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My Must-Have iPhone Apps, 2013 Edition

Federico Viticci, MacStories

QuickBooks For Mac 2014 Review: Full Of Small Updates, Still No Windows File Compatibility

Jeffery Battersby, Macworld

iOS 7 Adoption Rate Continues To Climb, Now At 78 Percent

Richard Devine, iMore

This iPad App Wants To Be Your New Assistant

Rachel Metz, Technology Review

Imagine that you’re on the phone with a friend and talking about a new restaurant: one or both of you might go online to find reviews. MindMeld tries to do that for you automatically. Or if you are talking about buying a birthday present for under $15, it will pull up Web pages with inexpensive gift ideas.

Popular Twitter App Tweetbot 3 Gains Support For Viewing Photos In Direct Messages

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Notebooks 7 Promises A Unified iOS App For All Your Writings And Tasks

Joe White, AppAdvice

The NSA Has Nearly Complete Backdoor Access To Apple's iPhone

Jay Hathaway, The Daily Dot

An NSA program called DROPOUTJEEP allows the agency to intercept SMS messages, access contact lists, locate a phone using cell tower data, and even activate the device’s microphone and camera.

According to leaked documents, the NSA claims a 100 percent success rate when it comes to implanting iOS devices with spyware. The documents suggest that the NSA needs physical access to a device to install the spyware—something the agency has achieved by rerouting shipments of devices purchased online—but a remote version of the exploit is also in the works.

App Review: Backgammon NJ HD

Kirk McElhearn, Kirkville

You get the opportunity to play people online, and you get to play one of the strongest apps, with excellent tutoring features.

Apple Signage Says New Flagship Brisbane, Australia Store Opening Soon

Mike Beasley, 9 To 5 Mac

The Products Apple Doesn’t Have Time To Improve

Marco Arment

I’d be perfectly happy if Apple never made a TV or a watch or a unicorn, and instead devoted the next five years to polishing the software and services for their existing product lines.

Why MacPaint's Original Canvas Was 416 Pixels Wide

Bill Scott, Looks Good, Works Well

The drawing area is evenly divisible by 13 long words (13x32=416). This is exactly the number of registers that were available in the loop above for the MOVEM.L operation (It appears it could have used 14 registers, but I am guessing the extra 32 pixels would have made the drawing area more cramped by reducing the gray whitespace.)

Google Launches New Google+ Auto-backup Utility For Mac With Latest Picasa Update

Mike Beasley, 9 To 5 Mac

Tweetbot For Mac Fixes Numerous Usability Bugs With Latest Update

AppleInsider

Apple Board Urges Shareholders To Vote Against Carl Icahn's $50 Billion Stock Buyback Proposal

Kwame Opam, The Verge

Hands-on With OpenEmu 1.0, A Gorgeous Classic Console Emulator For OS X

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica

Promising multi-console emulator comes with its share of missed opportunities.

Hands-on: Netatmo Wireless Weather Station Review

Rik Henderson, Pocket-lint

The Netatmo Weather Station has air quality sensors, can measure temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels, has a barometer and even advises on whether sound is being played at comfortable levels.

How To Find Your Mac's Serial Number

Topher Kessler, CNET

Your Mac's serial number is required for warranty service, among other benefits that Apple offers its customers. Therefore, while not commonly used, you may occasionally need to look it up.

How To Assign Applications To Desktops In OS X

Topher Kessler, CNET

Applications in OS X are by default assigned to the current desktop, so if you open a program and then switch to a different desktop, the program's windows will stay on the current desktop. However, there are a couple of ways to change this, so specific programs open on a different desktop, or so they remain present on all desktops.

Apple CEO's Compensation Rises Slightly To $4.3M

The Associated Press

2013 Mac Pro Review: Apple’s New Desktop Boasts Dramatic Redesign, Dramatic Performance

Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch

The Mac Pro, somewhat like the iPhone 5s, is designed with the future in mind, so that video producers who aren’t working on 4K but will be expected to in a few years don’t have to reinvest.

New Mac Pro Teardown Reveals Replaceable Xeon CPU

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica

A few years down the line when warranties have expired and the computers are aging, users buying and using this Mac Pro secondhand may appreciate the ability to pop in a new processor if they really want to.

4 Most Delusional Comments Made By Greedy Corporations

Paul Buchheit, Alternet

Next, on to a company that hides overseas earnings, avoids federal and state taxes, makes $400,000 per employee, pays its store workers an average of about $12 per hour, pays its CEO $143 million a year, and operates overseas factories with working conditions that, according to the Economic Policy Institute, “reflect some of the worst practices of the industrial era.” Their CEO Tim Cook says Apple has a very strong moral compass.

PicsArt Photo Studio 3.0 Features New Design And Navigation For iOS 7

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Nokia Yanks Here Maps From The App Store, iOS 7 'Harms The User Experience'

Richard Devine, iMore

iOS 7 harms the user experience? Without any further detail, this particular statement is pretty puzzling.

3 Approaches To Building Mobile Apps: Which Is Best?

Paul Rubens, Enterprise Apps Today

Best Apps For Your New Mac

The Verge

This Year's 20 Must-Have Mac OS X Utilities

Tommaso Nervegna, Gizmodo

Chatology Review

Adam Berenstain, Mac Life

A companion app to Messages, Chatology helps you quickly search your chat history for everything from critical notes to those — ahem — romantic photos you just know are in there somewhere.

Headline Of The Week

John Gruber, Daring Fireball

Nothing in Roberts’s piece even attempts to justify the word “dubious” here. And he fails to address the elephant in the room: Google itself bid over $3 billion for these same patents — $3.14159 billion, to be exact, because Google’s executives and lawyers are such a fun-loving, clever bunch — which suggests that Google doesn’t actually consider these patents the least bit “dubious”.

How To Teach Siri To Pronounce Someone's Name Correctly In iOS 7

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Apple Japan Hosting The "Lucky Bag" New Year Sale On January 2

Richard Devine, iMore

There's no telling what will be in each bag, but Apple has been known to throw in some big ticket items such as MacBooks and iPads, as well as smaller items and Apple swag.

Macworld, The “Grand Old Lady” Of Mac Magazines, Is Turning Into A Doddering Old Fool.

Shawn King, Diary Of A Mad Man

By even unintentionally blurring the Chinese Wall between their journalistic integrity and their ad sales and marketing departments, they not only continue to chip away at their reputation, they make it that much harder to get back.

Evernote-Integrated Lightly App Gains Location Support And Power Saving Feature

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Apple's 12 Days Of Gifts Officially Begins With Justin Timberlake's iTunes Festival EP

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Taiwan Fines Apple For iPhone Price-Plan Meddling

Jenny W. Hsu, Wall Street Journal

It found the Cupertino-based company violated article 18 of Taiwan's Fair Trade Act by telling Taiwan's three main service providers how much to sell iPhones for.

The U.S. computer company has no right to meddle in companies' iPhone pricing plans after selling them distribution rights, the commission said.

Google Sues To Protect Android Device Makers From Apple-backed Patent Hell

Jeff John Roberts, GigaOM

In a complaint filed Monday in San Jose, Google claims that Rockstar’s patent campaign is taking aim at hundreds of California tech companies and that the litigation has “placed a cloud on Google’s Android platform,” threatening Nexus devices in particular.

How To Extend The Life Of Your Devices

Annabell Halpert, IDG

Let.ter For Mac Adds Markdown, Removes The Inbox From Your Email

Richard Devine, iMore

Apple Mac Pro Review (2013): Small, Fast And In A League Of Its Own

Dana Wollman, Engadget

One of the reasons I spent so much time in Final Cut Pro is that it's one of the few programs designed specifically to run well on a new Mac Pro. It reminds me a bit of how Retina display MacBook Pros were initially short on compatible software. If that analogy holds true, we should see more apps retooled to play nice with the Mac Pro's dual-GPU setup. Just be prepared for some slim pickings if you buy one this week.

Opinion: The New Mac Pro Makes The iMac The Power User's Desktop

Dan Frakes, Macworld

I think it’s fantastic that people like me, whose needs are considerably more demanding than those of the typical computer user, but not in the realm of a professional-app user, no longer have to splurge on a Mac Pro. The new Mac Pro is a pretty great computer. It’s just no longer the Mac for me.

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Review: Apple's New Mac Pro Really Is For Pros

Dan Frakes, Macworld

Instead of the wind-tunnel-like noise levels you’d sometimes hear with previous Mac Pro models, the 2013 Mac Pro’s fan is generally very quiet. In fact, in normal use, it’s nearly silent: If you put your ear next to the vent on the top, you hear only a quiet hum. (Apple told us the computer produces only about 12dB of noise at idle, and roughly 17dB under load.) In my quiet office, I couldn’t hear the Mac Pro’s fan over the noise of my 2010 iMac, even when live-rendering some effects on 4K video in Final Cut Pro X.

There are good reasons for separating storage and other expansion peripherals from the computer itself, including size, heat, and noise. Apple says that some of its pro users—for example, those working in recording and production studios—actually want to get hot, noisy components (such as hard drives and RAID arrays) away from the computer and the work area.

I Can Make Your Parking Tickets Disappear

Michael Brouillet, CityWatch

I’m not a programmer, but I am a decent learner. First, I downloaded the free Apple software development kit, SDK, which allows rogue do-gooders to turn their ideas into iPhone apps. Then, I watched some basic YouTube explanatory videos. Finally, I broke down and bought a couple of Xcode programming books. After a few false starts, I created, designed, and fully coded my iPhone app in just a few months.

Apple Mac Pro Review (2013)

David Pierce, The Verge

The new Mac Pro is an undeniably serious and powerful machine aimed at professionals. But it's also incredibly expensive, and at least from my Adobe-centric perspective, it's not quite worth the outlay right now. The day-to-day performance is similar enough to that of the iMac that I'd have a difficult time convincing my boss to spend double the money on this computer, plus a monitor, plus the Thunderbolt peripherals I'd need to make it a viable solution — at least, not until Adobe makes its suite shine on the new hardware the way Final Cut Pro X does. At the end of the day, I'm back to hoping, but this time that third-party developers step up.

The Verge At Work: Making Perfect Pictures On Your iPhone

Jordan Oplinger, The Verge

I spent years chasing the perfect photo workflow, auditioning countless apps across multiple platforms, before landing on my current setup: an iPhone 5S paired with a handful of apps. While several of these tools are cross-platform and the underlying ideas can be applied regardless of your mobile OS, this is my personal iOS workflow.

Five Signs Your Laptop Is Dying, And What To Do About It

Annabell Halpert, IDG

It won’t shake, rattle, or smoke (hopefully) when it’s nearing the end. But with a little bit of guidance, you may be able to identify the symptoms of a sick system, and perhaps even cure them. Here’s how.

EverDock Duo For iPhone And iPad Review

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

If you're looking for a quality docking solution that can also charge your iPhone or iPad at the same time, the EverDock is an option worth looking at. The only time I may be hesitant to recommend it is if you use a lot of cases since the results seem to be mixed.

Best iPad Air Keyboard Case: Zagg Vs. Logitech Vs. Belkin!

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Vesper: Elegant Notes Review: A Pleasantly Simple And Useful Note-taking iOS App

Brian Beam, Macworld

Giving The Gift Of Yourself

Christopher Breen, Macworld

Here at Mac 911, I’ve established something of a tradition of providing my technical expertise to those I care for. If you’re of a like mind, I’d like to make a few suggestions.

Numismatik Is New Coin Collection Tool For Mac OS X

Dennis Sellers, Apple Daily Report

NY School Goes All-in On Digital Textbooks

Jim Fitzgerald, The Associated Press

[Ann Flynn] noted that several factors are only encouraging the move: Prices for tablets and laptops are dropping, more states are agreeing on a Common Core curriculum and online resources such as Khan Academy are becoming available.

You Can’t Save Them All: The Walking Dead: Season Two Is Appropriate For Beginners

Chris Suellentrop, New York Times

It’s particularly good as an example of how to give a player interpretive freedom without undermining the integrity of the story or the characters — or relying on black-and-white “moral choices.”

Ember For Mac OS X Review

Krisette Capati, TechnologyTell

Ember is a beautifully designed application for curating, collecting, and organizing ideas through photos and designs, allowing you to save files and categorize them according to collections, tags, and library.

Mac Pro Pricing Over Time

Marco Arment

As their prices have crept upward, the high-end options have become more specialized at the expense of economy and some general-purpose performance.

deGeo: A Simple, Useful Geotag Remover For iOS

Federico Viticci, MacStories

It's a geotag remover that lets you pick photos from your Camera Roll, clean them up to remove metadata, and share them or export them again with no location data attached.

Apple Finally Has Access To China Mobile's 700 Million Subscribers

Aaron Souppouris, The Verge

Following years of rumor and negotiation, Apple has finally succeeded in bringing the iPhone to the world's largest mobile provider, China Mobile. The carrier today announced that the iPhone 5S and 5C are coming to its new 4G network. It's the first time Apple has access to China Mobile's vast customer base; the company has over 700 million users.

Also: China Mobile & Apple Bring iPhone to China Mobile’s 4G & 3G Networks on January 17, 2014 (Apple)

Bloomberg For iPhone Updated With Financial News And Watchlist Enhancements

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Snapchat Competitor Wickr Goes 2.0 With iOS 7 Redesign And More Secure Features

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Apple's Staff Are What Sets It Apart From Other Retailers

Matt Warman, The Telegraph

One thing was very clear: these are inviting, semi-public spaces in which Apple builds, one-by-one, a relationship with its customers. Vastly profitable, it’s possible only because of large numbers of engaged staff, bolstered by special events.

12 Things That Show How Small The Mac Pro Really Is

Dan Frakes, Macworld

We've all heard that Apple's new Mac Pro is smaller than the old one. But to really get just how small it is, you need to see it in person—or at least next to something familiar. Here are a dozen household objects that will give you some perspective.

Review: Bubble Chat For iPhone Is A Colorful Alternative To Facebook Messenger

Mike Beasley, 9 To 5 Mac

Enter The Busy World Of Richard Scarry And Solve Busytown Mysteries

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Google Play Music Updated For iOS 7, Adds 'I'm Feeling Lucky' Radio And Other Missing Features

Kwame Opam, The Verge

Ashlar-Vellum Rolls Out Graphite 9 For Mac And Windows

Dennis Sellers, Apple Daily Report

Ashlar-Vellum has released Graphite 9, a new version of their 2D/3D wireframe drafting program on both Mac OS X and Windows.

Livescribe 3 Smart Pen Review

Chuong Nguyen, Gotta Be Mobile

AirWeb, A Remote Controlled Web Browser For Apple TV

Charlie Sorrel, Cult Of Mac

Apple, Please Give Us A Fix — A Guarantee — That Our iSight Webcams Are Safe

Matt Peckham, Time

According to my source, Apple is taking all of this as seriously as any company can, which I interpret to mean we may get clarification on some or all of this soon.

Review: Scrivener, The Must-have Software For Would-be Novelists Everywhere

Ben Lovejoy, 9 To 5 Mac

It keeps everything you need in one place, is a brilliant planning tool, allows you to restructure at will and allows you any view of your novel you could possibly wish for – from a clutter-free writing environment through a clickable link to every section in your novel.

App Santa: Tweetbot, 1Password, Vesper, And 12 Other Great iOS Apps On Sale For Christmas

Federico Viticci, MacStories

2013 Holiday App Sales! Get 'Em - And Gift 'Em! - While They're Hot!

Rene Ritchie, iMore

Two Great Astronomy Apps For Your Holiday Stargazing

Mel Martin, TUAW

Sky Guide and SkySafari are designed for different levels of amateur astronomers, but both are top apps for their target markets. I heartily recommend either one for some great nights under the stars.

Snapchat 6.1 Update Brings Smart Filters, Fancy Text, And A Front-facing Flash

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Wallpaper Fix Gives You Another Way To Make Backgrounds In iOS 7 Behave

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Lab Tested: New Mac Pro Is The Speedster We've Been Waiting For (Finally)

James Galbraith, Macworld

It should be no surprise that the new 8-core Mac Pro is the fastest Mac we’ve tested, but it was only 8 percent faster overall than our previous champ, a CTO 2013 27-inch iMac.

The new Mac Pro was 63 percent faster overall than the 2012 12-core 2.4GHz Mac Pro, and nearly twice as fast overall as the 2012 3.2GHz quad-core Mac Pro.

Apple Thinks Different For Christmas

Ken Segall's Observatory

Most of these people mistake their personal opinion, instinct, values and/or taste for actual marketing talent. There are tens of millions of people who will stop in their tracks at this commercial and wipe a tear from their eye. As a result, they will feel slightly more attached to Apple, which is the marketing purpose of this spot.

5 Apps That Ease Your Commute

Christina DesMarals, PCWorld

These apps can help you save money, stay sane, and reclaim some time from the road.

I commute via public transport, and two apps make my commute tolerable: audio books via Audible, and podcasts via Downcast.

What Happens When One Of Your Coworkers Dies

Michael Hobbes, The Billfold

The first thing that happens is someone tells you.

Note To Selfie

John Dickerson, Slate

We’re told that we spend too much time recording moments instead of living in them. That’s a false choice.

21 Ways That Option Click Makes OS X Better

Apple Gazette

The Option key on the Mac keyboard gives users a lot more…well…options. Just about anything you can click on inside of OS X can be Option clicked to open up a world of new features and abilities. You could click around OS X and find all of these for yourself, but below are the top 21 Option click commands available, so no hunting necessary.

FileMaker Pro 13

Samara Lynn, PC Magazine

FileMaker always delivers a beautiful aesthetic to database design, and now the new features lend tighter security and the ability to create uber web-friendly custom apps. My one issue is that there seems to be little concern with supporting Android and Windows Phone, although the ease with which you can create apps that run directly in a Web browser bypasses many OS compatibility issues.

iA's Writer Pro Maximizes The Minimalist Text Editor

Sam Byford, The Verge

The basic experience is much the same as Writer, but there are three additional modes designed to be used in sequential order — Note is the first, then Edit and Read follow the Write mode.

Apple Fixes VPN Connection Issue With Mavericks Server Update

AppleInsider

The VPN Update for Mavericks Server resolves a problem involving the refusal of L2TP connections to OS X Server's VPN service.

Users Reporting Widespread GPU Issues With 2011 MacBook Pros

Josh Centers, TidBITS

Apple Releases EFI Firmware Update V2.0 For The New Mac Pro

Roman Loyola, Macworld

According to Apple, the update “improves system reliability during reboot, resolves an issue with memory self-test, and improves graphics power management when using Boot Camp.”

Veedeo For iPhone Allows You To Create And Share Custom Video Clips With Animated Text, Music, And Effects

Mike Beasley, 9 To 5 Mac

Shazam For iPhone Gets Auto Tagging, Tag Songs While Your Phone’s Locked

Toby Wellington, Macgasm

IMDb iOS App Gets iOS 7 Redesign, Improved Navigation & Filters, Oscars Section, More

Jordan Kahn, 9 To 5 Mac

Logic Pro X Gets Updated, Adds New Drummers, New EQ Plugin Interface, More

Rene Ritchie, iMore

The New Mac Pro: First Look And Hands On

Dan Frakes and Jason Snell, Macworld

Up Close And Personal With The New Mac Pro (Hands-on)

David Pierce, The Verge

It cuts a striking figure, despite its relatively small stature. It's also incredibly dense, far heavier than I expected.

Apple Starts Selling Black Thunderbolt Cables Alongside New Mac Pro

Mark Gurman, 9 To 5 Mac

The Wait Continues: Mac Pro Ship Dates Have Already Slipped To February

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica

While Apple technically kept Cook's promise, it looks like just a few lucky buyers will actually see their workstations on their doorsteps this year: the new Mac Pro was initially shipping to buyers on December 30th, but just a few hours after appearing in Apple's online store, the ship times have slipped to a more distant and nebulous "February."

13 Lessons From 3 Years On The App Store

Tiny Hearts

AirServer Update Lets You Record, Save Video From Your iOS Device

Joseph Keller, iMore

Cut The Rope 2 Now Available, Exclusive To iPhone And iPad

Richard Devine, iMore

How To Turn Old Photos Into New Holiday Calendars

Jackie Dove, Macworld

Making The Most Of iMovie's Lesser-known Features

Christopher Breen, Macworld

In past iMovie lessons we’ve talked about the application’s interface, importing media, constructing a basic movie project, creating trailers, and iMovie’s more persnickety editing features. It’s time to put a bow on the series by taking note of a few remaining features that you’ll find helpful in your movie making.

Awesome Stocking Stuffers For Your New iPhone

Leah Yamshon, Macworld

Final Cut Pro Updated To Version 10.1, 4K Monitoring, Mac Pro Optimisations And More

Benjanmin Mayo, 9 To 5 Mac

Final Cut 10.1 also adds 4K support, including monitoring across Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI displays as well as 4K titles, transition and generators.

Rdio App Updated With iOS 7 Keyboard, Redesigned Profiles And Sleep Timer Feature

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Apple Slapped By Australia Consumer Watchdog

Robb M. Stewart, Wall Street Journal

Following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the technology giant agreed to bring the warranty on the goods it sells in line with Australia’s laws.

The regulator alleged Apple had in some cases wrongly applied a 14-day return policy and a 12-month warranty.

Best Alternative Mail Apps For Mac: Airmail, Postbox, Inky, And More!

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

EA Discounts Its Premium Games For The Holidays

Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW

Second Gear Releases Photos+, A New Way To Look At Photos On Your iPhone

Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW

Apple!!

ThadenPierce

We were encouraged to give him lots of visual memories before he loses more eyesight, and he made up a wish list. We were amused he asked to go see the Apple Store – we told him we weren’t sure when we could make that happen but we would try someday. One morning we woke them up early to “run an errand” and this is what happened next…

Apple To Ship New Mac Pro On Dec. 19

Dan Miller, Macworld

Apple promised that it would ship the new Mac Pro in December, and it appears that it’s kept that promise: The distinctively cylindrical power machine will be available for order on Thursday, December 19, the company announced on Wednesday. Customers can place their orders via the Apple Online Store, at Apple retail stores, or select Apple Authorized Resellers.

Research Shows How MacBook Webcams Can Spy On Their Users Without Warning

Ashkan Soltani And Timothy B. Lee, Washington Post

Marcus Thomas, former assistant director of the FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico, said in a recent story in The Washington Post that the FBI has been able to covertly activate a computer’s camera — without triggering the light that lets users know it is recording — for several years.

Now research from Johns Hopkins University provides the first public confirmation that it’s possible to do just that, and demonstrates how. While the research focused on MacBook and iMac models released before 2008, the authors say similar techniques could work on more recent computers from a wide variety of vendors. In other words, if a laptop has a built-in camera, it’s possible someone — whether the federal government or a malicious 19 year old — could access it to spy on the user at any time.

Also: iSeeYou: Disabling the MacBook Webcam Indicator LED (JScholarship)

Here's How To Check Your Apple TV's Netflix Bandwidth Using A Hidden Built-in Tool

Mike Wehner, TUAW

FileMaker 13 Review: Venerable Database Gets A Style And Accessibility Update

William Porter, Macworld

Most of the exciting new features need to be cooked into a database before users can enjoy them, so if you’re a developer, I urge you to upgrade, whether you’re an ace or a struggling do-it-yourselfer. (Call it a Christmas gift to yourself.) IT managers should be curious about WebDirect as an alternative to FileMaker Pro for users who don’t need to make changes to the design or structure of databases.

New And Updated Apple Apps Must Be iOS 7-Compliant By Feb. 1

Megan Geuss, Ars Technica

On Tuesday, Apple told developers of iOS apps that any new or updated apps must be iOS 7 compliant after February 1. After the deadline, only apps built with the latest version of Xcode 5 will be reviewed for approval by the Cupertino company.

Heads Up! Ellen DeGeneres' Hit iOS Guessing Game Now Lets You Build Your Own Decks

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Apple Chooses Edmonton For Video After City Scouts Find Perfect Winter Scene

Stephanie Dubois, Metro

An Apple commercial was filmed in Edmonton recently after local scouters chose area neighbourhoods.

Top Products In Two Decades Of Tech Reviews

Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal

So I thought I'd talk about the dozen personal-technology products I reviewed that were most influential over the past two decades.

Some readers will complain that Apple is overrepresented. My answer: Apple introduced more influential, breakthrough products for average consumers than any other company over the years of this column.

GraphicConverter 9 For OS X Adds Mavericks Compatibility, More

Dennis Sellers, Apple Daily Report

Misunderstood Or Double-edged?

Robert McGinley Myers, Anxious Machine

That's the double edge of the technology we now have in our pockets. It gives us access to boundless information, and enables all kinds of interactions with that information, but it doesn't distinguish between empty and nourishing information, or help us determine the right uses of that information. We have to make those distinctions and those choices.

Mailbox Update Brings Support For iCloud And Yahoo Email Accounts

Brent Dirks, AppAdvice

Apple Adds Gifting Options To The iBookstore

Serenity Caldwell, Macworld

Apple Signals End To OS X Snow Leopard Support

Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

On Monday, Apple did not update Safari 5.1 when it patched the later Safari 6 and 7 for newer editions of OS X, including 2011's Lion, 2012's Mountain Lion and this year's Mavericks.

Rovio Releases The Conclusion To Angry Bird Star Wars With 30 New Levels And Death Star Showdown

Michael Grothaus, TUAW

Automating OS X App Test Build Distribution Across Multiple OS Versions

Fraser Hess, Cocoa Is My Girlfriend

BBC Updates Its iPlayer Radio App For iOS 7, Adds Improved Support For 4-Inch Screens

Joe White, AppAdvice

How Mac Experts Organize Their Files

Lex Friedman, Macworld

The Original Tomb Raider Game Comes To iOS

Michael Grothaus, TUAW

Tomb Raider 1's graphics are of the same quality as the 1996 original, but they look cheap when displayed on the iPhone. That's because gaming and graphics have gotten so good that our phones have surpassed the wildest dreams of what was possible on a gaming machine from the 1990s.

AccountEdge Pro 2014 Available For Mac OS X And Windows

Dennis Sellers, Apple Daily Report

Apple's New Holiday Commercial Is 'Misunderstood'

Rene Ritchie, iMore

Closing The Door On Windows: A Guide To Changing Operating Systems

Tony Bradley, PCWorld

Moments Lets You Quickly Build A Photo Book On Your iPad, Pick It Up At Walgreens When Complete

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

Ecoute 2 Review

Federico Viticci, MacStories

For me, the best feature of Ecoute is its superior navigation. Thanks to the grid layout, artists and album retain recognizability and more items can be displayed on the screen.

Why The Heck Would Anyone Buy The Non-Retina MacBook Pro? Well...

Peter Cohen, iMore

Many customers will continue to get the standard MacBook Pro because of the combination of low price, more storage capacity and internal optical drive.

Qualcomm Insider: Apple 64-Bit Chip `Hit Us In The Gut'

Dan Lyons, HubSpot

But once Apple introduced a 64-bit processor, all the other phone-makers wanted one too. “Apple kicked everybody in the balls with this. It’s being downplayed, but it set off panic in the industry.”

How iOS 7 Will Affect Developers — And You

Matt Neuburg, TidBITS

200 MB Free

Manton Reece

The good news is that “200 MB free” is not a marketing gimmick. No strings attached, no credit card required, and no phone plan needed; it really is free cell data. The cost is dealing with a company that wants desperately to “get” iOS but isn’t quite there, and poor connectivity between cities compared to AT&T.

Apple Releases Mavericks 10.9.1, Improves Gmail Support, Other Mail Issues, More

Peter Cohen, iMore

The new release makes fixes to Gmail handling and other changes to improve stability and compatibility, according to Apple.

Best Writing Apps For Mac: Byword, iA Writer, WriteRoom, And More!

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Apple Is Building An RTB Platform To Sell In-App Ads; iTunes Radio Is Top Priority

Garett Sloane, Adweek

There is a new focus within the company’s advertising unit, and the mantra came direct from Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of software. In a staff meeting before the holidays, Cue indicated that iTunes Radio is the top priority, and app ads are not.

My “Doom” 20Th Anniversary Stories

Wil Shipley, Call Me Fishmeal

The way I got into the software business (besides learning to code) was to use every piece of software I could find and send the developers tons and tons of notes and bug reports. It turns out developers liked this, and it gained me a lot of opportunities. One of them was porting Doom and Quake to NEXTSTEP.

Google Will Not Answer To British Court Over UK Privacy Claim

Josh Halliday, The Guardian

Google has been called "arrogant and immoral" for arguing that a privacy claim brought by internet users in the UK should not be heard by the British legal system.

The search giant will tell the high court on Monday that it should throw out claims that it secretly tracked the browsing habits of millions of iPhone users.

Yahoo Weather Goes Universal: Flickr-Enhanced Forecasts Now Optimized For iPad

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

Apple Kicks Off “12 Days Of Gifts” Early With A Free Single From Lorde

Mike Beasley, 9 To 5 Mac

Thoughts On ‘Button Shapes’ In iOS 7.1 Beta 2

Steven Aquino

It’s perfectly valid to wince at and decry the visual design of the new buttons, but make no mistake, the addition of this feature is a tremendous improvement for visually handicapped users such as myself.

I sure hope Jony Ive and his team learn from all these missteps.

Hear How Witnessing A Cross-Burning As A Child Motivated Apple CEO Tim Cook To Fight For Equality

Ina Fried, All Things D

“I have long believed in this, and Apple has implemented protections for employees, even when the laws did not,” he said. “Now is the time to write these principles of basic human dignity into the book of law.”

Best Twitter Apps For Mac: Tweetbot, Twitter For Mac, Echofon, And More!

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

If you want a tailored Twitter experience with keyboard shortcuts, multiple columns, multiple simultaneous accounts, and much, much, more, you want a Twitter app. Luckily, there are a bunch available in the Mac App Store.

iTunes Radio Vs Spotify Free: Which Free Mobile Music Service Is Best?

Richard devine, iMore

Spotify has been in this space a lot longer, and as such has built up a great catalog and a great network of supported countries. It doesn't provide the full Spotify experience, but without handing over your money this is plenty close enough.

How To Remotely Wake A Mac From Sleep With Wake On LAN From iPhone

OS X Daily

The result is basically the total opposite of the remote sleep tricks we’ve covered before, and instead of remotely sleeping a machine, you can remotely wake it instead, having the Mac ready for general network access or just quicker use.

How I Introduced A 27-Year-old Computer To The Web

Keacher.com

Reviving an old computer is like restoring a classic car: there’s a thrill from bringing the ancient into the modern world. So it was with my first “real” computer, my Mac Plus, when I decided to bring it forward three decades and introduce it to the modern web.

Apple Can’t Ban “Rate This App” Dialogs

Marco Arment

Once an app is in the wild, there’s no good way for Apple to be reliably notified of violations, and even if they added one, the line between permissible and prohibited would be vague and easy to skirt.

Apple, China Mobile Sign Deal To Offer iPhone

Lorraine Luk And Daisuke Wakabayashi, Wall Street Journal

China Mobile Ltd. has signed a long-awaited deal with Apple Inc. to offer iPhones on its network, a person familiar with the situation said, an arrangement that would give the U.S. technology giant a big boost in the world's largest mobile market.

A deal with China Mobile would give Apple access to a subscriber base that is seven times the size of Verizon Wireless, the U.S.'s largest carrier. Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, is Apple's third biggest market after the U.S. and Europe in terms of revenue.

Three Weeks With Two iPads

Shawn Blanc

The iPad mini and the iPad Air are both equally capable and usable devices. Pick the one you think you want and you will acclimate to it just fine.

Obama Not Allowed An iPhone For Security Reasons

AFP

US President Barack Obama admitted Wednesday he was not allowed to have an iPhone owing to security fears -- explaining why he is sometimes seen with a bulky super secure Blackberry.

Touch ID

And Now It's All This

So am I fooling myself, or is it possible that Touch ID’s recognition gets worse with time? I don’t know enough about how it works to hazard a guess, but if the software is continually updating its internal “picture” of my prints with each scan, decay is at least possible. We tend to think that gathering more data always increases our understanding, but it doesn’t always work that way.

Skitch Update Brings Back A Trio Of Features

Brent Dirks, AppAdvice

In Defence Of Skeuomorphism

Ben Moss, Webdesigner Depot

Why You Should Buy A Refurbished iPad From Apple

Jonathan Seff, Macworld

So if you’re looking to save money on an older iPad and feel confident you’re making a safe purchase for the long term, check out Apple’s refurbished store.

Apple Giving Away Holiday Playlist In Apple Store App

Joseph Keller, iMore

Apple is giving away a holiday playlist from the Apple Store app for iPhone. Called Holiday Cheer, the playlist consists of eight holiday classics including Silent Night, Joy to the World, and Silent Night. Artists include Kelly Clarkson, Nick Lowe, and Mary J Blige.

My Must-Have iPad Apps, 2013 Edition

Federico Viticci, MacStories

Here’s How Much iTunes Radio Pays Record Labels

Kirk McElhearn, Kirkville

Icahn Files Apple Shareholder Proposal

Rana Foroohar, Time

Icahn believes the technology giant should share more of its wealth with stockholders. So to push Apple, he now wants stockholders to vote on whether the company should spend more of its billions to buy back its own shares on the public market. A buyback would almost certainly drive up the price of Apple’s stock—and increase the value of Icahn’s holdings along with those of all Apple investors.

iBeacons Used To Deliver Location-Based Access To iOS Newsstand Publications

Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch

The use of iBeacons by Exact Editions is part of their ByPlace program, which launched earlier this year to help publishers specify certain locations where their titles could be available without the usual individual subscription fee.

How Secure Is iCloud?

Christopher Breen, Macworld

Sanebox Review: Recover Your Email Sanity

Liane Cassavoy, Macworld

It’s suffering from a few growing pains, but it remains one of the few email services that lives up to its promise of saving you time by bringing order to your inbox.

RAGE Software Releases An Alternative To The Late iWeb

Dennis Sellers, Apple Daily Report

Enterprise Still Grabbing The iPads Out Of Apple’s Hands

John Paczkowski, All Things D

Azteca: Prime-Time Passion

Apple

Some of the most popular Mexican telenovelas are produced by Azteca — one of Mexico’s leading broadcasters and its second-largest mass media company. These telenovelas are broadcast through four television networks — not just in Spanish-speaking markets in the U.S. and Central and South America, but in countries as far away as Russia and China. One of the station’s networks, Azteca America, reaches 89 percent of Spanish-speaking households in the U.S.

To help satisfy growing worldwide demand for their shows, Azteca recently rolled out a fast-paced, all-digital workflow based on Final Cut Pro X.

Ember Amplifies Its Utility With iOS Debut

Zac Hall, 9 To 5 Mac

FileMaker 13 Makes It Easier To Deploy Databases To The Web And iOS

Peter Cohen, iMore

FileMaker on Tuesday announced FileMaker 13, the newest version of their database software for OS X, Windows, iOS and the Web. More than 50 new features have been added, including dramatically improved web deployment.

Key features in the new release include WebDirect, which enables FileMaker administrators to deploy an HTML5-based FileMaker database without needing to know how to write web page code. iPad and iPhone layouts have also been dramatically improved, with support for slide controls, popovers and gesture-based scanning.

PDF Expert 5 Now Available With An Updated Design, New Editing Modes, And More

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

PDF Expert lets you annotate, sign, manage, and share your PDF files in one place.

My Passport Slim Review: Not A Flashy 1TB Portable Hard Drive, But A Solid Performer

James Galbraith, Macworld

The My Passport Slim isn't the fastest, cheapest or thinnest portable hard drive around. But it offers acceptable speed, respectable storage capacity at a reasonable price.

China Mobile Pre-Registration Page Suggests iPhone Launch Could Be Imminent

Joe White, AppAdvice

Six Settings To Enhance Browsing In Safari

Topher Kessler, CNET

Among third-party options like Chrome and Firefox, Apple's Safari browser for OS X offers a well-integrated and easy option for viewing Web content on a Mac. However, there are some default settings in Safari that, with a few tweaks, can offer some enhancements to your browsing experience.

Darklings

Harry Slater, Pocket Gamer

It's not perfect, but its mix of side-scrolling plasmatic brawling and finger-swirling touchscreen manipulation can be pretty addictive.

Apple Taps Into Twitter, Buying Social Analytics Firm Topsy

Daisuke Wakabayashi And Douglas Macmillan, Wall Street Journal

Apple's goals for Topsy are unclear. Analysts said Topsy's insights could be useful in several Apple services, including the iTunes media store, Siri voice assistant or iAd advertising platform.

Susan Etlinger, industry analyst at Altimeter Group, said Topsy's analysis could help Apple recommend songs, movies and TV shows to iTunes users. Topsy engineers could help Apple learn how to extract similar insights from other large data sets.

Snap Art 4 For Mac OS X Gets Redesigned Interface

Dennis Sellers, Apple Daily Report

WhatsApp Messenger Finally Redesigned For iOS 7, Updated With Broadcast Lists And More

Aldrin Calimlim, AppAdvice

But perhaps the most notable feature introduced alongside WhatsApp’s iOS 7 interface is support for broadcast lists. Similar to BBM‘s Broadcast messaging feature, this enables WhatsApp users to send messages to multiple contacts at a time.

Shazam Update Brings Rdio Support

Brent Dirks, AppAdvice

Why I Don’t Recommend Auto-Renewable Subscriptions, Even If Apple Lets Your App Use Them

Marco Arment

Offering non-renewing options and a good auto-renewing system, like Stripe, is a nice balance. But if your choice is between non-renewing subscriptions or a bad auto-renewing system, such as PayPal’s or Apple’s, you’re better off not using auto-renewing subscriptions at all.

TextExpander Touch 2.3 Released With New SDK

Federico Viticci, MacStories

Looking at the SDK documentation on GitHub, it appears that Smile is now using x-callback-url to handle the initial setup of snippets between TextExpander and compatible apps which, as Smile initially suggested, shouldn’t allow for constant sync of snippets — i.e. if you change a snippet in TextExpander, you’ll have to run the snippet setup again in a third-party app.

Free Mavericks Sets OS X Adoption Record

Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

Apple's Mavericks operating system set the OS X early-adoption record last month, with a third of all Macs running the new edition within just weeks of its introduction.

Apple Posts Last Shipping Dates For Christmas Gift Buyers, Get Your iPad Orders In Soon!

Richard Devine, iMore

The good news is you've got up until December 22 for those really last minute purchases on some products, but if you're moving for a new iPad in particular then you need to move fast.

ScreenFlow 4.5

Agen G. N. Schmitz, TidBITS

Constructing An iMovie Project

Christopher Breen, Macworld

You’re familiar with iMovie’s interface, and you know how to import media. Now it’s a matter of placing the media you want in the timeline, adding transitions and titles, and exporting the resulting movie to a form that other people can view.

Apple Offering 0% Financing On Online Hardware Purchases In Most European Countries, Ends 10Th January

Benjamin Mayo, 9 To 5 Mac

Today, Apple has launched a promotion for online purchases, offering 0% financing on any purchase above £449 (or €400). The deal is on offer across most of Apple’s European websites, including the UK, France, Italy and Spain.

A Guide To Street Photography: Gavin Harrison's Smartphone Art

Sharif Sakr, Engadget

As you're about to see, Gavin Harrison doesn't stick to traditional ideas of what a street shot should look like, or to what sort of camera should be used to capture it. In fact, he spends more time thinking about smartphone apps than about lenses or exposure settings, and there's a lot he can teach us.

Moshi Digits Touchscreen Gloves Review

Kirk Hiner, TechnologyTell

Photo Essay: The Hong Kong Apple Store SPECIAL

Lonna Lisa Williams, Digital Journal

As I left the Hong Kong Apple Store and looked back one last time, I imagined Steve Jobs there among his creations, half visible like light shining through glass. He mixed poetry with technology. Even if he never rewarded me with a new computer for my long customer loyalty—I would like to thank him in this place.

Apple Stores Sport Red Logo For World AIDS Day

Salvador Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times

Besides changing their logos, many of Apple's stores have also dedicated some of their display tables to Product (RED) versions of Apple many items. When customers purchase Product (RED) Apple gadgets, the company donates a portion of the purchase to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.

Spotify Finally Brings Browse Playlist Discovery Feature To The iPad

Richard Devine, iMore

From Apple To Amazon: The New Monuments To Digital Domination

Thomas Schulz, Spiegel

The all-inclusive facilities of Google, Apple, Facebook and their planned expansions are a precise reflection of the spirit of Silicon Valley -- a spirit that is an intriguing paradox: It combines a disciplined domination of the market with the freedom of the creative hippie artist.

PDF Pro 2 Lets You Store, Manage, Fill, And Share PDFs Right On Your iPhone And iPad

Allyson Kazmucha, iMore

Apple Maps' Worldview Is Now Better Than Google Maps'

David Braue, ZDNet

From now on, the operating system will simply assume access to detailed, glorious maps is available as a core service. This means they'll be able to use OS calls to provide interactive mapping that is tightly bound to the application at hand – rather than forcing applications to jump into a Web browser for maps because there's no guarantee Google Earth is installed on a particular user's desktop.

Train iOS Autocorrect To Stop Correcting Specific Words

OS X Daily

Apple Retail Stores Go (RED) For World AIDS Day On Dec. 1

Jordan Kahn, 9 To 5 Mac

Much like it did last year to show its support for World AIDS Day, Apple has started to change its iconic Apple logo outside of its retail stores from white to red.