release

Universal Pictures has announced it’s set to give ‘Steve Jobs’, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Michael Fassbender, a release on digital services, Blu-ray, and DVD February 2.

Blu-ray and DVD bonuses include “Inside Jobs: The Making of Steve Jobs,” a documentary detailing the making of the film, as well as feature commentary by Danny Boyle, Aaron Sorkin, and editor Elliot Graham.

The film originally opened to mixed reviews from critics and was, according to reports, generally disliked by those close to Jobs. It eventually bombed nationwide following what were reportedly highest per-theatre earnings of the year on its limited opening weekend. Still, the film may earn its creators a Golden Globe award or two next month.

We’d expect the digital release to hit iTunes and other online video services, but for now Universal is only confirming there will be a “Digital HD UltraViolet” release alongside the Blu-ray and DVD on February 2.

[youtube=https://youtu.be/KnOEdJR0rdM]

Google’s new ‘Who’s Down’ app shows which of your friends are free to hang out

Stephen Hall Oct 30 2015 - 11:55 am PT

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Google has just quietly released a new app on the App Store called “Who’s Down”. As you might be able to tell from its name, the app will apparently — once there are people who are actually using it — let you see which of your friends are free to hang out. Currently, the app is invite-only, so the only things we know about its functionality are from the app’s App Store screenshots…
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Google AdSense for iOS hits 3.0 w/ iPhone 6 & 6 Plus support, Material Design, more

Stephen Hall Sep 14 2015 - 8:12 am PT

Google has this morning pushed an update to AdSense for iOS, bringing many features that other apps in the Mountain View company’s catalog received months ago. While it may not be the most popular app outside of publishing and creative circles, the AdSense app has today been updated with support for Native iPhone 6 and 6 Plus resolution, Material Design, and more.

Rounding out the update is support for Hindi and Malay, a new icon for the Home Screen, more metrics, and a today center widget. The last of these, in case you aren’t aware, is a new widget for the Today section of Notification Center. On it, you’ll find four metrics for quick access: Today so far, Page views, Clicks, and Page RPM. It also tells you when the widget was last updated.

While Google’s apps for iOS have always been known for being well-polished (and sometimes just generally better than their Android counterparts), they usually come at a much slower pace. AdSense 3.0 for Android with many of the same new features was released on Android four weeks ago, and you can read more about that update over at 9to5Google.

Here’s the full change log:

What’s New in Version 3.0

This time we’re bringing you:
– Support for Hindi and Malay;
– Native iPhone 6 and 6+ resolution;
– A today center widget;
– Our lovely new AdSense logo;
– More metrics!
– A little something we like to call Material Design.

Head over to the App Store to grab the latest version for free.

iOS 8.4 reportedly accounts for 40% of all iOS usage just one week after release

Benjamin Mayo Jul 8 2015 - 2:14 am PT

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Using data by Mixpanel, Apple Music seems to be quickly driving adoption of Apple’s latest iteration of its operating system, iOS 8.4. The chart shows that, in just one week, iOS 8.4 usage now makes up more than 40% of all iOS device usage. This is a rather staggering rate of uptake for a point-release. Clearly, the interest and advertisement around Apple Music is having an effect on update rates. Obviously, this only tracks OS adoption and says nothing about how well Apple Music itself is being received.

Apple releases OS X 10.10.4 build 14E36b to public beta testers and developers

Chance Miller Jun 15 2015 - 3:09 pm PT

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Apple today has released a new beta of OS X 10.10.4 to both developers and public beta users. Last week, Apple released the fifth OS X 10.10.4 beta, as well as the first beta of OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Today’s new OS X 10.10.4 beta carries the build number 14E36b and is available through the Mac App Store and Mac Developer Center.

Ekko Player for iPhone will read the latest news headlines & stories to you

Chance Miller Apr 30 2015 - 8:04 pm PT

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Ekko Player for iOS is a neat app that will read news headlines and stories to you. In addition to reading the headlines and articles to you, the app also allows you to use you voice to navigate between stories, making it an excellent way to digest news while on-the-go.

VLC for iOS back on the App Store, OS X app updated alongside massive cross-platform release

Stephen Hall Feb 27 2015 - 9:28 am PT

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VideoLAN has today launched several updates to VLC across its apps on iOS, Android, OS X, and every other platform where the app is available, marking the first time that the company has pushed such a massive coordinated release and the re-release of the iOS app. The new versions (with the main app numbered 2.2.0), include several features across the various platforms, and VLC says it took more than a year of volunteer work to put them together…

SwiftKey details its upcoming keyboard for iOS 8

Stephen Hall Sep 10 2014 - 10:55 am PT

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SwiftKey has long been known as one of the most popular third-party keyboards for Android, but the company kept no secrets earlier this year in announcing that the app would be making its way to Apple’s platform with the release of iOS 8. Today, the company has shared some more details about its features, and given us a first-look at the swipe-to-type entry method running on the latest build of iOS.

The ridiculous Emoji-only messaging app Emojli officially launches

Stephen Hall Aug 29 2014 - 9:33 am PT

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Following in the wake of services along the likes of Yo, the one-word messaging app, a new concept has emerged which is just as novel but also just as useless. In case you felt that sending emoji characters to your friends via text or SMS wasn’t restricted enough, you can now use Emojli to make sure your conversations are always condensed to just miniature pictures—no words allowed.

BioShock for iOS brings the classic console shooter to the small screen

Mike Beasley Aug 27 2014 - 7:48 pm PT

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=savBvN9Jz5g]

Earlier this month, 2K Games announced that it would be bringing its landmark horror-shooter BioShock to the iPhone and iPad. Tonight, the game finally arrived on the App Store in most of its original glory. The story, game mechanics, level design, and audio have all be ported to the mobile devices, though the graphics have been toned down to make it run on phones and tablets.

BioShock is set in the underwater would-be utopia of Rapture, which has been overrun by its own psychotic, drug-addled citizens on one especially-unfortunate New Years Eve. Players take on the role of Jack, who arrives in Rapture after a plane crash that leaves him stranded in the middle of the Atlantic, and must utilize a selection of upgradable weapons and genetic enhancements to track down Andrew Ryan, the madman running what’s left of the city.

LucasArts’ ‘Star Wars: Commander’ is a free-to-play iOS shooter, invading US right now

Stephen Hall Aug 21 2014 - 6:51 am PT

A new Star Wars game from the now Disney-owned LucasArts is landing on iPhones and iPads, and it’s a free-to-play combat strategy game (which won’t be free for too long if you don’t have the patience to wait real time for your structures to be built). The game is called Star Wars: Commander, and while it’s only today reaching the US, it has been available in at least one other country for a little while and has received some great reviews.
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Swing Copters from Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen now rolling out on the App Store

Stephen Hall Aug 20 2014 - 8:34 pm PT

In case you hadn’t heard, the creator of the infamous Flappy Bird is back and making another attempt at stealing your attention when you just need a quick iPhone gaming fix. The game is called Swing Copters and, quite frankly, it looks like a vertical remake of its predecessor—which spawned dozens of clones without the help of this spin-off. While we won’t know for a while whether or not this game will live up to the success of Flappy Bird, it’s now rolling out on the App Store in many locales.
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Dash releases its smart driving application for iPhone with support for third-party hardware

Mike Beasley Aug 13 2014 - 5:47 pm PT

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Dash, a popular smart driving tool that originally launched on Android in January, is now finally available for iPhone users. The free app pairs with a device that plug into your car and transmit data back to the app. From there you can see data about your car’s performance and alert you of any potential issues and an average cost for any repairs you might need.

Dash can also track your driving habits and suggest ways to improve your car’s gas mileage, increase performance, or generally increase the overall lifespan of your vehicle.

Buffer releases official app for Mac, lets you add to your queue from the menu bar

Stephen Hall Jul 17 2014 - 1:33 pm PT

Buffer has released its first official app for the Mac today, bringing an easy way to add content to your Buffer queue right from the menu bar. Buffer already lets you share social media updates from multiple accounts at once via its web, iOS, and Android clients, but now you can do much the same via Mac OS X.

Apple seeds Safari 7.1 & 6.2 with WebKit improvements to developers and AppleSeed users

Mike Beasley Jul 10 2014 - 9:23 pm PT

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Apple has released a new beta version of Safari to beta testers in the AppleSeed program and Mac developers. The new version for Mavericks is 7.1, while Moutain Lion users will see version 6.2. The update includes several upgrades to the WebKit engine that powers the browser.

According to the release notes, the changes include support for WebGL, IndexedDB, and JavaScript tweaks, among other things. There is also apparently a change to the way the app handles extensions, as the beta disables all installed add-ons by default and the notes request that developers check for any compatiblity issues.

Version 7.1 will likely be the last major update to Safari for Mavericks before the launch of OS X Yosemite, which will include the all-new Safari 8. The full seed notes for this beta are below:

Pangu untethered jailbreak still works with iOS 7.1.2

Stephen Hall Jun 30 2014 - 11:15 am PT

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Apple today seeded iOS 7.1.2, and we’ve confirmed that the recently-released Pangu jailbreak does indeed work perfectly fine with the new build. While Pangu was released after Apple seeded 7.1.2 to carriers (meaning that the likelihood of the security holes being patched was fairly low), there was still the slim possibility that Apple would make a few changes and patch the holes before pushing the update to the masses.

But alas, the untethered jailbreak that we told you about last week is still capable of jailbreaking iOS 7.1.2, and you can still follow the very same guide that we published if you need help getting the famed Cydia application running on your device. It’s worth noting, however, that the jailbreak also recently got an update to support OS X, and that we would recommend you use this version if you’re planning on jailbreaking your iOS 7.1.2 device.

Facebook Messenger updated with 15-second video messages, even bigger likes

Mike Beasley Jun 12 2014 - 7:46 pm PT

Facebook has updated its Messenger app with a new video messaging feature that allows users to shoot and send short, 15-second videos from with the app. It’s certainly an interesting addition, given the impending release of the company’s “Slingshot” messaging app. Also included in the update is the ability to send an even bigger thumbs-up icon as a reply to incoming messages by holding down the “like” button.

You can grab the Messenger update for free on the App Store. The change notes are below:

What’s New in Version 6.0

Instant Video Sending: Shoot and play 15-second video messages from the camera right in the app

Big Likes: Press and hold to send an even bigger thumbs up when you really, really like something.

Flickr for iOS updated with new sharing options, support for tags, and better group support

Mike Beasley Jun 11 2014 - 5:54 pm PT

Flickr updated its iOS app today to version 3.1.0. The update includes the ability to share albums on social networks like Twitter and Facebook, or through an email or SMS/iMessage. You can also add and edit tags and descriptions on your photos.

Finally, a few enhancements have been made to group support. Administrators can now invite photos to a group, and users can choose to get a notification when that happens. There are of course the usual “bug fixes” and “performance improvements” as well.

BlackBerry announces upcoming BBM for iOS update with easier signup and friending

Mike Beasley May 29 2014 - 6:26 pm PT

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BlackBerry has announced an upcoming release of its BBM client for iOS devices that includes an easier signup flow and an improved process for adding new contacts.

The new simplified registration process will request only a name, password, and email address, as opposed to the current app which requires much more information. The update will also improve the process for adding new contacts. Currently users who get an invite need send their own PIN back to the other party so they can be mutual contacts. In the new version that step will be automated. Tapping the invitation link in the email will complete the entire process.

The update also adds new emoticons to the app’s existing selection. BlackBerry Messenger 2.2 will be available on the iOS App Store in the coming days.

Readdle’s PDF Expert goes universal, adds even more power in version 5.1

Mike Beasley May 29 2014 - 7:00 am PT

PDF Expert, the powerful PDF viewing and editing application from Readdle, got a big update today that features few new features and tweaks to make it even more useful along with a big speed boost.

The big news, though, is that PDF Expert is a universal app for the first time. Where previous versions were device-specific for the iPhone and iPad, PDF Expert 5.1 brings both interfaces together in one app. To accommodate the change, the old iPhone version has been retired. Version 5.1, which was formerly iPad-only, will now work on the iPhone as well, with all features supported across both devices.

RSS client Reeder 2 for Mac now available on the Mac App Store

Zac Hall May 28 2014 - 8:15 pm PT

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After a brief public beta period, the popular RSS client Reeder is out with the first update to its Mac software since Google Reader broke support Reeder last year.

The new version supports a number of RSS services that have proven popular since Google Reader ended (like Feedbin, Feedly, and Feed Wrangler), and it now serves as a standalone RSS client without syncing so you won’t have to depend on an RSS service to use the app in the future.
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Google-owned VirusTotal releases Mac-compatible version of malware detection app

Mike Beasley May 26 2014 - 4:25 pm PT

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Google-owned VirusTotal today released a version of the VirusTotal uploader application (via The Next Web) compatible with Mac OS X. Previously the software was only available for Windows-based machines.

VirusTotal Uploader works in conjunction with the VirusTotal web service to check files and links for malware. Google hopes that the release of the software for the Mac will help users more easily detect attacks on Apple’s platform. From the VirusTotal blog: