Tag Archives: macworld

HBO Go 2.0 finally allows AirPlay streaming to Apple TV

Posted on February 12, 2013 by admin

The HBO Go app for iPhone and iPad scored a long-overdue update on Tuesday. As HBO’s co-president Eric Kessler promised at the Dive Into D conference, the app—along with Cinemax’s Max Go app —can now stream video wirelessly to the Apple TV. HBO Go is a free offering included with a paid subscription to HBO, though it’s not available in all cable markets. When your cable company does support it, you can use the service to stream HBO’s catalog of television shows, including its current lineup, along with a selection of movies. The iOS app works great for watching HBO content, but up until now, it has blocked the use of AirPlay or AirPlay mirroring to send that premium content to your Apple TV-connected television. That changes with version 2.0 of the app, which makes good sense. Mountain Lion users could already use AirPlay mirroring on recent Macs to get HBO Go content on their televisions, and HBO also offers an HBO Go app on the TV-connected Roku. One wonders whether an official Apple TV channel for HBO Go may be in the offing—“We will get on Apple TV, as we’ve said all along,” Kessler said at the Dive Into D event—but maybe one shouldn’t get too greedy, either. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

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Macworld/iWorld Video: Apple in 2013

Posted on February 11, 2013 by admin

What does the future hold for Apple? That topics is on the mind of a lot of Mac fans—and on the minds of our editors during Macworld/iWorld 2013. In this panel discussion from this year’s show, senior editor Dan Moren talks to Serenity Caldwell and Lex Friedman of Macworld and frequent contributor John Moltz of It’s a Very Nice Website about what the future holds for the company. Specifically, this four-minute clip focuses on what’s ahead for the iPad this year in light of last year’s multiple updates to Apple’s tablet line. You can catch the full Apple in 2013 discussion at Macworld’s YouTube channel . If you’re the sort who doesn’t need video to go along with your audio, you can also hear the discussion on our most recent podcast . And of course, Lex and Dan explored the topic last month when they made predictions about what Apple might release in 2013 . Continue reading →

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Facebook adds voice and video to iOS app

Posted on February 4, 2013 by admin

Facebook released an updated version of its universal app for iPhone and iPad over the weekend, adding voice and video features. The update also improves the app’s ability to let users know when a friend is nearby. Most of the upgrades come in the messages portion of the app. Facebook now allows you to take and attach a photo while composing the message—you can also add emoji, or even compose a short voice message. (Perhaps to prevent dreaded “butt dialing,” the voice feature requires that you press and hold the record button during the entirety of the message, instead of a click-on/click-off model at the beginning and end.) The video feature is a little less obvious within the app: When you’re updating your status, tap on the camera icon in the status menu and you’re given the option of taking a photo or recording a video. Facebook doesn’t specify a time limit to the amount of video you can shoot within the app—but when I tried to record a half-minute of video within the app, that video disappeared. A five-second clip, however, uploaded just fine. Facebook is also promising that its “nearby” tab is has been improved, making it easier to “share and connect with” favorite places using the tab. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

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Expo Notes: IDrive offers online backup and cloud-based syncing services

Posted on February 2, 2013 by admin

In its first year on the Macworld/iWorld show floor, IDrive told a compelling story about its cloud-based services. In fact, IDrive offers a pair of services: The core IDrive product is an online backup solution, and IDrive Sync provides Dropbox-style intra-Mac file syncing. IDrive, the online backup service, is a true archival offering. That is, when you delete your files from your Mac, IDrive holds onto them—optionally, forever. Some of the company’s competitors only archive such files for a finite window, like 30 days, before removing them. You can sign up for a free IDrive plan with 5GB of storage. For $5 per month (or $50 per year), you get 150GB of storage; for $15 per month or $150 per year, you get 500GB. Archived files count against that quota, so you get the option to delete archived files that are gobbling up too much of your storage space. The company offers business storage plans, too. IDrive’s Mac app for handling the backup duties runs natively on OS X, while some of its competitors like CrashPlan rely on technologies like Java instead. On the other hand, CrashPlan offers unlimited backup storage, which IDrive doesn’t currently match. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

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Expo Notes: EasyWeb promises a replacement for iWeb

Posted on February 2, 2013 by admin

Apple’s iWeb publishing software rode off into the sunset last year, but the guys at Rage Software are convinced the world is still looking for a suitable replacement. Coming soon is EasyWeb, which they say will help users create their own Web pages just as effectively as Apple’s now-shuttered Web service—and just as easily. “We’ve had iWeb clients begging us to come up with this,” said Rage’s Paul Levine, who previously developered add-ons for iWeb, and knew a number of the service’s dedicated users. “A lot of people didn’t realize how popular iWeb was.” The EasyWeb service is still in beta testing—it only has a Facebook page , and Rage Software only announced the product right before the opening of Macworld/iWorld. But a quick demonstration of EasyWeb certainly looked like it was worthy of the name: Users start out with predesigned templates, then customize them by dragging and dropping in elements—like menus, image galleries, social media buttons and more—at the user’s discretion. After the page is create, Levine said, users will have access to “one-click” publishing; Rage offers web hosting starting at $5 a month. EasyWeb should be available to the public “within a month or two.” To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

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Expo Notes: The FrameShift Mini props up your iPhone 5 or iPad mini

Posted on February 2, 2013 by admin

Last year, I loved a silly little suction cup doohickey from Insanely Great Products. The Willy isn’t much, but it offered a fun and clever way to prop up one or two iPhones at a nice viewing angle. The company returned to the Macworld/iWorld show floor in 2013 with a new stand: the FrameShift Mini . Built from aircraft-grade anodized aluminum and military-grade rubber, the adjustable FrameShift Mini can hold the iPhone 5 and iPad mini alike, at a wide range of angles. It’s available in red and gray versions. You can position your iOS device in either portrait or landscape orientation, and the impressively secure kickstand in the back can be positioned just about anywhere. Insanely Great’s reps were quick to demonstrate how the FrameShift Mini could achieve an angle many stands can’t, allowing you to FaceTime from a seated position without needing to slouch down to be seen. The FrameShift Mini costs $79 and is shipping now. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

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Macworld Best of Show: Where are they now?

Posted on February 2, 2013 by admin

Axiotron created Mac-based tablets by modifying Apple MacBooks. The tablets required the use of a stylus and had a Core 2 Duo CPU, hard drive, optical drive, and built-in GPS. The company’s first Mac tablet, the Modbook, won Best of Show at the San Francisco Macworld Expo. Axiotron eventually went out of business, but co-founder Andreas E. Haas still believes in the Mac tablet. His new company is called Modbook and the new Modbook Pro is available for $3499. Continue reading →

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Expo Notes: MyFC’s PowerTrekk charges your iPhone through science

Posted on February 2, 2013 by admin

The MyFC PowerTrekk is a novel accessory for powering your iPhone. Just add water. The company’s booth on the Macworld/iWorld show floor was one of a very few where visitors could expect a science lesson along with the product demonstration. The product in question? It’s for charging your iPhone or other USB-connecting device, with a special focus on clean technology: hydrogen fuel cells. The approximately $200 charging unit, available in green, yellow, and orange versions, uses a disposable power pack on one side; on the other side, you add about a tablespoon of water. As the water runs through the material inside the power pack, the H2O breaks down into its component parts: hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is what’s needed for the MyFC to generate power—enough power, the company says, to charge up an empty iPhone twice. The charger can output five watts. You get three power packs when you buy the PowerTrekk; each is one-time-use only. You can pick up additional three-packs for $10. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

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Expo Notes: Adonit Jot Touch stylus uses new pressure sensing technology (video)

Posted on February 2, 2013 by admin

While I’m no drawing expert (I leave the artistic stuff to my creative colleague, Serenity Caldwell ), I do like to doodle. And Adonit’s latest offering, which debuted at Macworld/iWorld this week, is a fun and impressive stylus tool to use. The latest Jot Touch , a pressure-sensitive stylus for the iPad, features a newer Bluetooth chip and better battery life. (Adonit claims that the battery will last up to one month.) While it looks similar to its predecessor , this second-generation offering has some big differences under the hood: apart from the battery life boost, it sports a new sensor that Adonit promises 2,048 levels of sensitivity. When not in use, the Touch has a protective pen cap to keep it safe. Adonit also demoed its new accompanying software for the Jot Touch, which features an impressive palm-rejection technology that only picks up your stylus strokes. That way, you can rest your hand on the iPad’s screen without having to worry about accidentally smudging your work in progress.  Although the software is in beta now, it will pair directly with the Jot Touch and will work with all iPad apps that support Adonit products. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

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Expo Notes: The iSlip Lite cleans your tablet’s screen

Posted on February 2, 2013 by admin

It’s just a thin slip of elastic fabric, yet it means so much. Last year, Cooper Product unveiled the iSlip, an elastic band of microfiber that you could fasten to your iPad and use as desired for cleaning your device’s screen. This year, the company is back with the iSlip Lite. The iSlip Lite is available in 10-inch and 7-inch varieties; the former fits the full-size iPad, and the latter fits the iPad mini. Compared to the original iSlip, the Lite edition is—surprise!—thinner, but the company says it retains all its old screen-cleaning benefits. The 10-inch version is available in all sorts of colors, and the smaller version is offered in only black. As an added perk, the new material in use on the iSlip Lite is more amenable to screen printing, so you can order custom units with your own imagery printed upon them. The iSlip Lite costs $8 in both sizes. If you spot the black and red model on the Macworld/iWorld show floor, and you mention the San Francisco 49ers, you can pick that particular band up for just $6. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

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