Find My Friends

Why Apple is just plain mediocre in web services

Recently, a pattern has begun taking shape that I fear signals something worryingly awful is afoot as excellence takes a back seat at Apple in favor of mediocre web services. It's always been that way, critics might add. Indeed, here we are, at the end of 2012, and yet weekly outages of key iCloud services such as iMessage and FaceTime are still a norm rather than a rare exception.

While iCloud storm is raining on users, Apple seemingly struggles in figuring out how to sprinkle its magic dust on Internet software. With over half a billion iOS and Mac devices straining its data centers, something clearly had to give. The iPhone maker isn't an isolated example: competitors experience outages, too. But Apple's different in that its online woes are symptomatic of a much larger set of problems the company faces.

Cupertino's infrastructure is lacking. For all the computational power its array of super data centers provide, Apple's software underpinnings are outdated and increasingly incapable of handling high load. Software shortcomings are putting Apple at risk at a time when competitors like Google tap their massive scale and expertise to successfully marry hardware to Internet software in ways Apple cannot...

Apple updates Find My Friends with new features, resolves unexpected iBooks quits

Apple has updated its Find My Friends app for iOS devices and iBooks 3, which launched alongside the iPad mini last week. iBooks version 3.0.1 is a minor update which resolves an issue where iBooks may unexpectedly quit. With last week's release of iBooks 3, a free download, Apple added a new continuous scrolling theme akin to the Instapaper app, the ability to see iCloud purchases on your bookshelf, social sharing of quotes and more. Find My Friends version 2.0.1, also a free download, now features friends' notifications regarding your location right under the Me > Followers section. You will also find your temporary friends listed under Followers in the Me tab as well...

Apple updates iLife, iWork and other iOS utils

With today's release of iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2, Apple has updated its Podcasts app with support for iCloud subscription syncing. Just a few minutes later, updates to Apple's other apps went live in iTunes, including iLife and iWork apps and utils like Find My Friends, Remote, AirPort Utility and more. With so many third-party apps being updated for iOS 6 support as we speak, you may want to prioritize your downloads. Here's what's new in Apple's own updated apps for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad...

Apple looking to take Find My Friends to the next level with iOS 6

Apple debuted Find My Friends last fall during their iPhone 4S event. Similar to Google's Latitude service, Find My Friends uses GPS and Wi-Fi triangulation to track the locations of its members.

While the platform certainly has potential, it's failed to garner much user-traction thus far. But it appears that Apple is looking to change that in iOS 6, with a new geofencing notification system...

You Can Use Siri to Find Your Friends

Apple introduced its Find My Friends application alongside iOS 5 late last year. The program is somewhat of a social network, allowing users to share their current locations with friends and family.

As most of you know, the Find My Friends software enables you to literally locate your friends on a digital map. But what some of you may not have known, is that iPhone 4S owners can get a little help from Siri...

Apple Releases Find My Friends Social Network for iOS 5 [Video]

As noted by MacStories, Apple just released the Find My Friends social network for iOS 5. Find My Friends was introduced at Apple's "Let's Talk iPhone" last week.

Find My Friends runs on iCloud and enables users to share their location with friends while also seeing the location of other friends. The app integrates with the Maps and Contacts app in iOS 5.