Just Mobile’s new Alurack is a clever solution to the question “Where do I put my stupid MacBook while I’m using it with an external monitor?”
The Alurack’s answer is “Hang it,” either from the back of a Cinema Display or from your iMac.
Even though he was fired from Apple yesterday, Scott Forstall will still be an Apple employee until some point in 2013 and work as an advisor to Tim Cook. His new position is really just to prevent him from jumping ship quickly and going to another company, but Apple can’t keep him forever. At some point in 2013, Scott Forstall will be free to join any company he chooses. So which company should he go to?
Forstall’s brother works for Microsoft, but Scott’s penchant for skeuomorphic software might not fit well with Microsoft’s Metro UI. Google and Samsung are two other obvious choices because they’re big competitors with Apple. Or Forstall could choose to create his own company like Tony Fadell did with Nest after he left Apple. What company do you think would be the best fit for Scott?
Click here to go to the Cult of Mac Forums and talk about possible destinations for Scott Forstall
Skeuomorphism, or the tendency to deliberately make something new look like something old and familiar. Some people love it, some people hate it and think it’s tacky.
No matter how you feel, his love for skeuomorphism is one of many reasons that former iOS chief Scott Forstall was fired yesterday. Replacing him is Apple’s Senior VP of Design, Jonathan Ive, who will lead a new Human Interface Group in Apple… and whom reportedly loathes skeuomorphism with every fiber of his being.
All that fake leather stitching, those hideous textures, those bizarre font choices in iOS’s stock apps? If Ive gets his way — and we think he will — they’re all about to change.
Here are the eight skeuomorphic apps in iOS 6 we hope Jony Ive is going to change in iOS 7, along with some third-party apps we hope he takes inspiration from.
Just when you thought an iPhone or iPad dock had been built into every possible household object, here comes the iRocking Chair. In looks, it's a pretty traditional rocker, but it has some surprises built in. Not least is the fact that it can charge an iPad 3.
Since its debut back in 2008, Apple’s iOS App Store has held the crown for the largest library of mobile apps and games available. That’s no longer the case, however, as its biggest rival, the Google Play store, has now caught up. Today Google announced that it now offers over 700,000 Android titles.
Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, has a tradition stretching back to the 15th century and earlier, though it is currently a more secular holiday, with children and the young at heart dressing up as everything from scary ghouls and monsters to the more tame video game characters or that bane of every feminist out there, the “sexy” nurse/librarian/pikachu/what have you.
Regardless of how you celebrate, though, we thought you’d enjoy this list of the scariest Mac games we could think of, each available to play on current (and some older) Macs just in time for the next couple of creepy weeks.
Calling the new Livescribe Sky a pen is like calling your iPhone 5 a phone. Technically the Sky is a writing instrument, but it has about as much in common with a pen as your iPhone has with an old rotary dial telephone.
The Sky lets you write and draw on paper, and it then uploads your notes wirelessly (no computer required) to your Evernote account. From there you can immediately access them from your iPad, iPhone, Mac or any device with a browser.
It stuck around for more than four days, but the initial supply of Apple’s fourth-generation iPad has now sold out, causing shipping delays for the device to increase to one week across the U.S. and international stores. The delay applies to both the black and white models, regardless of which storage option you choose.
EA’s much-anticipated Need for Speed Most Wanted makes its debut on iOS today, and it’s an instant purchase if you’re into arcade racing games. It features some of the hottest super cars money can buy, which you’ll use to outrun the cops in some of the most dangerous Need for Speed pursuits you’ve every experienced. All while enjoying console-quality visuals that will blow you away.
Scott Forstall was destined for big things at Apple. Originally part of Steve Jobs’s NeXT team, he spent 15 years with the Cupertino company and spearheaded its hugely successful iOS software division. Many believed he would succeed Tim Cook as CEO later on, but on Monday, but the chances of that happening looked impossible when Apple announced Forstall was on his way out.
The news came as a shock to us all, but it seems there are several reasons why Apple had to remove Forstall from its executive team — it seems refusing to apologize for the whole Maps debacle wasn’t the only one.
Shortly before unveiling the iPad mini last week, Apple announced a new fourth-generation iPad — just 7 months after it released the third-generation iPad. In addition to an improved FaceTime camera, faster Wi-Fi, and Apple’s new Lightning connector, the device comes with the latest A6X processor. But is it a worthy upgrade over its predecessor?
Well, if performance is important to you, then yes, it is.
A not-so-crafty burglar in the U.K. incriminated himself by accidentally recording a home raid on his iPhone. The 23-year-old thief, Emmanuel Jerome, thought he was using his iPhone’s torch to light his way during a late-night burglary, but he was actually recording the whole thing.
After trying to break into three other properties, Jerome was caught and arrested by the local cops. Things got worse when the judge found out that Jerome had recorded an earlier burglary on his trusty iPhone.
Scott Forstall, the head of iOS for the past several years, was asked to leave Apple today, a move The Wall Street Journal is reporting as due to his refusal to sign his name to the letter of apology for the incomplete feature set and poor performance of iOS 6’s new Maps app.
The journal cites “people familiar with the matter,” who report that both Forstall and recent retail executive, John Browett, were both asked to leave. This is one of the bigger upsets in the balance of executive power at the Cupertino tech company in quite some time, and may in fact signal a move by Tim Cook, new CEO, to more firmly establish his own mark on Apple.
Pandora, that grandaddy of internet radio, just got a huge update on iOS, and is coming soon to Android. The new version includes the ability to share your music listening with friends on the Pandora service, Facebook, and Twitter, a feature I was surprised wasn’t already there. In addition, you can follow other folks on the new Music Feed, much like Spotify and Rdio allow. There’s a new Profile page accessed right in-app, more information about music and the artists themselves as well, a la Last FM, and full lyrics for every song that can be played on the service.
Now that Google has unveiled its Trifecta of Nexus devices, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed. I can’t exactly pin-point why I feel this way, but alas, I do. Perhaps my perception of what a Nexus device should represent has become misguided. I’m not sure when I began to expect more than just a Vanilla experience, but the latest batch of Nexus devices has knocked me back to the reality that “Nexus” means nothing more than having an untainted Android OS with certain end-user freedoms and timely updates.
Even though it’s obvious that Scott Forstall was canned by Tim Cook, he’s being kept on for a year as an advisor to the CEO.
This seems to make no sense, but here’s why:
The announcement that John Browett and Scott Forstall are leaving Apple by the end of the year just hit the Internet a few hours ago, but Apple has wasted no time updating their website to reflect the changes. On the “Executive Profiles” page of Apple.com the profiles for both Forstall and Browett have already been removed.
Most of Scott Forstall’s duties as Senior Vice President of iPhone Software have been divvied up among other Apple VPs. Apple is currently looking for a suitable replacement to takeover John Browett’s roles as the Senior Vice President of Retail Operations.
It may seem that getting rid of Scott Forstall is a bad thing. He was, after all, the major architect of Apple’s most successful software: iOS, the software that runs the iPhone and iPad.
It’s actually a very good thing, and it means your iPhone is about to get a whole lot better.
The announcement that both Scott Forstall and John Browett are leaving Apple today came as a big surprise to many Apple fans. Browett has only been with Apple for nine months, but Scott Forstall was one of Steve Jobs’ favorite employees and has been with Apple since 1997.
Apple hasn’t released any of the specifics as to why Browett and Forestall are leaving Apple, but we’re assuming they got fired for their missteps from the past 12 months.
Here’s why both of them may have been axed:
Apple has announced its biggest executive shakeup since Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO.
The biggest surprise is the departure of Scott Forstall, a longtime Apple executive and the senior vice president of iOS Software. Forstall was the major architect of Apple’s mobile software and had been tipped as a possible future CEO. He will be leaving the company next year. He is serving as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook until his departure in 2013.
The other big surprise is the departure of Apple’s newest executive, John Browett, head of Apple ‘s retail division. Browett is leaving after running Apple’s stores for less than a year.
As part of the reshuffling, Apple’s head of design, Sir Jonathan, gets a major promotion. As well as leading Industrial Design, Ive will also run the company’s Human Interface department. Ive will be in charge of the all-important product interfaces in both hardware and software, a role previously fulfilled by the late Steve Jobs.
Microsoft gathered the press in San Francisco today to unveil Windows Phone 8, the next major iteration of its mobile platform. At today’s Windows Phone Summit, Steve Ballmer and co. unveiled the new operating system and all of its improvements. Initial reactions and early reviews are calling Windows Phone 8 a great update, but Microsoft still has a lot of catching up to do before it joins the ranks of Google and Apple in the smartphone space.
The 5th Avenue Apple Store is one of New York City’s most iconic buildings. It’s also made out of glass. Really strong glass that will probably be able to survive hurricane Sandy’s damage, but the store is also located underground. To add more protection from flooding, Apple added sandbags to the entrance of the store just in case.
Hopefully they’ve added a few barriers below the entrance too, because hypothetically, if the glass facade of the Apple Store does come crashing down I’m betting it would be huge target for looters, especially if it were discovered that a huge stash of iPad minis are down there right now.
Today, Google announced two new Nexus tablets — the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 — which will go head-to-head with more established competitors like the iPad, the iPad mini and the Kindle Fire HD. But how do they stack up?
I’m not going to write up every single photo gadget that gets updated for the iPhone 5 (I’ll stop when Olloclip ships an updated version of its clip-on accessory lens, I promise). But as iPhone 5 gear is as thin on the ground as the iPhone 5 is thin in your hand, then the new Holga Filter Case is worth a mention — not least because is also gets a new color.
These gorgeous wooden iPhone 5 cases come from the U.K, and look like they’d cost you an absolute fortune. Amazingly, for something hand-crafted and exquisitely designed, they cost just £35, or $56. Sure, it ain’t cheap, but neither is it crazy.