Apple ID Two-Factor Verification Expanded to Several New Countries Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:52 AM PST Apple has completed the rollout of two-step verification in several new countries, reports 9to5Mac . As noted on Apple's website, these new locations include Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain. Reports from at least one German user suggests Germany already had two-step verification, but lacked the verification through SMS feature, which was enabled today.
Two-step verification is an optional security feature that requires Apple users to verify their identity before making purchases or logging into their Apple ID account. This extra later of protection requires users to enter a 4-digit verification code sent to a trusted device via Find My iPhone or SMS. Once enabled, this system replaces the standard security questions. Apple introduced this security feature in March 2013 to users in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Registers New '.Technology', 'Applestore.berlin' Domain Names Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:17 AM PST The land rush on new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) continues this week, and Apple has once again staked its claim to some of new domains being made available to the public. The most relevant new gTLD for Apple is ".technology", and the company has moved to secure several variants related to its products: - apple.technology
As with the previously released gTLDs, Apple appears to have taken steps to block registration of other potential domains involving its trademarks, including some directly related to its business such as macbook.technology and other less related such as apple.construction. While many of the new gTLDs coming online focus on industries and professions, another group includes geographic themes, and Apple has also signaled its interest in protecting relevant domains in these families. In what appears to be Apple's first move into this area, the company has registered applestore.berlin, listing the address of the flagship Kurfürstendamm store opened last year on its registration. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Fleksy's Predictive Touch Keyboard with Gestures Now Available to All iOS Developers Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:45 AM PST Back in December, Fleksy announced a toolkit to allow iOS developers to incorporate the company's popular predictive and gesture-based keyboard into their apps. The initial testing period involved a public launch in four third-party apps of varying types, with Fleksy noting that it would continue to expand the program and eventually open up its SDK to all interested developers. Today, Fleksy is announcing that next step in its iOS development program, moving the SDK out of private beta and allowing all app developers to easily incorporate Fleksy as an alternative keyboard within their apps.
Fleksy is one of several alternative keyboard systems that have gained popularity on Android, but Apple's rules preventing systemwide replacement of the default keyboard have greatly slowed growth of such tools on iOS. As a workaround, Fleksy and other keyboard developers are turning to SDKs that will allow developers to add support for their keyboards on an app-by-app basis. SwiftKey is another such company that launched its own note-taking app several weeks ago and is looking to bring an SDK to select developers initially and all developers over time. Fleksy offers automated word suggestions while the user types to help improve typing speed, while also incorporating a sophisticated autocorrect engine to help correct typing errors on the fly. Layered on top of those features is a gesture system that allows users to insert spaces and punctuation by swiping to the right and delete words by swiping to the left anywhere on the keyboard rather than having to use dedicated keys. Up and down swipes allow users to cycle through suggested words or undo automatic corrections. While the Fleksy SDK is now open to all developers, the company has also been working with a number of developers beyond the initial group of four to integrate the Fleksy keyboard into their apps. Several of those are ready to go live today with Fleksy support, including You Doodle , Write for iPhone , Tap Forms Organizer and Secure Database , and Remoter VNC - Remote Desktop . Fleksy is free for users and developers, and hundreds of developers have already inquired about bringing Fleksy to their apps. As a result, the Fleksy team is optimistic that adoption will grow rapidly given developer interest and the simple integration offered through the company's SDK. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Tesla CEO Confirms 'Conversations' With Apple, Says Any Acquisition 'Very Unlikely' Posted: 19 Feb 2014 05:55 PM PST
News of Apple's meeting with Tesla first came to light over the weekend, when the San Francisco Chronicle reported Musk had met with Adrian Perica, Apple's head of acquisitions, and possibly Apple CEO Tim Cook. While the site speculated the meeting pertained to a possible acquisition, other sources have since suggested Apple may have been meeting with Tesla over iOS device integration in the company's electric cars or about a potential battery deal between the two. As noted by The Los Angeles Times , Musk last month announced plans for a massive lithium-ion battery plant, which will be constructed in partnership with "some other companies." Tesla is expected to make an announcement about the plant later this month, and it's possible Apple, which uses lithium-ion batteries for many of its portable devices, could be involved in that venture. When asked whether Tesla was for sale, Musk told the interviewer that an acquisition was unlikely because the company needs to stay "super focused" on its goal of creating an affordable electric car, though he did not rule out the possibility of an acquisition entirely.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said the company is open to making large acquisitions if it makes sense, but he has also said that Apple will focus on the very few products that "deserve all our energy." Apple currently holds nearly $160 billion in cash while Tesla has a market cap of approximately $24 billion. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Facebook Buying Messaging App WhatsApp for $16 Billion Posted: 19 Feb 2014 02:16 PM PST WhatsApp Messenger is a hugely popular cross-platform messaging app that allows users to chat with individuals or groups, as well as sending files and pictures back and forth. Back in December, the service bragged that it had 400 million active users, with 100 million of those added in the last four months of 2013. Back in April of 2013, it was rumored that Google was close to acquiring the company for $1 billion -- something WhatsApp denied. Today's sale price reflects the company's tremendous growth over the last several months. According to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg:
The service is one of many messaging services available on iOS and other mobile platforms, including Apple's own iMessage service integrated into iOS and OS X. Such services have become increasingly popular as users seek to avoid mobile carriers' SMS charges and expand their conversations to include devices not directly connected to cellular service. WhatsApp says that the Facebook and WhatsApp messaging apps will remain standalone for the foreseeable future, and WhatsApp will remain autonomous, operating independently of Facebook. The company's app is currently the 35th most popular on the App Store. Facebook says WhatsApp's messaging volume is "approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume", roughly 7 trillion message a year. WhatsApp Messenger is a free download on the App Store. [Direct Link] In April 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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GBA4iOS Debuts 2.0 Update for Game Boy Emulator With iPad Support, Easy Installation Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:54 PM PST GBA4iOS today introduced a 2.0 update for its popular Game Boy emulator for iOS, introducing a full iOS 7 redesign, iPad optimization, support for original and Game Boy Color games, and a built-in web browser for downloading ROMs. More importantly, the software is now much easier to install, requiring neither a jailbroken device nor a work around to set the device clock to 2012. Prior to the 2.0 update, installing GBA4iOS without jailbreaking required an iPhone's date to be set to 2012. Though it doesn't require an initial date change, GBA4iOS 2.0 does carry a warning that the device clock may need to be set back to 2/19/14 if the app fails to open.
Downloading games for GBA4iOS previously required navigating outside of the app to find ROMs, but the newest version includes an in-app web browser that can be used to download games from any ROM website. GBA4iOS 2.0 also includes full support for cheats, accepting five different code formats covering everything from Game Genie to Action Replay. The GBA4iOS update includes an array of controller skins for Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color games and it supports third party controller skins. It also offers full iOS 7 controller support, Dropbox integration, and "Event Distribution" to allow GBA4iOS unlock and distribute features that are not normally included within games. While several emulators have snuck into the App Store via shell apps, they are always short-lived as Apple pulls the apps within hours or days of release. GBA4iOS is able to overcome Apple's restrictions as it is not installed via the App Store. Instead, GBA4iOS can be installed directly on an iOS device from the website, by tapping the download link on an iPad or iPhone. Update: Apple has revoked the enterprise certificate that GBA4iOS used to install itself on iOS devices, which means installs now require setting a device date back to February 18, 2014 before downloading the software. After installation, the date on the device can be changed back to the present time. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Samsung Bashes iPhone Screen Size and iPad Multitasking in Two New Anti-Apple Ads Posted: 19 Feb 2014 09:30 AM PST Samsung has released two new anti-Apple advertisements highlighting shortcomings in Apple products to promote both its Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1. In the first ad featuring the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3, Samsung depicts the phablet-sized smartphone next to the 4-inch iPhone 5s. Basketball star LeBron James is on the screen while a voiceover mocks the iPhone's screen size and quality, along with its lack of a stylus.
The second ad is a riff on Apple's popular iPad Air 'Pencil' spot that compares the ultra-thin tablet to a pencil. It starts off with a pencil, as Apple's ad did, but eventually reveals an "even thinner" Galaxy Tab Pro behind the iPad. Samsung's newest tablet measures in at 7.3mm thick while the iPad Air is 7.5mm thick.
Along with the Galaxy Tab Pro's thinner profile, Samsung also points out its screen quality and its ability to multitask, which has also been a favorite subject for Microsoft's anti-Apple ads. Samsung's Galaxy Tab Pro has a 1600 x 2560 resolution compared to the iPad Air's 1536 x 2048 resolution. Samsung has a long history of mocking Apple products in its commercials and has famously promoted its Galaxy line of phones by making fun of iPhone fans who wait in long lines for hours. Samsung is expected to release a new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, later this month, along with a new Galaxy Gear smart watch. Apple is expected to unveil both a larger iPhone and a smart watch later this year. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Thursday, 20 February 2014
MacRumors : Mac News and Rumors
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