Apple has released iOS 7.1, which adds, among other things, support for CarPlay, an automobile-oriented interface gives iDevice users a way to make calls, use Maps, listen to music and access messages with just a word or a touch.
You can also now control how long Siri listens to you. There are also improvements to Touch ID fingerprint recognition, bug fixes, and more.
To download the update, go to Settings on your iDevice. Select General and tap Software Update.
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shinywhitebox says iShowU Studio 1.0 for OS X has been scheduled for release late this month. The screen casting solution is designed to provide easy post-recording editing and publishing of captured footage.
Aimed at the consumer and beginner prosumer market, iShowU Studio shares several of the same features of the popular iShowU HD and iShowU Pro, including ease-of-use, camera capture, keyboard/mouse compositing, and upload services, according to the folks at shinywhitebox. It also includes a color correction pipeline from import through to export, hardware accelerated H264 recording for Mavericks and other tools.
iShowU Studio will be available in late March for $89.95 and work with Mac OS X 10.9 or higher. Go to http://tinyurl.com/lozmqsh for more info.
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ToThePoint Software has announced GlucoAide, an application built especially for Mac users with diabetics. With GlucoAide, you can track your meter readings in either mmol/L or mg/dL.
Data entry has been designed to be quick and easy. Results can be graphed by separate test time intervals and as a daily average over any span of days. Because GlucoAide isn't restricted to any proprietary brand of meter it can be used regardless of the type of meter you have.
Results can be graphed by separate test time intervals and as a daily average over any span of days. Users can select which days to graph and print the results out to share with health professionals. Data can be also be printed in table form for sharing with health professionals. In addition data can be saved in PDF format.
The program allows people with diabetes to keep food and exercise logs along with a journal. GlucoAide can store links to diabetes related resources such as websites, documents, folders...
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TRENDnet has released the AC1900 Dual Band Wireless Router, model TEW-818DRU. Powered by a 1GHz processor, radio amplifiers for extended wireless coverage, and Gigabit Wireless AC networking speeds, it's designed to "provide the optimum wireless experience in a busy connected home," according to the folks at TRENDnet.
The TEW-818DRU creates two wireless networks: an "ultimate performance" 1.3 Gigabits per second (Gbps) Wireless AC network, to connect all Wireless AC devices over the fastest wireless speeds available, and an "extreme performance" 600 Megabits per second (Mbps) Wireless N band, to connect everyday wireless devices such as tablets, smart phones, and computers.
Beamforming technology directs the highest wireless signal strength to each user's specific location. On the wired side, the router features all Gigabit Ethernet ports. It also offers one USB 2.0 port and a 5Gbps USB 3.0 port, to network high performance USB 3.0 storage devices and other...
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Maintain has served up Cocktail 7.2.1 (Mavericks Edition), the latest maintenance update for users running OS X Mavericks.
Cocktail is a general purpose utility for OS X that lets users clean, repair and optimize their Macs. Cocktail's features are arranged into five categories that helps you manage various aspects of your computer. This version contains improvements on the "Delete localization files" procedure and adds Notification Center integration as well as OS X 10.9.2 compatibility.
Cocktail 7.2.1 (Mavericks Edition) requires OS X Mavericks 10.9 to run. Cocktail (Mountain Lion Edition) for OS X 10.8, Cocktail (Lion Edition) for OS X 10.7 and Cocktail (Snow Leopard Edition) for OS X 10.6 are available for download from Maintain website (http://www.maintain.se). Cocktail costs US $19 for a single user license.
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Apple awarded top executive leadership nearly 36,000 restricted stock units each, which at current prices would net over US$19 million, per U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, as noted by "AppleInsider" (http://tinyurl.com/l8hb9py).
In the identical filings, six Apple executives were awarded 35,780 RSUs each, the bulk of which are scheduled to vest in three intervals through 2018. As it has in the past, the company is likely issuing the restricted units as an incentive to keep production levels high, notes "AppleInsider."
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An investigative report says Apple successfully avoided taxes on profits of $8 billion in Australia, reports the "Australian Financial Review" — as noted by "AppleInsider" (http://tinyurl.com/k5mwexv).
According to the report, Apple Sales International, the Irish-based entity in charge of Apple's international tax dealings, has never filed financial returns with the Companies Registrations Office in Dublin. However, the company reported over $100 billion in profit over the last five years while paying less than 50 cents in tax on every $1,000 of income.
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iFunia Studio has released Photo Slideshow 2.2.0, an update of the Mac tool for combining digital pictures, and music into home movies and DVD slideshows complete with captions and transitional effects, and sharing via YouTube, on mobile devices, or on the big screen with a DVD. New features in this version include better support for loading iPhoto resources, totally redesigned App icon, and enhanced program stability.
The output video/DVD slideshow can be shared on TV, YouTube, Facebook, iPhone, iPad, etc. Also intelligent management of Timeline and Storyboard is applied in Photo Slideshow for Mac, which makes it easier for consumers to edit and control slideshow time, according to Derek Lee, product manager of iFunia Studio.
Photo Slideshow for Mac is available now through the iFunia website. The retail price of iFunia Photo Slideshow for Mac is $39.95. To get more information or to obtain a free trial version, go to...
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Intego, a provider of security products and performance utilities built exclusively for Mac users, has released version 10.8.2 of Washing Machine 2014 for Mac OS X. The new release has been updated to improve scan speed by ignoring Time Machine backups. It also includes an enhanced scanning user interface.
Washing Machine 2014 seeks out and removes large, unneeded files, frees up hard disk space, speeds up the operating system, organizes the dock and desktop, and lets users create Smart Folders for quick access to frequently used files.
The software is compatible with OS X 10.6 or higher including Mavericks. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for Washing Machine 2014 starts at US$29.99. For more info go to www.macwashingmachine.com .
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IGG Software has released iBank 5.1, an upgrade to its money management program for Mac OS X 10.8 or higher. The app provides improved bank connectivity, enhanced reports, better bill pay, and superior transaction management among scores of new features and fixes.
iBank 5.1 is available from the IGG online store (www.iggsoftware.com) for US$59.99 for new users. It's a free upgrade for users of version 5.0.
For optional, automatic updating of transactions, users of iBank 5.1 have the opportunity to try Direct Access for free during a 30-day trial.
Maintaining the service costs as little as 11 cents a day: just $4.99 per month, or $39.99 for an annual subscription. That data can be synced with iBank for iPad 2 directly from the desktop app over local Wi-Fi or via WebDAV server.
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Miraizon has released DNxHD and ProRes Codec components for QuickTime. The DNxHD (VC-3) and ProRes codecs have both enjoyed increasing popularity among video editors.
Unfortunately, support for the two codecs is uneven across computer platorms and editing systems, making it often difficult for editors to collaborate and exchange files. This patchy support situation also poses problems for archiving projects if an organization decides to switch editing platforms or computer systems.
With Miraizon's DNxHD and ProRes compatible codec components, video editors can select the best codec for the job while maintaining their preferred editing system and computer platform. The Miraizon components offer identical functionality and identical compression and decompression capabilities for both Mac and Windows users.
Because QuickTime components are system resources, those same capabilities become available to all installed QuickTime-compatible applications. More info and...
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"Early bird" registration is now open for the 2014 MacAdmins Conference. It's an East Coast conference for anyone who deploys and manages Macs and iOS devices.
Early bird registration pricing is the same as last year. It's US$400 for the conference only (July 9-11) or $550 for the conference and a pre-conference workshop (July 8-11).
This year's conference will be home to over 50 sessions on Mac and iOS administration topics, five new pre-conference workshops, and three evening events. The workshops will cover: "D&D - Deployment and Delivery," "iOS and Mobile Device Management," "More Shell Scripting than Necessary," "Python and Git for System Admins," and "Mac Admin Fundamentals."
The MacAdmins Conference is held at Pennsylvania State University. Go to www.myharmony.com/smartkeyboard for more info. Go to...
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Contour Design has introduced the RollerMouse, which uses the company’s proprietary 7SENSES tracking technology and a Phillips twin-eye laser sensor inside the polished aluminum rollerbar to provide "a perfect internal environment to interpret cursor movement."
The rollerbar glides effortlessly and precisely over a frictionless bearing surface with pinpoint accuracy, according to the folks at Contour Designs. For users whose jobs demand a great deal of repetitive scrolling, the integral center button offers an automatic scrolling feature that makes scrolling less tedious and more accurate, they add.
Additionally, all controls are centrally located including the single click buttons for copy and paste. The RollerMouse is available in a variety of models. Go to www.rollermouse.com for more info.
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Retrospect has announced new versions of Retrospect Backup & Recovery Software for Mac OS X. Retrospect 11 includes block level incremental backup technology for smaller, faster backups, a new high-level dashboard, and detailed email reporting.
Retrospect 11 for Mac is available immediately from Retrospect resellers or www.retrospect.com as an electronic download. Boxed product will be available from resellers at the end of March. Retrospect is available in six languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.
Pricing for Retrospect ranges from US$119 for Retrospect Desktop, which protect a single non-server computer and up to five additional networked computers, up to $2,199 for Retrospect Multi Server, which protects as many Mac, Windows, and Linux servers and PCs as your bandwidth and storage capacity will allow.
Upgrades range from $69 to $1,299. Individuals and...
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Nuance Communications has announced Dragon Dictate for Mac, version 4. It's an update of the personalized voice recognition software. The upgrade has improved accuracy with new and improved speech recognition technology, and now features the ability to transcribe text from any single speaker’s pre-recorded audio file, combining both voice recognition and transcription offerings into one powerful product.
As a pure 64-bit application, Dragon Dictate for Mac, version 4, now enables higher performance and improved memory management capabilities over previous versions, says Peter Mahoney, chief marketing officer, Nuance. In addition, Dragon Dictate for Mac lets you control your Gmail inbox within the Safari or Firefox browser with a few simple voice commands.
Dragon Dictate provides Full Text Control in Gmail, so you can mix your talking and typing and still be able to edit, correct and format your text using voice commands. The software also supports Full Text...
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Smith Micro Software's Productivity and Graphics Group has released Anime Studio Pro 10 and Anime Studio Debut 10, an update of the animation software that allows artists of all ages and skill levels to craft 2D animations
To celebrate the 10th edition of Anime Studio, Smith Micro has teamed up with Wacom Technology, makers of digital interface solutions, for a giveaway with no purchase necessary. From March 4 to April 4, users can enter for the chance to win a Wacom Cintiq Companion grand prize or a Intuos Pro Medium or Intuos Medium tablet for second and third place prizes. As well, award-winning animator Victor Paredes has created an exclusive animation clip with Anime Studio 10, highlighting the various ways users can utilize preloaded content available immediately in the software.
The latest version features include rigging options to help set up more complex characters, says Fahim Niaz, senior product manager for Smith Micro Software. The independent angle...
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Bensoftware has announced SecuritySpy 3.3, an update to the multi-camera video surveillance software for the Mac.
SecuritySpy sports features such as motion detection, real-time compression of multiple camera feeds, and network video and audio streaming. New features in this version include support for BlackMagic video hardware, the latest Apple FaceTime cameras, and several new network cameras.
Pricing depends on the number of cameras used with the unlimited camera version costing US$1,100. SecuritySpy requires OS X 10.5 or higher. A 30-day fully-featured trial of SecuritySpy is available at the Bensoftware web site (http://www.bensoftware.com/).
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Apple has announced that Peter Oppenheimer (pictured), Apple’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, will retire at the end of September. Luca Maestri, Apple’s vice president of finance and corporate controller, will succeed him as CFO reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Oppenheimer will transition the CFO role to Maestri in June and the balance of his responsibilities over the remaining time.
"Peter has served as our CFO for the past decade as Apple’s annual revenue grew from $8 billion to $171 billion and our global footprint expanded dramatically. His guidance, leadership and expertise have been instrumental to Apple’s success, not only as our CFO but also in many areas beyond finance, as he frequently took on additional activities to assist across the company. His contributions and integrity as our CFO create a new benchmark for public company CFOs," said Cook in a press release. "Peter is also a dear friend I always knew I could count on. Although I am sad to see...
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EDGE Memory has released the diskGO Sonic USB 3.0 flash drive as part of their new portable SSD line. It's powered by a SandForce SSD controller and is available in 60GB, 120GB and 240GB versions. A 480GB version is in the works.
The diskGO Sonic is equipped with USB 3.0 and is encased in aluminum. ach drive is covered by a two-year warranty and is Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux compatible.
Pricing starts at US$72. Go to www.edgememory.com for more info.
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Software and Computer System Company has rolled out Scannerz Version 1.7 for Mac OS X. The tool employs hard drive analysis algorithms to repair and maintain your hard drives.
Version 1.7 includes a Diagnostics Mode, which can automatically detect and analyze drive and system problems. It can catch data corruption caused by bad cables and faulty interface circuitry, catch system bus and memory problems and more.
The update is free for all registered users of Scannerz. For new users the cost is US$49.95. Go to http://www.scsc-online.com for more info.
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Organizations wishing to unlock the full potential of mobility must master a wide range of technologies and skills, many of which are unfamiliar to IT staff, according to Nick Jones, vice president and distinguished analyst at the Gartner research group (www.gartner.com). He lists the top 10 mobile technologies and capabilities that organizations must master in 2015 and 2016. as follows:
° Most organizations will need application development tools to support a "3 x 3" future — three key platforms (Android, iOS and Windows) and three application architectures (native, hybrid and mobile Web). Tool selection will be a complex balancing act, trading off many technical and nontechnical issues (such as productivity versus vendor stability), and most large organizations will need a portfolio of several tools to deliver to the architectures and platforms they require.
° HTML5 won't be a simple panacea for mobile...
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Emerging IC applications, outside of the traditional card form-factors are set to make up an increasing proportion of the secure IC market landscape, accounting for 11% of total shipments in 2013, increasing to 24% in 2018, says ABI Research (http://www.abiresearch.com).
The primary use cases for ICs outside of card based applications include authentication ICs for anti-counterfeiting and brand protection, use within luxury goods, ICT, CE devices and accessories, pharmaceutical and IT consumables, covering products and components, embedded secure elements for NFC enabled devices and TPMs. Combined it is these emerging applications which will present annual IC revenues in excess of US$2.9 billion in 2018, according to ABI Research.
The threat from counterfeit goods is on the increase and IC technology is seen as a hardware solution to guarantee product/component authenticity, protecting brands...
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Jon Peddie Research (JPR), a research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, has announced estimated graphics chip shipments and suppliers’ market share for 2013 4Q. The quarter was the second quarter in a row to show a gain in shipments, up 1.6% quarter-to-quarter, and up 2% compared to the same quarter last year.
AMD’s overall unit shipments decreased 10.4%, quarter-to-quarter, Intel’s total shipments increased 5.1% from last quarter, and Nvidia’s increased 3.4%. The attach rate of GPUs to PCs [personal computers] for the quarter was 137% and 34% of PCs had discrete GPUs that means 66% of the PCs are using embedded graphics. The overall PC market increased 1.8% quarter-to-quarter, but declined 8.5% year-to-year.
The popularity of tablets and the persistent economic slowness are the most often mentioned reasons for the decline in the PC market, according to JPR (www.jonpeddie.com). The one...
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In recent years, streaming music services have shown that there is a market for personalized radio and on-demand subscription based services, listening via PCs and laptops and particularly via smartphones. Now these companies are turning their attention to the car and are seeking ways to offer their services to motorists, moving into territory the traditional radio stations have held sacred for decades.
"FM broadcasting still dominates in-car listening today, but it is likely that this will gradually diminish in favor of streamed radio and music services as an increasing number of cars become connected," says Gareth Owen, principal analyst at ABI Research (http://www.abiresearch.com). "This trend is already happening in some markets such as the United States. "It is now clear that digital radio via DAB/DAB+ and HD Radio is unlikely to ever become as widespread as FM on a global or even regional basis...
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Approximately 60% of smartphone and tablet users watch 1-5 hours of TV/video on these mobile platforms each week, which will help drive in-app advertising revenues on these platforms to over US$5.6 billion by 2017, according to the Parks Associates research group (http://www.parksassociates.com).
"While industry stakeholders have access to vast amounts of user data, cross-platform audience measurement remains complex, varied, and undefined," Senior Research Analyst Heather Way says."There is no scalable, cross-platform audience metric standard in place to determine how traditional and online video complements or overlaps one another from a usage and advertising perspective. A true cross-platform video measurement approach is essential to quantify unduplicated reach across broadcast and cable TV, the Internet, and mobile apps and web properties. Industry demand will only grow stronger as more...
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By Rick Sutcliffe
Being insanely proprietary can be both a strength and/or a weakness. On the negative side of the ledger, HP, Xerox, and IBM, by not being more particular about their in-house inventions and IP, all lost opportunities to dominate the personal computing market.
Oh, yes, IBM did for a while, but because the software was controlled by Microsoft, and wasn't exclusive, clones eventually turned their boxes into commodities, and they exited the market rather than compete on a consumer level — much to the Spy's surprise and chagrin, for he believes it was and remains a mistake. It wasn't a bad as Canadian Pacific exiting the telecommunications business in favour of Rogers, but of the same nature — abandoning participation in technological future megabucks for a handful of present-day dollars.
Yes, and one can scarcely count the number of technology companies that fell by the wayside due to complacency, failure of vision, lack of...
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ABI Research (http://www.abiresearch.com) has forecast that over 34 billion tickets will be delivered to mobile devices over the next five years. The combined number takes into consideration the multiple technologies used to present a mobile ticket at time of authentication, including QR codes, NFC, SMS, mobile wallets, Bluetooth Smart, and dedicated apps.
In terms of the tickets delivered over the 2014 to 2019 time frame, QR codes are forecast to make up 48% of all tickets delivered, NFC with 30% and SMS and others making up the remaining 22%, according to the research group. Although NFC is the technology forecast to have the fastest growth with a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] in excess of 100% over the same time frame, it is QR codes which are forecast to account for the majority of mobile tickets delivered having had a substantial head start in the market.
QR mobile ticketing has...
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According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics (http://www.strategyanalytics.com), global smart watch shipments reached a record two million units in 2013. Android captured 61% share of all smart watches shipped worldwide and it is commanding an early lead over rivals, according to the research group.
"Global smart watch shipments reached a record 1.9 million units in 2013," Matt Wilkins, director at Strategy Analytics, says. "It is very early days, of course, but the smart watch market is starting to take shape. We estimate less than 1% of all smartphones shipped worldwide were bundled with smart watches in 2013, so there remains huge scope for smart watch growth in the future."
Woody Oh, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, adds: "Android currently has several challengers in the smart watch space, like Firefox and Pebble OS, but none of them are a major threat at this...
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After nine consecutive quarters of explosive growth, which propelled China into the top smartphone market in the world, the China smartphone market experience its first slowdown in the fourth quarter of 2013 (2013 Q4), according to IDC (http://www.idc.com).
According to the the research group, the market shipped 90.8 million units compared to 94.8 million in 2013 Q3, declining by 4.3% quarter on quarter. Several factors drove this stumble. For one, China Mobile’s 4G TD-LTE network went live on December 18, translating into supplies of 4G handsets not able to reach the market fully until 2014 Q1. The increasing popularity of phablets and channel inventory also played a role, whereby operators cut phone subsidies on phones with smaller screens, triggering distribution channels looking to clear out those stocks.
"The world has increasingly looked to China as the powerhouse to propel the world’s smartphone...
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ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) expects the market for in-building wireless equipment and deployments to grow to over US$8 billion in 2019, up from a forecast $4.4 billion for 2014 representing a 14% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
North America will continue to be the region with maximum DAS spend with sports venues and transportation continuing to be the verticals which attract the most DAS investment while shopping malls, healthcare and hotels/resorts finish a close second place, according to the research group. Together these verticals in North America account for about two-thirds of DAS spending. North America is followed by Asia-Pacific and then Europe (in that order) for market size.
"While the Asia-Pacific region today accounts for less than a quarter of the total market, we expect it to grow to more than 25% by 2019 at a CAGR of more than 20%," says Nick Marshall, principal analyst at...
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Separate builds of iOS 7.1, available from Apple's website, appear to reveal the existence of two unreleased iPads. The files are for devices identified as "iPad4,3" (link) and "iPad4,6" (link) respectively. iPad4,1 and 4,2 are known to be variants of the iPad Air, while iPad4,4 and 4,5 are Retina iPad minis....
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US intelligence and military commands are in the process of evaluating a wide-spread government employee surveillance system that would accumulate databases to evaluate the behavior of security clearances. The system would be tailored to identify present and future corrupt officials, data leakers, and other "rogue agents" and pulls from aspects of a US military model that has been in the works for more than 10 years. The new system will collate data from many databases, public and private, to form a profile of a targeted individual, and evaluate them for threats to the US government from withi...
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In tandem with iOS 7.1, Apple has released new firmware for the Apple TV, v6.1. While a relatively minor update, the code adds the ability to hide unwanted apps, a frequently-requested feature. It was previously only possible to change visible apps by blocking them through the Parental Controls menu. 6.1 can be downloaded through the Apple TV Software Update system....
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Titanfall -- a video game for several Microsoft platforms -- is about to be released, and the company apparently sees it as a hugely important title for its Xbox One console. Titanfall is a multiplayer shooter that pits two teams of up to six players against each other in open combat. Players control "pilots," who can either engage with each other directly or take command of titans, giant robots that can be called in from the sky. Pilots are more agile, but titans are more powerful.
Along with the release of iOS 7.1 and a few updates to Remote, Podcasts, and Garageband, Apple has just updated its Logic Remote app to Version 1.1. The new update brings a revamped, streamlined interface that makes the app better fit in on iOS 7 as well as the darker color scheme of the recently released Logic Pro X.
Also included in the update is “more scale choices for Touch instruments” which brings a number of new scale options for those playing Apple’s built-in virtual instruments.
Version 1.1 will be available as...
| Read more »Pebble has launched the Android version of its smart watch app store, just over one month after the iOS version first became available to use. The app's update to version 2.0 comes at the same time as the company launches a hackathon to create new apps for the crowd-funded device, with the developer of the highest-voted app receiving a grand prize of $5,000 in cash....
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A new Apple TV software update was issued on Monday, giving users the ability to reduce the plethora of channels on the device's home screen if they so choose.
| Read more »iOS 7.1 on the iPhone 4 is a step forward, but it's the last one we're likely to get.
Andrew Cunningham
We weren't impressed by iOS 7 on the iPhone 4. The Apple A4 that powers the phone is now nearly four years old, and you can feel it from the moment you turn the phone on. It just isn't well-suited to iOS 7's big, sweeping animations and other graphical effects, and its jerky performance is worlds away from what you'd get on a new iPhone 5S, 5C, or even the one-year-newer 4S.
iOS 7.1 is the new operating system's first major update. While there's only so much Apple can do to optimize its software for old hardware, we hoped it would improve the iPhone 4's performance enough to make things pleasant for people squeezing another year out of their phones.
What doesn’t change
iOS 7.1 doesn't perform any differently in CPU, GPU, or...
| Read more »In addition to releasing iOS 7.1 and Xcode 5.1 today, Apple has shipped a new version of its Remote app for iOS. In version 4.2, users...
| Read more »Mondays don’t generally offer much to get excited about what with the return to the harsh, fluorescent lighting of the workplace, the annoying commute, and the reminder that you stayed up too late drinking on Saturday AND Sunday; but at least Apple there for you this week with a shiny, new iOS update. Yep, 7.1 is here, a little later than expected, but still in time to beat the iTunes Festival. Seeing as how this is a “major” update, you should probably have iTunes make a backup of your device before pulling the trigger on the 7.1 update. If you can’t wait, because maybe you are stuck in a boring meeting, you can update over-the-air too, but you’ll probably need around 2 GB free on your device.
Here are all the goodies that Apple says have been baked into the update besides the usual “improvements and bug fixes”;
Despite US officials' protestations, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden addressed a packed venue at SXSW today, by way of a Google Hangout routed through no less than seven proxies. In his hour-long moderated conversation, Snowden addressed that end-to-end encryption with readily accessible tools are the keys to privacy. Additionally, he cited NSA leadership and intrusive surveillance as a reason for the onslaught of digital intrusion by hostile powers, caused by weakening of US cyber defenses....
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It’s been a slow and steady fall for Windows, for as far back as NetMarketshare has been collecting this data. And for the Mac, the reverse is true. Mac market share was 4.58% back in February 2009 and has steadily climbed to its current share of 8.16%.
| Read more »Alongside the release of iOS 7.1 for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch customers, Apple has updated Xcode and iAd Producer with enhancements to better work with iOS 7.1 devices.
iAd 4.1.2 is already showing up in the Mac App Store’s Software Update section:
Xcode 5.1 is also now showing up on Mac App Store, and it is on the Developer Center with the following release notes:
...
| Read more »VideoGIF from PearlMountain is a lightweight Mac video editor that has a singular purpose -- to create animated GIFs from your favorite videos. Its basic toolset and intuitive controls make it easy to go from video clip to animated gif in a just few...
| Read more »Besides supporting all iOS 7 devices, iOS 7.1 brings support for a pair of new iPad models: iPad 4,3 (download link) and iPad 4,6 (download link). These models have not been announced by Apple, but they likely represent minor hardware revisions…
From time-to-time, Apple...
| Read more »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 handpicked iOS and OS X selections.
TUAW's Daily Deals
The Sound Step Speaker: Freaq Of Nature [On sale...
| Read more »After a lengthy development and testing period, Apple has released the finished version of iOS 7.1 to the public. The code makes a number of improvements to iOS 7, for instance enabling CarPlay support in yet-to-be-launched vehicles. Siri will now let users hold down the Home button to decide how long a device should listen, instead of having to wait for the system to decide no one is talking. More naturalistic voices have been supplied for Japanese, British and Australian English, and Mandarin Chinese....
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Comcast subscribers will soon be able to purchase access to the episodic series House of Cards without requiring Netflix, according to a report by Variety. The cable company has struck a pact with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, providing rights to sell first season of House of Cards through its Xfinity Store service. The Xfinity store offer on-demand video streaming on a variety of devices for Comcast subscribers--the company's own answer to Netflix or Amazon Instant Video. In a similar deal made with Lionsgate, Orange is the New Black will be available on the Xfinity Store in May....
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The Curta hand cranked calculator was introduced in 1948. Developed by Curt Herzstark, it can do basic arithmetic and, a bit laboriously, square roots. This pepper grinder-like black cylinder is mechanically complex, beautifully made and ingenious.
Even though it remained popular in specific areas, such as sports car rallies even into the 1980s, it was generally superseded by the classic slide-rule in the 1950s and 60s. But who knows? Perhaps in the back of Jony Ive's mind, there loomed the concept of a black computational cylinder that ultimately resulted in the design of the late 2013 Mac Pro.
Computational speed: Looks like a blazing hertz or two.
Re/code:
Apple on Monday released iOS 7.1, its first major update to the software that powers the iPhone and iPad since it released iOS 7 last year.
The new update, a free 280-megabyte download, adds some new options for Siri, improved fingerprint sensing with Touch ID and aims to fix an irksome bug that caused some users to have their iPhones spontaneously reboot during use.
As always, make sure you have a recent backup before applying the update.
| Read more »Though Apple popularized the mouse when it introduced the Mac in 1984, the company hasn't always been a bastion of popular, or even elegant, mouse design. For instance, Apple's hockey puck mouse, originally introduced with the Bondi Blue iMac, is a...
| Read more »iOS 7 took away visual cues like borders and shapes to easily identify buttons in apps, but that feature is back with the release of iOS 7.1. No more random tapping on words to see if they're buttons, and adding shapes to in-app buttons is easy to do.
Following a lengthy beta testing period, Apple today released iOS 7.1 to the public, marking the first major update to iOS 7 since its September release.
The update, based on several betas, includes multiple visual tweaks, such as revamped shift and caps locks keys on the keyboard, refined icons for the Phone, FaceTime, and Messages apps, and a redesign for several aspects of the Phone dialer and shutdown screen.
Accessibility has been improved with a new "Button Shapes" option that indicates where tappable areas are located, a "Darken Colors" option, and an enhancement to Contrast allowing users to reduce iOS 7’s white point.
A multitude of minor improvements to enhance the performance of the operating system have also been bundled into the update, such as new bounce animations in Control Center, more prominent buttons in the Music app, and a new event list view within the Calendar app.
The update officially disables the evasi0n iOS 7 jailbreak...
| Read more »Musician Neil Young, who has also dabbled in songwriting and directing, has been working on a competitor to Apple's iPod for several years now, which is now close to seeing a release date.
The PonoPlayer is a $399 digital music player that is designed to offer high quality sound, beating out Apple's iPod. The sound is described as "master-quality digital music at the highest audio fidelity possible," which allows listeners to feel the true emotion and detail of the music, "the way the artist recorded it."
Young initially unveiled plans for the higher-quality digital music in 2012, after he revealed in an interview with AllThingsD that he had discussed high definition music formats with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs ahead of his death. Young...
| Read more »It was reported on yesterday that Google executive Sundar Pichai told the South by Southwest conference Sunday that the company plans to release in two weeks a software development kit based on Android for makers of wearable devices, such as smartwatches. Google plans to release its own smartwatch, which will be manufactured by LG Electronics.
| Read more »....Today we've learnt that there's a new study being published on March 21 discussing Apple's move into Sapphire. The report claims that Apple saved the sapphire industry in 2013 and will transform it in 2014.
| Read more »Samsung may play a larger role in the production of Apple's next generation A8 processor than previously rumored, claims ZDNet Korea (via GforGames). According to the report, the Korean company has already signed a contract to produce the A8 processor at its Austin, Texas plant and is in the final stages of testing before mass production begins.
This latest information from an anonymous Samsung official contradicts an earlier report that said Samsung was struggling with poor yields of the A8 processor and could not meet Apple's demands. As a result, the bulk of A8 chip production was said to be shifting to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). These "manufacturing issues" were "exaggerated...
| Read more »Speaking at this year's South by Southwest conference, Google executive Sundar Pichai announced today that the company will be releasing an Android software development kit (SDK) for wearable devices in two weeks, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The news comes ahead of Google's I/O developer's conference in June, where the company is likely to unveil its own smart watch developed in collaboration with electronics manufacturer LG.Google executive Sundar Pichai told the South by Southwest conference Sunday that the company plans to release in two weeks a software development kit based on Android for makers of wearable devices, such as smartwatches. Pichai stated that Google is releasing its Android SDK...
| Read more »While acknowledging that the biometrics trend on smartphones was started by Apple with their iPhone 5S, the CEO of CrucialTec Charles Ahn stated in a new Korean report that his company will be introducing a new touch screen panel embedded with fingerprint sensors, which will present a new paradigm for ...
| Read more »Apple has filed for the trademark of "True Tone" in Hong Kong China. The trademark pertains to ...
| Read more »In preparation for this week's iTunes Festival at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2014, Apple has expanded its Apple TV lineup to include a revamped iTunes Festival channel that allows users to live stream the concert's shows as well as view lineups and artist information.
The channel showcases artists who will be performing at the festival such as Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, and Keith Urban, complete with artist bios and concert showtimes. Direct iTunes links to artist albums are featured as well, along with full details on opening acts.
Apple also updated its iTunes Festival app for iOS last week, which introduced a new design and a revamped icon. Apple announced last month that it would be expanding its...
| Read more »A Japanese company by the name of Oji has developed the fabrication technology of patterned sapphire substrates (PSS) for LEDs which improves the performance of front luminance of LEDs by more than double compared to that of LEDs with non-structured sapphire substrate, by applying the technique of precise coating with fine particles. The technology will come to market in 2016. Some of the applications for this material include LED backlighting ...
| Read more »On March 02 we posted a report titled "Samsung Invents Workaround to Apple's Pinch-to-Zoom Patent." In that report we presented Samsung's proposed single movement gesture that would replace the traditional two-finger pinch-to-zoom feature that they copied from Apple. Samsung was found guilty of patent infringement on that very feature, as we noted in last week's report. Today, we discovered a new Apple patent that was published in Europe on Thursday that introduces us to a new single-gesture as well. The gesture will be able to perform zooming functions as well as other commands for those wanting to operate their iPhones using only one hand.
| Read more »Prior to the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona we revealed that Samsung had applied for three trademarks relating to Milk Music, a new music streaming service. On Friday, Samsung launched their new music streaming with that branding.
| Read more »According to comScore's latest report on key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry during the three month average period ending January 2014, Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 41.6 percent OEM market share.
| Read more »While earlier iWatch concepts were inspired by the wearable's health-tracking features, a new set of renderings from Argentine design student Tomas Moyano imagines the iWatch as a device that'll produce "a further and deeper interaction between human beings and technology."
Moyano pictures a perfectly round device, with grooves in the side that'll allow for multiple looks with different bands. Similar to the Shine from Misfit Wearables, the concept design features no buttons to catch on your sleeve and no holes to allow in water or dust. Submersible and resistant to dust, the watch lacks speakers and will rely on...
| Read more »No matter if you liked the late CEO Steve Jobs or not, his vision for capturing the imagination of the public was undeniable. Apple's revolutionary iPhone followed quickly by the insanely popular iPad rocked markets around the world. His influence even reached one of the strangest faraway places imaginable: Inner Mongolia. A new monument was recently discovered in a ghost city.
| Read more »Apple retained its crown as the number one handset manufacturer among consumers in the U.S., while Google's Android operating system remained the number one platform, according to comScore's latest MobiLens and Mobile Metrix reports. These figures measure smartphone ownership and cover the three months ending January 2014.
Apple beat out rival Samsung with 41.6 percent market share as compared to Samsung's 26.7 percent. When comparing changes over the measured periods, Apple, Samsung and LG made small gains, while Motorola and HTC fell. Apple's market share continues to grow, but its rate of adoption is slowing.
Apple may be the top handset maker, but iOS is outnumbered by the volume of Android phones on the market. Apple's iOS platform was number two with...
| Read more »We've been reporting on many of Intel's annual events over past several years now. We noted as far back as 2010 that Intel was working with and supporting alternative platforms such as Linux, Android, Chrome and MeeGo. Working with Windows alone hadn't done Intel any favors over the past several years as PC's are sharply in decline due to a lack of innovation against devices like Apple's iPad. Specifically in January of this year, Intel went all-out to announce the Dual OS Intel Platform. Intel went out of their way to show their support for Android in the enterprise with software called "Intel Device Protection Technology," that would deal with Android's terrible security issues that we noted in a report that we posted yesterday. Intel's support for Android was a major move. Yet now that CES is long gone and an actual product supporting the dual OS platform is ready to roll out, Google isn't so keen on sharing Android with Windows on a single platform any longer. They apparently...
| Read more »One of the latest signs that there's an escalating "patent arms race" between Apple and Samsung is that Samsung in record filing more than 10 times as many European patents as rival Apple in 2013. They were the number one patent filer in Europe with 2,800 patent applications. Google wasn't far behind with 2,200 applications whereas Apple dropped down to being number 50 on the top 100 patent filers in 2013.
| Read more »Just released earlier tonight, Apple's OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 beta appears to have built-in support that enables all compatible 4K displays to be set at a "Retina" resolution, with an option for 60Hz output. The compatibility was first discovered by Twitter user @KhaosT, and was tested with both the Late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro and redesigned Mac Pro in conjunction with Dell's UltraSharp 24 Ultra HD Monitor.
To this point, OS X compatibility with 4K displays has been known to be somewhat erratic, as AnandTech revealed in December that...
| Read more »Apple today seeded the first test build of OS X 10.9.3 to registered Mac developers, just over a week after releasing OS X 10.9.2. The new beta, build number 13D12, is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store as well as through the Mac Dev Center.
Apple is currently asking developers to focus on Graphics Drivers and Audio, but there is no word yet on specific fixes and changes included in the update.
Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
• Display Technology Company Pixelworks Discloses Strategic Relationship with Apple
• Apple Loses Renewed Bid for U.S. Ban on Samsung Products
• Azoi Unveils 'Wello' Health...
This document describes the security content of iOS 7.1.
| Read more »Original release date: March 10, 2014
Systems Affected
Overview
Microsoft is ending support for the Windows XP operating system and Office 2003 product line on April 8, 2014. [1] After this date, these products will no longer receive:
Description
All software products have a lifecycle. End of support refers to the date when Microsoft no longer provides automatic fixes, updates, or online technical assistance. [2] As of February 2014, nearly 30 percent of Internet-connected PCs still run Windows XP. [3]
Microsoft will send “End of Support” notifications to users of Windows XP who have elected to receive...
| Read more »On February 26, 2014 Apple announced its new Device Enrollment Program (DEP). You can read about the features of the DEP here.
In a nutshell, for US customers who have purchased devices directly from Apple, you can:
1) Force enrollment with your MDM when device is set up (every time)
2) Wirelessly supervise a device
3) Disallow removal of MDM profile on supervised devices
Similar to activation lock, when a DEP enrolled device hits the Internet, it will only activate through your MDM server.
For instructions on how to set up DEP, see: here
TLDR; you need:
1) A new AppleID with two-step verification
2) Your Apple Customer Number
3) Authority in your company to agree to License Agreements
Setting...
| Read more »Hey, remember that time I interviewed Andrina in an AFP548 podcast? That was totally fun! We should do that again. Maybe I’ll pronounce toller right next time! #cloudwords
| Read more »Here is a way to disable sleeping when pressing the power button on 10.9.2. In Terminal, type in the following command and then press Enter.
defaults write com.apple.loginwindow PowerButtonSleepsSystem -bool no
This causes the 'Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now?' dialog to come up much quicker too.
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. I had to log out and log back in; I'm not sure if that's necessary.]
FileVault and Legacy FileVault are both compatible with the Recovery System included with OS X Lion and later.
| Read more »Archion SATA to fibre channel arrays are very similar to most other SATA to fibre arrays except Archion units are optimized for Avid Unity use. They are typically sixteen drive units which come preconfigured as three 5 drive RAID-5 sets with one spare. Each RAID-5 set is divided up into four logical drives which are approximately the size of the physical drives (obviously) so that the Unity thinks it is dealing with real individual drives.
Certain organizations (Keycode, most notably) disable SMART checking and auto-replacement of failing drives. When working on an Archion, this is the first thing to check and to reenable. Avid Unity systems can drop all clients and the File Manager can stop operating if a persistently failing drive which causes pauses during access of failing blocks continues to be used.
Like most other SATA to fibre channel arrays, Archion units also support sending alerts via SMTP. This should also be configured so that any warnings or failures can...
| Read more »Error 1006.0005 can appear on a Qlogic fibre channel switch when using ACL zones. If you don’t need ACL zones, then the easiest thing to do here is to swap the offending zone back to a soft zone. To do so, open the Qlogic Switch and use the Edit menu to select “Edit Zoning …”
From the zone editor, right-click on the zone to change and click on Set Zone Type.
From the Set Zone Type pop-up, click on the option for Soft.
Save the zoning and provided that you can actually use soft zones you are done. Now, what if you can’t use soft zoning? In that case, I find that this error...
| Read more »Updating a Lifesize Head Unit requires Internet Explorer on Windows with Flash installed. To run the update, first login to www.lifesize.com to download updates. From here, click on Support and then Software Downloads. Then click on the serial number of your unit and choose the file to download from the column on the right.
Once downloaded, login to the Head Unit using the IP address and password (by default the password for a Lifesize is 1234. Once downloaded, click on the Maintenance Tab on the right and select System Upgrade. Browse to your update (which is a .cmg file) and then click on the Upgrade button. Now wait until the unit restarts and test a connection.
| Read more »Straight from our good friends at PSU:
Register Now for the 2014 MacAdmins Conference!
We’re proud to announce that early-bird registration for the 2014 MacAdmins Conference is now open!
This year’s conference will be bigger and better than ever, with over 50 sessions on Mac and iOS administration topics, 5 brand new pre-conference workshops, and 3 amazing evening events.
Early-bird registration price is the same as last year:
* $400 conference only (July 9-11) <http://macadmins.psu.edu/conference/registration/>
* $550 conference plus pre-conf workshop (July 8-11) <http://macadmins.psu.edu/conference/registration/>
Early-bird pricing ends April 30, and we expect to sell out quickly, so register now:
<...
| Read more »The Secure Notes feature in Keychain Access now allows syncing of notes across multiple Macs using iCloud Keychain.
To add a note to be synchronized across all of your configured Macs, select the iCloud keychain from the list and select File » New Secure Note item.... Make a title for the note, input some content, and save it. This note will now appear across all Macs. This feature is still exclusive to Mac OS; there is no iOS support yet.
Another way to add a note to the iCloud keychain is to drag an existing Secure Note from another keychain onto the iCloud keychain icon in the keychain list. Option+drag to copy, or just move it with drag and drop without a modifier key.
[crarko adds: I didn't have a chance to test this yet. I hope Apple does add this to iOS as well. It would be nice to have things go the other way.]
With OS X v10.6 or later, you can use the Computer Name screen saver at the login window to display a custom message.
| Read more »In OS X 10.9 Mavericks a smart folder (or a saved search) dragged to the Dock behaves like a folder (smart folders by default are saved under ~/Library/Saved Searches). Right click gives sorting, display and viewing options similar to ordinary folders dragged to the Dock. A drawer icon is shown if Display as Folder option is selected. In grid view Quick Look works, too.
I did not check if it works under 10.8 or 10.7. I have to mention that there was already a hint about how to add 'recent things' stack to the Dock.
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described.]
When upgrading Boot Camp to Windows 8.1 or later, you might see an alert message, "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition."
| Read more »It’s always helpful to get help from a community of your peers, and our recent survey was an attempt to start having us all check in every once in a while as a group with data about how we maintain and provide management for our customers. Inspired by questions about what ‘server’ to host many of these cross-platform services on, the focus was to capture 1. what products people are using, and 2. what hosts were used to provide those services. Demographic information was optional, but helpful to give some background about the requirements different organizations have when choosing platforms and products(only a handful of folks DIDN’T self-identify with one of the options).
The Mac Admin community was pretty well reflected by the poll results, even though it was capped at only 100 responses this time. Please don’t take all of this too seriously, as our sample size...
| Read more »iMedica is an Eletcronic Health Record (”EHR”) Electronic Data Interchange (”EDI”) used for Partner Relationship Management (”PRM”). It is used in the health industry to manage front and back office activities that occur in regular medical business. It utilizes SQL Databases, Active Directory authentication, and streamlined OCR input.
Note: The following assumes that the server is already setup as a DC, and ALL workstations have already been joined to the domain.
Non-Cache Clients are clients that will constantly be in communication with the iMedica server when iMedica is running on the client. To use non-cached clients, first verify users can log onto the machine using Active Directory account. Cache Clients require MSDE or MS SQL Server Personal with Enterprise Manager.
Once all requirements have been completed, an iMedica tech will need access to the server. Create ANOTHER account, with admin privledges. Call iMedica, or follow schedule, and they...
| Read more »When you connect a new Apple USB Ethernet Adapter or Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter to your Mac, a prompt appears asking if you'd like to use this device for a new network configuration. Follow the steps below to quickly set up an Internet connection through one of these adapters if you've not used that adapter with your Mac before.
I'm not sure if this is documented already. When you create a secure note from Keychain, it will accept an image or movie just as easily as it will accept text. I was able to put an image in one note and a movie in another. You can also play the movie while it's secured inside the note.
Create a secure note from the menu bar, then copy and paste the image into the note. That's it, the image is saved inside a secure note. You're done.
To put a movie inside a secure note, go to the file location on the Finder to locate the movie. Drag the movie to the body of the secure note.
[crarko adds: I'm not sure if it's documented either. This is a fairly old submission in the queue, so things may have changed recently.]
If you turn on VoiceOver for iPod nano (6th generation or later), you can hear the names of songs, artists, and playlists spoken when you listen to content on your iPod nano. If you have the Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic, you can also use VoiceOver to navigate your playlists.
| Read more »Today, I jump in a frozen lake. Donate to Special Olympics and they may hold me underwater so you won’t have to deal with me again! https://www.plungemn.org/index.php?page=pledge&pledge_reg_id=10211
| Read more »As satisfying as the swipe to close feature in mobile Safari is, it becomes a bit of a chore to close more than a few tabs.
To close all tabs at once, tap the new tab icon (two overlapping squares), tap Private, and then Close All. Repeat the first two steps and tap '+' (or the screen) to get back to an empty Safari in your preferred browsing state.
I only have an iOS 7 device to test this in.
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. I also only have iOS 7.]
Xojo Inc., the company formerly known as Real Software, has posted a video of an iOS app that was built with Xojo. Xojo is an object-oriented, cross-platform software development tool that enables developers to create software for OS X, Windows, Linux, the web and mobile.
The video showcases all the native controls and gives an overview of Xojo's support for building iOS apps. Building native iOS apps with Xojo is the same as building a web or desktop app as you do today. You can view the video at http://tinyurl.com/nvexpk7 .
Developers can use the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) of Xojo for free, and will only need to purchase a license once they want to build a distributable version of their application. Licenses are purchased per target platform, including Web, Desktop, Database, Console, and Xojo Pro, which is a bundle license that includes all deployment licenses plus an added...
| Read more »
This Friday, Feb. 15, a 180,000-ton asteroid with the thrilling name of "2012 DA14" will fly past the Earth. Don't worry, we're not talking a "Deep Impact" scenario. Which is good, right? And you can follow the asteroid using Apple devices.
The 50-meter space rock will come within 17,200 miles of earth -- that's closer than our orbiting geosynchronous communication satellites. Although we don't have to worry about a collision, the passage of 2012 DA14 is a record close approach to the Earth for an object of this size.
Southern Stars has released update to its SkySafari Plus and Pro apps for iOS, Mac OS X, and Android to let you track 2012 DA14. If you want to track the asteroid you'll want the updated apps. Why? Because the Earth's gravity affects the asteroid's orbit so severely, most desktop planetarium programs -- and all other mobile apps -- will completely fail to predict the asteroid's position correctly, says Southern Stars founder Tim DeBenedictis.
...
| Read more »
Apple's Fusion Drive Apple is available as a build-to-order option for the 21.5-inch, 2.7GHz 21.5-inch iMac model. Previously, it was only offered for the high-end 21.5-inchers and the 27-inch iMac.
Apple says the Fusion Drive gives customers the performance of flash storage and the capacity of a hard drive. It combines 128GB of flash with a standard 1TB or 3TB hard drive to create a single storage volume that intelligently manages files to optimize read and write performance. Apple says the Fusion Drive adapts to the way you use your iMac and automatically moves the files and apps you use most often to flash storage to enable faster performance and quicker access.
| Read more »
Satechi (http://www.Satechi.net) has released the Divoom iBase Dock Station for the iPod, iPhone or iPad. The US$44.99 device combines a speaker system and docking station.
The Satechi Divoom iBase Dock Station features four full range neodymium dynamic drivers and a 20.6 ounce speaker. Additionally, it has a vertical support to ensure the iOS device is secured in place. The Satechi Divoom iBase Dock Station is also compatible with other MP3 players via the 3.5mm line-in jack.
| Read more »
Appcelerator has published a white paper on "4 Steps to creating a mobile development strategy."
"Companies now have a window of opportunity to think about how mobile can transform their business as radically as the web did," says AppCelerator. "By making mobile a part of their overall digital strategy, companies can transform their relationships with their customers in even greater ways than they did with the web."
The white paper tells you how this can be accomplished. Appcelerator (http://www.appcelerator.com/) is a company that helps web developers create mobile, tablet and desktop applications.
| Read more »
InterMapper has published four white papers on network monitoring, mapping and alerting and InterMapper. You can find them all at
http://www.intermapper.com/resources/whitepapers.aspx .
The papers look at "Top 8 reasons SMBs need to monitor their networks," "top 8 considerations for selecting SMB network monitoring software," "10 steps to streamline the deployment of network monitoring software for SMBs," and "6 ways to calculate returns from your networking monitoring investment."
InterMapper is Mac OS X compatible network monitoring software. It uses SNMP to monitor the network infrastructure, and has probes for monitoring many kinds of servers, including web, mail, LDAP, FTP, etc. More information and a free 30-day demo are available at the product Web site (...
| Read more »
The Data Rescue Center, a a data recovery company founded in 2009 and a division of Prosoft Engineering, recently opened a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Livermore, California. You can get a video tour of it at http://www.thedatarescuecenter.com/company_background.html .
In June of 2010, the Data Rescue Center and Prosoft Engineering finalized the purchase of a building in Livermore near the Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Work immediately began on the design and construction of the new recovery lab facility.
In late January of 2011, both The Data Rescue Center and Prosoft Engineering moved all operations to this new facility. It boasts a Class 2 UL-Listed Vault and extensive security features.
The ISO 5 / Class 100 Cleanroom exceeds all manufacturers specifications for cleanroom recovery environments, according to...
| Read more »
Future Media Concepts has posted a video on "Fixing Flat Color in Final Cut Pro." It teaches you how to make your colors "pop" in footage in Final Cut Pro. You can find it at
http://www.fmctraining.com/fmc.asp?w=blip_AYHdkS4C .
Future Media Concepts is a digital media training center representing the leading software manufacturers, including Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Boris FX, Digidesign, NewTek and Softimage. Headquartered in New York City, FMC now operates 5 additional digital media training facilities located in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Orlando and Chicago.
| Read more »
Zco Corp. (http://www.zco.com) has posted an overview video for their technology showcase. You can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzE89z-jexA .
Zco can help you build custom software, as well as market it. The company developsb oth industrial strength backend applications using .NET, PHP and Java as well as apps for all major mobile platforms, including the iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone 7, WebOS and Symbian.
Zco can also help you promote your products and services using search engine optimization and social media optimization techniques, HD video, stunning graphics, 3D animation and video effects, press releases, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Google, Yahoo and Bing.
| Read more »
A new online video (http://www.memoryminer.com) shows some of the best ways for using MemoryMiner, a digital storytelling application for Mac OS X. Designed an an complement the iLife suite, the software is all about capturing and exploring your life memories.
MemoryMiner allows anyone to zero in on the stories depicted in their photos by linking them to each other based on people, places and time. While photos are used as the starting point, the goal is always uncovering the backstory.
With MemoryMiner, you can directly record audio or video to capture the backstory of a photo. You can attach documents, web URL's, or other media to add depth and context. Each photo becomes a frame in a storyboard that can be browsed by periods in a person's life, where people overlap, by place, by time, or any combination.
MemoryMiner requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. It's Universal Binary so runs...
| Read more »
