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Cupertino City Council gives Apple green light to begin building new ‘Spaceship’ campus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

Well, it's finally happened. After years of presentations, meetings and campaigning, Apple last night cleared the final hurdle in its 'Campus 2' initiative. The Cupertino City Council has given the iPad-maker the green light to begin construction on its so-called 'Spaceship' campus.

The final vote enabled Apple to enter into an official Development Agreement with the City of Cupertino. With its ancillary permits, the company is now allowed to begin demolition of current buildings on its lot, and it's set to receive its full set of building permits later today...

Microsoft releases new ‘Xbox One SmartGlass’ app for iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

Ahead of its big Xbox One launch later this week, Microsoft has released a new companion app for the console called ‘Xbox One SmartGlass.’ Microsoft says it's "the perfect companion app for your Xbox One, both in your living room and on the go."

In the living room, the app will allow your iOS device to connect to your Xbox One console and do things like browse the web, navigate the dashboard, and control content. And on the go, the app will let you track achievements, messages and more...

22 hours of battery life from a laptop? Toshiba says so

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

I've been tripping over my own words in order to find the right phrase to express my satisfaction with the new MacBook Air. At well over 10 hours of battery life from a single charge, it's been an absolute game changer for me.

I have the 11" variety of the MacBook Air, and while Apple's officially stated battery life is 9 hours, I've always done a bit better than that. The 13" variety officially gets 12 hours of battery life, but it wouldn't surprise me to see it get somewhere in the 13-14 hour range.

Apple is famously bearish when it comes to battery life predictions, which means users generally end up with the pleasant surprise of even higher numbers than Apple's company line. But now, out of seemingly nowhere, Toshiba is claiming that its upcoming 2.5 pound ultra book will get an insane 22 hours of battery life.

Unless those estimates are egregiously overstated, this could be very good news for the next generation MacBook Air.

MultiShortcut: add handy shortcuts to various areas of the stock Settings app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

If you've been able to resist the draw of iOS 7 and maintain a jailbroken device on iOS 6 or below, you are to be commended. As a reward for you dedication, you get to try out jailbreak tweaks while everyone else has to wait until an iOS 7 jailbreak.

One such tweak, a recent release dubbed MultiShortcut, allows users to quickly access specific sections of the Stock settings app. This is done by tapping and holding on the Settings app icon. Instead of invoking wiggle mode like normal, you're greeted with a sheet providing links to a variety of areas found inside the Stock settings app.

Review: iPad mini Smart Case

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

I briefly talked about Apple’s new Smart Case for the iPad mini in yesterday’s iPad mini with Retina display review, but after giving it some thought, I think it deserves some more attention.

Let me just start out by saying that I’ve not used the Smart Case for the full sized iPad Air, so I can’t really speak on that. In fact, this is my first experience with a Smart Case. I’ve used Smart Covers plenty of times in the past, but never opted for a Smart Case until now.

Twitter for iOS updated with new search filters and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Twitter has updated its official iOS client this evening, bringing the app to version 5.13. The update includes improvements for Search and Discover tabs, making it easier to find the content you're looking for.

Among these improvements are new search filters, which will allow you to quickly navigate to specific people and tweets, and toggle between relevant tweets and 'top tweets.' Full release notes are after the fold...

How to launch Mac apps from unidentified developers on a case by case basis

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 18, 2016

OS X has a feature that prevents apps from unidentified developers from launching out of the box. While this is a noble cause, it presents issues when launching legitimate apps from great developers that don't happen to be on Apple's whitelist. That message reads "XYZapp can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer."

You can go into OS X's system preferences and disable this protection altogether, but there's a much more sensible option than that. Instead, how about enabling apps from unidentified developers on a case by case basis?

Leaked document shows White House in favor of banning unlocking, jailbreaking

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

The last we heard, things were looking good in the fight to reform out-of-date policies on device unlocking here in the US. Last week, the FCC chairman sent a letter to the CTIA saying he'd like to see changes made before the holidays. But don't get your hopes up just yet.

According to information recently leaked by WikiLeaks, the White House—despite publicly supporting unlocking—has been secretly negotiating a treaty with other countries and special interest lobbyists that would make this and other processes illegal by international law...

Apple explains why it’s entitled to additional damages in Samsung case

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 19, 2013

As you know, Judge Lucy Koh shaved more than $400 million off the $1.05 billion verdict in the much-publicized Apple vs. Samsung case that took place in August 2013 over patented iPhone technology. The South Korean chaebol admitted to lifting Apple's inventions, but the jury improperly calculated damages on certain Samsung products, prompting Koh to order a partial retrial in order to re-calculate the remaining damages.

Although Apple is already entitled to more than $500 million in damages (with patent rulings being upheld as well), the company is now demanding an additional $379 million in pending damages over patent infringement and lost sales. Samsung, on the other hand, argues it owes Apple no more that a rather meager $52 million for iPhone patents and design features...

Apple updates Find My Friends for iOS 7

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Apple has finally posted the iOS 7 update for its Find My Friends application this afternoon. The app, which allows iOS users to locate friends and family members, was the last notable mobile Apple title utilizing the old skeuomorphic design language.

In today's update, the app's leather stitching and paper-like textures have been replaced with open spaces and sharp text—the usual changes we've seen in iOS 7-flavored updates. And the UI now lines up with Apple's other iPhone and iPad offerings...

Fifty-Three launches Pencil stylus for iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Steve Jobs once said, "If you see a stylus, they blew it" in regard to tablets which depend on the stylus as their primary means of input. That hasn't stopped the accessory industry from engineering dozens upon dozens differently shaped and sized styluses for use with popular tablet brands, Apple's iPad included.

Fifty-Three, the people who brought you the popular Paper drawing app, Apple's 2012 iPad App of the Year Editor's Choice, have been hard at work developing its upcoming Pencil stylus for quite some time. Last month, the gizmo surfaced in an FCC filing. Starting today, the $60 Bluetooth-enabled Pencil goes on sale...