Apps

Totems review: conquer your enemy and steal his land

Lory Gil ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Land grab style board games are very exciting in real life. Stealing from your friends can be pretty fun. However, transitioning that type of excitement and emotion to digital form does not always produce the same results.

Totems: Game of Conquest is a land grab board game designed specifically for iOS. It has all of the rules and outcomes of a physical board game, but you don’t have to be in the same room to play the game. Thanks to online multiplayer mode, you can even steal from your friend, but you won’t risk having a glass of water thrown at you…

New Remote icon in iTunes may hint at impending iOS 7 update

Cody Lee ∙ October 25, 2013

Although Apple posted a number of iOS 7-flavored app updates this week, there's still one that I'm anxiously awaiting: the Remote app. I use it every day to control my Apple TV, and it's very much in need of a UI overhaul.

Fortunately, it looks like I won't have to wait much longer. A redesigned icon for the Remote app has been discovered in iTunes, suggesting that Apple may be putting the finishing touches on an iOS 7 update for the utility...

Tweetbot 3 is out with all-new design for iOS 7

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

Popular Twitter client Tweetbot has finally received its iOS 7 update this afternoon. A week after Tapbots announced that the new app had been sent off to Apple and was awaiting approval from the App Team, Tweetbot 3 has arrived.

As expected, Tweetbot 3 has been completely redesigned from the ground up for iOS 7—as you can see in the screenshot above, it looks nothing like its predecessor. And also as expected, the brand new app comes with a new price tag...

Vine app update adds new ‘Time Travel’ and ‘Sessions’ features

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 9, 2018

It's been about 10 months since Twitter launched its video-sharing platform experiment known as Vine, and it's still going strong. The app recently crossed the 40 million user mark, and it's currently in the top 20 free apps in the App Store.

And today, it gets even better. Vine posted an update for its iOS client this morning, bringing about two huge new features: Time Travel and Sessions. The former is essentially a time-shift editing tool, and the latter is the ability to save drafts...

Slingbox gains AirPlay place-shifting, Blockbuster movies, plays nice with Mavericks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

The Slingbox, a TV streaming media device made by Sling Media, has received a nice little firmware update earlier today bringing support for AirPlay, a technology from Apple that streams media from iOS devices and Macs to a TV set through the $99 Apple TV set-top box. It's a notable enhancement: with AirPlay, owners of Slingboxes can stream live television from their Slingbox-connected TV to any Apple TV-connected TV set.

In addition to AirPlay support, the firmware update brings on-demand high-definition movies from Blockbuster and support for Apple's just-released OS X Mavericks (a free upgrade on the Mac App Store). More on that in just a second...

Microsoft on the defensive: Apple’s free iWork productivity suite is ‘no big deal’

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 24, 2013

There's nothing like a good dogfight between two tech titans to get your blood flowing. After a hiatus from its sniping at Apple, Microsoft is back, calling the decision to offer iWork and iLife software free "no big deal". Sure Microsoft, whatever you say.

But Redmond didn't stop there. In a Wednesday blog post, the software giant's communication vice president paints Apple's move as desperate, before launching into a rally-round-the-flag sort of promo for the new Surface tablet.

All of which reminds me of the Hamlet quote about protesting too much...

EMPIRE review: a deck building game with strategy

Lory Gil ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Being that I am a bit of a board game geek, I’m always on the lookout for apps that are digital versions of tabletop adventures. Whether they are land grab games, resource management games, or deck building games, I’m all in when it comes to apps that have turn-based strategy planning and stats-based battles.

EMPIRE is a deck-building game that combines a bit of 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) style empire creation. Construct your empire by gathering materials and destroy your enemies by building your deck to its maximum potential…

Fandango update brings new iOS 7 design, ‘Go Now’ feature and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Attention moviegoers, Fandango has posted a significant update for its iOS client today, bringing the app to version 5.9. The new software has been redesigned for iOS 7, and includes several improvements.

Among them is the return of a popular feature called 'Go Now,' which allows you to quickly find a movie at your local theater and purchase tickets. And Spotlight and Search have both been given makeovers...

Aperture gains iCloud Photo Sharing, SmugMug integration, iOS 7 Camera filters and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Apple's Aperture for Mac continues to give Adobe's Lightroom a run for its money as both programs compete for the title of the best photo manipulation and management software on the Mac. As you know, Apple's long been bundling a free copy of its iPhoto application with every new Mac (and now also with new iOS device purchases). But for photography fans whose needs go beyond the basic set of iPhoto's editing and photo management tools, Aperture is a logical progression.

In its latest 3.5 update, Aperture brings a couple welcomed new features to the table and a host of tweaks and bug fixes. Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Pixelmator 3.0 FX now available with Layer Styles, Liquify Tools and new Mavericks features

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2013

My favorite Photoshop Mac replacement, Pixelmator, has just received a massive 3.0 update. Now rechristened as Pixelmator FX to reflect the newly acquired capabilities, it brings the much needed Layer Styles and Liguify Tools, both building on top of the recent 2.2 update which dates back as recently as two weeks ago.

Pixelmator 3.0 also supports new features introduced in OS X Mavericks (a free upgrade) and introduces a new image editing engine which the team claims make Pixelmator "a top-quality, full-featured image editing app for the Mac”...