The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

You're going to be hearing a lot about "iPod" on tonight's Olympics broadcast Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:45 PM PST Note: This article contains spoilers regarding the snowboarding competition at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, which has not yet aired in some regions. If you want to watch the broadcast and pretend it's live, stop reading now. Really not kidding, there...

Even Fall Out Boy is ripping off Flappy Bird Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST Once you've collaborated with everyone from Lil Wayne to Elton John where does a multiplatinum swoopy haired emo band like Fall Out Boy go next? The answer is apparently ripping off viral mobile hits. Today the saddest men in rock music announced via...

Ironpants is the only Flappy Bird clone worth a damn, and not even a very big damn Posted: 11 Feb 2014 01:30 PM PST Of all the Flappy Bird clones littering the App Store at the moment, only a fraction of those games is actually playable -- meaning that they're fully functional and can be used without glitches, slowdown, or outright crashes. Of that small group,...

Later for iOS reminds you to send those texts, tweets and emails at the right time Posted: 11 Feb 2014 12:30 PM PST Later for iOS (free) is one of those apps I thought about inventing myself. It's a simple app that sends you a notification reminding you to send a text, email or tweet at the appropriate time. You may have thought of something you want to message...

Can you guess what happened to this iPhone? Posted: 11 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST The internet is filled with photos of destroyed Apple devices, and a simple Google search will display plenty of photos of cracked screens and water damage. But this iPhone, posted on Reddit by user Tstone11, is special. As you can see from the...

Ask TUAW Live is on the air at 5 PM ET today! Posted: 11 Feb 2014 11:30 AM PST "Ask TUAW Live" will be happening Tuesday, February 11, 2014, at 5:00:00 PM ET. You can also check here for showtimes in your area. This week, our special guest is Michael Zaletel of i4software. Mike will stop by to discuss Vizzywig and Fastcamera...

Daily Deals for February 11, 2013, featuring the MacGyver-Approved iPhone 5/5S Case Posted: 11 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring exclusive TUAW Deals, a handy list from Dealnews and our own handpicked iOS and OS X selections. TUAW's Daily Deals The MacGyver-Approved iPhone 5/5S Case [On sale...

Use this clever way to clean a Mac's SuperDrive Posted: 11 Feb 2014 09:30 AM PST I rarely used the SuperDrive in my 2009 MacBook Pro. I can't remember the last time there was anything I needed to read or load from a CD. But in 2011, a friend's kid wanted to watch a DVD on my laptop during a trip. We inserted the disc, only to...

How to fix an iPad that's been disabled after entering the wrong passcode Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:30 AM PST Have you ever picked up your iPad, only to discover it has been disabled by your curious children who entered the password too many times? Or maybe you've done it yourself when you've forgotten the passcode you created a month ago? if you enter in an...

Document Writer for iOS has nice features and rough edges Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST Document Writer (US$5.99, universal) claims to be the "best document and editing management suite for iOS." Based on the extended feature set, I'd have to admit that's true. The app can create rich text documents and spreadsheets, and also includes a...

Flappy Bird creator pulled game because it was an 'addictive product,' and more news for Feb. 11, 2014 Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST The creator of Flappy Bird, Dong Nguyen, has told Forbes that the reason he pulled the wildly popular game was because it was an addictive product: "Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," says Dong Nguyen, in an...

Court rules that Apple can't get rid of antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST Well it looks like Apple and antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich will have to put up with each other, for better or worse. Reuters reports the US Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that Bromwich can continue his monitoring duties even while Apple...

Daily App: Slice Fractions helps your child visualize fractions in a puzzling way Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:30 AM PST Slice Fractions is a new learning game from Ululab that was designed in collaboration with a team of learning experts from the University of Quebec in Montreal. As its name implies, the app focuses on fractions and presents the math concept in a...

Apple releases a Beatles channel for the Apple TV, and other news from Feb. 10, 2014 Posted: 10 Feb 2014 11:05 PM PST It's no surprise that Apple is getting in on the landmark anniversary of Beatlesmania in the US. It's launched a Beatles channel for the Apple TV with the Beatles' initial appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show available for free streaming. It also...

Daily Update for February 10, 2014 Posted: 10 Feb 2014 06:30 PM PST It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some of 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...

Catchr keeps an eye on your iPhone when you can't Posted: 10 Feb 2014 06:00 PM PST Have you ever left your iPhone on a countertop or coffee table and wondered if a curious friend or family member did any snooping? Catchr is an app designed to answer that question by tracking all the app activity that happens on your device. Once...

Need another reason to hate the horrible Flappy Bird clones? They steal content, too Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:00 PM PST Flappy Bee -- or "Happy Bee Game" as its title screen says -- is a Flappy Bird clone that changed its name to steal downloads from people searching the App Store for the now-removed iOS top-rated game. Flappy Bee is garbage, which is enough of a...

Here's a quick way to send a file to a screen-shared desktop Posted: 10 Feb 2014 04:00 PM PST I've been doing a lot of Mac development recently. This means I often need to screen share to my headless OS X Mountain Lion system for testing. This morning, I was updating my folderol app to add features for folder tagging. I had to make sure that...

iOgrapher: An inexpensive hand-held mount for iPad moviemaking Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST TUAW has previously reviewed the Padcaster (US$149 or $189 with lens), a tremendously useful tool for mounting an iPad in a sturdy aluminum frame that includes multiple tripod mounts as well as cold shoes for mounting lights and microphones. It's...

Talking to Siri: You won't believe this story Siri told me Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST It was a dark and stormy night... No, that's not it! Hat tip, Randall Evans Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant....

Now you can bake your own iPhone and eat it, too! Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST Over the years, we've seen amateur and professional bakers create cakes and cookies that look like iPhones, but now anyone can create their own iPhone-shaped confections. ThinkGeek, our favorite site for nerdy goodies, announced the availability of...

Boinx FotoMagico 4.4 up close and personal Posted: 10 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST When you need a photo presentation combined with music, video and special effects, FotoMagico from Boinx Software in Germany is a great choice. Recently updated to version 4.4, it now works with Lightroom 5 libraries. This November update is more...

Blockchain CEO calls Apple a 'gatekeeper on innovation' after Bitcoin wallet pulled from the App Store Posted: 10 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST Apple last week removed a Bitcoin wallet app called Blockchain from the App Store, prompting Blockchain CEO Nicholas Cary to lay out some harsh words for Apple. In a video interview with CNBC, Cary said Apple was a "gatekeeper on innovation" and...

Daily Deals for February 10, 2014, featuring The Cable Key Keychain Lightning Charger Posted: 10 Feb 2014 10:30 AM PST It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring exclusive TUAW Deals, a handy list from Dealnews and our own handpicked iOS and OS X selections. TUAW's Daily Deals The Cable Key - An Ingeniously Small iPhone 5...

Rumor Roundup: A matter of time Posted: 10 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST The iWatch was just about all anyone could talk about this week. Expect many more weeks like this one. Why a health-focused iWatch won't kill smartwatches like the iPod killed audio players (TechHive) Hey, let's speculate on why an unreleased Apple...