Posts in Linked

FoxTube For Mac→

Almost a year ago we highlighted FoxTube, an alternative YouTube replacement for iOS that filled in a lot of missing gaps. And even though Google’s own YouTube app (iTunes link) has replaced Apple’s and delighted many users, FoxTube is the non-Jailbroken power user’s player of choice, offering extra playback controls, media information on the lock screen, and the ability to play media in the background.

While I’m personally happy browsing YouTube on the web and using Tube Controller to integrate my Mac’s media keys, FoxTube has come to the Mac, giving anyone the power to download videos offline for later viewing, take advantage of advanced media controls, and play media through a convenient mini player. In contrast to many recent app launches for OS X, it’s even available for the latest version of Lion. FoxTube for Mac is $9.99, but you can download a free trial from the developer’s website. Due to restrictions on the App Store, I’d recommend purchasing the app from the developer to get the full set of features.

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Keeping Your iPhone Safe While Traveling→

Dave Caolo of 52 Tiger has kicked off a short series of articles on traveling with the iPhone, starting with some basic security tips that will protect your phone from thieves and help you recover it in case it’s misplaced. He’s also featuring some related apps on his homepage such as easyJet for digital boarding passes. If you or members in your family are new to the iPhone, you’ll quickly learn how to take basic precautions to safeguard your sensitive data. Lastly, I still highly recommend Tris Hussey’s hardened security tips, which will prevent thieves from disabling Find My iPhone.

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The State of Apple Rumors→

John Moltz:

It’s a weird time for those of us who’ve followed Apple rumors for years. (And I’m not the only one who has noticed.) At the risk of sounding like your prototypical hipster, today’s rumors just aren’t as good as they used to be. The devices that we hear whispers about now—a smartwatch, a television, a cheaper iPhone—seem lackluster compared to the rumored products of days past—products that, when they actually appeared, changed entire industries.

I think that a lot of this has to do with an increasing shift of rumors towards software: just in the past week, various people have spoken with their sources to detail what’s coming with iOS 7 and OS X 10.9. It is an exciting time to think about what Apple may do with an iOS redesign, better inter-app communication, iCloud improvements, and changes to core iOS apps that have basically stayed the same since iPhone OS 1.

On the hardware side, changes to existing product lines tend to be more incremental, often detailed well in advance by rumor sites, and even shown in photos of “leaked” components. But even with current products, there are interesting scenarios to talk about.

And as far as the smartwatch rumor goes, I don’t think that’s lackluster at all.

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Instacast for Mac Public Beta Now Available→

A beta release of my default podcast client for iOS. Here’s our review of Instacast 3 from last year.

Nate Boateng, who has been testing the app, posted a first look on his personal blog:

The Vemedio team once again worked with Marcelo Marfil to create a wonderful UI that is easy to understand, and looks beautiful. The interface has many of the same components as the iOS counterparts, but restructured nicely for the Mac. You have two main views; Subscriptions and Lists. Like on iOS, Subscriptions show your full list, while Lists are the equivalent of Playlists on the iPhone and iPad —showing your default and custom lists.

I look forward to playing more with the app. From what I’ve seen so far, it looks good, but, being a beta, sync reliability will need more time.

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Tim Cook To Speak at D11 Conference→

Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, announcing Tim Cook as a speaker for D11:

There’s lots to talk about, from the explosive growth of the mobile market to intense competition from a range of rivals, most especially Google’s Android, as well as innovative offerings from Korea’s Samsung. It will also be interesting to talk about the changes at Apple under Cook’s leadership, who took over from the late co-founder and industry legend Steve Jobs, as well inquiring about what new products are in the pipeline and how the company is faring in an increasingly high-pressure market.

D11 will take place in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on May 28-30, 2013. Cook joins a list of speakers that includes Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Google’s Sundar Pichai.

Last year, Tim Cook spoke at D10 and covered topics such as Apple’s growth, leading the company without Jobs, and the post-PC era. Here’s our recap from last year’s interview, and here’s the full video.

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Many Tricks’ New Safari Extensions→

Cool new Safari extensions by Many Tricks, developers – among other apps – of Name Mangler (which I plan on covering soon). I like the vBulletin one:

This extension is for those who use vBulletin forum sites. It adds a contextual menu that lets you open all unread article links in new tabs, with a single click. As of now, it only works for vBulletin, but if you use forum sites based on other systems, we may be able to get it working if you can give us a URL to look at.

It’d be nice to have Chrome versions, though.

(via Dan Frakes)

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Xconomy Gets Hands-On With Automatic for the iPhone→

Currently available for pre-order at $69.95 and now shipping in August is Automatic, a combination of a smartphone app and OBD sensor for your car that tracks your driving economy, helps you diagnose problems with your vehicle, and helps you find where you parked. An iPhone app is launching first, with an Android app coming this fall. While it’s only available in the United States, Automatic makes for an attractive alternative against Verizon’s expensive Vehicle Diagnostics by Delphi, which includes a subscription and a whopping $249.99 up front,  or Torque, which works with some Bluetooth OBD sensors but requires drivers to have more intimate knowledge of their vehicles to get the most out of the Android app and web interface.

Xconomy has a short write up and under 15-minute video on the sensor and iPhone app, featuring a test drive with Automatic Chief Product Officer Ljuba Miljkovic.

If these screen shots remind you of the jogging maps and calorie counts you get with a fitness app like RunKeeper or Runmeter, it’s not a total coincidence. You might think of Automatic as one harbinger of a “quantified car” movement paralleling the quantified self craze. Now that our phones have become so powerful—able to communicate with many different kinds of sensors, and full of sensors of their own—it makes sense that they’re becoming the information hubs for all of our daily activities, from exercising to eating to driving.

Automatic is interesting — at a least from a glance, the company isn’t just throwing a slew of information at consumers on a screen, but rather presenting relevant information in an interface that’s understandable and useful. Automatic knows that not everyone is a mechanic, putting the power of diagnostic information at our fingertips. Automatic’s goal is to improve upon driving efficiency, and Xconomy’s look gives a little bit of insight as to what you can expect if you have or will pre-order the much talked about smart assistant for your car.

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