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Pioneer AppRadio To Bring Apps And Deep iOS Integration To The Car

A new Pioneer car audio system is set to feature its own app system that also ties in with iOS devices and put it all on a very stylish iPad-eque front panel. The official FCC filing and a leak to CrunchGear reveals the Pioneer AppRadio, with a 6.1” display and an iOS-style home button in the center, will be loaded with specialised apps from Pandora Radio and iHeartRadio to GPS mapping software and traditional AM/FM radio.

In what is surely a sign of the times, Pioneer will not be including any optical drive in the device, opting instead for USB, RCA and S-Video inputs. CrunchGear contends in its report that the audio system will likely talk to iPhones and iPods through the USB interface for music as well as contacts and even some apps. The device also doesn’t have any internet access on its own and will likely rely on smartphones such as an iPhone to provide mobile connectivity for some of the internet apps such as Pandora.

To avoid problems surrounding distracted driving, the Pioneer AppRadio will also come with a steering wheel-mounted remote control as an option. Based on the FCC filing and the rumor, the AppRadio is believed to be “about ready” but no specific release date or pricing is yet known.

[Via Electronista]

Omni Group Releases OmniPlan 2.0 Public Beta

Back at Macworld 2011, the Omni Group detailed their software plans for 2011 on iPhones, iPads and Macs: the company announced they were working on a major revamp of OmniFocus for Mac inspired by the success of the iPad counterpart, a brand new version of OmniOutliner for the iPad, and a complete upgrade of project planning tool OmniPlan built around sync functionalities and OmniFocus integration. Sync is clearly playing a huge role in the Omni Group’s efforts to centralize the experience across mobile devices and computers: last year, the Omni Group launched Omni Sync Server, a free syncing solution for Mac and iOS users that allows iPad, iPhone and Mac apps to stay in sync over the air. With the release of the first Omni Plan 2.0 public beta today, the Omni Group is bringing Omni Sync Server support to OmniPlan, alongside other collaboration features like tracking of changes and publishing.

During the OmniPlan 2.0 development, Omni Group discovered that “people wanted to bring this workflow and user experience to their teams”, so they decided to completely focus on collaboration as the big improvement for this version. With OmniPlan 2.0, a manager will be able to share a project with his team using MobileMe, WedDAV and Omni Sync Server; tasks can be published automatically upon saving a plan, and changes can be fetched via Bonjour. A manager can also keep track of his own changes or others’ through a system called “visual change tracking” – alternatively, users are also able to manually accept or reject changes on task-by-task basis. One of the most anticipated features of OmniPlan 2.0, however, is the direct OmniFocus integration announced at Macworld: while it appears that the functionality hasn’t been implemented yet in this first beta, Omni Group’s CEO Ken Case told Ars Technica in January that Omni Plan 2.0 would allow a project manager to see a person’s task coming from OmniFocus being marked as complete within OmniPlan. This will be possible thanks to the Omni Sync Server, which deploys the same underlying engine across OmniFocus, OmniPlan and, we hope, OmniOutliner.

Lots of other features found their way in OmniPlan 2.0 beta 1: filtering, filters for publishing actions, better printing support with margin customization options and advanced scheduling options are all available in this new version. You can check out a complete changelog of OP 2.0 beta 1 here.

The Omni Group also confirms OmniPlan 2.0 will be available on the Mac App Store at $199.99 once it’s released, and users who purchased OmniPlan 1.0 either from the Mac App Store or the company’s website after January 6, 2011, will receive a free upgrade. We can’t wait to see what the new OmniPlan will look like with deeper OmniFocus integration; in the meantime, you can go download the public beta here.

TenFourFox: Firefox 4.0 For 10.4 PowerPC Macs

If you’re still rocking a PowerPC Mac with a G3, G4 or G5 processor running OS X Tiger and you’re willing to try the new Firefox 4.0, you’re out of luck. With the latest major update to their Windows / Mac / Linux browser, Mozilla dropped support for Mac OS X 10.4 and PowerPC architecture, and while it’s pretty obvious that, going forward, older machines and operating systems will be left behind by software vendors, it’s always nice to find alternatives and hacks that enable users who are “stuck” on these systems to enjoy the recent advancements in technology, although with some compromises. TenFourFox, a new project from the creators of the Classila browser for classic Mac OS, is a fork of Mozilla’s Firefox 4.0 that runs on older Macs powered by Tiger and PowerPC CPUs.

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years of using Macs, it’s that they outlast anything else out there. Why shouldn’t an iBook be able to look at embarrassing pictures on Facebook, or Twitter about our lunch break? These are our computers, dang it. We paid good money for them. They still work. There’s no technical reason they can’t do everything that a MacBook can. So if you want something done, you do it yourself, and we did. The result is TenFourFox.

The browser, available for download here, is a very niche product, but we’re sure it’ll manage to build a loyal following over the next months: it uses almost the same code of the official Firefox 4.0, but it’s been entirely rebuilt to add specific improvements for OS X 10.4 as it “restores the glue necessary to get most of Firefox 4’s advanced features working on our older computers” with separate builds for G3, G4 and G5 processors. TenFourFox includes most of the features of Firefox 4.0 you know and love: extended HTML5 and CSS3 support, faster Javascript rendering, WebM video, Firefox 4 add-on compatibility. According to the developers, the custom code deployed in TenFourFox granted faster Javascript performances than both Safari 5 and Firefox 3.6 through SunSpider and Dromaeo benchmarks. Apparently the code has been sent back to Mozilla so anyone could enjoy the improvements made by the team, and the devs also claims TenFourFox is by far the fastest web browser available on PowerPC Macs running Tiger. As for the requirements:

TenFourFox requires a G3 Power Macintosh, Mac OS X v10.4.11 or Mac OS X v10.5.8, 100MB of free disk space and 256MB of RAM. Video playback will be poor on systems slower than 1.25GHz; we recommend a G5. Intel Macintoshes are not supported (and will be mercilessly mocked).

You can find more information about TenFourFox here, and download the various builds on the project’s official Google Code page.

10.6.7 OpenType Bugs Fixed With Snow Leopard Font Update

Alongside iPhoto 9.1.2, Apple also released a font update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard, which is aimed at fixing the OpenType text bugs we reported a few weeks ago. The update “addresses issues displaying and printing certain OpenType fonts”, but as Apple’s KB document notes, it also resolves issues with printing from Preview, as well as problems with PDF documents not opening in 3rd party PDF-viewing apps. Font errors with PostScript printers have been fixed, too.

If you’re an OS X 10.6.7 user and have been experiencing OpenType font rendering issues on your machine, the update is highly recommended. You can download it from Software Update or Apple’s website.

Apple Releases iPhoto 9.1.2

A few minutes ago Apple released a minor update to iPhoto 9 – part of the iLife ‘11 suite – which includes new card themes, bug fixes and improves the overall stability of the app. The new version comes with fixes for toolbars not hiding correctly in fullscreen mode, as well as better formatting for the book, card and calendar themes. iPhoto 9.1.2 also contains fixes for old iPhoto 5 libraries not being upgraded to the new database, and design tools now accessible from separate Layout and Options buttons.

iPhoto 9.1.2 is available now in Software Update (106 MB download) or on Apple’s website. Full list of changes below.

  • Addresses an issue that prevented the Zoom slider from being accessible in Magnify (1-Up) view
  • Fixes an issue where Toolbars were not auto-hiding in Full Screen view
  • Search field now correctly performs an “includes” search when searching by text string
  • Fixes minor formatting issues with book, card and calendar themes
  • Message Size of emails now correctly updates when changes are made using the Photo Size menu
  • Addresses an issue that prevented some iPhoto 5 libraries from upgrading correctly
  • Multiple book pages can now be drag-selected when in All Pages view
  • Design tools in print project panels are now accessible via separate Layout and Options buttons
  • Photo backgrounds applied to a book are now preserved when book type is changed
  • Tab key can now be used to navigate through all text fields in a book project

iPhone 4 Transparent Mod Now Available For $30

Remember the transparent iPhone 4 mod we covered a few months back here on MacStories? I thought that was beautiful. Not only it did expose the iPhone’s internal parts without compromising the durability of the device, it also was a very simple DIY mod with paint thinner applied to standard black OEM components. The good folks at iFixit – well known for their Mac and iOS device teardowns – thought the mod was interesting, too, and decided to develop their own transparent rear panel for public’s enjoyment. iFixit’s transparent panel is made of plastic, which is “ less prone to fracture, and far cheaper to replace than the glass original panel.” It currently only works with the GSM version of the iPhone 4 – the Verizon iPhone uses a different rear panel layout that didn’t fit with iFixit’s mod. Once applied (you can follow the instructions for an easy swapping process), you’ll be able to see your iPhone’s innards including the battery and logic board.

The product’s in stock and you can purchase one here at $29.95, plus shipping costs and taxes. I’m not going to buy a white iPhone 4, but I think I’ll make my iPhone transparent while waiting for a new toy in September. [via TUAW]

Radium Revisited: Review & Giveaway

If you listen to the B&B Podcast, Ben Brooks & Shawn Blanc arrived at a topic that would make for a good ice breaker over a cup of Caribou Coffee. If MacBooks weren’t yet on the table, the question of, “What are your five quintessential Mac Apps,” would quickly lead to a scurry of charging cables and open lids. If you asked me, I’d have a difficult time choosing three of the four (if the fifth includes OS X), but I’d have no problem in preceding that answer with Radium for the Mac.

You might ask me of what value Radium delivers that it can potentially keep FastScripts, TextMate, TextExpander, or some other key productivity app off of my MacBook. And the answer isn’t that these other apps aren’t as good, but rather that Radium sort of defines everything I grew up with in music. There are a lot of trends when it comes to curated online playlists, but nothing can top a good radio station playing all of my favorite singles. Package all the music I grew up into a delightful app that fills the room with great tunes, and Radium defines my sort of superhero theme songs. It’s the one app that will always start with my Mac and goes to sleep with it.

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Amazon.com tries to toss Apple ‘app store’ trademark suit→

Amazon.com tries to toss Apple ‘app store’ trademark suit, cites Steve Jobs in its own defense

Amazon.com today responded in court to Apple’s lawsuit over the name of its Android Appstore — calling the iPhone maker’s claim to the “App Store” trademark baseless, and pointing to a statement from Apple CEO Steve Jobs as one piece of evidence in its favor.

“So there will be at least four app stores on Android, which customers must search among to find the app they want and developers will need to work with to distribute their apps and get paid. This is going to be a mess for both users and developers. Contrast this with Apple’s integrated App Store, which offers users the easiest-to-use largest app store in the world, preloaded on every iPhone.”

Amazon’s argument is if App Store is specific to Apple, why did Steve Jobs generically refer to the Android Marketplace as an “app store?” The argument is that he voided his own definition of what he considers the App Store to really be. If you ask me, I’d say Apple probably won’t secure the App Store branding as it is too generic. You can get away with specifically calling it the iOS App Store, the Mac App Store, and the iTunes Store, but calling it the App Store as one inclusive generic entity is a stretch don’t you think? As with everything else, Apple may have been better off appending an “i” in front of the name and calling it day. Amazon’s Appstore stands a fair chance of keeping its name, no matter Apple’s requests to speed up the process.

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White iPhones Already Being Sold In Belgium, Italy [Update: Unboxing]

The white iPhone 4 is expected to officially launch tomorrow, but that hasn’t stopped several international retailers from selling the units they received ahead of Apple’s announcement. The device, going on sale after a 10-month delay since the original June 2010 unveiling, has been delayed multiple times in the past due to alleged production issues with the white paint, which – according to many – caused problems with the camera lens, as well as light leaking from the front panel. The final version of the white iPhone, as reported last week, introduces a redesigned proximity sensor that has a different shape and doesn’t sport the grille of small holes seen in Steve Jobs’ on-stage demo last year.

While we’re still waiting for Apple’s official press release about the white iPhone, iSpazio [Google Translation] reports a unit has been already sold in one H3G store in Italy. On the other hand, MacRumors says a reader managed to obtain a white iPhone at a Mobistar retail shop in Antwerp, Belgium – where, apparently, all the available white iPhone units were on sale to customers a day ahead of the rumored launch.

You can check out more photos below. If you’ve got a white iPhone 4, send us pics. We’d love to hear about antenna and proximity sensor performances. Read more