The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

BACtrack Vio: Making it easier to be a responsible drinker Posted: 15 Jul 2014 03:00 PM PDT Back in May I tested the BACtrack Mobile Breathalyzer (US$149.99), a handy little Bluetooth connected device that works with an iPhone app to let you test your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) with a high degree of accuracy anywhere you may be. While I...

Be the hippest hipster at your local Starbucks with a NeXT sticker for your MacBook Posted: 15 Jul 2014 02:30 PM PDT Want to show all the other MacBook-toting latte drinkers at your local coffee shop that you liked Apple before it was cool? There's no better way than boldly displaying your affection for the company that, by being acquired, brought co-founder Steve...

Apple, IBM ink deal to create apps, sell iOS devices to enterprises Posted: 15 Jul 2014 02:15 PM PDT Photo taken by Jean Pigozzi, posted by original Macintosh team member Andy Hertzfeld Check your lottery tickets, folks. Apple and IBM have signed a deal to cooperate on creating apps and sell iOS devices to IBM's customer base. As reported in the...

Ask TUAW Live is on the air at 5 PM ET today! Posted: 15 Jul 2014 01:30 PM PDT "Ask TUAW Live" will air today, Tuesday, July 8, 2014 at 5:00 PM EDT. You can check here for showtimes in your area. We're taking your questions now via the Ask TUAW feedback form, Twitter, Facebook or Google+. To watch the live feed and participate...

Today in the App Store -- the best free apps, new apps and app updates Posted: 15 Jul 2014 01:00 PM PDT Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can. Apps Now Free Inspire Pro [iOS...

Timberman is all kinds of free, woodsy fun Posted: 15 Jul 2014 12:00 PM PDT Flappy Bird may have long since flown the App Store coop, but its legacy lives on in games like Timberman. Like many of the games spawned by the infamous Flappy Bird, Timberman is a one-handed game that can be played with a single finger, it's...

Daily Deals for July 15, 2014 Posted: 15 Jul 2014 11:30 AM PDT 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. All prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly....

The dumbest iPhone rumor story we've seen yet Posted: 15 Jul 2014 11:00 AM PDT Here at TUAW, we're not shy about taking some of the more vapid rumors that circulate through the blogosphere to task. But recently, I stumbled across an article (on Macworld UK no less) which really takes the cake. The article in question is less a...

ROY G BIV turns colors into music Posted: 15 Jul 2014 10:30 AM PDT ROY G BIV (a mnemonic for the colors of the spectrum -- red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo and violet) is a US$0.99 app that lets you point your iDevice anywhere, and the app averages the colors and synthesizes some notes based on the...

U.S. Patent office refuses to grant Apple's "Touch ID" trademark Posted: 15 Jul 2014 10:00 AM PDT The term "Touch ID" is now synonymous with Apple's flagship iPhone, but don't tell that to the United States Patent & Trademark Office. In a letter published on Sunday, the agency ruled that granting Apple the trademark would lead to a "likelihood of...

About those iWatch sales projections Posted: 15 Jul 2014 09:30 AM PDT While Apple by most accounts is working on a wearable device of some sort (unofficially and already dubbed the iWatch), the number of conflicting reports about what the device will be able to do and how it will look is astounding. One day, the...

Beyond Swift: visit Apple's official blogs of yesteryear Posted: 15 Jul 2014 09:00 AM PDT The introduction of Apple's programming language Swift at WWDC represents a departure from tradition in several ways. If an entirely new coding dialect wasn't enough, last week the company also launched a blog specifically focused on Swift. The new...

BlueLounge Kickflip: An incredibly useful MacBookPro accessory Posted: 15 Jul 2014 08:30 AM PDT I write a ton of hardware reviews for TUAW, and I really get tired of seeing overpriced stands for MacBooks. The idea of these things is to just put your device into a comfortable position for typing while you're using the laptop on a flat surface or...

10 ways to control your iPhone with your Apple earbuds Posted: 15 Jul 2014 08:00 AM PDT Longtime Apple enthusiasts sometimes forget that the company is still gaining new fans every day. Apple sold 43,719,000 iPhones in the second quarter of 2014 alone. That's a lot of people who may not know all of the capabilities of their devices, let...

Flickr Find: POW! ZAP! CRUNCH! Batman on an Apple II Posted: 15 Jul 2014 07:00 AM PDT With Batman turning 75-years-old, it's only fitting that he make his appearance on the Apple II thanks to Matthew Pearce who resurrected the original Caped Crusader game for the Mac. You can check out the still shot above and watch the game in action...

Apple tops the smartphone industry in brand retention Posted: 15 Jul 2014 06:00 AM PDT New research data compiled by Morgan Stanley Research (and relayed by Business Insider) reveals that when it comes to brand retention in the smartphone industry, Apple remains the top dog. On average, Morgan Stanley found that 90% of iPhone owners...

Beats sues Chinese counterfeiters alleging losses of billions of dollars Posted: 14 Jul 2014 04:00 PM PDT Beats Electronics -- soon to be under the Apple umbrella if all goes according to plan -- is suing Chinese counterfeiters for illegally manufacturing and selling fake Beats headphones and accessories. According to the lawsuit, the defendants at...

The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for July 14, 2014 Posted: 14 Jul 2014 03:30 PM PDT 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...