As expected, Apple is releasing updates to many of its iOS apps today including Garageband, Keynote, Numbers, Cards, iPhoto, iMovie, and Find My Friends with support for iOS 6 and other new features. We also expect to see a few more updates headed towards the rest of Apple’s own iOS apps today following the public release of iOS 6 earlier today.
[Source: 9to5Mac - Read the full article there]
According to a new report from Hickory Daily Record, Apple is expanding its data center operations in North Carolina with the purchase of $3 million worth of land in Conover, Catawba County. The purchase would include 218.885 acres and another 0.251 acres for a new solar farm. HDR cited “deeds and a plat book at the Catawba County Register of Deeds”:
CONOVER, NC — California-based technology giant Apple has spent nearly $3 million to buy more than 200 acres of property in Catawba County for another solar farm… It’s another step in Apple’s pledge to have its Maiden data center running on 100 percent renewable energy by the end of the year…Apple recently closed on the land purchase that includes a tract of 218.885 acres and another tract of 0.251 acres, according to deeds and a plat book at the Catawba County Register of Deeds.
We recently showed you new aerial shots of the progress being made on Apple’s construction of the current data center and solar farm in Maiden, N.C. According to Apple, those installations account for a 100-acre, 20-megawatt installation on the Maiden data center site and another 100-acre site just a few miles away. The over 200 acres in Conover is Apple’s only land in the Catawba County area other than its main solar farm and data center installations in Maiden.
[Source: 9to5Mac]
iOS 6 probably won't go down in history as a revolutionary update, but fortunately it's anti-tamper measures don't seem to have changed much either. The iPhone Dev-Team has already managed to get its redsn0w tethered jailbreak working, at least for the A4-powered iPhone 4, 3GS and 4th-gen iPod touch, and you'll find full instructions as well as a healthy list of caveats at the source link below. As to how long it'll take to get some Cydia action on the iPhone 5 and other fresher devices and without the hassle of tethering, place your bets here.
[Source: Engadget]
While the latest software for OS X Lion isn't nearly as exciting as a couple of other updates that Apple released today, Lion users will find a few worthwhile improvements within the new OS X 10.7.5 update. Most importantly, the latest software introduces Gatekeeper, a security feature from Mountain Lion that makes it more difficult to inadvertently install malicious software. The update also brings improved WiFi reliability for the iMac (late 2009 and newer) and squashes a bug that'd caused Launchpad icons to become rearranged. You'll find an even greater number of fixes / improvements after the break, and it's also worth a mention that even Snow Leopard users have received a bit of love today in the form of a security update. Want to prove you're a good cat owner? Go ahead and check for new updates right away.
OS X 10.7.5 improvements / fixes
[Source: Engadget]
Now that iOS 6 has officially landed, Apple has pulled back the veil revealing the first wave of apps to support its new Passbook feature. The initial group of companies to jump on the bandwagon include: Ticketmaster, Live Nation, Lufthansa, MLB.com At Bat, Sephora to Go, Walgreens and Fandango Movies. While this list is a tad bit shorter than we hoped for, it's safe to say that more apps will follow in the not-so-distant future. Want to be the first to know when they arrive? Be sure to keep an eye on the Passbook section of the App Store for the latest updates.
[Source: Engadget]
It might have over-keenly popped up online just a few weeks ago, but now ZTE's given the Blade III the official nod. As suspected, it bears a 4-inch 800 x 480 display, runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm chip, and offers Android 4.0 with 512MB of RAM to play with. The internal memory is confirmed as 4GB, with the OS taking up some of that, but there is (thankfully) the option to expand up to 32GB via SD, and that 5-megapixel shooter to use for filling it up. The HSPA phone will be getting a Nordic debut (much the same as its Nordic leak) with the black version landing in Sweden for 1,499 SEK (about $228) in October, but is available in white this month in Finland. Other "key markets" in Europe can look forward to seeing the Blade III sometime later this year.
[Source: Engadget]
Navigon's gearing up for tomorrow's big day by updating its, erm, Navigon and StreetPilot Onboard apps. The refreshed software adds support for the iPhone 5's new 4-inch display as well as baking in public transport listings to Cupertino's presently underwhelming mapping offering. It's also gaining the promised "last mile" function to record the location of your car when finishing your journey on foot, sparing you the embarrassment of getting lost in the multi-storey lot when you return. The company's offering a $10 discount on its apps if you pick 'em up before October 3rd, while the in-app purchase of Urban Guidance has been reduced from $5 to $3 for the same period. We've had a note from Garmin to say that while Navigon update is now available, StreetPilot Onboard has been slightly delayed.
[Source: Engadget]
ASUS has sent out invitations for the official launch of the Padfone 2, the follow-up to its hybrid smartphone / laptop / tablet Padfone device. According to an invite nabbed by Notebook Italia, the unveiling will take place simultaneously in Milan and Taipei on October 16th. The picture shows a corner of what is likely the upcoming handset, but we'll have to wait till next month to get a closer look at the full package.
[Source: Engadget]
Even though I love Apple products, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is with no doubt an awesome phone. Samsung seem to think so too, they also think iPhone 5 queues are funny. Check out their new advert below.
It looks like Apple is putting the final touches on the redesigned App Store for iOS 6 ahead of the next-generation operating system’s public launch later this week. As of this evening, a new page greets first-time users to promote Apple’s own apps, providing an easy way for new users to quickly “get the most out of” their iOS device.
The promoted apps include only Apple’s free offerings, with no sign of paid apps such as the iLife or iWork suites. A “Download Free” button provides a one-tap installation of iBooks, iTunes U, Podcasts, Find My Friends, and Find My iPhone.
iOS 6 will be publicly available on Wednesday, September 19th as a free update for the iPhone 3GS and newer, the iPad 2, iPad 3, and the fourth-generation iPod touch, and will ship on the iPhone 5 this Friday as well as the upcoming fifth-generation iPod touch in October.
[Source: 9to5Mac]
Twitter has just updated its universal iOS app with a few new improvements, the most notable of which is a new landscape UI for iPad. Other aspects of the iPad UI have been slightly tweaked over previous version, while version 5.0 of the app also brings new profiles with header photos, photo streams on profiles and events, and various other fixes and enhancements for both the iPad and iPhone client.
Among the improvements to the iPad UI: Tweets now come in a compact view and can be expanded with a single tap to view videos, web pages, and photos directly from within your timeline.
[Source: 9to5Mac - Read more there]
While we still don't know exactly when Microsoft will unleash Office 2013 and Office 365 upon the world, we do know how much they'll cost. While standalone versions, licensed for use on a single computer, will still be available, the new strategy makes it more affordable for many homes and business to opt for a subscription package instead. Office Home and Student 2013 (with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) will cost $139, while Home and Business adds Outlook for $219, and the top of the line Professional package includes all of those along with Access and Publisher for $399. Compare those to the two Office 365 packages, which promise customizations that follow their users around, expanded cloud storage, access to all of the apps and automatically receive any future updates that come out for them.
[Source: Engadget- Read more there]