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OS X 10.9.2 Mavericks update looms: FaceTime Audio, Messages blocking, Mail fixes and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2014

After releasing seven beta builds of the upcoming OS X 10.9.2 update to its registered Mac developers, Apple appears to be putting finishing touches on this highly anticipated second Mavericks update. A pre-release build of OS X Mavericks version 10.9.2 is now in circulation among a small group of Apple employees, indicating that a public release is around the corner. The OS X 10.9.2 update will (hopefully) fix Mail bugs while enabling greater feature parity between iOS 7 and Mavericks.

The latter entails enabling FaceTime Audio calling on the Mac and giving users the ability to block individual senders through the Messages app. Both of these features are supported in Apple's mobile operating system.

The software will also fix dozens of bugs and bring useful tweaks and under-the-hood improvements, all listed below the fold...

ReSound LiNX launches as first ‘Made for iPhone’ hearing aid

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2014

GN ReSound, a company that's been working with Apple to take the stigma out of wearing an aid, today formally launched the world's first 'Made for iPhone' hearing aid, the LiNX. The accessory is designed for the hearing impaired users and offers direct streaming of sound from the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, without the need for an additional remote control, accessory or pendant.

It marries power-efficient Bluetooth Smart to third-generation 2.4 GHz wireless networking based on the all-new SmartRange chipset while offering some advanced features. Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

AT&T launches international LTE roaming in 13 additional countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

AT&T, the nation's second-largest wireless carrier, last December started offering international LTE roaming to customers traveling abroad. The deal initially launched in partnership with Canada's Rogers Communications and later expanded to UK's EE.

Today, the company announced an expansion of LTE roaming agreements in partnership with an additional thirteen carriers around the world, including Australia, France, Japan, Spain and Singapore...

SpotiSearch: search Spotify directly from Spotlight

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 24, 2014

I love Spotify and I don't think that's a secret. So can you imagine how happy I was when I stumbled upon this new jailbreak tweak in Cydia?

SpotiSearch is a brand new tweak that allows you to search the entire Spotify library using Spotlight search. That's right, you can search for your favorite artists, albums or songs directly from the same Spotlight search that you use to search your local iPhone.

I've taken SpotiSearch for a thorough test-drive on video. Join me inside, as I showcase how this awesome new jailbreak tweak works.

Apple taking China’s patent office and Zhizhen Network Technology to court over Siri

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

According to a report by China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, Apple is suing both the country's State Intellectual Property Office and Shanghai-based Zhizhen Network Technology. The main point of contention: patent rights to Siri.

Now, eagled-eyed readers may remember that Zhizhen back in July of 2012 actually filed a case first against Apple as it felt Siri had infringed upon its patent for an instant messaging chat bot system called Xiaoi Bot.

Apple asked China's State Intellectual Property Office, which is in charge of patent rights protection in China, to invalidate Zhizhen's patent, but the request was declined. In turn, Apple is now suing both the patent office and Zhizhen...

How to view animated GIFs in the stock Photos App

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 24, 2014

If you've ever saved an animated GIF to your iPhone's Photos app, you've probably realized that the animations don't play as normal. Instead, animated GIFs behave like static images within the Photos app, devoid of any of the animation that makes using GIFs so fun.

GIFViewer is a brand new jailbreak tweak that solves this problem. It, upon installation, allows you to view animated GIFs that are saved to the stock Photos app. Have a look at our video walkthrough inside for a demonstration of how it works.

Report: Google smartwatch made by LG, has Google Now, runs slimmed down Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2014

After Sarah Perez and Darrell Etherington over at TechCrunch ran a story last night detailing some of the aspects of Google's rumored smartwatch project, The Wall Street Journal and CNET on Monday reported that the device will probably be manufactured by LG Electronics. Google should detail its operating system in March and release a software development kit for third-party developers in June.

Apple is of course, rumored to be hard at work on its own wearable device, dubbed by the press the iWatch. A number of medical expert hires indicate that Apple's device may also include health-sensing capability such as tracking blood glucose and hydration levels, although not as advanced as previously speculated...

WWE network channel rolling out to Apple TV users

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2014

As previously promised, the World Wrestling Entertainment will be enabling its network channel on Apple's $99 media-steaming box later today. Although there have been concerns that the WWE channel won't make it to Apple TVs because Apple was demanding as much as a fifty percent cut from all Network orders placed, the WWE Network signup page was down at post time, indicating high interest in a free one-week trial...

Stickers coming to BBM via upcoming BBM Shop

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2014

The embattled Canadian smartphone maker, BlackBerry, has confirmed plans to bring popular virtual stickers to its cross-platform messaging app, BBM. The stickers will be available for purchase through a new BBM Shop section that will be made part of a forthcoming BBM app update. BBM, a free download from the App Store, has recently been updated with voice calling, BBM Channels, location sharing and other features...

WhatsApp to enable voice calling in second quarter

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

WhatsApp, the popular cross-platform instant messaging software for mobile phones, announced on Monday that it will be enabling voice calling over data networks (VoIP) for the 465 million of its users come second quarter of 2014.

The move is part of broader plans to reach a billion users by year's end, co-founder and chief executive Jan Koum said this morning at Mobile World Congress, which runs from Monday through Thursday in Barcelona, Spain.

WhatsApp is in the process of being acquired by the social networking giant, Facebook, in a transaction valued at $4 billion in cash and approximately $12 billion in Facebook shares. The development essentially means that Facebook now owns a phone company...

Yahoo News Digest in its first major update adds Weather and Statistics atoms

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

Following its January introduction, Yahoo's free News Digest app for the iPhone has quickly become part of my daily news routine. There's just too many news-reading apps out there with lots of longform content and too little time to be able to consume it all on a daily basis. That's where summarization comes into play. A hot new buzzword, summarization technology in News Digest basically uses improved algorithms from Nick D'Aloisio's Summly app that Yahoo bought for the reported $30 million.

In its first major update, News Digest version 1.1 brings two new "atoms" (digests of news stories) that cover Yahoo's popular daily habits, Weather and Statistics. There are a few other features and improvements, listed below the fold...

How to play Game Boy games via mobile Safari, no jailbreak required

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Following up last week's run of webNES comes a new mobile Safari-based emulator that allows you to play old school games on your iOS device without jailbreaking. The site is called Ben Midi’s Gameboy, and as the name suggests, it lets you play Game Boy games in-browser.

Unlike webNES, however, there's no way to add ROMs. This can be both a good and bad thing, depending on your preferences. It's good in that you can start playing one of 13 pre-loaded Game Boy games in seconds, but bad in that you can't add any games outside of those 13...