Fotopedia Heritage is one of those iOS apps (universal, free) that keeps on getting better on each release. First they released a 1.0 version that aimed at becoming the digital encyclopedia for humanity. Version 2.0 added support for the Retina Display, 25,000 more photos and shuffle mode. Today, with the release of Fotopedia 3.0, the developers re-imagined the app from the ground up and redesigned the whole experience to make it more intuitive, fast and beautiful. Read more
Fotopedia Heritage 3.0: Instant Slideshows, Suggestions, iOS 4.2 Support
Buddies for iPad Adds Facebook Chat
Buddies for Facebook is a neat app for the iPad we reviewed in November which provides a quick and easy way to check on your Facebook friends. With an interface based on a “split view” aimed at letting you navigate across all the sections of Facebook, there’s no doubt Buddies is one of the most curious and innovative way to use Facebook on the tablet.
The latest 1.15 update, released last night, improves the app’s integration with Facebook by adding support for Chat. To access the chat interface, you have to tap on an icon in the upper right corner in the main page. The app will “rotate” its UI to accomodate a new page with all your online friends. To start chatting, you tap on a contact and tap again to initiate the conversation. That’s it. The app allows you to switch back and forth between your friends lists and it’s pretty fast at switching between the main screen and the chat UI, too.
At $2.99 in the App Store, Buddies may not have all the features of Friendly (which happens to have a free version available now) but it’s got the feel of something new and specifically geared towards iPad users. It’s not just a webpage wrapped around an app, it’s a native version of Facebook that now comes with Facebook Chat integration.
Give it a try.
More On Cydia For Mac→
More On Cydia For Mac
Ok, so Cydia is coming to the Mac. But what will it bring to the OS X platform, which starting January 2011 will have not one, but two ways of installing software? Just as I assumed last week, it’ll bring easy installation of mods and tweaks without having to do those things manually, through the Terminal, and keep them updated after that. The unification of desktop hacks.
Chris Foresman over at Ars Technica reports:
Freeman created a new version of MobileSubstrate which has calls simply “CydiaSubstrate.” This new version can run on both iOS as well as Mac OS X on the desktop. “Just like you can make all these modifications on the iPhone, you can make these same modifications on the desktop,” Freeman said. “Until now, there has never been a way to easily install modifications to the system or third-party applications, as well as keep them updated.
True. Installing themes have been a complete mess (remember Magnifique?), not to mention those neat hacks and mods (to the Finder, for example) that magically disappear on every OS update. But there’s more:
CydiaSubstrate-based modifications can also target a particular application for modification, as well. “For instance, users that have jailbroken iPhones would like to have a modified version of iTunes that does not ask to update iOS when the device is plugged in, since the update might overwrite jailbreak modifications,” Freeman said. “Or perhaps you want to change the frequency that TimeMachine performs backups to something other than the stock settings. CydiaSubstrate makes this possible in an easy way that average users could install and update them.
This is exactly what tinkerers on OS X wanted, and needed. Cydia for Mac will simply be the iOS version brought to the desktop.
Back to the Mac.
First (Public) Mac App Store Rejection?→
First Mac App Store Rejection?
LittleIpsum is a neat utility for Mac OS X we covered a few months ago here. By sitting in the menubar, it allows you to quickly copy Loren Ipsum text to the clipboard. The developers tried to submit the app to Apple for Mac App Store approval, and it got rejected. Why?
LittleIpsum v1.1.1 has been officially denied at the Mac App store due to not meeting the following guideline:
2.8 Apps that are not very useful or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected.
I’m sure many applications have been rejected so far, but this is the first public post from a developer I’ve seen talking about it. Seems like it’s going to be a very different store than we first thought. [via]
Notational Velocity Alt→
Notational Velocity Alt
nvALT is a fork of the original Notational Velocity with some additional features and some interface modifications. It is a work in progress.
This fork by Brett Terpstra comes with widescreen layout, a shortcut to collapse the notes panel, Markdown, Textile and MultiMarkdown support, HTML source code tab in the Preview window. It’s really a highly customized version of the original NV, possibly inspired by Elastic Threads’ mod. The Preview window is amazingly useful.
Trickle: The “Passive” Twitter App That’s Perfect On Your Desk
Twitter clients for iPhone and iPad, in spite of their substantial UI differences, are basically all geared towards the Twitter power user who wants to be able to do a lot of stuff with his Twitter timeline: check on users’ profiles, retweet, save to Instapaper, search, access lists, and so forth. Most Twitter clients for iOS are aimed at enabling you to enjoy the full Twitter experience.
Trickle, released a few days ago, is different. It runs on the iPhone and iPad as a universal app, but instead of bringing many of Twitter’s features to mobile devices, it focuses on turning your Apple device into a minimal, Helvetica-based, constantly up-to-date Twitter widget. Perfect for your desk, possibly with your iPhone or iPad in a dock. Read more
Microsoft Update for Office 2011 Improves Stability
For students and busy bees sporting Microsoft Office 2011, a 110.5 MB update just hit the pipes. Microsoft’s AutoUpdater should catch the latest update, which improves stability when opening Microsoft documents from third party applications, and fixes issues that caused Outlook to previously crash. You can find a direct link to the update at Microsoft’s Download Center, and you can find more information pertaining to the December 13th update at Microsoft Support.
Gazaro Protect Saves You Money Post Best Buy Purchase
I hate having to wait for a good deal. Take a good pair of headphones for example – you absolutely shouldn’t sacrifice the miracles of good sound pumping through your ear holes for Apple’s ear buds (sorry my little white friends). A hundred bucks can pick you up a pair of in-ear Shures that are leagues beyond those tacky ten dollar gel buds you’ve gunked up with pocket lint, and it’s better to just pick up the damn things now instead of shortening your life span through another lousy teeth grinding music session. But what if a Christmas deal comes along a week later? You could have saved a Jackson or two! Not to worry savvy consumers, Gazaro Protect continues to save you cash after the fact, ensuring you’ll get the best deals out of your Best Buy purchases.
Toshiba Is Building A $1 Billion Factory To Make Apple Displays
Reuters is reporting that, according to the Nikkei business daily, Toshiba will build a $1.19 billion factory (that’s 100 billion yen) to make LCD panels, “mainly to supply to Apple Inc’s iPhones”.
The company’s wholly owned unit, Toshiba Mobile Display Co, will construct the facility in Ishikawa prefecture and the plant will churn out low-temperature polysilicon LCD panels, which allow for high-resolution images, the paper said.
Work on the plant will start by early next year, with the production due to begin in the second half of 2011, Nikkei said.
Could this mean that Apple is moving away from its current suppliers of LCD panels, or are they simply looking for other ways of getting the panels into the production chain? Reuters is reporting that Toshiba will “mainly” supply to Apple, which lead us to think that the manufacturer will also make displays for, say, Android or Windows Phone 7 devices.
So is Apple looking for exclusivity or just more manufacturers?