Apple

Here are two Caffeine alternatives for keeping your Mac awake

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Yesterday, my colleague Anthony ran an informative tutorial that does a good job covering two ways to keep your Mac from sleeping, dimming or showing a screensaver: one is based on a little bit of Terminal magic and the other involves using a free of charge utility, called Caffeine.

As easy to use as Caffeine is, it suffers from not having been updated in years so it has some issues with OS X Yosemite and El Capitan.

Its icon, for example, is not Retina-compatible and looks odd in Yosemite's dark mode. That said, I want to share with you a pair of apps that one-up Caffeine at its own game.

Pre-register for Miitomo, Nintendo’s first smartphone app

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

Back in October 2015, Nintendo announced its inaugural smartphone app for iOS and Android, Miitomo. Today, the Japanese gaming giant has opened up pre-registrations on its website for the forthcoming app. Signing up requires you to create a Nintendo Account so you can be notified when Miitomo launches in the App Store.

Creating a Nintendo Account ahead of Miitomo's launch will also net you Platinum Points for the My Nintendo rewards program, which is scheduled to go live alongside the Miitomo app.

How about the tiniest game of pong for your Apple Watch?

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

Meet the tiniest game of pong for your Apple Watch, created by developer Matt Wiechec and aptly named A Tiny Game of Pong. Available free in the App Store for a limited time, this minimalist game lets you push your paddle back-and-forth across the display by turning the responsive Digital Crown.

You can play in the Classic or endless Arcade mode, track your high score and rank on Game Center, personalize the game to your liking with ten theme colors and, of course, you can also play A Tiny Game of Pong on your iPhone.

Apple removes iPhone 4s and iPhone 5c from sale in India as iPhone 5se launch looms

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

In India, Apple has stopped selling the iPhone 4s, which debuted in the fall of 2011, as well as the unapologetically plastic iPhone 5c, The Economic Times reported Tuesday. In withdrawing its most affordable handsets from the 1.25 billion people country—the world’s third market for smartphones and the fastest-growing smartphone market in the world—Apple is looking to boost its average selling price and profitability “which have been under strain in the country lately,” stated the report.

Apple vehemently opposes FBI request to create iPhone backdoor in San Bernardino court case

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

Apple is vehemently opposing the FBI's request to create a backdoor in iOS that would permit authorities to access encrypted data on the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. In an open letter to all customers posted on the company's website, CEO Tim Cook acknowledges that Apple believes that the FBI's intentions are good and makes note of the fact that his company has done “everything that is both within our power and within the law” to help the authorities.

“But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create,” he wrote. “They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.”

Judge orders Apple to help FBI recover data from San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Apple to help investigators access encrypted data on the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, reports NBC News. The ruling says that the Cupertino firm must provide "reasonable technical assistance" to the FBI in recovering data from the handset.

More specifically, the device is an iPhone 5c that belongs to Syed Farook, who with his wife Tashfeen Malik murdered 14 people in San Bernardino, California last year. The phone is locked with a passcode, and prosecutors say data found in Farook's iCloud account suggests it could contain evidence.

How to decrease ‘Other’ storage on iPhone or iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2019

The infamous 'Other' storage section displayed in iTunes after connecting an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to a computer is definitely one of the pain points for users mainly because it keeps increasing on its own.

'Other' storage is a combination of system settings, caches and various files that iOS stores temporarily to speed up system performance and minimize your dependency on network connectivity.

This all happens automatically and without any intervention on part of the user. That said, software can (and will) break and so these files may not get cleaned out properly. And when that happens, a large amount of storage will be lumped into the 'Other' category. The good news is, your proactiveness in dealing with this issue should pay off.

It's actually fairly easy to recover your usable storage lost to 'Other' space hogs by specifically targeting certain items. In this post, we'll lay out a few different techniques to decrease 'Other' storage on your iPhone or iPad.

How to open ZIP files on iPhone using the Notes app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 31, 2019

Although neither Apple's Safari nor Google's Chrome browser can extract files from ZIP archives on iOS, it has been discovered that Apple's Notes app lets users view the contents of ZIP files by taking advantage of iOS's built-in file attachment viewers.

Starting with iOS 9, Notes has received several new features, among them support for adding content to a new or existing note through iOS's multi-purpose Share menu in apps like Safari, Maps, Pages and more.

As it turns out, you can also use iOS's Share menu in conjunction with the “Open In” feature to add a downloaded ZIP file to a note on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

Real Racing 3 finally arrives on the new Apple TV in new ‘Daytona 500’ update

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2016

Electronic Arts' and Firemonkeys' Real Racing 3 has amassed over a hundred million downloads across iOS and Android platforms thus far. Yet, up until today this premium game was not available as a native app for the new Apple TV—despite the fact that rival Gameloft's Asphalt 8 is one of the most downloaded Apple TV games. A new update to the free-to-play racing game, now available in the App Store, changes all that with native support for the Apple TV.

What's more, the Apple TV game gives players the ability to race each other in a split-screen 'Party Play' mode. In addition, this version of Real Racing 3 sports newly added Daytone 500 content across platforms so you can drive the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars and race your opponents on the all-new Daytona International Speedway track.

Rumor: iPhone 7 chips to be encapsulated in EMI shielding

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2016

Korean publication ETNews is claiming that Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 smartphone refresh will reduce electromagnetic interference by encapsulating major chips, including its application processor, into an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.

According to ETNews, key iPhone 7 chips such as the main 'A10' processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, cellular modems and RF chips will be protected by EMI shielding, which involves covering a chip's surface with ultra-thin metal. Prior iPhones have used EMI shielding on the printed circuit board and the connectors to reduce electromagnetic interference.

Report: Dr. Dre’s Apple-backed TV show ‘Vital Signs’ will be a vehicle for Apple Music promotion

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2016

The rumored Apple-backed television show “Vital Signs” will feature some notable Apple Music product placement, as per sources who spoke to Re/code's Peter Kafka.

Rather than being Apple's surprise foray into full-scale production of TV shows, Apple will simply co-finance the production of “Vital Signs.”

“That’s much less exciting than 'Apple Is Getting Into TV,' but it’s more accurate,” Kafka said. The show will apparently star Beats co-founder and Apple executive Dr. Dre.

Kanye West says his new album will never be available on Apple Music

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2017

It appears that Kanye West's highly anticipated new album "The Life of Pablo," isn't going to be available on Apple Music anytime soon. Amidst a tweet storm Monday afternoon, the controversial artist stated that the album will "never never never be on Apple."

West added that he has no plans to offer TLOP for sale either, and that the only way fans will be able to listen to the record is through Tidal—the streaming music service backed by Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, and other high profile musicians across various genres.