Mobile menu toggle

News - page 1498

Public Launch Of Automatic Car Assistant Delayed Again

By •

Automatic_Link_Phone

Automatic is a really cool product that has been in private testing for quite some time. A little dongle attaches to your car’s onboard computer and communicates with a beautifully designed iPhone app. The app tells you things like when you’re braking or accelerating too hard, a report of your gas mileage and more.

Today Automatic announced that it is delaying shipment of its Link hardware again. Instead of shipping to non-beta testers by late August or early September, the release has been pushed back a few weeks.

Game Workshop’s ‘Space Hulk’ Is Available Today For Mac Via Steam, iPad Version Coming Soon

By •

space hulk2

This highly anticipated game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe is now available on Mac and PC via Steam. The digital game is based on the popular two-player board game of the same name from Games Workshop, originally published in 1989.

The current digital iteration will feature a single player campaign of 15 missions, each set on the giant derelict spaceship (the “hulk” of the title), “Sin of Damnation.” There will also be multiplayer head-to-head action, oh yes.

WatchESPN Adds Split-Screen View, Live Toolbar, And Free ESPN3 For College Students

By •

watchespn

Before college football season gets underway, ESPN is pushing out an update for its WatchESPN app that lets users stay plugged in to more games than ever before. The update adds a new split-screen view so you can watch two games at once, while keeping tabs on game day with the new live tool bar that displays scores and video highlights.

ESPN is also beefing up the content on WatchESPN by adding “ESPN on ABC” events to the app, but you’ll be pulled over to the WatchABC app when you choose them. To top it all off, WatchESPN users who connect through a military or college network now get access to ESPN3 events automatically.

Here are the full release notes:

New iPhones Could Finally Enable A Lucrative Deal Between Apple And China Mobile

By •

China Mobile, the largest carrier in the world, officially partnered with Apple last year.
China Mobile, the largest carrier in the world, officially partnered with Apple last year.

China Mobile may be the world’s biggest carrier with over 740 million subscribers, but it is yet to tie up a deal with Apple for the iPhone. That could change this fall when the Cupertino company unveils the iPhone 5S and a low-cost “iPhone 5C” for emerging markets, which are expected to include support for China Mobile’s 4G LTE network.

According to China Mobile chairman Xi Guohua, the company is already in talks with Apple, and “both sides are keen” to reach a deal.

‘Dragonvale’ Co-Creators Announce Action Platformer Game, ‘Glare,’ Coming To Steam This Fall

By •

Glare

Phobic Studios are best known for the collaborative development with Backflip Studios on runaway hit, Dragonvale, but the Boulder, Colorado-based company has been in the game for quite some time, spawning several entertaining mobile titles in the process. The company has just announced its next game, an action platformer game set in, well, a solar system.

In Glare, you’ll play as The Shiner, a being of light who must travel around a beautifully rendered solar system and save the sun itself from an evil threat. Glare will release in fall of this year on Steam for Mac, Linux, and PC systems.

‘Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition’ Is Back On The App Store After A Short Hiatus

By •

If you send me an email and don't hear back, this is the reason.
If you send me an email and don't hear back, this is the reason.

Baldurs Gate fans, rejoice, as the classic role playing game, recently ported to iPad in Enhanced Edition, is back on the App Store after a couple of months.

The developers at Beamdog pulled the game in June after some sort of contractual dispute. That was a sad day, as Beamdog are true believers, and were planning to port Baldur’s Gate II to the iPad, while maybe even developing a Baldur’s Gate III if the second game were a success.

iOS 7 Beta 6 To Land Next Week Ahead Of Gold Master Release [Rumor]

By •

iOS-7-Messages-004

Until Apple’s Developer Center was taken down due to a security breach, the Cupertino company was steadily rolling out new iOS 7 betas every other Monday — and it appears that trend is set to continue now that everything’s back to normal.

Sources familiar with Apple’s plans say that we can expect iOS 7 beta 6 to arrive next week, ahead of a Gold Master release on Friday, September 5.

‘Jobs’ Will Be Available On Netflix Spring 2014

By •

jobs

The first major movie about Steve Jobs hits U.S. theaters in less than 24 hours. Reviews have been mixed, but if you’re not interested in plopping down your hard-earned cash to see Ashton doing his best El Jobso impersonation, Open Road Films CEO, Tom Ortenberg, says you’ll be able to watch it all from your couch soon enough.

The Twiggy Mac Lives! The Quest To Resurrect The World’s Oldest Macintosh

By •

Hello I'm a Twiggy Mac
This rare Macintosh 128K prototype with Twiggy floppy disk drive has been lovingly restored to working order.

Nearly three decades after Apple Computer introduced the Macintosh, a pair of incredibly rare Mac prototypes have been discovered and restored to working order.

The computers, known as Twiggy Macs because they used the same 5.25-inch Twiggy floppy disk drive found in Apple’s doomed Lisa, were tracked down and painstakingly brought back to life by Adam Goolevitch, a vintage Mac collector, and Gabreal Franklin, a former Apple software engineer.

“Throughout the past 15 years, I have heard stories of and researched the fabled ‘Twiggy Macintosh’ computer,” Goolevitch told Cult of Mac in an email. “It was a thing of myth and legend — like a unicorn.”

Locating these Macs was the first step, but getting them to work was the real challenge. Goolevitch and Franklin embarked on an all-out effort to resurrect these long-lost pieces of Macintosh history.

Now two Twiggy Macs have been returned to life in full working glory. They are — without a doubt — the oldest Macs in the world. With auction prices for Apple-1 computers nudging upward toward the half-million-dollar mark, these incredibly rare prototypes — which look a lot like something you might find at a garage sale — could prove priceless. Here is the story of their amazing resurrection.

7.9-Inch Hi-Res Displays Are Being Made In Numbers Suggesting Fall Retina iPad Mini Launch

By •

ipad-mini-2-1024x768

Will the iPad mini have a Retina display this year or won’t it? The rumor cycle back and forth concerning the smaller iPad’s high-res aspirations have become frustrating to follow for anyone who has been hoping Apple will correct the sole point of criticism about its 7.9-inch offering in time for Christmas.

If you’ve had your fingers crossed (or parts beyond), good news. IHS iSuppli, one of the companies that really knows what is going on in Apple’s supply chain, says displays suitable for the Retina iPad mini are “on track” for a fall launch.

The New Mac Pro Could Break 30,000 In Geekbench!

By •

OneLessOffice-Mac-Pro.765

A couple months ago, a series of benchmarks for the new Mac Pro popped up on Geekbench, showing off what Apple’s new machine could do. And just what could it do? Not much more than the current top-of-the-line 2012 Mac Pro, disappointing many who thought even the old Mac Pro was a dog at launch.

However, there’s a caveat. The hardware was prototype. The machine was running OS X Mavericks, which had just released its first beta. And the version of Geekbench being run against the new Mac Pro was 32-bit, and therefore not designed to fully exploit the Mac Pro’s 64-bit architecture. Is the real Mac Pro really going to be so disappointing?

No. It’s going to be blazing fast.

It’s About Time: ‘Plants vs. Zombies 2’ Now Available In U.S. App Store

By •

Plants Vs. Zombies 2 was one of several iOS exclusives upon its launch.
Plants Vs. Zombies 2 was one of several iOS exclusives upon its launch.

You’ve been waiting for months and months, and it’s finally time. Plants vs. Zombies 2 is finally available in the U.S. App Store after a soft launch last month in Australia and New Zealand.

The download is free, but there are in-app purchases for certain upgrades and power-ups. But it’s not the annoying kind of freemium like Real Racing; you can play through the whole game just fine without having to buy anything. We’ll have a full review up soon.

So what are you waiting for? The sequel to one of the best iOS games in history just came out. Get downloading!

Source: App Store

Roku Tops Apple TV As Most Used Streaming Set-Top Box In U.S.

By •

appletv

Apple TV manages to grab most of the spotlight for streaming set-top boxes, but when it comes time to actually view content, Americans are using Roku far more frequently than Apple’s little hobby.

A new study from Parks Associates found that while the Apple TV is used by 24% of U.S. consumers with a streaming video device, Roku has managed to best that with a 37% usage rate among households with such devices.

Apple Gives iCloud.com Beta A Complete iOS 7 Redesign [Gallery]

By •

icloudbetasignin2

 

With less a month to go until Apple unveils its new iPhones and the release date of iOS 7, the iCloud beta site just received a redesign to bring it more in-line with iOS 7’s UI.

Apple has replaced the old iCloud app icons for Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, and Find My iPhone with their counterparts from iOS 7. Along with the new icons, Apple has redesigned the UI of each app with the updated look of iOS 7 as well.

Take a look:

Disney Drops Definite Details On Two New iPad Game Apps For ‘Infinity’ Universe

By •

How do you *not* want this game?
How do you *not* want this game?

Disney’s upcoming open world sandbox game for gaming consoles, Disney Infinity, will bring all our favorite characters together from a host of Disney franchises, including The Incredibles, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Wreck-It Ralph, and more. It’s an ambitious release, and will include Skylanders-style figures and collectibles into the mix.

Yesterday, then, Disney revealed that there will be two separate iPad apps to support the console release. The Disney Infinity: Toy Box app will connect to players’ Disney ID and allow them to download and play in shared Infinity worlds. The second app, Disney Infinity: Action!, will allow folks to use characters from the Infinity universe in their own videos, blending the real world with the stylized characters from the Infinity game.

These Clever Lamps Are Powered By Chewed Apple MagSafe Power Cords

By •

magsafelamp2

Apple’s MagSafe power cord is one of the most underrated MacBook features ever, but unfortunately, they’re not very durable. We’ve all seen MagSafe cords become nearly unusable after a years’ worth of bending and wrapping, or if you’re like Toronto-based artist Brian Richer, your dog eats them.

After doing some tinkering, Brian found that his chewed MagSafe cords still passed enough power to light up some LEDs. Rather than tossing them in the trash, Richer has managed to salvage the cords to power his gorgeous, minimalist lamps.

Here are some close ups:

‘Plants Vs Zombies 2’ Finally Coming To The App Store Tomorrow

By •

It's about time. Seriously.
It's about time. Seriously.

In a clever Facebook status update, the App Store posted a picture of a zombie hand, thrusting upward through the dirt. The caption reads, “It’s about time. Guess what game is coming tomorrow?”

That game can only be PopCap’s Plants vs Zombies 2, the highly anticipated sequel to smash hit Plants vs Zombies, a lane-based castle defense game that’s since appeared on every gaming platform known. PvZ2 was supposed to release last month in July, but was delayed here in the U.S.

Tomorrow, then, is the big day, and we’re excited.

iPhone 5C’s Yellow Rear Shell Gets Its First Hands-On [Video]

By •

iPhone-5C-yellow

The low-cost “iPhone 5C” hasn’t been announced yet, but it already feels like we’re pretty familiar with it — mostly because we’ve seen so many pictures of its plastic rear shell. But most of those — the high quality ones, at least — have included the white model.

A new hands-on video that has surfaced today shows off the yellow model in all its glory.