News - page 1610

Apple is rumored to release a Retina version of the MacBook Air this fall, according to a new report from Taiwanese publication Economic Times. The next-gen MacBook Air is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2013, and the laptop will go into production overseas during the summer months.

Both the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models are expecting a refresh. Apple will likely use Intel’s new Haswell processor, and the MacBook Air would be given an exterior “facelift” to complement the Retina display.

Question: What’s the only (non-gimmicky) photographic filter that can’t be duplicated in software? That’s right, you smart genius you! It’s the polarizer. A polarizer will do two things for your photography: it’ll increase the saturation of the colors in your pictures, and it’ll cut out unwanted reflections from glass and water. And Photojojo will now sell you one that’ll clip right onto your iPhone.

Firefox 19 is now available to download to your Mac, introducing the long-awaited PDF viewer that will allow you to open PDF files within the browser — rather than downloading them to open them in Preview. The release hasn’t yet hit Mozilla’s website, but you can get your hands on it by visiting the company’s servers.

Amazon Instant Video integration is one of a number of new features that has been added to the official IMDb app for iOS today, allowing users who have the Amazon Instant Video app to quickly jump from IMDb right into the movie or TV show they were just checking out. The update also brings a new Oscars section, recommendations, and more.

Did you ever paint miniatures when you were kid? Or as my mother called them, “toy soldiers,” even though they were obviously space marines and orcs. Did you ever wish you could also design the plastic or lead models underneath your amazing ink-wash and dry-brushing technique?

Then – if you also dreamed of never getting a lick of paint on your thumb ever again – I have just the app for you. It’s from the awesome boffins at Sketchbook, and it’s called 123D Creature.

Apple has stopped selling the Mac Pro through its European online stores ahead of the machine’s discontinuation throughout the EU on March 1. Although the high-end desktop still appears on Apple’s website, it’s listed as “currently unavailable,” and customers are unable to order it. Some models are still available in the refurbished section, however.

Yep, you heard it right. Home Inventory is the boringly-named Mac app that will let you create and manage an inventory of the items in your home, using your iOS device as a photo input device. Sounds cool, right? Well, ok, but it at least sounds interesting, yeah?

Keeping track of your stuff is pretty useful, especially if you have to fill out an insurance claim or police report in case of theft. Home Inventory will keep all of it in a database, easily accessible from your Mac or iOS device via a free standalone app, the equally cleverly named Home Inventory Mobile Backup.

Everything has a downside. As Macs grab more market share, we’re beginning to see developers take the Mac more seriously (witness AutoCAD returning to the Mac after an 18-year absence, and the resurgence of Mac gaming). Unfortunately, Macs are also beginning to find themselves more often in the crosshairs of hackers and virus developers.

So it’s no surprise that there’s a flurry of activity on the antivirus front. In fact, one of the clearest signs that viruses have become a real danger for Macs is that Intego says they’ve revamped their line in order to make it less expensive and less technical, and more user-friendly for everyday Mac users.

That’s what CamFind‘s developers are claiming — that the app is at least four times more accurate than Google Goggles at recognizing and then searching for the subject of a photo you’ve taken with your iPhone.

If you’re unfamiliar with the two-year-old Google Goggles function (integrated within the Google Search app) the idea is pretty simple. Just snap a photo with your iPhone, and the app tries to recognize what you’ve taken a photo of. Once identified, you can then initiate a Google search for that item.

MacPhun makes a boatload of photo editing apps for iOS and the Mac; for the next two days, their meat & potatoes Mac app, FX Photo Studio, is half off at $10.

Filippo Bigarella is a prolific and respected developer in the jailbreak community. The Italian teenager has released no less than 20 jailbreak tweaks and hacks in Cydia, the jailbreak alternative to the App Store. His work (e.g., Springtomize) has appeared numerous times on sites such as this one. To put it simply, he makes some of the best jailbreak tweaks there are. He’s also a full-time student.

Bigarella has released yet another jailbreak tweak that animates the iPhone’s app icons. The tweak itself is pretty simple, but the reason behind its release is special: funding pediatric cancer research.

The iTV, iRadio, and now iWatch. Apple rumors never sleep, and the latest batch of reports reveal that the folks in Cupertino are working on the future of wearable technology, externally dubbed “iWatch.” Little is known about the device, other than it is being designed for the wrist with a curved glass display.

Since iWatch rumors started re-gaining momentum in recent weeks, many have been speculating about how such a device would work.

Take a look at this iPhone case that turns your svelte, pocket-friendly computer into a big, bloated plastic boat. You might scoff. I did. But then I realized that at home I lay my iPhone on tables and tatamis ay more often than I carry it in my pocket. And I am constantly picking it up to check the web, or to play music and podcasts before putting it back on a (most likely wet) kitchen table.

So this Mango thing actually looks pretty neat.

Filp Cap from CNET Asia on Vimeo.

Pesky lens caps: They’re either on the lens and in your way, or in your pocket and impossible to find. Or – worse – lost. What’s that? You have a little string to keep it attached to your camera’s strap? That’s neat, but it’s also going to drive you crazy next time it dangles into frame.

What you need, my frustrated camera-toting friend, is the Flip Cap.

Auxo, a wonderful app switcher from interface designer Sentry, has become a must-have tweak for jailbroken iPhones since it hit Cydia back in December. But it seems Sentry has plenty of other ideas up his sleeve when it comes to improving the multitasking experience on iOS.

He’s released a new concept for switching between apps on the iPhone that’s unlike anything you’ve seen before. Check out the video below.

Another day, another awesome-looking Bluetooth speaker WHICH I TOTALLY WANT. Today’s chunky rectangle of wireless audio goodness is the Switch from Native Union, and it has one distinguishing feature: a big round volume knob on one end.

An Apple retail store in Boulder, Colorado, became the latest target of a “smash and grab” robbery early Saturday morning. A hooded crook threw three rocks through the store’s $100,000 custom glass doors before stealing $64,000 worth of merchandise, including MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones.

Sprint has been racing to catch up with Verizon and AT&T with LTE coverage over the past couple of months, and while they don’t have nearly as much coverage as the two cellular giants, they’re starting to get LTE into some of the most important U.S. metropolitan markets now.

This morning Sprint activated their LTE coverage for San Francisco, however it’s not in full bloom just yet.

Dolphin, one of the best and most popular third-party web browsers for iOS, has today been updated with a number of improvements that are sure to quash some of the biggest issues and annoyances users have been experiencing of late. Not only does it fix Evernote text formatting, but it also addresses an issue that caused the save password dialog to appear when it didn’t need to, and more.

If you made a Venn Diagram with circles for the name and the description of the Aluminum Sliding Bumper Case for iPad Mini, then it would consist of just one circle.

And there’s not really much more to add.

Ever wish that you could sort the photos on your iPad by… well, by anything? The Photos app lists everything by date, and won’t even tell you which pictures are JPGs and which are GIFs. And forget about sorting by camera model for your imported photos.

SmartAlbum, on the other hand, will do just that. And a more.

EA is today throwing a President’s Day sale that has seen it slashing the prices of its iOS games by up to 90%. Over 55 games are included in the deal — including popular titles like Need for Speed Most Wanted, Mass Effect Infiltrator, and Dead Space 3 — and everything is just $0.99.

We’ve got a complete list of reduced titles below.

Apple has posted two new iPad ads to its official YouTube channel that highlight the device’s expansive app catalog. Called “Alive” and “Together,” the videos use the iPad and the iPad mini to showcase some of the 300,000 apps available through the App Store, including iBooks, GarageBand, iPhoto, FaceTime, TED, and more.

This week’s must-have apps roundup kicks off with Real Racing 3, arguably the most anticipated racing game for iOS to date. Following its announcement last August, it’s finally — slowly but surely — making its way to App Stores worldwide. We also have an awesome new weather app called Haze, the latest game from Chillingo, and more.

Beamdog and Overhaul Games announced today that Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition will be released on February 22 on the Mac, not two months after its release on the iPad last December. You can pre-order and pre-download the OS X version of the game now on the Beamdog website.

Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is an updated version of the original Bioware fantasy role playing game set in the Forgotten Realms, itself a part of the Dungeons & Dragon’s universe. The Mac version of the game will have an enhanced version of the Infinity Engine, a Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack, and new adventures and party members to quest with.