with friends to earn points and distance. The game has you running, jumping, and dodging obstacles, all while trying to earn as many points as possible.

As you might expect, the title is freemium, so it's free to download, and there are in-app purchases available if you'd like extra currency. Most of the games in the "With Friends" series have been super casual so far (mostly word games and simple social titles), so it's interesting to see that Zynga is upping the ante on the gameplay just a bit. Plus, this title is developed by Eat Sleep Play, a...

If you are experiencing problems with a menu extra and can't seem to remove it by standard means, it may have a nonstandard implementation, which will take a couple of steps to root out and uninstall.

Apple last week announced a new contest leading up to the 50 billionth downloaded app. The lucky person who downloads the 50 billionth app will receive a US$10,000 gift card redeemable on the App Store. What's more, Apple will also be awarding $500 App Store gift cards to the folks who download the first 50 apps after the 50 billion threshold has been reached.

Today, Apple boosted awareness for the contest by promoting it on their Apple.com homepage. The homepage currently features a revolving series of photos which aim to illustrate just how big the 50 billion mark is.

For instance, the photo above of the Great Wall Of China is accompanied with the tagline, "With 50 billion bricks, you could build 12 Great Walls of China."

Other photos include a snapshot of Earth, accompanied with the tagline, "With 50 billion steps, you could walk around 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.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Subscribe via RSS

Daily Update for May 9, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 09 May 2013 16:45:00 EST. Please see our...

YouTube has announced that is is opening a program for a "small group" of providers who will offer a subscription service of video content starting at $1 per month, but averaging overall just over $3 per channel. Starting today, partners such as Sesame Street, UFC, National Geographic, Jim Henson and the rest of the test channels will offer paid content with a 14-day free trial....  ...