Chat Heads. They made their grand debut in Facebook Home for Android, and Facebook added them later to its official iOS app. Now they are venturing out of Facebook’s iPhone app and into the rest of iOS, thanks to a jailbreak developer.
That didn’t take long. Google Glass won’t be available to the general public for at least a year, and it’s already been hacked. For Apple’s iOS, “jailbreaking” refers to essentially rooting the OS to gain complete access. Developers can then use that access to create system-level tweaks that Apple won’t let in the App Store.
Android is a little different, because rooting the OS isn’t something Google discourages or combats. Since Google Glass technically runs on Android, it can be “jailbroken.” That’s exactly what Jay Freeman, better known as “saurik” in the iOS jailbreak community, has done. Freeman runs Cydia, the jailbreak app store for Apple devices, and today he turned his attention to cracking his Google Glass prototype.
This time around on CultCast: why we need $150,000 $230,000 $500,000 for coffee with Tim Cook; Mr. Cook talks iPhone with a 5-inch screen; and with mobile products like the iPad taking over, could Apple eventually stop selling Macs? Plus, we’re finally getting a new Xbox console; the next iOS and OS X at WWDC; and the current Apple hardware drought needs to end!
All that and more on this week’s CultCast. Stream or download new and past episodes on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing now on iTunes, or hit play below and let the good times roll.
Show notes up next.
We’ve all done it. Passed our beloved iPhone handset to a young child or clumsy friend, in hopes that they’ll play a game for a bit and let the grownups continue drinking talking. Then the youngster in question ends up hitting the Home button, dropping into that secret stash of photos, or looking at our web history. Or even worse, playing some splatter-horror game that you forgot was even on the dang thing.
Guided Access is part of iOS 6’s accessibility options, but it can be useful for folks without the need for that specific adaptation. Here’s how to enable it for use.
The game in this video is called Super Monster Bros By Adventure Time Pocket Free Games. Yep, that’s the entire title. Bodes well, doesn’t it? I bet you’re itching to play it. Sadly, though, you can’t. Apple’s already yanked it from the App Store. You probably didn’t want to play it anyway, though: it has to be the most shamelessly abusive examples of in-app purchases that mortal mind can comprehend.
The Hidden Radio was an early Kickstarter success, blowing past its original $125,000 goal to hit almost a million bucks. I was, apparently, the first gadget writer to post about it, and a the end of last summer — shortly after the speakers started shipping, I met John and Vitor here in Barcelona.
So I figured it was about time I reviewed it.
There’s a weird glitch that has started affecting Apple’s iMessage platform. When users text certain phrases over iMessage the last word of the text is deleted once its sent, but a large space is left behind where the word once was.
Right now there are only a couple known phrases that appear to be affected by the glitch, and one of them involves Obama. To test for the glitch, send someone an iMessage of the phrase “I could be the next Obama” but leave a trailing space at the end.
Everything will look fine when you hit send, but then the last word suddenly disappears on both users’ screen. The glitch also works with the phrase, “The best prize is a surprise”
Apple has reversed its decision to change the way iOS devices handle connections with Virtual Private Networks (VPN), now that its patent lawsuit with VirnetX has concluded. Earlier this month, Apple said it plans to kill the “Always” feature for iOS devices with VPN On Demand configured, by rolling out a software update that would kill the feature on shipped devices.
Apple proposed that users would just have to use the “Establish if needed” option until an alternative solution was provided via software update, but it looks like Apple may have reached an agreement with VirnetX to keep the “Always” feature on shipped iPhones and iPads for now.
Apple posted the following update to an article on its support site to announce the reverse in decisions:
Although it’s been almost over a week since the carnage of the Boston Marathon Bombings and the related manhunt and shootout came to a close, but there are still a lot more questions than answers about what happened and why.
A new report from Boston.com, though, has filled in some of the blanks in regards to the three hours on April 18th in which the Tsarnaev brothers carjacked a Mercedes driven by a 26-year-old Chinese man… and it looks like an iPhone app helped save his life.
If you’ve been hunting for a truly unique way to customize your iPhone 5 then look no further because with this exclusive promotion you’ll be able to fully customize a case with all of your special photos. Whether you want photos of family, friends, adventures, long nights, hikes, trips, beach days, and other good times, you can put all of these wonderful memories on a sleek case for one of our most favorite devices on this planet. And you can do it for only $39 for a limited time thanks to Cult of Mac Deals!
It even gets better. You’ll even receive a screen protector – a $20 value – for your mobile device with this purchase.
Didn’t get a ticket to WWDC this year? Don’t worry, you’re certainly not the only one. But if you were looking forward to a week out of the office, then there is another event you can attend instead.
It’s called AltWWDC, and it’s a free, open alternative to Apple’s prestigious conference that encourages Mac and iOS developers to meet up and mingle and discuss the latest software from Cupertino. You won’t get your hands on OS X 10.9 or iOS 7, but you will get free lunch for a week.
The iPhone 5 vs. the Samsung Galaxy S4. Which screen is “better” is going to be subjective for most consumers, and largely limited to whether you like the S4s bigger display, or prefer a smaller phone like the iPhone 5. You might also prefer the Galaxy S4’s for its tendency to oversaturate reds and oranges (a side-effect of OLED), or the iPhone 5 for a more balanced color gamut.
But which is objectively the best in the eyes of display experts? Everyone’s favorite display guru Dr. Raymond Soneira has done one of his characteristic shoot-outs between the Samsung Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5, and surprise: there’s no clear winner.
Android may have the edge over iOS at the moment, but by 2015, there’s a chance Apple’s platform will have stolen the crown. And it’s all thanks to customer loyalty.
According to new research from Yankee Group, iPhone owners are more loyal to their devices and therefore less likely to stray to competing platforms. There’s a large percentage of Android users, however, who have plans to switch when it’s time to upgrade their smartphone.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a contest here at Cult of Mac, so let’s start the week off with a little bit of fun. We’re looking for a few talented (or not-so talented) readers to voluntarily decapitate themselves and replace their head with an iPad. It’s gruesome and beautiful at the same time, plus we’re giving away five free copies of FX Photo Studio Pro to best entries.
To win the contest all you have to do is take a self-portrait, and then overlay it onto an iPad in another portrait. You can go traditional and use your own face, or use a friends’ or celebrity’s face. Hell, you can draw a face and then overlay it on the iPad, we don’t care. Surprise or delight us and you’ll probably win.
So, you’ve hidden a few of the apps you’ve purchased in the Mac App Store, but you want to get them back, right?
It’s ok, we understand. Sometimes you just don’t want everyone knowing what you’ve purchased. Or maybe you’re getting a little tired of seeing Mac OS X Lion in your Purchased Apps history. So you hide it.
But then you want to get it back, so you can re-download it, yeah? Well, here’s how to do just that.
After spending several years in beta testing, the popular Swype keyboard made its official debut on Android earlier this week, and at the moment it’s only available on a small number of platforms. But there’s a chance that we could see Swype’s typing technology on iOS in the future.
Swype vice president Aaron Sheedy has confirmed that his company has held talks with Apple, sparking speculation that suggests the pair are working together to develop a “revolutionary” new keyboard — possibly for Apple’s upcoming iOS 7 update.
UPDATE: Bidding just reached $505,000!
Earlier this week we wrote about a Charitybuzz auction that will get you coffee with Apple CEO Tim Cook at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. At the time, the auction had reached $5,250, but its estimated value was just under ten times that amount at $50,000.
Just a few days later, the auction has received 68 bids and reached a whopping $295,000 with 18 days still to go. It’s now Charitybuzz’s biggest ever auction.
The official IMDb app for iOS had been given a number of new features today, including a new light theme on the iPad, and the ability to look up worldwide movie release dates, actor heights, “crazy credits,” and more. The update also makes some visual tweaks, and offers bug fixes that should improve stability.
Alongside its weekly App Store refresh this week, Apple introduced a new page that helps App Store users “learn more about in-app purchases.” The guide explains what in-app purchases are, how they work, and most importantly, how to prevent your kids from spending a small fortune on them without your permission.
While smartphone have really taken off since Apple launched the iPhone back in 2007, believe it or not, traditional feature phones have remained the biggest sellers worldwide. That was until the first quarter of 2013, when smartphones out-shipped feature phones for the first time ever.
Of the 418.6 million cellphones sold during the first three months of the year, 51.6% of them were smartphones, according to new figures from IDC.
Scapple is a great new app for writers. If you were looking for an app that creates a sheet of paper on your Mac, then this is it. Scapple comes from Literature and Latte, the folks behind the amazing Scrivener, so you know that it has been designed and used by writers.
Lifehacker’s Adam ”never seen without a beanie" Dachis has come up with an ingenious solution for the gadget-laden traveler. Instead of messing around with travel chargers or any other gadget-by-gadget solution, he built a mobile charging station out of a giant portable battery and a USB hub.
Derrick Story – photographer, Macworld writer, podcasts and the man who (somewhat brilliantly) named his site The Digital Story – has just launched a new book called iPad for Digital Photographers.
The book isn’t proposing that you use you iPad to take photos, holding it up in front of you like some big dork, but that the iPad is a slim and powerful computer that should be slipped into the gear bag of anyone who takes pictures.
You don’t want to see my desk. Trust me – it’s pretty bad. In fact, you mightn’t even be able to see it, hidden as it is under a stack of junk and gadgets.
Actually, I’m kidding. I’m a neat-freak, which is why I have my eye on the Station, a bamboo desk tidy for your iPhone and all your other crap.
Critically acclaimed real time strategy game, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, has just hit the Mac App Store with a new Elite Edition, just for the Mac.
XCOM stands for Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, and the game lives up to its name, with turn-based tactical battles on a global scale, with a solid storyline and deep role playing game systems to boot. If you’re a sci-fi gamer who loved StarCraft I and II, XCOM is right up your alien-infested alley.
And now it’s finally on the Mac.