If you didn’t already know, we’ve set up a new twitter account for Deals, it’s @MacStoriesDeals. We’ll tweet the daily deals there as well as exclusive weekend deals too. Help spread the word! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
Posts tagged with "iOS"
#MacStoriesDeals - Friday
Apple Releases iOS 4.3.1 [Direct Links]
Apple just released iOS 4.3.1. It’s available now in iTunes if you check for updates. The new version of iOS fixes graphic glitches for iPod touch 4G owners, resolves issues when authenticating with enterprise services and other bugs when activating and connecting to cellular data networks. iOS 4.3.1 isn’t available for the Verizon iPhone.
Screenshot of the changelog below, direct links after the break.
#MacStoriesDeals - Thursday
If you didn’t already know, we’ve set up a new twitter account for Deals, it’s @MacStoriesDeals. We’ll tweet the daily deals there as well as exclusive weekend deals too. Help spread the word! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
Microsoft Prepares Enterprise Software To Manage iOS, Android and WP7 Mobile Devices
Despite the perception of Microsoft being bitter enemies with Apple it sure seems as if this rivalry is cooling off lately with Microsoft working to provide several services and products to iOS users in particular. From their iPhone apps to additional features in Bing (that won’t even make it to Windows Phone 7 till late 2011), Microsoft is making a concerted effort to be relevant in the increasingly iOS (and Android too) mobile market.
Its latest foray is an enterprise and corporate focused piece of software that will allow IT departments to more easily manage a workplace of iOS, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7 mobile devices. Named, in typically superfluous Microsoft fashion, System Center Configuration Manager 2012, it will let those IT departments enforce password complexity and security, remote wipe devices amongst other key functions.
As Microsoft describes it, SCCM can “Streamline operations with a unified infrastructure that integrates client management and protection across mobile, physical, and virtual environments.” The Beta 2 of System Center Configuration Manager 2012 is available for download but it does require registration and only runs on Windows Server 2008.
[Via TUAW]
The Big Data Center Theory
Amidst news about the departure of Bertrand Serlet, this morning has seen some outstanding opinions about what Apple will do with their data-center in Maiden, North Carolina. Combined with the unrelated rumors that Apple could license AirPlay to consumer-electronics makers, and we have various pieces of the puzzle that when brought together give pundits food-for-thought.
It’s stupid at this point to speculate whether Apple’s data-center is being built for delivering iTunes content and MobileMe: that answer was satisfied by COO Tim Cook at their shareholder meeting last month. Yet that’s a non-answer, because if Apple’s model for consuming iTunes content doesn’t change then why bother with a bigger facility? Scale is one thing, but you don’t invest a billion dollars in something without a game-plan. The question isn’t what the data-center will be used for, but how. Certainly MobileMe needs some help in the reliability department, but iTunes’ current model for consuming content (with a focus on downloading vs. streaming) has been well handled. Has anything recently consistently stuttered or ground to a halt on iTunes? Downloads have always been generally seamless. To instigate such an expenditure, the iTunes model would obviously move from primarily downloading content to streaming it. They’re not building a data-center because Apple can’t handle the iTunes load – they’re building it to prepare for what’s next. When you match this to today’s AirPlay rumors, I think Apple will make a huge play for the television market this year.
Major Publishers in Support of Inklings iPad Textbooks
Inkling, an iPad textbook startup, has just announced that it has won financial backing from McGraw-Hill and Pearson, the two biggest names in the textbook business. The exact amount was not disclosed, except that it was a “multimillion dollar” financing.
Matt MacInnis, the Founder and chief executive of Inkling, said their goal involves using the content of an existing textbook then adding multimedia and interactive content for the iPad. Inkling started up right after the announcement of the iPad in January of last year. Based in San Francisco, the startup has now released 14 textbooks and more than 100 titles by this fall.
There is other competition building iPad textbooks, MacInnis acknowledged. Competitors like ScrollMotion, and Kno but he argued that everyone else is adding ‘limited’ features to a PDF of the textbook and that competitors e-books are developed by the publishers’ business divisions without very much input from the original textbook creators. Alternately, Inkling wants to publish apps that feel like they were built for the iPad, which means working with the books’ authors to create new content.
Video after the break. Read more
#MacStoriesDeals - Wednesday
If you didn’t already know, we’ve set up a new twitter account for Deals, it’s @MacStoriesDeals - please follow for Deals-only posts. We’ll tweet the daily deals there as well as exclusive weekend deals too. Help spread the word! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
iReply: Never Forget To Respond To A Text Message Again
It’s happened to everyone, you’ve received a text message and quickly read it but for any number of reasons decided you would respond to it later but then realize two days later that the message is still sitting unanswered in the Messages app on your iPhone.
Apple does a good enough job of alerting you to any unread text messages, but once read, you won’t get any more alerts about that text message. A new tweak to hit the Cydia store, iReply, aims to enhance that iOS SMS alert function by also reminding you of any text messages that you haven’t replied to and avoiding that awkward moment when your friend or boss asks why you ignored their text message. Jump the break for a short review of the app.
Quick Tip: iMovie App May Not Recognize Videos From Your Camcorder
With the release of the iPad 2, Apple updated the official iMovie app for iOS to include native support for the device and a brand new user interface that takes advantage of the features and real screen estate offered by the tablet. With new precision controls, intuitive UI and several sharing functionalities, we have seen iMovie for iPad has become for many the perfect way to quickly import a video, edit it with cool transitions and subtitles, and send it off to the cloud. These videos can be imported from an iPhone or iPod Touch, or just shot with an iPad 2 in HD.
Weeks ago we discussed Apple needed a better way to let iOS devices communicate with each other to share information and data without the need of using the cable. Something like AirDrop for iOS. As it stands now, you’re either forced to attach cables, sync with iTunes, or upload to MobileMe or Dropbox and download media again on a second device.
But the problem with the iMovie app for iOS also lies in the fact that it doesn’t recognize “certain non-Apple video clips” recorded with non-iOS devices. A support document updated yesterday explains:
iMovie for iOS is designed to work with video recorded with iPad 2, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (4th generation). To ensure optimal performance, the app filters out certain non-Apple video clips from the Video browser. These incompatible clips cannot be added to your iMovie project.
It’s simple: videos from your camcorder might not be compatible with iMovie out of the box, so forget about the camera connection kit or other techniques. Apple doesn’t provide technical specifications, but we’re pretty sure a free app like Handbrake can help you along with the conversion of a video to an iOS-compatible format. [via AppAdvice]