The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Backtrace, the geekiest album you'll hear, hits Billboard comedy charts Posted: 28 Oct 2014 03:00 PM PDT I saw James Dempsey speak at AltConf this past June (AltConf runs during WWDC for those who want something a little different). James goes way back in Apple lore to the NeXT days, and for his talk he pulled some code to show how Swift didn't just...

Piano City - Halloween Magic is fun game for young pianists Posted: 28 Oct 2014 02:30 PM PDT Piano City - Halloween Magic is a music game that takes you along a Halloween-themed journey, building up your piano skills and competing in concert recitals along the way. You start at the bottom of the social rank with basic songs to play on the...

Microsoft releases new Office 365 APIs and SDK tools for iOS developers Posted: 28 Oct 2014 02:00 PM PDT Microsoft has released a new series of tools for developers looking to improve integration between their apps and the company's Office 365 service. For iOS users and developers, the main point of interest will be the new 365 APIs for mail, files,...

Ebola scare causes spike in Plague Inc game sales Posted: 28 Oct 2014 01:00 PM PDT Worried about the Ebola scare but feel powerless to do anything about it? Join the tens of millions of people who have joined the dark side, so to speak, and created their own virtual plague in a quest to wipe out humanity in Plague Inc. The...

Korean press miffed at lack of flagship Apple Store Posted: 28 Oct 2014 12:00 PM PDT South Korea really loves Apple's new iPhones. The company managed to outpace pre-orders of the Galaxy Note 4 -- which comes from South Korea-based Samsung -- more than three times over. Unfortunately, the South Korean press hasn't been quite as...

Tim Cook on axing the iPod Classic: "We couldn't get the parts anymore" Posted: 28 Oct 2014 11:00 AM PDT Last month, Apple swiftly and quietly put an end to the venerable iPod Classic. No announcements were made, no funeral was held. Instead, all references to the Classic were casually removed from the iPod section on Apple's website, dashing the dreams...

Apple last year spent a record $6 billion on Research and Development costs Posted: 28 Oct 2014 10:00 AM PDT Apple this week filed its 2014 10-K annual report with the SEC, offering investors a comprehensive look into the company's operations over the last 12 months. One of the more interesting items revealed on the 10-K is that Apple over the past year...

Walmart issues bogus explanation as to why they don't support Apple Pay Posted: 28 Oct 2014 09:00 AM PDT Shortly after Apple introduced Apple Pay, Walmart issued a statement indicating that it had no intention of supporting Apple's new mobile payment platform. Walmart's stance was hardly a surprise given that it's one of the leaders of MCX, a consortium...

How to disable taking iPhone calls on your iPad Posted: 28 Oct 2014 08:00 AM PDT While there are a number of how-to's on the topic of enabling your iPad to take iPhone calls in iOS 8, there are unfortunately a lot of people spreading FUD about the ability to turn it off. Yes, you can turn it off. It's the same as turning it on,...

Tim Cook speaks out about Alabama's slow progress on LGBT rights Posted: 28 Oct 2014 07:00 AM PDT Over the last year Apple CEO Tim Cook has been ramping up his personal activism for LGBT causes, both in private and with the company. The trend continued today in a speech in Alabama, at the state capital during the Alabama Academy of Honor event....

Dodocase already has an Apple Watch accessory for pre-order Posted: 28 Oct 2014 06:30 AM PDT The Apple Watch doesn't even have a release date yet, but that doesn't mean you can't already be accessorizing. Dodocase has debuted a pre-order for a handsome Apple Watch charging stand. Pre-orders will cost you just a US$5 deposit towards the final...

Tim Cook: Over 1 million credit cards have been activated with Apple Pay Posted: 28 Oct 2014 06:00 AM PDT While speaking at the WSJD Live event last night, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed some initial data regarding the company's recent rollout of Apple Pay. According to Cook, over 1 million cards have already been loaded up via Apple Pay. Given that Apple...

How to make Yosemite look like System 7 Posted: 27 Oct 2014 05:00 PM PDT Yes, OS X Yosemite is sexy, modern, and a far cry from what Apple desktops ran 20+ years ago, but that doesn't mean there's no value in nostalgia. Way back when Macs ran on CPUs with speeds of 33MHz (or even less), OS 7 -- also called System 7 -- was...

Superimpose for iOS lets you blend and superimpose your photos Posted: 27 Oct 2014 04:30 PM PDT Superimpose (US$0.99) does a first class job of taking part of one photo and adding it to another. It's great for removing your best friend from a picture taken in your living room and putting them at Niagara Falls, or taking the head of one person...

The Retina iMac 5k maxed out with 32GB of RAM is incredible Posted: 27 Oct 2014 04:00 PM PDT Apple's new Retina iMac 5K is a stunning computer for graphic design and video editors looking for the best possible screen to get their work done. Still, considering it's $2499 price tag, you'd think Apple could throw in more than 8 GB RAM. Maxing...