Apps

If you’ve ever been *ahem* channel surfing late at night and stumbled upon HBO subsidiary Cinemax programming you know that there isn’t much differentiation between what you see there and all out pornography.

The news this weekend is that Apple just gave the go-ahead to Cinemax’s MaxGo App(free) for both iPhone and iPad.  Yes, it includes “Late Night” content.

Far be it from us to judge what should and shouldn’t be on the App Store, but it seems that Apple is continuing to create controversy with its “no porn” stance.

In an email exchange with Gawker’s Ryan Tate last year, Jobs said that the iPad would offer users “freedom from porn.” And in a Q&A session after the launch of iOS 4, Jobs told reporters that porn was one reason Apple wouldn’t allow unsigned or unapproved apps onto iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad.

“You know, there’s a porn store for Android. You can download nothing but porn. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go – so we’re not going to go there.”

Playboy,which is at least as “soft-core” as SCinemax, was denied access to the App Store for its nude pictorials.  For what it is worth, access to the Max Go app is parental controlled to users 17 or older.

If this story picks up, Apple will probably force  HBO to curtail its mature content retroactively, not that there aren’t plenty of other outlets via Safari for such material.
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As Apple’s fall launch time frame for iCloud approaches, Apple has released new builds of iCloud for Mac and OS X 10.7.2 to developers. The new iCloud for Mac build is beta 7 while the new OS X build is version 11C37. iCloud for Mac allows users to easily make their Mac iCloud compatible, and it includes the updated Back to my Mac service, Documents and Data in the Cloud, and Find my Mac. Both downloads are available to developers through the iCloud developer portal. 
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Cross-posted from 9to5google.com

Want to get your Game on in the new Google Games?

Tab for Google+ is an app available on the Mac App Store that brings Google+’s web functionality to the Mac desktop. The app is available for free and offers just about every feature plus.google.com offers — except Hangouts. Upon logging in via your Google account, you’ll be greeted with the main sections of the app: Streams, Photos, Circles, Profile and Notifications.

The sections follow suit with the functionality of the website. Streams and Photos curates content from the people you’re following. Circles allows you to see your list of circles and the content coming in from each specific one. Lastly, Notifications let’s you know what’s going on with your account.

Of course, this application won’t replace Google+’s website, rather it’s just a nice app that sits in your applications bar to view while you work. Perhaps if the website is more your thing, check out Google+ for Mac which is essentially just a browser window. We’re hearing the developer is working to make it native though. Check out another screenshot after the break:

Download Tab for Google+ — Download Google+ for Mac

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What is it? Network Link Conditioner is a new utility in OS X Lion (via the free Xcode 4.1 app) that will allow you to simulate less than desirable network conditions, such as a bad 3G connection or Edge with “Good Connectivity”. This is an especially useful utility for those developing apps and sites that highly rely on network connectivity, whether it’s a multiplayer game or just an animation heavy web app.

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Walmart has just announced their Vudu movie streaming service is now available to iPad users via a web app (opposed to an iOS app), which effectively allows the company to go behind Apple’s back rather than partake in their App Store revenue sharing model. The app also works on other iOS devices, but hasn’t yet been optimized for the smaller screen. They’ve also announced their iTunes competitor, mp3.walmart.com, will be closing indefinitely starting August 28, 2011. However, the announcement notes the Walmart Soundcheck music streaming service will remain available, making us wonder if they have plans on implementing an iPad-specific version much like they’ve done with Vudu…

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen content providers trying to avoid sharing profits with Apple. In fact, just yesterday we told you about the new Kindle Cloud Reader app that is accessible via the web, much the same as Vudu. While not sharing revenue is an obvious benefit of bypassing the App Store, TechCrunch points out there are many other advantages as well.

For instance, by avoiding the App Store’s restrictions, Vudu will be able to push out new updates whenever they see fit, rather than having to wait for Apple’s approval. It seems like more and more developers have been pushed away from the traditional iOS app model due to stringent approval policies and the unpredictability of Apple’s ever-changing process.

The real question is.. do these web apps compare to the experience offered by native apps?

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Screenshot of web app courtesy of @drbuk

As reported by TechCrunch, Amazon has released a new Kindle Cloud Reader service. The service allows users of both Macs and PCs running either Safari or Google Chrome to read their Kindle books online. Better yet, the service works on iPad’s Mobile Safari. A feature that owners of WiFi-only iPads will enjoy is page caching for offline reading.

Notably, this is a great solution for Amazon to work around Apple’s in-app-purchase requirements for applications that offer purchases. In fact, what better way to spur Web innovation than to force people out of the store?  Good job Apple!

Full Press release follows:

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Facebook isn’t fantastic at hiding secret stuff in their Apps.  Just last month, its iPad ambitions were outed by some folks rummaging around in the App.  Today, Facebook released their Messenger app and seconds later, we see that there is a video component to the application:

The video component would seem to work on both Android (yep) and iPhone and would likely tie in with their recently announced Skype desktop video conferencing service as well.  The code looks very rudimentary at this point so it isn’t certain that the video can be enabled like the iPad version was with just a few tweeks.  Thanks Caleb!

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Facebook has released Facebook Messenger which is an extension of Facebook’s Messages service and will allow you to send a text message to your phone’s contacts and a Facebook message to your Facebook contacts.  Bonus: You get to send pictures as well.

The app obviously competes with Apple’s iMessage, Blackberry messenger and all of the other silo-ed messaging apps out there but with a user base of 700 million+, it is well positioned to be a contender.

Messenger is available in both the iTunes App Store and Android Market and is based off the Beluga technology which the company recently acquired.  With all the Google+ noise of late we’ve forgotten about Facebook’s assault on mobile.  They’re back.

Update: Oh, and there is video conferencing hidden in the app.

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Boxee has just released a free iPad app that allows users to stream almost any video type from their computer. Streaming features aside, the app is focused at helping users find content to watch online from their friends and what’s popular. Sharing is done through the Friends tab, which is a queue of everything your friends are sharing through Boxee’s social service. There is a also a Popular tab showing what the world can’t get enough of.

The social features are cool, but we really love the Watch Later bookmark you can use to bookmark videos from around the web. The bookmark takes an Instapaper approach and will queue up the videos on your iPad for viewing later. To go along with their Boxee Box, you can also send a video that you were watching on your iPad to your big screen — almost Air Play like.

Check it out in the App Store.

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Optimum today released an app for iPhone and iPod touch which will allow Cablevision users in the US to watch and control their content from home on the 3.5-inch screen.  Users of home VPN solutions will be able to take these services on the road with them as well.

“Our new Optimum App for iPhone and iPod touch extends Cablevision’s leadership in offering our full cable television service on new devices, functioning as televisions in the home,” said John Trierweiler, Cablevision’s executive vice president of product management.

“We are also pleased to maximize the value of our Optimum App as a navigation and programming discovery tool by incorporating controls for home TVs as well.  The introduction of this remote control functionality will make it even easier for our customers to locate and view all of the content they already receive as part of their television subscription, whether they want to watch on conventional TVs or these Apple devices.”

Besides the iPhone and iPod touch functionality, Optimum’s iPad app also gets the following updates:
• Ability to schedule and manage DVR Plus recordings
• Your favorite channels (“Favorites”) now automatically appear in the Optimum App on all of your devices
• Parental controls automatically get re-applied when the Optimum App is re-installed – no need to re-setup your parental controls
• Use your device as a remote control and control your iO digital cable boxes

Optimum began full in-house iPad streaming in April but was subsequently sued by Viacom and others.

Full release below:
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Google has just pushed an update for the official Google+ app for iOS, bringing with it support for iPad and iPod touch, two devices the app was previously unavailable for, among a few other features including aggregated circle add notifications, huddle settings, and the usual “Performance and stability improvements”.

Unfortunately, this iPad support is not completely native as the app will just be a pixel-doubled iPhone application. This choice by Google is still better than no iPad support at all, though. You should be able to update the app now via the App Store or swing by iTunes and grab the new version now. We’ll keep you posted with any other discoveries we might make in this latest update.

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Today Skype announced the 5.3 update for Mac OS X which brings HD video calls to Lion among a handful of other UI enhancements and bug fixes. The official Skype blog explains:

With Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X, you’ll also be able to send and receive HD quality video when talking to your friends and family. You’ll need to use the Mac’s built-in webcam or choose from a variety of webcams from our Skype Shop, such as the Logitech C910, to make video calls in crystal clear HD quality. To receive clear HD video calls on your Mac, we recommend an upload/download speed of 1.5Mbps.

While previous versions of Skype, even 2.8, seem to run rather well on Lion, official support should iron out any bugs you’ve been noticing since upgrading. The new update is not only available for Lion users, however, Skype’s blog post notes it is also compatible back to Leopard.

You can grab Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X here. We’ll let you know if we find anything else interesting in this latest update.

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Since opening the tool for developers to migrate from MobileMe to iCloud, Apple has revealed to MobileMe users that they will retain their MobileMe storage when their account becomes an iCloud account. Standard $100 MobileMe accounts included 20GB of storage and free iCloud accounts include 5GB of storage, furthermore iCloud users who came over from MobileMe will begin their iCloud journey with 25GB of cloud storage space.

These 25 GB are for email storage, calendar storage, and documents – and, thankfully, media like music, video, and Photo Steam photos do not count against your 25 GB. This plan will go until June 30, 2012 – when MobileMe is completely discontinued – and will cost $40 to renew. These users can still upgrade their accounts to a full 50GB (when the current plan expires) or max out to 75GB right now for a $50 charge. Reader Arman tells us that this does not apply to family MobileMe accounts.

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We’ve covered numerous noteworthy Cydia tweaks over time and most of them tackle the iPhone’s user interface, letting you customize your iOS gadget to death. Interestingly, only a handful of tweaks mess with the stock Maps app in iOS, which is strange considering that the iOS mapping experience, although great, in many areas pales in comparison to Android. The Speed for Maps tweak (via Funky Space Money), as the name suggests, adds a cool speedometer icon to the Maps app that feels as if it were integral to the experience. You can even pick you speed unit in settings (MPH, KPH, FPS and Knots). It won’t replace a pedometer in your iPod nano, but you no longer need a dedicated GPS app (the better ones don’t come cheap) just to be able to read your velocity while in Maps. This is one of the little things Apple should have thought of.

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This weekend only, EA is having an up to 80% off sale on many of their iOS titles for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Parents and kids: These titles will likely not help at all with school.
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Vonage has released a new application for the App Store called Time to Call. The application is free to download and offers low-cost international calling to users. Vonage is currently offering free 15 minutes of calling to early adopters of the application but after those 15 minutes the cost of calling is still very cheap. Vonage says a user can talk for 15 minutes with a person in one of 100 countries and will only be charged up to $1.99 for those 15 minutes.

• Pay per call and talk for up to 15 minutes to 100 countries for $1.99 or less (excluding applicable taxes)
• For an additional 90+ countries, talk up to 15-minutes for $2.99 to $9.99 (excluding applicable taxes)
• Bill directly to your iTunes account
• Works on Wi-Fi® worldwide
• Also for use on high quality 3G networks in the U.S. and Canada
• Special bonus! For a limited time, unused minutes can be used for additional calls
• No need to be a Vonage home customer

Additionally, a separate set of 90 countries costs from $2.99-$9.99 for those same 15 minutes. Vonage offers a web-based tool to find prices for you’re calling needs. The application is open to anyone with an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad  – users do not have to have a Vonage home account already setup. Finally, and perhaps most important, the aforementioned costs will be billed through iTunes.

Yep.  Apple gets 30% and is now in the telecommunications market officially.

Check out more screenshots of the application running on an iPhone after the break.

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Following Apple flicking the on switch for iCloud’s implementation of Find my iPhone, multiple readers have let us know that Find my Mac is live as well within iCloud. The feature, as we revealed in February, is simply Find my iPhone for the Mac; hence the name Find my Mac. The user can turn the feature on in the iCloud control panel within system preferences and then their Macs will show up on iCloud.com.

Apple uses WiFi router data in order to pinpoint the user’s location and according to what we have seen, it is fairly accurate. Find my Mac offers all of the same Find my iPhone features that are offered for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch: remote locking, remote wiping, playing a sound, and showing a message. Check out more screenshots of the feature in action after the break. This service was previously available to some through the iOS application.

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Update: Find my Mac is live as well. All the details here.

Following iCloud.com’s opening in beta for developers earlier this week, Apple has hit the on switch for their revamped Find my iPhone page within iCloud. The new Find my iPhone web application is only live for developers until the official iCloud launch this fall and offers the same Find my iPhone features that users are accustomed to in the MobileMe version. The main change in the iCloud version is an all new user interface that features an old-style map and iOS-like popover menus.

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China is many things, not just the United States’ biggest creditor and the home to cheap child labor that assembles your iPhone in sweatshops. One thing we can all agree on, though: In China, the government is pretty much in control of many things, including what you read, listen to and consume on the web (hint: The Great Firewall of China). The same could apply to mobile software if it weren’t for one slight problem: China doesn’t get to control the App Store where hundreds of thousands of apps are vying for users’ attention.

So when the Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China decided to release their official app called PLA Daily, basically a glorified news reader, one of their top priorities was to bypass Apple’s mobile bazaar, the environment they cannot control. Instead, the app’s target audience – mostly members of the People’s Liberation Army of China’s (PLA) – are expected to jailbreak their devices in order to install the unsanctioned app.

iSmashPhone.com has the story:

The app isn’t going to be an official App Store app. Not here or in China. Users must jailbreak (install software that allows for use of the iPhone that was not intended by Apple) their iPhone if they want to read up on what the PLA is doing. They will receive news and updates direct from the PLA’s Daily. It’s interesting that the iPhone must be jailbroken in order to use the app. Usually, jailbreak apps are made by single independent users who want to add a certain functionalities not included in their iPhone. Larger, public organizations have always stuck to official app store releases.

Of course, it’s also possible Apple rejected the app so the powers that be reckoned to give Apple a taste of their own medicine. Either way, Chinese armed forces have gotten their free publicity.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FPqqA712Rs]

Mike Matas demoing Al Gore’s Our Choice

AllThingsD reports that Facebook has acquired Push Pop Press – the newly established interactive iPad book maker. The company is known for creating the interactive version of Al Gore’s Our Choice. Notably, the company was co-founded by former Apple designer Mike Matas. Unsurprisingly, Matas was a lead designer of both the original iPhone and iPad interfaces. Facebook does not plan to sell interactive iPad books, but the technology and design talent will be used in Facebook’s future. Facebook said:

We’re thrilled to confirm that we’ve acquired Push Pop Press, a startup whose groundbreaking software changes the way people publish and consume digital content. We can’t wait for co-founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris to get started, and for some of the technology, ideas and inspiration behind Push Pop Press to become part of how millions of people connect and share with each other on Facebook.

Push Pop Press’s statement is after the break:

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Nuance, which is said to power speech-to-text features in iOS 5, released today a new cloud-based service and iOS app which makes it easy to organize, access and share any document from any desktop or mobile device. The Nuance PaperPort Anywhere service gives you one gigabyte of free cloud-based, searchable storage for your documents with permission-based file sharing via email.

Paid upgrades are also available: $10 a month for 10GB and $25 a month for 50 gigabytes of storage. Nuance’s price tiers actually fare pretty favorably compared to iCloud, Dropbox and SugarSync. Cloud scanning is enabled through their PaperPort scanning and document management application for Windows PC which was also updated today. All of this is augmented by a free app for iPhone and iPad that lets you access and send documents from PaperPort Anywhere. You may remember Nuance in July released a free Siri-like Dragon Go for iOS app. More features of their latest offering and a video tour right below:

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