Month: March 2015

EU rules e-books can’t be subject to lower taxes

The top court of the European Union has determined that e-books shouldn't be treated like their printed counterparts when it comes to taxes and therefore should be subject to higher tax rates, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

“But the European Commission signaled it may change the rules next year to allow for equal taxation of books in any form,” reads the report.

iPad Pro rumored to adopt oxide LCD display tech

The rumored iPad Pro could adopt an oxide LCD screen technology, with Sharp, LG Display and Samsung Display all sending out samples, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Thursday.

The company allegedly assessed different technologies ranging from a-Si, TFT LCD and oxide LCD before deciding to go with the latter. The report adds that the iPad Pro will go into mass production in the third quarter of 2015.

Momentum is a delightful habit tracker for iPhone

Growing up, I was under the impression that habits were something to avoid. Burping, being late, and eating too many cookies were all habits my parents tried to steer me away from. Habits are not always bad, though. Exercising every day, learning a new word, and practicing an instrument are all good habits to get into.

Momentum is a productivity app that helps you get into the habit of doing something good. If you want to start something new, but have trouble sticking to your goal, this app sends you friendly reminders to stay on track.

Vimo lets you add animated stickers to your videos

I have a love affair with chat stickers. I don’t know why. I feel like a preteen whenever I use them, but I can’t help myself. I giggle every time I send a sticker of a crying cat or pooping bunny.

Vimo takes chat stickers a step further by turning them into animations that you can overlay on your video. You can even edit them so they look like they are interacting with your subject.

WSJ: Apple working on adding mouse and keyboard support, USB connectivity, to the iPad Pro

More details about the oft-rumored 12.9 inch iPad Pro are beginning to surface, and they include things like USB 3.0, mouse and keyboard connectivity, and faster charging technology, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal late Wednesday evening. This report, along with an earlier one from Bloomberg, attempts to add definition to the mysterious project.

According to both reports, the iPad Pro's production start date has been pushed back beyond what Apple had initially hoped. The Bloomberg report states that Apple is looking towards September for the start of production, while the Journal more vaguely states that production will ramp up in second half of this year.

My Cydia pet peeve: App Store redirects

The situation in Cydia right now is one of sadness. I'm sad, because nearly every time I try to download or purchase a new tweak or app, I have to finagle and wrangle with the App Store redirects that seem to have multiplied as of late.

I kid you not, I get about 5 pop-ups every time I open a page on Cydia's BigBoss repo, and sometimes I just give up after wrestling with trying to open a tweak's page. At first this behavior was tolerable, but over the last few weeks, it seems to have reached a boiling point. It generally takes a lot of inconveniences for me to decide to write about one of my annoyances, but this situation is just flat out of control, and I need to vent.

Someone needs to fix this. The problem primarily seems to happen with tweaks hosted on the BigBoss repo. If this happened to any other repo, I'd simply uninstall that repo and go about my business. Sadly, I can't do that, because the BigBoss repo is more or less Cydia. It hosts 99% of the tweaks that we report on, and it's generally where all of the action is when it comes to tweaks. Themes are a different story, and sometimes you'll find a really cool tweak on ModMyi, but it's obvious that the BigBoss repo is where most of the activity resides in this community.

How to assign a keyboard shortcut to Notification Center on Mac

It might seem fairly obvious, but it might be a good idea to assign a keyboard shortcut to Notification Center on the Mac. Perhaps you already have, or maybe you still haven't. I hadn't, at least not up until a few days ago when a reader suggested that I do so, and I honestly can't come up with a reason as to why I waited so long. I think it's because I just never thought about doing it.

Assigning Notification Center to a keyboard shortcut just makes sense. It especially makes sense if you use a keyboard and mouse combination on your Mac, instead of a trackpad. Granted, MacBook users might not be so easily convinced, because invoking Notification Center can be accomplished via an effortless two-finger swipe on the trackpad.

But if you're working on an iMac, or if you're using a traditional mouse and keyboard combination with your MacBook, as I am, then I definitely recommend that you follow this uber-simple tip.

Bloomberg: 12.9-inch iPad Pro delayed until fall

Bloomberg reports Apple is pushing back the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro to this fall, following issues prohibiting the start of manufacturing.

Apple had initially planned to begin making the larger version of its tablet this quarter, as it hopes to boost its stagnant iPad sales.

Upcoming Shrinkability iOS tweak mimics Samsung’s one-handed mode

If you've ever used one of Samsung's flagship large phones or phablets, then you're likely well-aware of the Korean firm's so-called one-handed mode. One-handed mode is exactly what it sounds like—it makes it so that you can use a device that would normally take two hands to operate, with a single hand.

Of course, Samsung isn't the only company to offer such a feature. Apple revealed Reachability, a tool that allows users to pull down the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus' interface, for easy one-handed usage. Although both features are designed to make it possible to operate a larger device with one hand, the methodologies behind the features couldn't be any different.