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This Weekend in the App Store -- Holiday Weekend Sales Galore
Here are some of the best free apps and app sales that have landed in the App Store in time for the Independence Day holiday in the US. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can. Apps Now Free - iOS Montessori Numberland HD [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $3.99] An Award-winning Montessori based number app for pre-K children, with 10 beautifully animated scenes, to learn numbers from 0 to 9. Halftone 2 [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Turn your photos into comic book pages and videos with Halftone 2, an App Store Best of 2013 winner and Editors' Choice. Boost 2 [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] The major update to the original version of the tunnel racing game has arrived. Eyes - the horror game [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] They told you it would be easy. Just break-in, grab all the stuff and get back to the door. They didn't know that house was not empty. And those creepy eyes on the wall.. You know she's coming for you, don't you? Motion Tennis for Apple TV [iPhone; Now free, down from $7.99] Motion Tennis™ allows you to play tennis using natural tennis motion gestures on your HDTV or Mac/PC using AirPlay Mirroring on Apple TV. Horizon Calendar [iPhone; Now free, down from $4.99] You should never have to choose between checking the weather and your calendar. FondFont - Install anyfont (ttc, ttf, and otf) for system-wide usage [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] With FondFont, it's finally possible to install additional fonts for system-wide usage for iPad. Clara - Personal Money Manager [iPhone; Now free, down from $3.99] Clara – Your personal finance app designed to manage your money easily and effortlessly! Buzz Killem [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Brought to you by the creators of the hit game Bill Killem! Buzz Killem is the story of a retired War Veteran called back into action after an Alien welcoming party greets Earth. Day One (Journal / Diary) [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $4.99] Record life as you live it. From once-in-a-lifetime events to everyday moments. Laser Hell [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Laserhell is a simple as hell, yet impossible rhythm-based techno music arcade game. Steampunk Tower [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] Take charge of the immense Steampunk Tower and help the eccentric Lord Bingham protect his precious Etherium Mine. Lumen Trails Planner [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $19.99] Lumen Trails lets you take notes, make lists and keep track of other things in your life, such as time, workouts, expenses, calories, food, weight, sleep or anything else you can think of. Discovr - discover music [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $3.99] Discover artists similar to your favorite bands with our interactive music maps. Contacts Sync for Google Gmail with Auto Sync [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Contacts Sync for Google Gmail" allows you to quickly & easily sync your Gmail & iPhone contacts so you can have access to your contacts wherever you go. Nozoku Rush [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $2.99] Swipe tiles that subtract down to zero to clear them off the board. Skylanders Battlegrounds [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $6.99] Leap into battle with the brand new Skylanders SWAP Force™ characters! Bring the Skylanders to Life™ and free the war-torn Battlegrounds! My Incredible Body - Guide to Learn About the Human Body for Children [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $4.99] With My Incredible Body, both children and adults can learn all the pieces and parts of human anatomy in an incredibly fascinating human body guide. SkySafari 4 [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $2.99] SkySafari 4 is the next-generation award-winning astronomy app re-imagined for iOS 7! Daedalus Touch – Text Editor for iCloud [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] Daedalus Touch is the first truly next-gen text editor on iOS. Discovr Movies - discover new movies [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $3.99] There are so many movies in the world today. How do you find a new movie to watch? Discovr Movies makes it easy to find a new movie that you'll like. Apps on Sale - iOS Faif [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $1.99] Faif is a puzzle/rpg game with a unique battle system based on gambling. Screens VNC - Access Your Computer Remotely [iOS Universal; On sale for $9.99, down from $19.99] Screens is a beautiful, yet powerful Screen Sharing and VNC client that lets you connect back to your Mac, Windows or Linux PC from the comfort of your living room, the corner coffee shop or anywhere in the world. Castle Doombad [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Dr. Lord Evilstein has kidnapped a princess, and now his evil lair is crawling with do-gooders. Jasuto [iOS Universal; On sale for $1.99, down from $4.99] Jasuto is the worlds first (and most powerful) modular synthesizer for the iDevices. CineXPlayer HD – The best way to enjoy your movies [iPad; On sale for $0.99, down from $3.99] CineXPlayer was developed to be the hands-down best way for iPad owners to View, Store, and Manage their digital film library. Dispatch: Email meets GTD with TextExpander snippets [iPhone; On sale for $2.99, down from $4.99] Dispatch makes it easy to act on emails even when you're on the move. Vitamin-R for iPhone [iPhone; On sale for $1.99, down from $4.99] Vitamin-R creates optimal conditions for your brain by structuring your work into short bursts of distraction-free, highly-focused activity alternating with opportunities for renewal, reflection and intuition. Pixite Sale [iOS Universal; On sale for up to 50 percent] All four Pixite creative apps are 50% off for a limited time! (Union, Fragment, Tangent & LoryStripes). Disney Splash Sale [iOS Universal; On sale for up to 85 percent off] A wide selection of Disney apps available for up to 85% off including Frozen Storybook Deluxe, Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace and more. Sale is available from 3 July to 8 July. OTTTD [iOS Universal; On sale for $2.99, down from $4.99] HEROCORP™ WANTS YOU. Command heroes, build towers, discover strange and exotic worlds and blow them all to bits. CHMate Premium [iOS Universal; On sale for $1.99, down from $5.99] CHMate is an amazing way to read books in CHM (Microsoft Compiled HTML Help) format. Toca Hair Salon Me [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Give your friends and family a totally new look! Simply snap a picture and you're transported to a world of hair-raising fun! Toca Pet Doctor [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] The pets need your help! In Toca Pet Doctor our animal friends want your love, care and help. Toca Train [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] All aboard? Time to get on Toca Train! Your kids are the train driver in this fun and friendly train simulator. Toca Birthday Party [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Time to invite friends and family to a birthday party - around your iPhone or iPad! Toca Store [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Have your kids ever played store at home? Now you can turn your iPhone or iPad into a Store Play Set - without any of the cleaning up afterwards! Toca Robot Lab [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] With Toca Robot Lab you and your kids can build your own robot from pieces of scrap and see it fly straight away! Toca Tea Party [iPad; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Set the table, choose your favorite cookies and cakes, serve the tea and you're good to go! Sago Mini Music Box [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Play a song for your furry friends as you go on a musical adventure. Toca Mini [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Cute, weird or funny? That's up to you in the colorful world of Toca Mini. Paint My Wings [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Paint My Wings is a fun and easy way for your kids to paint beautiful butterflies! Battle of the Bulge [iOS Universal; On sale for $3.99, down from $9.99] Battle of the Bulge invites you, the player, to lead the Axis or the Allies to victory on the snowy battlefields of World War II. Textastic Code Editor for iPhone [iPhone; On sale for $3.99, down from $8.99] Textastic is a fast and versatile text, code and markup editor supporting syntax highlighting of over 80 programming and markup languages. Textastic Code Editor for iPad [iPad; On sale for $3.99, down from $8.99] Textastic is a fast and versatile text, code and markup editor supporting syntax highlighting of over 80 programming and markup languages. Scanner Pro by Readdle [iOS Universal; On sale for $2.99, down from $6.99] Scanner Pro transforms your iPhone and iPad into portable scanners. It allows you to scan receipts, whiteboards, paper notes, or any multipage document. Apps Now Free - OS X ARTReader [OS X; Now free, down from $4.99] ARTReader is designed to improve reading from a digital screen. Twin Finder [OS X; Now free, down from $5.99] Twin Finder is a quick search for files with the same tools. Favorited [OS X; Now free, down from $2.99] Favorited is simple & efficient menu bar app for browsing/searching your favorited tweets. Apps Now On Sale - OS X Jump Desktop (Remote Desktop) - RDP / VNC [OS X; On sale for $14.99, down from $29.99] Jump Desktop is a remote desktop application that lets you securely connect to any computer in the world. Screens VNC - Access Your Computer From Anywhere [OS X; On sale for $17.99, down from $29.99] Screens is a beautiful, yet powerful Screen Sharing and VNC client that lets you connect back to your Mac, Windows or Linux PC from the comfort of your living room, the corner coffee shop or anywhere in the world. iStatus [OS X; On sale for $0.99, down from $1.99] iStatus lets you monitor the overall health of your Mac. Writr [OS X; On sale for $1.99, down from $2.99] Writr is clean, intuitive and most of all, simple. iFrame Pro [OS X; On sale for $2.99, down from $4.99] iFrame Pro allows you to combine your best photos and frame them in 33 different frames and over 15 beautiful layouts which can be configured in multiple ways. iCollage Pro [OS X; On sale for $2.99, down from $4.99] iCollage Pro allows you to easily create collages on your Mac! iCollage [OS X; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] iCollage Pro allows you to easily create collages on your Mac! Disk Diag [OS X; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Free up disk space with only a few clicks. Clean tons of unneeded files with Disk Diag, the best rated disk cleaning app on the Mac App Store. Sketcher [OS X; On sale for $7.99, down from $14.99] It can easily turn any digital photo into the pencil sketch, watercolor or oil drawing, it's light, simple, cross-platform and feature rich! Fumy [OS X; On sale for $9.99, down from $19.99] Fumy is an unusual bitmap editor with unique tools that allow you to brush and render stunning graphics that resemble smoke. FoldingText [OS X; On sale for $19.99, down from $29.99] For those who love plain text. FoldingText is the markdown text editor with productivity features. Due - super fast reminders [OS X; On sale for $2.99, down from $9.99] The beauty of Due lies in its simplicity. There's no account to create, no start or end date to set, no need to prioritize, tag nor categorize. Day One [OS X; On sale for $6.99, down from $9.99] Record life as you live it. From once-in-a-lifetime events to everyday moments, Day One's elegant interface makes journaling your life a simple pleasure. NetSpot Wi-Fi Reporter [OS X; On sale for $4.99, down from $49.99] NetSpot WiFi Reporter builds powerful advanced wireless heatmaps using existing WiFi survey files generated by NetSpot WiFi Scanner (.netspd). Vitamin-R 2 [OS X; On sale for $14.99, down from $29.99] Recapture the Lost Art of Joyful Concentration. Overcome Procrastination. Leaf - The News Reader [OS X; On sale for $0.99, down from $9.99] Leaf is an amazing news reader for your Mac. Read, share, star and search your news by using a clean, intuitive interface. Textastic [OS X; On sale for $3.99, down from $8.99] Textastic is a powerful and fast text, code, and markup editor. MagicalPad [OS X; On sale for $9.99, down from $29.99] Visually manage your notes, ideas, mind maps, outlines, checklist and tasks for school, personal and business needs.
Today in the App Store -- the best free apps and app sales for the Fourth of July
Here are some of the best free apps and app sales that have landed in the App Store in time for the Independence Day holiday in the US. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can. Apps Now Free - iOS Halftone 2 [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Turn your photos into comic book pages and videos with Halftone 2, an App Store Best of 2013 winner and Editors' Choice. Exbel [iPhone; Now free, down from $0.99] Exbel app is the most suitable application that helps you to integrate images in a simple way through the iPhone. Boost 2 [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] The major update to the original version of the tunnel racing game has arrived. Eyes - the horror game [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] They told you it would be easy. Just break-in, grab all the stuff and get back to the door. They didn't know that house was not empty. And those creepy eyes on the wall.. You know she's coming for you, don't you? Motion Tennis for Apple TV [iPhone; Now free, down from $7.99] Motion Tennis™ allows you to play tennis using natural tennis motion gestures on your HDTV or Mac/PC using AirPlay Mirroring on Apple TV. Horizon Calendar [iPhone; Now free, down from $4.99] You should never have to choose between checking the weather and your calendar. FondFont - Install anyfont (ttc, ttf, and otf) for system-wide usage [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] With FondFont, it's finally possible to install additional fonts for system-wide usage for iPad. Clara - Personal Money Manager [iPhone; Now free, down from $3.99] Clara – Your personal finance app designed to manage your money easily and effortlessly! Buzz Killem [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Brought to you by the creators of the hit game Bill Killem! Buzz Killem is the story of a retired War Veteran called back into action after an Alien welcoming party greets Earth. Weather Dial - A Simpler, More Beautiful Weather App [iPhone; Now free, down from $1.99] Weather Dial lets you spend more time enjoying the weather...then watching it. Day One (Journal / Diary) [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $4.99] Record life as you live it. From once-in-a-lifetime events to everyday moments. Laser Hell [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Laserhell is a simple as hell, yet impossible rhythm-based techno music arcade game. Steampunk Tower [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] Take charge of the immense Steampunk Tower and help the eccentric Lord Bingham protect his precious Etherium Mine. iScanner - quickly scan multipage documents [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] iScanner will turn your iPhone or iPad into full-featured powerful and fast document scanner. Lumen Trails Planner [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $19.99] Lumen Trails lets you take notes, make lists and keep track of other things in your life, such as time, workouts, expenses, calories, food, weight, sleep or anything else you can think of. Discovr - discover music [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $3.99] Discover artists similar to your favorite bands with our interactive music maps. Contacts Sync for Google Gmail with Auto Sync [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Contacts Sync for Google Gmail" allows you to quickly & easily sync your Gmail & iPhone contacts so you can have access to your contacts wherever you go. Nozoku Rush [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $2.99] Swipe tiles that subtract down to zero to clear them off the board. Skylanders Battlegrounds [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $6.99] Leap into battle with the brand new Skylanders SWAP Force™ characters! Bring the Skylanders to Life™ and free the war-torn Battlegrounds! My Incredible Body - Guide to Learn About the Human Body for Children [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $4.99] With My Incredible Body, both children and adults can learn all the pieces and parts of human anatomy in an incredibly fascinating human body guide. SkySafari 4 [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $2.99] SkySafari 4 is the next-generation award-winning astronomy app re-imagined for iOS 7! Daedalus Touch – Text Editor for iCloud [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] Daedalus Touch is the first truly next-gen text editor on iOS. Discovr Movies - discover new movies [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $3.99] There are so many movies in the world today. How do you find a new movie to watch? Discovr Movies makes it easy to find a new movie that you'll like. Apps on Sale - iOS Dispatch: Email meets GTD with TextExpander snippets [iPhone; On sale for $2.99, down from $4.99] Dispatch makes it easy to act on emails even when you're on the move. Vitamin-R for iPhone [iPhone; On sale for $1.99, down from $4.99] Vitamin-R creates optimal conditions for your brain by structuring your work into short bursts of distraction-free, highly-focused activity alternating with opportunities for renewal, reflection and intuition. Pixite Sale [iOS Universal; On sale for up to 50 percent] All four Pixite creative apps are 50% off for a limited time! (Union, Fragment, Tangent & LoryStripes). Disney Splash Sale [iOS Universal; On sale for up to 85 percent off] A wide selection of Disney apps available for up to 85% off including Frozen Storybook Deluxe, Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace and more. Sale is available from 3 July to 8 July. OTTTD [iOS Universal; On sale for $2.99, down from $4.99] HEROCORP™ WANTS YOU. Command heroes, build towers, discover strange and exotic worlds and blow them all to bits. CHMate Premium [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $5.99] CHMate is an amazing way to read books in CHM (Microsoft Compiled HTML Help) format. Toca Hair Salon Me [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Give your friends and family a totally new look! Simply snap a picture and you're transported to a world of hair-raising fun! Toca Pet Doctor [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] The pets need your help! In Toca Pet Doctor our animal friends want your love, care and help. Toca Train [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] All aboard? Time to get on Toca Train! Your kids are the train driver in this fun and friendly train simulator. Toca Birthday Party [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Time to invite friends and family to a birthday party - around your iPhone or iPad! Toca Store [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Have your kids ever played store at home? Now you can turn your iPhone or iPad into a Store Play Set - without any of the cleaning up afterwards! Toca Robot Lab [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] With Toca Robot Lab you and your kids can build your own robot from pieces of scrap and see it fly straight away! Toca Tea Party [iPad; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Set the table, choose your favorite cookies and cakes, serve the tea and you're good to go! Sago Mini Music Box [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Play a song for your furry friends as you go on a musical adventure. Toca Mini [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Cute, weird or funny? That's up to you in the colorful world of Toca Mini. Paint My Wings [iOS Universal; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Paint My Wings is a fun and easy way for your kids to paint beautiful butterflies! Battle of the Bulge [iOS Universal; On sale for $2.99, down from $9.99] Battle of the Bulge invites you, the player, to lead the Axis or the Allies to victory on the snowy battlefields of World War II. Textastic Code Editor for iPhone [iPhone; On sale for $3.99, down from $8.99] Textastic is a fast and versatile text, code and markup editor supporting syntax highlighting of over 80 programming and markup languages. Textastic Code Editor for iPad [iPad; On sale for $3.99, down from $8.99] Textastic is a fast and versatile text, code and markup editor supporting syntax highlighting of over 80 programming and markup languages. Scanner Pro by Readdle [iOS Universal; On sale for $2.99, down from $6.99] Scanner Pro transforms your iPhone and iPad into portable scanners. It allows you to scan receipts, whiteboards, paper notes, or any multipage document. Apps Now Free - OS X Browser Care: make your browser more efficient [OS X; Now free, down from $3.99] Browser Care is an application that allows you to keep your browsers clean and under control. ARTReader [OS X; Now free, down from $4.99] ARTReader is designed to improve reading from a digital screen. Twin Finder [OS X; Now free, down from $5.99] Twin Finder is a quick search for files with the same tools. Favorited [OS X; Now free, down from $2.99] Favorited is simple & efficient menu bar app for browsing/searching your favorited tweets. Apps Now On Sale - OS X Due - super fast reminders [OS X; On sale for $4.99, down from $9.99] The beauty of Due lies in its simplicity. There's no account to create, no start or end date to set, no need to prioritize, tag nor categorize. Day One [OS X; On sale for $6.99, down from $9.99] Record life as you live it. From once-in-a-lifetime events to everyday moments, Day One's elegant interface makes journaling your life a simple pleasure. NetSpot Wi-Fi Reporter [OS X; On sale for $4.99, down from $49.99] NetSpot WiFi Reporter builds powerful advanced wireless heatmaps using existing WiFi survey files generated by NetSpot WiFi Scanner (.netspd). Vitamin-R 2 [OS X; On sale for $14.99, down from $29.99] Recapture the Lost Art of Joyful Concentration. Overcome Procrastination. Leaf - The News Reader [OS X; On sale for $0.99, down from $9.99] Leaf is an amazing news reader for your Mac. Read, share, star and search your news by using a clean, intuitive interface. Textastic [OS X; On sale for $3.99, down from $8.99] Textastic is a powerful and fast text, code, and markup editor. MagicalPad [OS X; On sale for $9.99, down from $29.99] Visually manage your notes, ideas, mind maps, outlines, checklist and tasks for school, personal and business needs.
Mac 101: Using QuickTime to record video of your Mac's screen
Sometimes you need to capture video of your Mac's screen, either to show someone a troublesome error or a quick how-to for a friend or family member. You can purchase a dedicated screencasting app like Camtasia, but for most casual users, QuickTime's screen record feature will fit the bill. To access QuickTime's recording feature, you'll need to open the QuickTime Player app and follow the instructions below: Prepare the app you want to record by opening it and getting the content in place. For example, opening the webpage tabs you want to record. Go to the QuickTime Player app and select File > New Screen Recording. Select the audio source by clicking on the downward-pointing arrow and select the option to record or ignore mouse clicks. Click the red record button and follow the instructions to record either the full screen or just a small selection. Start recording your screen and use the stop button in the menu bar (or Command-Control-Escape) to halt the recording when you are done. When you are done, you can trim the clip, upload it to YouTube or import it into iMovie for some post-processing.
This one proofreading tip for iOS and OS X will save you hours of headaches
Ever proofread an email and realize after you have sent it that it contains a glaring error? You know those errors -- these are the ones that you miss because your brain inserts the missing word or overlooks spelling errors such as "wiht" that really should be "with." The best way to avoid some of these common errors is to read your writing aloud so you can hear what you have written. If you are unable to talk aloud or feel silly doing so, you can take advantage of the text-to-speech feature available on your iPhone or Mac and let your device read to you instead. iOS Text-to-Speech To enable text to speech on your iPhone or iPad, you must turn on the feature in the settings by going to Settings > General > Accessibility. Select the "Speak Selection" option and adjust the other settings, such as speaking rate and languages, according to your preferences. When you are ready to check your written words, simply select a block of text like you are going to copy and paste it. Just tap and hold the text until a pop-up action menu appears and select "Speak" to listen to your written words. OS X Text-To-Speech Similar to iOS, OS X places the option for text to speech in the Settings menu. You can enable the speaking feature by following the steps below: Open the Apple menu and select System Preferences Click the Dictation & Speech panel, and then click the "Text to Speech" tab Select the "Speak selected text when the key is pressed" checkbox to turn on the text-to-speech option By default, speaking is started when you press Option-Esc. To choose a different key combination, click Change Key, press one or more modifier keys (Command, Shift, Option, or Control) together with another key, and then click OK. Once you have enabled text-to-speech and setup a key combo, you can select the target text in your favorite editor and use your hot keys to both start the dictation. Enter the key combination again if you want to stop the text-to-speech. Note that if you don't select a block of text for dictation, OS X will read all the available text items in the open window, including URLS, labels and other content. Image at top from flickr member Nic McPhee.
New iOS emoji might include a Middle Finger and a "Man In Business Suit Levitating"
The Unicode Standard that governs the types of emoji that appear on mobile messaging platforms was recently updated with a plethora of new options. As initially relayed by The Verge, it's now up to Apple to pick which of the new 250 emoji icons it'd like to toss into the iOS emoji alphabet. Some of the new items Apple can now choose from include a smattering of intriguing possibilities, including but not limited to the following: Man In Business Suit Levitating Derelict House Building Chipmunk Sleuth Or Spy Black Skull And Crossbones Reversed Hand With Middle Finger Extended Ah, yes. Apple now has the option of tossing a middle finger into the emoji mix. How fun an addition would that be? GetEmoji.com recently provided a mockup of what that might look like. Below is a partial snapshot of what some of the baseline icons look like as put together by the Unicode Consortium. Keep in mind, though, that the final icon design is entirely up to Apple. As we've prevoiusly highlighted, the same emoji can look entirely different across varying platforms. Still, these figures help provide an idea of what Apple might decide to implement. In this shot below, we can see the middle finger icon, the spy, and the bizarrely fun levitating business man. So what say you TUAW readers? Do you think Apple will implement the middle finger emoji or might that be a bit too risqué? Before you answer, consider this: who would have ever guessed that Apple would make a joke about "OS X weed" at WWDC?
Apple releases OS X 10.9.4, iOS 7.1.2, and Apple TV update
Apple today released an update for OS X Mavericks, bringing its desktop OS to version 10.9.4. This update is recommended for all OS X Mavericks owners and includes the following changes: Fixes an issue that prevented some Macs from automatically connecting to known Wi-Fi networks Fixes issue causing the background or Apple logo to appear incorrectly on startup Improves the reliability of waking from sleep Includes Safari 7.0.5 The update is available to Mac owners via the Software Update feature in the Mac App Store. At the same time it updated OS X Mavericks, Apple also released iOS 7.1.2 with improvements to iBeacon, Mail and other underlying bug fixes. According to the release notes, the latest iOS update includes the following changes: Improves iBeacon connectivity and stability Fixes a bug with data transfer for some 3rd party accessories, including bar code scanners Corrects an issue with data protection class of Mail attachments You can download the update over-the-air via Settings > General > Software Update or install it via iTunes by connecting your phone to computer using a USB cable. Last but not least, Apple updated its Apple TV to version 6.2 without any noted major changes.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for June 27, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Apple puts Aperture out to pasture, moving users to new Photos app
Apple's pro photo editing suite Aperture is coming to the end of its life. In 2005 Cupertino decided to take on the entrenched powers in that field, including Adobe, but clearly the company has decided there are better uses for its resources. Instead, with the next version of OS X, will be ushered towards a new app called Photos. Apple will even provide a tool for seamlessly moving your existing library to Photos. While it may pack some of the more advanced editing features of Aperture, the new app is actually aimed more at replacing iPhoto (which will also be getting the boot). Users that are unwilling to give up Aperture can rest assured that will provide compatibility updates for OS X Yosemite, but there will be no other changes to the software. For those that would rather move over to the Adobe family, there's always Lightroom, which is part of the Creative Cloud suite and has proven popular. Of course, that means paying a $10 monthly subscription. It's less than ideal, but at least Lightroom has a history of frequent updates. Update: This story originally stated that Apple was building a tool to aid those looking to transition to Lightroom. Instead the tool is for moving users to Photos. Apple is, however, working to provide documentation for those that wish to move to Lightroom.
Mac 101: Use built-in OS X tools to spell and grammar check your documents
Though it is not touted as a flagship feature, OS X ships with several useful tools that spell and grammar check your documents as you write. These options are hidden in the system preferences and app menus, but they can be particularly useful once you discover them. The spell and grammar check feature in OS X can be used in two very different ways, depending on whether you prefer automatic or manual correction. For those who prefer correction on-the-fly, you can configure OS X to check and fix mistakes automatically as you write. For do-it-yourselfers, you also can perform a spell check manually using the Spelling and Grammar option available in the "Edit" menu in many apps. Automatic spell and grammar check option Set a system-wide option to correct spelling automatically in all apps that support it: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Text. Select the option to "Correct spelling automatically." All incorrect words are corrected as you type. You do have to remember to proof read as OS X can make mistakes in the autocorrection process. Manual spell and grammar check options Correct spelling as you type: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Correct Spelling Automatically (a checkmark shows it's on). Misspelled words are automatically corrected (unless they begin with a capital letter or appear alone on a line). This option can be used when you occasionally want auto-correction in an individual document and not system-wide. Check spelling as you type: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Spelling While Typing. Misspelled words are underlined in red. This option is useful when you want OS X to check the spelling as you type and highlight your mistaken words so you can go back and manually fix them. Check spelling in an entire document: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Document Now. The first error is highlighted. To show the next error, press Command-semicolon (;). To see suggested spellings for a word, Control-click it. Check the spelling of a word: Select the word, then choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar. Check both grammar and spelling: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Grammar With Spelling (a checkmark shows it's on). Misspelled words are underlined in red and grammar errors in green. Advanced options for spell and grammar check Accept or ignore suggested words: To accept a suggestion (shown when automatic correction is on), press the Space bar or click the one you want, then continue typing. To ignore a suggestion, just continue typing. Add a word to your personal dictionary: Control-click the word, then choose Learn Spelling. The word won't be flagged as misspelled in any document. Remove a word from your personal dictionary: Control-click the word, then choose Unlearn Spelling. See a suggestion's dictionary entry: Click Define. See alternatives: If no suggestions are listed, click Guess to show any possible alternatives Use a different language to check the document: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar. Then choose a language, or choose Open Text Preferences to see more options. Correct an error: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar. Retype the word, then click Change. Or double-click a suggestion in the list. Leave a word unchanged: Click Ignore. The word is ignored if it occurs again in the document, but is highlighted if it appears in other documents. (In some apps, you can Control-click the word in the document, then choose Ignore Spelling.) .
Apps We Actually Use: Collective as a clipboard manager for everything but the kitchen sink
In my daily routine, I spend a lot of time copying URLs for websites, text for articles and links for apps. As a result, one of the most important apps in my workflowl is my clipboard manager. After months of searching for the perfect solution and finding a lot of duds, I finally stumbled upon Collective last year and have been using it ever since. The app was recently updated to version 2.0, which made the clipboard manager even better by adding features such as favorites, shortcuts and a detail bar with information about each clipboard entry. Collective keeps a running history of your clipboard with a customizable number of saved entries ranging from 10 to 2500. I keep it at 50 as that is a reasonable amount of content for me to access at any given time. The app stores everything, including text, images, PDFs, URLs, files and more. Collective even has a blacklist that ignores copied content from specific apps, allowing you to use the list for only your most important clipboard material. Your clipboard history sits idle in your menu bar or pinned to your screen until you need it. Just press ⌘-Shift-V to call up the list and scroll until you see the item that you need. You also can search for an entry or filter by source application to find items faster. Items that you frequently access can be saved for a favorites list and called up quickly. Once you find the content you want to copy/paste, just select it, and Collective will automatically paste it into the destination app for you. Collective is fast, responsive and has no effect on the performance of my 2013 MacBook Air, which chugs along with a 1.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 and 4 GB RAM. In my months of usage, I've never had Collective beach ball or cause any other known issues with OS X Mountain Lion or Mavericks. Collective is always there, right when I need it. Collective is available in the Mac App Store for $1.99, which makes it a must-have for any Mac user looking for quick and easy access to their clipboard history.
Daily App: Use Pushups Coach to train your upper body using your own body weight
Pushups are among the best bodyweight exercises to build upper body strength. If you prefer the simplicity of the pushup exercise, but need some motivation to do them, then you should consider downloading the Pushups Coach from Maxwell software. When you first launch Pushups Coach, you are prompted to create a profile. The app supports multiple profiles, allowing you use it with friends of family members. The profile asks for your basic health fitness information, including your gender, weight, initial pushup ability, and your starting difficulty level. Pushups Coach starts off easily and gradually increases in difficulty over the six week course of the app. Each daily exercise takes about 10 to 15 minutes, with a 30 second warmup period, five pushup repetitions of 60 seconds each and a cool down period of 60 seconds between each repetition. It only takes a small amount of time, which makes it easier to follow in the long-term. Besides providing an exercise plan, Pushups Coach also includes a journal that tracks your progress, including total progress through the plan cumulative time, calories burned, total pushups and the number of pushups today. A graph chart shows your progress as the number of pushups you perform increases each day. Pushups coach is a versatile app that can be used to help you train to increase your upper body strength, reach a record number of pushups or achieve the coveted 100 consecutive pushups goal. The app is easy to use and the gradual increase in difficulty over the course of six weeks makes reaching your goal possible. Progress tracking provides the encouraging feedback necessary to keep going when you really wan't to stop. The addition of bonus features such as pushup tutorials as well as the ability to listen to music while you workout add to the overall experience. The only knock against the app is the warmup period, which is fixed at 30 seconds. This short warmup period is adequate in the beginning, but a little too short for the higher, more intensive levels. To prevent any muscle injuries, you may want to warm up on your own before starting the app and its timer. Pushups Coach is available for 99-cents in the iOS App Store. It is compatible with the iPhone and has no ads or in-app purchases.
Remember when OS X came in a box... and you had to pay for it?
It's easy to take for granted how lucky we OS X users have it these days. Not only is OS X now a free upgrade, there's no longer a need to head over to a retail store, pick up a physical box, take off the shrink-wrap, pop in an install disc, and navigate through a series of setup options. Nope, these days, installing a new version of OS X is about as easy as installing any app you might download from the App Store. With Apple gracing us with free OS X updates now, it's easy to forget that new versions of OS X back in the day were not cheap. Far from it. For a period of about 7 years, starting with the 2002 release of OS X Jaguar, upgrading to OS X cost upwards of $129. At the time, of course, doling out that kind of cash for system upgrades wasn't that crazy. It's just how things were. But with the 2009 release of Snow Leopard, Apple flipped the script. In an effort to get as many people to upgrade as possible, Apple announced that Snow Leopard would only cost $29. Cynics of course might argue that Apple was effectively forced to lower the price on Snow Leopard as the upgrade largely housed "under the hood" improvements, but in this scenario, the "what" is far more important than the "why". And besides, it's not as if Apple ever returned to the $129 pricepoint with subsequent releases. Indeed, when OS X Lion was released in 2011 it also came with a more than affordable $29 price tag. OS X Lion itself is truly notable for being the first version of OS X that was primarily available via the Mac App Store. With the App Store already a raging success at that point, it wasn't terribly surprising that Apple decided to move past the bygone era of boxed software. Still, the announcement didn't go down without its fair share of blow-back, however mild it was. At the time, many folks questioned the wisdom of Apple's move as they wondered how users without Internet connections (i.e secure Government computers) or extremely limited Internet speeds would be able to access the upgrade. Addressing these concerns, Apple concurrently made OS X Lion available on a USB thumb drive for $69 and available exclusively at Apple's online store. Nonetheless, the message was loud and clear -- Apple's days as a purveyor of boxed OS X software were officially over. When Mountain Lion was released in July of 2012, Apple lowered the price ever so slightly, down to a infomercial-friendly $19.99. Notably, Apple did not offer Mountain Lion via a USB thumb drive. At this point, it was downloadable software or bust. With OS X Mavericks, Apple made upgrading to the latest and greatest version of OS X more of a no-brainer than ever before. With Mavericks, Apple for the first time made OS X available for free. Keeping tradition alive, the impending release of OS X Yosemite will also be available for free. Not too bad at all, especially for anyone who can remember picking up this bad boy way back when.
All the best hardware and app reviews last week on TUAW
Last week was a busy one with new hardware and apps making their way into TUAW's virtual office. Here's a quick roundup of our recent reviews you may have missed. App Reviews SpyMeSat iOS app now lets you buy hi-resolution satellite images Daily App: Follow your favorite sports with Reuters Sports Reel VVVVVV is still vvvvvvery difficult on iOS Halftone 2 adds video and sound to an already great app Daily App: Amazon Music with Prime streaming WWDC Finds: Slopes Launch Center Pro 2.3 supports iBeacons, Geofences and more Daily App: Yonder helps you find treasured outdoor experiences iWeather has some clever features in a crowded field Daily App: Slow Shutter for iOS gets the job done Hardware Reviews VitalConnect HealthPatch BioSensor: The "really-connected self" Nova Wireless Flash and app: TUAW Video Review Pad & Quill Walden Collection for iPad Air: TUAW Video Review TUAW will be back next week with another round of reviews, so be sure to drop by to see what's new and what's cool.
From the "Who the heck still needs this?" department
If you stumble around on Amazon, you'll find that you can still purchase old Apple software that's well over a decade old. Take OS X 10.2 Jaguar, for example. Originally released in August of 2002, you can still purchase this bad boy for just $113.99 + $5.99 shipping nearly 12 years later! Even more comical is that Amazon recommends you combine it with the original version of OS X for the low, low price of $142.94. Of course, one's natural inclination upon seeing this is to ask, "Who the heck still needs this?!" And sure, there are folks out there with old machines lying around that can't run more recent versions of OS X, but come on people, it's time to let go!
TUAW TV Live: Dealing with old media and files
A lot of us who have had computers, camcorders, and cameras for more than just the last 15 years are faced with a real issue -- what to do with all of the physical media that piled up over the years. Today on TUAW TV Live, co-host Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I will discuss how to go about getting that media moved over to a format that will work with your current OS X and iOS devices. Have old files that are from an application that no longer exists? We'll give you some tips on how to recover that information, too. To watch the show and take part in the chat, just scroll down a tiny bit, log into the chat room, and be sure to press the "play" button on the video window around 5 PM to watch the stream. If you don't have time to watch the complete show today, come back to this post later or first thing tomorrow when we'll have the recording available for your viewing pleasure. Contact the podcast Follow the hosts on Twitter: @stevensande, @docrock, @TUAW Send your questions to @stevensande E-mail us: tvlive at tuaw [dot] com
Mac 101: quickly change volume input, output
Many Mac users have several input and output devices for sound. For example, I have a mic, external speakers and a set of headphones connected to my MacBook Pro pretty much all the time. I also use Soundflower for capturing audio from my Mac. I can make any one of them active via the sound System Preference. Or, I could use this trick, which is much faster. Just Option-click on the volume icon in the Menu Bar and presto! A list of available input and output devices appears. Just click the one you want and you're all set. Nice and fast.
After 14 years, the "Preview Kid" on OS X's Preview icon is no more
Earlier this week we covered many of the new icons users can look forward to in OS X Yosemite. As opposed to iOS 7, the iconography in Yosemite is rather impressive. Instead of blindly adhering to a flat design aesthetic, OS X Yosemite's icons appear a bit more nuanced and elegant, seemingly an indication that a lot more thought (and time, most likely) went into the design process. While design changes to the Finder and Trashcan icons are the most noticeable, you may have missed the significance of Apple's brand new Preview icon. By itself, it's not too shabby, what with a scenic photo nestled beneath a loupe. But the redesign of the Preview icon also spells the end for what some are calling the Preview Kid. For approximately 14 years, the Preview icon in OS X looked like this - an adorable little kid having a grand old time by the water. OS X Snow Leopard? He's there. OS X Jaguar? He's there. Yep, this kid is as old as OS X itself, even gracing the original Dock that was introduced in OS X 10.0. After 14 years, there's no question that he's had an incredible run, but with college probably looming next year, it'd be pretty darn selfish of us to expect him to hang around the Dock forever. So, Preview Kid, wherever you are, a hearty bon voyage! is in order. We can only hope that your time in OS X was as meaningful and memorable to you as it was to all of us. via Reddit
OS X Yosemite enables Lightning video capture of iOS 8 devices
For developers, instructors, podcasters and others who want to capture video from iOS devices, the current method of choice is to either use an external video camera aimed at the device's display, Apple's HDMI cable attached to a dedicated capture device, or a third-party Wi-Fi solution such as Reflector that can capture an AirPlay stream of a mirrored screen. Now Apple's going to make video capture much easier by allowing OS X Yosemite Macs to grab iOS 8 device video simply by connecting a Lightning cable between the two. When the iOS 8 device is attached, it appears to the Mac as a video input source in QuickTime. QuickTime can then be used to capture the video coming in from the iOS 8 device. Although we're not sure at this time, you should also be able to use iMovie or Final Cut Pro X to receive the video stream. Developers were given the word yesterday that the App Store will soon allow video previews, so this new capability will make it simpler for them to prepare the App Preview content for upload later this year.
Apple addresses virtual currency and other news for June 3, 2014
In our first post-WWDC news roundup, we have stories about iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite! Who would have guessed? Specifically, getting into (and out of) a beta and virtual currencies. Onward. 1. Apple has clarified its stance on virtual currencies in apps. The newly updated App Store Review Guidelines reveals that Apple is willing to approve apps that deal with virtual currency, within limits: "Purchasing and Currencies 11.17 Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions." This is one of the first times the company has officially recognized virtual currencies. 2. How to sign up for Apple's OS X Yosemite beta program. Eager to try out the beta of Apple's forthcoming Mac OS? You needn't be a developer anymore. This year, the rest of us can apply to the program, and Mac Observer outlines how. 3. Downgrade back to iOS 7 from iOS 8 beta. Here's the problem: many eager iPhone users will install iOS 8 on their devices, not to get a jump start on development, but just to see what it's like. Those who use their main iPhone for this purpose may soon regret it. Fortunately, Ars has posted a tutorial on getting back to iOS 7.
Mac 101: How to add custom artwork to your iTunes songs and movies
A significant chunk of my iTunes library is comprised of CD rips and a few independent recordings from musician friends. As a result, a fair number of tracks lack the excellent artwork that graces iTunes. If you are in a similar situation, you can quickly add artwork to individual tracks or even several tracks with just a few clicks. This trick also works with video, too. Individual Tracks To add artwork to an individual clip, simply select the track in iTunes and use Command-i to open the inspector (or File > Get Info), which will show all the details of the track. You can change other details from this interface, but we are most interested in the "Artwork" tab as shown above. Select the Artwork tab and use the "Add" button to insert your custom artwork. You also can drag the artwork from Finder into the artwork area. Multiple Tracks You also can add artwork to several tracks at once by selecting a handful of tracks and then clicking on File > Get Info or Command-i to open the inspector. Click "yes" if you are warned about editing multiple files and then select "Info" to view the contents of the information pane. You then can drag the image to the Artwork area to assign new art to all those tracks at once. Other Details iTunes 11 supports adding JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and Photoshop files as artwork. The app will resize the images to proper size so you don't have to worry about sizing down the artwork before you add it to iTunes. You also can have iTunes do the artwork importing for you if the track is from a known album by a known artist. Just control-click the songs without artwork and choose "Get Album Artwork" from the pop-up menu. This automatic method pulls the art from a central database and is less reliable than the manual import described above as the song matching is not always accurate.
