Integrated a new mastering-quality audio slowing engine that significantly improves the clarity of slowed down music; fixed a bug that affected chord entries when a tranposing capo was set up in the note settings.
The new audio engine is amazing. IF you play guitar and haven’t tried Capo, you’re missing out.
Mat Honan for Gizmodo: The Windows 8 consumer preview is utterly delightful. But I have a huge suspicion that by the time it ships, it could completely suck. And that’s because the people who make the machines on which it … Continued
PC World:
Politics could tip the scales in Apple’s favor for a high-stakes legal battle that will decide ownership of the iPad trademark in mainland China. But some legal experts remain divided on whether it will be enough to help the U.S. tech giant avoid a ban of its iconic tablet in the country.Stan Abrams, an intellectual property lawyer and professor at Beijing’s Central University of Finance and Economics says, “The political argument in itself does favor Apple.” But Zhao Zhanling, a legal expert on China’s information technology law said Apple’s arguments were unconvincing. “I think there is little hope Apple will win,” he said.
Throughout our history, Apple has created entirely new products — and entirely new industries — by focusing on innovation. As a result, we’ve created or supported more than 500,000 jobs for U.S. workers: from the engineer who helped invent the iPad to the delivery person who brings it to your door.
Robert Scoble:
Windows still relevant? Of course it is. Earlier this week I said that even if Windows 8 is a total failure it would still sell hundreds of millions of units (which means expectations on Microsoft are still to sell many hundreds of millions of units if this is a success). That’s a long way from not being relevant.
I get what Robert’s talking about and agree that they will sell millions whether it sucks or not. Still, it’s a sad statement that its sales, not its abilities that make it relevant.
Eric Pfeiffer:
Orangutans across the world may soon join the ranks of millions of humans as proud owners of new iPads. As strange as that may sound, a conservation group is testing its “Apps for Apes” program, allowing orangutans to communicate with each other remotely via the iPad’s video chat technology.
Very cool.
After a troubled launch, Electronic Arts has decided to suspend development and support of Battlefield 3: Aftershock for iOS.
Mac Rumors:
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $9.36 million contract to purchase as many as 18,000 iPad 2s, according to Bloomberg. The plan is to replace bulky and heavy flight bags full of navigational charts and other materials with iPads in order to reduce the weight of pilots’ bags and save fuel on flights.
Late last month the Air Force canceled an order for 2,800 iPads.
iOS game developers don’t have an easy row to hoe; here they talk about some of the issues they face.
Steve Wildstrom for TechPinions:
But even without knowing the details of the new iPad–which I will call the iPad 3 even though Apple may not–it’s possible to assess some of its impact on the industry.
Steve goes through the tablet market, Android model, personal cloud and carriers.
I was looking through Bobby Solomon’s Desktop Wallpaper Project last night and there is something for everyone here. You can even download versions for the iPhone and iPad.
Dave Caolo goes over a few of the functions the iPad home button does besides take you to the home screen.
New York Post:
Apple is pitching the idea of offering channels as apps for its devices, including its Apple TV set-top box. It’s unclear whether it would group the apps together and charge a fee — similar to a cable-TV subscription — or offer the channels on an a la carte basis.
I would definitely buy these channel apps.
Fortune:
To say it was another big year for Apple would be a gross understatement. With the passing of Steve Jobs, questions swirled around the company’s future. But under new CEO Tim Cook’s guidance, Apple continues to prosper.The company’s annual revenues climbed to $108 billion, led by an 81% increase in iPhone sales — a jump that doesn’t factor in the runaway success of the iPhone 4S — and a 334% spike in iPad sales, due in no small part to the revamped iPad 2. Increased sales across the board explain why shares soared 75% during the company’s fiscal year to $495.
Mark Willis:
But nobody’s perfect. Here are a couple of specific things I wish Apple products did better, that I haven’t really heard others discuss. (Maybe they just have the good manners not to whine in public? But I digress.)
I was chuckling at the problems he brings up because they happen to me too. Interesting solutions he proposed.
Lex Friedman: To the average user, the two new security technologies coming to OS X this year—sandboxing and Gatekeeper—should be virtually invisible. But they could be all too visible to more advanced users, particularly those who use AppleScript and Automator. … Continued
It is far too easy to emotionally default to negativity on the Internet. Whether it’s fueled by anti-social behavior, a perceived intrusion upon one’s curated garden of content and opinion, or some sort of basic personal distaste, we are all too frequently treated to a stinging assault on a person or corporate entity on Twitter and the like.
I’ve been guilty of this from time to time.
Brian Caulfield for Forbes: If true, that’s quite a turnabout, for Apple. On a conference call with investors in late 2010, former Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs derided the idea of an 8-inch tablet.
Square’s payment services are going to be tested out in a small pilot program in New York City taxicabs.
Dave Eisenberg for BostInno: Terrafugia, based in Woburn [MA] and founded in 2006 by MIT trained aeronautical engineers will debut the Transition® Roadable Aircraft (that’s a street legal airplane to my plebeian friends) at the 2012 New York International Auto … Continued
These days, owning an analog tape machine is somewhat akin to driving a classic car, with ongoing maintenance, scarcity of parts, and exotic fuel (analog tape) that’s expensive and hard to find. So while a handful of top studios still offer those classic spinning reels (and the engineers to maintain them), the good news for the rest of us is that there are now more convenient ways to achieve that classic magnetic sound.
So the bookmarklet now sports a completely new design that’s highly visible at every screen size, and works in more browsers, too.
The new version also supports multi-page articles. I didn’t even have to do anything, it just updated. I use Instapaper every single day and love it.
Aspyr has released a Mac version of Company of Heroes, the decorated RTS game series.
Hazel watches whatever folders you tell it to, automatically organizing your files according to the rules you create. It features a rule interface similar to that of Apple Mail so you should feel right at home.
My desktop is begging for this app.
A new Macworld.com feature will have you taking better pictures of your food.
Google’s research indicates that people are less likely to visit Web pages if they take fractions of a second longer to load than their competitors.
This silly plan by AT&T has been out for a few days but Matt Alexander summed up my feelings nicely: Although AT&T might frame this as innovation, such maneuvering is transparently self-serving. Evidently tired of having the customer blame them … Continued
There are so many considerations in design, color being only one.
Federico Viticci posted his in-depth review of the app. Great stuff.
Reuters:
Blackberry maker Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) is likely to preannounce poor February quarter results and forecast a “very weak” May quarter on lower sales of its phones, according to Jefferies & Co analysts.
I kind of feel bad.