Apple

The Next Version of OS X Might Be a Radical Change Like iOS 7

Last year at WWDC, we got a huge overhaul of Apple’s mobile operating system. And this year, it looks like OS X could be in for the same treatment. According to 9to5Mac, the upcoming OS X 10.10 is going to be a major overhaul, maybe the biggest in OS X history. 9to5Mac reports that OS…

Is There Such a Thing as a Sonic QR Code?

There are at least two things that Sony Pictures marketing executives did not consider when preparing a cross-promotion between its new Spider-Man film and the song-identification app Shazam. I first read about this promotion this morning on io9.com, because pretty much the first thing I read every morning is Morning Spoilers on io9.com. The film…

26 Inspiring Instagrams

Love it or hate it, Instagram is the photographic platform of our era (mixed with a bit of Facebook and Snapchat, of course). Here are 26 reasons why maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all. Winner: ByWard Market Shooting this last Thursday at ByWard Market in Ottawa, I was in trip with few…

Apple’s Updated Macbook Air: Faster Processors, $100 Cheaper

Apple has refreshed its MacBook Air lineup today, with the super-slim laptops now sporting Intel’s latest Haswell silicon to boost their speeds—and selling for $100 less. Both the 11- and 13-inch entry-level Airs now feature a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, compared to the previous 1.3GHz chip. They still both come with 4GB of…

Why Smartphones Are About to Get Tacky as Hell

If you haven’t seen Samsung’s new teaser for its Galaxy S5 “Crystal Collection,” shield your eyes now—this thing has enough reflective power to blind the sun. And judging by the shape of the smartphone market, phones dripping with crystals will soon be the status quo. Get ready for an army of handsets that shine so…

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

It’s the weekend! We know you worked hard all week, and you’re ready to chill out, max, and relax all cool. Make sure your smartphone’s ready too, with our favorite apps of the week. Android Opera Browser Updated this week for smoother swiping and more stable navigation, Opera’s browser is fast and smooth. “Off-Road” mode…

Apple Will Fix Your iPhone 5’s Sleep Button for Free—If You Qualify

Is your iPhone’s sleep/wake button finicky? You might be in luck. On Friday, Apple announced a new program to fix a small number of iPhone 5s with faulty buttons. Just input your phone’s serial number on this page to see if you qualify. And if you do, be prepared to be without your phone for…

An iPhone App Knows How You Feel By Checking Your Pulse

The Morpholio Project‘s latest development uses an iPhone’s camera and flash as an impromptu pulse monitor, measuring your visceral reaction to the things you’re seeing. It’s like a lie detector for your aesthetic taste, and Morpholio’s Toru Hasegawa let me play with it. The Morpholio Project is a collaboration of architects and academics focused on…

iOS 7.1 Developers’ Source Code Hints at Siri for Apple TV

Apple’s virtual helper might soon appear in additional types of hardware from the tech giant, with snippets of code found within the iOS 7.1 SDK suggesting that a version of Siri for Apple TV may be in the works. The discovery hinges around the device identifier “3” that’s been found inside the Assistant call code…

Apple’s OS X beta program is now open to everybody. Previously, you needed a $100 per year developer account to try out Apple’s latest features buried in the beta builds of its operating system.

Rumor: Danny Boyle to Direct Steve Jobs Movie With Leonardo di Caprio

The Hollywood Reporter claims that producers are tapping up Danny Boyle and Leonardo di Caprio to take on the the latest in a string of Steve Jobs flicks. Rumor has it that the director of Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, and more recently even the London Olympics opening ceremony is to take on the movie after Aaron…

Apple Now Recycles Any Product You Give Back (and Gives You Credit)

Starting today, all of Apple’s retail stores will accept any of the company’s ageing products for recycling—and, if it looks resaleable, you might even get some store credit, too. The scheme is part of Tim Cook’s ambition to “leave the world better than we found it.” As of today, then, Apple will provide “free, responsible…

New Video Goes Inside the Painstaking Design of Apple’s HQ

New details about architect Norman Foster’s design for Apple’s Cupertino HQ have been slow to leak, but this video gives us the most detailed look so far. This building is going to have everything: Native trees! Solar panels! Crazy circular desk spaces! The video contains plenty of awesome footage of the models being made by…

A $15 USB Adapter That Fixes an Annoying iMac Design Flaw

No product has even been made better when functionality follows form, and Apple’s decision to only include USB ports on the back of its iMacs has been frustrating desktop computer users for years. An ugly USB extension cable makes life with an iMac considerably more enjoyable, and now, thanks to Bluelounge’s new Jimi, it doesn’t…

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

Spring is in the air, it’s getting just a bit warmer out, and miracle of miracles, the sun is still shining when you get out of work! We’re celebrating the only way we know how: by downloading some sweet new Android, iOS, and Windows Phone apps. Multi-Platform Updates Flickr The original name in online photo…

Facebook Adds “Nearby Friends” to Show You Where Everyone’s At

Facebook’s newest feature, Nearby Friends, begins rolling out today. The opt-in app addition lets your friends know when you’re close by, with the option to show your precise location on a map, if that’s the kind of thing you want to share with your friends. Making its way to Facebook’s Android and iOS app in…

Bloomberg: iOS 8 Will Have Shazam’s Song Identification Baked In

Can’t name that tune? No worry: Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is partnering with Shazam to embed song identification software right into its forthcoming iOS 8. The news agency reports that two of its sources believe Apple is “planning to unveil a song-discovery feature in an update of its iOS mobile software that will let…

According to Recode, Yahoo is trying to persuade Apple to drop Google and make Yahoo its default iOS search engine. Because that would mean more money for Yahoo and less money for Google. The free market works!

What could Apple possibly want with a dam in Oregon? Is raising condors with hand puppets going just a bit too far? Why should we all start eating prickly pears? Hey, it’s time for this week’s Landscape Reads. Apple Bought a Dam to Power Its Data Center When you upload your data onto iCloud, it…

Jobs’ Death “Best Opportunity to Attack iPhone,” Wrote Samsung Exec

The longrunning legal battle between Apple and Samsung has certainly had its low points, but an internal email unearthed by CNET sent by a Samsung executive just five days after Steve Jobs’ death sheds new light on just how callous the competition got. In this case, the subject was how to leverage the death of…