Tag Archives: ios

Share between devices painlessly with Instashare

There will come a time when you would like to simply transfer a file from one iOS device to another or to a Mac; it's inevitable. When the time arises, you will discover as most of us already have that the process is not as straightforward as one would think, considering how powerful these devices are. The most common methods used up to this point have been emailing oneself, cloud services like iCloud or Dropbox, file sync with the USB cable and iTunes or pleading with the always capricious Camera Connection Kit.

Thankfully the developers at TwoManShow have developed a wonderful app to take the pain out of cross device file transfers with their Instashare app.

Instashare for iOS is like AirDrop for mobile devices as it quickly and painlessly copies any file from one device to another over WiFi or Bluetooth without a direct connection to the internet.

Instashare for OSX currently in beta, adds the ability to send files to and from your Mac and your iOS devices.

Both versions of Instashare are free; however, the iOS version is ad-supported and the ads can be removed by a $0.99 in-app purchase. Instashare for Android and Windows are currently in development.

Share between devices painlessly with Instashare originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 18 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stitcher Radio announces a Car Mode, but it’s not quite what I want

I use my iPhone a lot to listen to music and podcasts in my car -- I connect it right up to my car stereo, and it's my main listening source while driving around LA. As a result, I really wish there were more options to control my music while driving around. Music- and podcast-streaming app Stitcher has introduced a new feature along these lines they're calling Car Mode, which is basically just a simplified interface with large, clear controls, so you can choose and play your music easily. There are also some other new features added into the app, including a new front page and faster playback. You can download Stitcher Radio for free on the App Store.

Unfortunately, this isn't really what I'm looking for -- this layout still requires you to pick up your phone and press buttons to use it, and that means that you'll still have to pull over to the side of the road to choose your music. (Because as we all know, using your cell phone while driving is illegal; just ask the LAPD.) What I'd really like to see from these streaming apps is Siri integration. I often will be driving around and get an urge to listen to a specific song or artist, and it'd be nice to use Siri to say something like, "Siri, play me some Rolling Stones," or "play me 'Bohemian Rhapsody,'" and have it automatically start playing.

I'm not sure that's entirely possible just yet, as Apple's API for Siri can be limited for some developers -- at this point, I think about all you can do is open an app. But hopefully that will change soon. The first streaming-audio app to let me start up and control songs in the car with just my voice will definitely have me interested in switching over to it.

Stitcher Radio announces a Car Mode, but it's not quite what I want originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily iPhone App — Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte is cute, arcade fun

Zoombies is a fascinating little game. It's made by a company called High Voltage that is probably best known for the Conduit shooter series, though they've been making licensed games for years (I remember visiting the studio for a tour back when I lived in Chicago -- they were based out in the Hoffman Estates suburb back then). Zoombies is a title that's been in development there for a while -- it was first considered for the Wii, then possibly for Xbox Live Arcade and finally has seen release on Apple's iOS.

It's easy to see why High Voltage was trying to make this game as a motion control title -- the idea is that you're a kid trying to fight an army of invading undead zoo animals ("Zoo-mbies," get it?), and you are armed with a weapon that you can toss according to a line you've drawn on the screen. Control on the Wii or Xbox would probably have been more direct, but on the iOS touchscreen it means you swipe your finger around, and then the weapon will follow your path. This creates some interesting timing issues -- you want to throw where an animal will be, not where they are. And once you've thrown your weapon, you can't throw it again until it finishes the path, which requires you to keep things as compact as possible.

Zoombies' real charm, however, is in the tone and the art style. The whole game, as you can tell by the subtitle, is done in a joyous sort of Mexican mariachi style, and it just oozes fun. The animals are menacingly cute, the kids are great and every level has plenty of "skull goals," which are super satisfying to complete. Even if you don't like that core line-drawing mechanic, this game is totally charming anyway. Clearly, this was a labor of love for High Voltage, and you can tell they had a lot of fun making the game.

Zoombies is available for US$2.99 on the App Store now, though there are a lot of in-app purchases included, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that price come down sooner if not later. Still, $3 is cheap, so if Zoombies interests you, you might as well grab it right away.

Daily iPhone App -- Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte is cute, arcade fun originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US Pentagon grants security clearance to iPad, iPhone

Earlier this month TUAW reported that iOS 6 had obtained FIPS 140-2 certification, "opening the door to more government use." It didn't take long for that door to swing wide open, as the Pentagon has now officially approved iPhones and iPads running a version of iOS 6 for use on secure government networks.

Two weeks ago, Samsung devices running the Knox security layer and BlackBerry devices including the BlackBerry 10 smartphones and PlayBook tablets were given the nod by the US military. Adding Apple's iOS devices to the mix was part of the platform-agnostic plans of the Pentagon revealed in February. Those plans detailed adding wireless voice, video and data capabilities for classified and unclassified communications by October 2013. The approved devices will begin to be used more widely in the military and intelligence communities late in 2013 or in early 2014.

iPhones and iPads already have a home in some parts of the government that don't require such strict security, but the new Pentagon certification should make for more widespread adoption of iOS.

[via AppleInsider]

US Pentagon grants security clearance to iPad, iPhone originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When your iOS device runs out of storage space

Macworld Senior Contributor Kirk McElhearn has several excellent tips for iOS owners looking to sync their large iTunes library with their iPad, iPhone or iPod. Their libraries are so big that they exceed the capacity of their devices, which forces them to pick and choose what items they want to sync.

McElhearn walks users through two methods for syncing an oversized library. Each method lets you control which tracks are synced and which ones are not. The most efficient method allows users to sync playlists, individual artists, specific genres and even selected albums with their iOS device. You can read about the two methods in the article on Macworld's website.

When your iOS device runs out of storage space originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily iPad App: NASA’s Earth As Art shows us our beautiful planet

NASA has a series of excellent educational iOS apps that appeal to adults and kids alike. Most have a strong scientific bent, but if you lean more towards art than science, NASA has an iPad app for you, too. Mixing a little bit of earth and planetary science with a keen eye for art, NASA has created its Earth As Art app, an iPad title that shows off the unseen beauty of our planet.

NASA's Earth As Art app picks the best images of Earth from the Terra, Landsat 5, Landsat 7, EO-1 and Aqua satellites. It also adds in some choice photos from the USGS Landsat image gallery. The satellites used to take these photos can measure light outside the visible range. The resulting images show you the Earth as you have never seen it before.

The images are presented in gallery format, allowing you to see a thumbnail of each stunning photograph. You can also switch to list format, which is sorted by geographical location. When viewing an image, you can pinch and zoom to look closely at a specific section. Each image has a brief and only slightly scientific description that you can access by tapping on the "i" in the corner. You may not understand the scientific reasons why each photo looks the way it does, but this is an art-centric app. You are expected to sit back and enjoy the images, not necessarily dissect them.

Besides stunning images, the app also has a several time-lapse photos that show changes in a specific location. I particularly enjoyed the Dubai series that shows the creation of its artificial palm islands and the rapid development of the area. The changes in just a short 11 years is unbelievable.

The NASA Earth As Art app is available for free. It's an iPad app and requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Daily iPad App: NASA's Earth As Art shows us our beautiful planet originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily iPhone App: Mosaique is an original and inventive puzzle game

Mosiaque is a very original puzzle game that I haven't quite figured out yet. It appeared on the App Store a little while ago from a company called Winning Blimp, and the core idea of the app is that you need to clear the screen of colored squares by firing them in from the sides.

The issue, however, is that if the square you shoot in hits a square of another color, it will switch out instead. Squares of the same color get cleared off, so your goal is to try and fire squares of the same color together, lining them up and clearing them off the board, refilling your meter for more shots. Mosiaque is the kind of game that's simple to play, but fairly tough to master -- even with the playtime I've put in, I'm not completely sure how deep the game's strategy gets. But there is a solid amount of fun to learning the game's mechanics, and as you play through the levels, there are some new tricks, too. Eventually, black blocks show up which will block your shots, and "void" blocks will appear that keep your shot meter from filling back up if not cleared right away.

Mosaique is a lot of fun, and it's very original, both in look and in gameplay. It's worth noting that there are no in-app purchases in this one either. Buy the game for US$0.99, and you'll have access to the game's unlimited parade of levels. That should be more than enough to get you figuring out exactly how it all works.

Daily iPhone App: Mosaique is an original and inventive puzzle game originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS games spending overtakes dedicated games

App analytics firm App Annie has released a new report about portable gaming, and announced that iOS gamers are now spending more money on Apple's platform than on traditional handheld titles. The light blue above is last year's fourth quarter, the dark blue is this year's first quarter, and as you can see, both iOS and Google Play spending is up, and has actually topped spending on traditional handheld devices like the Nintendo 3DS and the PS Vita.

This is mostly due, says App Annie, to a seasonal drop in traditional handheld game spending -- game sales always tend to go up over the holidays, and then drop in the new year. But it's also clear that iOS is growing a lot -- and in fact, in the chart above, it's actually higher than even traditional gaming was last quarter.

We'll have to see how this plays out going forwards. Both the PS Vita (made by Sony) and the 3DS (made by Nintendo) have packed schedules for software releases this year, and the Sony handheld is set to be supported by the release of the new PS4 console. So this battle isn't over at all yet. But smartphones are clearly a dominant force in the world of portable gaming, and consumers are happy more and more to spend their money on iOS games rather than another traditional handheld title.

iOS games spending overtakes dedicated games originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pebble receives $15 mil in funding, releases SDK and Sports API

The company behind the Pebble smartwatch, which not only looks awesome but connects up to your iPhone, has picked up US$15 million in funding from venture capitalists, and has released yet another version of its SDK. The funding is obviously a solid chunk of change, and should help Pebble not only fulfill its current orders (the company is still aiming to get watches out to all of its supporters from a successful Kickstarter bid), but push the company on into the future as well.

This latest SDK release, called the PebbleKit, allows for two-way communication back and forth between the watch and your smartphone, which means there are lots of new options for apps to work with the watch as a display or even a remote control. The company has also released a Sports API, which should allow for GPS-enabled apps (like running apps) to send and receive information from the watch. Pebble's initial set of features was quite limited, but this API update should make a lot of new apps possible, and of course we'll likely see more in the future.

You can pre-order a Pebble watch on the main website right now for $150.00. Or you may want to wait just a bit longer, if you happen to believe those crazy rumors about an Apple iWatch.

Pebble receives $15 mil in funding, releases SDK and Sports API originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Hangouts app to integrate SMS “soon”

I've been using the Google Hangouts app on the iPhone since it was announced on Wednesday, and I've really liked it so far. I haven't messed around with it much on my iPad, except to install it, but it was enough for my Android-using husband to be jealous that we got it first.

Like Apple's Messages, it's pushing conversations to my iPhone when I'm not at my computer, a feature which I've grown to love in iOS and OS X. The Hangouts app has a great feature to snooze notifications, which is great if you're going to be at the computer for awhile and don't want the iOS app constantly alerting you to new messages. However, there's no way to change your status and alert people you're having discussions with that you might be out of pocket for a bit, but it's something that's not in Apple's Messages either.

The biggest missing feature in Hangouts is SMS integration, and Google vows it's on the way. Google community manager Dori Storbeck said the feature was the most-requested one and is coming soon.

However, as TechCrunch points out, the SMS integration most likely will be Android-only because of permissions limitation on iOS. It's a shame, because I wouldn't mind having some Hangout messages default to texts if a reliable data connection isn't available.

Google Hangouts app to integrate SMS "soon" originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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King claims 70 million daily active players, Pet Rescue Saga coming soon to mobile

King, which used to be called King.com it pulled a name change at GDC this year, has announced that it has 70 million daily active players, which is a crazy number. By far, King's biggest title is Candy Crush Saga. The company notes that the game has 15.5 million active players on Facebook every day. Candy Crush Saga is also a big hit on iOS, where it consistently appears in the top charts for both most downloaded and top grossing.

King also announced its intention to bring Pet Rescue Saga to iOS. That game has 6 million daily players on Facebook, and King says it will be the third saga game (along with Bubble Witch Saga) to make the leap to mobile platforms. Pet Rescue Saga will arrive on both iOS and Android later this summer.

King's success is just phenomenal. It's impressive for any form of media to reach 70 million people, and for that to happen daily is just crazy. This casual games market can blow up overnight and shrink just as fast (just ask Zynga), but for now, King is doing impressively well.

King claims 70 million daily active players, Pet Rescue Saga coming soon to mobile originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone cameras are everywhere at one of America’s best scenic spots

My last visit to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah was in pre-iPhone days. My, how things have changed. I went to Bryce on a landscape shoot this week with my usual semi-pro equipment: Canon 5D, Manfrotto tripod and the usual gaggle of batteries, timers and other esoterica.

I was especially interested in seeing if people were toting different equipment in the age of the smartphone. I expected to see Android and iPhones snapping away, while the pros and semi-pros were hanging on to their expensive DSLRs.

It wasn't quite what I expected. I saw a lot of iPhones in the crowds of people gathered at the rim of Bryce Canyon waiting for the sunset. I saw a couple of Android phones, but there could have been more. I walked up to a large group of young girls from Tennessee and asked how many were using iPhones? Every hand went up. I asked them if they were still using their old point-and-shoot cameras, and everyone had dropped them for an iPhone. The main reason? Instagram and other photo-sharing services. No one mentioned Apple's Photo Stream. You just can't get photos to friends with a point-and-shoot. None of those girls were into editing photos, it was mostly shoot and send.

I asked about the iPhone HDR feature. The most frequent answer was "huh?" More marketing needed by Cupertino. I showed some of the people up there how easy it was to activate HDR, and let them compare the results. Sunset at Bryce Canyon is the perfect place for HDR. All were amazed, so I helped create some new converts.

The biggest surprise were the pro and semi-pro shooters. Many had iPhones, which they would take out of a pocket for a moment, usually to shoot a panorama. One woman with a big Nikon said she loved her camera, but there was nothing like capturing a quick panorama with the iPhone. Easy to do, plenty of megapixels, and easy to send. A guy from Georgia with all kinds of pro equipment told me the same thing.

Gallery: iPhones at Bryce Canyon

So here I was at one of the most beautiful scenery spots in the world and iPhones were everywhere. Young, old, novice, semi-pro and some pros.

It's amazing that a company trying to make a better cellular phone has had such an impact on photography. Planning or accident? How about you? Have you dropped your point-and-shoot for an iPhone? And those of you with DSLRs, are you tempted to haul your iPhone out at times too? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

iPhone cameras are everywhere at one of America's best scenic spots originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Parenting tip: Recover your lost parental control password, or not

Parental Controls on iOS are extremely helpful for parents of iOS-device-using kids. They allow a parent to block in-app purchases, restrict explicit content on the device and block apps that are not needed for younger children (Mail, Safari, etc.).

Setting up these restrictions requires a special 4-digit PIN that only needs to be entered when a parent makes changes to the parental control settings. Because the code is entered so infrequently, it is easy to forget the password, especially if you set up restrictions in haste and don't take the time to record the code in your favorite password keeper. This happened to me recently, and I will give you a few tips on what to do if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation.

Assess and Review

If you realize that you have forgotten your parental control password, don't panic. The first thing you should do is stop entering password guesses, as iOS will lock you out of parental controls when you hit five incorrect password attempts. After the fifth try, you have to wait for a minute before you can try again. This wait time goes up to five minutes, 15 minutes and eventually an hour, which can be very inconvenient if you find the password written down on some loose post-it note in your junk drawer.

If you can't find that lost password anywhere, then you have two choices to fix the problem -- you can either wipe your phone and start from scratch, or try to reset the password by careful editing of system files. I prefer the former solution, but will present the latter for those who are comfortable with hex editors and SHA-1 hashes.

Perform a Factory Restore

In my opinion, your best option is to wipe the device completely and perform a factory restore. You will lose the photos, notes and other personal information on the device, but you already had those backed up via iTunes sync, in iCloud, Photo Stream or other services like Dropbox, right?

You have to restore the iOS device back to factory settings and can't restore using an iTunes backup, as all the backups contain your parental control password along with your photos and app data. Forget about any saved backups and set up your iPhone or iPad as a new device within iTunes. You can restore your iOS device to factory settings using iTunes and this handy guide from Apple. Keep in mind this will also blow up any game progress or other customizations, so be prepared for that conversation with the younger users of the device.

When your device is restored, you can connect to iCloud and download your notes, bookmarks and other data. You will have to configure any email accounts and re-install all your apps. It's a pain in the neck to do this, but it is the safest solution to get parental controls back and running.

Recover the Password by Editing System Files

If you are very tech savvy and don't mind a slight risk of bricking your device, you can edit a few system files and either find the parental control password or reset it. These two procedures assume you are using a Mac or a PC to backup your device and the backups are not encrypted.

If you happen to have an older iOS device that hasn't been updated to iOS 6, you can use these directions from Simon Blog to locate the parental controls password in a system file (com.apple.springboard.plist) that is stored in a backup on your desktop machine. I tested this on a very old (and now abandoned) iPod touch that is still running iOS 4.1, and it works. The PIN is stored as a string and can be found without touching your iOS device.

If your device is on iOS 6 or later versions of iOS 5, you may have to dig a bit deeper to unlock the parental control password. In recent versions of iOS, Apple removed the parental control PIN and now keeps it hidden from prying eyes. You can no longer read it as a string, but you can force iOS to change it using a few carefully placed lines of code.

The detailed process of resetting your parental control password is explained by iPhone Backup Extractor and requires you to locate a recent iTunes backup from the iOS device. You then edit the com.apple.springboard.plist file and the manifest.db file in the backup, and enter in a new parental control password that overwrites the old one. To send those password changes over to your device, you must restore your device in iTunes using the backup that you just modified. If successful, you will have a new Parental Control password that you can easily enter.

The process is straightforward, but it requires you to know how to use a hex editor and understand a bit about SHA-1 hashes. I tried this technique twice -- once on an iPad mini running iOS 6.0.2 and once on an iPad running iOS 6.1.3. Both times it did work, and I was able to change my parental control password to 1234.

I have to admit that it was a bit nerve-wracking, especially during the restore process, as I was concerned that the smallest mistake would foul up my device. Though I don't recommend this process, I present it for those who are desperate and don't mind the risk if it means preserving that important game save, photo or document.

Parenting tip: Recover your lost parental control password, or not originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Launches ‘Hangouts,’ a New Unified Messaging for iOS and Android

HangoutsYesterday was a big day for Google. After much anticipation, the company launched its unifying messaging service, Hangouts. This new chat client is not a mobile messenger for Google +. It is a replacement app for all of your Google-related social networking accounts.

Hangouts lets you keep track of conversations, no matter what device you are using. If you start a conversation on your desktop and finish it on your iPhone, you messages sync across devices so that you won’t lose track of who said what.

To start a conversation, or “Hangout,” as Google is calling it, tap the + symbol at the top of the screen. Not only can you chat with your Google + buddies, but you can Hangout with your Gmail contacts, too.

You can have group conversations, or one-on-one discussions. Make video calls with multiple people, send photos, and keep the conversation going no matter what device you are on.

Basically, Hangouts is like iMessages for Google account owners, except that you don’t have to own an iOS device in order to use it and it supports cross-platform communication.

That’s not to say that Hangouts doesn’t have its hang-ups. First of all, you have to use a Google + account to sign into the app, even if you just want to G-chat with someone. Most people already have Google + and it is connected to their Gmail account, so that’s not an issue for 90 percent of potential users.

You also must use the Hangouts app on all devices, even if you can talk with someone through another chat client. For example, if you start a hangout with someone who already uses G-Chat on their desktop, that person will have to install the Hangouts app on their desktop in order to keep the Hangouts thread going.

This is also not going to be the end of multiple chat client needs. It simply does away with the need for multiple Google chat clients. You don’t need a separate G-Chat, G-Talk, and Google+ app in order to communicate with others who use those same services. You can now access them in one location and your conversations will sync across devices and platforms.

You are still going to need SMS, Facebook Messenger, Yahoo Chat, AOL Instant Messenger, and Messages, depending on how you stay in touch with others. However, if you are a heavy Google user and are tired of juggling multiple chat services within the Google community, then you’ve found a solution to your problem.

» Related posts: Google Building Chat Client to Compete With iMessage Great Chat Client Apps to Stay in Touch on the iPad Google Unveils 3D Maps for Android and… iOS!

Chills and thrills for your iPad with Haunting Melissa

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A teenage girl alone in a remote farmhouse, an absent father, a boyfriend off at college... and a locked door that conceals a tragic secret. These are the creepy, chilling tropes on display in Haunting Melissa, a serialized video horror story delivered in the form of an iOS app available today on the App Store. Watching the first episode is free, and then you'll wait -- and pay -- to keep going with the narrative.

Haunting Melissa, and the underlying Hooked Digital Media content management platform that drives the serialized episode releases, is the brainchild of Hollywood producer Neal Edelstein. Edelstein has some serious scares on his resume: he produced the US versions of the scare-your-socks-off thrillers The Ring and The Ring 2.

He describes the Haunting Melissa experience as "a ghost story created to be consumed in a dark corner with headphones on and iPhone or iPad in hand." Push notifications alert viewers when the next segment is ready -- and they'll come when you least expect them. Melissa even has a Twitter account (as does the actress who plays her, Kassia Warshawski).

You might think that a spooky, atmospheric serial would suffer in the scale-down from cinematic or TV size onto the iPad or iPhone/iPod screen. In fact, watching Melissa and her friends explore her haunted house (in HD) from a first-person, Blair Witch-esque perspective is quite immersive. Adding headphones to the experience ramps up the creep factor dramatically; Edelstein and his creative team have the sound design chops to scare your ears just as much as the cinematography scares your eyes. If you do want to watch on the bigger screen, the app supports AirPlay output to the Apple TV.

Haunting Melissa is designed to be social, with viewers sharing their impressions and guesses as the mystery deepens, and calling out details and clues that may have been missed on the first viewing. (What really happened to Melissa's dead mother? Why is Brandon being so cagey about coming home from college? Is Holly's little brother just a lovesick kid, or a malicious superhacker? Why doesn't Melissa close her laptop when she goes to bed? And what's the deal with all the crucifixes?) Personally, I'm not a big consumer of thrillers or horror films, but if that is the sort of thing you enjoy, Haunting Melissa raises the bar on quality when it comes to purpose-built iOS experiences.

The basic Haunting Melissa app is free, with in-app US$0.99 purchases for individual episodes and a Season Pass option for the entire experience. Edelstein notes that he is in discussions with other directors and producers to explore bringing their creative ideas to this new storytelling platform. "The technology supports story first and foremost... [we believe] this new app technology will change distribution forever," he says.

You can watch the Haunting Melissa teaser trailer below. Keep the lights on.

Chills and thrills for your iPad with Haunting Melissa originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FreeCiv now playable in browsers, including on iOS devices

FreeCiv is one of my favorite open-source projects out there. Civilization is one of my favorite games, and FreeCiv is an open-source version that you can download and play for free. The latest update of the game has added an HTML 5 version, which means that you can now load up and play FreeCiv right in any compatible browser. And that includes mobile Safari, which means you can now navigate to play.freeciv.org on one of your iOS devices, and play the game at will.

Pretty excellent. There is no version of FreeCiv in the App Store, unfortunately, though there has been a port to Android just recently. And Civilization Revolution has been available on both iPad and iPhone for a while now -- it's a simpler, more accessible version of the 4X strategy game. Firaxis has just recently stepped up its efforts on iOS, so it's possible that we will see a more full, official version of Civ arrive on the iPhone before too much longer. Or wait -- what if they ported Alpha Centauri? Drool.

But until then, FreeCiv will have to do. If you have never had a chance to play, the game manual should help you out.

FreeCiv now playable in browsers, including on iOS devices originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily iPhone App: Steve Jackson’s Sorcery is interactive e-book bliss

I have to say -- the iPad is a terrific platform for interactive e-books, but so far, I haven't been very impressed by the options out there. I do use my iPad for reading a lot, but the vast majority of my reading is done in either iBooks or a comic book reader. It's very rare that I will pick up an app that's designed to work as just one single book, no matter how many extras or interactive features are included.

However, I'm happy to say that Steve Jackson's Sorcery! is a clear exception to the general rule. It's excellent, and mostly because the book it is based on (actually a "gamebook" released back in the '80s) was already interactive to begin with. Add in iOS interactive touchscreen, some excellent graphical flairs and a whole lot of polish, and what you end up with is something very akin to playing a Dungeons and Dragons game, where the few game elements present are really just intended to ignite your imagination, and get you role-playing in the game's world.

Sorcery's story is pretty basic: You're a hero who sets out into a dangerous world, hoping to either save or conquer it. And the combat gameplay is extremely simple as well -- you essentially guess whether your opponent is attacking or defending, trying to mirror their actions to do damage as you can. But the real meat of Sorcery! is in the inbetween. You travel from town to town, talking to various NPCs and even solving a few puzzles, all while exploring this world through the game's scrolling text.

I really have no problems at all with this app -- I was fascinated by the story's well-written text, and while the gameplay isn't extremely innovative, it's paced well enough to keep the action rolling. The one hitch might be that you need to use your imagination on this one, so if you're expecting a game like Skyrim, that will draw out the world for you, you might find this a bit boring. But as a die-hard pen-and-paper RPG player and a fan of Steve Jackson's work, I think this is an excellent adaptation that's well worth a purchase. You can pick it up from the App Store for US$4.99 right now.

Daily iPhone App: Steve Jackson's Sorcery is interactive e-book bliss originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovio teams up with Sony for the Angry Birds movie, coming July 2016

Rovio has announced, via tweet and then by news release, that it has lined up a deal and a date with Sony Pictures to distribute the upcoming Angry Birds movie. Rovio's been working on putting the frustrated fowl into a motion picture for a while, but this announcement makes it more or less a done deal -- all that needs to happen is that it gets made. Rovio says the movie will be out in theaters on July 1, 2016.

The film will be in 3D (and animated, of course). It'll be produced by Despicable Me producer John Cohen, along with David Maisel. There's no director or writer yet announced, but this isn't exactly rocket science: Odds are that there will be green pigs stealing the birds' eggs, and the birds will have to team up together in a heartwarming way to get revenge. In fact, Rovio, if you need a hand, I could punch out a treatment for you. Just let me know.

Rovio teams up with Sony for the Angry Birds movie, coming July 2016 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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App Store hits 50 billion apps downloaded

Shortly before 5 PM ET, Apple officially hit the 50 billion-app mark on the App Store. The grand prize for achieving this is a US$10,000 gift card redeemable on the App Store and $500 App Store gift cards to the next 50 customers following that. We'll let you know the winners as soon as they're announced, and congratulations to Apple for hitting the milestone!

App Store hits 50 billion apps downloaded originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Getting more out of Apple’s Stocks app on iOS

Apple's Stocks app on iOS isn't terribly exciting, but in typical Apple fashion, it does have a bit more functionality lurking beneath the surface.

Pictured below is what you typically see when you fire up the Stocks app.

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The information is pretty basic. We see that Apple's current share price is US$456, and to the right of that in green, we see how much Apple's share price has gone up for the day, in this case $3.98.

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If you tap the green rectangle, however, the display changes to reveal Apple's current market cap.

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If you tap the green rectangle once more, the information changes yet again, this time displaying Apple's daily gain or loss as a percentage.

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So with a few taps, one can quickly toggle through Apple's market cap and information as to how the stock is performing percentage-wise or terms of dollars and cents.

But wait, there's more!

If we take another look at the default Stocks view, you'll note that there are three circles at the bottom of the screen.

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From here, one can simply swipe to the left (from anywhere on the bottom half of the screen) to reveal more information about the selected stock, in this case Apple.

On screen two, we're presented with a chart mapping Apple's stock performance over the last six months. One can also tap on the other durations to see Apple's stock performance over other periods of time.

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What's more, if you rotate the phone into landscape mode, you'll not only be presented with a wider chart of a stock's performance, but you'll also be able to drag your finger across the chart and see at what price a stock closed on a particular day.

Getting more out of Apple's Stocks app on iOS

If we return the phone into portrait mode and swipe to the left one more time, we're now presented with Apple-related news stories.

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What may not be so apparent, however, is that one can swipe upwards on the presented news stories to reveal even more Apple-related stories from around the web.

Lastly, if you want to add stocks to keep an eye on, simply tap the info button at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Getting more out of Apple's Stocks app on iOS

You'll then be whisked away to the screen below where you can tap on the "+" sign and add whatever stocks you like.

Getting more out of Apple's Stocks app on iOS

So there you have it. Apple's Stocks app may be seldom used by those who don't follow the market, but it does house a tad more functionality than one might expect from an ostensibly boring and vanilla application.

iPhone 101: Getting more out of Apple's Stocks app on iOS originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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