Apple releases first iOS 5 apps -- "Find my Friends" and "Airport Utility"
iOS 5 may have only just been released, but Apple wasted no time whatsoever in releasing apps that have been designed with the new version of the operating system in mind. First off the starting blocks is Find My Friends which, as the name suggests, makes it possible for a group of friends to share their location with each other with a view to meeting up -- or just tracking where everyone is.
You can adjust privacy settings so that your location is only shared when you want and with the people you are happy to share with. Should you decide you want to discover where your friends are -- if you need to meet them in an new town, for example -- you can send a request from within the app and, assuming they consent, their location will be displayed on a map for you. Find My Friends can also provide you with directions so you can meet up as quickly as possible.
Apple releases iCloud, iOS 5 and Mac OS X 10.7.2 -- get them now!
Early this afternoon, Apple flipped the switch making iCloud and its next-version mobile operating system broadly available. To use one you'll need the other, and for Mac owners that also means OS X 10.7.2. If you didn't get iTunes 10.5 yesterday, you'll need it, too.
In many respects, the big news from Apple this week isn't iPhone 4S, no matter how long the buying lines might be come Friday, but iCloud and iOS 5. As I contended earlier today: "iCloud is Apple's killer app". iCloud is a synchronization service that pushes email, contacts and calendars -- like predecessor MobileMe -- and offers online data storage. But there's much more, such as synchronization of applications or digital content like music and movies purchased from the App Store across devices. It's unsurprising that Apple would take a sync-across devices approach. After all, the company generates most of its revenue from selling hardware, not offering cloud services.
Why pay $200 for iPhone 4S, when you can get Samsung Galaxy S II for $2?
What do you do if you're Samsung, and want to stick it to one of your biggest rivals in the mobile space during what will be their biggest sales weekend of the year? You set up shop right down the street.
That's exactly what Samsung has done to Apple in downtown Sydney, setting up a pop-up store two doors down from the Cupertino company's sole location in the city. The Samsung shop opened its doors on Monday and will be open through this Sunday, overlapping the launch weekend of the iPhone 4S.
Android SDK add-in for Google TV finalized before major update
Ahead of the update to Google TV's software that will bring the Android Market to TV, Google has released the final add-on to the Android SDK that lets developers port their Android apps over to Google's set top box interface.
This add-on is nearly identical to the preview that Google released two months ago, but Product Manager Ambarish Kenghe pointed out two differences between them.
iCloud is Apple's killer app
In March 2008, I wrote at Microsoft Watch: "Synchronization is today's killer application. It's either kill or be killed. If Microsoft doesn't strike the deadly blow first, Google will". Google got sync right first, but sometimes latecomers are the talk of the party, as Apple is today with the release of iCloud.
I'm not sure how many people get what iCloud is -- and more importantly what it is not. The service isn't an online storage space like DropBox. iCloud is fundamentally a synchronization service -- more importantly a push sync service. It's the feature many iOS device users will find they can't do without, and it's every company's dream product: Something that locks users into a broader platform, as Microsoft did with file formats and Office during the 1980s and 1990s.
Sony PSN network breached (again), 93k accounts deactivated
Sony's PlayStation Network is once again the target of hackers as Sony disclosed late Tuesday that it had disabled some 93,000 PSN and Sony Online Entertainment accounts. According to the company these accounts had been "tested" by hackers, although a majority of the login attempts failed.
The data was said to be obtained from "one or more compromised lists from other companies, sites or other sources," although chief information security officer Phillip Reitinger said it was likely that the data did not come from Sony itself.
BlackBerry services are still down internationally, America feels effects
Research in Motion's BlackBerry services are now out of commission for their third day in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.
"We know that many of you are still experiencing service problems. The resolution of this service issue is our Number One priority right now and we are working night and day to restore all BlackBerry services to normal levels. We will continue to keep this page updated," a service update from RIM on Wednesday said.
We want your iCloud and iOS 5 stories
Today, Apple releases iCloud and iOS 5, two days before iPhone 4S launches in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. The new operating system is a significant upgrade that can be installed on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. iOS 5 works in tandem with iCloud, which is Apple's Internet-enabled synchronization service; it replaces iTunes as the company's major sync hub.
We're crowdsoucing our initial reviews, and I ask for your first take ahead of anything that we might do. If you've got something to say about either iCloud or iOS 5 -- or both -- we'd like to get it right away. If you've tested either or both before their release, we request your full or mini-review even sooner.
You might be reading this story on your phone or tablet, says comScore
Smartphones and tablet devices are increasingly becoming a more common way to access the Internet, says a new study from analytics firm comScore. As of August, 6.8 percent of all Internet traffic came from those devices, with about two-thirds of it coming from mobile phones.
comScore found some interesting trends, such as the increased use of mobile phones over a WiFi connection. About 37.2 percent of all digital traffic came from phones using WiFi, up three percent over the past three months. On the flipside tablets using mobile broadband are also on the rise, with 10 percent of tablet traffic coming from that type of connection.
One day before iCloud and iOS 5, Apple drops iTunes 10.5
The attention of Apple fans has been focused on the imminent release of iPhone 4S on October 14, but before that there is iCloud and iOS 5 -- tomorrow. To make the most of both, a new version of iTunes is needed. iTunes 10.5 includes iCloud support as well as a number of other important additions.
iTunes in the Cloud is part of the new level of connectivity that is to be found in iOS 5, and it means that any music or video purchases you make are synced online and can be accessed from any of your computers or iOS devices. Tied into this idea are automatic downloads; when you purchase music from iTunes Store, it will automatically sync to your other computers and iOS devices.
AT&T uses Android as one-size-fits-all solution for 5 different types of customers
National wireless carrier AT&T on Tuesday simultaneously announced five new Android smartphones, none of which are flagship devices for the carrier, but each of which answers the needs of a specific type of phone user.
For the Power User: Motorola Atrix 2
It's showtime! CyberLink releases PowerDirector 10
If you’ve ever tried CyberLink’s PowerDirector then you’ll know it’s one of the fastest and most feature-packed consumer video editors around. So you may not be surprised to learn that PowerDirector 10, released today, carries on this proud tradition by adding plenty of essential new functionality, and some very worthwhile speedups.
The program is now a very capable video editor, for instance. PowerDirector 10 can open many native 3D videos (MVC, dual stream AVI, side-by-side, over-under) and some 3D image formats (MPO, JPS); or, if you don’t have any of these, then you can always convert 2D videos and photos to 3D with CyberLink’s TrueTheater 3D. These can be then be enhanced with many 3D effects, titles and menu templates, and once you’re done may be exported as 3D videos (including the anaglyph format, so anyone with a pair of standard 3D glasses can view them).
Future Photoshop feature signals end of the blurry photograph
Adobe may have the solution for all those blurry photographs on your digital camera you were about to trash: a YouTube video of a presentation by the company at its annual MAX developers conference shows a prototype "deblurring" feature that may make it into a future version of Photoshop.
The so-called "blur kernel" attempts to decipher how the camera was moved in order to remove the blur from it. By doing this, it then will be able to remove the blur successfully, the YouTube video shows.
AT&T, Sprint and Verizon: Cloud-connected devices change everything
CTIA Enterprise & Applications kicked off today in San Diego with a brief tribute to Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, who died last week. CTIA President Steve Largent praised Apple's move into the smartphone market, also calling it "disruptive".
Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO, then took the stage -- the first of three chief executives. He checked off wireless industry accomplishments, such as the year's many natural disasters or the Arab Spring that toppled governments across Northern Africa and the Middle East. "We make a difference in the lives of nearly every person on earth", he asserted.
Comodo releases free 2012 security software
Comodo has launched the 2012 range of its free security products. Standalone antivirus and firewall products Comodo Antivirus and Comodo Firewall are joined by Comodo Internet Security 2012 Premium, which combines both products in one app.
The products, which sport a relatively minor version number (5.8), promise to be faster, lighter and stronger than previous releases, sporting revamped user interfaces alongside bug fixes and a handful of new options.
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