You know how all your photos have a ton of extras tucked inside? Like – to pick a completely random example – the GPS data. And yet, whenever you send your vacation photos to your mom, she mails back to ask “where is that cool restaurant with the camel and the statue of Elvis outside?” or somesuch thing. Of course, you want to scream “Just look in the EXIF data, you idiot!” but, bring a good son/daughter, you just tell her. Again.

Well, a new app for the iPad and iPhone will help you make the implicit explicit. It’s called Map Camera.

It’s unlikely that the Jawbone Jambox will be shoved off its throne anytime soon; not necessarily because it’s the best-sounding portable Bluetooth speaker out there, but because it was here first, and it made a huge splash (in part because, yes, it sounds pretty good).

But I were to bet on a challenger, I might put my money on the smart new UE Boom. Not only is it ruggedized against drops and splashes, but it’s armed with two very unusual tricks.

In a blog post today, aimed squarely at reports in both the Washington Post and the LA Times, Yelp’s Vice President of Communications Vince Sollitto refutes any claim of wrongdoing or pressure to advertise in exchange for hiding poor user reviews.

Today Eton added the Rugged Rukus to their Rukus line of Bluetooth speakers. Like most of its Rukus siblings, the Rugged is solar-powered; unlike its siblings, the Rugged is splashproof. A great addition  for our all-hell-has-broken-loose list.

Hoping to see an Apple-branded smart watch this June at WWDC? How about next March at MacWorld/iWorld?

Don’t hold your breath, says Ming-Chi Kuo, a KGI Securities analyst.

Kuo tells investors that Apple might not have enough resources to make an iOS compatible with such a new form factor, especially given Apple’s probable current iOS 7 efforts.

Microsoft has released a new TV ad that slams the iPad touts Windows 8 on an Asus tablet. This is the most directly targeted attack campaign on Apple in recent memory—even the Samsung Galaxy ads had more tact.

The tagline of the ad is “Less Talking, More Doing,” a.k.a using apps like Powerpoint. Siri is used to mock the iPad, ending in the virtual assistant giving up with, “Should we just play chopsticks?” in Garageband.

You have to give it to Microsoft for not pulling any punches. It will be interesting to see if Apple responds. Remember the good ol’ days of Mac vs. PC?

Via: The Verge

Senator John McCain had a lot of fun grilling Tim Cook at yesterday’s Senate Sub-Committee Hearing, but before he was done he couldn’t help but let off one little joke as he asked Tim why he has to keep on updating all the apps on his iPhone manually.

“Can’t you guys fix that already?” McCain asked.

Cook let off a chuckle before stating that Apple is “working on making our products better all the time.” But we know what the southern gent was really thinking.

Source: Reddit

Popular iPhone case maker Otterbox has acquired LifeProof for an undisclosed sum. The news was announced today by the two companies at the CTIA wireless show.

The Omni Groups makes great, robust apps for OS X and iOS. Fans of the Omni apps will be pleased to learn that the company has released OmniPresence, its take on document syncing in the cloud. Instead of iCloud sync or Dropbox, The Omni Group has built its own solution using open standards like WebDAV and Apache.

Now files saved in OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, and OmniGraphSketcher on the iPad can be effortlessly synced with their Mac counterparts, and vice versa.

Pandora has finally updated its mobile apps and website to let you connect with Facebook’s “Open Graph.” This means that you can now flip a toggle and share everything you listen to on Facebook. What you listen to is collected under the music section of your profile. Services like Spotify and Rdio have had this ability for awhile.

Google started rolling out voice search functionally for Chrome on the desktop earlier today, and now the company has revealed that the same feature is headed to iOS. Chrome for iOS will be receiving voice search in the App Store in the next few days.

We love picking apart the stupid things analysts say, but Michael Gartenberg is a rare example of a veteran analyst who doesn’t make wild, ridiculous predictions about Apple. He has worked for the Gartner research group, and Apple has even used Gartner’s market share figures multiple times in its keynotes.

After spending most of his career covering Apple and other tech companies, Gartenberg is now batting for the other team. He has reportedly accepted a job on Apple’s own marketing team, and he now reports to Phil Schiller.

Along with an update for its Mac app, Twitter announced today that it is introducing a new security feature to protect accounts against hackings. Twitter’s new two-factor authentification feature should help reduce the number of hacked accounts that have plagued the service recently.

To set up the new two-factor authentification feature on your account, log in and go to your Account Settings page. From there you can choose to require a verification code when you sign in, and add a phone number to your account.

The whole process takes about a minute, but if you get lost, Twitter made this handy video to help you out:

The BookBook from Twelve South has long been the best and most luxurious leather wallet case for iPhone, but it has a new contender from Acase that wants to steal its crown. It’s called the Collatio, and in many ways, it’s very similar to the BookBook.

As well as holding your iPhone 5, the Collatio holds up to three credit cards, and features a larger pocket for bills, receipts, and anything else you’d like to stuff in there. It provides access to all of your iPhone’s buttons and ports — though you will need to open it up to use the volume buttons and mute switch — plus its front- and rear-facing cameras.

The biggest difference between the Collatio and the BookBook, however, is the price. While Twelve South’s offering will cost you $60, the Collatio is just $40. But is it as good?

Is your iBooks library starting to outgrow those beautiful skeuomorphic wooden bookshelves that Apple provided for you? Have you purchased way too many Star Wars novels, only to find them crowding out your beloved Jane Eyre collection?

Well, there’s a simple way to manage an epic, ever-growing iBook collection, of course (why else would I be writing this), and here’s how.

After neglecting its Mac app for more than two years, Twitter is finally rolling out a steady supply of updates to the OS X desktop app. Last month the app finally picked up Retina display support, and the company just released another update that brings Notification Center integration to the app.

Twitter for Mac version 2.2.1 just hit the Mac App Store, and along with the Notification Center updates the app is also getting Growl notifications for OS X 10.7 and 10.8, as well as a number of bug fixes.

Here are the release notes:

There’s nothing worse on a road trip than battling the ZZZ’s while driving (except maybe a jack rabbit destroying your vehicle), so a chain of coffee shops has created an app called Drive Awake that tracks a drivers’ drowsiness and directs them to the closest coffee shop whenever they nod off.

Drive Awake works by using the iPhone’s front-facing camera to monitor a drivers eyes. You simply mount your iPhone to your windshield and it tracks your retinas to see if they’re open. Once the app determines you’re falling asleep it emits a loud and annoying parrot squawk to get your attention and help you find some coffee.

Here’s a video of the app in action:

Rdio just updated its music streaming app for iOS today to version 2.2. The new update includes a new ‘Find People’ feature that makes it easier for users to find their friends as well as providing recommendations of other artists to follow.

Also included in the update are some UI improvements, most noticeably to the menu on the left side of the app. The app comes with a new Labels feature too that lets you search for a record label to find top albums and artists.

Here are the full release notes:

Penguin announced this morning that the company has reached an agreement with the US State Attorneys General to pay $75 million as a settlement for the eBook price fixing claims that have been launched against Apple’s iBookstore.

US authorities have called Apple out for collusion with electronic book publishers, saying that the Cupertino-based company conspired with publishers to raise eBook prices when negotiating iBooks by playing them all against each other and against rival eBook retailer, Amazon.

Here’s Penguin’s official statement on the settlement:

Holograms are supposedly going to be the future of artistic performance. First there was the Tupac hologram at Coachella, and now Eazy-E and Ol’ Dirty Bastard are making a hologram comeback too.

Tim Cook had to endure a barrage of silly questions at yesterday’s Senate hearing, but the most most absurd and tasteless came from none other than TMZ who was dying to know if Steve Jobs will make an appearance as a hologram at the next Apple event.

Rather than slapping the reporter for being ridiculous, Tim Cook used his southern charm to deflect the question. Heres a video of the awkward encounter: 

If you’re active you know how many pairs of headphones you can blow through in a given year, so a nice extra set is always needed. This Cult of Mac Deals offer has just what you’re looking for – and at price you’re looking for as well.

These headphones combine high quality sound output with scientifically developed sound isolation that creates a music listening experience you won’t be disappointed with – especially for just $15.

This is interesting: along with their new redesign, in Germany, Apple has made it possible to pay for products ordered from their online store using PayPal.

In Germany, it is very rare for consumers to have credit cards, or even for brick-and-mortar businesses to take credit card orders. Allowing German consumers to pay for purchases with PayPal may make the Apple online store more accessible to them, or it could be the first sign of a global agreement between Apple and PayPal as another available payment option for consumers.

Nice spot by Macerkopf.

Source: Apple Store

Here’s something for you: a bendable but still rigid Lightning-to-USB cable that can function not just as a charging and sync cable for your iPhone, but also as a make-shift stand, propping up your device on a coffee table, desk or even when it’s in a wall charger. $19.95. None too shabby.

Google has brought the new voice search features announced at Google I/O last week to its Google Chrome web browser for desktops. The latest version of the app (version 27) puts a little microphone icon alongside the search bar on Google.com which lets you find the things you’re looking for without touching your keyboard.

During his appearance before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple’s “Made-in-USA” Macs will be manufactured in Texas. The Cupertino company announced its plans to produce one of its Mac lines on U.S. soil last December, but until now, it was unclear where the process would take place.