Year: 2012

The Rokstand: a quality stand with attitude [giveaway and review]

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated December 7, 2016

iPhone stands are a dime a dozen. Like iPhone cases, there are millions of iPhone stands, small and large, powered and passive, plastic and metal, cheap and expensive. However, when pulling the Rokform Rokstand out of the package, I knew this stand was unlike any other stand I had ever seen or felt, for that matter. Quite simply, it is a machine, and a very elegant one at that. It owns your desktop. Just looking at it, I feel it glaring back at me. To get the full scoop, Rokform sent over a stand for review and offered to give one away to a reader in our contest below...

Judge denies Apple’s injunction request, throws out Samsung’s misconduct claims

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

While the high profile Samsung-Apple trial technically ended back in August, with Apple winning a staggering $1 billion judgement, the fallout is far from over. The two companies must still endure countless post-trial hearings and their subsequent appeals.

In fact, both sides met this month to discuss some of their post-trial demands. In addition to its large settlement, Apple wanted Samsung's infringing products to be banned, and Samsung wanted the whole trial thrown out on the back of jury misconduct.

Tonight, US District Judge Lucy Koh published her decisions on both requests in a pair of court filings...

The Daily Recap – Dec 17, 2012 edition

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 23, 2018

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvGKc823ZgQ

Welcome to The Daily Recap for December 17th, 2012. Watch our video for a quick look at some of the top stories from the day in less than two minutes. If you missed out on any of today's big news, this is a great way for you to get caught up fast.

For your convenience, you'll also find links to all of the stories listed in today's recap inside...

Nito Installer allows you to easily install nitoTV and XBMC on a jailbroken Apple TV

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Thanks to the folks over at FireCore, both jailbreaking and installing useful jailbreak apps on an Apple TV 2 is about as easy as it gets. FireCore's jailbreak tool — Seas0npass — is incredibly simple, and it's free.

Likewise, FireCore's application package — aTV Flash (black) — is extremely simple as well, though there is a charge associated with using it. Pretty much everything that you can install using aTV flash (black) can be accomplished on your own with a bit of know how, but its simplicity makes the package worth the money.

Now Kevin Bradley, better known in hacking circles as nitoTV, has created his own easy to use installer, appropriately called, nito Installer. Unlike aTV flash (black), his version is free and runs directly on an iOS device like the iPhone or iPad.

Want to see how it works? Take a look inside as we take nito Installer for a spin...

Watch this guy open his garage door with Siri

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

It's been a while since we've seen any cool Siri Proxy videos. At one time they were all the rage, with people starting cars, adjusting thermostats, and more, all via Apple's virtual assistant.

Now that the newness of Siri has worn off, Siri hacks and proxy usage has kind of died down. That is, until now. With the help of a friend — the credit card sized Rasberry Pi computer — this guy is able to open up his garage using only his voice.

Apple reportedly in talks with Foursquare over data-sharing deal

Cody Lee ∙ December 17, 2012

Google and its recently-released Maps application might have the spotlight for now, but Apple is hatching out a plan to win it back. A new report is out this afternoon claiming that the Cupertino company is in preliminary talks with Foursquare, the popular location-based social network, to integrate its local data into iOS Maps...

Rhapsody app finally lands on iPad

Cody Lee ∙ December 17, 2012

You have to hand it to Rhapsody. It hasn't been an easy 11 years for the music streaming service, what with the failed acquisitions, and the rise of strong competitors like Spotify and Rdio. But the company refuses to give up.

And today, it has some good news for its subscribers. After months of waiting, Rhapsody has finally released a full-blown iPad app. It's been built from the ground up with a gorgeous image-based UI, and has plenty of features...

Introducing Cubasis: when GarageBand is not enough

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 17, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-ek0PByfVg

Musicians need no introduction to Steinberg, a Hamburg, Germany-based maker of musical software and equipment. Their Cubase program and other software suites support pro music recording, arranging and editing and are widely used in digital audio workstations and VSTi software synthesizers around the world.

When a company this significant releases a multitouch sequencer for Apple's iPad that lets you record, edit and mix on the go, this becomes news in and of itself. "Cubasis places touch-intuitive production tools in your hands, opening up a new world of possibilities for your creativity", Steinberg writes...

Amazon smartphone reportedly in production at Foxconn, launching mid-2013

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 20, 2017

Since its debut last year, the Kindle Fire has garnered quite a bit of attention in the tablet space. Despite Amazon's reluctance to release actual sales numbers, there's no doubt that the slate has made at least a small dent in Apple's majority marketshare.

And now it looks like Amazon is ready to take on Apple and others in the smartphone space as well. A new report today adds to previous rumors that the online retailer is working on a handset, claiming it's already in production, and set for launch next year...

Here’s Samsung’s Christmas ad that will ruin your childhood

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIKv1AXUmOk

Not sure whether or not you saw Samsung's TV ad starring Santa and Mrs. Claus where the characters share their sex tape using "the magic of S Beam on the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II".

I know it's a rehash of Samsung's earlier (and pretty funny) take on a sex tape exchange between a guy and his wife. Let's be clear - I have absolutely no problem with sex in advertising, but that's a preposterous thing to air as we head into Christmas.

Just what exactly are kids supposed to think after being exposed to such a dramatized sexual innuendo involving their childhood hero? Seriously, what's next? A sexting Santa commercial? Thanks for ruining my childhood, Samsung!

2012: a year in App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 17, 2012

With 750,000+ apps in the App Store and iTunes approaching half a billion accounts with credit cards enabled for one-click shopping, little wonder iOS, by and large, has remained the platform of choice for mobile developers, in spite of Android's lead in sales volume. While only a small number devs earn millions writing apps, the race to the bottom is taking its toll as most bedtime devs opt to keep their day jobs.

Appsfire, a website devoted to App Store discovery, has analyzed key app trends in 2012, creating an illustrative infographic that highlights today's App Store app ecosystem...

Facebook rolling out Nearby update to its mobile apps

Cody Lee ∙ December 17, 2012

Facebook has announced this morning that it will be rolling out an update to its iOS and Android apps later today that will substantially beef up the Nearby feature. The refreshed feature will allow users to discover new places around them and view Yelp-like ratings and reviews from their friends...