The App Store saw two long-awaited moves on Thursday when beleaguered movie rental company Blockbuster finally released an iOS app for streaming on demand videos, and photo sharing app Instagram beefed up its own offering with support for photo tagging  ...

Apple on Tuesday raised $17 billion via a bond offering as part of its recently announced capital program which aims to return $100 billion to shareholders by the end of 2015. Apple's capital return program is comprised of two components: an increased quarterly dividend of $3.05 a share and a $55 billion stock repurchasing program.

To help finance its new plan, Apple decided to issue debt, prompting many to wonder why the company didn't dip into its $145 million cash hoard. The answer is that $100 billion of Apple's cash lies overseas. Consequently, Apple would be subject to unfavorable income tax rates if it brought that cash back to the U.S.

So instead, Apple chose to borrow money at extremely low rates to help fund its capital return program. The appeal is that the interest Apple will owe on its issued debt will be markedly lower than the income tax it'd be charged...

Google has issued a written denial of claims that its new-to-iOS "Google Now" feature, which relies heavily on Location Services, is causing unusual battery drains for iPhone users. The company recently added the feature -- which attempts to predict what the user will ask based on location, direction and other factors and presents some useful information without user input -- to its Google search app already available for iOS devices. In the statement, Google says both that reports of battery drain are "incorrect" but then asks for users to contact them if they are having a battery problem.... ...

Apple’s on its way to its next App Store milestone, Intel is prepping new graphics chips that could show up in Macs, and Adobe may borrow from one of its popular photo-editing apps for its next iPad outing. The remainders for Thursday, May 2, 2013 can’t count that high.

50,000,000,000 (iTunes Store)

The App Store is inching up on 50 billion downloads, and Apple has a countdown clock ticking away. The person who downloads the 50 billionth app will get a $10,000 App Store gift card, while the subequent 50 people net a $500 App Store shopping spree. Unfortunately, the limit is just 25 entries per day, so if your plan was to download 100,000 apps, think again.

Inside Iris: What Intel’s...

Blockbuster's been going through a bit of a reinvention over the last few years. It's retail stores are closing in staggering numbers as the company refocuses on becoming a streaming rental service with Blockbuster on Demand. Today that quest becomes a little easier with the service's debut on iOS devices, via a free app.

The Blockbuster on Demand service allows you to stream from a library of thousands of HD movies, including new releases. While the app is free the service requires you to pay by the film and lacks an a la carte option like those found on Hulu or Netflix. When the service's mobile app launched for Android it lacked HD video support for mobile devices, but that shortcoming has been fixed in the iOS version. You can find...

Apple traditionally releases big new apps all together on Thursday, and this week there's an exceptionally good slate of releases arriving, including some games we've been waiting on for a while.

• As expected, Angry Birds Friends has arrived, and it's a social take on the popular Angry Birds series. You can get it for free.
• Eclipse is a spectacular (if a little complicated) take on the award-winning board game, available for $6.99. We'll have more on this one as a Daily iPad App later today.
• Firaxis' Haunted Hollow is now officially out, and it's just plain great. Free-to-play, deep but accessible strategy from one of the best game developers around. This one is a must-download.
• ...

The Big Nerd Ranch has conducted iPhone development courses all the way back to the very beginning, when the App Store first launched in 2008. Doing so had its challenges.

At that time, Apple had imposed a nondisclosure agreement on all developers, with little indication if and when it would ever be lifted.

Under the terms of this agreement, developers could not discuss details of the OS and the SDK -- a limitation that challenged any business based on development training.

BNR CEO Aaron Hillegass devised an insane, brilliant, and counter-intuitive solution. Leveraging a little known clause in the agreement, he conceived a way to make an end-run around the letter of the law while still holding classes.

He hired his students.

Each student signed an agreement promising to deliver one (1) line of code to Hillegass upon completion of a week of on-site consultation. In return, he paid each...

Apple has begun the countdown to 50 billion downloads from the company's mobile App Store, and the company is offering a US$10,000 Apple Store gift card to the person who downloads that stunning milestone app.

One of only six known working Apple-1 computers will be put up for auction later this month by German auction house Breker, which expects the unit to fetch between $261,000 and $392,000.   ...

This past weekend in Seattle a small group of tech folks gathered to talk about the work they do while away from the computer. Unlike a lot of tech conferences, there were no discussions of APIs or frameworks, no in-depth analysis of App Store sales figures or phoney-baloney social marketing doublespeak. 360|intersect was about the people, their passions, and getting inspired to do great things.

I might be a little biased, as I was the first speaker, but my talk on magic and technology had less to do about technology and was more about astonishment -- that fleeting feeling when you see something magical and your brain flips out and you feel like a kid again. Similarly, speaker after speaker came up to talk about their passions outside tech, with practical lessons they have applied in their careers in tech.

Robi Ganguly...

TMO veteran Jim Tanous has launched a new site called TekRevue, a broad tech news and tip site. Jim will be looking at OS X, Windows, mobile platforms of all sorts, games, gadgets, and hardware, with reviews and tips, too.

Drafts is a fast, lightweight note-taking app for iPhone (US$2.99) and iPad ($3.99) with so much more to offer than simple lists. Drafts is handy. You can use it to quickly jot down a list or something you'd like to recall later, which is great. But the app's real power is in the myriad of ways you can act on that text.

For example, you can send a list to a project manager like OmniFocus or a storage service like Evernote. Share a note with Facebook, Twitter or ADN. Create a calendar event, a reminder or even write in Markdown. Beyond that you can really geek out with automation and complex iOS workflows.

Many hardcore productivity and automation nerds have demonstrated...

The race to 50 billion is on.

Just about a week after Apple announced that the App Store had crossed 45 billion downloads, Apple has decided it's high time to launch an official countdown towards the 50 billionth downloaded app.

The lucky winner will receive a $10,000 gift card redeemable on the App Store. Apple has run similar app download countdowns in the past, but this year it has decided to share the wealth a bit more. In addition to the aforementioned grand prize winner, Apple will be doling out $500 App Store gift cards to customers who download the next 50 apps once the 50 billion mark has been reached.

The current tally is about 49.2 billion downloads. Just 800 million more to go!...

With users of Google Now for iOS — found within the Google Search app — complaining about excessive battery drain, a recently published post on Lifehacker suggested turning off location reporting in settings for a fix. However, Google responded to the Lifehacker report, claiming that reports about excessive…

The cellphone industry -- including both carriers and phone makers -- is turning a blind eye toward the problem of smartphone theft, to its own benefit, a New York Times piece claims. The paper, for instance, quotes District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier as saying that "the carriers are not innocent in this whole game. They are making profit off [smartphone theft]." In 2012, the DC area witnessed a record 1,829 phones being stolen....  ...

Millions of people have had their lives profoundly affected by Apple and its products. However, few people understand the nature of that vision, and how it can incite both ringing joy and deep disappointment, other than the Apple Investor.

In a written response to a recent outcry over Google Now's alleged battery-draining location tracking feature, the search giant claims reports of the abnormal behavior are incorrect as it uses low-power positioning assets that don't rely on power-hungry GPS.  ...

Penultimate (free), the iOS handwritten note-taking app that was snapped up by Evernote just about a year ago, was updated to version 4.1 today.

What's different? If you connect the app to Evernote, it will now suggest notebook titles based on your location and events that you have on your calendar. The Evernote blog shows an example of a "design meetup" notebook that was created based on a calendar event. You can still change the suggested notebook titles by tapping and typing. The notebooks also now show the location and date when you last added or changed content as well, which provides helpful context about each notebook. The access to your iPad's calendar and location information is used only for the notebook titling feature.

Version 4.1 of Penultimate also adds new sync options, including the...

Apple has posted a new contest on the App Store [Direct Link], offering a $10,000 gift card to whomever downloads the fifty billionth app from the App Store, similar to previous promotions. Apple said during its most recent earnings call that the company has surpassed 45 billion app downloads. Apple's most recent contest was for 25 billion downloads back in February 2012. This time around, Apple is also giving $500 gift cards to the next fifty people to download apps after the fifty billionth. Apps have revolutionized the way we play video games, consume news, do business, educate, communicate, create art, and so much more. As we approach...

.
Apple’s doing another iTunes countdown, this time to the 50 billionth app downloaded. Along with the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes gift card, Apple also greets you with the...

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Subscribe via RSSDaily Update for May 2, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 02 May 2013 15:15:00 EST. Please see our...

Founded 12 years ago, Atlanta's Big Nerd Ranch is well known among the Apple developer community as a prime source for corporate and individual training. Created to provide professional services for Apple Technologies, their mission has grown to include both contract programming as well as instruction for Android, iOS, HTML 5, Ruby on Rails, and Windows 8.

Recently merged with Atlanta's Highgroove Studios, BNR is about to kick off their second Clash of the Coders in-house event. Highgroove was a Ruby-on-Rails studio specializing in building back-ends for apps like "Words with Friends".

Clash of the Coders is a private affair, established to allow trainers and developers to take time away from working on other people's solutions and invest in their own creativity.

I was invited to take part in this years events as an observer and an honorary participant, to explore what goes on behind the doors when Big Nerd shuts down for three days to devote itself to coding...

iPhone 5 users who get a lot of mileage out of their speakerphone will want to visit Software Update: iOS 6.1.4 is here, and it’s targeted right at you.

The small, 11.5MB update, applies only to Apple’s latest smartphone, and includes, in Apple’s words, an “updated audio profile for speakerphone.” We’d presume that means that those on the other end of your speakerphone conversation might be able to hear you better, but it’s not entirely obvious what the update does.

It appears that iOS 6.1.4 may also contain some of the latest security patches, though Apple had not updated details on the nature of those patches at the time this was written.

To update your iPhone 5 to the latest and greatest software, open Settings -> General -> Software Update and tap Download and Install when the update appears. You can also connect your phone to your computer and apply the update from iTunes, or download it manually from ...

If Google Glass freaks too many people out, the company likely has a Plan B close behind. Another Google smartwatch patent application was published today, describing a tactile user interface for a watch, similar to that of Glass.
Smart watches will likely be coming this year from Google, Apple, Samsung and others — but it’s not yet clear how ambitious the initial products will be.
The newly published Google patent application describes the components for a watch with two touchpads on a wristband that in tandem...

A somewhat unexpected iOS update showed up this afternoon for iPhone 5 owners. iOS 6.1.4 is a small update at 11.5 MB and the release note shows that it provides an updated audio profile for speakerphone.

The build number is 10B350 for those who keep track of such things. No developer beta of this update was released prior to today.

iOS 6.1.4 update appears for iPhone 5 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 02 May 2013 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this...

Intel's next generation of CPUs will include powerful integrated graphics processors branded as "Iris" ? a change that could help lead to even thinner and more powerful MacBook Pros with longer battery life.  ...

Instagram has launched a new service feature, "Photos of You," through updates to its iOS and Android apps. The option lets people tag others in their photos in a manner similar to Facebook; the collected photos will eventually appear in a Photos of You profile section. The tagging also works for corporate brands....  ...

Apple has added smaller SSD storage options to its iMac line. The Apple Store now lists 256GB (US$300) and 512GB ($600) to both 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac models. Previously, the company had only offered a 768GB SSD option, and only on the larger model.

Adobe MAX, the company’s ‘Creativity Conference’ kicks off this weekend and runs May 4-8, 2013 in Los Angeles, CA. Our Angelino in residence Mark Gurman will be on the scene to cover the notable new product announcements including an exciting new Photoshop product we’ve heard lots about and perhaps iPad versions of Lightroom.  Can’t make it to LA? Adobe is going to be streaming some of the sessions (probably Flash, sorry) as well as the Keynotes live on May 6th and 7th:

//

A Creative Evolution
Monday, May 6, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. PT
The process of where and how we create is dramatically changing thanks to major advancements in technology, and there has never been a more exciting time. Join Adobe CEO Shantanu...

The team at Astrid has announced the company has been purchased by Yahoo!. Astrid is a popular iOS and Android To Do manager with over four million users. In a blog post, Astrid CEO Jon Paris said:

We are thrilled to announce that we have been acquired by Yahoo!. When we set out to build Astrid, we sought to help as many people as possible become happier, healthier and more productive. We're really excited to join the mobile team and continue this work with Yahoo!'s goal of "making the world's daily habits more inspiring and entertaining."

Astrid will continue to work as is for the next three months, but the company is no longer accepting new premium subscriptions.

Yahoo has been on a roll lately with acquisitions and revitalization of its mobile apps. Earlier this year, the company acquired...

According to Apple, iOS 6.1.4 has an updated audio profile for speakerphone, as well as security content originally included in previous iOS Software Updates. Go to Settings > General > Software Update on device to get the update.

iOS 6.1.4 has made its way through the tubes, but users looking forward to any kind of major feature updates should keep holding their breath. Thursday's update only applies to the iPhone 5, and it brings an updated audio profile for the speakerphone, which comes as a surprise to both end users and developers alike.
There are no other pieces to the iOS 6.1.4 puzzle—or at least not according to Apple's public release notes. The update was not seeded to developers in advance (unlike many previous releases), likely because it's so minor by comparison. It's possible that Apple's iOS engineers are too busy to apply much time to iOS 6.x updates, as they've reportedly been hard at work on iOS 7 to ensure it's ready enough to demo at WWDC in June.
That said, iOS 7 is expected for a fall release, so we wouldn't be surprised to see another update or two...

Adobe's Lightroom product manager Tom Hogarty has shown off an early beta of Lightroom for iOS, according to CNET. Hogarty made the semi-announcement on an episode of The Grid this week. Here's what CNET's Stephen Shankland had to say:

He wouldn't promise when the app would ship or what exactly it would do, but he did demonstrate some features of the prototype software running on an iPad 2. He also offered several details about its features:

o. The ability to edit photos taken in raw photo formats, including Lightroom develop-module parameters like exposure, clarity, shadows, highlights, and white balance.

o. Cloud-synchronized editing so that changes made on a tablet arrive on the same photo on the PC.

o. The ability to zoom all the way to 100 percent for checking photo focus and details.

...

Ulysses III is a complete rewrite of the legendary Ulysses II writing tool.  It uses a wide range of OS X technologies to create a focused, elegant writing environment. By using Markdown, it separates how the document looks from the content. Version 1.0.1 is missing a few minor features, but is a solid and impressive initial release.  John Martellaro liked it a lot.

Taxes.
∞ Read this on The Loop

The latest version of iOS can be downloaded through iTunes. Version 6.1.4 is for iPhone 5.
Apple iOS 6 gives you more features to make the things you do every day even better.
Maps Beautifully designed from the ground up (and the sky down), Maps will change the way you see the world.1 Map elements are vector based, so graphics and text are incredibly detailed -- even when you zoom all the way in -- and panning is smooth. Tilt and rotate to view an area, and Maps keeps the names of streets and places where they belong. Get visual and spoken turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic updates. Even soar over cityscapes to see the sights from the air in amazing, high-resolution quality. Siri
With iOS 6, Siri understands more languages, works in more countries, and is available on the new iPad.2 So you can get more things done in more places around the world. Want to know the latest scores and stats for your...

Google Keep, the Evernote-like content storing app for Android, is now available for the desktop as well as a Chrome web app, keeping with its web app initiative.
Google typically releases its services for iOS as well, so this could be a sign that we can expect its arrival soon.
Read the full story on 9to5Google.

//

Apple released iOS 6.1.4 for iPhone on Thursday, an update whose sole patch note says, "Updated audio profile for speakerphone."

There's something new under the sun for those interesting in buying an iMac. MacRumors is reporting that Apple now has two new flash storage options available for the iMac, both of which can be purchased when buying a configure-to-order device from the online Apple Store.

iMac buyers interested in replacing the standard 1 TB SATA hard disk drive have had the 1 TB Fusion Drive option available since the introduction of the new thinner models last fall. Now that slow mechanical drive can be replaced with either a 256 GB ($300 extra) or 512 GB ($600) flash storage option.

With the 27-inch iMac, it's always been possible to purchase an all-flash storage solution -- a 768 GB drive at a $900 price tag -- as well as 1 TB and 3 TB hard drive and Fusion Drive configurations. Apple's current move appears to be aimed at those people who might not need tons of storage...

Instagram announced today that it is updating its iOS and Android apps with a new feature dubbed ‘Photos of You’ making it easier to view and be notified of photos you care about most. The feature will make it easier for users uploading images to add mentions of people or things and also adds a new “Photos of You” section on your profile where tagged photos will gather:
When you upload a photo to Instagram, you’re now able to add the people and things in the photo as easily as you add a location and hashtags. When someone adds you to a photo, you’ll receive a notification and the photo will appear in your “Photos of You” – the new section on your profile where you can curate all of the photos you’ve been added to. Want to make sure you like the photo first? No problem: you can easily adjust your settings so nothing appears on your profile until you approve it.
The feature will be in a sort of beta mode until May 16th at which time the Photos of You section will become...

Fixes a problem where the user interface wouldn’t respond while synchronizing folders on Snow Leopard. ($34 new, free update, 29.4 MB) 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.

Adds new features, including layers, brightness with curve function, and support for DPHOTO online service. ($39.95 new, free update, 155 MB) 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.

Originally a Facebook-only game, Rovio’s Angry Birds Friends is now available on iOS for free. The game still revolves around Facebook though — you have to sign into Facebook to compete in the tournaments and challenge friends for trophies. New levels are added to tournaments every week, and the…

Regret not ponying up for that OnStar subscription for your last car? A startup called Automatic promises to provide most of those features (and a few extra) with an iPhone app and a hardware dongle that plugs into your car's data port. The device performs diagnostics, lets you turn off your "Service Engine" light, provides fuel-saving tips based on your driving habits, remembers where you park and where you drove, calls for help in an accident, and more. The device (expected to ship in August) costs a one-time fee of US$69 and connects to a companion iPhone app via Bluetooth. An Android version is planned, but Windows Phone and Blackberry users are out of luck. The company says it works with virtually every gasoline-powered car sold in the U.S. since 1996. If Automatic lives up to its promise, it could be huge.
...

Apple today released a minor iOS 6.1.4 update, bringing an updated audio profile for speakerphone. The new version, which arrives as Build 10B350, appears to only be for the iPhone 5. The update did not involve a beta testing period for developers and follows the release of iOS 6.1.3 in mid-March. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Blockbuster Launches On Demand App for iOS • Acorn 4 Image Editor Adds Improved Speed, Enhanced User Interface and More • Kindle App for iOS Updated with New Accessibility Features •...

Ecamm already makes the popular Printopia app; it's a Mac-based solution for printing from iOS devices (and other connected Macs) for those that don't wish to use or purchase specific AirPrint-supported printers. Now the company has released Printopia Pro to tackle the bigger challenges of AirPrint in corporate or institutional networks.

Similar to Printopia, Printopia Pro leverages AirPrint, but without the need for investment in new, AirPrint-supported printers. Ecamm has taken the features of Printopia and powered them up in Printopia Pro to work in extremely demanding print circumstances. [Some enterprise users have aimed to solve this problem with...

Evomail, a $3 Gmail client for the iPad, launched Thursday morning in the App Store.
Evomail lets you share messages via social networks.
While the creators—who also developed the once-much-loved Boxcar notification service—promise that Evomail will be beautiful and innovative, at launch it looks and feels a lot like Gmail’s own free app for iOS: Both apps let you access multiple Gmail accounts, both let users search their entire mail archives, both let users see threaded conversations and profile pictures, and both let you send attachments more easily than Apple’s native Mail app.

There are some differences, however...

A new national stolen phone database is having little effect on smartphone thefts in the U.S., according to an article in The New York Times. The country's four major carriers all contribute to the database, which lists stolen phone ID numbers that should not be activated on domestic networks. However, the database appears to be ineffective for several reasons. For one, the database has no effect on phones taken overseas, where many stolen phones end up. Second, the unique identifiers can be changed by organized theft rings. As a result, some law enforcement authorities have begun...

Flying Meat has released Acorn 4, an upgrade of its Mac photo-editing utility. The update adds several major features, such as non-destructive filters and a curve editor, which offers more precise control over shadows, midtones and highlights. The new Merlin HUD lets users control the radius and center points of a filter while still on the canvas....  ...

Released today in the App Store, Onavo Protect promises to protect you while browsing the web on your iPhone. The app allows you to set up an always-on VPN connection, adding an extra layer of security to your browsing experience when you’re on public Wi-Fi networks. Unsecured wireless networks open up the possibility of your personal data being intercepted, and Onavo Protect is intended to keep you safe from those with malicious intent. Additionally, the app warns users when the site they are using is attempting to send a password in an insecure manner, and automatically blocks known phishing sites.

//

According to Onavo, the application,...

New storage configurations for the 27-inch iMac at Apple's online store.

Apple’s iMacs are getting some new flash storage options, per changes to Apple’s online store. The 21.5-inch iMac, which was never before graced with the option of true solid state storage, can now get flash storage in two different sizes, while the 27-inch iMac has two new smaller sizes of SSD.
Previously, the 21.5-inch iMac had options for either a 1TB HDD or a 1TB “Fusion Drive,” A 1TB HDD coupled with a 128GB SSD. Now, customers can upgrade the model with a 256GB flash drive for an additional $300, or 512GB for $600.
The 27-inch iMac used to be limited to 1TB or 3TB HDD or Fusion Drive options, or else a massive 768GB flash drive at a $900 upgrade fee. The two smaller SSDs, 256GB and 512GB, are now available to the 27-inch iMac in addition to the old options.
...

A worthwhile software update never hurt anyone.
Or kicked your puppy when you weren’t looking.
On Thursday, software developer Telestream has released version 3.2.0.16 of Flip4Mac, its QuickTime components package which allows for Windows Media files to be viewed, imported and converted under Mac OS X. The new release, an 85.8 megabyte download, includes the following fixes and changes:
New Features:
- New in-app stores purchasing.
Fixes and Enhancements:
- Dramatically improved the loading time for ASF files (.wmv, .wma, .wm, .wmp, .asf, etc.).
Flip4Mac 3.2.0.16 is available for free but can go as high as US$179 depending on the version purchased....

The market for dedicated GPS devices hasn't died despite the rise of the smartphone, and Magellan found an interesting way to tie the two together with its new SmartGPS. Along with the usual GPS navigation features you'd expect, it also ties in to Yelp! and Foursquare, gives live updates on nearby gas prices and weather, sports a 5-inch touch screen, you can upload the locations you search for on your computer, iPhone, or iPad to the GPS, and more. SmartGPS is priced at US$249.99, the companion iOS app will be available as a free download soon.

The US Department of Defense will soon approve the iPhone and iPad for use by military agencies for non-classified communications, reports The Wall Street Journal. The approval will only be for devices running iOS 6 or higher. According to the WSJ:

Separately, DISA [The Defense Information Systems Agency] is expected to rule in early May that Apple's latest operating system, iOS 6, conforms to a different security-requirement guide, the Defense Department spokesman said. That would allow iPhones and iPads to be used by military agencies for non-classified communications, such as email and Web browsing.

The Journal also reports that certain Samsung devices, like the Galaxy S4, will receive the same approval. As the US Department of Defense has the largest employee pool of any government agency, and third-party security companies employ hundreds...

As noted by The Verge, Intel late yesterday released details on its next-generation integrated graphics offerings arriving as part of the company's Haswell processor lineup. The new graphics options consist of three primary levels: an Intel HD Graphics 5000 to be packaged as part of 15-watt chips destined for ultrabooks, an Intel "Iris" Graphics 5100 to be paired with 28-watt mid-range chips targeted at larger ultrabooks, and an Intel "Iris Pro" Graphics 5200 for the highest-power chips.The company claims its new Intel "Iris" Graphics, embedded in upcoming Haswell CPUs, can offer double or triple the performance of the Intel HD Graphics 4000 that comes with current Ivy Bridge processors. That's significant: typically each generation offers only a double-digit percentage boost. That doesn't mean every new Haswell processor will come with quite that level of...

Jeff Bewkes, CEO of HBO’s parent company Time Warner, said on Wednesday that the company has no plans to offer HBO GO without a cable subscription.

This will make a lot of people very unhappy.
∞ Read this on The Loop

The next-gen stuff always looks pretty sexy…
Per AppleInsider and Engadget, a document released on Wednesday sheds some light on Intel’s forthcoming Core i7 processors, which will boast new integrated graphics silicon that promises to double or even triple performance compared to existing models.
Alongside a new iteration of the “Intel HD Graphics” series, dubbed HD 5000, Intel is introducing the “Iris” and “Iris Pro” tiers to its graphics lineup with Haswell,...

Smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers could be doing a lot more to counteract iPhone and other mobile device thefts, security experts and industry observers say in a New York Times report that singles out Apple.  ...

Adobe showed off a prototype software app on the iPad capable of doing some pretty high-level tasks that pro photographers would love to have.
∞ Read this on The Loop

Apple's Siri voice control system is already available in iOS 6 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, but don't expect to see it show up in OS X 10.9. That's according to Ezra Gottheil from Technology Business Report who thinks Apple will have to update Mac hardware before OS X can support Siri.
The Mac Observer Spin:
Working Siri into OS X involves more than addding a couple lines of code so that developers have something to hook to. Considering the work and testing involved, plus Apple's push to overhaul iOS 7, Siri doesn't sound like a feature we'll be seeing in OS X 10.9.

Jeff Hermes wrote a great article about the media’s tendency to wrongly report that someone is a suspect in a heinous act.
∞ Read this on The Loop

A helpful update’s a helpful update.
CrossOver, the popular virtualization program from CodeWeavers, has been updated to version 12.2. The new version, a 79.8 megabyte download, is available as a demo, offers the following fixes and changes:
Application Support:
Quicken:
- Fixed a bug which caused Quicken to fail to register on Mac OS X.
- Fixed graphics distortions in some Quicken windows.
- Fixed a bug which prevented a double-click on a .QFX file in the Mac OS X Finder from importing the file into Quicken.
- Fixed a bug which caused Office 2007 applications to crash in...

No one ever slighted a useful update.
Michael Tsai’s must-have shareware program, SpamSieve, has just been updated to version 2.9.7. The new version, a 10.8 megabyte download, adds the following fixes and changes:
- Improved compatibility with pre-release versions of Mac OS X.
- Made various changes to improve SpamSieve’s filtering accuracy.
- SpamSieve no longer links against AppleScriptKit. This removes some GUI scripting functionality (which is now largely available by other means) but works around an OS bug that could prevent SpamSieve from launching.
- Worked around a bug in Apple Mail’s iCloud rule syncing.
- SpamSieve is better at moving trained messages when Outlook has lost track of the...

CNET reports on a sneak peek from Adobe product manager Tom Hogarty showing off the company's concept for Lightroom-style photo editing on the iPad. The app would rely on cloud-based connections to serve as a companion app to the full Lightroom software, but offer a number of higher-end features for on-the-go photo editing. He wouldn't promise when the app would ship or what exactly it would do, but he did demonstrate some features of the prototype software running on an iPad 2. He also offered several details about its features: - The ability to edit photos taken in raw photo formats, including Lightroom develop-module parameters like exposure, clarity, shadows, highlights, and white balance. - Cloud-synchronized editing so that changes made on a tablet arrive on the same photo on the PC. - The ability to zoom all the way to 100 percent for checking photo...

Build-to-order iMac options from Apple's official online store now include either 256 or 512 gigabytes of flash storage for both the 21.5- and 27-inch models.   ...

Evomail, an iPad-only email client that aims to truly "re-invent email," was released today. I've been testing the release candidate they submitted to Apple, and from what I've seen it's a respectable first volley of a product whose path will be, in the words of its founders, "a marathon and not a sprint." Part of the reinvention is UI-related, and part is functionality, specifically allowing full-time push notifications from a 3rd party client. This reinvention, however, comes at a cost: you need to provide Evomail access to your email account so their servers can log in to check for mail and deliver these push notifications.

Flying Meat has updated Acorn, its popular image editing software for Mac, to version 4, bringing a plenitude of new features and performance enhancements.

Most notably, Acorn 4 is dramatically faster than previous versions as well as introducing the following new features: curves, non-destructive filters, multiple layer selection, Boolean shape operations, Merlin HUD, new shape tools and an improved UI. Full release notes can be found on Flying Meat's Acorn website.

Acorn 4 requires Mac OS X 10.8 and is available at a special introductory price of US$29.99 through to the end of May at Flying Meat's Acorn website. If you've not tried Acorn before, you can do so as a free trial for 14 days.

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Apple is hard at work on iOS 7 for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch ahead of it preview at June's Worldwide Developers Conference, and the changes that are in store are so big that the company has pulled engineers from the OS X update to keep iOS on schedule. That's good news for iPhone and iPad owners because it shows Apple's dedication to keeping iOS fresh and improving the user experience, but it could spell trouble for Mac users hoping for the same in the next version of OS X.

Apple is for the first time offering Solid State Drive (SSD) options on iMacs, bringing the number of drive configurations to four, reports MacRumors.
Those with lots of movies, music and photos to store will probably still want either the standard 1Tb hard drive or the fusion drive (a 128Gb SSD acting as a buffer to the 1Tb hard drive). But those with more modest storage requirements who want to significantly boost the speed of the machine can now choose a rather pricey 256Gb or 512Gb SSD to replace the hard drive.

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CNET reports Adobe demonstrating an early prototype of a version of Lightroom for tablets, designed primarily to act as a companion app to the full version …

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Tom Hogarty, Adobe’s group product manager for Lightroom, wouldn’t promise when the app would ship or what exactly it would do, but he did demonstrate some features of the prototype software running on an iPad 2. He also offered several details about its features:
• The ability to edit photos taken in raw photo formats, including Lightroom develop-module parameters like exposure, clarity, shadows, highlights, and white balance.
• Cloud-synchronized...

On May 2, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals that they're once again advancing their NFC project which began back in 2008. Apple has established a firm foundation for future NFC applications ranging from shopping, banking and everyday interconnectivity with other devices in the home, with a friend or retailer. Today's patent application relates to establishing an NFC session. Our report also provides a list of eight other patent filings for the techies in our community. ...

The next generation Intel CPUs, named Haswell, offer support for 4k displays even in the lowest-power version likely to be used in the MacBook Air – making a Retina MBA a feasible option for the first time.
Intel has announced that its Haswell processors will offer a choice of three different levels of integrated graphics, one aimed at long battery-life, the other two aimed at performance (via AnandTech).
If terms like ‘integrated graphics’ leave you scratching your head, let’s start with some background …

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There are two different ways computers can display graphics. The...

Apple's WebKit team has released a revamped new SunSpider 1.0 benchmark suite for profiling the performance of web browser JavaScript execution, replacing the 0.9 version initially released at the end of 2007.  ...

Reggie Ashworth has announced VidConvert 1.4.3, an update to his video converter for Mac OS X. The app now has German and Russian localizations for the first time. Also, .trp files can now be added as input and the maximum video bitrate has been raised.
VidConvert is a video converter designed to make converting your videos simple and easy. The software will convert just about any type of video into one of the many popular formats of today.
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Only CrashPlan offers local and online backup that's automatic, secure, and cross-platform. Even if you need to back up as many as 10 computers at home, CrashPlan delivers multi-destination protection that maximizes convenience, flexibility, and rapid restores. It's free to back up locally and to friends and family, and it's just a few dollars a month for unlimited online personal backup with a CrashPlan Central subscription.
CrashPlan runs on Mac, Windows, Linux and Solaris.
Note: CrashPlan is available in both free and paid versions: CrashPlan, CrashPlan+, CrashPlan PRO, and CrashPlan PROe. CrashPlan and CrashPlan+ use the same client. The mobile app (available on the App Store) allows users to download files backed up from CrashPlan Central. The mobile requires a CrashPlan+ account.Version 3.5.3:

• Improved Getting Started email for new users
• Info.plist files no longer excluded from backup
• Corrected issue...

Consumers in the United States are becoming accustomed to the use of cell phones for financial transactions, which has opened the door for further innovation among service providers, according to mPowa (www.powa.com), a mobile payments company.
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Listen up. NuForce has rolled out the NE-650M earphones, the latest addition to the critically acclaimed NE-600 series. They sound great -- especially at the suggested retail price of US$44.95.
Each earpiece houses an 11mm driver and an aerodynamic acoustic porting system that provide a harmonically correct tonality, a deeply layered soundstage, excellent base impact, superb acoustic isolation. The NE-650M Earphones include a hands-free microphone with button for call answering and music playback control.
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A pair of patent applications Apple filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reveal the company is working on unorthodox battery designs with curved cells and irregular shapes, suggesting slimmer, more shapely iOS devices could be on the horizon.  ...

“I don’t think anybody has done a product that is the product that I see customers wanting. You can go through the products from all those guys … and none of them has a product that you can really use. Not Apple. Not Google. Not Amazon. … [Surface] is a first-class tablet that people can enjoy and appreciate. It’s a PC; it’s a tablet. It’s for play; it’s for work. It’s a got a great price. That product doesn’t exist today.”
– Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
Microsoft is now one of the top five tablet vendors worldwide thanks to its Surface RT and Surface Pro devices — but not because either one is selling particularly well.
Research firm IDC says Microsoft shipped about 900,000 Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets in...

Research firm IDC has posted the results of a questionable study on tablet "market share" that makes the claim -- not supported by sales evidence -- that Android has outgunned Apple in the tablet market, with 56.5 percent share in the first calendar quarter of the year, leaving Apple with barely 40 percent. The study also claims that Asus, not Amazon, is the third-largest tablet vendor with 5.5 percent of the market, having seen 350 percent growth year-over-year. The numbers seem unbelievable -- until one notices that IDC is estimating shipments, not sales.... ...

Intel has revealed limited specifications on its fourth-generation "Haswell" Core-series processors' video circuitry. The upcoming chip line features a graphical power boost well above the third generation, with three discrete levels. One tier is aimed at power efficiency, with two tailored for increased video performance....  ...

It's a mixed bag for Apple's iPad in a new report from IDC for 2013 March quarter tablet shipments. Apple gained share compared to the December quarter, but lost significant share compared to the March quarter of 2012. Samsung and "Others" took most of that share, though Microsoft is at last on the board with 1.8 percent of the market.

Following on the heels of rumors that Apple reassigned engineers from other projects (including the next OS X release, 10.9) in order to help ensure completion, a new report from unnamed sources has said that iOS 7, the forthcoming major update to the company's mobile platform, will ship on time despite pressures. Anonymous informers told AllThingsD that while the extra help was needed, the update "will ship on time" and debut as scheduled at this year's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC).... ...

Twitter on Wednesday updated its iOS and Android apps with a new option to view Trends from outside a user's home location, allowing users to peek into popular topics from around the world.   ...

My experience as an adventure game player goes way back to the text-only Colossal Cave game, which then morphed into the classic Zork text games from Infocom (which, by the way, you can play even now on iOS with the Lost Treasures of Infocom app).

Now, with speed and graphic power, games are a lot more immersive and fun to play. Tipping Point Adventure, is a recent iPad-only release that is rich in puzzles and high quality graphics. The game is currently on sale for U.S. $1.99 in the app store. You begin the game sitting in your virtual home watching TV, when a strange message sets you off on an epic adventure. At first, I was stabbing around the screen looking for things to interact...

BlackBerry's CEO seems to think the tablet market is a dead end despite the iPad's success, Microsoft can't seem to find its target audience for commercials, and Jeff and Bryan disagree on what they think Apple's iPhone strategy will be. All that, and it's poke-Bryan-with-a-stick week.

Apple may be borrowing from OS X to pay iOS, hackers have gone phishing for Apple customers, and Tim Cook will be playing Southern California for one night only. Can you spare the remainders for Wednesday, May 1, 2013 a dime?

Apple’s iOS 7 Team in Deadline Crunch Mode, Adding Engineers (AllThingsD)

According to numerous reports, Apple is working overtime to get iOS 7 ready for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The intensive nature of the project, including its new “flat” interface, is proving time-consuming, so the company has pulled engineers from other projects, including OS X 10.9, and facilities personnel, to...

With the aid of a short Automator workflow, AppleScript can have you connected to your VPN with a single keystroke.

As rumored yesterday, President Obama has nominated former wireless lobbyist Tom Wheeler to replace outgoing FCC chairman Julius Genachowski. An acting chair has also been named to serve until the Congressional approval process is complete -- Mignon Clyburn, four-year veteran of the agency will stand as head of the agency in the interim....  ...

Peter Molyneux's 22Cans studio put out Curiosity on iOS last year, as a sort of a social game-slash-experiment. The idea was that hundreds of thousands of people would be able to download the app, and then use it chip away (by tapping) on a virtual cube, unearthing layer after layer of virtual cubes, with only one person getting the chance to eventually tap on the center. Originally, the project was scheduled to end sometime next year, but that's become too long for 22Cans: The company has decided to update the app down to the last 50 layers.

"I think six months is a long time for this to go on," Molyneux has told Wired. "We're on the cusp of it being forgotten about." That's certainly true -- the iOS market moves quickly, and Curiosity never really did catch players' attention the way 22Cans hoped it...

The now-official merger of T-Mobile and MetroPCS into T-Mobile US will not immediately change options for no-contract MetroPCS customers in the way of being able to upgrade to an iPhone under their present arrangements, CEO John Legere said in an interview. While not closing the door on either changes to MetroPCS policies or a no-contract iPhone option in the future, Legere said that MetroPCS' nine million customers will not see iPhones offered anytime soon. He also mentioned that the company is discussing the matter with Apple.... ...

According to preliminary data from IDC, worldwide tablet shipments continue to surge, growing 142.4% year over year in the first quarter of 2013 (1Q13), Tablet shipments totaled 49.2 million units in 1Q13, surpassing that of the entire first half of 2012. IDC's stats show once again that Apple's iPad is the number one tablet brand in the world.  ...

Here’s an unexpected twist in the growing trend at companies that support employees who bring their own devices to the office: By 2017, more than half of companies will require their employees to supply their own devices on the job.
The finding comes in a new report from Gartner containing the results of a survey of CIOs around the world. So it’s not for nothing that Gartner calls these BYOD strategies “the most radical change to the economics and culture of client computing” in a decade.
When you think about it, BYOD amounts to a pretty fundamental shift in the way companies handle the knotty questions around supplying employees the tools they need to get the job done. For years, standard operating procedure at pretty much every company...

FileWave has released version 6.0 of its Systems Management Suite with new features and updates for deploying, managing and maintaining a diverse environment of devices and operating systems, including OS X, iOS, Windows and Linux.
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Willie Nelson auditions to be Gandalf.

A widely publicized study that reported that voice assistants like Apple's Siri aren't any safer than manually texting while driving failed to test Siri as it was actually designed to be used in its distracted driving experiment.  ...

Renowned Apple journalist Jim Dalrymple has confirmed earlier reports that Apple has pulled engineers off OS X 10.9 to in order finish iOS 7 on time with a one word post: Yep.Jim Dalrymple (right) with rock guitarist Slash A report from AllThingsD earlier today said that Apple was in a repeat of the scenario from 2007 wherein the company pulled engineers off the development of OS X Leopard to work on the first iPhone. Apple sources told ATD that it's "not as much of a fire drill" and that iOS 7 "will ship on time". Apple hasn't actually announced a ship date for iOS 7,...