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Tweetbot developer lays out iOS and Mac app roadmap, makes Weightbot free

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Today, developer Tapbots has shared some updates concerning state of development of its popular iOS and Mac Twitter client, Tweetbot, and the whole software lineup for that matter.

For starters, a completely redesigned Tweetbot 2.0 for Mac with Yosemite-friendly look and feel has been in the works for quite some time now. Tweetbot 4.0 for iOS is being readied as well.

“We are going to do a better job keeping our current apps up to date with each new OS release,” they promised. In addition, the company announced closing other projects in order to focus resources on upcoming (and long overdue) updates to Tweetbot for Mac and iPad.

How to make third-party menu bar icons look better with dark mode on Mac

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

OS X Yosemite introduced a new dark mode option to change the tint color of both the menu bar and the dock in OS X. While I'm a big fan of dark mode, some of the third-party apps that I use have not been updated to play nice with dark mode. This results in menu bar icons that look weird with dark mode enabled, because they don't invert after toggling dark mode on.

If you're someone who always uses dark mode and never switches to regular mode, there is a way to force these menu bar icons to look better with dark mode enabled...

Apple to live stream March 9th Apple Watch event

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Apple updated its website this morning to announce that it will be providing a live video stream of its upcoming March 9th event. On a new Live page at Apple.com, the company has posted the 'Spring Forward' image it's been sending out to media outlets, inviting users to join it at 10 am PDT that day for a "special event."

We are expecting Apple to use the stage time to reveal further details about its Apple Watch, which is slated to start shipping April. Despite a huge unveiling last fall, the company has been relatively mum about upper tier pricing, battery life, and various other aspects of the device, indicating it has a lot more to talk about.

Apple Maps now animates London Eye and Big Ben’s clock tower

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2015

Apple has started to animate certain landmarks in a three-dimensional Flyover view in Apple Maps, The Daily Mail reported Thursday. Specifically, London's Big Ben clock and the popular London Eye now feature animated segments in Flyover.

The face of Big Ben's clock tower is being animated to show the correct local time while London Eye's rotates slowly when browsed in Apple Maps' Flyover view.

Apple sends out media invites for March 9th event

Cody Lee ∙ February 26, 2015

Apple this morning sent out press invitations for a special event, set to take place on Monday, March 9th. The Loop shared the invite (shown above), which invites attendees to 'Spring forward,' and says it will be held in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

There's no official word on what Apple will talk about during the event, but the consensus is the company will reveal further details about the Apple Watch. It's also possible that Tim Cook and Co. could introduce rumored projects such as the 12-inch MacBook or iPad Pro.

Apple grabs 89 percent of smartphone profits while Android captures record-low 11 percent

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

The latest indication that even with its minuscule share of smartphone units sold Apple is clobbering everyone when it comes to profits came Thursday via research firm Strategy Analytics. The research company reported that the Cupertino firm took home an astounding 88.7 percent of operating profit share in smartphones during the fourth quarter of last year.

This is no doubt the effect of strong sales of Apple's well-received iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets. Android, meanwhile, has fallen to a record-low eleven (11.3) percent.

Apple’s presence in Israel growing to expand in-house chip design capabilities

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2015

Apple's focus on designing iPhone and iPad processors in-house is reportedly expanding with news that CEO Tim Cook's visit to Israel this week is linked to efforts to increase its own chip design prowess, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Cook earlier in the week met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and is expected to meet with former President Shimon Peres later this week. The newspaper added that Apple' hired most of the Israeli employees of a chip-design division that Texas Instruments shut down in 2013 in Ra’anana, some 10 miles north of Tel-Aviv.

Android devs earned $7 billion in past 12 months, paid search ads coming to Play store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 4, 2015

Google's Play store has paid about seven billion dollars in revenue to Android app makers over the past 12 months, the company said Thursday. By comparison, Apple paid out ten billion dollars in 2014 App Store revenue to iPhone and iPad devs.

With more than 100 billion searches every month on Google.com, the company has now kicked off a pilot program designed to inject sponsored search results into the Play store apps.

Readdle’s Printer Pro goes zero bucks, courtesy of Apple’s Free App of the Week promo

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2015

Since its December 2011 debut, wireless printing software Printer Pro has never gone free, excluding a limited one-day promo last April.

That changes today as Apple's editors have now marked the iPhone and iPad application down to $0 (regularly $6.99), listing the app its Free App of the Week in the App Store's ongoing weekly promotion.

Created by Ukrainian developer Readdle, Printer Pro has been downloaded two million times. It's a great app that lets you print attachments, documents, web pages and more right from your iPhone or iPad to any printer.

It automatically finds and connects to a printer on your Wi-Fi network. You can even connect to a USB printer if you install a free helper desktop app on your Mac or PC.

iOS activation in enterprise jumps to 73 percent, increasing Apple’s lead over Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Thanks in no small part to strong sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones, Apple has been able to extend its enterprise lead over Android during the fourth quarter of last year.

According to the new Mobility Index Report data (PDF download) by research firm Good Technology, iOS activations in the enterprise market jumped from 69 percent in the third quarter of last year to 73 percent during the last three months of 2014, while Android activations fell from 29 percent to 25 percent.

Spotify announces Musixmatch lyrics integration in desktop apps and other goodies

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

Spotify, the world's top music-streaming service, on Thursday announced its desktop apps will be soon getting Musixmatch-powered lyrics engine, making it easy for music lovers to access song lyrics on their Mac or Windows PCs and sing along to their favorite tracks.

Established in early 2010 by Massimo Ciociola and a group of co-founders, the startup, which has offices in Italy's Bologna, UK's London and US's New York, has more than seven million lyrics in 38 languages.

In addition to Spotify integration, Musixmatch is also available as a standalone iPhone and iPad application, available at no cost in the App Store.

Apple and other Western firms removed from China’s approved government purchase list

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Apple, along with other leading Western technology companies, has been taken off the list of approved tech companies for state purchases in China, Reuters reported last evening.

Apparently in response to widespread Western cyber-surveillance, companies like Apple, network equipment maker Cisco Systems and chip giant Intel have now been removed from the Central Government Procurement Center's (CGPC) list.

The list, maintained and approved by China's Ministry of Finance, covers regular spending by central ministries.