Since it’s introduction last year, Apple’s iBooks Author app has only supported the creation of iBooks for iPad, but some new evidence on Apple’s website suggests  iPhone support might be on its way soon.

Apple’s added ebook support for the iPad mini and previewed the arrival of iBooks for Mac WWDC, leaving the iPhone as the only major Apple device that can’t view ebooks created with Apple’s proprietary software. However, Serenity Caldwell at Macworld noticed some curious changes to Apple’s requirements message:

If you’re tired of running through temples, taking joyrides on jetpacks, or robot unicorn … attacking, developer Bravo has a guy you should meet.

He’s RunBot, star of the same-named, free-to-play, sprint-forever game out now for iOS devices. I’m not actually sure that his name is RunBot, now that I think about it, but that’s as good a name as any considering he’s a robot that runs. He also jumps, slides, falls, and flies, but I’m getting ahead of myself here.

https://youtu.be/0sJDQt3XwSw

We think of Steve Jobs as one of the most media-savvy guys around, but as this video shows, the first time he appeared on camera, he thought he was going to puke.

Way back in 1978, a very young Jobs appeared on San Francisco news station KGO-TV to talk about the Apple II. The footage of the interview itself seems to have been lost by time, so we don’t really know how he did, but the prep footage of his interview still exists… and boy, is he new at this.

It’s kind of endearing. He’s totally amazed to be on television at all. In fact, he says he’s “deathly ill, actually, and ready to throw up at any moment.” Was he actually sick, or just nervous to the point of vomiting?

Via: Mental Floss

One of the big problems from a developer perspective about the Mac App Store is that it doesn’t allow developers to sell paid upgrades to their apps. Similarly to the iOS App Store, if a developer wants to make money off of a particularly juicy update, they need to sell it as an entirely new app or else… tough beans. Especially on the Mac, this is an issue, since many developers monetize on-going development of apps by selling paid upgrades. But if you sell in the Mac App Store, it’s just not an option.

Last week, the Omni Group released a little app called OmniKeyMaster. The ingenious little app essentially allowed people who had purchased versions of Omni’s apps on the Mac App Store to essentially “break out” their apps from the MAS into standalone licenses which were eligible for paid app upgrades. Guess who didn’t like that idea?

Ever need to send a buddy a quick screenshot or file? How about sending a file from your iPhone to your friend on a Mac?

Getting files from one computer to another is a fairly easy task, what with email and services like Dropbox around, but I’ve been using Messages to send files to friends, family, and even myself lately.

Here’s how to do it.

Sadly, whenever Apple is about to launch a new product, we tend to hear about violations of workers’ rights in Apple’s supply chain. It makes sense. A lot of companies bid against each other for Apple’s business in Asia, then don’t have the money to hire enough workers to fulfill Apple’s huge orders. The result? They force the workers they have to do more work over longer hours for less pay. It’s scummy, but as long as Apple isn’t operating every aspect of its manufacturing itself, it’s probably unavoidable.

This year’s no different. According to the China Labor Watch, employees at a Chinese factory owned by Florida-based Jabil Circuit which is reportedly making Apple’s iPhone 5C are being given inadequate training, and being forced to work long hours without overtime.

Speaking of the iPad 5 and the next iPad mini, a YouTube user has post a new video online comparing the rear shells of the iPad 5 with the next-gen iPad mini.

Everyone agrees that Apple will unveil the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C next week at their September 10th event. It’s not in contention. What is in contention is when Apple will release the next iPad and iPad mini. Furthermore, what about the million-dollar question: will the iPad mini 2 have a Retina Display, and if so, will Apple be able to ship it before Christmas?

According to respected, usually accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities, the answer is yes.

The Nova is yet another external “flash” for your iPhone, only this one is different in a few ways: It’s Bluetooth, it’s iPhone-controlled, and it fits in your pocket or even your wallet.

Who knew that those free charging stations at airports could be such disgusting repositories of viral filth? Not me, that’s for sure. I’m the kind of guy who sticks his things into any available hole at the slightest invite, and airports have the extra bonus of always seeming so anonymous. What happens in LAS stays in LAS, if you know what I mean.

Except you might be leaving behind more than just bad memories and hangovers; according to the folks behind the LockedUSB, “identity theft, government surveillance, ‘rogue’ and unstable chargers, are also on the rise,” meaning that those innocent and attractive-looking USB ports could be festering hives of malware, ready to suck your data right out of your iPhone.

This is another “why has nobody done this before” product. The mBAck is a small, bus-powered USB 3.0 hard drive that mounts onto the stand of your iMac.

The Good: Fantastic idea
The Bad: Those prices. LOL

Viewfinders are the new fast lenses, or something. At least according to Nikon, which has put a proper viewfinder back in its P-series cameras with the new P7800. And when I say proper, I mean “proper” – the viewfinder isn’t a nice bright optical one but an electronic model.

At last, the Sony QX “lens cameras” are officially official. They’re a pair of regular compact cameras built-into lens-shaped bodies, and they’re made to pair with your smartphone, using it as both a viewfinder and a controller.

The lenses connect via Wi-Fi, and if you’re using an Android phone then they’ll pair with it using NFC.

The details follow:

Despite the fact that the new Bluetooth speaker looks like it is little more than a regular JamBox that has been sliced lengthwise down the middle, the Mini Jambox a whole new thing. Built like the unibody MacBooks, the new Mini Jambox is carved from a single block of aluminum. This means that despite its diminutive size, it still sounds a lot bigger than it looks.

VMware announced the release of its latest virtualization software for Mac, VMware Fusion 6, which allows Mac users to run Windows applications inside OS X. Along with Fusion 6, the company also released VM Fusion 6 Professional which is geared toward enterprise admins deploying corporate desktops.

Fusion 6 is compatible with both OS X Mavericks and Windows 8.1 and promises more efficient battery performance thanks to its new Haswell processor optimization. While Fusion 6 only weighs in at $59.99, Fusion 6 Professional will set you back $129.99, but an upgrade for exsisting customers drops the price to $69.99.

Full release notes after the break:

Apple just sent out an email to developers that promotes the upcoming Mavericks fature of Safari Push Notifications. The subject line reads, “Get ready for Safari Push Notifications,” and features the above image, with a push notification from well-known site, CNN, prominently displayed.

Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S during a press event at its Cupertino campus on September 10th, but rather than letting the mothership have all the fun, Apple plans to spread its marketing message with three satellite launches in Europe and Asia.

Apple seeded a the latest beta of OS X 10.8.5 to developers this afternoon with Build 12F36. Devs can pick up the update from the Developer Center or Mac App Store.

The latest beta build comes more than a month after Apple’s last beta for OS X Mountain Lion. The seed notes asks developers to focus on Wi-fi, Graphics, Wake From Sleep, PDF viewing, and Mobile Device Management. Developers will also find a new beta of Safari 6.1 in the Mac Dev Center that’s focused towards testing extensions for compatibility with Safari 6.1.

Source: Apple

Over the past ten years, some Apple customers have argued that the iTunes store is an illegal monopoly because songs purchased inside the store can’t be played on Apple devices, but an appeals court in California has finally thrown out those claims once and for all.

A three-judge panel confirmed that Apple’s digital right management system known as FairPlay has not broken any antitrust laws, after a long-running class action lawsuit claimed Apple is running a monopoly by forcing iTunes users to also buy Apple products to listen to their songs.

Apple has been on a hiring binge of ad executives lately as its ad-supported iTunes Radio product nears launch. During the month of August alone, Apple has posted over 40 job listings for iAd related positions on its own job board and LinkedIn. The positions range from account coordinators, ad design managers, and engineers, all of which will be used to create new media ads for iAds.

Are you jealous of all that Android/KitKat business in the news today? What you need is a chocolate-bar-related product for the Mac, and I have just the thing: It’s the CURB, a Toblerone-shaped stand for your MacBook.

I’ve got a MacBook Air, an iPad, and an iPhone. There are certain apps – some that are made by Apple and some that aren’t that are only at their best when they sync across all three platforms. Here are some examples – and these are apps I use every single day:

• Day One
• OmniFocus
• Evernote
• Byword
• 1Password

But not all apps function like the above ones. Some won’t sync across all platforms (especially those outside of the Apple ecosystem) and keeping tabs on which ones sync what can become cumbersome.

That’s where SyncMate comes in – an app that Cult of Mac Deals currently has available for just $15.99.

SEATTLE, PAX 2013 – As I sit here on the 10th floor of Seattle’s public library, I’m trying to make some sense of the last four days of gaming conference, the Penny Arcade Expo.

It’s not like gaming is as important as, say, the current crisis in Syria, or attempts to fight poverty and homelessness, or even the inability of spaces like PAX to provide a safe place for women or people who are trangendered.

On the other hand, gaming is a massive cultural phenomenon. PAX’s founders, webcomic writers Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, wanted to create a convention that would focus on gamers, whether they play tabletop games, video games, or card games. That there is a massive interest in this convergence of different kinds of gamers, from D&D nerds to arcade geeks, is an understatement, as evidenced by quickly sold-out tickets months in advance of the conference as well as by the huge herds of human beings of all stripe who I saw traipsing from one booth to another this weekend in the Washington State Convention Center.

There are some truly awful things happening in Syria right now. For more information on exactly what is happening, and why, I suggest this excellent Washington Post round-up of what exactly is going on, and why Congress is now considering an intervention. But the takeaway is pretty bleak, and basically comes down to the notion that there’s not a lot America can do to stop what’s happening in Syria.

That doesn’t mean, though, that the hearings going on in the Senate about whether or not America should intervene aren’t important. Far from it. Which is why Senator John McCain is getting a lot of flack for being caught playing an iPhone poker app during the hearings.

At an event in Berlin in just under two hours time, Sony will announce two attachable lenses that you’ll be able to stick onto the back of your smartphone to take better photos. They’re called the QX100 and the QX10, and you can see exactly what they’ll look like in the leaked press images above — and exactly how they’ll work in the leaked TV ad below.