Posts in Linked

iOS 7 and VoiceOver→

A great overview of Apple’s improvements to VoiceOver (and Accessibility in general) in iOS 7 by Josh de Lioncourt. I am not an Accessibility expert, but I keep hearing from smart people like Josh and Steven that Apple is far ahead than its competitors in this area.

Just by reading through the overview linked above, I was impressed by this tidbit about the Handwriting feature and how it integrates with Safari:

When in web content, such as in Safari, Handwriting mode has yet another use. Write a letter corresponding to a rotor option, and VoiceOver switches to that form of navigation. For example, writing “H” switches to Headings, and two-finger swipes up and down will move you through the headings on the page. Draw an “L”, and now you are navigating links. This will be particularly nice for users who keep a lot of items in their rotor and want a faster way to move through various HTML element types.

The accuracy of the recognition of this mode is superb, and with just a little practice, many users are likely to find they enjoy this form of text entry. Hats off to Apple for incorporating this in such a fluid and intuitive way.

For more on Accessibility, check out Apple’s main webpage, VoiceOver section, and developer page.

Permalink

Fraser Speirs On iOS 7’s Web Filtering→

iOS 7 comes with solid additions for education and business users, and Fraser Speirs offers a good explanation of one of them, Web Filtering:

This feature impacts schools at a number of levels. While I don’t think it will allow schools to ditch the filtering on the school network, I think it will allow some relaxation of policy.

For schools that have disabled Safari in favour of some janky third-party filtered browser, it’s now feasible to allow Safari again. Similarly, schools which have implemented policies banning apps with embedded web views, that policy too can be relaxed since the filtering applies there too.

Permalink

Grades 3: Student Organizer and GPA Calculator→

I’m not a college student anymore, but I can vouch for Grades being an app that any smart high school or college student would have on their iPhone. It sets you up to succeed, letting you know what you have to score on your next test to maintain an A. With your syllabus in hand, you can setup each of your classes with homework, project, quiz, and test fields with respective weights. Once the teacher gives you your grade, all you have to do is add it to the app. You can read more about it in my review of Grades 2.

Grades 3 is now a full fledged day planner, replacing expensive notebooks from the campus bookstore with an all-in-one contact lists, reminders, and even a place to put important notes (useful for copying down assignment or project info scribbled on the board). Grades 3 provides the bird’s-eye view students need to stay on top of their assignments and due dates.

For a limited time, Grades 3 is just $1.99 from the App Store. Currently designed for iOS 6, an iOS 7 specific update is forthcoming.

Permalink

Apple Discontinues Cards App for iOS→

Apple:

As of September 10, 2013, the Cards iOS app service is no longer available.

Cards ordered before 1 PM Pacific time on September 10, 2013, will be delivered, and push notifications will continue to work.

I’ve always seen Cards as something that Scott Forstall personally wanted (he announced it in October 2011) and that eventually got into the App Store. I guess that, in spite of iWork apps not getting a visual update for iOS 7’s launch, Cards really had to go.

It was a cool service. I’m glad iPhoto for Mac still has it.

Permalink

Rich Mogull’s Fingerprint Scanning Q&A→

Rich Mogull has a solid Q&A over at TidBITS about today’s iPhone 5s and Touch ID announcements. Rich does a good job at explaining what fingerprint scanning is, its limitations, and why it won’t be available in third-party apps right away.

But the real reason is that using fingerprints creates better security through improved usability. Most people, if they use a passcode at all, stick with a simple four-digit passcode, which is easy for an attacker to circumvent with physical possession of your iPhone. Longer passphrases, like the obscure 16-character one I use, are far more secure, but a real pain to enter repeatedly. A fingerprint reader, if properly implemented, provides the security of a long passphrase, with more convenience than even a short passcode.

Touch ID isn’t a panacea for the modern world’s security problems, but it’s an important addition to the system that combines advanced technology with good usability.

Permalink

Infinity Blade III Preview→

Modojo’s John Gaudiosi has posted a preview of Infinity Blade III, which was announced at Apple’s iPhone event earlier today. Infinity Blade III is a major new entry in Chair’s popular game franchise that takes advantage of Apple’s new hardware and that will be released alongside iOS 7 on the App Store on September 18th at $6.99.

Modojo’s preview includes a description of the new game modes and characters:

According to Donald Mustard, creative director at Chair Entertainment, the studio’s goal heading into this third game was to create the ultimate Infinity Blade experience. Infinity Blade 3 provides a universe that’s over eight times larger than that of the first game, thanks to eight huge castles spread throughout the world map. In addition, there’s a huge allotment of side quests, new multiplayer Clash Mobs and different events that players can participate in that make the world even bigger.

Modojo was also able to produce a series of interviews with the Chair development team. The interviews, linked below, include exclusive footage of Infinity Blade III’s gameplay and menus and reveal more details on the game’s creation process. They’re absolutely worth a look if you want to know more about Infinity Blade III.

Permalink

Apple Posts September 10 Keynote Video→

Apple has now posted the video of its keynote held earlier today in Cupertino. The video can be streamed here, and a higher quality version should be made available in a few hours through iTunes (on the Apple Keynotes podcast). To avoid streaming errors, Safari is recommended for the best viewing experience.

Our iPhone 5s and 5c overviews are available here and here, respectively.

Update 10:50 PM EDT: Today’s keynote video can now be downloaded in standard definition through the Apple Keynotes podcast on iTunes. 720p and 1080p versions will likely be released tomorrow.

For more coverage, check out our September 10 news hub and follow @macstoriesnet on Twitter.

Permalink

GIF Brewery 2.3→

GIF Brewery, developed by Patrick Rogers, is my favorite app to create animated GIFs (with a hard G) on OS X. Every time I need to show an app’s particular animation or effect, I mirror my iOS device’s screen to my Mac with Reflector, capture a video, and turn a specific portion into a GIF.

The latest update, released last week, contains a new preference to automatically snap text overlays to horizontal center and, even better, settings to control fade-in/out times for overlays. These two minor additions make dealing with text overlays in GIF Brewery much easier, leading to better results.

GIF Brewery is $4.99 on the Mac App Store and I can’t recommend it enough.

Permalink

Ohio Man Sues Apple Over Breaking Bad Season Pass→

Jeff John Roberts:

An Ohio man has filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming the company owes him and other Breaking Bad fans $22.99 for not including all 16 episodes in a “Season Pass” to the show’s final season, which was split into two parts.

In a class action suit filed in San Jose, California, Noam Lazebnik says Apple engaged in false advertising by providing only 8 episodes to consumers even though its “Season Pass” page explains that viewers will get “every episode in that season.”

Better call Saul?

Permalink