Apple

Digital music sales drop for the first time since the iTunes Store’s inception

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 4, 2014

Proponents of digital music are in for a surprise as sales of digital albums and individual songs nosedived last year, for the first time since Apple revolutionized the music business with its iTunes Music Store back in 2003. According to a report by Billboard, industry executives are once again oblivious to the fact that consumers' tastes are changing and are blaming streaming music services such as Pandora and iTunes Radio for the drop. The full breakdown is after the break...

Fox, CBS to live stream Super Bowl and NFC/AFC playoff coverage on the web and iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Just like last year and the year before (and 2011, for that matter), football die-hards in the United States will once again be able to watch the NFC and AFC playoff games and follow live Super Bowl XLVIII coverage on the web and via their iOS devices, thanks to Fox and CBS.

But unlike before, Fox will not require a paid cable subscription to live stream the Super Bowl through their Fox Sports Go iOS app.

NFC playoff games, however, will still require authentication through your cable service provider such as Comcast, AT&T U-Verse, Cablevision and others...

Day 10 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts: free episode of Sesame Street

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

We are nearing the end of the big 12 Days of Gifts event. We are now on day 10, and Apple has removed the Kings of Leon EP and posted a new item for download. Today’s gift is a free episode of the popular children's television series Sesame Street.

Sesame Street shouldn't need too much of an introduction. Originally debuting in 1969, the series is now broadcasted in 140 countries and has collected over 150 Emmy Awards. It's widely recognized as one of the most popular kids' shows of all time...

Mac Pro’s CPU upgradeability confirmed

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 3, 2014

Despite what some would call a steep asking price, Apple's desktop powerhouse - the new Mac Pro - has been universally regarded by reviewers as the dream machine for content creators who desperately wanted a reasonably priced monster workstation that would make real-time 4K video editing a reality. And despite scarce availability - online orders slipped to February and in-store availability is not expected before March - the new Mac Pro never ceases to amaze us.

Some power users have voiced their concern that Apple would, as is often its wont, lock down the system to allow only for memory upgrades. As it turns out, the new Mac Pro is one of Apple's most expandable Macs, if not the most expandable one.

A teardown analysis by iFixIt has revealed a socketed Intel CPU, accessible RAM and no proprietary Torx screws (go figure!), giving the workstation an eight out of ten for repairability.

Earlier in the week, Other World Computing (OWC) has confirmed that the Mac Pro's Intel Xeon E5 processor was socketed and removable. Today, the OWC team said it's successfully swapped the stock CPU with an eight-core Xeon E5–2667 V2 chip not offered as the Online Apple Store's built-to-order option...

Fantastical 2 now honors your iOS 7 Bold Text setting, improves navigation and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Fantastical, Flexibits' popular calendar and to-do application for the iPhone and Mac, received its mandatory iOS 7 refresh two months ago. Though a separate purchase (currently 60 percent off: only $1.99 for a limited time), Fantastical 2 justifies its asking price by managing to build upon the already strong feature set of the original release with its nicely redone interface and a host of new capabilities that help take the way you create, edit and view calendar events on iOS and OS X to the next level.

In today's quick refresh, Fantastical version 2.0.4 brings out support for Bold Text accessibility option in iOS 7, along with improved reliability of the app icon badge, a pair of UI and navigation tweaks and mandatory fixes and under-the-hood improvements...

Yahoo revamps Sports app for iOS 7, adds GIF creation tool and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 3, 2014

In time for the Playoff,s Yahoo's free Sports app for the iPhone and iPad has been updated this morning with some nicely flattened iOS 7 visuals along with refreshed stats and new features such as a GIF creation tool, personalized navigation menus, updated pages for the football scores, teams and players and lots more.

Read on for the full breakdown...

How to use your new Mac Pro on its side

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

So you've shelled north of $3,000 for a brand spanking new Mac Pro so you could edit 4K video in real-time and I imagine that, as a bonus, the machine would help declutter your desktop due to its drastically reduced footprint (MacWorld has a nice gallery comparing the system to every day objects).

If for some reason you prefer to use your Mac Pro on its side instead of its default upright position, you can do so because Apple's engineers have designed a fan system to support cooling in both orientations, provided you follow the company's guidelines listed in a newly published support document...

Google to demo 4K YouTube streaming at CES via its new royalty-free VP9 codec

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 3, 2014

Google's hasn't enjoyed much success with VP8, a video codec it developed back in 2010 as a H.264 replacement for efficient video streaming. The Chrome browser supports VP8 codec out-of-the-box (so no plug-in required), but Google's plans for VP8 domination were shattered by literally non-existent support from major industry players.

As a result, VP8 has never gained hardware-acceleration because chip makers opted to stand firmly behind H.264, an industry-standard video codec Apple's devices support natively and on the silicon level.

At next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Internet giant will be showing off YouTube streaming in a 4K resolution of 3,840 pixels by 2,160 lines via its brand new royalty-free video codec, VP9.

This time around, Google has lined up an impressive list of industry players who will back the new format. Notably absent: a certain fruity company...

AT&T luring T-Mobile customers to jump ship with up to $450 credit

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 3, 2014

T-Mobile's upcoming Uncarrier 4.0 initiative must have instilled the fear of God into AT&T because the nation's second-largest wireless carrier just announced it will offer up to $450 worth of credit to T-Mobile customers who jump ship.

The limited-time offer is in direct response to T-Mobile's upcoming Uncarrier 4.0 moves, set to be revealed at next week's CES in Las Vegas.

The carrier is hoping to poach T-Mobile customers by partly offering a gift card worth up to $250 for trading in their old phone, with the difference made up in the form of a credit rebate. The full reveal is after the break...

Starbucks now lets you use your iPhone’s camera to redeem Pick of the Week cards

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 2, 2023

Starbucks, a Seattle-based global coffee company and coffeehouse chain and Apple's longtime marketing partner, started offering 'Pick of the Week' promotion via its recently Passbook-enabled App Store app back in 2011. The tie-in allows Starbucks customers to download paid iOS applications for free as they sip on their beverage of choice.

The company has now upgraded its backend system to allow folks to scan these redemption codes using their iPhone's iSight camera, a feature Apple added to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices as part of its iOS 7 software release in September 2013...

Day 9 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts: Kings of Leon EP

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

We are now on day 9 of the big 12 Days of Gifts event, meaning Apple has removed the Diary of a Wimpy iBook and has posted a new free item for download. Today’s gift is an EP (or extended play) from the American rock band Kings of Leon.

The band is widely popular in the UK, and more recently the US, taking home 3 Grammy Awards in 2010 thanks to hits like 'Use Somebody.' And today's free EP includes some of those hits, which it played at Apple's iTunes Festival this year...

CES Scavenger Hunt to utilize Apple’s new iBeacon tech

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

The Consumer Electronics Association has announced that next week's CES will feature a promotional scavenger hunt featuring Apple's new iBeacon technology. The group issued a press release last night explaining how it's utilizing the tech.

Attendees will use the CES Mobile apps to explore various areas of the conference, and collect badges for each iBeacon they encounter. And the first 3 to collect all of the badges will be rewarded with prizes such as tablets and other gadgets...