Thursday: January 14, 2010
Intel sales promotion snafu reveals Macbook Pro about to get an upgrade.A sales promotion for Intel retailers offers a chance to win a MacBook Pro featuring a Core i5 processor during the month of January, though such a machine does not currently exist in Apple's lineup.
Tuesday: January 8, 2013
Netflix testing out personalized profiles for their streaming services.The test version showed separate viewing histories and recommendations for each profile. Users are able to fine-tune their profile by telling Netflix about their movie preferences, and profiles for kids under 12 are automatically based on the service’s Just for Kids UI. In addition, parents are able to restrict the type of content displayed on a kids profile based on movie ratings.
Monday: January 7, 2013
Apple would like you to know that they've had over 40 billion downloads from their app store.That's a lot of downloads. Apparently half of that number was just in 2012 alone.
Wednesday: January 2, 2013
New version of iOS starts appearing in developer logs.Developers have started noticing some curious entries in there log files regarding a new version of Apple's iOS operating system. The current version of iOS is six but references to iOS 7 are being found. Along with the new version of iOS a new iPhone hardware identifier has been unearthed as well. Look forward to iPhone 6 sometime in the near future.
Tuesday: December 18, 2012
Panic takes a look at the magic behind the album art color schemes in iTunes 11.If you've used iTunes 11 you may have noticed the adaptive colors used in some of your favorite albums. Apple could have just displayed a thumbnail and used the same colors for text everywhere but instead chose to theme each album to go along with it's individual art. This kind of little touch is really what has always se Apple apart from the rest. The good folks at Panic delve into the kind of programming and logic that may have gone into this kind of display paradigm. It's a great read even if you aren't a developer but its an even greater read if you because they include sample code.
Thursday: December 13, 2012
Apple selects the Best of 2012 awards from notable iTunes Store apps and games.For the first time in two years, no photography apps made it in to the top listings. 2012 also marks the first year that an Entertainment app was given an editor’s choice award. As always, during the end of the year wrap up Apple highlights games and apps from a wide variety of categories, so it’s well worth skimming the list for hidden gems.
Monday: December 10, 2012
Upcoming Star Wars 1313 video game getting some helping hands from all facets of LucasFilms.Now that Disney has acquired LucasArts some interesting news is starting to trickle out regarding their games division. It seems that all of the different entities under LucasFilms such as Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound, Lucas Animation, and LucasArts are all collobarating on this next generation title. Star Wars 1313 will take place in the seedy underbelly of Corsuscant which alone sounds like an interesting premise. Whatever does come out of this Disney/Lucas effort it will most likely be better than The Force Unleashed 2 by default (zing).
Australian police issue warning about using maps on iOS 6 for driving directions.Local Police have been called to assist distressed motorists who have become stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park after following directions on their Apple iPhone. Tests on the mapping system by police confirm the mapping systems lists Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park, approximately 70km away from the actual location of Mildura. Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the Park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees, making this a potentially life threatening issue.
Sunday: December 9, 2012
Tim Cook appears on NBC's Rock Center for an exclusive interview with Brian Williams.If you happen to be an avid fan of all things Apple (such as myself) then this video will most likely appeal to you. Watch as Tim Cook and Brian Williams take a stroll through some of the Manhattan retail stores and discuss everything from recent battles with Samsung to the long rumored Apple television. Oh, and if you didn't already know - Apple will also start making a Mac line here in the States next year too (belated spoiler alert).
Rumors swirling that Disney's Hollywood Studios will be getting a Radiator Springs makeover.While this news is by no means official it sounds like a formal announcement may be right around the corner. Full disclosure: I am a gigantic Disney nerd. My kids, by association, are also gigantic Disney nerds. But they also happen to be huge fans of the Cars movies. Ask us to recite any line and you'll hear the whole movie. The recently opened Cars Land in California has been met with postivive reviews from fans and non-fans of the franchise. Being that we reside on the East Coast, a trip to Florida is way more feasible than a trip out to California. Ka-chow!
Monday: November 21, 2011
Apple's new store at Grand Central Station may be opening in the very near future.9to5Mac has heard that Apple will officially announce the opening of the Grand Central Apple store this Tuesday and presumably pull the black boards to reveal the announcement. This store garners extra special attention because it will be Apple’s largest in the world by square footage and resides in a building where 750,000 people pass daily and over 1,000,000 people during the holidays.