This Week's Sponsor:

Inoreader

Boost Productivity and Gain Insights with AI-Powered Intelligence Tools

Rumor: Microsoft Working On Office Apps For The iPad

Microsoft may be working on creating iPad versions of its popular Office Suite apps according to The Daily. The Daily’s sources say that the apps would likely work with Microsoft’s new online service, Office 365, and be price-competitive with Apple’s Pages, Numbers and Keynote iOS apps which are sold around the $10 price point. The move wouldn’t be completely surprising given the fact that Microsoft has already developed a number of iOS apps, including the impressive Bing iPad app.

No detail is provided in the report about how powerful the iPad versions of Office will be — nor about what kind of interface would be used. A release date is not known either, but they could potentially launch in the first half of 2012.

The report also notes that a new version of Office is also in development for OS X Lion, with a release date of next year sometime. However typically the OS X releases of Office have experienced a one year delay after the Windows version is released. Consequently, with the next version of Office for Windows not expected until sometime next year, a 2012 release for the OS X version as well would buck the recent trend of Office releases. It should also be noted that Microsoft has already signalled that an update is coming for Office for Mac 2011 that will bring support for a number of Lion features.

[The Daily via The Verge]

BundleHunt Holiday Mega Bundle: 6 Great Mac Apps & 6 Design Goodies at $49

BundleHunt is once again offering a great bundle with “12 Top Mac Apps + Design Goodies” at $49.99. You’ll get some great apps like Little Snitch, DEVONthink and PulpMotion as well as MacPilot, Disk Drill Pro, and BannerZest. You’ll also get your hands on 10 Smashing Magazine design ebooks, 4 Copy Hackers ebooks, 4 WordPress themes from Themify and 3 more from WP Bundle, plus a complete White Space icon set and a vector selection from Go Media Arsenal.

BundleHunt has also made this deal a bit sweeter. You can receive a license of MacPaw’s Ensoul worth $9.99 for FREE just by sending a single tweet. Even sweeter is that they are giving away two iPad 2s.  Purchase the bundle or subscribe to their newsletter to enter.

BundleHunt includes:

  • BannerZest Pro: The fastest and easiest way to add punch and movement to your images online and get professional-looking slideshows. Integration with all major web site editors is a breeze! Normally $129.
  • DEVONthink Personal: This app keeps your documents, notes, and bookmarks. Its unique tools and artificial intelligence let you manage your files effortlessly and focus on things that really matter. Sold for $50.
  • Little Snitch: Informs you whenever a program attempts to establish an outgoing Internet connection. You can then choose to allow or deny this connection, or define a rule how to handle similar, future connection attempts. This reliably prevents private data from being sent out without your knowledge. Normally $40.
  • PulpMotion: Create animated presentation using your own media such as photos, videos and music! WOW your friends & family in just a few clicks. Wedding, birthday, travel – just a few of the hundreds of different slideshows that you can create. $129.
  • Smashing Magazine: This awesome package of eBooks will make you a master of CSS, web design, Photoshop, but most importantly a Professional! Available as PDF, ePUB, Mobipocket (DRM-free). Original price is $65.
  • WPBundle: An amazing bundle of 12 quality WordPress Themes and includes the ever growing collection of IconJar Icons (over 300 icons so far!). WPBundle are offering 3 WordPress themes of your choice and their beautiful collection of IconJar icons, regular price is $150.
  • Go Media Arsenal Vector Collection 3: This collection contains 7 outstanding vector collections to supplement your own creations. $270.
  • Themify WP Themes: Themify builds professional WordPress themes that are highly customizable and easy to use. Every theme comes with an advanced option panel where you can easily customize your theme without having to edit any template files. $100.
  • Disk Drill Pro: Disk Drill, Mac Data Recovery Software, recovers data from HFS/HFS+, FAT, NTFS & other file systems right on your Mac. $89.
  • MacPilot: Easily enable and disable hidden features in Mac OS X, optimize and repair your system, and perform numerous routine maintenance operations with the click of a button. Normally sold for $20.
  • White Space Icons: This icon collection, from PixelPress Icons, is one of the most complete set of stock glyph-style icons available. This massive set of 352 unique icons will help you get your app or website to market faster. Original price is $65.
  • Copy Hackers eBooks: Master the Key Components of Copywriting & Boost Your Conversion with Copy Hackers, the ONLY Web Writing Ebooks Made Just for Startups & Micropreneurs. Normally $49.

Most of these applications/design goodies are worth more than the bundle’s price, yet with BundleHunt you’re going to save over $1,000 and get a variety of other Mac software, plus some useful goodies for your next design work. $49 gets you 7 great apps to add to your Mac’s library with licenses delivered directly to your email inbox.

Disclaimer: For every bundle purchased through MacStories, we receive a small kickback. If you’re interested in the bundle and supporting the MacStories crew, please use the link here or any of the affiliate links above.

You can Totally Snap iPhone Photos with your Headphones

I still take photographs the old fashioned way, but photographers with a tripod and mount will love this tip. From the Why Didn’t I Try This department, OS X Hints shares that you can use the volume up button on the included Apple headphones to snap a picture. Photographers who don’t want to be hands on with their iPhones when taking photographs will appreciate having free remote bundled in with their iPhones — those headphones don’t need to be in your ear after all.

Perhaps the best part is that this can be paired with Bluetooth devices! I’m not sure if every headset with volume controls will work (as the buttons need to map correctly to the iPhone), but if a Bluetooth headset can increase the iPhone’s volume it should work.

You can turn your bluetooth headset into an instant wireless remote.

A steady photograph is ultimately a cleaner photograph. You can reduce a lot of camera noise, improve the quality of the picture, and take better night photographs by simply steadying your iPhone. If you have the kit available to prop your iPhone for photographs, then getting even more hands off will really help make the different between a good photograph and a great one. The iPhone 4S camera is among the best in class for smartphones, and what better way to utilize as a semi-professional device than to use what we already have available as a remote shutter release? It’s an excellent tip, and if you hadn’t already tried this, consider it a worthy addition to your knowledge noggin.

Quick note: Camera+ recently got its volume-snap back, and it works here too. Don’t forget about the GLIF (shown above) for easy iPhone mounting to your favorite tripod.

[OS X Tips via Macgasm]

Note: We published this tip in our initial iOS 5 tips roundup, but none-the-less it’s a great reminder for new iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S owners.

Alfred 1.0 Now Available With Enhanced Global Hotkeys

The public release of Alfred 1.0 is now available and brings with it a multitude of new features as well as improvements to existing ones. For most software developers reaching version 1.0 is a special milestone. I had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Pepperrell, the developer of Alfred, about his thoughts regarding this release and this is what he had to say:

Alfred 1.0 is a meaningful release; it’s more than just the new features. Version 1.0 marks Alfred’s maturity in my own mind, and users will no longer see him as unfinished. To be honest, 0.9 should have been 1.0… maybe even 0.8

I think that sums it up extremely well considering the last couple of updates have dramatically changed the way we use Alfred. The recent addition of extensions was certainly a game changer in my opinion. Now lets take a closer look at this version and see what it has to offer.

Read more

How to Get Apple’s Black Friday Prices All Year Long→

How to Get Apple’s Black Friday Prices All Year Long

The Apple Store’s refurb section features an inexact and unreliable supply. You never know when it’s going to be flush with a bunch of desirable models and when it’s going to be mostly barren. But even so, it can be a lot like hunting for exactly what you want on Craigslist, except with AppleCare backing you up instead of a search for a well-lit, public drop zone. Patience pays dividends, especially if you can’t afford full price—and you can set up an email alert for when new products are added to the store.

Gizmodo’s got good advice. If you want to save a good chunk of cash on a new Macintosh, you won’t be shorted by purchasing a refurbished model. You won’t get the same pretty white box (you’ll get cardboard bulk packaging in its place), but you will get a Mac with often brand new guts and the same warranty you’d get with buying a new computer off the shelf online or at an Apple Retail Store. As explained on podcasts like Mac Geek Gab, Apple is pretty generous when it comes to swapping out parts for new — this applies for repairs and of course the refurbished Macs sold online through Apple. It’s a good thing to keep in mind and share with relatives who’re looking for additional savings if they’re planning on purchasing a Mac as a gift or getting one themselves for the holidays. When it comes time to purchase my next Mac, this is probably the route I’ll take.

Permalink

References To Unreleased iPhone, iPad And Apple TV Found In iOS 5.1 Beta

Late yesterday Apple released the first beta of iOS 5.1 to developers and over the past few hours a number of people have been digging around to see whats new. A few readers and contributors to 9to5 Mac have found that the new beta includes references to a new Apple TV, a new iPhone and a new iPad.

The unreleased Apple TV that is referenced in iOS 5.1 features an identifier of “3,1” and a codename of “J33”. As for the iPhone, a new identifier of “5,1” has been found - that if it comes to fruition, would suggest a new iPhone with major internal changes. Finally, two new identifiers have been found for new iPad models. First there is a “2,4” model, one that 9to5 Mac suggests could be for a WiMAX Sprint iPad or potentially a TD-LTE model for China. The other new identifier is “3,3”, which follows on from previous discoveries of the iPad “3,1” and “3,2” identifiers that have been found earlier this year.

Whilst these references are added purposively, it is important to remember that not all the references will correspond to a device that Apple actually launches in the future. Furthermore, little if any information is revealed about the potential devices by these identifiers - except for the fact they exist to some degree within Apple.

[Via 9to5 Mac (1) (2) (3)]

iA Writer for iPad and Mac Updated with iCloud

Sometimes you kids ask me about what writing app is shown off in my iPad screenshots or photos. More often than not it’s iA Writer, and it’s an awesome little thing.

If you can’t live without iA Writer, you should start checking both the iOS and Mac App Stores for an available update that includes improved Dropbox integration, and now iCloud support that works between Mac and iOS.

Here’s how it works. On the iPad side you can save a document to iCloud. Saving and managing documents is a completely enhanced experience: You can move documents between the local iPad, any Dropbox folder of your choice, or iCloud for shared and cloud storage.

When you open up iA Writer on the Mac, a new iCloud submenu appears under the file menu. You can pull your documents from the cloud. Just so we’re being clear — these documents are copied to your Mac in the library folder, but they’re not available in your documents folder. You’ll get a good idea about how iCloud sandboxing works here.

If you want to save a document to iCloud from your Mac, you need to save your document somewhere first. Only afterwards can you move it to the iCloud, where it will be moved out of its original location and into your Library. So technically you’re not supposed to know where these documents exist, but everything works as advertised.

iA Writer is a custom text editor that features FocusMode and a barebones writing environment with a giant blue cursor. Currently, iA Writer is 50% for both iPad and Mac versions — if you want the app, now would be a really good time to pick it up since you can get the suite for around $10.

App Store: iA Writer for the iPad | iA Writer for Mac

Apple Releases iOS 5.1 Beta

Just when you thought it was going to be a relaxing Cyber Monday, Apple has made the iOS 5.1 beta available for download. Developers will find a new Xcode 4.3 developer preview waiting for download as well. The (9B5117b) builds weigh in at 700 MB to 800 MB depending on the iPad or iPhone versions. The 5.1 beta has lots of bugs noted, so we’d recommend holding off if you just want a peek otherwise.

Developers can download the beta in the iOS dev center.

Now back to your scheduled evening dose of online shopping and hot chocolate.