Oliver Haslam

iDB holiday gift guide 2013: Oliver’s picks

We're now firmly into that time of year where we all start panicking. Christmas is supposed to be a joyful time. A time for bringing family and friends together for a good party and far too much eating. But alas, before all that can happen there's the hard work that comes with buying gifts, and that's why we at iDB are doing our utmost to take the stress out of buying gifts for the geek in your life.

As Cody has already pointed out, this is the second annual gift guide, and we're hoping that it will be as useful for you reading it as it was for us as we wrote it. I may not be the first to share my gifting tips here, but hopefully I've still got a few ideas up my sleeve that haven't already been chosen.

Let's find out, shall we? That sounds like a plan...

In Motorola’s Moto G phone, Apple’s iPhone 4S has more than met its match

Apple has a problem. It's not a problem that pertains to its high-end iPhone 5s, and it's not even a problem with the mid-range, somewhat superfluous iPhone 5c. It's actually the iPhone 4S that is an issue for Apple. Sitting at the bottom of the company's smartphone range and being offered for peanuts if not free, the iPhone 4S was previously thought of as a rather capable budget handset. And it still is.

The problem that Apple now faces is that all those cheap Android phones that we've all laughed at over the years are starting to get a bit big for their shoes. In fact, some are downright great handsets, with one in particular doing its best to shake up the way we think about smartphones and what we should be paying for them.

I am, of course, talking about the Motorola Moto G...

Facebook is testing video ads in News Feed: this is how it looks

We told you last week about a Facebook for iOS update that gave the social network the ability to automatically play videos right inside our timelines. Similar to how videos begin to play in Instagram as soon as they're scrolled to, Facebook has decided to bring the feature to Facebook proper, and as Cody has already told us all, there's no way to stop it.

Which we thought was a bit odd. That is, until the other shoe dropped and Facebook's master plan fell into place: video ads.

Now Facebook has published a post on its "Facebook for Business" news page in which it explains how auto-playing videos – and ads – work, as well as offering up an example for those of us yet to be (un)fortunate enough to witness them in our timelines...

Is iOS 7 battery life getting you down? These tips may just help

It's a situation we seem to find ourselves in with each iOS update, yet we always seem to be surprised when it happens. Alas, it seems that iOS 7 has left many of us with the same battery problems that plagued almost every other big point-0 release of the operating system that powers the iPhone and iPad.

Anyone with a long memory will remember that we had your back when iOS 5 was causing chaos with iPhone 4S batteries a couple of years ago, and with iPhones the world over seemingly unable to hold a charge as long as they used to, we thought it might be time to offer one or two tips on trying to eek as many hours out of a charge as possible.

So, without further ado, let's get started turning things off...

Will the iPhone get its own Mac Pro moment?

There's no argument that the Mac Pro was in need of some love and in fact, we'd argue that it's been overdue some attention for quite some time now. We'd hoped that Apple would offer some signs that the Mac Pro was still in their hearts at this year's WWDC, but we never invisaged something like what Phil Schiller finally announced on-stage. It was a wow moment the likes of which we don't recall since the original iPhone introduction.

Which got us thinking.

With iPhones being released each year, and with leaks almost commonplace when it comes to Apple's suppliers, are we in danger of growing bored with Apple's iPhone? Perhaps more accurately, are we no longer capable of being surprised by a newly announced smartphone from Apple?

What would it take for you to upgrade from your iPhone 5?

It's arguably the worst kept secret in modern technology. In fact, it's hard to really call it a secret anymore, because anyone with even a passing knowledge of smartphones will know that Apple tends to announce and release new iPhones around August/September/October time.

That's why rumors start to really heat up around now, and photos of supposed screens, random cables attachments and claimed rear covers begin cropping up with increasing frequency. It's as predictable as night turning to day, and we love it.

One of the perennial questions though is one that I'm being asked on a regular basis, and not just by techy types. The question is a simple one: what will Apple announce and will I want to buy it?

How much is too much for mobile games?

I was going to write this post when everything was raw, soon after the news had developed and the internet was awash with people seemingly frothing at the mouth. Frothing, apparently, for one of two reasons.

Firstly, we had the people frothing because "ZOMG, 20 dollars for an iPad game!!!!." Apparently anything the wrong side of free is just about the developers trying to squeeze money out of their hard work. Because, well, it's their living.

Then secondly, there were the polar opposites. People screaming back, apparently oblivious to the fact they were wasting their time, claiming that developers deserve to be paid and that free to play games have ruined the App Store, caused world hunger and possibly even kicked a kitten once.

The truth though, as is so often the case, is somewhere in-between...

Calm down, it’s only a beta

Now that Apple's iOS 7 is out of the bag, everyone seems to have an opinion on whether it hits the mark. If there was one word we would use to describe Apple's latest version of its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch software it would probably be 'polarizing' and with good reason. After all, iOS 7 is undoubtedly the biggest change to iOS since the iPhone was introduced all those years ago.

But one thing does appear to be getting lost in all the hysteria surrounding iOS 7. One thing that people do seem to be forgetting not just when forging their opinions on Apple's new direction, but when condemning existing App Store apps with poor reviews due to compatibility.

Calm down dear, it's only a beta...

Apple sticks it to cheaters with Game Center on iOS 7

All the talk about iOS 7 is, rightly or wrongly, revolving around the aesthetic changes that Apple has made, but that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of alterations under the hood. Game Center, a feature often ignored by many, is receiving some much needed love with this update and those pesky cheaters are top of the agenda.

Whilst adding new Game Center features that aim to make recognizing cheaters as easy as possible for developers, Apple is also adding other development tools that will make the whole Game Center experience better as a whole. Improved leaderboards and challenges are just two of the changes coming in iOS 7.

With rampant cheating and high scores that have obviously tampered with, Game Center is set to receive its biggest overhaul yet, and most people won't even notice what's changed...

Steve Jobs originally didn’t want to enter the e-book market

In a dose of irony that shouldn't be lost on anyone and at a time when Apple's Eddy Cue is being hauled before the U.S. Department of Justice in Manahattan, Apple's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services has admitted that Apple co-founder and then CEO Steve Jobs didn't even want to sell e-books in the first place.

Speaking whilst testifying during the ongoing price fixing case yesterday, Cue said that when first approached about the idea of launching iBooks, Steve Jobs was not keen on it, leaving Cue to bide his time before broaching the subject again.

In fact, it was only with the release of the iPad fast approaching that Jobs realized that iBooks may be a good idea after all, and the rest as they say, is history...

How I created my clean iPhone 5 Home and Lock screens

It seems like every time I post a screenshot of my Lock or Home screen, I'm inundated with tweets, Facebook messages and even the odd Google+ message asking how I created the minimalist, clean effect. It looks very different to the stock iOS experience, and offers some features that Apple refuses to offer, and I rather like it!

After the most recent flurry of questions I thought it best to put together a short blog post together detailing what apps or tweaks I used, along with the important settings required to recreate my Home or Lock screen.

So, without further delay, let's get started...

SEGA’s weekend App Store sale includes Crazy Taxi and more

SEGA has been known to put its iOS apps on sale every once in a while, and this weekend is one such occasion, with three of the Japanese company's games having a couple of dollars slashed from their App Store price.

The three available games have been around for a while, but if you've not picked them up yet, or have perhaps been on the fence about picking them up at their normal price, then now's the time to bite the bullet and get the credit card out.

So which games are included in the sale? Well, if you're into some of SEGA's classics, then you're going to love the games Sega has included in its promotion...