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Apple Debuts Two New ‘Your Verse’ iPad Adverts

Apple last night posted two new iPad adverts as part of their ongoing ‘Your Verse’ series. The two adverts feature travel writer Chérie King and composer/conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Like Apple’s previous ‘Your Verse’ adverts, they tell a story about how people use the iPad in different ways.

My iPad lets me share my journey with the world. Other deaf people tell me they’re traveling more now because they see it’s possible. (Chérie King)

In the advert with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Apple features the apps The Orchestra, Pianist Pro and Notion. Apple has also made available a live performance from Salonen free on iTunes (if you are in the US).

Meanwhile, WordPress, BabelDeck, AroundMe and Fotopedia are just some of the iPad apps featured in the advert with Chérie King.

iPad is the best tool I’ve seen to write down the first impulse. Those moments when your mind is open, free. And then you think, what if? (Esa-Pekka Salonen)

You can view the full adverts below or on Apple’s website, where you can also read the full ‘Your Verse’ stories from Chérie King and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

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Osmo - A Gaming Experience for iPad That Merges the Real and Virtual World

iPad gaming is big business and sometimes it’s difficult to find your niche if you’re a developer because the app community is gigantic. In my opinion, there aren’t enough interactive and educational learning games for kids; I get tired of seeing my kids play Plants vs. Zombies and Jetpack Joyride all the time.

The Osmo is blending the virtual world of the iPad with the real world to defy the boundaries of play. The Osmo is a device that snaps over your iPad’s front-facing camera and, using its reflective AI and built-in mirror, recognizes and responds to real-world activity. It also includes a dock to hold your iPad upright and off the playing surface. It’s kid-tough and doesn’t require batteries, electronics, or an Internet connection to play.

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OmniFocus 2 for Mac from a Reminders User’s Perspective

There was a time when I thought that I needed a powerful GTD app to be productive. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that all I need, really, is just a list of things to remember and some calendar events. I’ve been using Apple’s Reminders and Calendar with iCloud as my primary todo systems for over a year now, and my schedule hasn’t been disrupted by a cataclysm of missed appointments and overflowing todo lists.

It’s with this mindset that I approached OmniFocus 2 for Mac, released today as a new version of The Omni Group’s popular GTD software: fundamentally, I don’t need the app. But as an old OmniFocus user who switched over to Apple’s less flexible Reminders and stayed with it in spite of its (sometimes disarming) simplicity, I thought it’d be interesting to evaluate OmniFocus 2 with a fresh pair of eyes and a genuine curiosity for the work put into this new version.

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Pixelmator 3.2 Sandstone Update Brings New Repair Tool, 16-Bits per Channel Support, and More

The Apple Design Award winning image editor Pixelmator today received a notable update with a new repair tool, 16-bits per channel support, and a lock layers feature amongst other more minor tweaks and bug fixes. The update, dubbed Pixelmator 3.2 Sandstone, is now available for download on the Mac App Store, where it is a free update for existing customers and US$29.99 for new customers.

“Packed with incredible features, Pixelmator 3.2 Sandstone delivers the most empowering image editing experience Pixelmator fans have ever had,” said Saulius Dailide of the Pixelmator Team. “Redeveloped from the ground up Repair Tool, 16-bits per channel support and Lock Layers feature make Pixelmator an excellent image editor that is just as fun and easy-to-use as it is powerful.”

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Facebook Adding Audio Recognition Feature→

Ellis Hamburger, writing for The Verge about Facebook’s “audio recognition”, an upcoming feature to tag music and TV shows when posting to the service with the Facebook app:

Facebook’s implementation, in fact, only works in the US for now, can recognize only 160 TV channels, struggles to recognize music in commercials (which are a big part of Shazam’s business), and only recognizes a few million songs so far. In most cases Shazam works seamlessly, an important part of the company’s secret sauce, but Facebook isn’t exactly competing with Shazam here. Facebook’s audio recognition is designed not to help you figure out what’s playing, but to make it as easy as possible to update your friends about what you’re listening to or watching.

An interesting experiment to drive traffic to Facebook pages for artists and TV shows, but far from a Shazam or SoundHound competitor. Much of the appeal of those apps is that you don’t need to post your discoveries anywhere, whereas Facebook is simply building a feature for the Post interface.

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