Apple seeds OS X Mavericks Developer Preview 8

Apple has seeded the 8th developer preview of OS X Mavericks this evening. The download comes nearly two weeks after developer preview 7 landed, which included a handful of improvements and new wallpapers.

Registered developers can receive the update via the Software Update tool in the Mac App Store or can download the entire firmware through Apple’s Mac Dev Center... 

Apple to devs: we want your 64-bit apps ASAP

With its new flagship iPhone 5s, Apple is ushering in an era of 64-bit computing on smartphones, an unexpected move which has left rivals such as Samsung scrambling to release mobile devices running 64-bit processors at some point in 2014 - with absolutely no clear idea of how the hardware and software will work together to improve their apps.

In the meantime, Apple is now asking its registered iOS developers to optimize and submit their warez for the device's 64-bit A7 chip...

Pre-ordered iPhone 5c cases begin arriving

Alongside the all-new iPhone 5c, Apple unveiled six new colorful cases for the handset last week. The company has taken some heat over their radical design, but it believes they'll provide customers with an easy way to customize their devices.

Made from silicon, with 35 small holes punched in the back, the accessory went on sale right next to the iPhone 5c pre-orders last Friday. And although the phone itself won't start hitting doorsteps until Friday, some have already received their cases...

Web logs show Apple testing iOS 7.0.1, iOS 7.1

Apple won't be releasing iOS 7 to the public until Wednesday of this week, but it's already believed to be widely testing multiple versions of future updates. This according to the web analytics of iDB and other websites.

The web logs show that sites starting receiving hits from devices running everything from iOS 7.0.1 to iOS 7.1 back in August, with traffic increasing in early September. And all of the activity is coming from Cupertino...

Faster Facebook Messenger with improved scrolling now available

It's been over a month since we've stumbled upon any solid piece of news concerning Facebook's standalone Messenger iPhone app. Last time we heard, Facebook has added the ability to pick photos from your Instagram albums to send to Messenger friends.

Actually, that was the only major development concerning the software since May 2012. In response to Wednesday's launch of iOS 7, the social networking giant on Monday pushed an iOS 7-ready version of Messenger with improved scrolling, faster startup times and more...

Google Play Books gets copy-paste and Single Sign-On support

With less than 48 hours until iOS 7 is let out of the cage, Apple's iOS developers have been tremendously busy updating their iPhone and iPad apps with iOS 7 compatibility. Needles to say, we're expecting a brand new and flattened version of the company's own iBooks app and its other downloadable iPhone and iPad programs, such as the free iLife/iWork suite. But those who get their electronic books from Google, however, should download the newly updated Play Books app.

Not only does it include handy support for copy and paste, there's the tremendously useful unified account sign-in feature which lets you skip typing altogether and instead log in with your Google Account real fast...

US carriers to open at 8 am Friday for iPhone launch

With Apple not offering pre-orders for the iPhone 5s, folks hoping to score the handset on launch day will have to make their way to a local retailer. A number of outlets will be selling the new iPhones on Friday, including Walmart and Radio Shack.

What time should you get there? Well some folks have already been in line for several days now. But if you're not that committed, we recommend getting there as early on Friday morning as possible. It looks like most retailers are opening at 8 am...

Twitter’s third major redesign to follow shortly after Wednesday’s iOS 7 launch

A lot of iPhone and iPad apps have been updated - or are receiving iOS 7 bug fixes and related updates - ahead of the software's general availability this Wednesday.

And while the micro-blogging service Twitter recently started embedding tweets right into its #music app (along with the ability to reply and re-tweet them), its plans for an iOS 7-focused update have been some time in the making but kept secret, until today.

According to people in the know and some deeply entrenched sources, Twitter is waiting until some time after iOS 7 is out to show off its brand new design, the third major revamp in Twitter's seven-year history...

Rockstar releases Grand Theft Auto V companion app ‘iFruit’

It's been a long time since I've been as excited about a game release as I am about Grand Theft Auto V. Set to go on sale at midnight tonight, the fifth installment in the popular GTA series looks impressive from every angle.

Ahead of tomorrow's launch, Rockstar has released a companion app today for GTA V called 'iFruit.' Available on both the iPad and iPhone, the app offers several useful features like the ability to customize in-game vehicles...

Good deal: 50% off Fantastical and Chatology Mac bundle

We're pretty big fans of Fantastical here at iDB. Flexibits' powerful, well-designed calendar and todo app has won us over on both the Mac and iPhone. So when we came across this software sale, we just had to pass it on.

The deal site Stack Social is offering what it calls a 'Flexibits Mini Mac Bundle' right now, and the promotion includes both Fantastical for Mac and Chatology for Mac at a significant discount. More details after the fold...

Google buys mobile sharing app Bump

In the early days of the App Store, Bump was a popular way to exchange photos, links and other items between iPhone owners, augmented by the fact that iOS to date doesn't support standard Bluetooth file sharing.

Six years later, we have AirDrop as the preferred method of beaming documents, images and just about anything between nearby iOS 7 device.

Be that as it may, if an Android-toting friend asks you politely to wirelessly transfer a photo you took with your iPhone - or a contact card or perhaps a location - over to his device, the cross-platform Bump app is still the best solution.

To all the fans of the software out there:  I hope you won't mind that Google has now snapped up Bump Technologies and its namesake app for an undisclosed sum - the search monster's first acquisition since it paid $1 billion for Waze back in June...

Apple to hold another media event on October 15?

With last week's official introduction of the flagship iPhone 5s and the colorful iPhone 5c now behind us, our attention slowly but surely turns to Apple's next major product launch. iDB, along with a few other reliable blogs, suspected there won't be new iPads in September as the company would have been unwise to focus its attention (and waste headlines) on both new iPads and iPhones.

The French blog MacGeneration, which has somewhat of a mixed track record, has now pegged an iPad-related event at October 15 (that's a Tuesday)...