Category: I-phone

If there’s anything bad about OS X Lion, it’s that it provides many more opportunities for boring backdrops. By default, Mission Control uses the familiar grey linen background with a miniature of your desktop, and with the login screen, you just have the grey linen. Dashboard has that pebbled grey Lego-like background, while Launchpad uses a blurred version of your regular desktop image as a background. If that doesn’t have you yawning, then you’ve probably had a few too many cans of Red Bull this morning. Now there’s a shareware app, Lion Designer, from developer Moritz Wette, that makes your Lion-based Mac a bit more exciting to look at.

Install Lion Designer, and everything is customizable — the background for Mission Control and Launchpad, the folder background for Launchpad, and the background for the login screen. If you do something wrong, there’s a Reset button for going back to the defaults.

For your own images, Moritz suggests that you use PNG files that have the same or greater width and height as your monitor so that no tiling occurs. Lion Designer is shareware, so you have nothing to lose but your boredom. Download and install it now, and if you like what you see, be sure to send Moritz a donation to encourage development of future apps.

Lion Designer customizes Lion’s Dashboard, Mission Control and Launchpad backgrounds originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like despite the “end of October” launch estimate at the iPhone 4S event, iTunes Match still isn’t quite ready for public release. Apple has released a second beta of iTunes 10.5.1 so developers can further test iTunes Match.

The update addresses the usual “stability and performance improvements,” but it also enables support for iTunes Match on the Apple TV. Beta testers have claimed that the previous iTunes 10.5.1 beta still had quite a few problems with regards to iTunes Match, so we should probably be happy that Apple “missed” its deadline instead of releasing iTunes Match to the public before it’s fully baked.

When iTunes Match is ready for public launch, the service will cost US$24.99 per year and allow users to store their music libraries in the cloud, including songs not purchased via the iTunes Store, with easy access to the entire music library from any device associated with the user’s iTunes account.

Apple releases iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2, supports iTunes Match on Apple TV originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple sent an email to registered developers today that’s bound to ruffle some feathers — again. As of March 2012, Apple will require all apps submitted to the Mac App Store to implement sandboxing. This isn’t a new development, as Apple was initially going to require sandboxing starting in November of this year. Apple has apparently delayed implementing the rule for another few months, but the requirement itself may cause challenges for some Mac developers.

Apple’s motivation behind requiring sandboxing is all about security: “Sandboxing your app is a great way to protect systems and users by limiting the resources apps can access and making it more difficult for malicious software to compromise users’ systems.” But the company’s all-or-nothing approach is potentially problematic; “As of March 1, 2012 all apps submitted to the Mac App Store must implement sandboxing,” Apple says.

Over the past few months, developers ranging from Daniel Jalkut to Dr. Drang to Real Studio to Peter Sichel have pointed to flaws and shortcomings in the sandboxing approach, including a buggy Carbon implementation and questionable support for most AppleScript-centric automation tools. Jason Snell and Andy Ihnatko have weighed in as well, concerned that sandboxing may lead to a dumbing down of Mac App Store options or the death of AppleScript itself. (Not all developers are upset, to be sure.)

The sort-of good news is Apple does allow for some exceptions to its pending sandboxing policy. “If your app requires access to sandboxed system resources you will need to include justification for using those entitlements as part of the submission to the Mac App Store,” Apple says.

But then there’s the bad news: “Apps that are being re-engineered to be sandbox compatible may request additional temporary entitlements. These entitlements are granted on a short-term basis and will be phased out over time.”

Before the inevitable complaints about this policy kick in, it’s worth taking a step back and remembering that unlike the iOS platform, the Mac App Store isn’t the only legitimate way to get apps onto a Mac. That’s probably cold comfort to developers who have found the Mac App Store an easier and more lucrative channel for app distribution than the traditional methods. There’s also the fact that any discussion that begins with “The Mac App Store isn’t the only way to get apps on a Mac” inevitably ends with the ominous pronouncement “yet.”

That said, just like some iOS App Store restrictions, this new policy seems a bit on the extreme side. Just like the “no third-party IDEs” rule for the iOS platform last year, it also seems like a policy born in committee that may have sounded like a good idea to Apple at the time but is eventually destined to be modified or deprecated once its real-world implications for the Mac platform become clear. The fact that Apple has already delayed implementing the sandbox requirement by five months could mean further reprieves or workarounds for developers with affected products.

Apple to require sandboxing in Mac App Store apps as of March 2012 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Livestand was released for iPad today and I have to say it is pretty impressive. The free app strives to provide you with a personalized magazine drawn from Yahoo! and other content sources like Scientific American, Consumer Reports News, Wired, Forbes, and Parenting.

The onscreen presentation is very strong, with bold graphics and a very nice design sense. Weather is local, and the app automatically finds your location. The app supports profiles, and up to 4 users can access their own mix of news on the app.

To start up from scratch, the app would like your Yahoo! ID, or your Facebook login to help seed the app with your interests. You can skip this if you want to, and just tell the app what kind of content you like.

News seems to be constantly updated, and that includes stock feeds and Twitter updates. In the short time I used it, I didn’t see any evidence that the app was learning from my content preferences, but the mix of news is good. The layout is very attractive, but you have to take some time getting used to navigation. If you are used to competitors like Flipboard, Zite or Pulse News Reader, Livestand is a very different animal. After some time, you’ll know what does what, and the difference between swiping to the right or down.

For a just released app, Livestand is quite impressive. I’m not ready to give up Zite, but Yahoo! has created an interesting and worthwhile free competitor. I’d like to see an iPhone version, but making an equally compelling display on a small screen will be a challenge. If you are a news and information junkie, Livestand is worth a download and a tryout today. Let us know what you think.

Here are some screen grabs:

Livestand from Yahoo! adds a slick magazine for iPad originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mac OS X Hints has discovered that Macs running OS X Lion and registered with iCloud have a hidden “drop box” in the user’s Library folder that allows for easy document and file syncing between Macs. A folder within ~/Library (which Lion hides by default) called “Mobile Documents” contains iWork documents synced with iOS devices via iCloud (something our own Erica Sadun discovered quite a while ago.)

“What is of use is that any files put into the ~/Library/Mobile Documents folder will automatically upload to iCloud and push to any other Mac you have that is signed in to the same iCloud account and has the ‘Document & Data’ iCloud preference checked,” says Mac OS X Hints member CHM. “Lion even notifies you of version conflicts and allows you to resolve them when you open the document.”

This functionality is broadly similar to the third-party file syncing service Dropbox, but having the service buried within a hidden user folder makes it far less useful. Files manually added to the Mobile Documents folder also apparently don’t sync to iOS devices, which is another feature Dropbox does provide via its iOS app.

What’s interesting about this hidden folder is that it shows that iCloud and OS X Lion have already laid the groundwork for an easy-to-use and official method for syncing files between Macs (and possibly iOS devices). This discovery makes it seem as though a very simple software update could enable the current Mac versions of iWork’s applications to sync with iCloud quite easily.

iCloud is still a relatively new service, having been in public release for less than a month as of this writing. Hidden features like the Mobile Documents folder seem to indicate that Apple has broader aspirations in mind than the relatively simplistic iOS-only, iWork-only document syncing the service supports thus far.

OS X Lion has a hidden ‘drop box’ for easy file syncing between Macs originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game developer Ubisoft, publishers of some of the biggest franchises on HD consoles, has picked up developer RedLynx, makers of XBLA’s great Trials HD, as well as a few solid iOS titles, including Thousand Heroes and the excellent DrawRace 2. Ubisoft says it will use the purchase to both further RedLynx’s properties, including Trials, to more platforms, as well as take advantage of RedLynx’s asychronous online gameplay expertise to work on its own titles. Ubisoft does have quite a few iOS apps out and available at the moment, but presumably this acquisition will beef up that library.

There isn’t any information on how much Ubisoft paid for the purchase, but hopefully this will bring better games from both companies, as they share resources for all of the various platforms they deliver games on.

[via Joystiq]

Ubisoft acquires RedLynx, developer of Thousand Heroes and DrawRace 2 for iOS originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has lost an iPad design infringement lawsuit it brought against the small Spanish tablet maker, Nuevas Tecnologías y Energías Catalá. Nuevas created an Android-powered tablet called the nt-k Pad, which Apple believed was a knock off of the iPad. Interestingly, Apple filed not just a commercial lawsuit, but a criminal one against the company too. As noted by FOSS Patents:

Apple accused nt-k in November 2010 of “copying” the iPad and went straight for a customs ban. As a result, Spanish customs seized shipments from China containing nt-k’s Android-based tablet. The little company temporarily appeared on an EU-wide list of product pirates, but worst of all, after some correspondence between the two companies, Apple also brought criminal charges on December 9, 2010 (as it had previously threatened in writing).

From the front, the nt-k does resemble the iPad, but with more buttons. However, there’s no way anyone could mistake it for Apple’s device once they saw the back of it and noticed its rather thick bulk. The Spanish court ruled that there wasn’t “sufficient justification” for the case and threw it out of court. Yesterday, Nuevas posted a blog (Google translation) on their website that they had defeated Apple and now they are suing the Cupertino company for monetary damage compensation, lost profits, and “moral damages.” The company is also urging the Spanish courts to pursue an antitrust investigation against Apple.

Apple loses iPad design lawsuit against NT-K originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Czech mobile provider Telefonica Czech Republic AS has decided not to sell the iPhone 4S and will stop selling all iPhone models, according to an October 27th report by Hospodarske Noviny, a local Czech paper. A spokesperson for Telefonica Czech said Apple’s business terms were the reason the carrier chose to stop selling the popular smartphone.

The details of the business terms between Telefonica Czech and Apple were not disclosed. Czech iPhone fans won’t be left out to dry though. As noted by Bloomberg, last week the iPhone 4S went on sale at the Czech units of Vodafone Group and T-Mobile International AG

Czech Telefonica dropping the iPhone originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Computerworld has a piece of Apple history that Apple fans should watch. In 1995, a then 40-year-old Steve Jobs sat down with Computerworld’s Daniel Morrow for a 75-minute interview. The one-on-one talk was recorded as part of an oral history project organized by the Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation. At this point in time, Jobs was still at NeXT and involved with Pixar. It was before he returned to Apple and took the technology world by storm with the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

The interview is available as a single 75-minute clip for registered Computerworld users and as several shorter clips for those who don’t have a free Computerworld login. The video interview discusses the early days of Steve Jobs’s career — his Silicon Valley roots, his removal from Apple and his time at NeXT and Pixar.

Computerworld releases long version of 1995 Steve Jobs interview originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung is set to depose Jonathan Ive and other Apple designers by December 1st. The depositions are in preparation for the July 2012 trial that will decide the outcome of the plethora of lawsuits the two companies have filed against each other. Originally the depositions were supposed to be done by mid-October, but Samsung’s lawyers asked for an extension due to the lack of witness availability. Samsung told the judge that “Mr. Ive is unable to sit for deposition before November 1 for personal reasons.” The three other people being deposed all had similar reasons for being unavailable.

In addition to Ive, Samsung is set to depose former Apple color materials manager Doug Satzger; industrial designer Shin Nishibori, who is named on the MacBook Air and iPhone 4 patents; and Christopher Stringer, whose name Edible Apple points out has been appearing on Apple patent filings “for years.”

Samsung to depose Jony Ive, other Apple designers originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has just confirmed with All Things Digital that it is aware of the battery issues some iPhone owners have noticed under iOS 5 and is working on a fix. “A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices. We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.”

According to MacStories, Aapple has also just released a beta of iOS 5.0.1 to developers. We haven’t had a chance to check this out yet to see if this update fixes the battery life issues that some iPhone users have reported, but the timing of the beta release seems a bit too coincidental for this not to be the case.

If you’ve been experiencing unusual battery drain in iOS 5 and the 5.0.1 beta fixes it for you, let us know in the comments.

Apple promises fix for iOS 5 battery issues, releases iOS 5.0.1 beta originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A note to our UK readers that Channel 4’s documentary Steve Jobs: iChanged the World will air tonight at 11:05 PM local time. That’s about an hour and a half from now, so set your DVRs. From Channel 4’s description:

Through interviews with the people who Steve Jobs knew and who worked closely with him over the years, Steve Jobs: iChanged the World takes an unflinching look at his difficult, controlling reputation, and offers a unique insight into what made him tick.

In a never-before-broadcast, rare interview, Steve Jobs expounds his own philosophy of life, and offers advice to us all on changing our own lives to achieve our ambitions, our desires and our dreams. Steve looked back over his astonishing career and explained the principles on which he built his success.

The same documentary will also air in the US tonight on PBS with the title Steve Jobs – One Last Thing. PBS will air the documentary at 10 PM Eastern and again at 10 PM Pacific.

‘Steve Jobs: iChanged the World’ documentary airs tonight on UK’s Channel 4 (and on PBS in the US) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the availability of iOS 5.0.1 beta to developers, Dev-team has also pushed RedSn0w 0.9.9b8 to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 beta on iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad 1 and iPod Touch 4G, 3G. NOTE It’s still a…

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Apple has pushed the iOS 5.0.1 beta for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to the developers. Registered iOS developers can download iOS 5.0.1 beta from the iOS Dev Center. iOS 5.0.1 beta brings bug fixes,…

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A blog post was made today on the Official Gmail blog that a native app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch was released. The article listed benefits of the new app which included it being faster, more efficient and optimized for touch devices. In addition to that it is also a great reason to switch to Gmail:

…we’ve created a new Gmail app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. We’ve combined your favorite features from the Gmail mobile web app and iOS into one app so you can be more productive on the go. It’s designed to be fast, efficient and take full advantage of the touchscreen and notification capabilities of your device. And it’s one more reason to switch to Gmail.

With that said, do not go looking for the new Gmail app as it has been pulled due to a bug that was found. Google removed the app themselves according to this update.

Update: 11/2/11: Earlier today we launched a new Gmail app for iOS. Unfortunately, it contained a bug which broke notifications and caused users to see an error message when first opening the app. We’ve removed the app while we correct the problem, and we’re working to bring you a new version soon. Everyone who’s already installed the app can continue to use it.