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EU officials upset as Apple remains mum on proposed IAP policy changes

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2014

In-App Purchase, a way overused feature which provides a way for supposedly free games and apps to ask users for cash in order to enable advanced features or unlock virtual items, is increasingly drawing ire of regulators across the globe.

In-App Purchases are notorious for fooling less-informed adults and kids into downloading so-called freemium apps so it's no wonder the European Union officials have repeatedly warned that companies like Apple and Google should stop labeling free-to-download apps that contain In-App Purchases as "Free".

Companies could soon be forced to make the “true cost of apps” unambiguously clear before purchase, according to a complaint the European Commission filed today...

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Hearthstone ‘Curse of Naxxramas’ expansion hitting iOS, Mac July 22

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Back in March, Blizzard launched its popular free-to-play collectible card game ‘Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft’ on the Mac. A month later, it brought the game to the iPad, and promised an expansion pack for both platforms.

Today, the studio made good on its promise, announcing that Hearthstone's first expansion 'Curse of Naxxramas' will be landing on PCs, Macs and iPads on Tuesday, July 22nd. You'll find all the details on the add-on pack below...

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Wunderlist 3 previewed: fast sync, gorgeous UI and 60+ improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 12, 2018

Berlin, Germany-based 6Wunderkinder, the makers of the popular Wunderlist to-do, task and list management app, is getting ready to release a major new version. The wait for Wunderlist 3 is almost over, developers told me via email.

Filed as "our biggest update ever," Wunderlist 3 brings fast real-time sync engine, top-to-bottom makeover with a beautiful new design and over 60 various improvements to put the fun back into note-taking, task management and list creation and curation...

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Sonico launches iTranslate for Mac with voice output, dictionaries, 80+ languages and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2014

German developer Sonico Mobile makes some fairly nice translation apps for the iPhone. Their excellent iTranslate app, available free for the iPhone and iPad, allows you to translate words and text into over 80 languages.

It supports voice input and output for most language pairs, which works much better than you'd think in terms of dialects, gender, speaking rate and other variables affecting translation accuracy.

Sonico is now bringing that same experience to your Mac with the launch of the native iTranslate for Mac app, a free download from the Mac App Store. With over 80 languages supported out of the box and features like voice output, fast text input, romanization and built-in dictionaries, Sonico's software enables the App Store's most popular translator tool on your Mac...

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OS X Yosemite Developer Preview usage 4x greater than Mavericks

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 9, 2014

Adoption rates of the OS X Yosemite Developer Preview are smashing records with four times greater usage than its predecessor, OS X Mavericks. Developers' striking interest in the software is evidenced by usage stats web analytics firm Chitika provided Wednesday.

According to data, adoption figures of the Yosemite betas in North America have significantly outpaced those of OS X Mavericks, by as much as a factor of four.

Early adopters have helped OS X Yosemite Developer Preview hit 0.20 percent of total U.S. and Canadian web traffic originating from Mac OS X. By comparison, the OS X Mavericks Developer Preview was only able to hit a meager 0.05 percent mark after 30 days...

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Retina MacBook Air hits roadblocks as Intel’s Broadwell chips face new delays

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

It's hardly a secret that Apple is looking to phase out non-Retina models from its MacBook Pro lineup.

Furthermore, the expected switch to all-Retina notebooks should over time affect Apple's ultra-portable MacBook Air model, too.

I mean, even Apple's Taiwan-based suppliers have been adamant that a long-expected version of the MacBook Air with Apple's Retina display is due in the second half of 2014.

Unfortunately, it's now almost certain that a Retina MacBook Air won't see the light of day this year because the crucial components - Intel's next-generation, extremely low-power Broadwell chips - reportedly won't be available in volume until mid-2015...

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Apple releases OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 3

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

In addition to seeding the third beta of iOS 8 this morning, Apple has also released the third Developer Preview of its new OS X Yosemite operating system. The update comes three weeks after Preview 2, and over a month after Apple announced Yosemite at WWDC.

The update is labeled as build 14A283o and can be downloaded via an update in the Mac App Store, or as a full download from Apple’s online developer center. It does not, however, appear to be out in Apple’s recently-launched public Yosemite Beta Seed program yet…

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Sunrise for Mac launches with offline mode, apps, native notifications and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Sunrise, the popular and free replacement for Apple's stock Calendar in iOS, has been making some notable strides.

Just last month, for example, the team added third-party app integration to Sunrise for iOS. And, the previous month brought us Sunrise for Android and a web app, making for a nice cross-platform solution.

Now available free in the Mac App Store, Sunrise for Mac brings the beautifully laid out iOS experience to your desktop, with such features as full offline mode, third-party app integration, notifications for reminders, support for Google and iCloud calendars and much more...

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Taasky is a beautiful and minimalistic task manager for Mac

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Taasky for Mac is one of the latest entrants in a highly competitive market of apps for task management, to-do lists and getting things done. How it aims to stand out of the pack is with a beautiful and sleek design, but how does it stack up functionally? Taasky can be best described as simple, both from a design and usage perspective. After giving the app a test drive on my Mac for a few days, here are my first impressions… 

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Apple appears to have ended support for AIM accounts in OS X Messages

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

For years, Apple's Messages app for OS X (previously known as iChat) has offered support for the aging AIM messaging protocol with mac.com and me.com IDs.

Then on Monday, as it said it would, Cupertino has ended AIM support for mac.com or me.com accounts in Messages on Macs running OS X Lion 10.7.1 or earlier.

However, it now appears that the company has actually phased out support for AIM accounts for everyone, regardless of Mac OS X version, and without giving users a heads-up...

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Apple launches $49 security lock adapter for Mac Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 2, 2014

Apple on Wednesday launched an accessory to keep your gorgeously reimagined late-2013 "trashcan" style Mac Pro secure and tethered.

Available through the Online Apple Store for $49, the Mac Pro Security Lock Adapter ties the cylindrically shaped workstation to your desk using existing Kensington locks or similar third-party locks, so a thief would need to drag the desk itself to steal your precious Mac Pro.

Moreover, it prevents unauthorized access to the computer's internal components by securing the lift-off cover to the base of the machine with a security cable...

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