I'm not sure how I feel about digital commitment devices. On the one hand, I'd like to believe that if I really didn't want to open Facebook on my phone during work hours, I just wouldn't open it. On the other hand, I know from personal experience that it isn't always this easy.
AppCap is a tweak that allows you to set a limit on your usage on a distracting app, hopefully encouraging you to use it less...
Apple Wednesday morning announced it has refreshed Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air configurations with faster processors and lower price points. The 256GB 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is now a $300 cheaper and has an upgraded processor and its entry-level 128GB counterpart now costs $200 less. Two 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros have also received a slight specs bump up. The MacBook Air is now a $100 cheaper. Full details right after the break...
In another sign of Apple's inventory levels perhaps finally catching up to demand, it has been discovered that the company has relaxed its annual 3-device limit on products bought by employees, their friends, family members and other participating entities. Previously, Apple employees were allowed to purchase up to three devices each year.
Rather than set a new specific number limit, Apple says it's now "a judgment call". And as part of the Employee Purchase Program (EPP), a 15 percent discount applies to select products. True to its form, Apple half-jokingly advises employees against "advertising a 15 percent discount on Apple products for all of your Facebook friends"...
According to one analyst, Apple's suppliers are getting ready for iPhone 5S manufacturing, which should commence in March with a likely summer introduction in mind.
With the next-gen iPhone just a few months away, Apple is apparently winding down some iPhone 5 manufacturing as sales of the handset are "decelerating faster than expected".
Per the rumor-mill, the iPhone 5S will be a mid-cycle specs upgrade sporting a faster CPU/GPU (likely a new A7 chip). Rumors are also suggesting a higher-resolution camera (possibly a 13-megapixel sensor). Some think Apple will for the first time offer the iPhone in a range of colors, though the handset is expected to retain the current two-tone industrial design...
It's not just Fortune 500s, contractors, financial institutions, retailers, President Obama, governments, education, military, airliners or enterprise: startups big and small alike are finding it increasingly difficult to resits the allure of tablet computing. The latest example: LinkedIn, a social networking web site for people in professional occupations, gave Apple's iPad mini to every one of its 3,500 employees...
Last summer, during its WWDC keynote, Apple announced that it was going to be taking its digital assistant act on the road. It introduced Siri 'Eyes Free,' a feature that allows qualified iPhone users to interact with Siri over Bluetooth using stock vehicle controls.
A total of 9 major automakers have pledged support for the hands-free system including Audi, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, and Jaguar. And today, it makes its official debut in Chevrolet's youth-oriented Spark and Sonic vehicles...
In a repeat of the ProView situation, Apple today lost exclusive rights to the 'iPhone' trademark in Brazil to a local company called IGB Electronics S.A. that sells an Android cheapo with 'iPhone' in its name. While this means both IGB and Apple are allowed to market 'iPhones' in the 200 million people country, Apple - keen on avoiding user confusion and public humiliation - has now appealed the decision by the Brazilian Institute for Industrial Property (INPI)...
Since iOS 3.x, the most feature rich jailbreak apps for music was Music Controls Pro. If you wanted a custom control overlay for music, swipe controls, a remote server, and a host of other features, Music Controls Pro was the way to go. Unfortunately, the original version of Music Controls Pro is no longer compatible with iOS 6.
While the all new Music Controls Pro 6.0+ only has a fraction of the previous app's capabilities, the price is currently discounted to $3.99 while the developers bring the new app up to speed. Currently Music Controls Pro includes swipe controls, Notification Center plugins for playback and volume, task switcher controls, and status bar integration for song titles. These are the core features that kept the original Music Controls Pro on my iPad in iOS 5.1.1...
Rdio, one of the more popular streaming music subscription services on the market, released a solid update to their iOS app this afternoon, making it quicker and easier to browse and interact with your content.
Version 2.1 of the application features some gorgeous new design touches, and some other cool enhancements like a new long press-activated content menu, and music badges. The full change log is after the fold...
There is now confirmation of what we already suspected: Apple is killing it when it comes to mobile video. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch collectively account for 60 percent of mobile video, with Apple's smartphone and tablet comprising more than half of all mobile clips viewed during 2012, according to a study released Wednesday. By comparison, 32 percent of Android devices are used for viewing mobile video.
That's another acknowledgment of both Apple's tablet dominance and the fact that owners of Apple mobile gear use their devices more often than their fellow Android-totting counterparts. In 2012 alone, mobile video viewing grew sixfold versus the previous year as mobile devices increasingly replace computers as the preferred platform for media consumption...
Clear, Realmac Software's innovative to-do app, was released a year ago and made a splash with its clean interface and heavy use of multitouch gestures. Today, the software was updated in response to feedback from users who objected to how the Edge Swipe feature was implemented.
Edge Swipes let you quickly switch between your lists by dragging your finger from screen edges. Unfortunately, this can quickly become a pain in the you-know-what.
The thing is, Clear's workflow focuses on ordinary swipes which tended to be interpreted as edge swipes if you made the swipe too close to the edge of the screen. Clear version 1.2.1 makes this problem a thing of the past by making Edge Swipe an optional feature, though you'll have to disable it inside Clear’s Settings...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g19rj1gTcjQ
In a déjà vu moment, Reuters this morning reported that shares of the German luxury TV maker Loewe surged 33 percent on renewed talk of a possible acquisition by Apple. The news gathering organization quotes a trader who claims Apple supposedly wants to bid 4 euros a share for Loewe, or approximately $5,28 a share, a 40 percent premium above the company's closing price on Tuesday.
Loewe's current market cap sits at 53 million euros, or about $71 million. With its $137 billion cash mountain, Apple could buy Loewe outright without blinking. Nearly one-third of Loewe, or 28 percent, is owned by Sharp, an Apple supplier that was involved in the Apple television rumor last summer...