News - page 1305

On the Mac, 1Password is a perfect Swiss Army Knife of tools for the forgetful and lazy, guaranteeing that they never have type in a password, address field, or credit card number into an online form ever again.

But on iOS, 1Password has been a more convoluted thing. Lacking deep integration with other apps, 1Password for iOS has never been as good as it’s Mac counterpart. But with iOS 8, that’s about to change, thanks to a 1Password app extension that any third-party app can use.

As has been seen time and time again, all Apple needs to do is hint at an area it’s interested in exploring (see: smart watches) and much of the tech world will trip over itself trying to beat it to market (see: Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smart watch.)

The latest company to jump on this bandwagon is, apparently, VIVO, the Chinese manufacturer which previously released the world’s first QHD/2K smartphone. According to sources cited by the Chinese media, VIVO is taking a big swing at Apple (and, yes, the iPhone 6 was specifically mentioned) by rushing to release its new 5-inch flagship handset, with an all-metal frame and sapphire glass display.

A comic book movie about misfit space superheroes might not seem to have much in common with Apple’s long-rumored entry into wearable computing. However, for a handful of reasons, Guardians of the Galaxy is to Marvel Studios what the iWatch is to Apple –- a high-profile release that’s critical to the company’s future success.

Here’s why.

Does the iOS-centric IBM-Apple deal equal the end of the road for desktops? Absolutely it does, if you believe Bob Tinker, CEO of the newly-public company MobileIron.

Discussing the recent alliance between the two tech giants during his company’s first earnings call, Tinker pointed to the IBM-Apple deal as something of a signal moment for mobile. “I think of it as a positive that IBM’s committed to building mobile apps for enterprises, switching away from Windows to mobile platforms,” he noted.

“This signals the end of the desktop era. IBM once made a deal with Microsoft in the late 1980s that ushered in the era of the desktop, and now they’re ending it with Apple.”

For years now, the Modbook has been giving Apple fans the devices that Cupertino won’t. Before the first iPad came out, Apple delivered the Modbook, a white plastic Macbook transformed into a tablet. They then followed it with the Modbook Pro, which gave the same treatment to the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

With hybrid tablet/laptops like the Surface hitting the market, Modbook’s once again getting ready to give Apple die hard what they want. The Modbook Pro X is coming, and it promises to be a convertible MacBook Pro that is also a tablet when it wants to be.

SAN FRANCISCO — Sébastien Leidgens wants to put a new angle on the business card.

His invention, Cubr, is a six-sided die that connects people through private mobile web chat. When a red, blue or green Cubr is tossed your way, you hit the website or download the app, then enter the code to start your instant message convo or share photos with the person who gave you the die. The enterprising Belgian, a former project manager at a digital marketing agency, is taking a gamble on the idea that people are tired of handing out one-dimensional cards.

“It’s a business card for non-business people,” Leidgens says in an English heavily influenced by his native French. “Young people don’t have business cards. This you can use for private situations in everyday life. It’s a lot more fun and outside of the usual public circles.”

If you’re a runner or a gym user, chances are that at some point you’ve put together a workout playlist of some sort, full of the kind of Rocky-esque power ballads you want entering your ears and coursing through your veins as you strive toward physical perfection.

According to a patent application published Thursday, Apple could be looking to take a lot of the pain out of that kind of gain. The application in question deals with a handheld or wearable device capable of controlling the tempo of music so as to affect the mood and behavior of users during exercise.

Apple is finalizing its acquisition of Beats Electronics ahead of the August 1st closing date, and while most of Beats’ top talent will be migrating to the mothership, about 40% of Beats’ global workforce will be cut during the transition.

Around 200 jobs at Beats Electronics will be cut as part of the merger, according to the NY Post, which reports offers were sent to from Apple to employees last week, some of which are just transitional offers with a set end date.

The impending fall release of OS X Yosemite has been on the minds of most developers since WWDC, but Apple is continuing to make improvements to OS X 10.9 Mavericks with the release of the first OS X 10.9.5 beta that’s slim on new features, but big on bug fixes.

For those tired of shelling out a few hundred bucks every time Cupertino announces a new iPad with the most minor of upgrades, late night TV show host Conan O’Brien has teamed up with comedian Matt Walsh to create a step-by-step instructional video that will guide you through the delicate process of constructing your very own iPad.

All you’ll need is some simple household items, like an etch a sketch, basic speaker wire, lots of peanut butter, and of course, duct tape.

Watch the full DIY video below:

Do you still dream of the day when the iPad and MacBook finally converge in beautiful harmony? Are you also really jazzed about the Apple’s big ass iPad rumors? Well if you’ve got a measly $4000 laying around, Modbook is ready to sell you the tablet of your dreams.

The company created a new Kickstarter campaign to the support the launch of its new ModBook Pro X tablet which transforms any 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, into a quad-core OS X tablet so powerful you might as well toss your desktop in the trash.

Watch the full sales pitch below:

We’ve been waiting more than two years to get a decent upgrade for the AppleTV, but a new report suggests that Apple isn’t planning to launch the device this year, thanks to cable companies dragging their heals on deals.

The pending merger of Comcast and Time Warner have also been holding up the release, according to sources at The Information, who says Apple has told its engineers not to expect a launch until 2015.

While we wait for this weekend’s highly-anticipated Marvel movie, The Guardians of the Galaxy, we thought it’d be fun to pass along this sweet speed-painting from filmmaker Matthew Pearce.

It shows an illustration of Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, created on a 1984 Macintosh using MacPaint. Now that’s some serious special effect magic, right there.

Check out the video below.

It’s definitely trailer week, especially for comic book and other genre movies, but here’s one for an upcoming DC television show based on the Vertigo property, Hellblazer. The show will cover the exploits of a certain John Constantine, supernaturally sensitive wizard-type who wears a trench coat, smokes incessantly (in the comics, at least) and does smart-ass battle with the angels and demons who plague us mere mortals.

The trailer really brings on the horror tropes: the creepy bugs on the wall revealing a scary message, the creepy flat-affect kid with the sharp knife, the broken-neck demon in a human body shot. You know, all the hits.

Check out the trailer below for all the creepy footage from what could be the best comic book show of the upcoming season.

As the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War continues to unfold, Russian officials have proposed that Apple hand the government access to its entire source code, just to make sure there aren’t any spying bugs in it.

Apple’s legendary iPod ads have been nothing less than iconic, but a California street artists has turned the famous marketing campaign into an anti-Obama parody ahead of the President’s visit to area.

President Obama just wrapped up a quick fundraising tour around Los Angeles and San Francisco last week with a $32,000 a plate fundraiser at Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes’s house, and another with Nancy Pelosi, but the commander-in-chief was greeted by some scathing street art that highlighted some of his administration’s biggest scandals.

Here are some of the iAds found on the streets of Silicon Valley:

Whacko fundamentalist group (and presumed Android users) the Westboro Baptist Church have announced plans to picket Apple again.

What’s the reason this time? Well, aside from the fact that Apple makes very nice computers and smartphones, apparently the church elders have just gotten around to finishing Walter Isaacson’s 2011 biography of Apple’s co-founder, because they’ve taken issue with Steve Jobs.

You may know FreedomPop as the guys who will turn your iPod touch into a free iPhone, but if you have an iPad, the carrier is now willing to do the same thing, giving any Sprint-compatible iPad free talking, texting and data.

Are you an Amazon Prime member? If you’re willing to settle for slower shipping, you may be able to trade prompt delivery for sweet, sweet digital credits.

Popcorn Time is Hollywood’s worst nightmare: a Netflix for torrents that streams the hottest movies right to your Mac or PC.

Now, it’s become even more nightmarish for the industry. It will now stream torrented movies directly to the Apple TV.

Say whatever you want about the cold reception afforded its Fire Phone, but Amazon’s had a pretty great year when it comes to its core business of selling books: first announcing the creation of its Kindle Unlimited scheme, and now updating its iOS Kindle app with a few nifty features.

Chief among these are Wikipedia integration, letting readers pick selected words from any text they’re reading and link to the relevant Wikipedia page — particularly useful in the case of non-fiction books.

Real life gets old real quick. Work, chores, traffic jams, monotony — all the details of the daily grind infect the human body and build into a fever that only breaks when bags get packed.

The search for diversion leads to amusement parks and roadside wonders, roller coasters and stage extravaganzas. Kids can be kids, adults can be kids again, and sometimes, David Walter Banks is on hand to capture fantasy becoming reality with behind-the-scenes images that cast new light on tourist attractions.

Such moments of cognitive dissonance comprise The Fourth Wall. The entertainment industry takes in billions annually but even the most luxurious resorts and casinos provide an imperfect illusion. Visitors fill the gaps between animatronics and costumes with their own imagination, and the disconnect beats at the heart of Banks’ photo project.

“I love the idea of these places,” he says. “As adults, so many of us have lost our wonder and given up our urge to chase dreams. In a way, these places invite the adult population to chase an outlandish dream once more, even if only for a fleeting moment. Even if it’s plastic and cracked and they know it is all fake. They are still getting up, putting on their tennis shoes, and going out in search of magic.”

Back in the heady days of the early new Millennium I went out and bought a Sega Dreamcast (still a massively underrated console, in my mind) to play Crazy Taxi, one of the most original and addictive arcade games I’d played in forever.

Jump forward to 2012 and Crazy Taxi finally made its way to the iPhone as a $4.99 premium game, where it played better than expected, and (best of all) retained the nostalgic soundtrack that had helped make the original so much fun.

Leap forwards again to the present, and we’ve received word that Sega’s sequel, Crazy Taxi: City Rush is set for worldwide release tomorrow — bringing players more of the frantic passenger-pickup, traffic-dodging action they’ve been missing.

Flickr has just jumped into the photo licensing market with both feet, hoping to help you sell your stunning photos to a variety of “photo agencies, editors, bloggers and other creative minds.”

Image licensing isn’t a new idea for Flickr, long a repository for the best in high-quality photos posted by professional and amateur photographers alike. Flickr’s always allowed photographers easy access to creative commons licensing to tell editorial staffers which photos could be used, and for what purposes. It also allowed creators the ability to license their photos professionally via Getty Images and get paid, though the specific deal with Getty was discontinued back in March of this year.

Now, though, the list of places that you can sell the images you take on your iPhone to is even larger.