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Infinity Blade III to launch on September 18
The game chosen to show off the processing power of the new iPhone 5s today was none other than one of the most anticipated sequels on iOS yet: Infinity Blade III. Donald Mustard, co-founder of Chair, which is owned by Epic Games, took to the stage to show off the third and final installment of the popular series. Fans are in for a special treat as Infinity Blade III will feature eight separate worlds, each as big as the entire original game. For the first time ever, fans will also be able to play as two characters: Siris or Isa. The game will also feature a "massively social" co-op mode. Infinity Blade III will launch on Wednesday, September 18 and cost US$6.99. And though the game has been optimized to run best on the iPhone 5s, it will support other iOS devices including the iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad 2, iPad mini and fourth- and fifth-generation iPod touch. Headline amended to clarify that the app is launching on 9/18 while the new iPhones arrive 9/20.
Yahoo launches Yahoo Screen media hub app
Yahoo has announced a new app called Yahoo Screen, which acts as a hub for all of the company's media content. The app is the latest in the line of mobile app initiatives at the company as it seeks to redefine its image and up its offerings. With Yahoo Screen, users can watch any of Yahoo!'s media from one central location. The app also features a pretty cool gesture-based control that allows you to change channels by swiping up or down and to go from one show's episode to the next by swiping left or right. Yahoo Screen isn't just for Yahoo's content either. The company has partnered with Viacom to bring clips from some of its shows to the app, starting with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Some full shows are also available, including Ghost Girls and Losing It With John Stamos. As for Yahoo's video content, users can expect to find video from Major League Baseball, UFC, The Onion, Martha Stewart and more. Yahoo Screen is a free download.
New and Notable Apps for September 9, 2013
It's always busy in the App Store with a never-ending flood of new apps landing on iOS and OS X. Take a few minutes and check out our list of stand-out titles from the past few weeks! If that's not enough, you can also follow our ongoing coverage of new apps as they are released. New iOS Apps Skip-Bo [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $1.99] Skip-Bo, the popular family card game, officially licensed by Mattel is now in the App Store. But Not the Hippopotamus - Boynton [iOS Universal; Category: Books; $3.99] A shy hippopotamus is hesitant to join in on the fun that the other animals are having. But little by little, the hippo finds her courage. Arma Tactics [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $4.99] Arma Tactics takes the best from the popular strategy genre... and goes mobile. Call of Duty: Strike Team [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $6.99] Call of Duty: Strike Team features the revolutionary ability to dynamically switch from run-and-gun first-person view to reconnaissance and coordinated squad attacks in third-person view. S4 Rhythm Composer Pro [iPad; Category: Music; $4.99] S4 Rhythm Composer Pro is a beatbox that can be customized in various ways; 14 drum kits are preset, and also you can create and save the entire kit as "User kits" of your choice. Sketch Mirror [iOS Universal; Category: Utilities; $4.99] Sketch Mirror is a companion app for Sketch on the Mac and was built to let you preview designs from the Mac on your iOS devices over WiFi. CrazyLegion [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $2.99] More than hundreds of ultra weapons make you the most powerful defense camp in history. LetterGlow - Stylish text & overlays for your photos [iPhone; Category: Photography & Video; $0.99] Quickly produce funny, inspirational or informative images to share and use however you choose. The elegant design and professional features in LetterGlow mean the only limit is your creativity. Zombie Highway: Driver's Ed [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $0.99] Enroll now in this post-apocalyptic driving school! Driver's Ed is a spinoff of Zombie Highway that puts your driving skills to the test. Tetra - Board Game [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Free] Can you be the first to get four in a row on the board? It's not so easy when your opponent chooses the pieces for you! Play against friends using Game Center. Tiny Asphalt Animals [iPad; Category: Entertainment; Free] Tiny Artist Animals is an outstanding educational creative platform for children, all on your iPad. Asphalt 8: Airborne [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $0.99] The best iOS arcade racing game series reaches a new turning point! Perform dynamic, high-speed aerial stunts in an intense driving experience powered by a brand-new physics engine! Fit Fix [iOS Universal; Category: Health & Fitness; Free] Your fitness life should be fun, fulfilling and easy to create. Loaded with video workouts and photo tutorials, Fit Fix is designed to meet your exercise needs. Routie [iPhone; Category: Sports; $2.99] Routie is a simple, fast and beautiful way to track and share your sport activities. We Heart Movies [iOS Universal; Category: Entertainment; Free] Search. Discover. Share. Find movies that move you. Create collections of your favorite movies and share with friends. New OS X Apps QuickTab Pro for Facebook [OS X; Category: Social Networking; Free] QuickTab for Facebook is the easiest and fastest way to access Facebook on your Mac. Chat Heads [OS X; Category: Social Networking; Free] Message your friends on Facebook easily with Chat Heads. MemoryKeeper [OS X; Category: Utilities; Free] MemoryKeeper is an application for simplifying memory control of your Mac. Incredibly simple and user-friendly interface, powerful algorithm, beautiful animated design and educational components. SecureWords [OS X; Category: Productivity; $11.99] The Word Processor with built-in Password Protection and 256-Bit Encryption.
Opera releases 'Coast' iPad browser
Opera Software today released a new browser for the iPad that re-imagines the way users interact with the web. A press release touting the app's release reads in part: The web has evolved exponentially from drab, grey webpages with blue, linked text to vivid, elegant pages with complex graphics, videos and other interactive information. Yet, so far, the web experience on tablets has been limited to browsers that are either scaled-up versions of mobile browsers or scaled-down desktop browsers. Opera wanted to do something about that. Dubbed Coast, and based on WebKit, Opera employee Huib Kleinhout told The Verge that the new browser is "futuristic" and is an effort to bring the browsing experience up to par with the evolution of content on the web. To that end, Coast is unique insofar as it treats different websites as unique and distinct applications. Translation? Say goodbye to traditional browser mainstays like the back and forward buttons. In Coast, users navigate around the web by using gestures. Despite the grandiose thinking, Coast isn't actually all that unrecognizable. While it eschews almost all interface chrome, its main screen still resembles the smart, new tab pages in modern browsers, which automatically fill in your most visited sites. Perhaps more aptly, it looks and acts just like the home screen of an iPad. Websites appear as app-icon style squares, tapping on an icon opens up a site, pressing and holding on one allows them to be rearranged and swiping side to side switches between additional screens. And like iOS at large, browsing on Coast is a single-pane experience too. One website takes up the entire screen, and you either have to go back to the home screen or navigate to a discrete page switcher in order to jump around to another site. Coast is available as a free download on the App Store and is iPad-only.
Marvel bringing Iron Man's JARVIS to iPhone
On September 10, Marvel will release a JARVIS app for iPhone. JARVIS is the AI assistant Tony Stark uses in the Iron Man movies (voiced by Paul Bettany in the films) and the app is being released to celebrate the release of Iron Man 3 on home video. The JARVIS app is a second-screen app that allows the user to control the menus on the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray, browse 42 sets of Iron Man armor and watch other exclusive content. However, the app does have other functions as well. JARVIS will act as a mini-Siri, allowing you to use Tony Stark's personal AI as you own. Here's what Marvel says you can expect: -Like Tony Stark, users can engage JARVIS through voice-activated commands. -Receive messages from JARVIS, download ringtones, post to Facebook and more. -Check time and local weather as well as set alarms through the integrated Clock mode. -Initiate media delivered in messages, including video, audio, image, ringtone or website. -Install unique ringtones. -Unlock 42 unique Iron Man suits (plus additional "Ghost" file). -When connected to the same network as the Blu-ray player, JARVIS will function as the Blu-ray remote control, or the user can simply "say what you see" and the app will do the rest. There's no word yet if JARVIS will actually speak back to you (and if so, if its voiced by Paul Bettany) or if it communicates with you via text prompts. Either way the app is sure to be a hit with fans of the movies.
Intermission transforms audio streaming with TiVo-like replay
I've been a huge fan of Rogue Amoeba products for years. They offer clever audio solutions for OS X. Rogue Amoeba's new Intermission (US$15) utility fills a role on my Mac that I never even knew I needed. Intermission enables you to pause, rewind and skip through live audio streams. This lets you take control of any audio you listen to, regardless of application. It just works, always passively listening and ready for you to take charge. Let's say you're listening to Spotify or Pandora, and you hear a great song. You can immediately rewind and play the song again. Intermission automatically buffers that audio for you. Or, say you're listening to a live stream. I do this all the time here at TUAW for product announcements and financial results calls. Intermission lets you immediately skip back and review what someone just said. This is perfect for anyone who listens to live audio from their Mac -- whether it's a sports broadcast, a talk show or a teleconference. I even tested Intermission with Skype. As long as you don't need to do person-to-person interaction, you can pause the audio, hit the restroom and pick up where you left off listening. It's brilliant. My favorite use was when I tested Intermission with Rogue Amoeba's free LineIn utility and a headset. LineIn allows you to pass audio from the default system input to the default system output. I warn you this solution is completely impractical, but it showcases some of the coolness of the app. Normally Intermission doesn't listen to audio entering your Mac, only to audio being transmitted and played back. LineIn re-routes audio from input to output, so you can control that audio stream with the Intermission app. With LineIn and a headset, you can attend class or listen to talks at a conference and use Intermission to automatically buffer whatever you're listening to. It basically enables you to buffer real life. Did your attention stray? You can "TiVo" back five seconds and replay whatever he or she last said. To make this work, you have to listen through the computer, which means setting up your microphone directionally to listen out and using good earphones to avoid any feedback issues as well as cut out the overlap between the live talk and what you're hearing through the head set, but it is possible (I tested it!) and it does work. Unfortunately, I was unable to get in touch with Rogue Amoeba while writing this review, so I'm unsure as to how long the buffer records. I suspect you can't start playing Pandora the night before in order to build up a long enough feed that you can skip songs whenever you like. Also, Intermission does not offer any record-to-file features that I could find. For $15, I think most people will find Intermission an excellent value -- especially anyone who regularly attends internet-based conference calls and training sessions, anyone who loves listening to sports and anyone who enjoys talk radio over the net. It's a really clever app that stood up well to all my testing and tweaking. Because of its functionality, Rogue Amoeba cannot sell Intermission through the Apple App Store. You can purchase a copy instead at the Rogue Amoeba storefront. A demo version is available for download, with a menu option for registering your product. The demo version overlays noise after 10 minutes of buffered playback. Update: Rogue Amoeba replies, "The buffer is three hours (we do note that on the site). It writes to disk in raw audio, so that's a couple gigs of space -- we'll see what happens in the future, as far as increasing that (if we compress the audio, we can record for a lot longer, obviously), without taking up more space -- but compressed audio is harder to seek through."
Google introduces Chrome app launcher for Mac
This past July, Google released a Chrome app launcher for Windows. Today, Mac users can finally get in on the fun, as Google has released a developer preview of the app launcher for Mac. The Chrome app launcher allows you to open your favorite Google apps like Gmail and Drive right from your dock. Using the app launcher is simple. Click on the dock icon and a popup menu opens showing the apps you currently have installed. Each app will open in its own window outside of Chrome, just like any normal desktop program. Most apps are streamlined for use, meaning you're free from normal tabs, buttons and text boxes that might normally distract you from your work. They're also connected to the cloud, silently updating themselves and your work without the hassles of hitting save. Your apps are also synced across your devices, allowing you to pick up your work regardless of where you last left off. Again, Google has released this as a developer preview, but if you'd like to try the app launcher for yourself, you can give it a try by completing the following steps: 1) You need to make sure you're on the most recent version of Chrome (typically, Chrome keeps itself updated nicely, so just restarting occasionally should do the trick). 2) Enable the app launcher by entering chrome://flags into the address bar of Chrome, and then and locating and enabling "App Launcher OSX App Bundle." It may be easier to hit Cmd+F and search for "launcher" -- it's approximately 2/3 of the way down the page. 3) Once you've enabled the extension, relaunch Chrome. 4) Go browse the selection of desktop apps in the Chrome Web Store, find one you'd like to try and install it, then launch it once it's installed. 5) Once the app has launched, you should now be able to find the Chrome App Launcher in your Applications folder under Chrome Apps. From there, you can open the launcher, or drag the icon into your dock for easy access. Head over to Google's blog for more information on the launcher as well as suggestions on apps that work with it.
BitTorrent Sync lands on iOS, allows you to securely sync files between devices
Moving big files from one device to another is no easy task, especially when mobile devices are involved. BitTorrent aims to make the process of sharing large files a bit easier by bringing BitTorrent Sync to the iPhone and iPad. BitTorrent Sync uses a peer-to-peer protocol to sync your files. Rather than using a cloud server as an intermediary storage space, BitTorrent Sync sends your files chunk by chunk from one device to another. It works over a mobile connection as well as within your own internal LAN. The service also encrypts your files with an AES cypher and a 256-bit key that's unique to each and every folder you sync. Best of all, BitTorrent Sync doesn't cap your usage or surprise you with hidden fees. You can download the BitTorrent Sync app from the iOS App Store for free.
New and notable apps for August 20, 2013
It's always busy in the App Store with a never ending flood of new apps landing on iOS and OS X. We've covered a few of them like CARROT Alarm and Amateur Surgeon 3, but there are a lot more. Take a few minutes and check out our list of standout titles from the past few weeks! If that's not enough, you can also follow our ongoing coverage of new apps as they are released. New iOS Apps Studio Design [iPhone; Category: Photo & Video; Free] Create & share amazing designs with your friends. Studio makes it easy to let your creativity run wild. Aero [iPhone; Category: Weather; $0.99] Designed to look stunning on the retina display, "Aero" is the coolest way to view weather conditions for the locations that matter to you most. Trial By Survival [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Free] You have been banished to the wasteland to prove your innocence. Your Trial By Survival has begun. MixBit [iPhone; Category: Photography & Video; Free] MixBit is a new app that helps people create dynamic videos together. To bed [iPhone; Category: Health & Fitness; $0.99] Based on information about your age and wakeup times, the app reminds you when you should start preparing for hitting the sack. Pearl Guitar [iPad; Category: Music; $2.99] The premiere 6-string acoustic steel guitar simulator, Pearl Guitar delivers absolutely stunning sound - the most realistic, lush, organic and warm tone you will hear in the mobile digital domain. Coffitivity [iOS Universal; Category: Utilities; $1.99] Based on research that shows ambient noise boosts creative thinking, the Coffitivity app streams the ambient sounds of a coffee shop right to your Apple device. AUFX:Dub [iOS Universal; Category: Music; $3.99] A highly tweakable stereo delay audio effect, suitable for everything from clean digital delays to filthy dub echoes and broken cassette tapes.This app is part of the AUFX series, a collection of simple and powerful audio effect apps. Cognition Episode 2 [iPad; Category: Games; $3.99] With the Wise Monkey case in her hands and the FBI's resources already stretched thin, she's on her own to find the killer before it's too late - again. Solar Flux HD [iPad; Category: Games; $3.99] Solar Flux is a unique space puzzle game where you journey across the universe using both puzzle solving and dexterity skills to bring order to the cosmos. Editorial [iPad; Category: Productivity; $4.99] Editorial is a plain text editor for the iPad with powerful automation tools and a beautiful inline preview for writing Markdown. Smart Office Plus [iOS Universal; Category: Business; $29.99] With viewing and printing, for Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, images, and more. Smart Office Plus makes creating, editing, printing and sharing Microsoft Office and other documents on the move easy and professional. The Human Body by Tinybop [iOS Universal; Category: Education; $0.99] Explore a working model of the body. Every part is animated and interactive: the heart beats, guts gurgle, lungs breathe, the skin feels, and eyes see. Designed for kids ages 4+ to discover what we're made of and how we work. Little Galaxy [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $0.99] Little Galaxy is a game inspired by a real story of a young scientist, who reached out for his dream to find a new home. New OS X Apps Episodes [OS X; Category: Entertainment; $2.99] Keep track of your favourite TV shows straight from your Mac's menubar. Drill down for information on air dates, episode listings, individual episode summaries and even screen captures. Tropico 4: Gold Edition [OS X; Category: Games; $34.99] Whether you choose to rule as benevolent chairman, clever technocrat or corrupt despot, it's up to you to transform Tropico from amusing banana republic into a 21st century world power worthy of your grand vision in this witty combination of city builder and political simulator. Downcast [OS X; Category: News; $9.99] Downcast, the popular iOS podcast app is now available for OS X! Download, play and sync** your favorite podcasts with an intuitive interface built specifically for podcasts. JamStation [OS X; Category: Music; Free] JamStation – the stylish online radio app. Enjoy the great variety of the Jamendo music database. Live! Weather [OS X; Category: Weather; Free] Live! Weather lets you enjoy gorgeous photos of the cities while you browse the weather information every day. Composure [OS X; Category: Photography & Video; Free] Composure features a simple design with a variety of options to enhance and personalize your photos. Choose from a large selection of collage formats, fun stickers, and borders. SHADOWGUN: DeadZone [OS X; Category: Games; Free] Show them what you're made of in your quest to become the most-wanted bounty hunter in all the galaxy. With your friends at your side, experience larger than life multiplayer battle. Cognition Episode 1: The Hangman [OS X; Category: Games; $7.99] Take on the role of Erica Reed, a Boston FBI agent with the power to see the past, in this intense adventure game as she follows the trail of four different serial killers, and a series of clues left for someone with her specific ability.
Barnes & Noble releases Nook Video app for iOS
While book retailer Barnes & Noble has all but given up on the Nook tablet line to focus on its e-readers, that doesn't mean it is giving up on all tablets. Today the company announced the free Nook Video app for iOS, making "a growing and diverse catalog of favorite HD movies and TV shows" available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Users of the app can also view their previously purchased UltraViolet enabled movies and TV shows, as well as other Nook content. The universal app -- which also comes in Android and Roku flavors -- lets Nook customers start a movie or TV show on one device, then pick up where they left off on another device on the same account. [via 9to5Mac]
Plants vs. Zombies 2 hits the App Store
PopCap has released Plants vs. Zombies 2 on the App Store this morning. The game is the follow-up to the wildly popular action-strategy adventure Plants vs. Zombies. This time around, players pit wild plants against the undead throughout different time periods. From PopCap's website describing the sequel: Join Crazy Dave on a crazy adventure where you'll meet, greet and defeat legions of zombies from the dawn of time to the end of days. Amass an army of powerful new plants, super charge them with Plant Food and power up your defenses with amazing new ways to protect your brain. In addition to new plants, Plants vs. Zombies 2 features new zombies (including zombie chickens), new endless levels like Pyramid of Doom and Pirate's Booty, and new power ups. Plants vs. Zombies 2 is a free download and offers in-app purchases.
Race the Sun soars to Mac on August 19
Indie dev studio Flippfly's website boasts, "Every game we make is something we've never seen before." And by the looks of the company's upcoming racing / survival game Race the Sun, that promise is being upheld. The game was funded via a Kickstarter campaign and is scheduled to hit Steam on August 19th with full Mac compatibility. In Race the Sun, you pilot a solar-powered airplane as the sun sets in the distance. This, of course, poses a rather large problem, and it's up to you to speed towards the horizon in hopes of keeping your craft airborne. However, the path isn't without obstacles. Since the game's world is endlessly generated, it only ends when the sun finally sets, though you're not likely to make it that far. [via Joystiq]
Contact management app VipOrbit hits Mac App Store
If you're an iOS power user, there's a good chance you're already familiar with the VipOrbit contact-management apps. The apps -- for iPhone and iPad -- are essentially address books on steroids, complete with options to track every essential detail you'd ever need to know about a person, including digital aliases, social media activity and schedules. Now the company has pulled the curtains back on an all-new VipOrbit app for Mac, ensuring that you are never without your digital contact almanac as long as you're within arm's reach of your tablet, phone or computer. VipOrbit for Mac is now available in the Mac App Store at a price point of US$29.99 ($70 off of the regular price), with both the iPad and iPhone apps now discounted to free. In order to get all three of the apps to play nicely together -- and sync all of your important information in real time across your gadgets -- you'll need a subscription to the VipSync service which runs $4.99 per month or $45 per year. We'll be putting the VipOrbit system to the test over the next week or so and plan on having a full review of all three apps ready for you next week, so stay tuned!
Lord of the Rings: War in the North will hit the Mac on Aug. 29
Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle Earth rejoice -- Feral Interactive will be shipping a Mac port of Snowblind Studios' The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (US$30) on August 29. Don't be surprised if you don't recall any of the events that take place in the title, which is an action role-playing game set in northern Middle Earth. About the only mention of the war in the trilogy came from Gandalf the White, saying "With his far-reaching right hand, Sauron might have done great evil in the North. Yet all that has been averted because a handful of heroes stood in his path." That small band of heroes consists of Eradin the Ranger, Andriel the Elf and Farin the Dwarf, who take on the forces of Sauron in the game. LOTR:WITN is playable in both single-player and co-op multiplayer modes, and requires at least OS X 10.7.5 (be sure to check the system requirements before purchase). [via MacNN]
Daily iPad App: Amateur Surgeon 3 is pretty bloody good
Would you believe that after releasing two totally obnoxious, over-the-top Amateur Surgeon games, Adult Swim's newly released Amateur Surgeon 3 is a tasteful, realistic look at the medical practice? No? Ok, good -- because it's really, really not -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Amateur Surgeon 3 lets you poke around inside the bodies of a whole cast of characters and creatures, each with their own medical ailment. Using the touchscreen, you'll need to cut out organs, yank broken bits of glass and other objects from within bodies and of course sew up wounds and clean up your work at the end. But this is an Adult Swim game, so there's absolutely nothing realistic about this experience whatsoever. You often cut up your patients with a pizza cutter, cauterize wounds by burning them with a Bic lighter and can use special "tag team" powers -- like bringing your dog into the operation so he can lick the patient's wound -- to help you complete your overall goal of saving the life of your patient (or was it victim?). Everything from your "medical" tools to the organs on which you are operating are rendered in an overly cartoony fashion, which is a good thing since the visuals would look pretty gruesome if they attempted to appear realistic. Still, the app carries warnings for profanity, nudity, violence and horror, so it's probably not a good recommendation for especially young app lovers. Unlike Amateur Surgeon 2, this third iteration is free to download (though that may change later). Of course, you'll still have plenty of opportunities to shell out cash towards the developers via the in-app purchase options which allow you to buy everything from in-game currency to "blood packs" which are required in order to retry failed missions. If you're not too squeamish and don't mind dropping a few bucks in the event that you fail a few times in a row, Amateur Surgeon 3 is a fine choice. Or, you know, you could just find a giant bear and attempt to operate on it using random kitchen utensils. Same thing.
KeyMe for iOS lets you digitize your house keys for safekeeping
A new app called KeyMe has launched that allows users to scan copies of their physical keys for safekeeping. Should those keys ever become lost, users can log into their app and order a duplicate key right away. The application also stores locksmith-specific data should you lose your keys and want to have one duplicated by a locksmith straight away. Never get locked out again. KeyMe is a simple and secure way to store, copy and share your keys. Store Keys In The Cloud: Take a picture of your keys on your phone and create a digital version of your physical keychain. Access them from anywhere. No More Lockouts: If you ever get locked out, a locksmith can make your key from scratch by viewing instructions we display on your phone. No more paying $200+ for a lockout. Mail Order a Copy: Order copies on your phone and we'll send you brand-new keys in the mail. Choose from a huge selection of key designs... including our very own bottle-opening key! Share Keys With Friends and Family: Share a digital copy of your key instantly. The recipient can get a physical copy made through our mail order service, at one of our kiosks, or at a regular locksmith. While this app is appealing, especially if you've ever lost your keys before, obvious security issues do arise from storing key data. The company does offer this assurance -- even if someone got a hold of your KeyMe data, the location of the door that the key opens is never recorded so people would not know where to go to open that door. KeyMe is a free download, but accessing the data to duplicate a key costs US$10 each.
Explore the history of Disney's animated films in the 'Disney Animated' app
If you're a film, animation or Disney junkie, you're going to love the latest app Disney has released for iOS. Disney Animated explores the history and animation of all 53 animated Disney films. The app is a love letter to the company that was so important in the history of animation. Users can explore every single Disney animated film from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to their latest upcoming film, called Frozen. For each film, users will find interactive pictures, animated clips with flipbook-style controls, animated timelines and the ability to animate 3D models of Disney characters. The app also contains an unabridged version of the "Principles of Animation" chapter from The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston along with dozens of other goodies. From the release notes: • Reveal work-in-progress animation steps and visual effects layers beneath hand-drawn and computer animated scenes. • Zoom in on concept art, painted backgrounds, and storyboards to see intricate details. • Rotate treasured artifacts from the locked vaults of The Walt Disney Animation Research Library, as well as modern 3D computer models, as if they were in the palm of your hand. • Animate Vanellope from Wreck-It Ralph using a simple but powerful 3D animation package adapted from real Disney computer software. Export your animations and share by email or social media. • Control the path of Elsa's magical snow from the upcoming film Frozen using an authentic replica of the visual effects animation system used in the movie. Export your creations and share by email or social media. • Learn about computer animation character models through a shape-shifting interactive, featuring the many moods of Tangled's Maximus. • Swipe through a complete timeline of every Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film, with clips from hundreds of characters, dozens of recently uncovered trailers, and promotional featurettes from historic films. • Guess the movie from its unique color palette in the Color Map. Trace your finger over a single full-screen image that shows every scene from every Walt Disney Animation Studios animated feature film in thumbnail form. Never before has this complete catalog been browsable in this way. Disney Animated is an iPad app and costs US$13.99. The app is also 1.78 GB, so make sure you have room on your iPad first.
Official Google AdSense app hits the App Store
Google has released an official AdSense app, so users can now conveniently check their ad-based earnings and other pertinent AdSense data. The app is somewhat limited to the extent that users can't make any fundamental changes to their account via the mobile app. The app description reads: The AdSense app provides an easy way to access key data from your AdSense account. Access reporting features anywhere, directly from your iPhone. The first version of the app gives you access to: the key earnings information, top custom and URL channels, ad units and sites reports, payment alerts. While Google notes that the app is optimized for the iPhone 5, it will work on devices as old as the iPhone 3GS. Note, though, that the app requires iOS 6 or later. As one would expect from Google, the app is free.
SimCity finally coming to Mac on Aug 29
SimCity fans with Macs rejoice! You're finally going to have a version of SimCity that will run natively on your favorite computer. Electronic Arts has announced that the classic sim game will finally make it to OS X on August 29, 2013. The game was originally supposed to arrive on June 11, but EA pushed the release to August in early June. At the time, SimCity's senior producer Kip Katsarelis blogged that "we do not believe [the Mac version] is ready for prime time yet," and that "we want to ensure the Mac is a great experience for our players and that is why we are taking more." The Mac version will be compatible with the Windows version, so you can build and grow your city from either platform. If you've purchased SimCity for Windows, you'll be able to download the Mac version through Origin, which is EA's digital distribution service.
SnappyCam Pro is the perfect app for sports, pets and kids pictures
Did you ever wish you could use your iPhone camera to take images at rapid-fire speeds and save the best ones? SnappyCam Pro does just that. The app is US$0.99 for a limited time. The app's developers claim it will shoot up to 20 full-resolution pictures in one second when run on an iPhone 5. That's very fast. Rather than take time to save to your camera roll, the app presents a display of your images, and you can select the ones you want to save. GPS data is included, and all the other metadata the iPhone provides is tagged to each photo. This is a great way to get decent sports, pet or kids photos. The app is working within the Apple SDK, so it doesn't break anything, but it fine-tunes and speeds up the taking of images to a degree that just hasn't been seen before. %Gallery-195279% I tried the app outside on some plants being blown in a light wind. Some were blurry, but some frames were caught in perfect focus. Shots of people walking or running produced similar results. The app gives you some choices about how it operates, so you can control the way the shutter interacts with your touch, and you can choose the aspect ratio of your images. You can adjust the camera field of view, and as you reduce resolution, the camera speeds up. At full resolution the app claims to do about 20 frames per second. I tried some photos in low light and was getting roughly 12 frames per second at full resolution. You can also turn geo-tagging off to get faster speed. Sound effects can also be switched off. One criticism. Saving images is not intuitive. There are a couple of steps, and until I figured out the workflow, I didn't save everything I wanted. Better onscreen guides would help. SnappyCam Pro is a rather extraordinary achievement in improving the flexibility of the iPhone camera. It's not going to get you perfect pictures with every frame, but it will give you the ability to pick and choose for a better chance at having a "keeper." There are some examples and more information on the developer website. Reviews of the app are positive and well-deserved. It's one of the most innovative camera apps I've seen. SnappyCam Pro supports iPad and iPhone from the 3GS and up. The newer your hardware, the faster the camera will run. The app requires iOS 4.2 or later, and the app is optimized for the iPhone 5.
