Apple

Apple Stores to start servicing Beats hardware on November 18

Cody Lee ∙ November 14, 2014

According to a leaked internal notice, Apple Store Genius Bars are going to begin providing after-purchase support of Beats hardware next week. The screenshot was posted by technology website TechnoBuffalo, which said that it was sent in by an anonymous source.

Given the minimal context, it's impossible to tell if the document is legitimate or not, but it does corroborate a report from October along the same lines. Coincidentally, that report also featured a screenshot of an internal memo sent out to Apple service providers.

Microsoft’s latest Skype ad promotes Apple gear

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 14, 2014

Microsoft Canada on Friday published an interesting commercial on its Facebook Page depicting “the world's first wireless orchestra” comprised of New York City's celebrated subway musicians kept in sync with a remote conductor thanks to Skype.

The video features a bunch of Apple's MacBook Pro notebooks that run the Skype software, while iPhones make a few notable appearances as well.

Someone in Cupertino should send marketing wizards in Redmond a thank you note for advertising for Apple.

Details of Telltale’s upcoming game based on HBO’s Game of Thrones series leak

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 14, 2014

Before revealing the first story details and premier trailer of “Tales from the Borderlands”, its upcoming adventure game based on on Gearbox and 2K’s Borderlands 2, Telltale yesterday offered a glimpse into an upcoming “Game of Thrones” game based on HBO’s award-winning fantasy drama television series, itself adapted from of “A Song of Ice and Fire”, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels.

Filing as another episodic adventure game, the game follows the storyline of House Forrester detailed in the book “A Dance with Dragons,” the fifth book of the series, with an interesting twist: players will be permitted to assume the role of any of the five members of House Forrester in various locations around Westeros and Essos.

Needless to say, your actions affect the rest of House Forrester. “Multiply the actions of one character by five, and you’re truly playing the Game of Thrones … where you win, or you die,” notes the blurb.

Microsoft launches Skype for Web beta

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 14, 2014

In a pretty significant move Microsoft on Friday announced Skype for Web, an upcoming web application that lets the popular instant messaging and VoIP service run directly in a desktop browser, no plug-in needed, making Skype readily available across desktop, mobile and on the web.

Supported browsers include Microsoft's Internet Explorer 10, Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox or Apple's Safari 6.

Unfortunately, Chrome for Windows is the only supported version of Chrome so Mac users on Google's browser (and Chromebook owners) are left out in the cold for the time being. Chatting and video/voice messaging don't require a browser plug-in. “With WebRTC, there won’t be any downloads or installs – you can just get straight to your conversation”, the software giant said.

Tales from the Borderlands premier trailer and first details surface

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 14, 2014

Entertainment Weekly on Friday shared first details concerning The Walking Dead creator Telltale's upcoming game series, Tales from the Borderlands. Based on Gearbox and 2K’s Borderlands 2, Tales from the Borderlands takes place on the unforgiving world of Pandora after the events seen in Borderlands 2.

The five-part episodic game series puts you in the shoes of Rhys, a Hyperion ‘suit’ with dreams of being the next Handsome Jack, and Fiona, a Pandoran con artist looking to score her biggest ever swindle, as you follow the adventurers “on their quest for greatness”.

Staples discounting iPads, Apple TV and Beats headphones in Black Friday sale

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Staples' Black Friday circular has been released, showing what deals it will be offering during the infamous holiday shopping weekend at the end of the month. Like other retailers, it plans to discount a number of Apple and Beats products in hopes to reel in customers.

Among the promotions is a 16GB Wi-Fi original iPad Air for $319, which is a savings of $40 from where it's currently priced. There will also be a $239 16GB Wi-Fi iPad mini 2, which is $30 cheaper than its current sale price. We've listed all of the Apple-related deals below.

Apple issues statement on Masque Attack, says it’s not aware of any affected users

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple tonight broke its silence regarding Masque Attack, a recently discovered vulnerability in iOS. In a statement to iMore, the company says it encourages customers to only download apps from trusted sources and that it's not currently aware of any users affected by the exploit.

Research security FireEye announced its discovery of Masque Attack on Monday. The malware installs itself through a phishing link disguised as a new app or game, and then masquerades as a legitimate app. Once installed, it can access login credentials, credit card info and more.

Apple being questioned by the FTC regarding health data protection

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

The US Federal Trade Commission is seeking assurances from Apple that it will prevent sensitive health data from being used without the users' consent, reports Reuters. The outlet says Apple representatives have met with FTC officials multiple times in recent months to discuss the matter.

More specifically, the FTC wants to be sure that Apple will not sell health data collected by its upcoming smartwatch and other devices to third party marketers, or allow app developers to do so. It also wants to be sure proper measures are being taken to protect the data against malicious attacks.

GoodReader introduces advanced text-to-speech for PDF and TXT documents

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2014

I rely on GoodReader to manage files and documents on my iOS devices in one central location. Being a heavy reader, I mostly keep various documents and e-books stored in GoodReader.

Today's update to GoodReader's iOS app contains a whole bunch of new features, improvements and fixes, chiefly a cool text-to-speech capability that speaks passages of text in text files and PDF documents.

It's customizable with different speeds, supports dozens of languages, has playback controls, highlights spoken words in real-time, lets you multitask while listening to spoken word and more. This update is being provided free of charge to existing GoodReader users.

Download GoodReader for the iPhone and iPad for $4.99.

Halfbrick’s ‘Monster Dash’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Apple has named Halfbrick's 'Monster Dash' its app of the week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the title for free in the App Store, saving yourself a healthy buck.

For those who haven't played the game, Monster Dash is a survival platformer/runner that follows the familiar Barry Steakfries (of Jetpack Joyride fame) as he races through levels while avoiding and/or killing monsters.

US government warns iOS users about new ‘Masque Attack’ threat

Cody Lee ∙ November 13, 2014

The United States government issued a warning for iPhone and iPad users today regarding the recently-discovered 'Masque Attack' vulnerability, reports Reuters. The security flaw, which began circulating the web earlier this week, allows malicious third-party apps to be installed to a device using enterprise provision profiles.

Today's bulletin was issued by the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, and it warns users of how Masque Attack can spread and what it's capable of doing. The malware installs itself through a phishing link disguised as a new app or game, and then it can masquerade as a well-known app like Gmail.

Sprint launching ‘iPad for Life’ lease plan tomorrow

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2014

After unveiling its 'iPhone for Life' annual upgrade plan last month, Sprint, the nation's fourth-largest carrier on Thursday announced a similar 'iPad for Life' plan for the latest iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.

With this plan, customers can get the latest iPads for $0 down and 24 monthly payments that will vary depending on your chosen storage capacity.

And like the iPhone for Life plan, the new offering helps customers upgrade to the latest iPad model provided they bring in their existing device in good condition and their lease period has expired.