Skype 5.4 Beta For Mac Gets Facebook-to-Facebook Video Calling

Back in September Skype, now part of Microsoft, released a new version of its Mac client with direct Facebook integration for Contacts, the News Feed, and text chat. Skype 5.4 was the result of a partnership between Facebook and Skype, which began earlier this year with video calls on Facebook.com based on Skype’s video technology. However, in Skype 5.4 it wasn’t possible for a user to initiate a video call from Skype, and have it forwarded to Facebook.com in the browser.

With a blog post published this morning, Skype announced that the new beta version of Skype 5.4 for Mac has added Facebook-to-Facebook video calling, meaning that, once connected with Facebook, the Skype app will be capable of placing video calls from a Mac to friends online on the Facebook website.

Initiating a Facebook-to-Facebook call from within Skype is quite easy; all you need to do is connect your Skype and Facebook accounts. Then, select a Facebook friend and hit the video call button in Skype- your friend simply picks up the call from Facebook.

Because Facebook’s video calls are based on Skype, the company has managed to interconnect video calls from the desktop app with the new video calling function on Facebook.com. In my tests, the version of Skype I had installed didn’t prompt to update to a new one, and I had to download the new 5.4 beta manually. Users of Skype might find they have version 5.4.0.1217 installed; Skype 5.4 Beta is version 5.4.0.1771.

Other than Facebook video calling, 5.4 beta for Mac brings smoother video rendering, but no interface changes or refinements. Skype has been heavily criticized in the past year for the design choices they made with version 5, and the company even launched a competition to outsource some of the message styles included in the desktop app.

You can download Skype 5.4 beta for Mac here.

“iChat for iOS” Rumors Revived With New Code Strings Found

In the past few years, Apple has been rumored several times to be building a mobile version of iChat – its desktop IM communication tool – for the iPhone and iPad. And in spite of the iMessage protocol being essentially a stripped-down version of iChat for iOS users with typing indicators, attachments and even new features like read and delivery receipts, speculation has always pointed at Apple as being developing a full-featured iChat app for iOS to integrate with IM services like AIM and Jabber, just as iChat on OS X.

New code strings found by developer John Heaton inside iOS 5 (via TUAW) are bringing new life to the mobile iChat rumors. But unlike previous speculation, this code seems to indicate Apple may integrate iChat functions with its existing Phone and Messages apps. Speculation on the “facetimeService”, “aimService” and “iMessageService” strings suggests typical IM functions like text and video chat might as well live into a single existing app, rather than be scattered around the system with standalone applications. The Messages app for iOS, in fact, already integrates regular SMS and iMessage, photo and video attachments and group messaging. On the Mac, Apple was rumored to be integrating iMessage into iChat, rather than building a dedicated iMessage app. Putting all the rumors together, could this be an indication of a unified, cross-platform and integrated Messages app coming soon to iOS and OS X with iChat and iMessage functionalities?

Code strings aren’t the most reliable indicators of new features to come, as Apple often likes to bury functionalities in code and hide them from public release, even when they’re fully working and seemingly ready to go. Speculation on iChat for iOS has been growing strong lately especially after the release of iMessage, and many think it’d only make sense for Apple to least extend iMessage’s features to the desktop.

djay For Mac Adds ‘Harmonic Match’ And iCloud Support

For those of you who are DJs or just enjoy listening and mixing music, the latest version of Algoriddim’s Mac App ‘djay’ might interest you. Now at version 4.0, Algoriddim is claiming that this is the biggest update to the app yet. The big headline new feature is ‘Harmonic Match’ a new system that allows users to “create perfectly matched mixes with a simple click”.

With the introduction of Harmonic Match, djay automatically detects a song’s key and allows to match it to songs of the same key within your iTunes music library. It allows you transpose songs into different keys, and even sort your entire music library by key, perfect for creating studio quality mash-ups of your songs.

Beyond Harmonic Match, djay 4.0 also features a new audio engine that allows high quality Audio FX on the fly, precision scratching, visual waveforms and a host of other more advanced features. A particularly useful new feature in djay 4.0 is the support for iCloud, which means cue data and other metadata can by synced across the Mac, iPad and iPhone versions of the app. Another nice touch is support for the multi-touch trackpad where a user can “use rotate gestures to adjust the EQ, or two fingers to scratch the record and operate the crossfader”.

djay for the Mac is available on the Mac App Store for a special launch sale price of  $19.99. Jump the break for a promotional video, as well as a full list of additions and improvements in djay 4.0.
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The Insanely Great History of Apple→

The Insanely Great History of Apple

Pop Chart Lab created a poster about the history of Apple products:

The world’s most comprehensive mapping of Apple products, this print shows every computer released by Apple in the last thirty years, from the original Mac through the MacBook Air. Products are sorted according to type, including the connections between various form factors which have arisen as Apple has invented–and reinvented–insanely great products.

18-inch x 24-inch, only 500 copies are available. Starts in 1983 and goes all the way down to the iPhone 4S. Nice work of art for Apple aficionados, and also a useful timeline to have on your wall. [via The Loop]

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AOL Launches “AIM Preview” With New UI, Group Chats, Cloud Sync

Following a series of experiments with iOS devices that included PLAY, a music app for iPhone, and Editions, a social reading app for iPad, earlier today AOL introduced a much larger project targeted towards the web, Mac, Windows and iOS: a completely redesigned AIM experience. Named AIM Preview and available at preview.aim.com, the new AIM service comes with new features like group and video chats, inline previews for videos and pictures and cloud sync for message history; AIM has also received new apps, especially a brand new web app, and updated Mac and iPhone clients.

I had time to test the new AIM, and my feelings are mixed. The website looks nice, and I was able to start chatting with my friends in seconds, share pictures and webcam shots, and even create group chats easily. You have access to regular AIM functionalities like “off the record” and “clear history”, and chats are organized in a left sidebar that lists Recent Chats, Favorites, and Contacts. Overall, I’d say the web app can be a nice alternative for when you can’t use your iPhone or Mac. Which brings me to the new Mac app: it looks good from the screenshots, but it’s far from perfect once you get to use it. The app supports Lion’s full-screen mode but scrolling (in the buddy list) isn’t native and it behaves like a bad copy of an iOS app. Icons are blurry, and several sections of the app take their time to load as I assume they’re web views embedded inside the app (not to mention the errors I got when first launching the app). And by sections I mean the additional stuff that AOL conveniently put into the app, such as headlines from its web properties (Engadget, Huffington Post, Joystiq) and “social” updates from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Headlines are displayed with a curious arrangement of fuzzy images and questionable typography choices. Clicking on them opens your default web browser, rather than an inline view in AIM. Social updates are equally perplexing, as you’d expect AIM to be about IM, yet AOL is trying to cram the app with additional content from other sources that live at a different rhythm than traditional instant messaging. I’m wondering why would anyone check Twitter replies and direct messages in AIM instead of a Twitter client, and I can only imagine AOL thinks some casual users will find this “cool”.

As far as actual chat goes, AIM is slower than Apple’s iChat at sending messages (I’ve seen a 1 second delay between hitting Send and the message being displayed on screen) and the Mac app shares the same functionality of preview.aim.com for inline media previews (pictures, videos, tweets) and cloud sync. I also noticed the app supports Growl notifications, but it couldn’t visualize friends’ profile pictures in desktop notifications.

The new AIM for iPhone comes in two versions: free and $2.99 to remove ads and get additional sounds. The iPhone app left me with a more positive impression than its Mac counterpart: you can set quiet hours, tweak sound notifications, and start group chats directly from your phone. In spite of the iPhone’s cameras, I couldn’t find an option to start video chats from iOS. Social updates made their way to the mobile client too, but overall AIM for iPhone seemed more responsive and lightweight than the Mac app.

It’s easy to get excited about a massive redesign such as the one for AIM Preview. However, there are several aspects of the Mac app to fix and others to clarify about the entire service, such as headlines and social updates. You can find the new AIM at preview.aim.com, and a $2.99 iPhone app in the App Store.

Camera+ Gets VolumeSnap Back In Latest Version

Last year, popular app Camera+ for iPhone was removed from the App Store as the developers implemented a hidden feature to snap pictures using the iPhone’s volume button, which at the time was prohibited by Apple. As months went by, however, Camera+ made its triumphant return to the App Store with version 2.0, a complete rewrite of the app, and Apple unveiled iOS 5, which among other features includes the possibility of taking photos by holding down the volume button.

The latest update to Camera+ brings back VolumeSnap, as explained by the “VS” in the 2.4 version number. Just like in the old Camera+, and Apple’s new Camera app, you can take photos by simply pressing the iPhone’s volume button just like a physical shutter. The feature works as expected, and you can still use the regular software button on screen if you want.

Camera+ with VolumeSnap is available now on the App Store.

iOS 5.0.2 Coming Soon With More Battery Fixes, iOS 5.1 To Bring New Siri Features?

According to German website Macerkopf [Google Translation], Apple is quickly pushing towards the next release of iOS 5, likely iOS 5.0.2, to bring additional battery life fixes, and the update may come out as early as next week. Additionally, the website also claims the next major update to iOS 5, dubbed iOS 5.1, will include new Siri functionalities tied to the iPhone’s hardware such as camera and Settings integration.

In addition, a larger Siri update is planned, where the hardware is heavily involved. As examples here are “do a photo,” “make a video”, “turn on wireless” or “turn off Bluetooth” to call.

In spite of Macerkopf missing the iOS 5 and iCloud announcement date earlier this year, we believe there are some facts that could back their latest rumor. Software updates, for one, are always “in the works”, so it should be no surprise that Apple is “already working” on iOS 5.1 and perhaps even something after that. But the specific claims of iOS 5.0.2 and iOS 5.1 aren’t too far from what Apple has already confirmed either: the company has said they’re continuing to investigate battery life issues on iOS 5 devices – which, apparently, weren’t completely fixed by iOS 5.0.1 – and has posted a Siri FAQ, detailing how some limitations will be lifted for international users in 2012 with support for new languages. Apple hasn’t said anything about new Siri functionalities, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a beta service gaining new features over time.

In the meantime, users who are still affected by battery life issues on iOS 5 can head over Apple Support Communities to report back on their experience with the iOS 5.0.1 update.

Gmail for iOS Is Back In The App Store

Following an unsuccessful launch on November 2, Google has re-released its official Gmail app for iOS in the App Store, which was pulled due to a bug that affected push notifications. In spite of the criticism received by the app, it appears Google didn’t make any substantial changes, as reported by this version’s changelog:

If you already have the Gmail app 1.0.1 released on 2 Nov, you will need to uninstall or log out of the old app prior to installing the new app.

We’re currently re-testing the Gmail app for iOS and we’ll update this post with more details if necessary. Update: push notifications are now working in this version (as you can see I have a badge on my Home screen), but there are no new features. The app is still web-based as in the first version, with no support for multiple accounts and poor scrolling performances, among other issues.

Download Gmail for iOS here.