Facebook Photo Sync now available to all iOS users

As we reported last week, Facebook had begun testing a new feature called Photo Sync in its iOS app. At the time, only certain users randomly were entered into the beta, but today the social network rolled out the feature to everyone. Photo Sync automatically uploads pictures recently taken on your device to a private album on Facebook.

To access the new feature, tap on the Photos icon in the left navigation menu in the Facebook app. Scroll down to the bottom of your photos and tap on Photo Sync to set up the feature. You can also enable the feature on the Facebook site by clicking on Photos followed by Synced from Phone at the top of your photos page.

Full details on Photo Sync feature are available on Facebook's support site. You'll need iOS 6 installed on your device for the feature to work, and some users might not immediately see the Photo Sync option in the app. If you don't, try fully closing and relaunching it before checking again.

[Source: TUAW]

GTA: Vice City for iOS gets a trailer

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the second in the "GTA3" series, available on the PS2 10 years ago (!) now. Unlike Grand Theft Auto 3, which featured a silent and anonymous protagonist, Vice City lets the player become Tommy Vercetti (voiced to a tee by Ray Liotta), a tough gangster from Liberty City who's decided to take over the Miami-like Vice City, in a story that recalls the best of Scarface and a host of other neon-drenched movies from the '80s. As previously announced, Rockstar Games is planning to bring Vice City out to the iOS platform, and they've released a new trailer that you can watch below.

[Source: TUAW - Click here to read the full story]

Tim Cook to give first TV interview on Rock Center Dec. 6

NBC will air the first televised interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook next week on Rock Center with Brian Williams. The interview was filmed today at the Grand Central Apple Store in New York City.

The network hasn't divulged the focus of the discussion, but it will be just one of three segments on the episode which is also slated to feature a chat with The Hobbit director Peter Jackson. After filming of the interview with Cook wrapped, Rock Center's Twitter account tweeted the above photo of Williams and the Apple CEO in front of the cameras.

Cook's spot on Rock Center with Brian Williams will air next Thursday, December 6 at 10 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. CT on NBC.

[Source: TUAW]

Apple files patent for true wireless charging technology

When it comes to wireless charging, today's options aren't exactly as cord-free as the label would suggest. Things like charging mats or other wireless docking options are fine and all, but adding more accessories and bulky cases to the mix is often more trouble than it's worth. As Wired reports, a patent filed this week by Apple side steps these pesky add-ons and could offer true wireless charging for the first time on Apple hardware.

The patent -- titled Wireless Power Utilization In A Local Computing Environment -- uses near-field magnetic resonance to push power to compatible devices from a central unit, creating what is effectively an invisible bubble where your gadgets can recharge without the need for cords or plugs of any kind. So imagine your wireless keyboard and mouse simply never running out of juice, or even being able to set your phone or tablet down on your desk and have them recharge on their own.

[Source: TUAW - Click here to read the full story]

iFixit's teardown of the 21.5-inch iMac

It's December 1, 2012. The newest iteration of the 21.5-inch iMac has been out for a full day, and the staff at iFixit has already carefully disassembled one of the new all-in-one Macs to determine how repairable it is -- or isn't -- and what makes the latest iMac tick.

The first thing the iFixit team was unhappy with was the use of adhesives to attach the display assembly to the body of the computer. Rather than strong magnets, used in the previous series of iMacs, the display is basically glued on and requires a heat gun and guitar picks to remove.

The display itself sports the same model number (LG LM215WF3) as the previous 21.5-inch iMac, but strangely enough it's 5mm thinner than the older display. iFixit surmises that "Apple took all the same pieces of the LCD and crammed them into a smaller housing."

[Source: TUAW - Click here to read the full story]

Some new iMacs "Assembled in USA"?

Lost in yesterday's writeup of the iFixit 21.5-inch iMac was this small line in the description: "Interestingly, this iMac claims to have been assembled in the USA."

Sure enough, a look at the iFixit image of the back of the iMac shows the fascinating line "Designed in California. Assembled in USA". Why is that fascinating? Apple has closed all of its US production facilities, which were in places like Elk Grove and Fremont, California and Fountain, Colorado.

9to5Mac reports that some earlier generation iMacs have come in boxes printed with "Assembled in USA" on the side. In order for a product to be marked as "Made in the USA," the US Federal Trade Commission states that "A product that includes foreign components may be called 'Assembled in USA' without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the 'assembly' claim to be valid, the product's last 'substantial transformation' also should have occurred in the U.S. That's why a 'screwdriver' assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn't usually qualify for the 'Assembled in USA' claim."

9to5Mac's Seth Weintraub speculates that perhaps Apple is making an early manufacturing run of the new iMacs in the USA to "get the manufacturing kinks" worked out before handing the proverbial factory keys over to Foxconn.

[Source: TUAW - Click here to read the full story]

Code hints Microsoft may add direct music playback to SkyDrive

Microsoft has been busy streamlining SkyDrive to make the most of our time in the cloud, but it hasn't yet cut out the middleman for audio playback; if a song wasn't obtained through a channel like Xbox Music, it won't play online in Microsoft's universe. LiveSide has made some code discoveries suggesting the storage service could at least partly remedy the problem with a web-based music player. We don't know much of how it would work, although the presence of interface elements hints that Microsoft is at least committed to development. The real dilemma is an absence of clues as to when (and if) playback will ever go live -- and there's nothing that would reveal whether or not SkyDrive is the heart of an upcoming option to upload personal tracks for Xbox Music streaming. If the music player mentions reflect more than just experimentation, however, the Redmond team may soon have a more direct answer to the likes of Amazon Cloud Player or Google Music.

[Source: Engadget]

Acer unveils TravelMate B113 ultraportable with student-friendly $399 price

Acer's TravelMate line of notebooks usually skews toward the business set, but its latest model is made for that other breed of on-the-go types: students. The new TravelMate B113 is an 11.6-incher weighing in at three pounds and measuring one inch thick. Processor options top out a Core i3 Ivy Bridge CPU with 4GB of RAM, and the hard drive offers a max capacity of 500GB. The 11.6-inch display sports a ho-hum resolution of 1,366 x 768 -- and isn't touch-enabled for Windows 8 -- but then again we're looking at a price of $399 and up. The B113 is available now at authorized resellers -- head past the break for the full presser.

[Source: Engadget]

Mitsubishi is ending rear-projection TVs, ceases production of DLP and laser models

It's time for someone over at IDC to pop the champagne, as its 2007 projectionabout the end of rear-projection TVs turned out to be only a year off, now that the last company still making them has announced it's getting out of the game. As first reported by CE Pro, Mitsubishi is finally ceding to competition from flat-panels which have grown to equally ridiculous size, and cut prices so sharply that it "can no longer sustain our business in its current form." The company's official statement is after the break, confirming that its DLP and LaserVue models are no more however "existing customer relations and parts and services departments will remain in place along with existing authorized service centers" which should be good news for current owners. There's an in-depth retrospective of the technology at the source link, looking back to Samsung's exit that left Mitsubishi alone in the segment three years ago, long after others like Sony and Hitachi fled for thinner-framed climates.

Mitsubishi also made a go of it in flat-panels, but ditched those efforts last yearand will now focus on the professional market and home-theater projectors here in the US. In recent years the tech has improved with thinner models, integrated soundbars and even larger screens available. The slowing economy may have extended RPTV's lease on life with a size bang for buck that's tough to beat, but ultimately customers opted for bright flashy flat-panel HDTVs that offer easier wall-mounting options while seeming to get bigger, lighter and cheaper every year. We're sure there are more than a few super-sized rear-projection TVs that will continue to bring the big game to basements and dens everywhere, feel free to celebrate an old friend in the comments below.

[Source: Engadget]

Macronix plans to heat up flash memory to keep it from burning out

Despite the looming threat of being replaced by phase-change memory, contemporary memory modules aren't quite ready to be shown the door -- engineers at Macronix have found a way to revive spent NAND flash cells. Most flash modules fail after being written to and erased about 10,000 times, but Macronix found that the tired memory could be restored by baking it for extended periods of time. The team funneled the time consuming and cumbersome solution into a more practical package: a redesigned memory chip that packs onboard heaters. The new modules are designed to periodically heat focused groups of memory cells to 800 °C (1,472 °F) for a few milliseconds, effectively "healing" worn cells.

Researchers found that heated chips could tolerate more than 100 million write/erase cycles and erased faster at higher temperatures. The team said the power drain of the heaters shouldn't effect battery life, either -- chips don't have to be heated often, and when they do, it can be done while prospective devices are recharging. Macronix will be presenting the technology at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting next week, but project deputy director Hans-Ting Lue wouldn't say when the company plans on taking the technology to market. Luewas willing to speculate on what might become of it, however. "This may evolve into a 'thermally assisted' mode of operation that gives both better performance -- such as the faster erasing -- and better endurance flash memory." Faster, more reliable, super-heated memory. Sounds fine by us.

[Source: Engadget]

Secret Santa Revealed

Ooooooh, only 21 sleeps until Christmas :D

It is this time of year that we all look forward to spending time with family & friends. The preparation is just as exciting too, with late night shopping, food planning & the decorating of a real (or possibly virtual) Christmas Tree.

I am in the priveleged position to have an extended set of friends too. Over the years of producing videos, the cool comments come flooding in, the tweets go crazy and the likes on Facebook make me smile. On Twitter & YouTube I communicate with some super cool people, mainly gadget addicts like me, but really a diverse mix. So when I was contacted to take part in a Secret Santa by MoneySuperMarket I was super excited.

The time to reveal the recipient of my gift is now here … and boy oh boy was I smiling when I saw that I had been partnered with a fellow geek. So my Christmas Gift is winging its way to GadgetsBoy … making his Christmas that little bit brighter.

For a nice twist & to keep everyone guessing, just what should I buy someone who handles tech every day? 

Winter Warmers
Maybe some Touch Screen Gloves are in order. Keeping those fingers warm and frost free, whilst still being able to keep those Tweets & Instagram pics coming. These look really geeky and good value for money. I have seen these in varying styles and always fancied a pair myself. Maybe I am drawn to these because I WANT THEM!!! I have heard many a funny story over the years where people buy gifts for others that they really wish they were receiving. Now, if someone could invent some Gaming Gloves to make me play a little better… Hmmmmmmm. 

Gaming
Now, I know that GadgetsBoy likes his gaming, both hardcore & casual, so I went on the search for something that would make this a little more unique & enjoyable. The JOYSTICK-IT Tablet Arcade Stick came to mind and certainly looks the part. Made of aluminium, it looks superbly engineered and attaches to your iPad (or other tablet) for the ultimate control. I really like the look of this and think it could finally see my good friend achieving some good scores.

Staying Alert
Working with and testing all this tech takes time. We both work hard and play hard. Maybe a mix of caffeine and multi-vitamins will do the trick and keep my friend producing all those great articles & videos. I don't believe in getting drunk (although I know many do have a very MERRY Christmas), but I do think staying alert & happy, allows us all to pass on that love and enthusiasm that we have. Making someone else smile, through a comment or a video or a goodwill gesture is a must thing to do. Maybe a month's supply of React Energy Drinks will do the trick!!! When your eyes are getting tired Mr GadgetsBoy, sit back and re-energize yourself… will this be your gift? 

So, I guess we will all have to sit back and wait to see what I send my good friend for Christmas. Have a great time everyone… enjoy your technology, enjoy your gadgets, but most of all … enjoy your friends, family and close ones and have an EPIC CHRISTMAS !!!

Suunto Ambit update lets athletes build their own GPS watch apps

Extending watches with apps is one thing if you're building for a smartphone companion with a traditional, developer-centric app model. It's quite another when it's a GPS watch, and athletes are building their own apps -- yet that's what Suunto has managed with a 2.0 firmware update to its Ambit outdoor watch. The revamp uses a simple web interface to let us build free sports apps based on criteria as simple as distance and speed through to more specific measurements like heart rate and pressure. Adding predictive routines and arbitrary values allows for situation-specific code we might not get elsewhere, whether it's estimating the finish time of a marathon or guessing just how much post-run beer is possible before the guilt sets in. On top of the new software platform, the 2.0 update brings a handful of major extensions from Suunto itself, including support for ANT+ and Foot POD sensors as well as an interval timer. The apps and upgrades help justify a relatively steep $500 price for the Ambit by turning it into a Swiss Army Knife for the wrist; when features are dictated more by imagination than a developer's whims, they might just save the cost of an early hardware replacement.

[Source: Engadget]