Macworld blogger Steven Aquino wrote a fascinating piece today on how Apple's Retina display technology has helped him -- a legally blind individual with extremely low vision -- to be able to enjoy Apple's products as if he had no vision limitations at all. Aquino says that he had used the original iPhone and iPad successfully with their displays set to full brightness, but "seeing my iPhone 4's Retina screen was a total game-changer." The high pixel density -- 326 pixels per inch -- and turning the screen brightness all the way up made it so "even the smallest text was readable, and I was able to spot details in images that were previously indistinguishable." How much of a difference does a Retina display make to Aquino? "Simply put, I will no longer use an iPhone or iPad that doesn't feature a Retina display. Having used a Retina display, I can't go back to something that makes using my devices that much more difficult." Of course, he admits that having the screen brightness turned all the way up does eat up his battery charge quickly, so much so that a Mophie Powerstation Duo is in his favorite device bag at all times. Apple's Retina display aids accessibility originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Back in April, Apple gave shareholders yearning for a bigger cut of Apple's profits something to be happy about. Specifically, Apple a few weeks ago announced that it was upping its quarterly dividend by 15%, raising it from $2.65 a share to $3.05 a share. Apple's first dividend payment under the increased amount is scheduled to go down tomorrow. Shareholders with shares that were purchased on or before May 9, 2013 will be eligible for the increased quarterly dividend. Since Apple first announced its increased quarterly dividend, along with a massive increase to its stock repurchasing plan, shares of the company have gone up by 7%. Apple noted in a press release at the time that it is now one of the largest dividend payers in the world, "with annual payments of about $11 billion."Apple's first $3.05 quarterly dividend payout scheduled for tomorrow originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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The company behind the Pebble smartwatch, which not only looks awesome but connects up to your iPhone, has picked up $15 million in funding from venture capitalists, and has released yet another version of its SDK. The funding is obviously a solid chunk of change, and should help Pebble not only fulfill its current orders (the company is still aiming to get watches out to all of its supporters from a successful Kickstarter bid), but push the company on into the future as well. This latest SDK release, called the PebbleKit, allows for two-way communication back and forth between the watch and your smartphone, which means there are lots of new options for apps to work with the watch as a display or even a remote control. The company has also released a Sports API, which should allow for GPS-enabled apps (like running apps) to send and receive information from the watch. Pebble's initial set of features was quite limited, but this API update should make a lot of new apps possible, and of course we'll likely see more in the future. You can pre-order a Pebble watch on the main website right now for $150.00. Or you may want to wait just a bit longer, if you happen to believe those crazy rumors about an Apple iWatch.Pebble receives $15 mil in funding, releases SDK and Sports API originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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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). Deals from Dealnews StackSocial: [Mac Software] MacX Video Converter Pro for Mac for free MacMall: [Apple Computers] MacMall Mac Blowout Sale: Up to $1,099 off Macs, iPads, and more Other World Computing: [Computer Accessories] OWC 2012 Featured Move 'em Out Sale: RAM, accessories, HDDs, more Monoprice.com: [24-Inch LCDs Or Larger] Monoprice 27" IPS-G LED LCD Display for $474 + $17 s&h eBay: [Home Security] Refurbished Philips WiFi Home Monitor for iPhone / iPad for $60 + free shipping MegaMacs: [MacBook] Refurbished Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.1GHz 13" Laptop for $360 + $15 s&h Other World Computing: [Media Receivers] NewerTech NuStand Alloy Display Stands from $16 + $4 s&h eBay: [Media Receivers] Denon 5.1-Channel 3D Network Receiver with AirPlay for $340 + free shipping MacUpdate Promo: [Mac Software] YourtTrip for Mac downloads for $9 Adorama: [Camera Accessories] Flashpoint Version II Carbon Fiber 65" Tripod for $100 + free shipping Cameta Camera: [Camera Accessories] Tenba Vector Digital Camera Bags from $35 + free shipping StackSocial: [Storage] The MacMate Pro 2-Year Plan for Mac and Windows downloads for $59 iOS Software Asphalt 7: Heat [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Now free, down from $0.99] Burn up the street with the fastest and most visually stunning edition of the Asphalt series. Apple's App of the week. Pudding Monsters [iPhone; Category: Games; Now free, down from $1.99] Pudding Monsters is a deliciously addicting puzzle adventure with wacky characters and innovative stick-'em-together game-play. Pudding Monsters HD [iPad; Category: Games; Now free, down from $1.99] Pudding Monsters is a deliciously addicting puzzle adventure with wacky characters and innovative stick-'em-together game-play. Aces of the Luftwaffe [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Now free, down from $0.99] Fight waves of Axis planes and panzers until you hit the boss enemies. ScreenDIY [iPhone; Category: Utilities; Now free, down from $0.99] ScreenDIY is right here to help you customize the look of your iPhone/iPod Touch ever cooler. Tiny Token Empires HD [iPad; Category: Games; On sale for $0.99, down from $8.99] Tiny Token Empires is an amazing mix-it's a puzzle game. Sporos [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Now free, down from $0.99] Sporos demands a mix of skill, luck, and logic; in order to succeed, players will conduct clever experiments like scientists in a lab. Rail Maze Pro HD [iPad; Category: Games; Now free, down from $0.99] Rail Maze Pro HD is the iPad version of all-new Rail Maze Pro game. Pocket Cycle - Period & Fertility tracker [iOS Universal; Category: Health & Fitness; Now free, down from $0.99] Pocket Cycle keeps track of your period and fertility without all the inputting and upkeep of similar apps. Just tap the visual calendar to enter in your last period and choose your cycle length. That's it. iFileExplorer Pro - View and manager all files via WiFi or USB [iOS Universal; Category: Productivity; On sale for $0.99, down from $4.99] iFileExplorer Pro not only integrates all the features of various iFileExplorer versions, but also has unique features like Web Download, and it supports both iPhone/iPad. DMD Panorama [iOS Universal; Category: Photography & Video; Now free, down from $1.99] Here is why you should get this panoramic app -- complete the circle: up to 360 degrees -- don't wait: we hate progress bars, the result is extremely fast -- get quality pixels. Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders [iOS Universal; Category: Games; On sale for $0.99, down from $4.99] You'll participate in visceral dogfights, protect cities and fleets, bomb enemy structures and even fly through tunnels. TextCrafter 2.0 ~ Craft & Share Text [iOS Universal; Category: Productivity; Now free, down from $2.99] TextCrafter is a notes app for iPhone and iPad. Packed with features designed to allow you to quickly write messages, manage and search you notes and share your writings across your social networks. ProCollage [iPhone; Category: Photography & Video; Now free, down from $1.99] ProCollage is a powerful and professional photo collage app with almost all features you can imagine. OS X Software Skala Preview [OS X; Category: Graphics & Design; Now free, down from $4.99] Skala Preview is the fastest way to send pixel perfect, colour perfect design previews from your Mac to your iPhone or iPad. Breezy [OS X; Category: Developer Tools; Now free, down from $1.99] This tiny app keeps track of your recent encoding sessions and you can get to base64 code of up to 7 recent images with a single click. Identical [OS X; Category: Utilities; Now free, down from $0.99] There are times, perhaps only a few times per year, when you want to quickly find out whether two or more particular files (not folders) are exactly the same. In these cases, download and use Identical. Daily Deals for May 16, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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I've been using the Google Hangouts app on the iPhone since it was announced on Wednesday, and I've really liked it so far. I haven't messed around with it much on my iPad, except to install it, but it was enough for my Android-using husband to be jealous that we got it first. Like Apple's Messages, it's pushing conversations to my iPhone when I'm not at my computer, a feature which I've grown to love in iOS and OS X. The Hangouts app has a great feature to snooze notifications, which is great if you're going to be at the computer for awhile and don't want the iOS app constantly alerting you to new messages. However, there's no way to change your status and alert people you're having discussions with that you might be out of pocket for a bit, but it's something that's not in Apple's Messages either. The biggest missing feature in Hangouts is SMS integration, and Google vows it's on the way. Google community manager Dori Storbeck said the feature was the most-requested one and is coming soon. However, as TechCrunch points out, the SMS integration most likely will be Android-only because of permissions limitation on iOS. It's a shame, because I wouldn't mind having some Hangout messages default to texts if a reliable data connection isn't available.Google Hangouts app to integrate SMS "soon" originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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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 16, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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King, which used to be called King.com it pulled a namechange at GDC this year, has announced that it has 70 million daily active players, which is a crazy number. By far, King's biggest title is Candy Crush Saga. The company notes that the game has 15.5 million active players on Facebook every day. Candy Crush Saga is also a big hit on iOS, where it consistently appears in the top charts for both most downloaded and top grossing. King also announced its intention to bring Pet Rescue Saga to iOS. That game has six million daily players on Facebook, and King says it will be the third saga game (along with Bubble Witch Saga) to make the leap to mobile platforms. Pet Rescue Saga will arrive on both iOS and Android later this summer. King's success is just phenomenal. It's impressive for any form of media to reach 70 million people, and for that to happen daily just crazy. This casual games market can blow up overnight and shrink just as fast (just ask Zynga), but for now, King is doing impressively well.King claims 70 million daily active players, Pet Rescue Saga coming soon to mobile originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Attendees of Macworld/iWorld and WWDC have always known that if they need an Apple fix during their conference stay, they can walk over to the Apple Store at the corner of Stockton and Ellis streets. The SFGate blog is reporting that the company has submitted plans to open a new flagship store on Union Square a few blocks away. The new store is expected to occupy a space at Stockton and Post streets that was previously the home of a Levi's store. The design of the new building is intriguing -- it's a silver box-shaped store with an all-glass front, with the iconic Apple logo seemingly floating in midair. Apple said that the move to the new location -- about 45 percent larger than the existing store -- will increase employment by about 50 jobs over the existing 350. There's currently no schedule for the renovation and relocation. San Francisco politicians were thrilled by the news, with Supervisor David Chiu saying that he hoped the new flagship store would "turbo-charge" the Union Square area, and Mayor Ed Lee saying his office is working with Apple on green initiatives.Apple to re-locate flagship store in San Francisco originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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On a recent trip, I found I had failed to add copies of my auto-resizing drop tools to my travel MacBook Air. My droplets allow me to convert images to TUAW-standard sizes, namely 225 pixels for small images and 456 pixels for banner images. (See? Information you never thought you'd need to know.) What a lot of people don't realize is that OS X offers solutions for these kinds of basic image tasks. First and foremost is Preview. This app is simply terrific. Yes, I know, Apple took some really helpful utilities like Link Annotation out of the app on its road to Mountain Lion. (Time? Feature trimming? It's hard to say.) Even so, Preview is the best app on your computer that nobody uses enough. Preview offers a surprising tool suite that combines a little bit of Photoshop and a little bit of Acrobat into one app. In addition to annotating PDFs, you can rotate and crop images using Preview's Tools menu. You have access to lasso selection, color correction, and image fitting, among many other features. At one point Steve Sande and I threw around the idea of writing an entire book on Preview (there's plenty of interesting material in there!) but ended up deciding against it. Unfortunately, demand leads sales and too few people know how powerful Preview can be. To resize an image, choose Tools > Adjust Size or click the resizing icon you see at the top-right of this post's main image. The icon looks like an arrowed line in a square box. An Image Dimensions panel slides into view, as you see here. Select the new width you want to use, making sure the small icon next to the two text fields remains in the locked position. This ensures that the height and width scale proportionately, so the resulting image is sized just right. Preview isn't the only resizing solution on your Mac, however. The "sips" command line tool offers another take on image processing, one that's especially convenient for scripting and batch processing. For example, if you want to resize an image to fit a given width, you can ask it to resample to the pixel count you supply. Here's how you might do that. % sips --resampleWidth 225 input.png --o output.png You can also perform many of the same tasks as preview. For example, you might rotate an image clockwise by 90 degrees: % sips -r 90 input.png -o output.png or convert a file from PNG to JPG format: % sips -s format jpeg input.png -o output.jpg OS X also supports related based on "folder actions". These refer to AppleScripts that you attach to folders, so when you drop items into the folders, they run those scripts. It's easy to take a peek at some of the system-supplied actions. Create a new folder on your desktop. Control-click or Right-click it and choose Services > Folder Action Setup from the contextual pop-up menu. Select a pre-built script like "Duplicate as JPEG" or "Rotate Left" and click Attach. Finish by checking "Enable Folder Actions". Your new folder applies the attached script to any file you drop into it. If you're an intrepid system-modding type, you can expand these script choices by adding items to ~/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts. (The system supplied versions all appear in /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts). Scripts are built around a standalone Image Events application, found in /System/Library/CoreServices. This app provides a "faceless background application" that wraps sips for AppleScript scripting. Apple has documented Image Events as part of its developer library, and its docs point to this external website that details how you integrate scripting with image manipulation requests. I'll leave the rest as an exercise for the reader, but a bit of Googling will turn up already-built image solutions ready for testing. Here at TUAW, we regularly use these for image resizing -- and they're exactly the bits I forgot to pack on my trip. So did I get my work done while gone? You bet I did. And a big part of that reason is how sips and Preview enable you to step up to image challenges without any third party software needed. Got some OS X image processing tips? Share them in the comments. Preview, sips, and more: OS X image processing tools originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Check Software Update, because Apple has released iTunes 11.0.3. This update offers a few new features, including a new MiniPlayer that highlights album artwork and has a built-in progress bar. That should make many people happy. Also, iTunes 11.0.3 has improved the songs view and has support for multi-disc albums, in that they now appear as a single album, which is great. You can download it now and check out the changes right away. Have fun.iTunes 11.0.3 now available originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Today, iPhone 5 users have another way to keep their phone charged up for those times when the battery is getting sucked dry. Mophie, which previously brought us the Juice Pack Helium and Juice Pack Air for iPhone 5, today announced the Juice Pack Plus (US$119.95). The case comes in hues of black, white and PRODUCT(RED), and differs from its siblings in thickness, weight, and capacity. The battery in the Plus is a whopping 2100 mAh, while the Air has 1700 mAh of extra power and the Helium provides 1500 mAh. Weight for the Plus and Air is 2.68 oz., while the Helium weighs in at a svelte 2.44 oz. The Plus is 0.70" thick, the Air is 0.63" thick, and the Helium is just 0.59" thick. The battery of the Juice Pack Plus is enough to give your iPhone 5 120% of a charge -- enough to top it off completely once and then have enough juice left over to make some emergency calls. Mophie says that the black model will ship within 1 or 2 days, the white model ships next week on May 22nd, and the special PRODUCT(RED) model will be available on May 31. We hope to have a full review of the Juice Pack Plus soon.New Mophie Juice Pack Plus gives your iPhone 5 extra oomph originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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TUAW has covered the US Department of Justice price-fixing case against Apple for the past several years. Now an email sent from late Apple CEO Steve Jobs to James Murdoch of News Corporation (parent company of HarperCollins publishers) is being interpreted by the DOJ as showing that Apple and HarperCollins conspired with other publishers to raise ebook process. John Paczkowski at AllThingsD pointed out yesterday that the DOJ might be taking the email out of context. The seemingly incriminating portion of Jobs' email is this: "Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99." As Paczkowski points out, reading the entire email, it appears that Jobs was simply using those price points as "price caps in broader pricing tiers" and that he "openly concedes that the agency model he's proposing may well fail." Jobs wrote "We simply don't think the e-book market can be successful with pricing higher than $12.99 or $14.99. Heck, Amazon is selling these books at $9.99, and who knows maybe they are right and we will fail even at $12.99. But we're willing to try at the prices we proposed. We are not willing to try at higher prices, because we are pretty sure we'll all fail." Paczkowski notes that this is just "one piece of evidence in a much larger case", but that the DOJ appears to have "cherry-picked a quote for maximum effect." The full exhibit from which the Jobs email was taken is included below. Jobs-Murdoch-exchange var docstoc_docid="156857315";var docstoc_title="Jobs-Murdoch-exchange";var docstoc_urltitle="Jobs-Murdoch-exchange";The Steve Jobs email that has the DOJ's interest originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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My last visit to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah was in pre-iPhone days. My, how things have changed. I went to Bryce on a landscape shoot this week with my usual semi-pro equipment: Canon 5D, Manfrotto tripod and the usual gaggle of batteries, timers and other esoterica. I was especially interested in seeing if people were toting different equipment in the age of the smartphone. I expected to see Android and iPhones snapping away, while the pros and semi-pros were hanging on to their expensive DSLRs. It wasn't quite what I expected. I saw a lot of iPhones in the crowds of people gathered at the rim of Bryce Canyon waiting for the sunset. I saw a couple of Android phones, but there could have been more. I walked up to a large group of young girls from Tennessee and asked how many were using iPhones? Every hand went up. I asked them if they were still using their old point-and-shoot cameras, and everyone had dropped them for an iPhone. The main reason? Instagram and other photo sharing services. No one mentioned Apple's Photo Stream. You just can't get photos to friends with a point-and-shoot. None of those girls were into editing photos, it was mostly shoot and send. I asked about the iPhone HDR feature. The most frequent answer was "huh?". More marketing needed by Cupertino. I showed some of the people up there how easy it was to activate HDR, and let them compare the results. Sunset at Bryce Canyon is the perfect place for HDR. All were amazed, so I helped create some new converts. The biggest surprise were the pro and semi-pro shooters. Many had iPhones, which they would take out of a pocket for a moment, usually to shoot a panorama. One woman with a big Nikon said she loved her camera, but there was nothing like capturing a quick panorama with the iPhone. Easy to do, plenty of megapixels, and easy to send. A guy from Georgia with all kinds of pro equipment told me the same thing. Gallery: iPhones at Bryce Canyon So here I was at one of the most beautiful scenery in the world and iPhones were everywhere. Young, old, novice, semi-pro and some pros. It's amazing that a company trying to make a better cellular phone has had such an impact on photography. Planning or accident? How about you? Have you dropped your point and shoot for an iPhone? And those of you with DSLRs, are you tempted to haul your iPhone out at times too? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.iPhone cameras are everywhere at one of America's best scenic spots originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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I'm not an organizational wizard. Neither is my wife. We've got busy schedules, artistic personalities, and cleaning is often the last thing on our minds. Worst of all, when we do finally find time to clean things have usually gotten so bad we' don't know where to start. Enter BrightNest. BrightNest is a iOS app and website that makes organizing home improvement tasks a breeze. The app is offers users eight possible areas of home improvement to choose from. Handy for maintenance Healthy for keeping away germs Green for lessening environmental impact Savvy for saving money Curious for educational lessons Clean for keeping messes away Creative for DIY projects Hungry for meals and snacks Each section features a list of articles that easily explain what your task is, how long it will take, and what you'll need to complete it. Best of all each task uses common household items to complete, so you won't find yourself putting off cleaning the windows because you don't have any cleaner. Turns out you just need white vinegar and corn starch. Articles are accompanied by a heart, calendar, and check at the bottom of each window. Using these buttons you can easily add an article to your favorites, schedule a task for later, or mark it as complete. Because the app syncs with your free account on the BrightNest website, it's easy for a family to share on account and keep up to date on what's been done and what's still waiting in the wings. BrightNest's user interface is clear, clean, and easy to learn. Within minutes you'll be zooming in and out of articles, building your todo list for the coming weeks. The clear instructions take care of any learning curve and the variety keeps taks from becoming stale. Let's face it, they don't teach Home Economics in school any more. For the recent high school or college grad out on their own for the first time, or maybe a newly single 40 year old whose never run a house by themselves, BrightNest is an invaluable tool for keeping on top of your living space.iOS Review: BrightNest makes finding a start to spring cleaning a breeze originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Parental Controls on iOS are extremely helpful for parents of iOS-device-using kids. They allow a parent to block in-app purchases, restrict explicit content on the device and block apps that are not needed for younger children (Mail, Safari, etc.). Setting up these restrictions requires a special 4-digit PIN that only needs to be entered when a parent makes changes to the parental control settings. Because the code is entered so infrequently, it is easy to forget the password, especially if you set up restrictions in haste and don't take the time to record the code in your favorite password keeper. This happened to me recently, and I will give you a few tips on what to do if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation. Assess and Review If you realize that you have forgotten your parental control password, don't panic. The first thing you should do is stop entering password guesses, as iOS will lock you out of parental controls when you hit five incorrect password attempts. After the fifth try, you have to wait for a minute before you can try again. This wait time goes up to five minutes, 15 minutes and eventually an hour, which can be very inconvenient if you find the password written down on some loose post-it note in your junk drawer. If you can't find that lost password anywhere, then you have two choices to fix the problem -- you can either wipe your phone and start from scratch, or try to reset the password by careful editing of system files. I prefer the former solution, but will present the latter for those who are comfortable with hex editors and SHA-1 hashes. Perform a Factory Restore In my opinion, your best option is to wipe the device completely and perform a factory restore. You will lose the photos, notes and other personal information on the device, but you already had those backed up via iTunes sync, in iCloud, Photo Stream or other services like Dropbox, right? You have to restore the iOS device back to factory settings and can't restore using an iTunes backup, as all the backups contain your parental control password along with your photos and app data. Forget about any saved backups and set up your iPhone or iPad as a new device within iTunes. You can restore your iOS device to factory settings using iTunes and this handy guide from Apple. Keep in mind this will also blow up any game progress or other customizations, so be prepared for that conversation with the younger users of the device. When your device is restored, you can connect to iCloud and download your notes, bookmarks and other data. You will have to configure any email accounts and re-install all your apps. It's a pain in the neck to do this, but it is the safest solution to get parental controls back and running. Recover the Password by Editing System Files If you are very tech savvy and don't mind a slight risk of bricking your device, you can edit a few system files and either find the parental control password or reset it. These two procedures assume you are using a Mac or a PC to backup your device and the backups are not encrypted. If you happen to have an older iOS device that hasn't been updated to iOS 6, you can use these directions from Simon Blog to locate the parental controls password in a system file (com.apple.springboard.plist) that is stored in a backup on your desktop machine. I tested this on a very old (and now abandoned) iPod touch that is still running iOS 4.1, and it works. The PIN is stored as a string and can be found without touching your iOS device. If your device is on iOS 6 or later versions of iOS 5, you may have to dig a bit deeper to unlock the parental control password. In recent versions of iOS, Apple removed the parental control PIN and now keeps it hidden from prying eyes. You can no longer read it as a string, but you can force iOS to change it using a few carefully placed lines of code. The detailed process of resetting your parental control password is explained by iPhone Backup Extractor and requires you to locate a recent iTunes backup from the iOS device. You then edit the com.apple.springboard.plist file and the manifest.db file in the backup, and enter in a new parental control password that overwrites the old one. To send those password changes over to your device, you must restore your device in iTunes using the backup that you just modified. If successful, you will have a new Parental Control password that you can easily enter. The process is straightforward, but it requires you to know how to use a hex editor and understand a bit about SHA-1 hashes. I tried this technique twice -- once on an iPad mini running iOS 6.0.2 and once on an iPad running iOS 6.1.3. Both times it did work, and I was able to change my parental control password to 1234. I have to admit that it was a bit nerve-wracking, especially during the restore process, as I was concerned that the smallest mistake would foul up my device. Though I don't recommend this process, I present it for those who are desperate and don't mind the risk if it means preserving that important game save, photo or document.Parenting tip: Recover your lost parental control password, or not originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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JellyBus, the makers of popular iOS image editing software PicsPlayPro, recently launched a collage making app, Moldiv, and packed it full of features that'll appeal to creative types who are looking to throw together a beautiful collage. The first thing you notice about Modiv is the large number of frames available at your fingertips. There are 80 free frames and 60 premiums that you can buy as a pack via a US$1.99. Moldiv's basic frames provide you with a variety of columnar and angular layouts that are sufficient for most users. The next thing you notice about Modiv is how easy it is to use. Tap on your frame to select your photo layout and then tap on a section to add a photo. You can pull the photo from your photo gallery or take a new one using the camera. Once you add in your photos, you can spend a few minutes tweaking the layout by adjusting the frame width and adding a background to fill in the white parts of the frame. Just like the frame options, the background selection is robust. You can choose from a set of 40 free backgrounds or buy a second, more colorful set for $0.99. Moldiv also lets you add text or stamps on your collage. Similar to other parts of the app, Moldiv offers a set of free stamps and premium stamps that cost 99-cents each. There's also a shape tool that lets you overlay another photo on your collage. You can select your shape and then choose a photo from your camera roll. You can adjust the shape to fit the photo and get the right look. I used this feature in a collage of my one-year old. I used a four square layout with pictures of him playing and then put a heart-shaped insert with a close-up photo right in the middle. It looked great! Moldiv is a no-frills editor that lets you create collages quickly. You pick your frame, add your photos and then embellish them a bit with text or stamps. When you are done, you can save the collage to your camera roll, send it to other apps or share it on Instagram, Twiter, Facebook, Tumblr or Flickr. Moldiv does have its fair share of in-app purchases, which some may find bothersome. I wasn't frustrated by them as I found the basic options were creative enough to suit my needs. I don't mind paying extra if I want to get fancier with my photos. I would like to see an "unlock all" option that would let me buy everything at once. Moldiv is available for free from the iOS App Store. I used the iPad version as I enjoy editing on my iPad and not my iPhone. Moldiv is a universal app, so you can edit on either device.Daily iPad App: Use Moldiv to quickly create a collage originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio hit the App Store lottery yesterday by downloading the 50 billionth app to be served by Apple's App Store. Namely, it was Say The Same Thing by Space Inch that allowed Brandon to collect his prize, and what a prize it is: an App Store gift card with US$10,000 on it. Have fun spending that, Brandon!Apple announces 50 billionth app download, contest winner originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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A teenage girl alone in a remote farmhouse; an absent father, a boyfriend off at college... and a locked door that conceals a tragic secret. These are the creepy, chilling tropes on display in Haunting Melissa, a serialized video horror story delivered in the form of an iOS app available today on the App Store. Watching the first episode is free, and then you'll wait -- and pay -- to keep going with the narrative. Haunting Melissa, and the underlying Hooked Digital Media content management platform that drives the serialized episode releases, is the brainchild of Hollywood producer Neal Edelstein. Edelstein has some serious scares on his resume: he produced The Ring and The Ring 2. He describes the Haunting Melissa experience as "a ghost story created to be consumed in a dark corner with headphones on and iPhone or iPad in hand." Push notifications alert viewers when the next segment is ready -- and they'll come when you least expect them. Melissa even has a Twitter account (as does the actress who plays her, Kassia Warshawski). You might think that a spooky, atmospheric serial would suffer in the scale-down from cinematic or TV size onto the iPad or iPhone/iPod screen. In fact, watching Melissa and her friends explore her haunted house (in HD) from a first-person, "Blair Witch"-esque perspective is quite immersive. Adding headphones to the experience ramps up the creep factor dramatically; Edelstein and his creative team have the sound design chops to scare your ears just as much as the cinematography scares your eyes. If you do want to watch on the bigger screen, the app supports AirPlay output to the Apple TV. Haunting Melissa is designed to be social, with viewers sharing their impressions and guesses as the mystery deepens, and calling out details and clues that may have been missed on the first viewing. (What really happened to Melissa's dead mother? Why is Brandon being so cagey about coming home from college? Is Holly's little brother just a lovesick kid, or a malicious superhacker? Why doesn't Melissa close her laptop when she goes to bed? And what's the deal with all the crucifixes?) Personally, I'm not a big consumer of thrillers or horror films, but if that is the sort of thing you enjoy, Haunting Melissa raises the bar on quality when it comes to purpose-built iOS experiences. The basic Haunting Melissa app is free, with in-app $0.99 purchases for individual episodes and a Season Pass option for the entire experience. Edelstein notes that he is in discussions with other directors and producers to explore bringing their creative ideas to this new storytelling platform. "The technology supports story first and foremost... [we believe] this new app technology will change distribution forever," he says. You can watch the Haunting Melissa teaser trailer below. Keep the lights on. Chills and thrills for your iPad with Haunting Melissa originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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DODOcase just announced the perfect accompaniment to Victor's post earlier this week about when and how to use paper versus software. DODONotes (US$13.95) weds a high-quality paper notebook to your iPhone. Gallery: DODONotes It's a simple idea, really -- the DODONotes notebook has a cutout on the front of it that is just perfectly sized for an iPhone 5, 4S or 4. There's an elastic band that holds the notebook securely to the iPhone. With a quick pull, you take the notebook off of your iPhone, jot a few quick notes or sketch and idea, and then reattach DODONotes to your phone. There's enough play in the elastic that you can probably attach a small pen or pencil without too much of a strain. The notebook is made of a beautiful 24 lb. text Mohawk Superfine paper in a Soft White Eggshell finish. I am absolutely sure that TUAW editor and notebook connoisseur Dave Caolo is going to order a ton of these to feed his paper habit... DODONotes: The perfect marriage of paper and iPhone originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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FreeCiv is one of my favorite open source projects out there. Civilization is one of my favorite games, and FreeCiv is an open source version that you can download and play for free. The latest update of the game has added an HTML 5 version, which means that you can now load up and play FreeCiv right in any compatible browser. And that includes mobile Safari, which means you can now navigate to play.freeciv.org on one of your iOS devices, and play the game at will. Pretty excellent. There is no version of FreeCiv in the App Store, unfortunately, though there has been a port to Android just recently. And Civilization Revolution has been available on both iPad and iPhone for a while now -- it's a simpler, more accessible version of the 4X strategy game. Firaxis has just recently stepped up its efforts on iOS, so it's possible that we will see a more full, official version of Civ arrive on the iPhone before too much longer. Or wait -- what if they ported Alpha Centauri? Drool. But until then, FreeCiv will have to do. If you have never had a chance to play, the game manual should help you out.FreeCiv now playable in browsers, including on iOS devices originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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I have to say -- the iPad is a terrific platform for interactive ebooks, but so far, I haven't been very impressed by the options out there. I do use my iPad for reading a lot, but the vast majority of my reading is done in either iBooks or a comic book reader. It's very rare that I will pick up an app that's designed to work as just one single book, no matter how many extras or interactive features are included. However, I'm happy to say that Steve Jackson's Sorcery! is a clear exception to the general rule. It's excellent, and mostly because the book it is based on (actually a "gamebook" released back in the '80s) was already interactive to begin with. Add in iOS interactive touchscreen, some excellent graphical flairs and a whole lot of polish, and what you end up with is something very akin to playing a Dungeons and Dragons game, where the few game elements present are really just intended to ignite your imagination, and get you role-playing in the game's world. Sorcery's story is pretty basic: You're a hero who sets out into a dangerous world, hoping to either save or conquer it. And the combat gameplay is extremely simple as well -- you essentially guess whether your opponent is attacking or defending, and trying to mirror their actions to do damage as you can. But the real meat of Sorcery! is in the inbetween. You travel from town to town, talking to various NPCs and even solving a few puzzles, all while exploring this world through the game's scrolling text. I really have no problems at all with this app -- I was fascinated by the story's well-written text, and while the gameplay isn't extremely innovative, it's paced well enough to keep the action rolling. The one hitch might be that you need to use your imagination on this one, so if you're expecting a game like Skyrim, that will draw out the world for you, you might find this a bit boring. But as a die-hard pen and paper RPG player and a fan of Steve Jackson's work, I think this is an excellent adaptation that's well worth a purchase. You can pick it up from the App Store for $4.99 right now.Daily iPhone App: Steve Jackson's Sorcery is interactive ebook bliss originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Political is reporting that Tim Cook is set to testify at a Senate hearing next week that is investigating the offshore tax practices of American corporations: Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to testify at the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation's hearing Tuesday, POLITICO has learned. Apple has been under fire for its tax practices. The company recently avoided paying as much as $9.2 billion in taxes by buying back stock with debt instead of offshore cash, Bloomberg reported. Apple has a reported $100 billion in offshore funds. The hearing is part of the panel's continued examination of how companies shift profits offshore and how that impacts the tax code. Representatives from Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard testified in September 2012 in a hearing on the same topic. Tax avoidance by big corporations is (finally) become a hot topic in the US. Here in the UK, pressure has been mounting for months on companies like Google, Amazon, and Starbucks over their tax avoidance schemes (Amazon only paid £3 million in UK taxes off of £4 billion in UK sales). Other EU countries are following suit in clamping down on offshore tax practices. In addition to Tim Cook, Politico states that representatives from the IRS and Treasury are also set to testify.Tim Cook to testify at Senate hearing on offshore tax practices originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Rovio has announced, via tweet and then by news release, that it has lined up a deal and a date with Sony Pictures to distribute the upcoming Angry Birds movie. Rovio's been working on putting the frustrated fowl into a motion picture for a while, but this announcement makes it more or less a done deal -- all that needs to happen is that it gets made. Rovio says the movie will be out in theaters on July 1, 2016. The film will be in 3D (and animated, of course). It'll be produced by "Despicable Me" producer John Cohen, along with David Maisel. There's no director or writer yet announced, but this isn't exactly rocket science: Odds are that there will be green pigs stealing the birds' eggs, and the birds will have to team up together in a heartwarming way to get revenge. In fact, Rovio, if you need a hand, I could punch out a treatment for you. Just let me know.Rovio teams up with Sony for the Angry Birds movie, coming July 2016 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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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 15, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Google's long rumored music streaming service became a reality today with the announcement of Google Play Music All Access. The company has already cleared licensing deals with all three major labels left standing - Warner, Universal, and Sony - meaning they'll have millions of songs available upon launch. Beyond the expected streaming service, All Access will also feature a Pandora-like radio service that allows each individual song to become a radio station with a simple button press. The service will also feature a component called Listen Now, which will highlight new releases and recommendations based on your listening habits. Music from your Google Music locker will also be included. All Access will require a monthly fee of $9.99, with no free ad-supported option like competitor Spotify, though anyone who signs up before June 30th will get $2 off the monthly fee.Google Play Music All Access announced at Google I/O originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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