Posts in news

The Future of MobileMe: A Mix of Facebook, Foursquare and uStream?

Cult of Mac is today reporting that some of the new features in a supposedly revamped MobileMe could include a live video streaming service, a location based check-in system and a geo-tagging service. The information was gathered from an anonymous source that said Apple is working ambitiously on cloud computing features for MobileMe, particularly to enable sharing data and location-based services.

The centerpiece of the re-invigorated MobileMe would be a “dynamic webpage that sounds like a mashup of Facebook, Foursquare and Ustream.” This page would aggregate information garnered from a users iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch including the users location, photos and videos. This sounds like a similar service to what Apple was granted a patent to last year regarding ‘Social Workflows’ which would allow simple sharing of information with others.

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MagicWand Connects Magic Trackpad and Apple Keyboard

The MagicWand, a new accessory from Mac-only company TwelveSouth, aims at transforming your desk into the setup you’ve always dreamed of by connecting the Magic Trackpad you know and love with the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard. With the MagicWand, the Magic Trackpad and the keyboard will become a single input device you can use with any Mac anywhere you are – on your desk, sofa, kitchen, and so forth.

The concept of a unified keyboard and trackpad isn’t new to Mac aficionados. In the past months, we covered the BulletTrain Express, a product that puts the two pieces of hardware onto a single aluminum surface. The concept of the MagicWand is similar, but the experience looks more streamlined and easier to set up. Plus, you don’t have to buy a dedicated keyboard or additional trackpad as you just have to set up the accessory to connect Apple’s devices.

TwelveSouth’s promo video and product page detail some of the scenarios for the MagicWand, such as Photoshop “two hands at a time” or browsing photos on your Mac from the comfort of your couch. The idea, again, is interesting and elegant enough in typical TwelveSouth’s fashion.

The MagicWand will cost you $29.99 with free shipping for a limited time (United States only). Check out the MagicWand’s official page for more info, and video after the break. Read more

Windows Phone 7 Connector: Microsoft’s First Mac App Store App

After being in public beta form since October, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Connector application for Mac has lost its beta tag and is available in the Mac App Store – Microsoft’s first app to be in Apple’s new app store. The application gives Mac users the ability to sync music, photos, videos and podcasts to a Windows Phone 7 phone or a Zune.

Whilst Windows Phone 7 Connector is simplistic and not as full featured as the Zune software on Windows, it does feature iTunes compatibility and can also update the firmware on Windows Phone 7 phones. It is available for free in the Mac App Store.

[Via Engadget]

Shazam’s Music Sourcers Add Jobs To Music Industry, Give Music Lovers Their Ultimate Job

Shazam the popular music-identifying app on mobile phones is giving some music aficionados their ultimate job, listening to new music all day as a ‘music sourcer’. The New York Times spoke to one such person working for Shazam, Charles Slomovitz whose job requires him to hunt down new music and artists to ensure Shazam’s music-identifying engine can identify song that its users may hear.

Shazam has grown to a user base of over 100 million users who ping the service 3 million times a day, and Andrew Fisher, Shazam’s chief executive says that “when people use a service like Shazam, they expect it to work all the time”. As a result Mr. Slomovitz and others around the world who find new music are vital to ensure the accuracy of Shazam, which is available in over 200 countries. Similarly Pandora has also created new jobs in the music industry with its so called ‘musicologists’ who analyze songs on the basis of numerous characteristics to give users the ability to find similar music.

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The Backlash Over Apple’s Subscription Service Begins

Less than a day since Apple unveiled it’s somewhat new subscription rules and unsurprisingly there is already some backlash from publishers and suggestions of possible antitrust investigations. The most prominent content provider that has spoken out so far is Rhapsody, effectively signaling that Apple’s 30% is not economically viable for them after paying music publishers and as a result will not be implementing the new subscription service and policy.

Rhapsody’s president Jon Irwin issued a statement and amongst noting that it would be “economically untenable,” he also noted that they will be “collaborating with our market peers in determining an appropriate legal and business response to this latest development.” This certainly gives the impression of possible legal action if that avenue is open to them and interestingly enough The Wall Street Journal contacted several law professors and reported that Apple’s new policy could potentially “draw antitrust scrutiny”.

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Apple Releases iWeb 3.0.3 Update

Still using iWeb? Even if it doesn’t come with extra HTML5 love or Apple’s most beautiful animations and UI touches? You’re not alone. Because apparently, someone at Cupertino is still taking care of the app, which got updated earlier today to version 3.0.3.

The update, available here or in Software Update, brings “bug fixes and improvements” for the iSight movie widget, FTP publishing and OS X.

If you’re looking for an alternative to iWeb, we recommend RapidWeaver 5 from Realmac Software. But if you’re one of those hardcore iWeb users – Software Update is waiting for you.

PwnageTool Updated for 4.2.1 Untethered Jailbreak, Includes iBooks Fix

Jailbreak app PwnageTool was updated a few minutes ago to include untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.2.1 and clear the iBooks incompatibilities found in version 1.2.1 of the ebook reading app. The Dev Team explains:

PwnageTool also includes two very recent improvements to the 4.2.1 JB:  iBooks was just fixed by @comex and @pushfix last night so that it works as intended on DRMed books, and the wifi problem on AppleTV 2G was fixed by @nitotv, @DHowett, and @saurik.  Both of these fixes will also be available in upcoming Cydia package updates, so if you’re already jailbroken you can wait for those updates rather than restore and jailbreak again.

PwnageTool 4.2 can jailbreak the following devices:

  • iPhone3G
  • iPhone3GS
  • iPhone4
  • iPhone4 - Verizon
  • iPod touch 3G
  • iPod touch 4G
  • iPad
  • AppleTV 2G

The app is available for download on the Dev Team’s blog.

Midnight Inbox Touch - Get Things Done. Beautifully.

Today Midnight Beep Softworks released a major update to Midnight Inbox™ Touch, a GTD app for iPad. Midnight Inbox™ Touch is a professional-grade GTD productivity app and it’s now $9.99, compared to Thing’s $19.99 and OmniFocus ($39.99). The total system for an iPhone, iPad, and a Mac is only $35. There’s even a free version for Mac, Inbox Classic, if you want to save a few bucks and use an older version. Read more

iPad Magazines With Subscriptions Start Showing Up in the App Store

Well, look at that. Apple announced App Store subscriptions earlier today and, contrary to recent speculation, iPad magazines using the new billing system are already showing up in the App Store, before the public release of iOS 4.3. As noted by WSJ and AdAge, Elle and Popular Science are the first apps to come with the new Apple subscriptions, which rely on weekly / monthly / yearly payments and give customers the possibility to decide whether a publisher may access personal information like email and ZIP code or not. Read more