This Week's Sponsor:

HomeSnap

A Private, Read-Only Window Into Your HomeKit Home

Posts tagged with "apple"

Kickoff For Mac Aims To Simplify Teamwork

Working and communicating effectively in a group for a project can be quite painful and difficult, but Kickoff is a new group collaboration tool that aims to make it much easier for Mac users.

Designed for small teams of people, Kickoff gives users three integral features required for effective teamwork – chat, file management and to-do’s/notes. What makes Kickoff look really interesting is that each of these core functionalities are fully featured and thought through. For example it doesn’t just store files, because it also has built-in versioning and transfers within chat, whilst to-do’s can be allocated to certain people and a dashboard provides an overall glance at everything in the project.

It syncs everything over the air in real-time and because it’s a Mac app you can easily drag files, use Quick Look on files and receive dock notifications. Unfortunately pricing will probably be a bit prohibitive for many, starting at 20€ a month for up to three users, whilst for up to 15 users it is 50€ per month, although there is a two week free trial. Jump the break for some more screenshots.

Read more

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Hits The iPad

The comprehensive and appreciated Merriam-Webster dictionary is now available in an official iPad optimized app for free. The iPad app, built upon their iPhone app, has been redesigned to take advantage of the iPad’s screen and brings a few new features.

The main new feature is a scrolling index which, when the iPad is orientated in landscape, appears on the left of the screen, and lets you scroll the entire dictionary in alphabetical order. It is largely pointless, but pretty cool – did you know the word turmeric is the immediate word before turmoil in the dictionary?

Just like the iPhone app it has voice search powered by Nuance, synonyms and antonym support, audio pronunciations, example history and pretty much everything else that a dictionary app needs. The app does have banner ads at the bottom of the screen, but they are fairly unobtrusive and considering you get an entire dictionary for free, it is well worth it.

A Lunch At Apple Changed Square’s Name and Design→

A Lunch At Apple Changed Square’s Name and Design

The name Squirrel was known even before Square’s official announcement in December of 2009. As was the fact that the dongle was acorn shaped. The information that a lunch at Apple changed the design of the Square dongle so drastically and was the reason behind the name change is new, as far as I can tell.

I can just imagine that lunch in the Apple cafeteria with Steve Jobs telling Dorsey to drop the woodsy Acorn look and go with something white, minimal and squared off. Hey, it worked for Apple right?

The Next Web reports Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder and Square CEO, gave out interesting tidbits on the origins of Square when accepting the 21st Century Visionary award in San Francisco last night. In particular, Square was originally called Squirrel and the reader was wooden and acorn shaped. That was, until a lunch at Apple, quite possibly with Scott Forstall, magically changed the design to a squared off white reader named Square.

Furthermore, it really seems like Apple is a major source of inspiration for Square. From the design of the card reader and the website, to the skeuomorphic attention to detail in the new Card Case app and the whole style of Jack Dorsey’s presentation earlier this week, the simplicity and elegance of Square are certainly well-suited for Apple’s retail stores.

Permalink

New Rumor Claims Apple Is Considering AMOLED For iPad 3

According to a report by The Korea Herald, in a recent visit to South Korea Apple COO (and temporary CEO) Tim Cook has discussed with Samsung the possibility of implementing AMOLED displays in the next-generation iPad, dubbed iPad 3. The “industry sources” cited by The Korea Herald claim that Apple would be interested in the technology for an “upgraded version” of the iPad 2, with the website also relaying an old rumor that suggested Apple could release another iPad model later this year.

Apple wants to tap into Samsung’s AMOLED technology for an upgraded version of the iPad 2, considered as many by the iPad 3 that is likely to be launched toward the end of this year,” a source told The Korea Herald on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

Tim Cook is not only the COO, but also acting CEO of Apple. During Cook’s trip last week, Apple seems to have offered Samsung an advance for the AMOLED displays, the source said.

Apple’s rumor timeline in regards to AMOLED displays produced by Samsung goes a long way back to 2009: various reports from last year indicated the company had considered AMOLED screens for the iPhone 3GS, but couldn’t implement them due to production capacity issues, high costs and the PenTile technology used by Samsung at the time.  Also last year, when Apple was rumored to be working on a new iPad, speculation surrounding the supply chain in Asia claimed Apple was negotiating with Samsung over the usage of AMOLED displays, which didn’t happen as the company preferred standard LCDs with IPS technology produced by LG, among others. Manufacturing issues with LG displays that allegedly caused problems with iPad 2 shipments in the last quarter might lead the company to choose another supplier for the next-generation iPad, though The Korea Herald is also claiming Apple is considering a major shift in the technology being used and an early launch later this year.

Samsung’s AMOLED technology is said to have dramatically improved over the past months to be suitable for tablets, sport brighter colors and deeper blacks, better behavior in direct sunlight and low power consumption. Samsung is currently using AMOLED in its Galaxy S smartphones, and it’s also rumored to use the displays in future tablets running Android. Samsung is currently facing a lawsuit from Apple, whose claims of patent infringement for the design of the iPhone and iOS copied by Samsung’s Galaxy devices and TouchWiz UI have led the tech press to believe future collaborations between the two companies may not go as smoothly as before. [The Korea Herald via 9to5mac]

Miro 4.0 Available Now, Miro For iPad Coming Soon

Miro, the open source media player and organiser, was today updated to version 4 and it heralds in some significant improvements and feature additions. Most notably it has taken on the role of being iTunes for Android devices, challenging others such as DoubleTwist with its media syncing capabilities.

It allows Android users sync the typical music, movies and podcasts but will even allow them to download Android apps from either the Google Android Market or from Amazon’s Android app store. The other significant addition is a home sharing feature for content stored in Miro. Using the iTunes DAAP protocol, it lets users stream their Miro Library to any other DAAP or vice versa, letting you play content from other DAAP clients, even a NAS drive on your network.

The New York Times is also reporting that the Miro developers, the non-profit group The Participatory Culture Foundation, have also been hard at work developing a Miro app for the iPad, which will launch within three weeks. The app will likely support the streaming features introduced in Miro 4.0 as well as focusing on podcasts, which was the original appeal for Miro.

[Via The New York Times]

New Apple Stores Set To Open In Florence and Madrid

The trusted source on new Apple Store openings, ifoAppleStore, is today reporting on two new Apple stores in Spain and Italy that are currently undergoing construction. The new Italy store is expected to be opened in the I Gigli suburban shopping center in Florence, located on the ground floor and facing a large circular courtyard. Based on documents that were posted on the traditional black barricade, the stores construction will be completed in August, suggesting an early September opening.

The third Apple store in Spain, is set to be a spectacle, occupying all seven levels of the historic building at #1 Puerta del Sol in Madrid, overlooking the large city plaza (pictured above). The historic 1863 building is currently being restored and renovated. The retail store is then expected to operate on at least two levels and the basement. As for the other levels, ifoAppleStore speculates that they may be used as administrative offices for Apple, meeting rooms or training space. Madrid’s mayor revealed the plans last week when he confirmed to reporters that Apple was leasing the entire building. The building, which has an iconic “Tio Pepe” electronic sign will be returned to the building after renovations are complete. The store will most likely open early next year, with significant construction work still to be completed.

AT&T Begins LTE Rollout Across 5 Cities

AT&T today released its initial LTE rollout plan, with five markets to get LTE sometime “this summer”. Those lucky cities will be Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and San Antonio.

Ten more markets, which are yet to be named, will also be getting AT&T’s LTE network built in the second half of this year. AT&T says in its press release that across those first 15 markets, 70 million Americans will have coverage on their LTE network. Currently AT&T does not offer any LTE compatible devices, but again claims that there will be, by the end of the year, some devices that are LTE capable.

Earlier this year, Apple posted a job listing for someone with cellular protocol experience, who would have the specific duty of implementing, integrating and maintaining various network protocols, including LTE. Whilst in January, China Mobile’s Chairman said “Apple has made it clear they will support TD-LTE.” This year’s iPhone, which is widely expected to be revealed in September, is unlikely to have LTE support. However, with LTE adoption spreading across the world, and multiple Android and soon Windows Phone 7 devices supporting LTE, it seems very plausible that the following iPhone will support LTE.

[Via Engadget]

The Story Behind Hype, An Interactive HTML5 Animation Builder For OS X

Last Friday, a bunch of ex-Apple employees launched Hype, an HTML5 animation builder for OS X. The application aims to let users easily build interactive sites that rival those built with Flash. Already the idea and the implementation has proved successful amongst consumers, with the app currently ranking as the highest grossing app on the Mac App Store. The Startup Foundry met with one of the cofounders, Jonathan Deutsch, and picked his brain on a number of questions surrounding Hype.

Deutsch worked at Apple primarily as the engineering manager for the back-end of Mail.app on OS X but also dabbled in software updates, automation technology, preparing Steve Jobs’ keynotes and various other engineering projects. The other co-founder, Ryan Nielsen was a senior member of the Mac OS X Project management team – central in the development of major OS X releases. Asked why Deutsch would leave a safe job at Apple to build a start-up, he said that he has always wanted to have his own company and wanted to be part of the new HTML5 wave hitting the web.

I was faced with the decision of continuing to work with the great people on my team on a clearly high impact project, living with the “what if” syndrome, or trying to forge my own path.  ”Regret Minimization” is what should win out in life, so it did.

The idea for Hype came after Deutsch returned from a holiday in Europe and wanted to make a website sharing some of the photos he took. Yet coding it with HTML5 would have been a nightmare and he thought there must be a better way. “It stuck with me and eventually I realized this was going to be a great opportunity for a business”.

Deutsch says that Apple’s condemnation of Flash wasn’t really a part of his decision-making, rather it was Apple’s efforts at driving the web forward that played a larger role. He praises WebKit as a great project that whilst initially controversial, has driven innovation in web browsers, particularly on mobile devices that almost exclusively use WebKit.

You can download Hype in the Mac App Store for $29.99.

[Via The Startup Foundry]

Apple Promises OS X Update to Delete Mac Defender Malware

[image via]

A new support document surfaced on Apple’s website today reveals the company will release a Mac OS X software update in the next few days (likely a security update) that will automatically find, block and remove the popular Mac Defender malware from infected OS X machines.

A recent phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. The user is then offered Mac Defender “anti-virus” software to solve the issue. This “anti-virus” software is malware (i.e. malicious software).  Its ultimate goal is to get the user’s credit card information which may be used for fraudulent purposes. The most common names for this malware are MacDefender, MacProtector and MacSecurity.

In the coming days, Apple will deliver a Mac OS X software update that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants.  The update will also help protect users by providing an explicit warning if they download this malware.

Whilst an internal AppleCare document leaked last week suggested Apple was telling employees not to remove the Mac Defender malware from users’ computers (also telling the same employees to redirect users to the Mac App Store to find proper antivirus software), it appears the company is taking the necessary steps to make sure Mac Defender won’t spread even further – they’re also offering in the same support document updated today a handy removal guide to manually find and delete the malicious application. Mac Defender began spreading quickly in early May, when hundreds of users reported online they discovered a malware-scanning utility on their computers that they did not want to have installed. It turned out Mac Defender still required a manual installation to be activated, though downloads effectively happened without a user’s consent when visiting certain webpages, often linked on Google Image Search. [via]