If Rick Deckard had carried an iPhone in the movie Blade Runner, and he’d used a camera app, that app would have been BLUX. Not only is it a pretty great iPhone camera replacement app, but it has all the bleeps, bloops, on-screen graphics a futuristic sci-fi replicant could ask for. Hell, it even has a neat computer voice that offers photographic advice.
Apple looks set to close up to 50 retail stores across the East Coast of the Unites States as hurricane Sandy approaches. The Cupertino company is in the process of boarding up windows at 35 stores within the landfall of the hurricane’s path, in addition to another 15 just outside the zone across the northeastern U.S. and Canada.
We’re surprised it has taken this long. When the iPad mini initially became available for preorder on Friday morning, it took just twenty minutes for the white iPad mini + Wi-Fi to sell out, but the other models (especially the black) continued to be available for November 2nd delivery.
Apple doesn’t keep new products in stop indefinitely, though. As of this morning, the iPad mini doesn’t ship for another two weeks if you preorder it today. Still, it’s amazing it took this long for Apple to sell out of the much anticipated new product: either Apple made plenty of them ahead of time, or demand for the mini isn’t yet quite what it is for the iPhone or iPad.
Source: Apple Store
After we reported on Steam’s new Big Picture beta coming to the Mac, we got a reader question that I figured it’d be good to write a tip on.
Playing games on your Mac is great fun of course, and all of them use the keyboard and/or mouse to control the games being played. However, with AirPlay mirroring, HDMI cable support, and a bunch of new games showing up for the Mac platform along their Windows brethren, there are times when a console style controller is a better alternative. Being able to sit on the couch and play our favorite Mac games has a lot to recommend it, and using an Xbox controller is fairly easy to set up.
Here’s how.
If you own a Mac or an iOS device, there’s a good chance it was assembled by the fine folks at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China. Despite being born there, however, Apple’s latest gadgets aren’t exactly easy to get hold of in the city. But that’s set to change on Saturday, November 3, when the Cupertino company opens the doors to its first Shenzhen retail store.
Ah, the ’80s — back when a Tab was something to drink, not deride, and Members Only wasn’t exactly an exclusive club. Reliving (or living, for those born after 1979) those days is as easy as tracking down a six-pack of Tab on the Internet, or purchasing this purple number.
Those who’d rather not deal with their friends’ hysterical laughter or horribly wilted taste buds can simply download a faithful recreation of DONKEY.BAS, probably the best thing Bill Gates ever made, onto their iPad or iPhone.
Around this time last year, it was revealed that Steve Jobs had been designing his very own luxury yacht before his death. Jobs had been collaborating with renowned French designer Philippe Starck on the project.
After six years of design and construction, Steve Jobs’s yacht has finally been finished at a shipyard in North Holland. The beautiful ship is called “Venus,” and Job’s widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, was there for the launch with Jobs’s three children.
Today’s deal—Learn to Create Successful iPhone Apps Freebie: Design Quality Apps with this Free E-course—pairs extremely well with yesterday’s deal—Now Is Your Chance To Learn Xcode To Make iOS Apps—since while you’re learning Xcode to make your app, it’s probably a great idea to make sure it looks good too.
Back in September, we reported that Valve had created a special interface to let Steam gamers play on the big screen with a controller. At that time the PC version of Steam was enabled for what it calls Big Picture, but today, one of our readers noticed that the Mac beta is finally available.
It’s also fairly easy to enable it on your Mac right now–no software update required, if you’re already running the latest version of Steam.
I don’t usually start off these posts with the money aspect, but in this case I think it’s essential that I do. This course is usually $497 and the deal we have here is $79. Okay? Big savings. Now the best part, this course from Udemy is a soup to nuts course on how to build iOS apps in Xcode—The Ultimate Xcode For iOS Apps Course: Build & Launch iOS Apps With The Most Comprehensive Xcode Course for Beginners.
So if you have an idea for an app, but absolutely zero coding experience…this is the course you need.
When Microsoft announced the Surface I was shocked. Not shocked because Balmer was doing something gutsy, but shocked because the Surface actually looks cool. Like, it’s probably the coolest looking tablet I’ve ever seen, other than the iPad, and if that crazy Touch Cover keyboard thing actually works well, then holy shit, the future is here.
Even though it’s not made by Apple, I had to try the “Surface with Windows RT” because I wanted to touch the future, and I really thought that maybe Microsoft was going to pull it off and create something that amazed me. After playing with the Surface and comparing it to an iPad though I found out that the future isn’t quite here yet, but it looks promising.
Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Google and all the big-screen TV makers want to own the the all-purpose living room entertainment system of tomorrow.
Smart TV systems, which will incorporate movies-on-demand, gaming, web surfing, videoconferencing, home automation and more (even TV shows!) are likely to become the next big opportunity for content-driven platform companies.
But is time running out for Apple to make its move?
The surprising answer is: No, not really. Apple’s got plenty of time. And there’s no need for Apple to make a TV set, either.
Here’s why.
Evernote has become an important go-to app on my Mac, my various iOS devices, and on the web when I’m away from all of them (which, I do admit, is rare). The ability to take a note on my Mac and then open it up on my iPhone when at the store or meeting has become an invaluable part of keeping my life organized.
The Evernote team announced today, then, a whole new version of Evernote, the beta for which will show up next week. It’s going to have over 100 new features to make using Evernote on the Mac that much faster, easier, and useful.
The iMpulse Game controller, now with eight days left in its Kickstarter campaign, was already planned to be a sleek little keychain-sized physical game controller. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and various Android devices, the iMpulse is getting an update to make it 20% thinner, as well as adding shoulder buttons on the bottom of the device.
For a pledge of $25 plus shipping, you can get one of these cute, sleek gaming controllers with a serious d-pad and shoulder buttons sent to your address. There are other levels of reward, as well, including a T-Shirt, dual controllers, fancy metal plating, and the like.
MacHeist today announced that it was adding two more apps, TuneUp and MoneyBag to its fantastically priced bundle, and is extending the sale of the bundle for three more days. That’s right, you now have the opportunity to purchase $754 worth of great Mac apps for $29, along with giving your choice from the list of MacHeist charities a 25% cut. The sale will end, they say, on Monday.
So far, the MacHeist 4 Bundle has raised close to $234,000 for the charities it benefits, including Action Against Hunger, The Nature Conservancy, American Foundation for AIDS, Save the Children, Friends of the Earth, Global Fund for Women, Direct Relief International, Cancer Research Institute, Humane Society International, and the World Wildlife Fund.
If you have a previous generation iPod nano (the touchscreen one), you’ve probably seen the straps and kits to make it a watch (you know I never did see one that made a nano look like a pocket watch). Since I had the chance while working for an Apple retailer to see lots of samples of these straps and kits, I can tell you something with authority—most of them were junk.
Most of the samples I saw looked awful on your wrist or looked cheap or…just bad. The ones that looked best were the ones that employed more “watch-like” features like…screws, links, real bands. This is what I like about the Lynk Watch Kit, it looks like a watch band—The Lynk Watch Kit By LUNATIK (Black): Get an Ultra-Lightweight, Stylish & Comfortable Watch Piece That Will Fit Any Occasion.
I’ve seen some amazing photos shot with the increasingly advanced photo hardware (and software) packed into the iPhone, and now the iPad. And while swiping through the images is fun, sometimes you want physical prints. An update to the free Snapfish app lets you have those prints by letting you send images from your iPhone to the closest Walmart, Walgreens, or if you’re in New York, Duane Reade — and they’ll be printed in about an hour.
By now you’ve probably heard that Apple is gearing up to launch an internet radio-type service next year that will compete with the likes of Pandora and Spotify. Apple has been working behind closed doors for quite some time to make the upcoming service a reality, but talks with the big record labels have continued to slow Apple’s plans.
Yesterday we told you that Apple was aiming to close deals with the labels by next month, and now a report claims that music executives are still not convinced that they should buy into what Apple is selling.
Apple hasn’t been very friendly to the DIY community in recent years. Every year Macs get harder and harder to take apart and repair/upgrade at home. iFixit called the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display the “least repairable” MacBook yet, and the 13-inch Retina MacBook didn’t score so well either.
That’s why it’s refreshing to hear that the 2012 Mac mini Apple announced Tuesday is actually very repairable. “The Mini continues to be one of the most repairable devices that Apple produces,” according to iFixit’s official teardown.
If Tim Cook is the operational brains behind Apple, then Phil Schiller is the showman. Since Steve Jobs passed away, Schiller has been the go-to guy for product unveilings at Apple’s high-profile media events. This past Tuesday, Schiller showed off a number of brand new products to the world, including the iPad mini and all-new iMac.
What does Apple’s marketing guru think about the company’s approach to designing products like the Mac?
The SmartFlex View is a new iPhone 5 case from Speck that has one handy feature: it’s got a built-in retractable stand, so you can turn your iPhone into a free-standing display — in portrait or landscape mode — at any time in any place, without the need for additional accessories.
No time to type out a status update on Facebook or send a genius Tweet? Sometimes, inspiration for an amazing update to one of the ubiquitous social networks supported in the latest iOS 6 on Apple’s portable devices happens on the fly. Even while driving! What’s a safe-driving-no-texting individual to do?
Why, have Siri post to Twitter or Facebook, of course!
I had a great idea this morning. I figured I’d head to the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale around 10am, waltz in, buy a Microsoft Surface, and then be out in 10 minutes. I assumed the store would be empty. I mean, come on, this is a Microsoft tablet we’re talking about, and who goes to the Microsoft Store anyway?
I was completely wrong. Microsoft’s new tablet, the Surface RT, may not do everything an iPad can, but it’s drawing some pretty big lines to Microsoft retail stores across the country for its launch this morning.
One clipboard rots. That’s all there is to it. You copy one thing, then another, and…you always need the first thing you copied again. Myself, I’ve been using the clipboard manager tool in Alfred (with the PowerPack add-on), but it’s pretty basic. So I’ve picked up ClipBuddy today because it’s free right now—Free Clipboard Manager For Macs: Automatically Organize All of Your Copied Text With an Intuitive Copy & Paste Utility.
This amazing chunk of technology is – unbelievably – home made. It’s a camera, it is milled Apple-style from a single block of aluminum, and it’s called the Hyperscope. What’s not to love?