Apple

Review: take a Quick Look inside OS X installer packages with Suspicious Package for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

I download apps for my Mac from the Mac App Store whenever possible. Going through the Mac App Store gives me a piece of mind knowing Apple screens all submissions and keeps harmful software at bay.

But every once in a while, an app comes along and gets distributed outside the Mac App Store's safe haven. True, one can verify signing information for non-Mac App Store apps in Terminal, but it isn't for the faint-hearted.

That's precisely the kind of problem that a nifty little Mac app, called Suspicious Package, solves in one fell swoop.

Created by a company called Mothers Ruin Software, the free of charge app is actually a plug-in for the Mac's Quick Look feature, allowing you to easily and quickly inspect contents of a .PKG installer file after you've downloaded it but before it's launched.

Apple posts OS X 10.11.2 beta 2 to public beta testers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Less than 48 hours after seeding its developers with the second OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan beta, Apple today made OS X 10.11.2 beta 2 available to public beta testers.

People who are running a previous El Capitan beta on their Mac can apply the update through the Mac App Store's Purchased tab, or download the standalone installer through Apple's portal for developers. You must be a member of the Apple Beta Software Program to use this pre-release software.

Facebook launches Music Stories with Spotify and Apple Music integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Facebook is announcing today a brand new feature called Music Stories, basically a new post format for Facebook that should make it easier to discover and share music from Spotify and Apple Music.

Now every time you share songs or albums shared from Spotify or Apple Music using Facebook's iPhone application, these links will automatically get turned into the new post format which lets others listen to 30-second previews while on Facebook.

Rayman Fiesta Run for iPhone and iPad slashed to $0 in Apple’s Free App of the Week promo

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Since its November 2013 debut, Ubisoft's Rayman Fiesta Run has only gone free briefly through an in-app promotion within the Expedia app.

That's why Apple's editorial team has decided it was high time to permit everyone to download this game to their devices at no charge, so they've made Rayman Fiesta Run free until next Thursday.

This marks the first time the fast-paced platformer has been slashed to zero bucks in the App Store. Taking cues from Rayman Jungle Run, Rayman Fiesta Run has you jumping, flying, punching, running up the walls and more in the wacky new Fiesta world.

Google Maps for iOS gains spoken traffic alerts

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Google yesterday refreshed its iPhone and iPad mapping application in the App Store with a pair of new features. For starters, the iOS application introduces spoken traffic alerts to help you find the best route without taking your eyes off the road. In addition, it is now possible to add new and missing businesses from the app's sidebar menu.

Google Maps is available free in the App Store.

Flickr’s refreshed iOS app goes beyond 3D Touch with 3D Touch Extended

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Flickr today updated its free iPhone and iPad application in the App Store with full support for iOS 9's Spotlight Search, Universal links and 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus smartphones.

It's of particular interest that the app goes beyond 3D Touch Home screen shortcuts and Peek and Pop gestures with something they're calling 3D Touch Extended.

iPhone 7 to run Synaptics’s display driver chips as Apple delays own in-house single-chip solution

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes is reporting that Apple has placed orders for display driver chips from supplier Synaptics for 2016 iPhones. This is interesting because rumors were swirling back in 2014 that Apple was buying Renesas SP Drivers, a division of Renesas Electronics and a sole supplier of LCD driver chips for iPhones.

The deal was supposed to help Apple “improve image sharpness and battery life” on iPhones, but negotiations broke down. Renesas was later acquired by touchscreen chipmaker Synaptics which wanted to combine its touch technology with Renesas’ display drivers into one chip.

Google Drive gets better with sharing notifications and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Google has updated its Drive cloud storage client for iOS with mobile notifications when files or folders are shared, or when someone requests access to a file you own.

The change allows for a more consistent sharing experience across platforms and includes enhancements such as jumping directly to a shared file by tapping on the notification banner and providing a custom message when sharing a file or folder with others.

HTC’s One A9 ad takes cues from Apple’s famous ‘1984’ commercial

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

HTC and its latest One A9 flagship smartphone have been accused of copying the iPhone 6 design and its much criticized antenna bands on the back (HTC, needless to say, begs to differ).

But now, the ailing Taiwanese handset maker has taken things to the next level with a brand new advertising campaign that revolves around the tagline 'Be Different'.

In a 90-second commercial posted to HTC's YouTube channel, a young and hip runner is portrayed in a dystopian-like world where everything is white and clean, unified and supposedly Apple-like. To make it perfectly clear who the Big Brother is this time around, HTC's hero can be seen kicking a bunch of white apples, apparently to stand up to the Man and make a point.

Apple exploring panic mode for Touch ID

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Apple has submitted a new patent application with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) Thursday that would make the iPhone more secure by allowing users to place their device in a lock-down mode simply by putting a certain finger on the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Titled “fingerprint activation of a panic mode of operation for a mobile device,” it describes unlocking a Touch ID device with a specific finger to activate a special lock-down mode that would make personal data stored on the device inaccessible to the user, or activate different modes of operation based on the particular fingerprints.

Developer shows Apple TV can support app folders

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 4, 2015

Well-known developer Steve Troughton-Smith has been experimenting with debugging tvOS and has figured out a way to create folders on the Apple TV using the LLDB debugger. Support for folders is there in tvOS, but it's not currently being used and is not available to end users on tvOS 9.0 or the tvOS 9.1 beta.

As you might expect, folders in tvOS work very much like folders in iOS. Once enabled, all that's required is to drag an app icon on top of another app icon to create a folder. While this finding paints no timetable as to when Apple might enable folder support in tvOS, it does at least let us know that Apple has at least thought about doing so.

Apple said to be planning colossal 4.15 million square foot campus in San Jose

Cody Lee ∙ November 4, 2015

Apple is in talks with the city of San Jose over a potential development deal that would allow it to build a massive campus in northern San Jose, reports the Silicon Valley Business Journal. According to city records, the company is asking for up to 4.15 million square feet of space—larger than both its current Infinite Loop campus and "spaceship" campus 2.