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Apple has updated its iOS mass-deployment configuration and management tool, Configurator, to version 1.3. The free app works with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, and now offers "significantly improved" reliability, scalability and performance, the ability to cancel scheduled or even in-progress operations, and more. There is a new status view that includes time estimates and error information with recovery suggestions, and administrators can now install apps on devices configured to not allow users to install apps.... ...

Agricola is one of the most popular board games around these days -- it's sort of a farming simulation game, where you can take two turns every round, and then periodically get rewards paid off in a harvest. Playdek is an up-and-coming iOS developer that's mostly done card games so far -- they're behind the Penny Arcade card game, as well as the excellent Ascension and a more complicated one I really like called Nightfall. Now, Playdek has teamed up with the creators of Agricola and Lookout Games to produce this iOS adaptation, available right now on the App Store for US$6.99.

The way the...

Following the announcement of major updates to both OS X and iOS, Apple has begun seeding versions of the new operating systems beyond its own engineers and third-party developers. Beginning this week, several sources say, Apple has begun seeding the initial preview of OS X Mavericks to Genius Bar and on-floor Apple Retail employees.
These select employees received the following message:

//

You are invited to participate in the pre-release OS X Mavericks seed program. Participation, including submitting feedback, is completely voluntary and not an expectation of your job. If you accept, we will provide you with a pre-release version of OS X Mavericks to install and use. You will get to preview all of the exciting new features like iBooks, Maps, Calendar, Safari, iCloud Keychain, Multiple Displays, Notifications, Finder Tabs, Tags, and much more! You should use OS X Mavericks only...

A leaked image from a WWDC developer session is making the rounds, showing that the Voice Memo app that isn't currently included in the iOS 7 Beta 1 will make an appearance in a future release. Also, a tipster tells us the release notes for the first iOS 7 Beta mention the Voice Memo app: Voice Memos - Known Issues The VoiceMemos app is not available in this seed.The Voice Memo app doesn't seem to appear in any of the iOS 7 marketing materials on Apple's website, but developers should see it in a future iOS 7 beta release and we expect it to be included in the final iOS 7 release this fall. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories •...

Apple has released Java updates for Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and OS X 10.7 (Lion) and 10.8 (Mountain Lion). The update brings Java SE 6 to the most recent version.
This update uninstalls the Apple-provided Java applet plug-in from all web browsers. To use applets on a web page, click on the region labeled "Missing plug-in" to go download the latest version of the Java applet plug-in from Oracle. This update also removes the Java Preferences application, which is no longer required to configure applet settings.
read more

The clever folk over at Kintek have posted a handy system-to-system guide for anyone working in the mobile development space. This metaphor overview quickly references how items like buttons, switches, one-of-n selection, and other common interface items are expressed by default in the target arenas.

You'll find items from Android, iOS 6, and iOS 7 listed side-by-side, so you can quickly review their visual presentation. Resource links take you to developer documentation. It's nicely done and well worth checking out.

[Via Swiss Miss]DevJuice: iOS/Android PortKit translates visual metaphors originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog...

Facebook updated its iPhone and iPad app today with a couple new features. Users can now attach a number of different emoticons to status updates organized into several categories based on emotion, content, and location. For example, the “Feeling” category will allow...

Apple has posted twin Java updates for OS X, Java for OS X 2013-004 and Mac OS X v10.6 Update 16. Both deal with security, stability, and compatibility flaws. The first is targeted at Lion and Mountain Lion users, while the second is for Snow Leopard only....  ...

Apple made no small amount of changes to its mobile platform with iOS 7, and among those was the possible removal of its native voice recording app ? a development that surprised both users and voice memo app developers alike.  ...

It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked selections that include some sweet deals on iOS and OS X software (all prices are USD). Prices are subject to change.

Deals from Dealnews

• StackSocial: [Mac Software] The Name Your Own Price Double Down Mac Bundle for $4
• DiscountMags: [Magazines] Macworld Magazine 2-Year Subscription (24 issues) for $13
• MacUpdate Promo: [Mac Software] Flavours for Mac downloads for $10
• ...

Soundfreaq has announced the Sound Step Lightning, a new speaker dock. The unit takes its name from a Lightning port compatible with the latest generation of Apple mobile devices. Significantly, though, it also accepts input via Bluetooth, a stereo cable source, or 30-pin Apple devices connected through USB. The USB port can charge any connected device. Playback is controlled with capacitive touch buttons, an IR remote, or connected hardware....  ...

The excellent iOS RPG Knights of Pen and Paper has been updated to the +1 Edition (as we heard it would be back at GDC) and is now available as a free update on the App Store. This new version, which is technically 2.02, brings lots of new content, game updates, new dungeons to explore, and many other extras. For example, there's now a place called The Tavern, where you can keep old heroes and swap in new ones. Several new battle options nearly turned Knights of Pen and Paper into entirely new game.

The +1 edition was spurred on by the game's new publisher, Paradox. Thanks to that collaboration, the game is also now available on Steam for $9.99. But again, the iOS version is a free update, so if you've grabbed the game already, do...

Please, please WordPress don’t kill Poster.
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GOG.com has launched a huge summer sale today, with over 500 games available for very cheap and more changing in and out every day. I'm mentioning it here because the site has a big Mac section with classic games like Dungeon Keeper, Syndicate and even the great System Shock 2 all on sale for less than US$5 each. Alpha Centauri is one of my favorite games ever, and it's also on sale, as is the recent indie success FTL: Faster Than Light.

GOG is even offering the excellent dungeon crawler Torchlight for the low, low price of completely free, so definitely grab that and play it if you haven't...

Java for OS X 2013-004 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility for Java SE 6.

Learn about the security content of Java for OS X 2013-004 and Mac OS X v10.6 Update 16.

Apple often touts how its products affect the lives of their users, and a recent update to Siri suggests that the company is committed to doing what it can to save those lives as well.   ...

What do you do when your one and only iPad app is a runaway success? If you're FiftyThree, the development firm behind the beautiful journal / art app Paper (free, many in-app purchases available), you get funding for expansion into new areas.

FiftyThree announced today that it received US$15 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreesen Horowitz, with such stellar investors as Twitter's Jack Dorsey, Bright Capital, Highline Ventures and SV Angel joining the party. Paper has been profitable from day one; it's usually in the Top 10 Paid Apps on the App Store, and over 80 million users have downloaded the app.

What's FiftyThree...

Peripheral maker iHome has announced three new FM radio alarm docks, all equipped with Lightning docks for later-generation Apple devices. The standard model is the iDL45, which also has a secondary USB port that can be used to play and charge older Apple devices with 30-pin connectors. Some other features include time sync, EQ controls, programmable snooze lengths, and dual alarms with custom day and time settings....  ...

Pushing towards a paperless future, the neat folks at Neat have released version 2.0 of Neat for iOS. The new build of the scanning-on-the-go application features much faster performance, scan annotation, new sharing and collaboration options, plus a new expense reporting tool.

Neat has made its bones as a desktop scanning solution, offering both compact and ADF-enabled scanners that work with the company's Mac and PC applications for document management. The Neat mobile app extends that find-my-files experience for access on the go, with scans and folders synchronizing to the NeatCloud online service. You can quickly share folders or individual scans to collaborate with colleagues, or search the OCR/indexed text of your documents to find what you need quickly.

The expense report...

This week's roundup of accessories includes a new, fashionable way to keep your iOS screen clean, as well as ways to listen to (and make!) music and to power up your iPhone or iPad.

Originally released back in 2012 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and later Windows, Rockstar announced today that it’s bringing Max Payne 3 to the Mac later this week through the Mac App Store. We don’t get any details on pricing, but Rockstar notes that the Mac version includes a “number of advanced graphics options, scalable high-resolution textures and character models, DirectX11 features, multi-monitor support and 3D.”
Max Payne 3 will be available for Mac later this week, on Thursday June 20th: rsg.ms/15gLZNQ— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) June 18, 2013

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Max Payne 3 will be available on the Mac App Store starting June 20.
The game will require Mac OS X 10.7.5 Lion, an Intel Dual Core Xeon / Core i Series 2.4 GHZ or greater,  NVIDIA® 8800GT 512MB VRAM or AMD...

The AluCup from Just Mobile is another inventive product from a company that provides convenience for the users of Apple’s many iOS devices. In this case, it is a small holder that works in different ways with all the iPhones, iPod touches and iPads.

Oopsie.
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Mac Elite "FireWire" is trying to figure out why their iMac keeps shutting off when the CPU temp reaches 50°C in the thread titled "iMac doesn't adjust fan speed, and dies." Forum goers help "Laminar" troubleshoot a problem in which Time Machine doesn't see their most recent backups....   ...

Currently Newegg.com has the QNAP high performance 6-bay NAS server for the reduced price of $851.99. That's $78 off the list price of $929.99, and until June 30th, use coupon code 'QNAPNAS030' at checkout to drop the price further to $751.99 with free delivery. That's the best deal we've seen by $77. The QNAP NAS system features a 2.13GHz Intel Atom dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, six SATA ports, two eSATA ports, two USB 3.0 ports, five USB 2.0 ports and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. A one year warranty on parts and labor is included from QNAP....  ...

Adobe Muse enables designers to create websites as easily as creating a layout for print. Design and publish original HTML pages using the latest Web standards, and without writing code. Now in beta, Muse makes it a snap to produce unique, professional-looking websites. Key Features of Muse:

• Plan your project- Easy-to-use sitemaps, master pages, and a host of flexible, site-wide tools make it fast and intuitive to get your site planned out and ready for design.
• Design your pages - Combine imagery, graphics and text with complete control, flexibility and power (almost as if you were using Adobe InDesign).
• Add interactivity - Drag and drop fully customizable widgets like navigation menus and slide shows, embed HTML code snippets to include things like Google Maps, enable tool tips, rollovers and much more.
• Publish your site - Preview your site with Muse to see how...

Flexibits has released Chatology for Mac (US$19.99), which lets you search your Messages chat history with great ease and success. It's looks will make it familiar to just about anyone who's used a Mac within the last ten years and and its integration with Messages is just lovely. Say goodbye to Apple's chat search.

Looks

Chatology is similar to iTunes, iPhoto and others as it has a list on the left and related details on the right. Again, it will be super familiar to most Mac owners, so you'll be up and running in no time. Click any name on the right to view the associated chat logs in clear, legible text. Conversations, images and links are a mere click away.

Finally, you can opt to see your conversations as balloons or boxes (I prefer balloons).

Gallery: ...

Mavericks testers have reported problems installing the Mavericks Developer Preview in a Parallels virtual machine on Mountain Lion. Parallels has provided some knowledge base articles to assist, including the installation of Parallels Desktop 8 in Mavericks itself.
 

During last week's WWDC Keynote, Apple's CEO Tim Cook emphasized a series of iOS strengths in the form of statistics. Market share stats, of course, don't always tell the full story. For instance, Android is statistically the leading smartphone operating system in volume, but not in profits. Apple still rules the profits stat where it really matters. That being said, Apple's CEO kept hammering stats home to their developer community to show them that iOS is still number one in the market. Yet the ...

As noted by AppleInsider, AT&T has begun its FaceTime over cellular rollout to users. Back in May, AT&T stated that, by the end of 2013, all users would be able to use FaceTime over cellular. It appears that transition has begun. According to AppleInsider:

So far, activation of the service has been verified in parts of New York, Maryland, Georgia, Louisiana, California and Hawaii. Voice and video quality is nearly on a par with the Wi-Fi implementation of the service, suggesting AT&T is not throttling those subscribers who choose to use the feature while on the go.

In January AT&T began rolling out FaceTime over cellular to users of its tiered data plans. By the time this current rollout is complete, all AT&T users will be able...

Gangstar Vegas ($7) is the latest installment in Gameloft’s Gangstar series. Like earlier Gangstar titles, it’s a sandbox-style action and driving game in the Grand Theft Auto mold, letting you walk, fight, steal cars, and fire weapons across multiple missions. This edition notably includes an impressive rendition of Las…

If you use Messages or iChat, you probably know that searching messages to find important info from past chats can be frustrating. Perhaps you couldn’t find what you were looking for, or your Mac slowed down so much that you gave up.

Chatology makes it easy.

I’ve been testing this for the past few weeks and it really is easy to use. Finding messages couldn’t be easier.
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Tweaking the iOS 7 beta reveals hidden settings that hint at Apple plans and/or concepts for the firmware, reports say. These include OS-wide edge- and corner-swipe gestures, which would come on top of edge-swipe commands in apps like Safari and Messages. The edge gestures would reportedly be used for quick app switching....  ...

Adobe Creative Cloud costs $49.99/month (or less if you're a previous Creative Suite customer). Creative Suite 6 is still available for purchase (without a monthly plan) if you prefer. Introducing Adobe Creative Cloud desktop applications, including Adobe Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC. They're the next generation of CS tools. Get hundreds of all-new features. Keep your entire creative world in sync: files, feedback from team members, fonts, settings, and updates. And, as always, your applications live on your desktop, not in a browser and not in the cloud. With Creative Cloud, your entire creative world is synced and organized for you across multiple devices. Track comments posted to shared files, keep tabs on your work and your followers on Behance, respond to invitations to join a project...

Last week, Apple released iOS 7 Beta 1 for iPhone to developers. At the same time, it released a new beta for the Apple TV as well. Users of the Apple TV beta have discovered at least two new features inside. AppleInsider notes that Apple built an iTunes Radio client for the Apple TV -- something that Eddy Cue mentioned during the WWDC Keynote and that Apple has promoted to potential iTunes Radio advertisers -- with in-line video advertisements. Apple has also added a 'Conference Room Mode'...

Although iOS generates seemingly random passwords for its hotspots to eliminate the use of "default" passwords, researchers at a German university have found that they are able to break these passwords in under a minute, reports "ZDNet" (http://tinyurl.com/n7haj5f).
Researchers at the University of Erlangen in Germany say they've found a flaw in the automatically generated pre-shared keys used in Apple's iOS hotspots. They say the method in which these passwords are generated leaves them vulnerable to attack.
read more

InCopy CC is available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud for as little as $19.99/month (or $9.99/month if you're a previous InCopy customer). InCopy CS6 is still available for purchase (without a monthly plan) if you prefer.

Adobe InCopy CC, ideal for large team projects involving both written copy and design work, provides copywriters and editors with a powerful tool to style text, collaborate through track changes, and make simple layout modifications that integrate effortlessly with InDesign.Version 9.0:

• Parallel collaborative workflow. InCopy integrates tightly with Adobe InDesign to let writers, editors, and designers work simultaneously on a single document without overwriting one another's contributions.
• Modern UI. InCopy has...

After Effects CC is available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud for as little as $19.99/month (or $9.99/month if you're a previous After Effects customer). After Effects CS6 is still available for purchase (without a monthly plan) if you prefer.
The new, more connected After Effects CC can make the impossible possible. Get powerful new features like a Live 3D Pipeline that brings CINEMA 4D scenes in as layers - without intermediate rendering. Share work directly from within the application and get access to new features the moment they're released. Your entire creative world, together in one place.
After Effects CC is part of Creative Cloud. That means you have access to all the latest updates and future releases the moment they're available. Sharpen your skills...

Premiere Pro CC is available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud for as little as $19.99/month (or $9.99/month if you're a previous Premiere Pro customer). Premiere Pro CS6 is still available for purchase (without a monthly plan) if you prefer. Adobe Premiere Pro CC lets you edit video faster than ever before. Dozens of brand-new features include a redesigned timeline, improved media management, and streamlined color grading. And it's just the beginning: You'll get access to new features the moment they're released. Your entire creative world, together in one place. Only in Creative Cloud.Version 7.0:

• New: Editing finesse Edit more efficiently with a redesigned Timeline, intuitive track targeting, and dozens of new shortcuts. See critical information such as duplicate frames and...

This was a weird thing that popped up, but it’s hard to argue with the Emergency Alert System.
Per The Mac Observer, wireless carrier AT&T began pushing an update to iPhone users over the weekend that adds support for Wireless Emergency Alerts. The WEA system sends text messages to smartphone owners alerting them to physical threats like earthquakes and tornados, man-made disasters, AMBER Alerts, and Presidential alerts.

The update is being pushed to the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5, and doesn’t require any action on the user’s part since...

Apple gave the public its first preview of iOS 7 last week during its annual World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco. A beta version just for iOS developers was released the same day, and it found its way to many people outside of that group who promptly started complaining about stability issues, non-functioning features, poor battery life, interface problems, broken third-party apps, and more. Of course iOS 7 has problems; it's beta software.

Apple has released the Apple TV 5.4 beta to developers. The latest beta software for Apple's setup box adds support for several new features, notes iDownloadBlog. The first up is iTunes Radio, which Apple announced at WWDC would be coming to Apple TV in the fall. iTunes Radio functions much as it will over iOS 7: users can access the Apple TV's built-in Music app to stream songs over the Internet.

Perhaps the coolest new feature is called Conference Room Display. As the name suggests, this mode is aimed at Apple TVs in the workplace. Users can set the Apple TV's home screen with a custom image, like a corporate or event logo, and a custom message. Viewers will see the custom image and message and also an overlay telling them how to connect their devices to the Apple TV.

Finally, Apple has added increased...

Adobe has announced that a "major" update to Adobe Creative Cloud, the company’s flagship offering for creatives, is now available. This release reimagines the creative process through a set of "CC" desktop applications and cross-device collaboration and publishing capabilities, according to David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Media, Adobe.
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More alleged iPhone 5S parts have leaked, as photos from Japanese part vendor Moumantai and U.S. repair shop iHeart Repair show what appear to be a display assembly and logic board for Apple’s new device. As expected, the parts look very similar to iPhone 5 parts, with generally the same…

I do this for real every day.
∞ Read this on The Loop

Adobe has released the major updates to Creative Cloud apps it showed off in May at its MAX conference.
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Some damaged disks do not show up with Disk Utility and DiskWarrior, and may hang and crash such repair utilities. Yet, there is a trick to repair such broken disks using Disk Arbitrator.

1. Open Disk Arbitrator and select "Activated - Block mounts." This prevents the damaged disk from crashing the repair utilities and allows such disks to be displayed by these utilities.

2. Connect the damaged disk.

3. Open Disk Utility or DiskWarrior. The damaged disk should show now and it should not crash the repair utility.

4. Deactivate Disk Arbitrator (uncheck the Activated box). This allows the repair utility to handle the damaged disk properly (mounting it once repaired).

5. Run Disk Utility or DiskWarrior.

Then, the utility should repair the disk, or at least, mount a Preview disk (DiskWarrior), allowing you to inspect and even copy or backup some files or the full disk, re ...

Adobe’s Creative Cloud is now out, in the wild and pretty spiffy.
Per 9to5Mac, Adobe recently introduced big updates and new features to just about every app in the CC suite, including updates to its design apps like Illustrator, a new Kuler iPhone app, revamped web tools such as Dreamweaver and Edge Animate, and updates to just about every other app it makes. On Tuesday, Adobe finally made the massive Creative Cloud update available to all users and is also offering a number of...

Adobe has announced the release of 15 all new Creative Cloud apps. Adobe's Creative Cloud apps allow files to be stored in the cloud and opened on devices running multiple platforms including desktop, mobile, and web. In addition to feature updates to Adobe's apps, they all now feature Behance integration. Behance is the world's largest social network aimed at allowing designers to share their work.

Adobe has spotlighted some of the new features available, including:

• Photoshop CC ships with new sharpening technologies and designer workflow enhancements. Camera Shake Reduction deblurs images that would have otherwise been lost due to camera movement. All-new Smart Sharpen makes texture and detail pop, and Adobe Camera Raw 8 adds even more powerful photographic controls to straighten and perfect images. Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC are the first...

Late Thursday, Parallels released version 8.0.18494 of its Parallels Desktop virtualization software. The new update, a 336.4 megabyte download, adds the following fixes and changes:
- Use Parallels Desktop with OS X 10.9 Mavericks Developer Preview (experimental support).
- Work with Parallels Desktop on new MacBooks Air (Mid-2013).
Parallels Desktop 8 retails for US$79.99 and requires a 64-bit Intel-based processor, Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later, 2GB of RAM (4GB recommended to run Windows 7), at least 700 MB of space available on the boot volume for Parallels Desktop installation and 15 GB of available disk space for Windows.
If you’ve tried the new version and have any feedback to offer, let us know in the comments.

Apple has changed the way Siri responds to suicide references, users have discovered. Until this week, the system would simply display the locations of nearby mental health facilities. In the US Siri will now ask people if they want to talk to someone at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. On an iPhone, Siri can also ask to dial directly....   ...

FiftyThree, the software development team behind Paper, the highest-grossing app in the iTunes store, has raised $15 million in investment funding to create what it thinks of as the Office suite of a more creative future, reports The Verge.
“Our goal is to build essentially a suite of mobile tools for creativity,” says FiftyThree founder and Microsoft vet Georg Petschnigg, which means for all intents and purposes, FiftyThree has just begun. Well, Microsoft just debuted Office for iPhone, but an app that defined productivity on desktops — ported to mobile — doesn’t seem to be what Petschnigg has in mind. “It’s about imagining the right solution,” he says, “and that takes time.” … 

Apple didn’t try to fix or raise the prices of electronic books when it entered into the market in 2010, according to Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue. Rather, he says, the company was only working to ensure a profit for itself.

“We’re not willing to lose money in any business,” Cue told the court, referring to Amazon’s practice of 2009 to sell electronic books for less than what it paid for them.

But in doing so, the U.S. Justice Department contends, Apple violated antitrust laws by colluding with the five largest book publishers—HarperCollins, the Penguin Group, the Hatchett Group, MacMillan, and Simon & Schuster—to fix the prices of electronic books. As a result of their actions, the prices of electronic books rose in 2010, the DOJ contended.

While the five publishers have since settled with the DOJ out of court, Apple is defending its practices...

Case makers in the Far East have begun to produce accessories they hope will fit a new low-cost iPhone model from Apple, featuring a slightly thicker design and rounded edges.   ...

When it comes to getting music from your iOS device to a good speaker, there are a lot of different methods. There's the tried and true dock method, which can fall to pieces when Apple comes out with a new connector design as they did last year with Lightning. Some manufacturers have the mistaken hope that people will just use an adapter and a pair of wires to run to a speaker or two, while the vast majority have gone the route of Bluetooth. Wren Sound Systems has changed all that with a Wi-Fi connected AirPlay speaker called the V5AP (US$399) that is provides excellent sound reproduction in a beautiful design.

Design

The unique design of the Wren Sound Systems V5AP speaker is an eye-catcher. Whether you're using the V5AP in a crowded, dirty dorm room or a mansion, the gently curving lines and wood surfaces immediately draw your eyes to the speaker. The case...

A partnership between AT&T and city authorities will provide New Yorkers with 25 solar-powered phone charging stations to top up their phones and tablets, reports the New York Times.
Starting Tuesday, 25 solar-powered charging stations will sprout in parks, beaches and other outdoor spaces in the five boroughs, part of a pilot project from the wireless provider in partnership with the city. The stations — 12.5-foot steel poles with three petal-shaped solar panels fanning out on top — can accommodate up to six devices at a time regardless of wireless carrier, with dedicated ports for iPhones, Androids, BlackBerrys and standard USB charging cables.
The technology itself is made by Goal Zero, who make a range of...

Apple plans to advance its leadership in notebook battery efficiency with a series of new features in OS X Mavericks designed to achieve substantial power savings while maintaining or even improving upon the "snappy" responsiveness of the system.  ...

Well it's official now. With iOS 7 now out of the bag, Jony Ive's title at Apple has recently been changed to reflect his added responsibilities and increased influence across Apple's product line. Whereas he used bear the title of Senior Vice President of Industrial Design (as recently as June 9), he now holds a more comprehensive title -- Senior Vice President of Design.

Ive originally made a name for himself as the man behind Apple's gorgeous and often innovative hardware designs. With the October ouster of Scott Forstall, however, Ive began applying his design aesthetic to Apple's software as well, an aesthetic which first became apparent last week when Apple unveiled a complete revamp of iOS.

via 9to5Mac...

Belkin has given us the US$99.99 Grip Power Battery Case for the iPhone 5, which doubles the battery life of the Apple smartphone.
Offering a combination of power and style, the Grip Power Battery Case is available in a range of color combinations and incorporates a grip bumper design to offer extra protection for the iPhone. The powerful 2000 mAh battery capacity of the case doubles the smartphone’s battery life so users can talk, text and browse the web twice as long on one charge than with the iPhone alone.
read more

vjoon has stepped up its support for customers who use Adobe Creative Cloud for professional purposes. The latest version of the vjoon Overset Manager plug-in now supports Adobe InDesign CC and InCopy CC.
read more

Siri has strengthened its response to potential references to suicide by offering to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Previously it would show the locations of centres but not offer to call them.
The change has been implemented in iOS 6 as well as iOS 7.
38,364 Americans committed suicide last year. Worldwide estimates range between 800,000 and a million people, with suicide the 10th most common cause of death.
(Thanks, Ryan.)

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At this year's WWDC Apple previewed the latest version of OS X 10.9 named Mavericks. The name was a departure from its previous scheme of naming OS X after cats. As Phil Schiller noted in the keynote, Mavericks is a popular surfing spot in California that many Apple employees like to go to to catch a wave - and as we've noted, it's close to where Phil Schiller lives.

An interesting little factoid about Mavericks (courtesy of keen eye reader Tyler G) is that this is not the first time Apple has used the name.

Way back in 2005 the company spotlighted the Mavericks surfing spot in promo material for its then-newly released Aperture software. Surfing images from Mavericks, along with the locale's name, can be found as...

Back in May, Adobe announced plans to abandon its Creative Suite to focus on several new Creative Cloud apps, including Photoshop CC, InDesign CC, Illustrator CC, Dreamweaver CC, and Premiere Pro CC, among others. As of today, those apps have been made available for users on a subscription basis. While all of Adobe's previous Creative Suite apps are available in Creative Cloud, a number of the apps have received significant upgrades. Photoshop CC, for example, offers impressive new features like Smart Sharpen, Camera Shake Reduction, Behance integration, and more. In addition to...

Adobe on Monday updated its subscription-based professional image editing suite, bringing "hundreds" of new features to premiere offerings like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, among others.   ...

When iOS 7 launches later this year, Apple’s upcoming iTunes Radio service will not only be found on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, but on the Apple TV set-top-box as well. As we previously highlighted, the Pandora-competing streaming music service is available for testing on iOS 7 devices, but today, we have filmed a hands-on video of the iTunes Radio implementation for the corresponding fall Apple TV software update…

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As you can see in the video above, iTunes Radio is available as a standalone app on the Apple TV interface. Like on iOS 7 devices, iTunes Radio for Apple TV includes a series of stations compiled by Apple. Additionally, users can create custom stations based on specified artists, genres, or specific song titles. The menus are akin...

Though not explicitly mentioned during the Worldwide Developer's Conference keynote, the Apple TV will also be receiving an update to its differently-numbered iOS software in the near future -- one that supports iTunes Radio and offers a few minor new features. The first beta, which is referred to as iOS 5.4 (notably skipping 5.3 entirely), doesn't yet make any severe design changes but does add support for the forthcoming iTunes Radio, allowing developers a chance to test the service.... ...

While testifying in court last week, Apple executive Eddy Cue had a number of interesting tidbits regarding the origins of the iBookstore, namely that Jobs was initially opposed to the idea but quickly hopped on board after Cue convinced him that the iPad would make the perfect e-reader.

Today, Cue took the stand once again where he divulged some more interesting tidbits regarding Apple's foray into the e-book space.

At one point during today's proceeding, an Apple attorney asked Cue a number of questions about Steve Jobs and his involvement in Apple's iBooks initiative.

Once again, All Things D was there covering the trial and relayed the following nuggets of information.

The "page curls" in the iBook app, which show up when you flip an iBook's page?...

According to numerous sources close to the company, Yahoo is offering to pay $30 million to $40 million for the maker of address book apps and plugins.
That’s below the more than $40 million raised by the San Francisco-based startup from a variety of venture capitalists, including First Round Capital, Baseline Ventures and Khosla Ventures. Launched in 2008, Xobni — which is “inbox” spelled backwards — received its initial round of funding in 2006 from Y Combinator.
Sources inside Yahoo said that, as envisioned at the current acquisition offer, Xobni common shareholders might not get any of their investment back over preferred ones, which might hold up or even scotch any deal. Yahoo could certainly offer more, although sources said that seemed unlikely.
As with most of these purchases, any deal might also simply fall apart. But other sources noted that the company has been shopped...

One reporter tracks down her stolen phone, an influential judge passes on, and what Steve Jobs and Winnie the Pooh have in common. The remainders for Monday, June 17, 2013 are just the bear necessities.

Hot on the trail of a kidnapped iPhone (Los Angeles Times)

An L.A. Times reporter recounts the story of her iPhone being stolen, and how she finally tracked it down. Maybe there should be a CSI spinoff just about finding iPhones.

Thomas Penfield Jackson, Outspoken Judge, Dies at 76 (New York Times)
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Chillingo, unfortunately, wasn't mentioned at all during EA's press conference last week. I thought the big publisher would at least give a little nod to its extremely successful mobile publishing arm, but no such luck. I did, however, go and see the team gathered in their annual suite near the LA Convention Center, and got a nice look at their upcoming slate for the next few months. Here's a quick title-by-title rundown of what Chillingo and parent company EA were showing off.

Plants vs. Zombies 2

This is technically not a Chillingo title, as it's being developed by Popcap and published by EA. But it was probably what will turn out to be the biggest title in the suite for sure. Plants vs. Zombies was a huge hit on mobile, and so Popcap is bringing it first to iOS later on this month. In addition to new plant types and lots of new stages, the title has a time traveling theme. Crazy Dave will take you and your plants back through time to fight zombies...

You may read this review of the Bracketron NanoTek Stand (US$29.95) and ask yourself "What's so exciting about a angled piece of aluminum with some sticky pads on it?" Well, many times smartphone stands are tied to a particular generation of a smartphone, so when the next big thing appears on the market, it's time to toss the stand for a newer model. The Bracketron NanoTek Stand is a design that works now and will keep your iPhone happy for the foreseeable future.

Design

The NanoTek Stand began life as the SETA Smartphone Stand, a Kickstarter project by 1.0 Innovations that is still underway and has so far pulled in almost four times the funding goal. It appears that Bracketron saw just how successful the Kickstarter project was and they've now licensed the design. The Bracketron...

Sir Jonathan Ive's title at Apple has been simplified—flattened, if you will—from "Senior Vice President, Industrial Design" to "Senior Vice President, Design." By dropping the qualifier, Apple has officially recognized that his role at Apple has greatly expanded.

HighPoint, an industry leading Storage HBA and solutions manufacturer, has launched a new selection of cost-effective hardware RAID HBAs for PC and Mac platforms -- the RocketRAID 362x series. The new line of PCI-E RAID cards are ideal for large-scale configurations of 6Gb per second SATA hard drives, and were designed specifically for I/O intensive business and media applications that require data redundancy coupled with consistent transfer rates....  ...

Shortly after the publication of what is purported to be an "iPhone 5S" bare logic board that hadn't yet had any chips attached to it, a repair company called iHeart Repair in Florida has revealed new images of what is said to the be the display assembly of the forthcoming iPhone revision. Though the images do not reveal any huge changes, the alternation of where a pair of flex connectors is situated matches the logic board, meaning the parts would fit together correctly if mated and supporting their legitimacy. Why Apple may have made the change isn't clear.... ...

For the Mac faithful, it won't do to share space on just any server -- you want to use a Mac server. Likewise, we like to have our own Mac servers colocated at a place that specializes in Macs. That's why hosting providers like MacStadium are so popular. Now MacStadium has announced that as soon as the new Mac Pros arrive, they'll be ready to rack 'em and stack 'em in their hosting and colocation center.

The company expects to be able to fit 270 Mac Pro servers per POD on only 12 square feet of floor space in their datacenter. That's what that Lego-like image above represents, with Mac Pros sitting on their sides stacked 15 tall, nine wide and two deep. That MacStadium facility provides redundant cooling, power and security systems, and each of those Mac...

Apple's vice president of Internet Services and Software Eddy Cue retook the stand on Monday, looking to add clarity to U.S. Department of Justice allegations that the so-called agency model contracts the company signed with publishers caused an overall inflation in e-book pricing.  ...

Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue revealed a number of additional details about Steve Jobs and the iBooks launch today while testifying in the DOJ’s e-book pricing conspiracy case. Cue said the “page curls” idea in the iBooks app when turning a page came from Steve Jobs, who also chose…

Life at Bjango for Marc Edwards started with OS X widgets, but widgets aren't really a big thing anymore on the Mac. Even so, 30 million downloads provided a sense that something good was going on. Later came iStat Menus and an evolving family of products. But after he viewed the WWDC Keynote, his reaction was "what just happened?"
 

More bad new for Microsoft's Windows 8: Asus, one of the few PC makers to experience any growth last year, is now lowering its forecasts for June quarter PC and tablet sales in the face of slack demand for computers with the appearance of Windows Phone.  ...

To go along with his complete redesign of iOS, Jony Ive’s official executive title at Apple has been flattened to drop the word “Industrial.” The change is notable as this new title plants Ive’s position as being where the buck stops for the design of all of Apple’s products…

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Ive’s former position as chief of hardware design was expanded to provide “leadership and direction” for Apple’s interface teams last fall in tandem...

With the impending doom of Google Reader just around the corner on July 1, RSS fans have been searching for an alternative to their beloved feed. Digg has heard their cries, and will be launching the first public beta of its new Reader replacement, called Digg Reader, next week.

The beta will slowly roll out at first, but Digg promises it will be available to everyone by June 26. Digg has made it clear the service will become a freemium product, akin to services like Evernote which provide free services with extra paid options available to those willing to pay. However, all of the features available during the free beta will remain part of the free version of the reader in the future.

Digg Reader will come with migration tools to help you move your feeds from Google Reader. In addition, Digg promises the core...

Like Peter Kafka said on AllThingsD, these little tidbits will have no bearing on the verdict, but I find them interesting.
∞ Read this on The Loop

Under questioning at the ongoing DoJ v. Apple antitrust trial, the man who negotiated Apple's iBookstore deals with publishers -- Eddy Cue -- today disclosed some minor facts about Steve Jobs' involvement with the iBooks app. The topic came up during examination by Apple attorney Orin Snyder. Earlier in the trial, Cue established that Jobs was heavily into the concept of iBooks and the iBookstore once iPad development started ramping up. During today's testimony, Cue revealed that Jobs had micromanaged some of the smallest details of iBooks.... ...

Matt Drance on iOS 7:

Now the hardware has caught up, and the Apple design team has a new leader. We don’t need the deception of “photorealism” anymore. Despite the loss of these tricks, iOS 7 feels more real. The parallax effect conveys an entire living world under that glass, not just abstract pictures and icons. This is reinforced by the launch and quit animations: your eye never loses sight of where you’re going, or where you came from.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Why can't a leaker ever use a decent camera? Blurry evidence that iOS 7 gamepads are on their way.

Kotaku

Most of the buzz about Apple's next version of iOS has been about its brand-new design direction, but iOS 7 will also bring about a number of under-the-hood changes. One of these, according to Apple's keynote, is a new API (and MFi certification) for third-party gamepads. A tipster has alerted Kotaku to what is allegedly one of the first. The accessory, reportedly made by Logitech, looks like it has five buttons and a thumbpad at the very least, and it will connect to the iPhone (and perhaps the fifth-...

Earlier today, we noted that photos of what was claimed to be the bare logic board of the iPhone 5S had surfaced, showing some changes to the board's layout compared to the iPhone 5 and perhaps even a slight narrowing of the board itself. Several repair firms, including iHeart Repair, have shared with MacRumors a new set of images from a supplier showing the display assembly of the iPhone 5S. While the low-resolution images do not immediately reveal any significant changes to the technology behind the device's display, there is one item of interest supporting the claim that the logic board photos from earlier today are genuine. iPhone 5S display assembly The iPhone 5 and 5S display assemblies each contain a pair of connectors on flex cables at the top of the part, supporting the display itself and the digitizer for registering touch input. On the...

Hey, remember when Oprah Winfrey, or whoever social-messages on her behalf, tweeted about her love for Microsoft’s Surface tablet while using an iPad?
Well, Jay-Z is way too smart for that!
The brand-endorser/value-adder/Beyonce’s husband/musician has a big deal with Samsung to give away free copies of his new album to people who download an app to their Galaxy devices.
So it would totally be embarrassing if he tweeted about that from an iPhone, right?
No problem! As Amanda Lucci notes, sometime between April 3 and today, Mr. Z, or...

Two more "anonymous" patent re-examination requests for Apple patents have been filed with the US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO). The two patents, involving Apple's Visual Voicemail and autocorrect features, are both at stake in the ongoing legal maneuvers between the Cupertino manufacturer and Samsung....  ...

Crytek is the company behind the Crysis series of games, as well as the CryEngine game engine that powers them, and it's released a game on iOS before. Now, it looks like the AAA developer is planning to make a return to Apple's touchscreen platform, with a new game called The Collectibles (or The Collectables, depending on who you hear about it from). Last week at WWDC, Crytek showed off the new game during a panel, and as you can see above, the game looks like a top-down action title, probably a shooter of some description.

The other interesting thing you'll notice about the game is that the developer demoing it was using a controller. iOS 7, you'll remember, adds official Apple support for "Made for iPhone" controllers, and we'...

I really like the new Mac Pro and since I use mostly external rack units and other gear, the lack of expansion slots is fine with me. Many studios won’t be upgrading right away, and when they do, there will be a lot more gear that supports Thunderbolt and other I/O options. Peter Kirn has a nice look at what the audio industry thinks of the Mac Pro.
∞ Read this on The Loop

Kevin Hoctor was looking for a great money management tool for the Mac.  After experiencing the dreary life of being a Windows developer, he decided to learn Cocoa and Objective-C and discovered the joys of writing for the Mac.  His first major release was MoneyWell, and it went fabulously.  Now he's working on the iPad version. Mr. Hoctor has never looked back.

Great article by Darby Lines, a.k.a. The Angry Drunk.
∞ Read this on The Loop

A paperback version of Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs is going on sale September 10th, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. The new edition will differ little from previous digital and hardcover releases, mainly gaining a new afterword and a new cover. The latter is a photo by Norman Seeff shot in 1984, but with Jobs in the exact same pose as the previous cover, which used an Albert Watson portrait from 2006....  ...

Freeform3 aluminum case is the perfect Bumper for iPhone 5
When Phil Schiller unveiled the iPhone 5 in front of a sea of exclusively invited press last September, he proudly stated that the smartphone is “an absolute jewel.” Schiller went on to say that the iPhone “is the most beautiful product we have ever made. Bar none.” So when Apple decidedly refrained from releasing a Bumper case for the iPhone 5 as it had done for the previous iPhone design, it was immediately clear that Apple wanted to showcase its new “jewel” and leave case making to third party companies.
That’s where Freeform3 comes in. What began as a crowd-funded Kickstart project has materialized as a beautiful new Bumper finally worthy of the iPhone 5.

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The Freeform3...

Responding to recent allegations that the NSA can spy on users of online services, Apple has clarified what private user data governments can access. Apple’s statements, plus the released material, provide a clearer picture of how and where you data could be exposed. The short version? Ignore the hyperbole. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

If you can read English and write in either Dutch or Japanese, we need your help in translating TidBITS! Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.