Dropbox updated its official iOS client earlier today, adding the ability to save files to your account from any app using the iOS 8 share sheet.
Dropbox for iOS Gets Action Extension to Save Files from Share Sheets
Making Music on iOS: Guitar Amps, Effects Apps & Hardware
Back in the 1980s I played guitar. Yes, I’m that old. I learned from books and by playing along with CDs, and I jacked my Charvel guitar (awesome) into a Session guitar amp (terrible), and I never really got any better.
Now, 30-odd years later, I’m at it again. And like most things, except mobile phones, everything is better than it was in the 80s. Mid-range and even low-end guitars are better-made and cheaper. Amps are cheap and no longer terrible. And we have iOS devices and apps which can replace whole suitcases full of effects pedals.
That’s what we’re looking at today – iPad (and iPhone) guitar amp simulations, along with virtual effects pedals. And along the way, we’ll look at hardware to connect up your guitar to the iPad, and at some speaker options so you can actually hear yourself play.
Spoiler alert – the guitar world has taken a big turn towards the awesome.
Modern Family’s New Episode Takes Place on the Screen of a MacBook Pro→
Here’s something you don’t hear every day: next week’s episode of ABC’s Modern Family will take place entirely on the screen of a MacBook Pro. The Verge writes:
In the Modern Family episode, we’re looking at the computer screen of Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) while she’s waiting at the airport. She’s had a disagreement with her daughter Haley (Sarah Hyland) and can’t reach her, and over the course of the episode Claire jumps across multiple Mac apps and video chats to talk to her family and track Haley down (apparently everyone in the Modern Family universe uses Apple products for convenient FaceTime and iMessage sessions).
The best part, tech-wise, is that the graphics have been entirely recreated manually for resolution needs, forcing the authors to cope with changes in the Yosemite betas.
“I was building the assets for Yosemite back when Yosemite was still in beta,” he said. While it helped ensure the episode wouldn’t feel dated when it finally aired, it also led to the unfortunate situation of Brown finishing up assets, only to have to tweak or swap things around when Apple updated the interface in a new build. “It was frustrating to be like, ‘Act one, totally locked,’ and then come in Monday and hear the FaceTime notification has changed.”
And Re/Code:
The trick was producing footage that would look good (and prove readable) on a giant living-room TV. That required the technical intervention of a post-production team, which worked for months to create a replica of Apple’s OS X “Yosemite” desktop operating system painstakingly updated with every revision to the software.
“Basically, what you’re seeing on screen is all hand-made,” said John Brown, the show’s motion graphics producer, who had previously worked on commercials for the Google+ social network that uses a similar narrative approach.
Modern Family isn’t new to Apple devices. In 2010, before the iPad’s release, the show featured an episode focused on the device and Phil (one of the characters) struggling to get one on launch day.
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint for iOS Add Support for iCloud Drive
Microsoft today updated the iOS versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint to include support for iCloud Drive. This means that iOS 8 users can now open, edit and save documents to iCloud Drive, making it even easier for users who want to share a document between multiple apps. To access the iCloud Drive pop-up window, simply tap the ‘More’ button in the Office app’s open or save panel.
Today’s addition of iCloud Drive support follows the partnership between Microsoft and Dropbox which saw the suite of iOS Office apps add support for Dropbox back in November last year.
The New Yorker Profiles Jony Ive→
Earlier today, The New Yorker published an extensive profile of Jony Ive. The in-depth article covers a wide range of topics, including Ive’s early life and career, thoughts on design, Apple Watch, relationship with Steve Jobs, and more.
It’s a must-read. Instead of pulling out relevant bits to reprint them here with fancy headlines, I’m going to use one paragraph about Ive’s sense of care and ask you to enjoy the full story over at The New Yorker.
We were in the fast lane of I-280, in squinting low sunshine. When I asked for examples of design carelessness, Ive cranked the conversation back to Apple. He has the discipline to avoid most indiscretions, but not always the facility to disguise the effort. “At the risk of sounding terribly sentimental, I do think one of the things that just compel us is that we have this sense that, in some way, by caring, we’re actually serving humanity,” he said. “People might think it’s a stupid belief, but it’s a goal—it’s a contribution that we can hope we can make, in some small way, to culture.”
Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant on Your Smartphone [Sponsor]
There’s a mountain of data inside your car waiting to be unleashed, and all you have to do is plug in a quick little connector and download a mobile application.
Automatic is a smart driving assistant that plugs into your car’s data port and lets you connect your smartphone (either iPhone or Android) with your car. By talking to your car’s onboard computer and using your smartphone’s GPS and data plan to upgrade your car’s capabilities, Automatic will allow you to easily diagnose your engine light, never forget where you parked your car, and save hundreds of dollars on gas.
Automatic learns your driving habits and gives you suggestions through subtle audio cues to drive smarter and stop wasting gas. Thanks to a map view available on your phone, Automatic can display a trip timeline after every driving session, showing you how you’re doing with a Drive Score; the app can even track local gas prices and tell you how much you’re spending.
In case of engine problems, Automatic can decipher what the “check engine” light means and show you a description of the issue with a possible solution. And thanks to a feature called Crash Alert, Automatic can detect many types of serious crashes and automatically alert local authorities as well as your loved ones when you can’t.
Automatic is currently available in the US for iPhone and Android devices, with a 45-day return policy and free shipping in 2 business days.
MacStories readers can go to automatic.com/macstories to get $20 off and buy Automatic at just $79.99. For more information, check out Automatic’s website.
Our thanks to Automatic for sponsoring MacStories this week.
Make Keyboard Shortcuts for Two Menu Items with the Same Name
OS X has an easy way to add keyboard shortcuts: in System Preferences.app go to the “Keyboard” preference pane, click on “Shortcuts” and then “App Shortcuts”. You can create a “global” keyboard shortcut (which will work in any application which has a matching menu item), or you can create an app specific shortcut which will only work in one particular application.
That’s great, but what happens if an application has two menu items with the same name? How can you tell which menu item will be used for the keyboard shortcut? Turns out there’s an easy way to do this, but one that I had never heard of, and I’m guessing others might not have known it either. I’m going to use 1Password as an example, but this will work in any OS X app.
The iTunes Store and Curated Sections→
Last week, Billboard’s Shirley Halperin and Ed Christman published a story on Apple’s rumored plans for a new music streaming service. A paragraph from the piece stood out to me:
Other clues suggest a major scrub to the iTunes store, which will rid itself of thousands of titles including soundalikes and certain covers, all at Apple’s discretion, say insiders. Moreover, the disallowed music includes artist rerecordings, favoring original or best-of versions and, critics contend, the major labels that retain those rights. Additionally, featured-artist sliders, previously chosen editorially, may now be determined by sales velocity, leaving some to wonder if iTunes is becoming less like a Tower Records and more of a Target – limited selection and a focus on hit titles. “Until now, iTunes has been good to the indies,” contends one vet. Conversely, an Apple source says such case-by-case house-cleaning to eliminate duplicative and deceptive versions is routine.
(Emphasis mine)
The “scrub” to the iTunes Store has been previously reported, and, as Halperin and Christman note, it has, to an extent, been performed in the past as well.
I have, however, a hard time believing Apple will transform featured recommendations into Top Charts-like carousels determined by “sales velocity”. The company has traditionally taken a lot of a pride in its editorial curation with sections refreshed on a weekly basis and highlighted on the front page of iTunes. They bought Beats Music last year, which included an in-house editorial team of music curators and critics. And, they recently hired Zane Lowe, well known for his excellent taste in emerging artists and classic albums. If Apple is indeed planning to abandon editorially curated sections on the iTunes Store, all signs point to the contrary.
iWork for iCloud Beta Available for Everyone, No Need to Own an Apple Device
Late last week Apple made a change to their iCloud web services, opening up the iWork for iCloud beta to everyone. Previously the iWork suite of web apps (Pages, Numbers & Keynote) was limited to those users who owned an Apple device.
With last week’s change anyone can go to beta.icloud.com, click the banner (shown above) to sign up for an Apple ID (which includes 1GB storage) and use the iWork for iCloud beta. Just make sure you do head to the beta iCloud website, as the main iCloud website doesn’t let you sign up for an Apple ID yet. The iWork for iCloud web apps, which are still classified by Apple as betas, was first announced at WWDC 2013.
[via iMore]