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Spaced: Beautiful App With The Latest News From Space

NASA is holding a press conference tomorrow “to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life”, and what better way to check on the coverage of the conference than Spaced app for iPhone and iPad?

I found this app in the App Store this morning while I was looking for my daily software fix. I’ve always been interested in reading space-related material, but I’ve never really subscribed to a set of sources with my RSS reader or bought magazines for that matter. I just followed a bunch of people who regularly tweet that kind of news and I don’t mind giving Reddit’s space section a read every two days or so. Read more

Adobe Launches Flash 10.2 Beta

Are you one of those who recently uninstalled Flash from your computer? I did, mainly because I use Chrome – which comes with its own instance of Flash. If you’ve really uninstalled Flash though, you might want to take a look at Adobe’s latest beta release of the popular plugin.

Version 10.2 beta comes with initial support for Stage Video, a new API Adobe demoed a few weeks ago that is aimed at reducing processor usage by relying on the GPU instead. While hardware acceleration had been deployed in the previous versions of Flash, Stage Video offloads all video tasks to the GPU reducing the CPU load by up to 85%.

Flash 10.2 beta also improves text rendering and support for dual monitors. It’s available for download here, press release embedded below. There are a lot of fixes in this new release as well, so make sure to hit the Adobe source link for a full rundown of what’s new. [TUAW via Adobe] Read more

Renault To Launch First European iAd Tomorrow

Looks like everything’s ready to go for iAds in Europe. With a press release on their official website, European car maker Renault announced that they’ll launch the first iAd campaign in Europe tomorrow, December 2nd.

The advertising campaign will be aimed at promoting the Twizy, a new electric tandem vehicle that will be available next year. It’s a “city car” that’s completely electric and comes with four wheels, a steering wheel and a very unusual shape. The iAd (you can take a look at the video below, in French) will allow users to check on various Twizy information such as charging times. Read more

Unreal Development Kit Coming to iOS→

Unreal Development Kit Coming to iOS

When it ships, the UDK iOS will include the same editors and code used to create a number of blockbuster games, and will be available to anyone wishing to publish games via the App Store. Toolsets of this quality generally cost developers anywhere from $500 to tens of thousands of dollars, so by releasing the UDK for free, Epic is drastically lowering the barrier of entry for iOS developers wishing to create graphically impressive games.

We can’t wait for Infinity Blade to show up on December 9th. It’s a taste of great things coming to iOS gaming in the future.

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Apple Posts New iPad Ad To Showcase iOS 4.2 Features

A few minutes ago Apple posted a new iPad commercial on its website called “iPad is amazing”, aimed at showcasing the new features of iOS 4.2. Everything’s in there: AirPlay, AirPrint (although limited to some HP printers), multitasking and the usual selection of apps.

Surprisingly enough, no folders are shown in the video. As for the apps that made an appearance in the commercial, it’s nice to see the official TED app developed by Matt Drance in there.

We’re working on getting a Youtube version up as quickly as possible. In the meantime, check out the video here.

Update: Youtube embed below.

iOS 4.2 Comes With Technology To Minimize Network Congestion→

iOS 4.2 Comes With Technology To Minimize Network Congestion

With its latest iPhone iOs 4.2 software, it looks like Apple is joining efforts to cut smartphone signalling down to size. Tests by Nokia Siemens Networks have shown that iPhone iOs 4.2  supports a technology called Network Controlled Fast Dormancy, which we have already introduced into our networks. Basically, the technology makes the network and the handset work together to create the best conditions for smartphones to work quickly, yet have a long battery life and minimize network congestion.

Nice.

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Right After The Mac Beta, Reeder 2.2 for iPhone Brings New Facebook and Instapaper Features

The first public beta for Mac went out a few minutes ago and an update to the iPhone version showed up in iTunes soon after that. Looks like December 1st is going to be a Reeder day.

While I think I’ll definitely spend the night working in Notational Velocity trying to figure out the best way to put in words what I’ve been thinking about Reeder for Mac all along, the 2.2 iPhone version is here and it rocks. Just like the latest iPad update, Reeder now comes with Zootool and Facebook sharing. Fair enough, iPhone users were waiting for a way to easily send items from Google Reader to Facebook. But this 2.2 update doesn’t stop at Zootool and Facebook, or improved Delicious login support.

Reeder for iPhone 2.2 comes with a new article slider functionality that allows you to send items to Instapaper and / or Read It Later with a single swipe. It’s awesome. If you’re an active Instapaper or RIL user, this is a very welcome feature.

Reeder for iPhone is still the best Google Reader client out there. Go get it. Now.

Public Beta of Reeder for Mac Now Available

Reeder developer Silvio Rizzi promised a public beta of Reeder for Mac by the end of November and he didn’t break his promise: Reeder for Mac “draft 1” is now available for download here. Reeder comes to the Mac after two very successful iterations on the iPhone and iPad (our review of the iPad version here).

This is a first rough beta of the app, which has been in the works for several months now, and it’s still missing key features such as in-app feed management, search and downloads. The application is already pretty fast and stable, but it can’t be considered a final version at all. Feedback can be submitted to: [email protected].

A lot of things have changed since our exclusive first look at Reeder for Mac months ago. Rizzi has been busy polishing the overall feeling of the app and adding features (especially sharing ones); he completely redesigned the navigation of unread items in Google Reader by putting folders and subscriptions in “boxes” sitting in a left sidebar, he tried a more iPad-like approach.

Reeder for Mac is going to be huge, and this is just the beginning. I guess the app will eventually find its way to the Mac App Store after initial testing. Look for a detailed review of Reeder “Draft 1” on MacStories tomorrow.

Update: review online here.

Update #2: Reeder Vs. Fitt’s Law.

Attention, RIM: JPMorgan Deploys iPads

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said months ago they didn’t see RIM catching up with Cupertino’s extraordinary success in the “foreseeable future”, and everyone’s been talking about the fast growth of Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad in the business market (and enterprise). Businesses were already “jumping on the iPad” back in August (and July too, we recall), now the deployment of iOS devices continues with JPMorgan Chase & Co giving iPads to investment bankers.

Bankers will be able to use the iPad for both business and personal use, they’ll be able to download personal apps on the tablet while keeping tabs on their tasks using business apps sold in the App Store or developed internally. Of course the Wall Street folks will have the ability to access their emails, calendars and meeting notes on the iPad. Read more