Apps

If you are fond of handy little helper apps for your Mac like MenuTab for Facebook, Tab for Google+ or MailTab for Gmail, you will definitely want to consider adding Rasmus Porsager and Anders Myrup’s QuickMailer to your daily productivity arsenal. Do you hate having to launch a full-blown email client just to fire off a quick email message? Worry not; QuickMailer comes to the rescue (via Cult of Mac). All this little Mac app does is sit at your menu bar and wait for a keystroke combination.

As seen above: An elegant, clean compose window will pop up with the To, Subject, and Body fields, and an option to attach a file, access preferences and send your message. The program works through your primary Mail.app account and looks up previous recipients to provide auto-completion. Also handy: QuickMailer can remember fields for your next message. A 99-cent download from the App Store, QuickMailer is a real lifesaver. One more screenshot is right below the fold.

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On the heels of improved iCloud integration in Mountain Lion, Microsoft made things a little more official today for its upcoming updated SkyDrive cloud service for Windows 8 and possibly OS X. The new service will include improved file management and synchronization, secure two-factor authentication for remote access to files not yet uploaded to Skydrive, and support for file uploads of 2GB. What makes things interesting are rumors of paid storage options and a Mac client originating from Gemind.com.br who posted (via ArsTechnica) screenshots from Windows Live of SkyDrive advertising clients for “PC or Mac”…

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In a move that will surely keep the Mac and iPhone maker on top of the digital music and software application industry, Apple is preparing its first iTunes Store redesign in nearly three years. In late 2009, Apple launched a new iTunes Store that traded in a blue-themed, convoluted store for a much simpler, white-themed store that provides a great focus on the store’s downloadable content.

The redesign of the iTunes Store that runs on both the iTunes application for the Mac and the PC is a top priority for Apple. The work on the redesign comes soon after the launch of new services in the United States such as the Spotify music streaming service and the growing popularity of Amazon’s online music store. Apple dominates the majority of the digital music market, and it will continue to bet on an in-application download store and not an online store found only in a web browser.

The new design is said to be even simpler and more user-friendly than the current design. Apple is working on ways to enhance the speed and efficiency of finding new content, such as songs, videos, and applications. The cornerstone element of Apple’s new iTunes Store is interactivity. As Apple vaguely explained to a number of music labels and entertainment partners, Apple is looking to make the iTunes Store a much more engaging experience. Read on for more…

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Pitchers and Catchers are set to report over the next few days and MLB is getting its 2012 App ready

Baseball fans will be happy to hear that Major League Baseball is again bringing the MLB at Bat app back to the App Store so they can enjoy every game throughout the season on their iOS device. In previous years, the MLB at Bat app on the App Store made available audio of the games and in-game statistics. A premium package could open video for all games. This year, MLB is changing the way they bring you games.

Luckily for this season, MLB confirmed with EverythingiCafe that MLB at Bat ’12 would be available for free on the App Store for both the iPhone and iPad— as long as you pay for the one time subscription. The app will stream both audio and video and bring in-game stats.

MLB at Bat ’12 will be available Feb. 29 for free. However, if you want to use the app, you will have to pay a once-a-year $119 subscription as a returning customer or $125 as a new customer. Those who subscribe can view 150 Spring Training games and all 2,430 regular season games, though some are subject black outs. You can now sign up for the MLB.TV season on the MLB website. The first game will stream March 3.

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Let’s take a quick break from the hordes of Mountain Lion OSX news to talk about privacy issues within apps…again. However, this time the spotlight is on children’s apps in both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Marketplace.

The Federal Trade Commission released a report today (PDF) based on a survey that found apps for children do not fully disclose the types of data collected nor do they adequately educate parents about data harvesting.

The consumer protection agency scrutinized privacy policies, recommended each developer give comprehensible disclosures on how data is accrued and shared, including whether children’s data is linked to social network apps, and it even mentioned conducting a six-month review on disclosures and using enforcement if needed. The report focused on the two main app stores themselves and requested more be done to tell children and their parents about privacy concerns…

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The iPhone is great in many ways, but perhaps one of the best cases is in a medical emergency. KVAL reported a 57-year-old Oregon man was suffering from a diabetic reaction while driving down a local highway. (Video link here.)

When two medical responders came to the scene and tried to assist the man, they ran into quite a language barrier. The man only spoke Chinese, but luckily, one of the responders knew to reach for his iPhone. He fired up Google Translate and was able to speak Chinese with the man to figure out his condition and give him the help he needed.

Cross posted on 9to5Google.com

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The introduction of Mountain Lion brought OS X undeniably closer to merging with iOS. The majority of the update focuses on features originally designed for our iOS devices, and one of the most notable features is a Notification Center almost identical to the iOS 5 version.

The first things you will notice are small pop up notifications in the upper right corner of your screen. These are comparably to what you would have in popular open-source notification utility Growl, and they disappear after a few seconds if you choose not to click them. Like iOS, Apple also gives you the option of a notification that remains visible until you select either “Close” or “Snooze.” You can decide which of the two notification types you want for each individual app…

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With the consistent iOS-ifying of Mac OS X, and the introduction of Apple’s Mac App Store last year modeling the iOS App Store’s Apple-controlled distribution platform, some have questioned whether OS X will soon resemble the iOS ecosystem. That is, will Apple attempt to mirror the so-called “walled garden” approach of the App Store by requiring users to only run software specifically approved by Apple for use on Macs?

The good news is Apple’s OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion developer preview does not impose that restriction. Instead, Apple introduced “Gatekeeper,” a new system for developers to sign their apps, and a new method within System Preferences for users to better control which apps have access to their Mac. While claiming malware is “hardly an issue on a Mac,” Apple said Gatekeeper would improve security and help users avoid malicious software. By default, the feature only allows apps from the Mac App Store or those singed by identified Apple developers…

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The app development world went into a frenzy when social network app Path was caught uploading users’ address book information without asking for permission last week. We already gave our view on the matter, but Forbes reported on a study by University of California at Santa Barbara yesterday that found Cydia apps leaked private data less than apps available on the iTunes App Store.

The group built a tool called PiOS that analyzes iOS apps for private data leaks. It looked at 1,407 free apps: 825 apps from the App Store; and, 526 apps from Cydia’s repository the BigBoss.

The findings indicated 21 percent of the App Store apps tested uploaded a users’ iOS device’s UDID, 4 percent uploaded location information, and .5-percent uploaded users’ address book—like Path did. When it came to the 526 apps tested on the BigBoss repo, only 4 percent leaked users’ UDID, and only one app leaked location and address book data.

Many people are under the impression that third-party apps do the majority of the uploading, but that might not be the case. Perhaps Apple’s new restriction on uploading address book information without permission will help remedy the situation.

You can view the study’s full graph after the break:

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Apple responded today to the contacts-sharing issue with a statement indicating it plans to put some form of a setting on contact data that would allow users to control who views the data, similar to the way Apple locks down location data.

“Apps that collect or transmit a user’s contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines. We’re working to make this even better for our customers, and as we have done with location services, any app wishing to access contact data will require explicit user approval in a future software release.”

Congress became involved and probably motivated the move, but the legislative body is not going to like what it hears.

The problem is that iOS apps not only have access to a user’s contacts database (including addresses and notes), but apps also have full and unencumbered access to everything in the iOS app sandbox, such as pictures, music, movies, calendars, and a host of other data. Any of this content is literally open for developers to freely transmit to their own servers while apps are open.

(note that pictures with geotags will pop up a Location dialog which can be averted in code with some well known tricks)

Moreover, approved apps also have access to the iPhone’s camera and microphone, so apps can also take pictures and make recordings without permission (although, this would be easy to detect by the user with the light from the front camera or red bar during audio). Photos, videos, and audio are transmittable securely or insecurely up to servers that you and Apple do not know about.

To developers, this is no big secret. It is not trivial, but putting that kind of functionality into an app is straightforward and only uses Apple’s publicly available and blessed developer APIs (which means this stuff will not likely be detected by Apple’s App Store approval process).

Obviously, shady developers and even government entities are probably already using such apps to gather information. Therefore, these are some scenarios:

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Do you remember when we told you Apple has an AirPlay Mirroring application for Mac OS X in development? It would allow you to wirelessly mirror what is on your Mac’s display to an Apple TV and a connected HDTV. While we are unsure if Apple plans to release the app, thanks to “AirParrot” we might have a half decent solution in the meantime. AirParrot is available now for $9.99, and it allows a user to mirror a Mac’s screen (OS X 10.6+) to a television through an Apple TV. Unfortunately, it is not a perfect solution yet…

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[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/35693267 w=601&h=338]

The anticipated “Clear” to-do list application for the iPhone and iPod touch has made its way onto the iTunes App Store worldwide. The app is unlike any other to-do list software, because it includes a multi-touch optimized interface that functions like no other. For example: To create a new to-do, users can either pull or pinch their to-do list. Clear’s promotional video, as seen above, best demonstrates the unique interface. Clear includes the option to create specific lists, such as iOS 5’s built-in Reminders application, and it includes different color themes. On the downside there is no integration to third party/WebDAV calendaring systems.

The application is available for $0.99.

Update: Clear has hit #1 or # 2 all over the Western world as evidenced by their iTunes Connect interface, below:
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Less than a month after Apple introduced its free “iBooks Author” e-book publishing platform, interactive iPad textbook startup Inkling introduced its own publishing platform called “Habitat.” Founder and CEO Matt MacInnis, who also happens to be a former senior manager of international education markets and Asia education marketing at Apple, made the announcement today in New York at the “Tools of Change for Publishing” conference.

Inkling dubbed Habitat the “First-Ever Digital Printing Press for Professionals,” and suggested the company hopes to offer a more comprehensive solution to professionals than Apple’s iBooks Author platform. In its press release, Inkling runs down some of habitat’s features: standards-based content including “guided tours, 3-D exhibits, interactive quizzes, and high definition video,” and single-click cross-platform publishing, cloud storage for collaboration, object-oriented content, and “Infinite revision management” to backup every change to your project.  The platform also has an “automated error reporting” feature to scan published content for broken links, and other issues with content…

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Instagram, Apple’s 2011 “App of the Year,” just released an update to its iOS application that includes a sleek user interface, tappable notifications, a new filter, and an enhancement feature.

The app is a free photo-manipulator that allows users to snap pictures, apply hip vintage filters, and then share their edited images through a built-in social network. Users can also share their creations through other services, such as Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr.

The newest version allots a much-needed facelift and provides a more modern appearance than the previous variant by displaying an overhauled header and menu buttons (as seen in the image to the right).

“We’ve simplified the look of Instagram,” announced the San Francisco-based Company in a blog post.

Perhaps most important: Instagram now asks users if it is O.K. to upload contacts to its servers—not wanting to become the next Path.

More screenshots are available below.

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[slideshow]

Update: Tapbots followed up with a separate iPad version of Tweetbot that is a different purchase (also $2.99), but it implements many of the new features and UI elements introduced in the v2.0 update for the iPhone app earlier today. It has a new two-pane iPad UI and other features specific to the larger display. For anyone holding off on Tweetbot to avoid having to use another client on iPad, the iPad version is probably worth the extra $3 with this mornings update. BI and Rene at iMore has the review:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3oEjHrvzUEg#!]

Developer Tapbots just dropped an updated version of its popular third-party Twitter iPhone client. Tweetbot version 2.0 [iTunes $2.99] is a significant update with dozens of new features and changes, and its first impressions seem to be positive.

Perhaps the biggest enhancement in the new Tweetbot is the updated timeline view that refines the UI making links (now colored), profile images (thumbnails now appear in timeline), and usernames just a single tap away. Another nice addition is the tappable “Retweeted by” bar now appearing in the timeline. Other improvements made to the app include adjusted cell colors for better contrast, a redesigned direct message UI, and a new “New Tweets” bar that can be hidden with a tap or through Settings…

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Blogger Arun Thampi discovered something that may or may not sit right about the free social media app Path while packet sniffing the app last night. Upon first installing the app and registering for an account, Path sends each one of your contacts in your address book to their server via a. plist. The .plist includes full names, phone numbers, and e-mails.

Path makes the call “https://api.path.com/3/contacts/add” when you first create an account, and it uploads all your contacts to its server. In most people’s mind, this obviously makes them feel a little uncomfortable. Thampi details the technical aspects of this, and how you can recreate it yourself, in his blog post.

Path’s Cofounder and CEO Dave Morin commented on the situation and said iPhone users will soon be able to opt-out of the setting in an update that will roll out to the App Store shortly. Nevertheless, does that really change anything? He did not really explain why Path is doing this, and your entire address book is still on their servers. You can read Morin’s comment after the break:

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Apple just updated its End User License Agreement for the iBooks Author application, and the changes clearly outline the Cupertino, Calif.-based Company only requires .iBooks formatted products created in iBooks Author to sell through the iBookstore.

With that said, Apple aims to sell the packaged format without claiming the content nor restricting where else authors can distribute the content.

iBooks Author released alongside iBooks Textbook last month and controversy immediately brewed over its terms and conditions, which many claimed infringed upon software rights and imposed unjust requirements…

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HikaEE70604]

Readdle released a new application for the iPad called “Remarks” that offers incredibly accurate handwriting recognition, PDF annotating, and more. At the heart of Remarks is PDF annotating, and PDFs can be imported by way of the iPad’s iTunes File Sharing feature or through opening the PDF with an email to the iPad. All of your PDFs are stored in an iWork for iOS-like file system, and a folder system is available.

The interface, though, is powerful and feature-packed, and it is simple for PDF annotating. A user simply taps to open a PDF and then they can do actions such as handwriting, highlighting, panning, and creating shapes like circles and squares similar to what one does in OS X’s built-in PDF annotating application Preview. Remarks also allows you to import photos directly from within the application to place in a PDF, and it also allows users to email, print, and open the created or annotated PDFs in other iOS applications.

While Remarks have been a fantastic PDF annotator in our testing, the marquee feature—perhaps— is its handwriting integration. In our tests, Remarks’ handwriting software is well crafted, very accurate, fast, and features no lag. A great bonus is being able to rest your hand on the display of your iPad without writing anything accidentally. Writing with Remarks with a stylus offers perfect iPad handwriting, but writing with your finger works great as well. Readdle said it is looking to bring more features soon to Remarks, including Dropbox and other cloud storage system support.

Remarks is available for the iPad on the App Store for $4.99.

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Jumsoft has just released Book Palette 1.0 on the Mac App Store– a collection of templates and themes for Apple’s recently released iBooks Author platform. The first release of many to come includes 10 templates from business to cookbooks that all include customizable layouts, covers, chapter pages, tables of contents, glossary pages, and everything included in the iBooks author app. It looks like Apple isn’t going to have an issue with developers selling additional add-on content for iBooks Author through the Mac App Store.

Although Jumsoft has designed the templates to be ready to go with the default designs and layouts, they explained just how customizable they are:

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Avid, the makers of the music industry’s leading DAW called “Pro Tools”, just dropped an iPad version of its pro-sumer Final Cut Pro competitor known as “Avid Studio.” Although the latest Final Cut Pro X update brought multicam editing, broadcast monitoring, and many of the features pro users demanded be re-implemented, the Avid Studio iPad app shows why Apple should and most likely will release FCPX for iPad.

The app is available from the App Store now for $4.99, significantly less than the desktop version that retails for $169.99, but the app will increase to $8 after an initial 30-day introductory period. The Avid Studio app is the company’s first video editing suite for iPad and aims to provide most of the features offered through the desktop version.

Users will get the familiar timeline and storyboard, but new gestures will allow them to pinch and squeeze to scale images and videos, and arrange edits on the timeline for picture-in-picture effects. Users of the desktop software will also appreciate the Precision Trimmer, Razor Blade tool for on the fly cuts, and the ability to export projects easily to Avid Studio on the desktop. Projects can be uploaded to iCloud, and finished projects can be shared to YouTube, Facebook, and by email from within the app. Unlike the desktop version, there is no Flash export option.

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Prominent iOS application developer, and friend of the website, Steven Troughton-Smith released a neat new iPhone and iPod touch application called “The Lotto Machine“ that is a random number generator. Besides the great design, the application is unique because of its physics engine. The physics engine is best demonstrated when a user holds down the “Hold to spin!” button that cranks the wheel. The new application also shows off its accelerometer usage when a user tilts their device. As you can see in the video below, as a user moves their phone around in space, the lottery balls also move:

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