Alex Heath - page 93

With all the rumors surrounding Apple’s intense negotiations to acquire licensing agreements with Hollywood studios for its upcoming television, it can be easy to forget about another aspect of the equation that needs to be reinvented: the remote. When Apple does unveil its long-awaited ‘iTV’ to the dismay of cable providers, you can bet that it won’t come with a clunky clicker like every other TV on the market. If there’s anything that needs to be changed about the industry, it’s the tool we use to communicate with our TV sets.

How would Apple do its own remote? Some have speculated that the iTV will be completely controlled by Siri, but there’s more to the puzzle than just voice control. In fact, you probably already use the future iTV’s remote every day.

The app privacy scandal caused by Path’s iPhone app is still leaving its mark, as members of the U.S. Congress have sent out letters to 33 prominent App Store developers to better understand the issue. “We want to better understand the information collection and use policies and practices of apps for Apple’s mobile devices with a social element.”

Apps like the official Facebook and Twitter clients are among the list. Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member G. K. Butterfield have requested that the developers behind such apps reveal how Apple imposes its privacy standards and how the standards are implemented.

Netflix has updated its popular iPad app with enhanced Retina graphics. Everything from the icon to the app’s text has been updated for the new iPad’s shiny display, and the update is available now in the App Store.

One of the biggest complaints about the Netflix iOS app has been the lack of HD video streaming, and according to Netflix, HD video is coming soon. We wouldn’t be surprised if the next app version included the upgrade. We can’t wait for that!

Remember that streaming HD video over 4G on the new iPad will use a lot of data, so be aware of how much video you stream on the go.

Some recent reports have suggested that the new iPad can use more data than its predecessor while on 4G LTE networks. This shouldn’t surprise anyone since faster download speeds on the new iPad will certainly lead to more online activity. It’s like saying an engine won’t get you somewhere faster after its been turbocharged.

One of the biggest features in the new iPad is its ability to use 4G data speeds on AT&T, Verizon, and select carriers in other countries. In most cases one can get faster speeds on the new iPad than a home DSL connection offers. It’s truly phenomenal.

Since you can’t get unlimited data on the iPad here in the states unless you’re grandfathered in, it’s important to be careful about how you use your iPad when you’re away from a WiFi network. It can be easy to blow through 1GB of data in a month if you don’t watch your activity. Here are some helpful tips and tricks for saving 4G data on your new iPad.

Every once in a while a jailbreak tweak comes along that tires to reinvent multitasking on the iPhone. We’ve seen webOS-inspired tweaks like Multifl0w, multiasking-focused tweaks like Zephyr, and many others over the years.

A relatively new package called Imperium aims to change the way we jailbreakers multitask on the iPhone yet again. Is it worth the $1 price tag? Let’s take a closer look.

Apple announced iPhoto for iOS at its March 7th iPad event, and the app has already been downloaded by over 1 million unique customers in less than two weeks. Since the app is priced at a cool $5, that means Apple has made at least $5 million since launch day. Not too shabby.

Instagram is undoubtedly the reigning champion of social photography apps, but there was once a time when Hipstamatic owned the spotlight. As the mobile app that took the trend of filtered photo sharing mainstream, Instagram owes a lot of its success to Hipstamatic. Apple awarded the iPhone app of the year award to Hipstamatic in 2010 and the torch was passed to Instagram in 2011.

As of today, Hipstamatic will now let you send photos you take in the app to Instagram. Not only does this move establish Instagram as the iPhone photography app victor, but it also establishes the app in its own right as a social network of the same caliber as Twitter for Facebook.

We absolutely adore beautiful wallpapers here at Cult of Mac, and we’re always on the hunt to find beautiful images to share. We already pointed you towards a plethora of wallpapers that have been optimized for the iPad’s Retina display, and we’ve found another collection to check out.

Something you may have noticed while playing with your new iPad is that many iPhone apps now look much better when expanded to fill the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen. You’ve always been able to run iPhone apps on the iPad in their shruken, non-Retina resolution. Tapping the little ‘2x’ button would instantly make the app expand to fill the display. An unfortunate side effect was that enlarged iPhone apps on the iPad looked pretty awful.

Thanks to the new iPad’s stunning 2048×1536 Retina display, iPhone apps now look much better when zoomed in on the tablet’s shiny screen.

In a response to reports that the new iPad can get pretty toasty when compared with the iPad 2’s heat output, Apple has responded with an official comment telling everyone to take a chill pill. According to Apple, the new iPad operates “well within our thermal specification” and there shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

Full response from Apple:

The numbers basically say everything. AAPL closed at over $600 per share for the first time in Apple’s history today, and it’s only fitting considering what was just announced. The new iPad sold a jaw-dropping 3 million units since its launch 4 days ago, making it the most successful iPad launch ever by a long shot. Not only that, but Apple announced shareholder dividends this morning — a decision that obviously pleased Wall Street.

When does it stop? That’s the question one has to ask when faced with the overwhelming success Apple is continuing to see with every new product. The Cupertino company’s earnings have been growing exponentially with ever business quarter, and Apple is already the most valuable company on earth. Absolute craziness.

Tim Cook said earlier this morning that Apple saw a “record weekend” for its new iPad, and AT&T has confirmed record iPad activations during the product’s launch day on Friday, March 16th. Although specific sales numbers have not been given by Apple, AT&T or Verizon, all signs point to another record-breaking product launch for Apple.

A new report says that Apple’s flagship 5th Avenue retail store in New York City was selling 18 iPads per minute during launch day, totaling a staggering 13,000 units sold during the first 12 hours of in-store availability.

A new jailbreak tweak adds push notifications to the popular iPhone email app called Sparrow. We’ve already shown you a roundabout way to get push for Sparrow with the Boxcar app on a non-jailbroken iPhone, but you can now easily enable notifications with a Cydia tweak called Sparrow Push.

Mike Daisey, the man behind the hugely popular show that highlights Apple’s manufacturing environment at Foxconn, has received heavy media criticism since This American Life revealed that he had lied and given inaccurate information about his trip to China. Daisey continues to perform his show at theaters in the United States, and he says he still stands by his work.

Since the Retraction episode of The American Life aired, Daisey has elaborated further on the issue surrounding Chinese manufacturing and his public scandal.

Following this morning’s comment from Apple CEO Tim Cook that the company is absolutely “thrilled” with its launch weekend sales for the new iPad, AT&T has confirmed record single-day sales and activations for the new tablet.

Apple has issued a press release announcing a conference call it will be holding tomorrow morning to discuss the “outcome of the Company’s discussions concerning its cash balance.” In case you didn’t know, Apple is sitting on nearly $100 billion in cash, making it the most valuable company in the world.

The call will be hosted by Apple CEO Tim Cook and the company’s CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, on March 19th at 6:00 A.M. PDT/9:00 A.M. EDT. Could AAPL shareholders finally receive dividends?

Performer and monologist Mike Daisey has been all over the news since the This American Life radio show retracted its most downloaded episode ever in which Daisey talked about visiting Foxconn, the Chinese factory that Apple products are made in. This American Life said that Daisey’s story contained “significant fabrications.” The New York Times also edited an article it ran by Daisey to reflect the inaccurate re-telling of his experience at Foxconn in China.

To put it plainly, Daisey said he saw things he never saw and met people he never met. He’s been feeding his audiences false information for many months. For the first time in the show’s history, This American Life has run a special retraction episode to clear up the mess. If you’ve been following the Apple/Foxconn issue, you should really give it a listen.

Apple has seeded OS X Lion 10.7.4 to registered developers following the release of the second Mountain Lion developer preview this afternoon. Lion 10.7.4 can be downloaded now in the Mac Dev Center. The release weighs in at 1.33 GB for the combo update and 580 MB for the delta version.

10.7.4 (Build 11E27) will be deployed to the public once Apple gets the kinks ironed out with developers. A server version of Lion has also been seeded to accompany 10.7.4. The last version of Lion to go public was 10.7.3 at the beginning of February. A supplemental update was released last week to solve an issue with malfunctioning Time Machine backups.

Apple has seeded OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 2 in the Mac Dev Center. The release follows the first preview of the new operating system that was distributed to developers back in February. Registered developers are encouraged to go get their redemption code to download the latest OS (build 12A154q) in the Mac App Store.

The update doesn’t look like it contains anything too significant, but let us know if you find anything. You can reach us at [email protected].

You’ve finally got your hands on the new iPad, now you need some beautiful wallpapers. Apple’s newest tablet sports a gigantic 2048×1536 resolution display, so your old iPad wallpapers won’t look as good as they once did. You need higher resolution images for your new baby.

We’ve gathered some gorgeous, free wallpapers that are all optimized for the new iPad’s Retina display. We tried to include different designs and styles for everyone. Check them out and see if one catches your eye!

You just bought the new iPad. Whether this is your first iPad or an upgrade, setting up a new device can take some time. Luckily, Apple has made it easy to set up a new iPad for the first time with iCloud — you don’t even need a desktop computer!

There are also resources like Cult of Mac to help you get the most out of your new iPad. We’ll show you how to get your iPad ready for prime time with this handy setup guide.

I was fortunate to get my hands on a new iPad a little earlier than expected, and I’ve been playing around with it and comparing it to my iPad 2. I’ve read all the early reviews from the likes of Walt Mossberg and Joshua Topolsky, and I’m sure you have to, so I won’t waste your time rehashing what you’ve already read.

The new iPad is great. It really is. If you’ve never owned an iPad before, this third-gen iteration will blow your mind. It’s by far the best tablet on the market in every way. Nothing compares. It’s not perfect, but it’s about as close as you can get right now.

Here are some of the highlights I’ve gleaned from spending a little time with the new iPad:

The Retina-ready iPad game Namco demoed onstage at Apple’s media event last week has gone live in the App Store. Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy costs $5 as a universal download for the iPhone and iPad.

Like Skies of Glory and other 3D flight simulators, Sky Gamblers uses your iOS device’s accelerometer and gyroscopes to control your fighter jet in the air. The graphics looked stunning onstage last week, so we can’t wait to try this game on our new iPads this weekend!

Apple has always taken privacy very seriously. When it was discovered that popular app Path secretly uploaded an iPhone user’s entire address book to its servers, the media reacted very strongly and Apple was forced to get involved. Path was violating Apple’s terms of agreement, and it was discovered that many other apps in the App Store had been doing the same thing for quite some time. Apple said that it would clarify the privacy issue for end users with a future iOS update.

High-profile meetings take place at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California all the time, but the public rarely gets to hear about what is said behind closed doors. As it turns out, Path CEO Dave Morin was summoned to Cupertino by Apple CEO Tim Cook to talk about the recent privacy scandal his app caused.

Can you literally not contain your excitement for the new iPad and its glorious Retina display? Will you be unable to sleep tonight because you can’t wait to get in line at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow to buy one? Then you may be in luck because Walmart is kicking things off early.

Starting at precisely 12:01 A.M. tomorrow, Walmart will start selling a limited supply of new iPads at its 24-hour locations around the United States. Apple’s doors aren’t opening until 8 A.M., so you’ll have the opportunity to snag a new tablet before everyone else.