Movie, TV and celebrity database IMDb released earlier today a brand new version of its official iOS app for iPhone and iPad.
Version 2.0 of IMDb for iOS brings a lot of bug fixes and overall performance improvements, a redesigned dashboard with the latest news from a variety of media sources, support for movie showtimes in 13 more countries including Canada and UK, possibility to rate movies and TV shows using your IMDb account.
As TechCrunch reports, IMDb released an iPad app shortly after the iPad came out and it was very successful. The 2.0 update (universal for iPhone and iPad) anticipates the major redesign the website is undergoing at the moment.
IMDb for iPhone and iPad is available for free here. Check out the full 2.0 changelog below. Read more
The Glif is an innovative tripod mount and stand for the iPhone 4 by Thomas Gerhardt and Dan Provost we first covered a month ago when the NYC duo started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the projects. The Glif is based on a pretty expensive manufacturing process called “injection molding” which ensures great build quality and durability.
Unfortunately, the cost of the process was too high for the two designers, so they started a campaign and get covered on many Apple-related publications hoping users would find the idea interesting as much as we did.
Glif is a simple iPhone 4 accessory with two primary functions: mounting your iPhone to a standard tripod, and acting as a kickstand to prop your phone up at an angle.
The idea for the Glif was first formed when we realized the iPhone 4 is literally the best camera we’ve ever owned. With the addition of HD video recording and High Dynamic Range photography, it’s clear Apple is positioning the iPhone as a very high quality portable camera. But because of its small form factor (and Apple’s minimalist design approach) it will never contain a threaded nut for attaching a tripod – standard on almost all photo and video cameras.
The good news is, The Glif campaign managed to raise more than $130k in less than 30 days, while the developers set the initial goal to $10.000. Not a bad accomplishment at all. Thanks to all the users who pledged and supported The Glif, the project is now becoming a reality and will soon be available on The Glif’s official website. You can sign up now to be notified when the product becomes available.
If you missed it, check out The Glif promo video below. [via The Next Web] Read more
Good news, Xmarks fans: the service is not dead. Actually, it’s definitely alive and looking forward to introducing free and premium plans under a new owner, the official Xmarks blog reports.
I’m pleased to announced that we’re in the final stages of completing a sale of Xmarks to a new owner who is 100% committed to keep our great browser sync service running smoothly.
The Xmarks service will evolve to have both a free component and a premium component – we’ll share all the details once the deal is done.
Many doubts and questions arose when Xmarks announced it was shutting down back in September due to the impossibility to find a feasible plan to keep things going. Loyal and regular users of the free bookmarking service signed dozens of petitions to keep the service alive and pledged thousands of dollars through unofficial campaigns to save Xmarks.
Yesterday Apple opened app submissions for the Mac App Store, which as promised at the Back to the Mac event by Steve Jobs will be opening in less than 90 days – around February 2011. Developers can now submit their applications for Apple’s approval – something you want to do now as we still don’t know what policies Apple is going to adopt on the Mac.
When a developer submit an app for Apple’s approval, he has to pick up a name. But the App Store always had a problem with name reservations: developers were able to register a name, block it so no other developer could use it and never upload an actual application for approval. The name was there, frozen, but no app with that name was ever submitted. This practice is known as “name squatting”. After thousands of complaints by frustrated developers who had seen their app’s name “stolen” by suspicious individuals, Apple acknowledged the problem in mid-September and introduced a new policy: you can register an application name, but if you don’t upload anything in 90 days you’ll receive a notification informing you that in 30 days that name will no longer be assigned to you and it’ll be “unlocked” once again. With people sitting on unused names for 2 years, that was a quite welcome change. Read more
I recently started using Microsoft Outlook 2011 Mac as my email client (on a trial basis), and wanted to have Growl notifications whenever I received a new message; it’s pretty simple via AppleScript. Here’s how.
A few minutes ago Skype released the long awaited version of Skype 5 for Mac, a new iteration of the world-leading communication tool that brings a lot of new features and a redesigned interface to OS X. Skype 5 for Mac is labelled as a beta product for now.
Skype 5 for Mac brings complete Address Book integration, group video calling (finally, as this was one of the best features of the Windows counterpart), a new mini control bar, support for offline instant messaging, user profiles and a floating dialpad.
According to an industry source contacted by CNET, Intel’s Light Peak technology development is nearing completion and it should be ready to go public in the first half of 2011 – earlier than initially expected. Light Peak is faster than USB 3.0 and can transfer up to 10 Gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously. USB 3.0 is not supported by Apple and a very few other PC makers have implemented the technology in their computers. Most of all, Intel itself hasn’t released chipsets compatible with USB 3.0 yet.
On the other hand, Light Peak has the chance to be backed next year by two major computer makers in the industry, Apple and Sony. Back in 2009, in fact, Intel stated that they had showed early prototypes of Light Peak to third parties and incorporated the feedback they got into their next designs, adding that Apple is an “an innovating force in the industry”. The demo Intel run on stage was based on a Mac, and Sony showed its appreciation for Light Peak in the past, too.
Even though Intel claims that, actually, they’re committed to the USB 3.0 project, it is clear that the money’s on the table with Light Peak, which is faster and lightweight enough to be implemented in new computers without adding bulk or extra space. Apple is expected to reveal new MacBook Pros in the April - June 2011 timeframe – that would be a good time to announce Light Peak coming to the next generation of OS X, wouldn’t it?
With Lion coming next summer, new MacBook Pros and a developer conference in June, the pieces might be coming together pretty soon.
Apple hasn’t publicly addressed the issues yet, and the document clearly says the information are not to be disclosed externally. The document mentions the display flickering issues many users have experienced, together with colors fading to light after waking from sleep. The suggested solution? Close the lid, wait 10 seconds and open the computer again.
Apple also confirms an upcoming software update will fix the issues.
Weet is a great Twitter client for iPhone I reviewed back in September here. Weet had a huge success and it’s one of the most popular Twitter clients currently available in the App Store, but the developers announced they were working on a Mac version and that customers of the iPhone app would be able to gain free access to the beta.
With the latest 1.1.1 update of Weet for iPhone, beta signup to the Mac version is a go. Read more
