Apps

6,558 'Apps' stories April 2010 - May 2012

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Learn about the latest news for iOS, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV apps

Apps for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS power our modern world. 9to5Mac will update you on the latest news, review, and updates for all types of apps. “There’s an App for that”.

The term came became part of our vocabulary when Steve Jobs announced The App Store as part of the iPhone 2.0 software update in 2008.

Over the years, the term has become as common as kleenex for describing applications on all of our devices. Apple’s platforms have apps for just about anything from finance, banking, sports, social media, podcasting, music, and more. We have a guide for helping you discover the best ones as well. Apps are now on everything from our TV, to our smartphones, on our laptops, and all the way down to our wrists.

As new ones are released or existing ones have major updates, the team here at 9to5Mac will bring you the latest news and reviews. If you want to follow along with video footage, be sure to follow 9to5Mac on YouTube. Scroll down below our latest updates on all things relating to applications on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.

RadioShack is offering $50 discount on iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S

Élyse Betters May 10 2012 - 4:19 pm PT

RadioShack is having a $50 discount sale on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on all carriers until June 30. The deal is valid at every RadioShack location and can combine with trade-ins through the company’s Trade and Save program. Target is also offering a similar $50 price cut on the iOS smartphones. That means the 8GB iPhone 4 is $49, and the 16GB iPhone 4S is $149, etc., at both retail stores.

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 hits the Mac App Store for $150

9to5 Staff May 10 2012 - 5:13 am PT

[slideshow]

Along with the $80 Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements and Revel, Adobe now offers its popular pro/sumer photo management software Lightroom 4 in the Mac App Store for $150.

Though it generally gets better reviews than Apple’s own $80 Aperture, it is almost double the price and can often be found offline for less.

Adobe fans are hoping the titles continue and with the recent release of Creative Suite 6, there are many other opportunities for Adobe in the Mac App Store. Apple, as always, gets 30 percent of the take in the Mac App Store, so Adobe might not be willing to throw a huge chunk of its cash cow Apple’s way.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 description follows:

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Redesigned Google+ for iPhone released, featuring a crisper UI and larger profile pictures

Jake Smith May 9 2012 - 12:39 pm PT

Google released a pretty substantial update to its Google+ for iPhone app this afternoon by adding a much crisper user-interface that actually makes the app a bit more enjoyable to use. The update is very welcomed, because the first version of the Google+ app was not very well received by the community. It was very bland and not the easiest to navigate. However, with the new update released today, that seems to have changed.

As you can see in the gallery below, the updated UI makes the app much more appealing and easier to use —perhaps now passing Facebook’s iOS app. Here is a run down of the features from Google:

Whether you post photos or articles or text, we’re making ‘em look gooood.
We’re adding crisper fonts, larger profile pics and a friendlier homescreen.
We’re making the stream easier to scan, and easier on the eyes with overlays, gradients and other visual elements.
Conversations fall into view as you move forward and backward in time.
Optical cues (like parallax) help the mind linger on individual posts.
Important actions like +1 now float atop the stream, making it easy to endorse all your favorites.

You can check out the update over on the App Store.

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Gameloft’s ‘N.O.V.A 3’ lands in App Store with impressive console-quality visuals

Jordan Kahn May 9 2012 - 9:52 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EKlKaJnbFek]

Gameloft has done a pretty good job of promoting the latest title in its Halo-inspired sci-fi FPS franchise known as “N.O.V.A- Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance.” Yesterday, it launched a new trailer for the iOS game (above), and today the follow-up to the first two critically acclaimed games, N.O.V.A 3, is finally going live on the App Store.

With vastly improved visuals thanks to real-time dynamic lighting and shadows, “movie-like” depth of field effects, and improved ragdoll physics, the new game is even closer to console-quality graphics and one of best looking iOS titles we have seen since Unreal Engine-powered Infinity Blade. New features include 12-player multiplayer on six maps, enhanced vehicle gameplay, and a ton of new weapons and enemies.

The universal app is already live on the New Zealand App Store for $9.99 and should hit the U.S. store any minute now. We will keep you updated.

A full list of new features below:

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Apps & updates: Dolphin Browser, Watch ESPN, Evernote, Expensify, more

Jordan Kahn May 8 2012 - 10:33 am PT

The most notable app updates today landed for the Dolphin browser iOS apps and Evernote app, but we also get significant improvements to the Watch ESPN app for Comcast customers, a major update to Expensify, and other fixes and features for eBay and Vimeo.

Dolphin Browser for iPad v4.2: In addition to a high definition and “sleeker browsing experience” for the new iPad’s Retina display, the app has also been updated with the following:

-Keyboard: Your last used keyboard layout will reopen for fewer switches.
-Browsing History: Past sites and searches shown in suggestion list while searching in URL bar.
-Various stability and performance improvement.

Dolphin Browser (iPhone) v4.1: A decent update for the iPhone Dolphin app brings browsing history and keyboard improvements from the iPad update, as well as a new Tab Restore feature and a number of fixes.

Evernote Version 4.2.0: The universal Evernote app received a huge update today with a ton of new features, improvements, and redesigned UI elements. We also get support for Photo Stream images as attachments, a new audio recorder, and “more powerful note editing capabilities.”

Watch ESPN Version 1.6: ESPN’s universal iOS app for watching live sports and shows from the network has been updated to allow Comcast customers with ESPN in their TV package to access all content from the app.

Expensify Version 3.20: The popular “#1 app for business travellers and road warriors,” Expensify, received a major update today bringing a new “Expensify Trips” feature, time tracking, pinch to zoom receipts, and tons of fixes. Here is how the new Trips feature works:

Forward your travel itineraries to receipts@expensify.com and let SmartScan pull out the details for fast access inside the app. Includes: streamlined presentation, pre-flight travel alerts, reminders displayed in the app 24-hours before each reservation, offline access, etc.

Other apps that received updates today include fixes for crashing during syncing videos in the Vimeo iOS app (Version 2.0.4), and a redesigned eBay Fashion app (version 1.6.0) with a new look and improved sharing and search capabilities.

Dolphin Browser iPhone app updated with “Sonar” voice control functionality (9to5mac.com)

Apps

Apps & updates: Twitpic for iPhone, SoundCloud fixes, Wall Street Journal gains Retina support

Jake Smith May 7 2012 - 3:28 pm PT

The folks at popular Twitter image uploading service Twitpic released their own app today on the App Store. The app allows you to easily edit photos with a number of filters and other effects, such as cropping, brightness, and orientation. Twitpic for iPhone also offers the ability to view all pictures and videos of the people you are following on Twitter, as well as the ability to comment on Twitpic pictures, and the option to see the most popular pictures shared on Twitpic for the day. You can check out the new app here.

Furthermore, there is also some nice app updates today: SoundCloud has been updated to version 2.1.9, which features a fix for an issue where users could not navigate after signing up/ logging in—definitely a bummer. For those of you who use the Wall Street Journal iPad app to find your daily news, you will be happy to learn that the app gained Retina display support, which is just perfect for the new iPad. You can grab the SoundCloud update here, and Wall Street Journal update here. A few others include: a Washington Post update that can be found here; Madden NFL 12 here; and, TNT for iPad here.

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Microsoft: ‘iCloud might not be enough for you’

Jordan Kahn May 7 2012 - 11:12 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=agth2M00lvk#!]

We covered the release of Microsoft’s new SkyDrive for Mac and updated iOS apps last month, and today the company is once again trying to convince iCloud users to make the switch. On the Office for Mac blog and SkyDrive blog, Microsoft posted a video today titled “iCloud not enough? Try SkyDrive,” alongside the following three reasons to choose its cloud service over Apple’s:

Access files and Office docs, anywhere:

With iCloud, you can only access certain files across devices—like iWork files or photos you take on your iPhone.

With SkyDrive, you can access or manage any file from anywhere. It doesn’t matter whether the file is a document, photo, video, PDF, or anything else—just drag files to theSkyDrive folder on your Mac and they’ll automatically be available on youriPhone, iPad, or PC. If you don’t have your devices with you, you can still access, view, or edit any file by signing in to SkyDrive.com on any browser.

Share and work toegether with anyone:

With iCloud, you can only collaborate with people who have the right software.

But with SkyDrive, you can share any type of file—even big ones up to 2 GB—with anyone. SkyDrive works seamlessly with Office. Anyone you share with can view or edit Word,PowerPoint, or Excel files using Officefor Mac, Office for Windows, or withOffice Web Apps in their browser (it’s free!).

Your notes, everywhere:

With iCloud, you can access notes across your devices but can’t share them.

SkyDrive and OneNote, both free, are integrated so you can take notes, track to-dos and lists all in one place, and share your lists with friends and family so they can coordinate shopping or other tasks you’re working on together. You can share and keep your lists automatically updated from any device.

Microsoft also linked to a page with instructions for moving from iDisk to SkyDrive.

Microsoft releases SkyDrive for Mac app, updates iOS app (9to5mac.com)
Microsoft’s revamped SkyDrive cloud service to take on iCloud on OSX? (9to5mac.com)

Apple now credits Open Street Map under iPhoto acknowledgments

Jake Smith May 4 2012 - 5:45 am PT

When Apple released iPhoto for iOS on March 7, many quickly realized that Apple was not using Google Maps as it usually does for mapping, but rather maps from the OpenStreetMap project. Apple offered no official credit to the non-profit project, which collects a series of maps from over 500,000 people worldwide. However, it appears that Apple has finally credited OpenStreetMap in its latest iPhoto update, as the non-profit project tweeted the news last night.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/#!/openstreetmap/status/198101512201834497[/tweet]

While OpenStreetMap is available for anyone to use, the project does ask for one-line of attribution (via TPM). Apple now mentions OSM under the iPhoto acknowledgements in settings.

That wasn’t so hard?

iPhoto for iOS apparently uses OpenStreetMap data, not in-house solution (9to5mac.com)

Apps & updates: eBay for iPad, The Daily for iPhone, Google Currents Retina support, more

Jordan Kahn May 3 2012 - 9:13 am PT

A number of notable apps were released or updated today on the App Store like the release of previously iPad-only news app The Daily, which was originally launched by News Corp last year. We also get a new iPad app from NBC offering video coverage, interactive tools, and live election results for breaking political news, as well as a completely redesigned iPad app for eBay, and more.

The Daily: Like the iPad version, The Daily iPhone client is free with a selection of content accessible to everyone. However, you will need to grab a $20 per year or $2 per month subscription to access the entire app, which is considerably less than the $40 per year and $1 per week offered with the iPad version.

eBay for iPad: This app received a huge update today bringing support for Retina displays, a redesigned home screen, “ultra-high resolution item images,” and many enhancements made to search results and notifications. The online auction and shopping website also noted it added some of the top requested features from users, such as: revise listings, back button, and improved search.

Google Currents: It is not a huge update, but Google updated its free magazine-style news app today with support for iPad Retina displays and the usual bug fixes.

NBC Politics: NBC’s new universal iOS app provides coverage of all-things politics with video coverage including interviews and shows like “Andrea Mitchell Reports” and “Morning Joe.” It also offers an interactive “Battleground Map,” real-time live election results, candidate profiles, and sharing features.

Lowe’s Virtual Experience: Lowe’s released a universal iOS app today allowing you to view 3D models of its major appliances available in its physical retail locations. It employs augmented reality to allow you to view and walk around the products in your home—as if your kitchen was the showroom.

Assassin’s Creed Rearmed: Ubisoft’s latest iOS spin-off of the Assassin’s Creed franchise was updated today with bug fixes for crashing during the character selection screen. But, more importantly, a new “Synergy” feature now allows you to “hack the Animus and use normal abilities in spectacular ways.” There are a eight abilities, such as: Smoke Bomb Immunity, Instant Trap, and Killing Knives.
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Spotify for iPad finally lands in the App Store

Jordan Kahn May 2 2012 - 5:34 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yXdD-2wJUac]

There were leaks last month showing what might have been our first look at the Spotify iPad app, but today the company officially launched its long-awaited app with a blog post and the video above. The free app has already landed in the App Store as a universal download (an update for users of the iPhone app), and the service offers a 48-hour free trial for non-Premium subscribers with the ability to increase it to 30 days.

Our iPad app looks great. We’ve included Retina graphics and high-definition album art to make browsing a pleasure. Enjoying all the world’s music instantly on your iPad has never been easier. And with the brand new full-screen view and AirPlay integration, Spotify and your iPad are perfect for each other, both as your pumped-up living room stereo and your lean, green music machine when you’re on the move.

Compared to Spotify’s iPhone experience, the iPad app has been completely redesigned with a layered UI more familiar to Facebook iPad app users and packs most of the service’s features apart from the recently launched Web apps. It also includes a new full-screen mode with Retina graphics to take advantage of the device’s display and AirPlay support. Missing is “Collection” view and few other features only accessible through the online service.

The full set of features, as described by Spotify community manager Andres Sehr, is below:

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Apple releases minor updates to iMovie, iPhoto, and Garageband for iOS

Mark Gurman May 1 2012 - 1:28 pm PT

Apple has released minor software updates for iLife for iOS. The suite received major updates on March 7, the day of the new iPad announcement, and today’s updates focus on slight enhancements and bug fixes.

This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of minor issues, including the following:
• Adds the ability to access Help when editing a project on iPad
• Resolves an issue where the incorrect frame was shown after splitting a clip

• When publishing a journal to iCloud, the URL of the journal can now be copied using a Copy Link button
• Addresses an issue that could cause duplicate photos to appear in Photos view
• Includes stability improvements

Garageband 1.2.1:

What’s New in Version 1.2.1
• Fixes an issue that could lead to crashing or missing songs when sharing to iCloud
• Resolves an error when logging into SoundCloud using a Facebook account
• Addresses minor issues related to performance and stability

Cards and iTunes U also saw minor bug fix updates.

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Lengthy profile on famed jailbreaker Geohot from The New Yorker

Jake Smith Apr 30 2012 - 9:11 am PT

“I hack because I’m bored.”

The New Yorker published a very lengthy piece this morning that profiles the famed jailbreak George Hotz—a.k.a Geohot. This 22-year-old has seen a ton of publicity over the years for being the first to unlock the iPhone, getting sued by Sony, and working at Facebook for eight months.

The piece by David Kushner delves into many of Hotz’s projects, which have benefited the jailbreaking community in many ways. Kushner looked at Hotz’s first accomplishment of unlocking the first-gen iPhone to work on T-Mobile. He described the process:

He used a Phillips-head eyeglass screwdriver to undo the two screws in the back of the phone. Then he slid a guitar pick around the tiny groove, and twisted free the shell with a snap. Eventually, he found his target: a square sliver of black plastic called a baseband processor, the chip that limited the carriers with which it could work. To get the baseband to listen to him, he had to override the commands it was getting from another part of the phone. He soldered a wire to the chip, held some voltage on it, and scrambled its code. The iPhone was now at his command. On his PC, he wrote a program that enabled the iPhone to work on any wireless carrier.

The piece takes a closer look at Hotz’s work on the PS3, being sued by Sony, and his short stint at Facebook. You can read the full story over at The New Yorker.

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Tweetbot 2.3 adds new Gestures and Storify integration

Jake Smith Apr 30 2012 - 8:48 am PT

Tweetbot, the Twitter app that everyone seems to be raving about, was given a hefty update this morning with a slew of new features. The app now features integration with the story curation service Storify, a new tweet detail view, support for the file sharing service Droplr, high-resolution image uploads when on Wi-Fi, a load of new gestures, and more. At this rate, it seems the Tapbots team is releasing an update for Tweetbot every few weeks. The last update added iCloud timeline sync and DM read statuses.

All of these updates are great, but I think what we are really waiting for is Tweetbot for Mac. The Tapbots team is rumored to be working on such an application, and with all the success that the iOS app has seen, we can predict the same for the Mac app. Let’s hope it lands in the near future.

You can check out the rest of the new features for version 2.3 after the break. Tweetbot is available on the App Store for $2.99.

[tweet https://twitter.com/tweetbot/status/196984712777056256]

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Australian parliament launches probe into Apple price gouging, as Apple TV hits Brazil for $211

Jordan Kahn Apr 30 2012 - 8:02 am PT

Apple and other technology companies will soon have to answer the Australian Parliament as to why content from iTunes costs more for Australian consumers than United States consumers. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy has now signed off on a parliamentary inquiry that will carry out sometime this year by the standing committee on infrastructure and communications from the House of Representatives.

The report noted the inquiry could extend to eBooks if evidence of price increases for Australian consumers comes to light. In July 2011, Apple cut the price of iOS apps in Australia by up to 25 percent in response to criticism from many, such as federal Labor MP Ed Husic, who raised the issue in Parliament. However, the inquiry will be the first time Apple is asked by Parliament to explain its pricing strategies for the Australian market. The issue surfaced once again last week with the release of Adobe’s latest software suite, which costs up to $1,400 more for Australians.

Husic also raised similar pricing complaints over Apple’s hardware products, which is something that the Brazilian market is experiencing today with the release of the new Apple TV:

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Skype iOS apps updated with UI enhancements and fixes

Jordan Kahn Apr 30 2012 - 5:52 am PT

Update: Skype’s Director of product security Adrian Asher issued a statement to 9to5Mac regarding the “User IP-address Disclosure” method of obtaining a Skype user’s IP address as detailed below:

“We are investigating reports of a new tool that captures a Skype user’s last known IP address. This is an ongoing, industry-wide issue faced by all peer-to-peer software companies. We are committed to the safety and security of our customers and we are takings measures to help protect them.”

The Skype iOS apps were both been updated today bringing one new feature: “The ability to move own video preview.” The update also includes a redesigned user-interface for contacts and messages, and a number of performance, stability, and UI fixes listed below. Skype for iPad received the same update except for the redesigned contacts and messages.

In other Skype news, the Skype Open Source blog pointed us to a “User IP-address Disclosure” method that will allow you to obtain the city, country, ISP, and IP address of a user on your contact list. This is perhaps something Skype will be addressing in a future update. All of the steps are here.

What’s New in Version 4.0

-New feature: ability to move own video preview

-App auto restarts if unexpectedly shut down

-Improved accessibility

-Improved stability

-Updated design for contacts and messages

-New sign in screen

-Other minor UI improvements

-Bug fixes

Blizzard posts Diablo III ‘Evil is Back’ TV spot

Jordan Kahn Apr 29 2012 - 3:28 pm PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K-ZA7NLSRhg]

Blizzard recently wrapped up a Diablo III open beta weekend to stress test the game’s servers, and today they are once again building anticipation for the upcoming title with a new TV spot. Diablo III is headed to Macs next month on May 15, and preorders are already open here.

The Lord of Terror has begun his demonic crusade to shackle YouTube viewers into unholy slavery. Watch our new TV spot now, and prepare for your journey into the depths of Sanctuary on 05.15.12.

Blizzard’s Diablo III open beta weekend starts at noon today (9to5mac.com)

Apple axes Chomp for Android following acquisition

Jordan Kahn Apr 27 2012 - 8:37 am PT

We reported in February that Apple acquired discovery app Chomp and was thought to be using the company’s technology to help improve the App Store and iTunes experience. We later confirmed Chomp’s CEO Ben Keighran and CTO Cathy Edwards already started working at Apple on the iTunes teams. Today, it appears Apple has shut down Chomp for Android with Chomp’s website now only listing links to iOS versions of the app, as noted by GigaOM.

The “Download Chomp” tab in the upper right corner of the Chomp.com now leads directly to the iTunes download page and only iPhone and iPad options are available for searching online. However, when searching for apps on the website, changing the platform to “Android” in the URL still allows you to view Android apps. As we noted earlier, Chomp helps power Verizon’s Android market, so it is unclear what will happen with that partnership going forward.

[tweet https://twitter.com/#!/g_____________n/status/195900431413673985]

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Microsoft releases small update for Office for Mac 2011 to fix ‘critical issues’

Jake Smith Apr 26 2012 - 2:24 pm PT

A few weeks ago, Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for its Office for Mac 2011 product, which brought a myriad of fixes and new features. However, Microsoft quickly pulled the update from AutoUpdate last weekend due to the widespread issues users were facing— specifically in regards to Outlook. Do not get too bummed out though, because the folks up in Redmond were quick to release Office for Mac 2011 update 14.2.1 today. It brings fixes for the many “critical issues.” Microsoft said this update is “recommended for all users,” so go ahead and hop on over to Microsoft’s website to grab the 110MB update. You can check out the notes for the update after the break.

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LinkedIn releases iPad app with calendar syncing feature

Jordan Kahn Apr 26 2012 - 5:34 am PT

[slideshow]

A long-awaited iPad version of popular professional networking service and social network LinkedIn has finally arrived alongside an updated iPhone app and new interfaces for the service. As you would expect, the app provides much of the same features of the previous iPhone version with access to “Updates,” “Profile,” and “Inbox” through a completely redesigned interface. The new iPad version also does a good job of pulling calendar data from the device’s calendar app and merging it with data/events from the network.

The app appears to be designed entirely in HTML, which might mean LinkedIn has plans to bring the same experience to other platforms. You can grab the updated LinkedIn iOS app for iPhone or iPad now.

Apps

Majority of Facebook’s 900M users are mobile [500M]

Jake Smith Apr 23 2012 - 1:18 pm PT

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this afternoon, the social network giant Facebook hit 500 million mobile users (via Business Insider). Furthermore, the IPO-destined company also announced that it has 900 million total users, 500 million of which return to use the website on a daily basis.

Facebook is currently available on every major mobile platform through an app. Facebook also has a nicely done HTML 5 mobile website, so those without the app can still have access. With so many people using smartphones these days, it is obvious why so many people are accessing the social network through their mobile phone.

As for the company’s quarterly revenue, it climbed 45 percent year-over-year to a whopping $1 billion. As for net income, Facebook racked $204 million.

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Cargo-bot, the first app created entirely on the iPad, hits the App Store

Seth Weintraub Apr 23 2012 - 10:50 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mPWWDOjtO9s#!]

Using a development environment/ app called Codea (formerly Codify), Two Lives Left created a free iPad game called Cargo-Bot. It is now available in the App Store.

Cargo-Bot is a puzzle game where you teach a robot how to move crates. Sounds simple, right? It features 36 fiendishly clever puzzles, haunting music and stunning retina graphics. You can even record your solutions and share them on YouTube to show your friends.

The app itself looks good but where it gets interesting is that it was made entirely on an iPad using Codea ($9.99 App Store). Codea uses the Lua programming language and has called the GarageBand of iPad coding for its visual ease of use. Until now, apps built using Codea were only able to play inside the app. Using a preview of a new Open Source exporter tool, Codea exported the Cargo-bot app and submitted it to the App Store where it was recently approved.

It’s the first game of its kind, prototyped, programmed and polished on iPad. Cargo-Bot was created by Rui Viana, a Codea user who developed his initial prototype and shared it with the Codea community. Two Lives Left reached out to Rui in order to turn his prototype into a published App Store game. They also enlisted the aid of Fred Bogg, a composer who developed a music library for Codea, to create the music for Cargo-Bot.

Coinciding with the release of Cargo-Bot, Two Lives Left is releasing the Codea Runtime Library source code under the Apache License Version 2.0. Registered Apple iOS Developers will be able to export their Codea projects into the Codea Runtime Library in order to release them as standalone apps, just like Cargo-Bot.

How long until iPad game creation is mainstream? Xcode for iPad certainly couldn’t be too far off?

Press release follows:

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Microsoft releases SkyDrive for Mac app, updates iOS app

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2012 - 10:00 am PT

Following the launch of Microsoft’s SkyDrive iPhone app, the company gave a preview of its refreshed SkyDrive service for Windows 8 and OS X. Today Microsoft has launched a new app for both Windows and Mac that brings Dropbox-like file management to the service. Of course SkyDrive is seen by many as a direct competitor to iCloud and other alternative cloud services. The tool essentially allows you to manage content stored in your SkyDrive by accessing files from your desktop, dragging and dropping them to the cloud, and organizing files in familiar folders.

The release comes following rumors that Google is prepping a Google Drive Mac app for its upcoming cloud service.

SkyDrive for Mac is the easiest way to access your SkyDrive from your Mac. When you install SkyDrive, a SkyDrive folder is created on your computer. Everything you put in this folder is automatically kept in sync between your computers (Mac or PC) and SkyDrive.com, so you can get to your latest files from virtually anywhere… Almost 70% of Mac users also regularly use a Windows PC. Since we want every customer to be able to rely on SkyDrive to access files anywhere, it’s important for SkyDrive be wherever they are.

Microsoft has also updated its iOS SkyDrive app today bringing support for iPad, Retina displays, the ability to open SkyDrive files in third-party iOS apps, and much more. The new application is available for download on your Mac here, and a full description of features from Microsoft is below:

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Dropbox beefs up sharing features with direct links to content

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2012 - 8:10 am PT

Dropbox announced a new feature today that will let you easily share a link directly to your content stored in the service. Just click the new “Get link” icon next to files in your Dropbox online or in the iOS app—or right click, and then select “Get link” for files in Finder. The content will be accessible from new gallery pages.

Anyone with the link gets access to a snazzy page where they can view (but not edit) your stuff. Our gallery pages give your photos, videos, and even docs the gorgeous, full-browser view they deserve. This means that people who follow your link can see pictures, look at presentations, and watch home videos without having to download and open them separately.

Mark Ronson & Coca-Cola release beat maker app for Olympics

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2012 - 7:26 am PT

With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London set to kick off in the coming months, official sponsor of the games Coca-Cola teamed with producer Mark Ronson to create an Android app called “Coca-Cola Olympic Games My Beat Maker.” As you might imagine, the app allows you to create your own beats, but it does so by letting you chop up the official Coca-Cola anthem for the London 2012 Olympic Games—”Anywhere in the World” by Ronson featuring Katy B.

My Beat Maker uses amazing technology to detect the movements of your phone and transform them into music so you can make your own beats!… Bust out your own loops and beats based on the official Coca-Cola® anthem for the London 2012 Olympic Games, Mark Ronson featuring Katy B’s Anywhere in the World, just from the motion of your phone.