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My favorites from 2014: Mel Martin
So many apps and gadgets - where to begin? Well, let's start with some apps. Topaz Impression for Mac Expensive at U.S. $99.00, but this app beautifully transforms your images into what looks like fine art. The amount of control you have over your image is breathtaking. Canvas, charcoal, oils, just about any medium and surface imaginable. On the iOS side, Waterlogue does something similar but not as full featured for only U.S. $2.99 (!!) It was also a favorite of our own Steve Sande. Reflect+ for iOS I love this $1.99 app. Take an image and add water. It doesn't look synthesized, unless you want it to. A beautiful app that is easy to use. You can also add bird flocks, hot air balloons, stars, the milky way and other beautifully rendered objects. There is a lot of control, and it is easy to use, yet gives sophisticated results. X-Plane 10 for iOS The creators of the best Mac flight simulator have gone and done the same for iOS. It's free, although you can buy extra aircraft. The graphics are stunning, and the flight model is realistic. RavPower Wireless File Hub This is a great and innovative piece of hardware. It works with your laptop, or any iOS device. It's a battery backup, a wireless router that works as a WiFi hotspot, a NAS file server (network attached storage), and a media streamer. For $44.95 it's an amazing product. I use it to load movies on an SD card and take them on trips so I can stream them to my iPad. You hook up to the device via WiFi, and it connects to a primary WiFi connection and passes through email and any other internet traffic while you watch, and while it charges your iDevice. Perfect. Word Lens for iOS Absolutely amazing. Point your camera at a sign or menu in a foreign language and you get the translation. It's not just the translation. The sign remains looking the same. You have to see it to appreciate what has been accomplished here. Great for travel, or just getting along in a mixed language environment. So that's my list. Can't wait to see what 2015 brings.
Pocket Drive turns your iOS device into an external drive
Pocket Drive (free with in-app purchases) is an easy to use app that lets your iOS device connect wirelessly to any computer on your network and move files, photos, music or videos between them. The app supports links to both Macs and PCs. The app is easy enough to use. Launch it, and then check your nearby Mac. You will see your iDevice in the shared list in the finder. Click on the phone and give it permission to mount. That's it -- your iPhone or iPad looks like an external drive on your desktop. You can drag any file to your iDevice, and when it is there, you can save it in places like your photo library, or listen to MP3 files or play movies. You can also open Microsoft Office and PDF documents. You can also go back the other way, searching your Mac for files, which can be transferred to your phone with a click. Or you can take any file on your iDevice and send it to your Mac. When you close Pocket Drive on your iDevice, the link to your Mac drops out. It would be nice to see the app continue to work in the background for longer file transfers. The nice thing about the app is there is really no configuration needed. No IP addresses to fool with. It's all totally transparent. This is more full featured than anything Apple offers, and the company should think about doing this for future versions of iOS. Pocket Drive supports storage of any file as well as the ability to open and view over 25 file types in the app itself including Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, RTF, JPEG, GIF, TIF, MOV, MP4, MP3, and ZIP. It did not support M4A files (Apple lossless), which was a disappointment. The free version of the app only gives you 512 MB of storage, so it's really just a way to show you the app works. The amount of storage in the free version really isn't practical for daily use. 4 GB of storage is a one-time in-app purchase of $1.99 while a no limit version is $4.99. There are no recurring fees, and total storage of course depends on how much space your iOS device has. Pocket Drive is very clever and easy to use, yet quite powerful. It requires iOS 6 or later, and it is optimized for the iPhone 5.
The Monster PowerCard Turbo - Great for holiday travel
With all the traveling many of us do over the holidays, we're often in search of power for our iDevices. Monster has come up with a really high quality external battery to keep your iPhone running when you are away from an AC outlet. The PowerCard Turbo (US$49.99) is a very small and thin charger that is easy to travel with or put in a pocket or purse. Specifications Battery Capacity: 3,350 mAh Charge Port: 1 x 1.5 Amp Size: 4.4 x 7.9 x 1.2 inches (similar to a stack of business cards) Features: LED charge status indicator Design This is one good-looking charger. Available in 3 colors (gold, silver and black), It has attractive blue LEDs to tell you it's charging or, when it is away from power, how long the battery will last. There is a standard USB port, and it comes with a cable with USB on one end and a mini-USB on the other. Apple users will have to use their own Lightning or 30-pin Dock connector cable. Functionality The PowerCard Turbo couldn't be easier to use. Plug in your device and it will quickly charge. The 1.5 amp output should be about 50% faster than most chargers. There is one button on the charger, and that's to check the remaining power. Conclusion I used the charger a few times just before Xmas and found it a fast charge for my iPhone 6. The device itself took about two hours to charge from a powered USB hub. Charging from a desktop or laptop USB outlet will take longer, maybe 3 to 3.5 hours. The only negative is the printed instructions are really, really small. My eyesight is pretty good, but I needed an illuminated magnifier to read them. On the other hand, the way the charger works is pretty self-evident. Monster needs a monster font. The Monster PowerCard Turbo is a well-built power solution at a reasonable price with solid performance. It's too late to put it on your gift list, but grab one for yourself. Recommended
2 new weather apps just in time for your holiday sojourns
Apalon has released two weather apps that could make your holiday travel more predictable. Weather Live (US$1.99) features animated, customizable backgrounds that look great and a widget for quick access to your most important weather info. You can set a number of different cities, and swipe between them. The main screen offers in-depth weather stats, along with sunrise and sunset times, and 7 day forecasts. Tap on the radar icon and you'll get animated weather radar, and you can set up alerts for freezing temperatures, and for when the temperature drops below zero. The app also features sharing options so you can brag or complain about your weather to family and friends. The app looks very striking, and is about as full-featured as a weather app can be. It also gives you an icon badge with the current temperature, something Apple and Yahoo weather have failed to offer for reasons that escape me. The second app in the set, NOAA Radar Pro ($1.99) is more oriented toward radar. You get a rain map that provides rain forecast for the range of next 24 hours right on the terrain map, satellite cloud cover maps shows real-time cloud cover, and detailed Weather info for any location including current conditions, 24-hour and 7-day forecasts, plus active alerts for practically any location in the USA. Both apps are excellent, but have a pretty large overlap of info. Having one pretty much makes the other unnecessary. NOAA Radar Pro does have more radar data, but I think most people will find the radar display just fine in Weather Live. Both apps look great, and are certainly among the top weather apps I've seen for iOS. Weather Live and NOAA Radar Pro are both universal apps, the requires iOS 7 or later and they are optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series of phones. Recommended.
Apple's online store returns to Russia with huge price hikes
Remember how Russia's sudden currency devaluation led Apple to shut down its online store in the country, leaving locals without access to one of the biggest internet shops around? Well, Apple is back -- and unfortunately, the prices reflect Russia's new economic reality. If you want a 16GB iPhone 6, for example, you'll have to shell out 35 percent more than you did before, at 53,990 rubles off-contract. That's equivalent to $980, or enough to make that US-bought iPhone 6 Plus (which tops out at $949) seem like a bargain.
Microsoft updates Bing iOS apps with fresh look and translations
Microsoft continues its make nice to Apple with a solid update to the Bing Search app for iOS. There are separate versions for the iPad and iPhone. The GUI has been slightly reworked, and the biggest feature is a translation option for any content you have brought up with Bing. You can set a language in the app settings, but the default is set to translate to English. I tested the feature on some German and Swedish websites and got understandable English, but like most on-the-fly translations it was quirky. Useful: Yes. Perfect: No. Compared to the Google app for iOS, Bing is much richer. and on the iPad in particular, it is more polished and easier to navigate. Both apps support voice input. Google has translation apps, but not integrated to its iOS search app the way it is on this new version of Bing Search. One interesting feature in Bing is a lasso tool to circle text on a page -- Bing will then find content related to that text. This feature was handy and worked well. Maps are nicely integrated, and bookmarks can be synched between your devices if you have a free Microsoft sign-in. On the iPhone, navigating the interface is not as easy. Many buttons and controls are hidden until you tap in the right place, usually at the top of the page. Both iOS apps have the same functionality, but the iPad version is just easier to use and navigate. Bing also adds trending stories and the Photo of the Day to your Today Notifications. Next year, Apple's deal with Google making it the default search option in Safari runs out, and Microsoft seems to be working hard to replace Google. Yahoo is also in the running, and we are seeing a lot of app refreshes from Yahoo too. The iOS Bing apps are quite good and full-featured. I still sometimes find the Google search superior in terms of relevant results, but Bing is coming up fast and organizes the results it finds in a more useful way. The Bing apps require iOS 7 or greater. The iPhone version is optimized for the newer iPhone 5 and 6 series of phones. Bing Search is a worthwhile adjunct to Google's search app, and some will prefer Bing for its look and added features.
AudioFlood's waterproof iPod is a swimmer's music dream come true
Swimming in an incredible form of exercises, especially as you age, but there's one problem for people like myself who use exercise time to work through podcasts and records you'd like to check out. Namely, it's really difficult to listen to music underwater. Thankfully for the sound obsessed swimming fans of the world, AudioFlood's waterproof iPod shuffle is a nearly perfect way to experience your tunes underwater. Utilizing the latest generation of iPod shuffle, the AudioFlood iPod has 15 hours of battery life, 2GB of storage (enough space for over 500 songs), and is depth rated to 200 ft. We tried it at a depth of 6 ft at an indoor pool because it's winter, but the device worked with no problems. Even when you're underwater, iPod shuffle features like the VoiceOver button that tells you song title, playlist name or battery status work like a charm. Included with the MP3 player are wonderful short cord headphones, six earpiece options to guarantee the perfect fit, an extension cable, a USB charger/sync cable, and a swim cap. I found attaching the device to the swimcap with the iPod's clip provided a secure swimming experience without ever coming loose. The short cord headphones allow you to swim without getting tangled in a mess of cords, and we commend AudioFlood for removing this possible drowning hazard. Getting used to the earbuds takes a little getting used to but if you think of them as normal swimmers earplugs you'll be enjoying your tunes in no time. Make sure you're using the proper size of earbud, as sound quality will suffer if you don't put them in just right. Sound quality for music will largely depend on the quality of your files, but listening to 320KB MP3s brought me my favorite tunes loud and clear. In my testing spoken word audio sounded better than recorded music, but the differences were mostly negligible. The only real downside of the AudioFlood iPod is the iPod Shuffle itself. Apple's VoiceOver feature makes navigating possible, but if you're looking for a specific song or podcast episode it's going to take awhile for you to find it. That's a minor complaint though. In the grand scheme of things, it's not much of a sacrifice to give up a little bit of speed when looking for content if means you can listen to music underwater. Should you somehow lose the device while you're swimming it will keep working, even after being sunk underwater by itself. Our test unit was stored in a sink of water for hours on end, only to still work when pulled out. Here's a photo of our testing rig: You can get the main AudioFlood bundle for around $140, which gives you a case, swimming cap, headphones, different sizes of earbuds, and the device itself. It's handy for keeping track of everything and only marginally more expensive than the $125 it costs for the device itself. Ultimately, it's a small price to pay for the ability to swim while "Under the Sea" or "Beyond the Sea" blasts through your ears... whether you choose the tune to be Disney or Bobby Darin is up to you. This is the perfect gift for the swimmers in your life, whether they're practicing for the Olympics, exercising, or just blowing off some steam in the pool. Couple its wonderful functionality with AudioFlood's two-year warranty and they'll be swimming in tunes for a long time to come.
Apple emerges victorious in iPod antitrust lawsuit
Less than 24 hours after closing arguments were presented in Apple's iPod antitrust lawsuit, a jury ruled that Apple did not violate any antitrust laws when it took proactive measures to prevent songs downloaded from competing music services from being playable on the iPod. The jury's verdict brings an end to a trial that has been nearly 10 years in the making. The Verge adds: Delivering a unanimous verdict today, the group said Apple's iTunes 7.0, released in the fall of 2006, was a "genuine product improvement," meaning that new features (though importantly increased security) were good for consumers. Plaintiffs in the case unsuccessfully argued that those features not only thwarted competition, but also made Apple's products less useful since customers could not as easily use purchased music or jukebox software from other companies with the iPod. Throughout the trial, Apple emphasized that its efforts to keep the iPod locked down were to preserve a seamless user experience. Interestingly enough, Eddy Cue testified at trial that Apple at one point considered licensing its FairPlay DRM to competitors before ultimately determining that they "couldn't find a way to do that and have it work reliably." Apple at trial also emphasized that implementing DRM was done at the behest of record labels who reserved the right to remove their music from iTunes if someone figured out a way to circumvent it. "There are lots of hackers trying to hack into these things so that they can do things that would put us in noncompliance with the contracts we have with the music companies," Steve Jobs explained in a videotaped deposition from 2011. "We were very scared of that." Further, and as we highlighted earlier today, the iTunes 7 update at the center of the litigation introduced a slew of usability improvements across the board, thus diminishing the claim that iTunes 7 was primarily designed to thwart competing music services. With this trial now concluded, Apple can rest easy knowing that it won't have to fork over what could have been over $1 billion in damages. Though plaintiffs were suing for $350 million, a ruling that Apple willfully violated antitrust law could have potentially seen that figure tripled.
Apple found not guilty in iPod antitrust lawsuit
Today, Apple was found not guilty in an iPod antitrust case that was brought against it almost a decade ago. The decision comes after a week-long trial that accused the Cupertino company of forcefully locking in consumers into iTunes software and preventing them from using other services thanks to the now-defunct FairPlay DRM. Prosecuting attorney Patrick Coughlin said in the trial a few days ago that the DRM also caused non-iTunes music to disappear. Apple responded by saying the DRM was a security measure that protected consumers. In the end, the jury unanimously sided with Apple, stating that the product was legitimate. The plaintiffs' lawyers, who represent a group of iPod customers affected by the DRM, were looking for $350 million in damages, which could have easily tripled if Apple was found guilty. [Image credit: jmcunnin2000/Flickr]
Former iTunes engineer testifies: iTunes updates were designed to "block 100% of non-iTunes clients"
This past Friday, as part of Apple's ongoing iPod antitrust lawsuit, former Apple engineer Rod Schultz took the stand and testified about Apple's efforts to prevent the iPod from playing music files downloaded from from competing services. The Wall Street journal reports: A former iTunes engineer testified in a federal antitrust case against Apple Friday that he worked on a project "intended to block 100% of non-iTunes clients" and "keep out third-party players" that competed with Apple's iPod. Echoing arguments previously raised at trial from the likes of Eddy Cue and Steve Jobs, Schultz said that the security oriented iTunes updates Apple implemented in the mid-2000s were less about blocking competition and more about keeping the iPod/iTunes ecosystem safe, secure, and reliable. Apple many years ago caught a lot of flack over its FairPlay DRM, but testimony delivered during this trial suggests that Apple's behavior with iTunes had more to do with complying with stringent record label contracts than with anything else. As Jobs relayed via a videotaped deposition conducted in April of 2011, Apple's music contracts were "black and white" and stipulated that record labels could pull their music from iTunes in the event that someone was able to break Apple's DRM. "We were very concerned with somebody like Real [Networks] promising customers that they would have compatibility, when in the future they might not," Jobs explained. "That's not something we could guarantee. So we could get sued by all these people." Plaintiffs are seeking US$350 million in damages on the grounds that Apple illegally stifled competition so that they could, in turn, keep the price of iPods artificially high. The jury is expected to begin deliberating sometime this week.
Flickr Find: A real classic
With all the brouhaha surrounding Apple's iPod class action lawsuit making headlines this week, it's only fitting this week's Flickr Find is a lovely picture of a once forgotten, now revived iPod owned by Cole Camplese As pointed out by Cole, the best part about reviving an older device is rediscovering all the cool content that once was important, but has been forgotten over the years. Old podcasts, with their breaking news and cutting edge technology discussions, are an especially delightful listen. Do you have any old Apple devices kicking around? Have you revived them recently? Share your stories in the comments. Did you know that TUAW has a Flickr pool? And that we encourage readers to submit their own Apple related images? Please join and share with our group as we'd love to see your photos.
Boston ice dancer selected as new plaintiff in iPod class action lawsuit
A 65-year-old amateur ice dancer is the new plaintiff in the class action lawsuit filed against Apple, reports the Wall Street Journal. Barbara Bennet was flown into Oakland California and appeared in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. Following interviews with attorneys for both sides, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said "We're on the right track." The class action suit accuses Apple of anticompetitive practices that blocked other music players from connecting with iTunes and prohibited rival music services from integrating with Apple's popular iPod players. These actions allegedly drove up the prices of the iPod players from 2006 to 2009. Plaintiffs are requesting up to $350 million in damages, which could be tripled in accordance with antitrust regulations. Court room proceedings in the suit started this week in the U.S. District Court of Northern California. The first week of the trial saw the departure of the two plaintiffs named in the suit for not owning an iPod covered by the case. With a replacement plaintiff in place, the trial will continue with a verdict possible as early as next week. This decision may not be the end of the lawsuit, though, as the changeover in plaintiffs provides Apple with an appealable issue in the case.
Apple iPod class action trial to continue temporarily without a plaintiff
Apple's iPod class action lawsuit will be allowed to continue without a plaintiff, reports the Associated Press. The suit took an unusual turn this week when all existing plaintiffs were disqualified for not owning an iPod covered by the suit. The last remaining plaintiff, Marianna Rosen, was dismissed on Monday with a firm scolding from Judge for not providing adequate information about her iPod purchases. With no remaining plaintiffs, Apple filed a motion for the dismissal of the suit, but that request was denied by presiding U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. Saying she "has an obligation to millions of absent class members," Judge Rogers decided to allow the case to proceed temporarily without a plaintiff. Attorneys suing Apple have until Tuesday to find a new lead plaintiff who purchased an eligible iPod and was negatively impacted as alleged in the case. More than 8 million consumers purchased iPods during the 19-month period listed in the complaint so there is no shortage of potential replacements. Attorneys for the class action group claim they already have heard from several volunteers willing and ready to step in as the new lead plaintiff. For its part, Apple confirms it intends to investigate thoroughly the qualification status of any new plaintiff in the case.
Music Center lets you select music from your lock screen or any app
Music Center (free) is a very cool little app that lets you see your iOS music library from your lock screen or inside any app. It's a notification center widget, and it works quite well. You load the app, and you can select lists by song, album, artist, and playlists. Then go to your Today notifications and scroll down to the edit control to add the widget to your screen. That's all there is to it. I wasn't sure how useful Music Center would be, but I find I am using it frequently. I especially like the access from the lock screen to play music via Bluetooth while I am driving. It's quick and easy, but of course Siri can also select music by using your voice. Since the notification feature is a quick pull-down from anywhere in iOS, it's also useful if you are in the middle of using another app. Apple might pull this widget if it is found to be in violation of any developer rules, but so far, so good. Music Center is clean and useful, but note that you can't use iTunes Match or search since widgets don't get to use the keyboard. A pro version, which is a US$ 0.99 in-app purchase, gives you scrolling instead of buttons, but I find the free version meets my needs. Music Center requires iOS 8 or later, and it's optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 phones. It's a universal app, so it will run on iPads too.
FastCustomer can help get you out of customer service hell
FastCustomer is a free iOS app that has been around for awhile, but just got a recent update. The app has a list of 3,000 frequently called companies and can break through the endless phone trees and frustration of being on hold for customer service. The app is simple to use. Select a company you want to reach -- sometimes the app even offers specific departments. Tell it to contact the company, and the app goes to work. It actually doesn't use your cell phone connection for this, but connects through the internet. The app tells you it is dialing, navigating the voice mail tree, waiting on hold for someone to answer, then it calls the number you want to talk on. It could be your cell phone number, or even a wired home phone. I tried the app with both AT&T, and DirecTV. In both cases it worked. My iPhone told me what was going on, and in a couple of minutes my phone rang and a live customer service person was there. I wasn't stuck listening to elevator music or getting a recording about "how important my call is". I can imagine instances where the app might not work, but it worked just fine for me. One thing to be wary of is the "cancel call" button on the app. If you press it while you are on the call, even if it is to your wired phone, the call drops. FastCustomer runs in the background, so once you initiate the call you can leave the app, or just watch the progress of your call. FastCustomer can save you a lot of frustration. Free is a great price, and there is an in-app purchase of US$4.99 that lets you submit numbers that aren't on the built-in list. I actually found the list quite complete, with most airlines, cable companies, insurance firms, and even Apple. Some companies, like Amazon, have a similar call back service that you initiate from a browser. FastCustomer requires iOS 7 and is not universal. It's optimized for the iPhone 5.
In videotaped deposition, Steve Jobs talks DRM and dealing with record labels
Six months before he passed away, Steve Jobs sat down for a videotaped deposition to answer questions connected to Apple's ongoing iPod antitrust class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Apple improperly enacted measures to render songs downloaded from competing music services unplayable on the iPod. In doing so, the plaintiffs allege that Apple was able to keep iPod pricing higher than it would have ordinarily been otherwise. This past Friday, video footage from Jobs' deposition was played before the court and CNET was there to recap some of the more interesting exchanges. Jobs' take on the matter aligns with what Eddy Cue articulated on the stand earlier last week, namely that the fear of piracy amongst record labels resulted in fairly strict contracts that required DRM to be an integral part of the iTunes/iPod ecosystem. According to Jobs, Apple's contracts with record labels were "black and white." Jobs explained that the contracts, in addition to stipulating that songs needed to be laden with DRM, specified that if Apple's DRM (called FairPlay) was broken or hacked, the record labels could immediately remove their music from iTunes. No questions asked. So when RealNetworks came around in 2004 and reverse engineered FairPlay, thereby enabling music purchased on the RealPlayer Music Store to work on the iPod, Apple took immediate notice and subsequent action. Jobs was also asked about the efforts of competing digital music stores like RealNetworks, a company that developed software called Harmony that would reverse engineer Apple's FairPlay to let iPod owners put RealNetworks' music on their devices. Through iTunes updates, Apple continuously broke Harmony, an action plaintiffs say was anticompetitive because it degraded the consumer experience and was an example of Apple wielding a monopolistic position in the market. Jobs response? Harmony was undermining Apple's end-to-end product ecosystem. "We were very concerned with somebody like Real [Networks] promising customers that they would have compatibility, when in the future they might not," he said. "That's not something we could guarantee. So we could get sued by all these people." Jobs' testimony paints a picture of stringent contracts with record labels that Apple was extremely vigilant about upholding, lest the crown jewel that was the iTunes Music Store suffer an immediate blow to its song library. "There are lots of hackers trying to hack into these things so that they can do things that would put us in noncompliance with the contracts we have with the music companies," Jobs explained. "We were very scared of that." The resulting impact on competing music services is something Jobs alluded to as "collateral damage." All told, the plaintiffs at large are seeking US$350 million in damages. Whether or not the trial will reach a conclusion, though, hangs in the balance. This past Friday Apple filed a motion to dismiss the case altogether after discovering that the two named plaintiffs did not purchase iPods during the relevant time period of the case. A ruling on that motion is likely to be handed down soon.
Mel's 2014 holiday gift ideas
My assignment: Suggest gifts for family, friends and even yourself. My list is things I use and adore, or things I want to buy. I'll offer some thoughts on hardware and software. Let's get right to it. Prop 'n Go iPad stand I bought a new iPad Air 2 this year, and it's a joy. But the Apple case is really a poor stand, because if the iPad is on a soft surface, like a bed or couch, hitting the home button will knock the iPad over every time. Prop 'n Go to the rescue. The stand's creator, Padded Spaces, has a whole line of sturdy stands for every iPad model. That means when you get a new iPad, you aren't running out to buy a new stand. They have a large range of adjustment, and your iPad simply won't tip over. The Prop 'n Go iPad holders start around $35.00 and I use mine all the time around the house. Pixelmator for Mac and iPad Who would have thought quality image editing would be so reasonably priced. If you have a photo buff on your holiday gift list, consider Pixelmator. On the Mac, it costs just US$14.99, a far cry from a Photoshop subscription but a very capable app. The iPad version is also very hot. It packs a lot of pro-level tools, including a repair tool that is just about the equal of Photoshop's Content Aware Fill. Remove people or objects from a photo without leaving a trace. Pixelmator for the iPad is $4.99. I reviewed the iPad version and was duly impressed. Your photographer friends will love you for these. Adobe iOS apps Adobe hasn't been standing still either. They have a variety of apps that leverage their new subscription service, letting you start work on an iPad, and finish up on your laptop or desktop. Standout offerings include Adobe Photoshop Touch, Adobe Photoshop Mix, Lightroom and Adobe Voice which let's your easily create striking presentations for family, or work. I'm not wild about the whole subscription idea, but Adobe has kept faith with subscribers and they are adding new apps and whole new categories of creative software. Most of these apps are included with your monthly Creative Cloud subscription and are first rate. Pages for iOS Even though Microsoft is offering Office for the iPad after a long delay, I still like and prefer Pages. The templates are beautiful, and Apple of course knows how to make an app really sing on an iPad or iPhone. Recent buyers of Apple hardware get Pages for free, and the rest can pay $9.99. Pages for Mac is also free for many users, and the iOS apps and Mac app syncs through the cloud. It's really useable, and very mature. A great and useful gift, or let your Xmas list know it might be free. FiiO X1 Apple broke a lot of hearts by killing the iPod Classic. I loved the storage with room for many hundreds of albums. I didn't like that Apple still stubbornly refuses to support high resolution music files either for playback or for sale in the iTunes Store. A terrific solution is the new FiiO X1 Digital Audio Player for $99.99. You'll have to add a microSD card up to 128 GB, but this little player can let you listen to just about every type of high resolution music file, including APE, FLAC, ALAC, WMA, MP3, OOG and WAV at resolutions up to 192kHz/24 bit. Plug in some quality headphones or use the line out for your audio rig or computer and you'll have great quality at a very attractive price. I think Apple has missed the high-rez boat, but this new FiiO is a great substitute. Plug in into your Mac and it appears like a hard drive. Drag your music files to it and you are good to go with 12 hours or so of battery life. You can certainly buy more expensive portable audio players, but the FiiO is tremendous bang for the buck. Those are my pics. Some a bit unconventional, but all worth a look for those on your gift list, or for yourself.
Eddy Cue testifies: Apple once contemplated licensing its Fairplay DRM to competitors
With Apple's iPod class action lawsuit underway, Apple executive Eddy Cue took to the stand today and testified about Apple's implementation of DRM on iTunes music files back in the mid-2000s. Recall that the current suit alleges that Apple actively took measures to prevent songs purchased from competing music stores from playing on the iPod. What's more, Apple even went so far as to subtly remove unauthorized songs from users' iPods by instructing them to restore their device to factory settings. For its part, Apple argues that this was done to prevent malicious activity. In any event, Cue -- known as an integral part of Apple's negotiating team -- spoke today about Apple's original implementation of DRM on the iTunes Music Store. While cynics are quick to argue that Apple engaged in anti-competitive behavior, Cue relayed that Apple, in fact, wasn't keen on DRM at the outset. On the contrary, Cue emphasized a fact that has been repeated time and time again: namely that the implementation of DRM was done at the behest of music executives fearful of music piracy gone wild. Interestingly enough, The Verge reports that Apple, per Cue's testimony, at one point contemplated licensing their homegrown DRM technology, dubbed Fairplay, to the market at large. "We thought about licensing the DRM from beginning, it was one of the things we thought was the right move that because we can expand the market and grow faster," Cue told the court. "But we couldn't find a way to do that and have it work reliably." The Verge report adds some color as to why Apple didn't ultimately go down this route: As issue, Cue said, were things like interoperability with the growing multitude of MP3 players. New devices from other companies would come out, and might not work with that system. "Others tried to do this, and it failed miserably," Cue said. "One of those was Microsoft." Cue also noted that when Apple first floated the idea of the iTunes Store to record labels, that they rebuked the idea because they had their own stores with DRM systems that could be different from song to song, and from device to device. DRM-laden music on the iTunes Store was long a controversial topic as it famously, and frustratingly, prevented consumers from playing music they owned on competing devices. While there were workarounds such as burning purchased songs to a CD and uploading them back up to iTunes, the problem still annoyed many users before Apple ultimately did away with DRM restricted music in late 2009.
Wickr adds a Mac client to its free ultra-secure messaging family
I took a look at Wickr for iOS more than a year ago. It offered free and extremely secure messaging between others with the Wickr app. At the time of the review, I longed for a Mac client, and now one has just been released. It has all the features of the Wickr iOS app, and there now are apps for Windows and Linux as well as iOS and Android. The app puts you in control of all your messaging to a far greater degree than the usual messaging and social apps. You can send text, pictures, voice and video messages. There aren't any ads, and none of your private information is stored anywhere. You can decide how long a message will exist after you send it, and when it is deleted, it is really gone. Your messages are protected with multi-layer encryption using AES256 and ECDH521. Metadata is automatically deleted, including location, time, and device IDs. Wickr servers maintain only irreversibly scrambled versions of non-Wickr ID information in the directory services. Your contacts do not reside on Wickr servers, and the company does not sell your personal information to anyone. IP addresses are not stored, and there is no back door to the system. The app has been hailed by human rights activists and is the official app of the Oslo Freedom Forum. I added the desktop app to my account, and there was one issue, but I reinstalled and everything was fine. The app recognized my iPhone account, and would have noted any other devices registered. If you are in a business where secure communications matters, Wickr is a natural. It's also great for individuals, as we live in a world where increasingly, our words, locations, contacts, and media can fall into the hands of others. Wickr will remain free, making it a tremendous bargain, but over time the company will develop some premium services that will carry a charge. There's a web page describing how the system works in detail. Wickr for Mac requires OS X 10.8 or above. Wickr for iOS requires iOS 6.1 or above and is a universal app.
Lawyer: Apple secretly deleted rival's music files from consumer iPods
Arguing for consumers in a class action iPod lawsuit against Apple, Attorney Patrick Coughlin accused the Cupertino company of deliberately deleting music files downloaded from competing music services. These files were removed from customer's iPods without their knowledge or consent between 2007 and 2009, reports the Wall Street Journal. When a user who had downloaded music from a rival service tried to sync an iPod to the user's iTunes library, Apple would display an error message and instruct the user to restore the factory settings, Coughlin said. When the user restored the settings, the music from rival services would disappear, he said. Apple directed the system "not to tell users the problem," Coughlin said. Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the case argue this behavior supports their claim that Apple deliberately stifled competition in the then exploding music player and download market. The class-action suit seeks more than US$350 million in damages for this and other anti-competitive practices. In its rebuttal, Apple claims the removals were legitimate security measures to prevent hacking that required no explanation. "We don't need to give users too much information," testified Apple security director Augustin Farrugia. "We don't want to confuse users." Filed on behalf of iPod owners in the early 2000s, the decade-old class action lawsuit finally began this week in a Northern California court. Both Apple VP of Internet Services Eddy Cue and Marketing head Phil Schiller are expected to testify sometime this week. A deposition from Steve Jobs recorded in 2011 also is being aired as part of the proceedings.
