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Joel Mathis, Macworld
The app lets users stream music via Bluetooth from one iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to another. The app is being pitched at joggers, bikers, and other folks who exercise together.
MG Siegler, TechCrunch
The app resides in your toolbar and when clicked shows a drop-down with all of your notifications as they come in in realtime. You can set it so a sound goes off with every new message and if you have Growl installed you can get a visual notification as well.
Glenn Fleishman, Macworld
SugarSync’s desktop sync software needs a rethink, with too many separate pieces unaligned into a consistent interface. However, its ability to specify which folders on each computer will sync to other machines is quite useful. Its business services offer little advantage over individual accounts.
MG Siegler, TechCrunch
As the team lays out in a post on their blog, a major change is needed to keep Camino going. Why? Because throughout its existence, the browser has been built using Mozilla’s Gecko rendering engine — the one built for Firefox. But now that engine will no longer be embeddable in other browsers — even other Mozilla browsers, like Camino.
Tom Yager, InfoWorld
After more than two weeks of continuous testing, it's hard for me to imagine what I'd want in a notebook in three to five years that MacBook Pro doesn't deliver right now. Whatever I want, I'll plug into Thunderbolt, the game-changing 10-gigabit peripheral interconnect that deserves (and gets) its own section in this review. I have no lingering doubt that a PC notebook maker might trump MacBook Pro. What Apple has done requires metal, glass, genius, and OS X. It can't be replicated with plastic and Windows.
Lukas Mathis, Ignore The Code
Skype is a tool used both by casual users, and by experienced users who use it every day in a professional context. It’s incredibly hard to get this kind of user interface right. The old version did an admirable, elegant job serving both audiences. The new version, unfortunately, is a huge step backwards.
P. J. Connolly, eWeek
After the first-day sellout of this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference, I’m beginning to wonder if Apple holds some kind of grudge against enterprise developers.
Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW
Christopher Breen, Macworld
Airfoil for Mac remains a solid and unique utility. It's a very clever and affordable way to stream all of your Mac’s audio throughout your home and to your iOS devices.
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS
Should you switch to Firefox 4? If you’re using Firefox 3.6 on an Intel-based Mac, yes, you should, so you can take advantage of its performance and standards improvements (though I recommend re-enabling the Browse By Name feature immediately so Firefox 4 works the way you expect). But if you’re happy with Safari or Chrome, I don’t see the changes in Firefox 4 making such a difference that you’ll feel compelled to switch. That said, there’s nothing wrong with downloading a copy and checking it out; if nothing else, it can be helpful to have a different browser around in case you have trouble with a particular site, and who knows, perhaps you’ll find that Firefox 4 fits your needs perfectly.
Christopher Breen, Macworld
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica
Teachers and corporate presenters alike begged Apple for video mirroring capabilities for the iPad, and the company delivered the feature in the iPad 2. Apple's solution still leaves users tied to a cord, however, so two employees at networking service provider Straight Up Technologies developed a simple hack to give their client wireless HDMI output and freedom of movement while sharing the iPad's screen.
Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider
Just over a week after releasing Mac OS X 10.6.7, Apple has issued a subsequent patch aimed at users of the new Late 2010, 13 inch MacBook Air to fix a system crash related to iTunes.
Tom Kaneshige, Macworld
Jeffery Battersby, Macworld
MyThoughts is an interesting mind mapping tool that is fun to use and which makes it possible for you to create really interesting looking maps. But its lack the depth to make it a complete and powerful business tool for creating mind maps. While I like the application for the unique maps it creates, I’m more interested in seeing what the future holds for MyThoughts than I am in using it to create my own maps.
Mike Keller, PC World
Opening new tabs or one of the seemingly infinite side bars in Xcode 4 (more on that later) chug along with what I could imagine would be nice animations if they weren’t so slow and choppy. Quick info that used to be available at the whim of a key command, such as opening the Debugging Console, now require a button press and a wait through a sliding animation.
Whereas the IB of old had its own menu bar items and key commands, they are now all tucked away within Xcode’s sea of sidebars- take a look at the screenshot for an unholy mess of a UI.
Lesa Snider, Macworld
In this article, I’ll show you how to increase resolution and if you must, the pixel dimensions, of small images so they print well at the sizes you need.
Chris Nerney, Network World
Traditionally enterprise managers could rely on software and support directly from the vendors supplying the devices. For example, RIM offers a BlackBerry Enterprise Server for IT managers to securely allow enterprise executives access to corporate email and other documents using their RIM smartphones.
But that’s not the way Apple operates. Apple didn’t want to develop its own management and security tools, and between the SDK and the emergence of mobile device management vendors such as Good Technology, it doesn’t have to.
Sam Oliver, AppleInsider
Nokia on Tuesday announced that it has filed a second complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, accusing "virtually all" of Apple's products of infringing upon seven patents.
MG Siegler, TechCrunch
As you may have read by now, earlier tonight, Amazon dropped a bomb on their rivals in the online music space: a fully working cloud storage and playback system. And it’s not just working on desktop web browsers, it works on Android devices too. One important place it doesn’t work though: iPhones, iPads, iPod touches — no iOS devices.
Fraser Speirs
Long story short, the whiteboards in my classroom are worn out. They're impossible to wipe without spraying enough whiteboard cleaner to get an elephant high. Not a good situation.
With my new AV system in hand and an iPad 2, I figured out that I could probably put something together that looks like a digital whiteboard.
Warren Buckleitner, New York Times
Erica Sadun, TUAW
Listen, Apple, if your event sells out in 10 hours, you're oversubscribed and under-serving your community. Just 10 hours, people -- 10 hours. That's just crazy. The Beatles won't even be there.
David Worthington, Technologizer
Victor Agreda, Jr., TUAW
Jovan Washington, AppAdvice
Dan Moren, Macworld
It seems clear that, going forward, Apple largely envisions the two operating systems as being different facets of the same fundamental experience. For evidence, look no further than the image on the front page of Apple’s WWDC site, which features what appears to be a mingling of iOS and Mac OS app icons combining to fill in an Apple logo.
A glance at the list of tracks for sessions and labs—Application Frameworks; Graphics, Media, and Games; Developer Tools; Internet and Web; and Core OS—would seem to confirm this. Every single one of the tracks mentions and is applicable to both iOS and Mac OS X; and that’s little surprise, given that Apple uses the same underlying technology in both of its operating systems.
Chris White, TUAW
This certainly doesn't mean you should take your iPad for a swim, the iPad 2 is not waterproof but you shouldn't have to worry about dampness associated with day-to-day activities causing problems so long as you're careful.
Christopher Breen, Macworld
David Chartier, Macworld
AirFrame is essentially a one-trick pony, but it's a good trick. You can start AirFrame up on one device, which advertises it on the local network as AirPlay-capable (just like an Apple TV). On a second device, simply pick that first device as a destination when streaming media, and you have your own portable, wireless iOS theater.
Dave Caolo, TUAW
Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW
Apple announced the dates for WWDC 2011 this Monday morning. The Apple developers conference will take place from June 6 to June 10 at Moscone West in San Francisco.
As expected, Apple will "unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS" at the developers conference. Apple will also host hundreds of technical sessions and offer code-level assistance from Apple engineers.
James Galbraith, Macworld
We haven’t had any luck importing files captured from Canon DSLRs, but we have had some success with Cisco's Flip video cameras. If you have a Flip, here’s how it works.
David Murphy, PC Magazine
The chief judge for the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in January that neither Apple nor RIM infringed Kodak's 2001 patent. The company challenged the finding and the full six-member commission has since stated that it plans to review the January ruling–to Kodak's delight, as the company believes it will prevail, as it has in the past, in front of the full panel.
Topher Kessler, CNET
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, ZDNet
It turns out that Firefox’s developers, for reasons beyond me, had simply disabled multi-touch functionality.
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled in favor of Apple in one of the company's patent disputes with Nokia. ITC Judge E. James Gildea said on Friday that Apple did not violate any of Nokia's five mobile device patents, though the Commission's members must first review the decision before taking any further action.
Steven Sande, TUAW
That final piece of the puzzle showed up yesterday afternoon, and I'm now able to grab video from the iPad 2 for about $104.
Ted Landau, Macworld
Dave Caolo, TUAW
David Chartier, Macworld
The New York Times has released a major upgrade to its NYTimes iPhone app. The news organization has brought over the expanded content and breaking news alerts that its iPad app gained last December, but notably missing is any mention of the upcoming digital subscription features that will launch next week.
Michael Harvey, Macworld
All your PDF files open in Adobe Reader, but you want them to open in Preview. All your JPEG files open in Preview when you’d rather they open in Photoshop. How do you change what Mac OS X uses as the default application for particular file types? We’ll show you how, in four steps.
Brett Terpstra, TUAW
The natural language engine is pretty smart to begin with. You can type things like "Dr. appt 4p" and an event is created for today at 4:00pm titled "Dr. appt." You can also get more verbose, adding locations and start and end times. It does todo items, too. "todo - Get something done by wed" will add a task to iCal with a due date.
RSSC Security Blog
Ever since I got an iPhone 4 with the retina display I have been hooked on keeping up with my favourite tech and security blogs on the move. Yes I’m one of those annoying zombies you see reading on their phone while walking, standing in line, on the train etc. It has enabled me to make better use of this time and keep entertained. However one of the major problems is that I live in London and most of my reading is done on the one hour commute to and from work on the tube (underground subway). The tube has no Internet access so I have had to find some offline ways to feed my habit. These are some of the best ways I have found to read and share what I like.
Mike Rothman, Macworld
Despite the rise of social networks and Twitter, e-mail is still the way many of us communicate. But it can put a tremendous amount of your private data at risk. Here are some tips for minimizing that risk.
J-P Teti
This is the key to the iPad that nobody has figured out. The iPad does everything that a regular computer user does. Facebook. YouTube. Email. Web browsing. It does all this out of the box.
And it has all the apps.
The iPad is actually opening up technology to more people. None of this crap about it being closed is accurate. By giving people freedom to explore the app store without having to worry about anything (except their wallets), Apple has possibly made the best move they could make by locking down the iPad’s installation sources.
Beau Colburn, Macworld
Mirage Lab’s MultiCorder is a video recording app that allows you to adjust the size and frame rate of the video captured by your iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or fourth-generation iPod touch, so that you can have a much finer level of control over how the storage capacity on your mobile device gets used.
Casey Tschid, AppAdvice
Dan Moren, Macworld
Were you to engage in a flight of fancy, you might call Mac OS X the deliverance for the tenacious few that had held onto Apple in the dark times, through the era when the Mac product line had proliferated into a writhing, seething mass of cryptic models in a seeming attempt to out-PC the PC makers. Mac OS X was a sign that the direction of the company had really and truly changed, after years of failed attempts to modernize the Mac OS.
The coup of Mac OS X, more than anything else, is that it shipped. The road to a new version of the Mac OS was littered with the unmarked graves of projects that had gone before: Taligent. Copland. Gershwin.
Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle
There's a lot more to GarageBand for iPad than I've detailed here. It's a rich app with many layers of features. If you spring for it, do so when you have a couple of hours to kill. It's that compelling.
Fraser Speirs
I set out to design a new classroom AV system that took advantage of the fact that we have iPads in everyone's hands.
Justin Williams, Carpeaqua
If anything it cheapens the value of your product. In most cases, people claim codes because they like the idea of getting something for free, even if they have 0 intention of ever using it.
Ben Long, Macworld
Novice users will find themselves easily creating cool photo effects, and even experienced users will appreciate the program's ease of use, though they might be a little frustrated by the lack of basic adjustments.
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld
If you work with Microsoft Word 2011, you may find the program’s toolbars and ribbon practical ways to access functions you use often, such as formatting, alignment, and highlighting. But the toolbars and ribbon are stacked at the top of the program’s windows, reducing your vertical space. With today’s widescreen monitors, it makes sense to have toolbars at the side of your main window, so you can see more of your text while you work. It can also be useful for toolbars to contain the commands you really use—some of which may be deeply buried in menus. Here’s how to customize your Word 2011 toolbars to fit the way you work.
Joshua Brustein, New York Times
Social experiences certainly play a part in the way that people read on the Web, but there are also plenty of social platforms that are doing a good job of providing those experiences. Like the Kindle, both Readability and Instapaper are meant to facilitate a simpler, quieter form of reading, and both do it well. Readability quieted the Web browsing experience down, while Instapaper moved articles out of the browsing experience altogether. By adding more features, both ventures now seem at risk of muddying up their missions.
Sometimes it is better to keep it simple.
Sam Grobart, New York Times
Color is a photo-sharing app, but it takes the practice in a new, more open direction, in that it shares your photos with whoever else is using the app in close proximity to you. If popular photo-sharing apps like Instagram are like Facebook, where closed networks of friends share images, Color is more like Twitter, in that it is far more public.
Bob Tedeschi, New York Times
For those who want to create a rough draft of a presentation, or who worry about their laptop crashing on the eve of a big business meeting, Documents To Go offers the ability to cobble together a passable piece of work on the phone.
John Paczkowski, All Things D
While the timing of the announcement might seem odd–Apple is ramping up for the release of Lion, the next iteration of OS X–the truth of the matter is that this is a planned transition.
“There’s no acrimony there,” one source close to the company told me. “Bertrand’s just decided it’s his time to move on. Avie (Tevanian, former senior vice president of software engineering) handed off to him and now he’s handing off to Craig. It’s just a changing of the guard.”
AppleInsider
The Samba team has moved active development of the project to the more strict GPLv3 license, which prevents Apple from using the software commercially.
Developers report that Apple has internally officially announced that it will pull Samba from Mac OS X Lion and Lion Server, and replace it with Windows networking software developed by Apple.
Wil Shipley, Call Me Fishmeal
Today Bertrand Serlet announced he was stepping down as senior vice president of Mac Software Engineering, and that Craig Federighi will step into his spot. I know both these dudes a little bit, since we all used to work at/near/around/for NeXT, so I figured I’d share my impressions with the world (as one does on a blog).
Lance Whitney, CNET
Known for his role in creating and developing the Mac OS X software, Serlet will hand over the reins of his job to Craig Federighi, currently the vice president of Mac software engineering, Apple announced today.
"I've worked with Steve for 22 years and have had an incredible time developing products at both NeXT and Apple, but at this point, I want to focus less on products and more on science," Serlet said in a statement. "Craig has done a great job managing the Mac OS team for the past two years, Lion is a great release and the transition should be seamless."
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld
But if disaster does strike and you lose everything, you may not be completely out of luck—assuming you’ve synced a good portion of your library to an iPod, iPhone, or iPad. In most cases, unless you’ve purchased something on one of your devices, Apple’s iTunes syncing is a one-way street—computer to device. But with some tricks and software, you can recover your music, videos, and more.
Ryan Paul, Ars Technica
The 4.0 release catapults Firefox back to the front of the pack, bringing parity in performance, features, usability, and support for Web standards.
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica
Ever since the launch of the App Store in 2008, developers have been looking for ways to bring some of the cool features they implemented for the iPhone back to the Mac. Then, with the 2010 launch of the Mac App Store, a whole new group of developers began looking for ways to port their iOS apps to the Mac for the first time. Now, two prolific developers have teamed up to create Chameleon, an open source project that aims to make it simpler to bring iOS work over to the Mac.
Heather Kelly, Macworld
Aperture 3.1.2 has the usual "overall stability and performance" improvement touted in every Aperture update, along with specific fixes for iPhoto compatibility, image importing, library, and adjustment issues. There are 14 fixes total on Apple's list, seven of which are for processes that caused Aperture 3 to freeze or quit unexpectedly.
Lauren Indvik, Mashable
Full issues will be available for $1.99 through the WSJ‘s existing app for the iPad. Non-subscribers can continue to get the same limited range of free content through the app, but now users who want to access all of the morning’s content can do so without committing to a subscription.
Dan Goodin, The Register
For only the second time in 19 months, Apple has updated the signatures used to protect Mac users against malware attacks.
Jonathan Seff, Macworld
According to the release notes, Apple TV Software Update 4.2.1 addresses issues that may cause the screen to flicker or display incorrect color on some older TVs, where the Apple TV may not wake up from sleep, and where audio may not be heard on some TV models after switching from another input.
Mike Schramm, TUAW
Dan Frakes, Macworld
Josh Helfferich, TUAW
Nathan Alderman, Macworld
Mozilla has released Firefox 4, and in our preliminary tests, the browser makes a huge performance leap forward.
MG Siegler, TechCrunch
Sparrow now has general IMAP support. This means that on top of Gmail, you can use the client for all of your email.
Terry White, MacNews
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld
It’s spring again, and with the new season comes the age-old ritual of cleaning out things you ignored for most of the year. Far be it from me to suggest that you clean out your basement, garage, or attic, but I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend you take a closer look at the crusty corners of your Mac. Last year, Chris Breen shared valuable Tips for a tidier Mac—all of which are worth revisiting. But I also want to draw your attention to a half-dozen digital dust bunnies that you might not have considered.
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Of the 56 bugs patched in the update for Snow Leopard, 45 were accompanied by the phrase "arbitrary code execution," Apple-speak for rating the flaws as "critical." Unlike many other major software makers, like Microsoft and Oracle, Apple doesn't assign severity rankings to vulnerabilities.
According to Apple's advisory, more than a dozen of the bugs can be exploited by "drive-by" attacks that execute as soon as a victim browses to a malicious Web site with an unpatched edition of Mac OS X.
Dan Miller, Macworld
Yukari Iwatani Kane And Geoffrey A. Fowler, Wall Street Journal
Apple Inc. sued Amazon.com Inc. over its use of the phrase "App Store," accusing the online retailer of trademark infringement. "Consumers of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon's mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple," Apple said in its complaint.
Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider
Apple's Aperture app has suddenly disappeared from the Mac App Store after weeks of sitting among the top grossing apps, suggesting a new version may be around the corner.
David Chartier, Macworld
Everyday is a clever camera app with a couple of key tools and a streamlined interface. It makes it easy to snap a shot of yourself using tools like a visual grid (for devices with a front-facing camera) and an overlay of a previous shot to make sure you line up your face properly. If you’re the forgetful type, Everyday lets you set a reminder so you don't miss your daily duties.
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS
Lex Friedman, Macworld
In addition to providing the standard enhancements for stability, compatibility, and security, 10.6.7 improves the reliability of Back to My Mac, resolves an issue with transferring files to SMB servers, and makes minor updates to the Mac App Store. In addition, the update incorporates a number of security fixes to Snow Leopard, which are also available separately as Security Update 2011-001.
Josh Lowensohn, CNET
Joe White, AppAdvice
Erica Sadun‘s AirPlay enhancing Macintosh application, Banana TV, is now available to purchase. The app allows users to AirPlay content from their iOS device to a Mactinosh computer.
Rich Mogull, Macworld
Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW
Ryan Paul, Ars Technica
In my quest to tear the power of the command line out of the terminal, I have found that Apple's Automator tool is a powerful ally. Although it's not as mighty as the command line for improvisational automation, it's useful for defining stand-alone operations that you want to be able to repeat. I've used Automator over the past week to build simple applications that replace some of my personal shell scripts.
Steven Sande, TUAW
Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times
All of the 2011 iPad’s improvements and new features are answers to the question “What would the first iPad have been like if its engineers had been given another year to work on it?” They’d certainly have tried to make it faster and sleeker, and they’d have figured out how to stick a camera or two in there. Done, done, and done.
(Their in-house case also wouldn’t have been a chintzy-looking plastic sleeve, either. Done.)
The iPad 2 is the same iPad. It’s just better in every conceivable way.
Marc Ferranti, IDG News Service
Rob Waugh, Daily Mail
Ive could be defined by his devotion to detail. When Apple boss Steve Jobs asked him in the late Nineties to create colourful, cheap cathode-ray-tube computers – what would become the first iMac – Ive spent hours in a sweet factory to get inspiration for the colours that would tell the world this wasn’t just a machine for work: it was for fun, too.
And so it has been for nearly 14 years – the time Ive has been Apple’s star designer, a fact little known and less publicised in his native Britain due to the obsessive culture of secrecy at Apple. (His laboratory remains sealed off even from the rest of Apple’s leafy corporate ‘campus’ in San Francisco.) The impact of the 44-year-old, Essex-born, Staffordshire-raised graduate of Newcastle Polytechnic has been incalculable.
Joe White, AppAdvice
Apple has just pushed back the launch of the second generation iPad in the Czech Republic.
Dana Franklin, TUAW
Rich Mogull, TidBITS
Matthew Miller, ZDNet
Thanks in large part to the application selection, the iPad is a very useful tool and also an amazingly fun and friendly device for people to use.
Andrew Harrison, Macworld UK
iNet Pro is a relatively simple app to operate and browse, and a very powerful way to gain fast and precise overviews of what’s on your network, and what service and port are available.
Adam Silver, The Atlantic
Apple has recognized what many in the tech industry are still learning: that users are truly at the center of their business. It relies upon millions of hobbyists, developers, and hackers to transform its products from good to great by selling cool and useful apps in the App Store. Think about it: what would the iPad be without Flipboard and that fantastic Twitter app? What would the iPhone be without Pandora and Angry Birds? In essence, Apple is allowing other people to determine the ultimate fate of its products.
Nick Bilton, New York Times
At first glance it might seem that you’re completely out of luck. Apple’s Web site says the wait for a new iPad 2 is four to five weeks, up from just three to four weeks on Monday. Going to an Apple store likely won’t work either as most retail outlets are completely out of inventory.
But, there are solutions.
Dan Moren, Macworld
By setting up the free Find My iPhone (or iPad, or iPod touch) service, owners of iOS devices can not only locate their misplaced gadget on a map, but also remotely lock it or wipe all of the onboard data if need be. It’s one of the iOS’s most valuable features, but it’s also one that most people don’t know about until it’s too late.
While this previously required a MobileMe subscription, Apple has recently opened the service up to owners of the most recent versions of the iPhone and iPod touch. So, if you’ve recently bought an iOS device or given one to a family member, it’s a good idea to set this feature up.
Mark Gurman, 9 To 5 Mac
MacNews
When it comes to capturing, copying and converting digital media and entertainment -- and burning disks -- Roxio Toast Titanum from Rovi Corp. has long been the leader. And with the just-launched Roxio Toast 11 Titanium (US$99) for Mac this hasn't changed. I've just finished test driving the Pro version and recommend it as one of the best buys around in Mac software.
Zeljka Zorz, Help Net Security
MacKeeper (v1.0.3.) is a comprehensive bundle of various system utilities that will help you keep your Mac secure from malware; find it if it gets stolen; backup, restore, shred or encrypt files; clean you computer from unnecessary clutter; help you keep your applications up-to-date, and more.
Miguel Helft, New York Times
It is too early to tell whether the smart cover will be a blockbuster hit. But rival case makers say they are not worried.
Topher Kessler, CNET
Tom Negrino, Macworld
TextWrangler is an excellent text editor for anyone who needs to work with large amounts of text, text in large numbers of files, or both. It makes manipulating text a breeze, and its price just can’t be beat.
John Gruber, Daring Fireball
Craig Hockenberry, Furbo.org
Apple’s technical documentation has always been top-notch: well written with just the right amount of technical detail. Unfortunately, the documentation viewer that we use to read this valuable information has been declining in ease of use over the past few releases.
Thomas Claburn, InformationWeek
Developers appear to be convinced the Mac App Store has its place. In just ten weeks, the Mac App Store has seen its inventory of apps rise from around 1,000 to over 4,200.
Joe White, AppAdvice
AppleInsider
Numerous owners of Apple's early 2011 MacBook Pros report being unable to connect devices or maintain connections through iTunes Home Sharing.
Brooke Crothers, CNET
The biggest reduction in thickness came in the iPad 2's battery subsystem, wrote Kevin Keller, a teardown analyst at IHS iSuppli, in a research note today. This part of the iPad 2 is 2.5 millimeters thick, a 59 percent reduction from the 6.1 millimeters of the original iPad, according to Keller.
Jeff Carlson, Macworld
Apple's iMovie for iOS 1.2 is a friendly, easy-to-use app for the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4 and fourth-generation iPod touch. It makes great use of the iPad 2’s large screen, lets you add portions of clips to the timeline, gives you five audio tracks along with multiple background audio clips, while its Precision Editor aids in editing cut points. This new version reinforces the value of an app that was already fun to use and capable enough to turn casual video clips into movies you want to share far and wide.
Christopher Breen, Macworld
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica
Apple is aware of the issues, which are currently filed as bugs. But according to Matt Asay, who is vice president of business development for mobile Web framework maker Strobe, Apple supposedly has no plans to fix them. Instead, they are marked "not to be fixed by exec order," suggesting that a higher up at Apple is preventing engineers from fixing the problems.
Philip Michaels, Macworld
On Wednesday, FileMaker overhauled its Bento lineup, rolling out version 4 of the personal database for the Mac while updating the iPhone and iPad versions as well. New features in Bento 4 tackle everything from new ways to share data stored in the application to performance-boosting enhancements. The mobile editions pick up some new capabilities of their own, including automatic location fields, an integrated voice memo feature, and support for iCal tasks syncing.
Lachlan Cartwright And Kate Sheehy, New York Post
A cutthroat Asian group has set its crosshairs on the flagship Apple store on Fifth Avenue at 59th -- scoring nearly every iPad 2 it can get its hands since the hot gizmo went on sale last week, to re-peddle at exorbitant prices here and in China.
Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica
Steve Paris, Mac Life
If you need to push your site beyond iWeb but don’t want to be forced to learn HTML and CSS coding, RapidWeaver 5 is a happy medium between ease of use and power.
MacNN
The Little App Factory’s iRip saves you from losing all your files when your computer takes an unexpected vacation. If you lost your hard drive, you can move all your files off your iPod, iPhone, or iPad back into your machine.
Dan Frakes, Macworld
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica
Do you own an original iPad that you no longer need (pfft, original iPads are so 2010), but have no plans to resell? Apple may have a solution for you: the company has begun promoting a new donation program that will put old iPads to good use through the Teach for America program.
Heather Kelly, Macworld
The utility reminds you to take regular breaks throughout the day so that you can stand up, stretch, walk around, rest your eyes, and give your brain a breather. And since it knows how stubborn you can be, Time Out forces you to take those breaks by washing out your entire screen—in the color of your choice—when it’s time.
AppleInsider
Though Japan was originally scheduled to be one of a number of countries where the iPad 2 will launch next week, Apple announced on Wednesday that it has delayed the launch while the country works to recover from the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster.
MG Siegler, TechCrunch
Google’s native iPhone app finally feels pretty native, rather than just feeling like their mobile website crammed into a native shell. And the swipe-activated filters, voice search, and Google Goggles all bring the native awesomeness. And the Push Notification options for Gmail and Calendar finally seem to be speedy enough to actually use.
MG Siegler, TechCrunch
Rafe Colburn, rc3.org
Sounds like a bug to me.
Cade Metz, The Register
Apple's iOS mobile operating system runs web applications at significantly slower speeds when they're launched from the iPhone or iPad home screen in "full-screen mode" as opposed to in the Apple Safari browser, and at the same time, the operating system hampers the performance of these apps in other ways, according to tests from multiple developers and The Register.
It's unclear whether these are accidental bugs or issues consciously introduced by Apple. But the end result is that, at least in some ways, the iOS platform makes it harder for web apps to replace native applications distributed through the Apple App Store, where the company takes a 30 per cent cut of all applications sold. Whereas native apps can only run on Apple's operating system, web apps – built with standard web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript – can potentially run on any device.
Jack D. Miller, Mac360
Robert Strohmeyer, PCWorld
Whether you’ve already got an iPad or you’re thinking of jumping into the tablet pond with an iPad 2, you probably know better than to expect a miraculous overnight productivity boost from any device. Like any other gadget, the iPad is only as effective as its user. And to get real efficiency out of it, you’ll want to adopt a few apps and tools that don’t come preloaded from Apple. Here are three excellent productivity downloads, and one indispensable accessory, that can help you speed through your daily tasks with ease and increased control.
The Next Web
Apparently I looked disappointed because the waiter came over right away and asked me “Can’t get a signal?”. I nodded and shrugged. Oh well. Then he offered “Do you want a glass?”. I figured he offered me another drink to cope with my disappointment but as I hadn’t even touched the Prosecco yet I thanked him and declined. But then he said “No, I mean for your iPhone!”.
Michael Grothaus, TUAW
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica
The iPad is now particularly attractive to new buyers—moreso than the original was. Apple has a better idea now of what the market wants and has made a move on what it thinks are the most important elements: size/weight, cameras (even if they aren't the best), and overall performance. The current device feels more refined than the original in almost every way, and it strives to offer a premium tablet experience via iOS.
Casey Tschida, AppAdvice
Josh Helfferich, TUAW
Just after the earthquake, hundreds of people crowded around Apple Stores to use the internet connections (Rose's correspondent suggests that there's a lack of free WiFi in Japan, making the Apple Stores natural gathering places). Using Skype and FaceTime, victims were able to contact family members and even regroup at the stores.
Ray Aguilera, Mac Life
Christopher Breen, Macworld
Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
Some iPhone users in the U.S. are complaining their phone’s clock did not correctly adjust to the daylight saving time change, where clocks were officially moved one hour ahead early Sunday morning.
Users reported several variations of the problem, with some phones failing to jump an hour forward while other jumped forward and then jumped back.
iFixIt
Ron McElfresh, Mac360
Jim Dalrymple, The Loop
“Demand for the next generation iPad 2 has been amazing,” Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller, told The Loop. “We are working hard to get iPad 2 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible.” Apple would not say exactly how many iPad 2s were sold over the weekend.
Ina Fried, All Things Digital
Filmmakers Michael Koerbel and Anna Elizabeth James like putting Apple’s latest gear to the test.
When the iPhone 4 came out, the USC film students created a series filmed using the phone. Now, with the debut of the iPad 2, the pair has created an episode edited on the tablet, using the new iMovie application.
Terry White
While there is nothing in the iPad 2 that is revolutionary (besides the Smart Covers), it's a welcomed update to the original iPad. It has improvements in all the right areas. I do wish that Apple would bend a little when it comes to using the dock adapter/Camera Connection Kit usb adapter for connecting other devices. Clearly it can be done because people were connecting everything from keyboards to card readers to the original iPad before Apple took that option away in the latest iOS updates. Nonetheless, iPad 2 improves on a already revolutionary device and while no single iPad 2 feature would have made me upgrade the sum of all the enhancements made it a no brainer for me.
Tony Bradley, PCWorld
Out of the box the iPad is primarily geared for Web surfing, watching movies, playing music, and reading eBooks. It takes a little tweaking to get the right tools in place to optimize the iPad for use as a mobile computing platform for business, and not just for entertainment.
David Chartier, Macworld
Over time, though, both Google and third parties have attempted to bridge the gap between Gmail and Mail, with tactics that include adding more control over IMAP features and replicating some of Gmail’s productivity perks in Mail. Depending on your needs, Gmail and Mail can actually work quite well together, and we can show you how.
Steven Sande, TUAW
Available in the Mac App Store, Flare is easy enough for photo newbies to use, yet powerful enough that professional photographers will want to have it in their kit of goodies.
Elizabeth Law, The Standard
The iPad 2 has arrived in Hong Kong, at least unofficially. Parallel stock of the faster, thinner and more powerful version of the computing tablet, which went on sale in the United States on Friday, started streaming in yesterday morning.
Stephen Shankland, CNET
Ian Osborne, TechRadar
Share files with other user accounts or across your network.
Miguel Helft, New York Times
The cover’s “smarts,” though, come in part from being able to turn the iPad 2 on when you open it and off when you close it. The click and finger swipe — three to four seconds, in an unscientific test — that stood between you and the digital world in the original iPad? Gone.
MacNN
Brett Terpstra, TUAW
Michael Grothaus, TUAW
Josh Lowensohn, CNET
Second-generation products tend to have most of the kinks worked out, though for some, the iPad 2 is exhibiting issues with the screen that have appeared in past Apple products.
Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times
And it’s not as though the iPad is the only credible way to design a tablet. There’s room for competition and infinite possibilities for success ... but not until these companies accept some fundamental truths about the tablet market.
Joe White, AppAdvice
Anand Lal Shimpi, Brian Klug & Vivek Gowri, Anandtech
Overall, the new design really works - the iPad 2 feels good in hand, and instantly makes its predecessor feel a little clunky. But we didn't just pause our testing to talk about design, there's a lot under the hood of the iPad 2 that demands attention.
AppleInsider
David Chartier, Macworld
The biggest addition to Instapaper 3.0 is a new social layer, but don’t worry—you won’t have to start tweeting and posting and liking if you don’t want to. But if you are the type to share your favorite articles, both Instapaper’s site and apps now offer full-featured integration for Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinboard, and Evernote. If you’re offline, you can create your posts for those networks and Instapaper will queue them to send when you regain a connection.
Michael E. Cohen, TidBITS
Apparently, GarageBand on the Mac is not yet compatible with GarageBand on the iPad.
Dan Moren, Macworld
John Timmer, Ars Technica
This is one case where RTFM really applies; unless you're willing to spend the time to familiarize yourself with the changes involved and experiment with the interface a bit, the new Xcode will probably get in the way of your productivity. And, even with the best of intentions, it's difficult to avoid having the new interface get very cramped and cluttered.
Lex Friedman, Macworld
Ted Landau, Macworld
Lex Friedman, Macworld
With advanced planning, you’ll be ready to start playing with your new tablet practically from the moment you open up the box.
Dan Miller, Macworld
John Gruber, Daring Fireball
The iPad 2 is a real thing that you can go buy in a store tomorrow. What is Mossberg comparing the iPad to? An imaginary tablet, available today, that does have Flash Player and 4G networking, on which neither technology has an adverse effect on battery life?
Zach Holman
Though I don’t think Apple should charge for Xcode, $5.00 isn’t a lot of money to Cocoa developers… I suspect most would pay a lot more. It is a lot of money to someone who just wants to try a gem, to someone who has to justify a business expense, to someone who isn’t old enough for a credit card. It’s the act of throwing up such a huge barrier to a casual, interested user that is offensive.
Bryan Wolfe, AppAdvice
TJ Luoma, TUAW
Before you rush out to buy a new hard drive, here are six simple (and free) steps that may help you reclaim "lost" hard drive space.
Cecilia Kang, Washington Post
Apple said its new device software, iOS 4.3, made available Wednesday, will come with a feature that requires a password when purchases are made within an application after it is downloaded.
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld
Christopher Breen, Macworld
This amazing tool—complete with eight-track recording, easy-does-it interface, customizable and easily played virtual instruments, on-board loops, sampler, guitar amps and effects, drum machine, and tuner—may be the most inspiring musical iOS app I’ve ever used. And at a meager $5, it’s an astonishing bargain. Musician or not, it’s a must-have app.
Lex Friedman, Macworld
Were it useful only for navigating (and posting) messages on the Twitter service, that would be enough. But it’s also a true delight to use. Some will surely never take to Twitter for Mac's obvious and dramatic iOS influences. For me, however, while Twitter's interface felt foreign at first, now it simply feels like the future.
Danny Gallagher, Macworld
Among the major improvements in version 4.0 is support for Dropbox. In addition, Cyberduck can now connect to the Windows Azure cloud service. That expands Cyberduck’s existing support for cloud services including Amazon S3, Google Storage, and Google Docs, among others. That’s in addition to traditional file-transfer protocols such as FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV.
Neil Hughes, AppleInsider
This week's update for the Apple TV set top box has created new issues and problems for some, as numerous users have reported screen flickering with various high-definition TV sets.
David Pogue, New York Times
These new apps won’t get the iPad into the doors of corporate America — they’re clearly aimed at ordinary folks with creative urges. But on that score, they deliver. And they make the iPad 2 that much more joyous a gadget.
Brian X. Chen, Wired
It’s great that Apple’s iPad will give birth to some more musicians and moviemakers, but we can’t forget the people who make hardware extra special: the programmers.
Sam Grobart, New York Times
Apple will commence online ordering of the iPad 2 at 4 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, March 11, according to the company.
In-store sales will begin at 5 p.m. on March 11, a date and time set by Apple stores and honored by brick-and-mortar partners like Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart.
Chris Ward, TUAW
Apple has just released a support note explaining how, in a certain combination of circumstances, third-party USB hubs may incorrectly disconnect after wake from sleep, causing system instability.
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Apple's Safari and Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) both fell to the first hackers who tried their luck on the browsers at the opening day of the Pwn2Own hacking contest.
Michael Grothaus, TUAW
Apple has posted new iPad guided tour videos on its site. The new videos all feature the iPad 2 and encompass FaceTime, Mail, Safari, iBooks, Videos, Photos, Find my iPad, iPod, iTunes, App Store, Maps, AirPlay, GarageBand and iMovie.
Chris Ward, TUAW
Looktel says its Money Reader can use the iPhone's camera to "read" currency and speak its value aloud in real time, and the app doesn't need an internet connection. It currently recognises $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills and costs $2 from the App Store.
Shonda Novak, American-Statesman
Apple Inc. will open a temporary store Friday in the Scarbrough Building on Congress Avenue downtown, timed to the start of South by Southwest Interactive Conference and the release of the iPad 2 tablet computer.
An Apple official said he was unaware of the store, and referred questions to corporate relations, where a spokesperson could not immediately be reached.
Joshua Topolsky, Engadget
It might frustrate the competition to hear this, but it needs to be said: the iPad 2 isn't just the best tablet on the market, it feels like the only tablet on the market. As much as we'd like to say that something like the Xoom has threatened Apple's presence in this space, it's difficult (if not impossible) to do that. Is the iPad 2 a perfect product? Absolutely not. The cameras are severely lacking, the screen -- while extremely high quality -- is touting last year's spec, and its operating system still has significant annoyances, like the aggravating pop-up notifications. At a price point of $499, and lots of options after that (like more storage and models that work on both Verizon's and AT&T's 3G networks), there's little to argue about in the way of price, and in terms of usability, apps like GarageBand prove that we haven't even scratched the surface of what the iPad can do.
Edward C. Baig, USA Today
The iPad 2 doesn't deliver everything on your tablet wish list. But when it comes to the ever-evolving state of the art, iPad 2 is second to none.
Jeff Carlson, TidBITS
When I started writing this article, I thought I’d save money by buying the Wi-Fi iPad 2. However, for my specific data usage, it turns out that the numbers favor sticking with my plan of buying a 3G iPad 2 and keeping the lowest-tier iPhone data plan, even considering the initial $130 outlay. I’m surprised, to be honest, but now I can concentrate on the more important decision: Which color of Smart Case will I pair with the iPad 2?
David Pogue, New York Times
But the shocker here, though, is that the iPad 2 actually costs less than its comparably equipped Android rivals, like the Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab. That twist must have something to do with Apple’s huge buying clout — when you order five million of some component at a time, you can usually persuade the vendor to cut you a deal.
But that price detail may turn a lot of heads. It means that for the first time, your heart can succumb to the iPad mystique — without having to ignore the practical input from your brain.
Walter S. Mossberg, Wall Street Journal
As new contenders move into the field, Apple isn't likely to keep its 90% share of the booming tablet market. But the iPad 2 moves the goal posts, by being slimmer and lighter, boosting speed and power, and holding its price advantages, available apps and battery life. As of now, I can comfortably recommend it as the best tablet for average consumers.
John Gruber, Daring Fireball
The iPad 2 is a solid second-generation iteration. Easier and more comfortable to hold, noticeably faster, equippable with foldable covers that are both literally and figuratively magnetic. Like last year’s iPhone 4, it seems like technology from the near future.
Martin Pilkington
Every developer should heap as much praise on the dev tools team as they can, as they have done a fantastic job. It's hard to take a large, mature and very familiar application and take a step back and ask "how could we do this better?" Sure it isn't to everyone's liking, but nothing is. But the beautiful thing about Xcode 4 is that it is still a lump of clay that can be sculpted. There is still a lot that can be done to improve it. And if you want to see improvements, just remember to file bugs.
Phill Ryu, Tap Tap Tap
What it really is about is systematically reducing your dependence on luck by building for the audience, and doing absolutely everything you can to improve your app’s chances. And the most influential window for tweaking your luck is right at the beginning, as you go over your available app ideas and pick the one you’re going to gamble with.
Jason Snell, Macworld
I spent a week with a leather Smart Cover and found it to be a nice companion product, though it took a little getting used to. It adds far less bulk than any iPad case I’ve previously used, and it also gave my fingers something else to hold on to when holding the iPad in one hand. I’m sure there will be a strong market for third-party iPad 2 cases—iPad cases are already being designed that mimic this magnetized design, and many people will want a case that covers the iPad’s back half. But once again, Apple has set a high bar for third-party accessories.
Jason Snell, Macworld
If you have an iPad, an iPhone 4, or a fourth-generation iPod touch, Apple’s Digital AV Adapter finally makes it possible to output HD video (with audio) from your iOS device to your HDTV. If you travel frequently, give presentations, or just like to share what’s on your iOS device with others, it’s a great addition to your bag of tricks. And the ability to optionally power your device at the same time gives it the flexibility that no other Apple video cable provides.
Jason Snell, Macworld
iMovie looks like a great way for someone traveling light to edit together home movies. The only thing that will really limit its use is the limited number of cameras that produce iMovie-compatible video files. (Presumably the existence of this product will spur camera-makers to make sure their devices create compatible files, at least as an option.) If you shoot most of your home movies on your iPhone already, though, you will have few complaints about iMovie on the iPad.
Jason Snell, Macworld
Danny Gallagher, Macworld
Micromat has unleashed a new version of its venerable TechTool Pro computer diagnostics and maintenance software. TechTool Pro 6 adds a number of diagnostic features for repairing hard drives, including solid-state drives and flash storage.
Jason Snell, Macworld
For Apple’s competitors in the tablet-device market, the iPad 2 is a bucket of water to the face. After more than a year of struggling to catch up to the original iPad, here’s a new model that addresses many of the iPad’s deficiencies, dramatically improves its speed, and doesn’t cede any ground on price, features, or battery life. The iPad 2 raises the bar Apple set a year ago—and it’s time for the rest of the industry to scramble again to catch up.
For everyone else, the iPad 2 is a triumph, an iPad that’s even more iPad than the original. And the original one was really good. The first iPad was a bolt from the blue, a device that defined an entire category, and a tough act to follow. The iPad 2 follows it with aplomb.
MacNN
Tagalicious opens your iTunes library and helps you effortlessly add missing tags and album artwork. It adds tagged and untagged music into smart libraries, so that you know the status of each song. In a separate window, you choose which tags you want to change and send that information back to your iTunes library.
Ron McElfresh, Mac360
John Hatchett, Low End Mac
David Winograd, TUAW
Michael Grothaus, TUAW
Apple has released Xcode 4 for free for all registered developers. The new Xcode offers a streamlined interface "that integrates UI design, coding, testing, and debugging, all within a single window." In addition the embedded Apple LLVM compiler underlines coding mistakes, much like Microsoft Word underlines spelling mistakes, as you type and can even correct your mistakes automatically.
Topher Kessler, CNET
Apple has released an update for Safari for both OS X and Windows operating systems that addresses a number of outstanding bugs with the Web browser. These include stability and page rendering problems with sites that load browser plug-ins, implementations of VoiceOver text-to-speech technologies, image effects, and other visual options.
Dana Franklin, TUAW
Unlike VNC clients that allow iPad users to remotely control a personal computer, VMware's solution displays the desktop of a virtual machine hosted online. VMware View Client for iPad uses a combination of onscreen input devices and multi-touch gestures to offer precise, intuitive controls for interacting with a PC interface on the iPad. The app fully supports WiFi or 3G connections.
Michael Rose, TUAW
The marquee features of this update are the additions of MLB.TV and NBA Game Time as streaming content options.
Dave Caolo, TUAW
To get the update, connect your device to iTunes and click Check for Update.
TJ Luoma, TUAW
Michael E. Cohen, TidBITS
Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider
Craig Hockenberry, Furbo.org
It’s no secret that the Mac App Store is a terrific new distribution channel for developers. Apple also provides plenty of documentation on how to prepare your app for submission.
Unfortunately, there’s not much information on how to create a product that can also be distributed through more traditional channels, such as your own product website. This guide will help you update your Xcode projects to make it as simple as possible to create products for both channels simultaneously.
Mike Schramm, TUAW
Topher Kessler, CNET
While most people may not need to see what is happening every time the system starts up, if your system takes a while to load or has other problems at boot such as crashing or hanging, then seeing where this is happening can help. At other times it may be useful to check that certain items have loaded, especially if you have a custom or specialized hardware setup.
Scott Stein, CNET
Overall, you could make a strong case out of these results that the $1,199 MacBook Pro would offer the best balance of performance, affordability, and features out of the current 13-inch MacBooks. However, it's no accident that Apple has cleverly priced all these configurations to be tempting--a savings or expenditure of a few hundred dollars here and there can be appealing to different shoppers for different reasons.
Nick Bilton, New York Times
On a number of shopping Web sites, people are clamoring to buy the first generation iPad, and in the process, breaking resale records for electronics.
Chris Kanaracus, IDG News Service
SAS Institute is teaming up with mobile BI (business intelligence) vendor Mellmo to bring analytic applications to Apple’s iPhone and iPad, the companies announced Tuesday. The move further cements Apple’s devices as must-hit targets for enterprise software vendors, especially for BI. It also follows deals Mellmo has struck with IBM, SAP, Salesforce.com, Microsoft and Oracle. The SAS integration, which also requires SAS Enterprise BI Server, is set to be released early next month.
Erica Sadun, TUAW
iTunes 10.2.1 allows you to sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to iOS 4.3 and provides improved Home Sharing, the service that allows you to browse and play media from your home computer's iTunes library.
Michael Grothaus, TUAW
Natalia Nowak, Mac360
Tom Negrino, Macworld
TimeTable mines your iCal data to tabulate the time spent on particular tasks, making it a good tool for consultants and other people who need to track their time.
John C. Welch, Macworld
Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW
Lex Friedman, Macworld
If your enthusiasm for upgrading to the latest iPad has been tempered by your uncertainty over what to do with the current model, here are a few ways to make sure your first tablet still gets put to good use somewhere.
Manton Reece
And now I wonder if Apple hasn't been backpedaling ever since, trying to make up for that mistake: free apps are a burden. iAd was the first correction, because a share of revenue from free apps was going to Google instead of Apple. In-app purchase is the next correction, because real value can be delivered in a free app with transactions handled elsewhere.
Jeff Porten, Macworld
Cleverfiles has released Disk Drill 1.1, a new drive utility that preemptively protects your disk data and provides tools for data recovery in the event of a crash or accidentally deleted files. Disk Drill is perhaps most notable in its agnosticism about drive formats: it can handle crashed drives in Mac's own HFS+ format as well as Windows FAT and NTFS and lost data on solid state cards used in portable electronics.
Jonathan Seff, Macworld
On Tuesday, Roxio released Toast 11, the latest version of its $100 CD/DVD burning and video conversion software. Big changes include a new user interface, built-in tutorials, multiple burner support, subtitle suport, and hardware-assisted video encoding.
Marco Arment
Topher Kessler, CNET
Uncompressing the files is as simple as double-clicking them, which will expand the contents right next to the original archive. While this is useful, when handling these ZIP archives you might wish to see the files inside them without uncompressing them.
Lex Friedman, Macworld
TJ Luoma, TUAW
What if you could have the security of the login screen with the convenience of automatic login?
Chris Ward, TUAW
Some of the first speed tests coming in show that hardware and software improvements in the iPad 2 are giving it decent performance gains over its predecessor -- and over rival devices.
Om Malik, GigaOM
However, if iPad, the device, is more magical, the applications (apps) for the device are anything but. For nearly a year, I’ve been waiting (and waiting) for experiences befitting the device and its hardware capabilities.
Aaron Saenz, Singularity Hub
If iPad’s are going to be the doctor’s tool of the future, they’re going to need a killer App that will enable the device to do everything they need it to do: schedule appointments, take notes, get lab results, bill insurance companies, file prescriptions, etc. Dr. Chrono can do all of that and more – it just might be the App your doctor is waiting for.
Christine Chan, AppAdvice
Tony Cooper, San Diego News
Two of the biggest challenges for any air traveler are staying comfortable and keeping occupied, especially during lengthy flights. One airline has come up with a unique solution to this issue, going well beyond the usual in-flight entertainment fare of bad movies and inane magazines.
Static Text
After being burned twice by software developers, Steve learned his lesson.
David Morgenstern, ZDNet
Nilay Patel, Engadget
Something tells us the next revision of the MacBook Pro will offer a more radical external redesign to go along with Lion, but that's a long ways off -- until then, this MacBook Pro represents the best blend of power, portability, and battery life we've come across to date. We'll see how the PC world responds with its Sandy Bridge systems soon enough.
Jennifer 8. Lee, New York Times
The effect is somewhat akin to being able to manipulate Google Streetview through tilting and moving the mobile device around, instead of using a mouse.
Joel Mathis, Macworld
You may not be able to place an order for the iPad 2 until the new tablet arrives a week from Friday. But you will have a wider ranger of shopping options compared to what was available a year ago for the original iPad’s launch.
Alexander Vaughn, AppAdvice
Ted Landau, Macworld
My best advice at this point is to upgrade as soon as possible. Don’t wait until the last minute. Here are a few personal tips to assist in your transition.
Dan Moren, Macworld
If you’ve considered dipping your toe into the world of RSS readers, but didn’t know where to start, you might want to investigate the latest offering from NewsGator. NetNewsWire Lite 4.0, a slimmed-down version of the venerable news reader, is now available in the Mac App Store as a free download.
Don Reisinger, CNET
Music-video site Vevo is one of the few companies to acknowledge that it's ready to take advantage of the new AirPlay functionality. The company added support for the feature on Wednesday to its iPad and iPhone apps.
But unlike Vevo, Netflix doesn't see the benefit of adding support for Apple's new feature, and won't offer it in its iPhone or iPad apps, GigaOm reported yesterday.
Chris Rawson, Macworld
Most of the big features you probably already know about, because Apple's described them. I'll walk you through those features now just to give you an idea of what you're in for when iOS 4.3 sees public release on March 11. Follow along onto the next page for a guided tour.
Lex Friedman, Macworld
Becoming a mouse-avoiding keyboard junkie is a learnable skill; it requires practice and memorization—especially muscle memory. Everyone knows a few keyboard shortcuts (like Command-P for print, or Command-Q for quit). Mastering more, along with other efficient ways to control your Mac without reaching for the mouse, will help you get your work done faster, leaving more time for Angry Birds.
Christopher Breen, Macworld
Chris McVeigh, Macworld
After awhile, Mac OS X’s alert sounds can be downright grating, as can many of the sounds you hear in Mail, iCal, and iChat. Happily, creating a custom alert sound and adding it to your system isn’t complicated—you just need to know what you’re doing.
Adam Dachis, Lifehacker
If you run iTunes on multiple devices, chances are you've had trouble keeping your libraries in sync. Maybe you've even tried Dropbox but ran into syncing conflicts. Here's how to sync iTunes with Dropbox problem-free, on Windows or Mac.
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Apple will patch its Safari browser before the Pwn2Own hacking contest kicks off next week, security researchers hinted Thursday. If accurate, Apple will join both Google and Mozilla, which earlier this week issued security updates for Chrome and Firefox as preparation for Pwn2Own.
Margaret Atwood, Telegraph
But what is it that makes books things people love to give? Perhaps it’s because they’re so personal. “Tell me what you like and I will tell you who you are,” John Ruskin famously once said, and it’s true. We are what we eat, but we are also what we read.
Marco Arment
The iPad 2 with a Smart Cover will be approximately a 1.5-pound device that will cost $538 in pastel rubber or $568 in nice leather, looks a lot nicer, and can be removed from its case instantly and easily whenever convenient.
That’s about a 25% weight savings, a huge reduction in thickness, and a significantly better-looking and more versatile product in actual use.
Cisco Cheng, PC Magazine
As it stands, the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt) is the fastest and fastest shipping laptop to date (you can stroll into Apple store and buy one as we speak), and it's all thanks to an Intel chipset glitch that prevented every other manufacturer from shipping their new laptops on time. Apple has assured me that this glitch will not affect any of the MacBook Pros, since they're all using new and unaffected chipsets from Intel.
Casey Tschida, AppAdvice
James Galbraith, Macworld
The new MacBook Pros offer a mix of improvements, familiarity and compromise. The CPU performance and battery life are much improved, and the graphics performance of the discrete Radeon HD 6750M in the 15- and 17-inch 2.2GHz Core i7 models was much faster than any MacBook Pro we’ve tested. There’s also the high data throughput of the new Thunderbolt port. The screen, weight, keyboard, speakers, and number of ports remain the same. As for compromises, there’s the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor, which turned in results that are either slower or similar to the integrated graphics used in last year’s MacBook Pros. The discrete Radeon HD 6490M graphics processor in the 15-inch 2.0GHz Core i7 model performed similarly to the discrete graphics found in last year’s 15-inch models. And there aren’t any Thunderbolt peripherals available yet.
Macworld
Josh Helfferich, TUAW
A brand new app called Labelbox is taking the iOS App Store by storm this week, and for good reason. It does something simple - putting labels on photos - in an aesthetically pleasing and, really, quite fun way.
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS
For most people, upgrading to the new MobileMe Calendar shouldn’t be a major fuss, and Apple has a MobileMe Calendar FAQ that provides links to instructions and covers most of the issues. However, there are some situations that require additional thought and effort ahead of time.
Macworld
Dave Caolo, TUAW
Topher Kessler, CNET
Apple keeps more extensive configuration settings hidden to keep the OS more standardized, but you can access and modify them using a utility like TinkerTool.
Joe Wilcox, AppAdvice
Interestingly, the Apple Digital AV Adapter Steve Jobs announced on stage yesterday is compatible with more than just the iPad 2. In fact, once the accessory becomes available, you’ll be able to use it with your iPhone 4, iPod touch (4G), and both the iPad and iPad 2.
Fraser Speirs
Topher Kessler, CNET
When setting up a hard drive or even after using one for a while, sometimes it is useful to partition it so sections of its space can be used for different purposes. These purposes can be to set up a multiboot environment, separating system files from user files, or for segmenting used data from scratch and backup disks. For instance, if you use a drive to back files up, it may be beneficial to create one large partition for Time Machine, and have a second partition be used for manual backups since Time Machine will eventually use most of the space on its partition.
Topher Kessler, CNET
While there are numerous ways to lock drives and files, unless a file's contents are encrypted then the measures used to lock the data can be circumvented and the file's contents recovered. Because of this, the only way to truly guard data against recovery by unintended sources is to encrypt it.
Jason Snell, Dan Moren, Macworld
It’s much more comfortable to hold the iPad 2 in one hand. The slight decrease in weight helps, no doubt, but it’s also the thinness—and most notably the fact that the back side of the device tapers to a flat surface in a much shorter distance than its predecessor.
Kirk McElhearn, TidBITS
While the main reason for this update is to provide compatibility with the iPad 2 and iOS 4.3, both due on 11 March 2011, Apple has done some work under the hood. While changing preferences is relatively minor, some apparent minor speed enhancements are certainly a good thing for anyone with a large library.
Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider
Apple hasn't announced a date for the Verizon iPhone release version of iOS 4.3, but it is likely to follow shortly after the initial release for GSM iPhones because the new build packs a variety of features and improvements.
Brooke Crothers, CNET
The iPad 2's A5 chip is sending a strong message to the competition: Apple is moving to dual-core processing power in a completely redesigned tablet but keeping the 10-hour battery life.
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica
We were able to get some hands-on time with the new iPad 2 following Wednesday's announcement in San Francisco. Both the white and black versions were available to play with, as were the new magnet-enhanced iPad covers. We also managed to get answers to some of our reader questions about the device, though Apple wasn't willing to give up details on a few core curiosities.
AppleInsider
Apple on Wednesday issued iTunes 10.2, bringing the ability to sync with devices running iOS 4.3 ahead of the operating system update's release, and also adding new Home Sharing features for iOS 4.3.
Dan Moren, Macworld
Dave Caolo, TUAW
Available March 11th, this app puts the power of audio recording and editing on the sleek, portable iPad.
Lex Friedman, Macworld
“We’ve been working on this product a while, and I didn’t want to miss today,” Jobs told reporters.
Megan Lavey, TUAW
The cover is more like a cover flap that leaves the back of the iPad exposed. It's held on by magnets, which are said to help auto-align the cover with the iPad. It has a microfiber lining that will clean the screen.
Katie Marsal, AppleInsider
Jeff Porten, Macworld
iMovie for iOS brings over many advanced features from its Mac sibling, including a precision editor, multitrack audio recording, and full HD video support. In addition, the app has incorporated multitouch gestures, AirPlay support, social media sharing, three new themes, fifty sound effects, three background audio tracks, and direct video import from your device’s camera or from the camera roll.
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld
iOS 4.3 promises improved Safari performance, wireless media streaming in the form of iTunes home sharing, AirPlay improvements, a Personal Hotspot option for the iPhone 4, and personal settings options for the iPad’s side-switch.
iOS 4.3 will be available as a free download from iTunes for the iPad, the GSM iPhone 4, and the third- and fourth-generation iPod touch on March 11.
Roman Loyola, Macworld
The iPad 2 features an all-new design along with new features including built-in cameras and a new gyroscope. At the heart of the iPad 2 is a 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor, which should provide a boost over the 1GHz single-core Apple A4 in the first iPad.
Bill Ray, The Register
Don't mention the earthquake.
Jeff Carlson, Macworld
Using transitions in an iMovie project adds polish and often smoothes juxtapositions between clips—for example, a long Fade to Black transition can indicate the passage of time. iMovie ’11 offers 24 built-in transitions, and what seems like nearly as many ways to add and edit them to improve your movies.
AppleInsider
In addition to Leopard's current Alex voice from 2007 and the Vicki voice added to Mac OS X Panther in 2003 (and several previous, but fairly robotic-sounding speaking and novelty voices that have shipped on Macs since the late 80s), Lion will make available three new very high quality American English voices: Tom, Samantha and Jill.
AppleInsider
Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider
Glenn Fleishman, TidBITS
Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW
The icon for this new section is an image of filing drawer stuffed with documents and dividers. Zooming in on the documents within this icon, one can see writing that is taken from notable quotes delivered by Steve Jobs and Apple.
Joel Mathis, Macworld
Evernote relaunched its popular note-collecting app for iPhone and iPad Tuesday, an overhaul that features a redesigned home screen and revamped note-taking capabilities.
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld
DropCopy is a nifty utility that takes advantage of Mac OS X’s Bonjour technology to simplify transferring files between Macs on your local network.
Bill Snyder, CIO
Cyberspace is worth a look, particularly if sharing via social networks is a priority for you.
John Gruber, Daring Fireball
If it works, Apple’s 30-percent take of in-app subscriptions will prove as objectionable in the long run as the App Store itself: not very.
David Dahlquist, Macworld
If you’ve found yourself wondering where all your once-plentiful hard drive space has seemingly vanished to, a utility like DaisyDisk Team’s DaisyDisk could prove invaluable in helping you free up long-lost disk space. Recently upgraded to version 2.0, DaisyDisk scans your disks and presents their content as interactive maps that make it easy to spot unusually large files and remove them to free up more space.
AppleInsider
In Mac OS X Lion Server, Apple brings iOS-like remote management features to the Mac, including "Find My Mac," remote wipe, and remote software and profile settings via push notifications.
AppleInsider
In Mac OS X Lion, Apple has completely revamped FileVault, removing it as a simple encryption of users' Home folders and reinstating it as full disk encryption solution, with an apparent option to save disk encryption keys with Apple, likely via MobileMe.
Nilay Patel, Engadget
We installed the dev build on one of our MacBook Pros and used it over the weekend, and while we won't be able to see any huge changes in day-to-day workflow until our favorite apps are updated to take advantage of Lion, we did see plenty of interesting system-level features and additions -- and yes, iOS's influence is all over the place.
PJ Jacobowitz, Cisco Cheng, PC Magazine
Tony Bradley, PC World
The iPad is an awesome mobile computing tool, and it can take the place of a PC for most tasks, but when push comes to shove, it's still not a PC. Citrix is bridging that gap, though, by enabling users to remotely connect to and work with their PC on the go from an iPad using the GoToMyPC for iPad app.
Tim Bajarin, PC Magazine
Dave Caolo, TUAW
Alfred is a utility for Mac OS X that's part app launcher, part navigation tool and part web service. In short, it's a productivity tool that sits quietly in the background until you need something -- fast.
Sean Hollister, Engadget
Apple COO Tim Cook got all buddy-buddy with Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi this week, talking about Apple's business strategy -- nothing out of the ordinary there -- but this morning, that analyst decided to publicly paraphrase an intriguing part of the interview. Guess what? It sounds like a cheaper iPhone may indeed be in the cards.
River of News Blog
It's not a bad income for a month and factoring in the lack of benefits and extra taxes it's around the median for a US household. But I can earn twice as much in the corporate world. (Software engineers are paid well.)
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