Apple’s iTunes Festival scheduled for September
Apple has announced some details on the 2012 iTunes Festival in London. This 30-day music event will take place at The Roundhouse and feature free performances by Usher, Emeli Sandé, Jack White, Norah Jones and One Direction among others.
Tickets will be distributed via lottery, and fans in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and the Netherlands can vie for a seat. Apple will stream performances to computers running iTunes and iPhones, iPod touches and iPads with the iTunes Festival app installed. The fun starts on September 1 and runs for the whole month.
Apple's iTunes Festival scheduled for September originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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DropKey app encrypts Mac files, free through Sunday
WellRed Apps launched its DropKey file encryption app for Mac last month, but realized that there's one issue with gaining widespread acceptance -- it takes two to tango, and it takes two copies of DropKey (one each for sender and recipient) to send files securely. The company had been giving away one free license with each purchase of DropKey, but is going all-out through Sunday by making the app completely free.
DropKey pairs 2048-bit keys with 256-bit encryption for incredible security. The app, which requires a Mac running OS X 10.7 or later, is integrated with Address Book and makes encryption drop-dead simple.
When you launch DropKey for the first time, it generates your public and private encryption keys. You can email your public key to a trusted recipient from the app, which adds the key information to your address book card on the recipient's Mac. Prior to that time, a shared password is required; after the keys have been shared, you no longer need the password.
DropKey is a useful app if you need to send encrypted information to co-workers on a regular basis, and there's no better time than now to download a copy for free from the Mac App Store.
DropKey app encrypts Mac files, free through Sunday originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple assuming retail lease, plans to open new UK Apple Store
Apple's march to world domination continues, this time with a new Apple Store planned for the UK seaside city of Plymouth. What's surprising about this store announcement is that Apple apparently made managers of a successful Zara fashion store at the Drake Circus Shopping Centre (above) in Plymouth "an offer they can't refuse."
The Zara store, which fills a 21,045 square-foot space in the mall, has about ten years to go on a fifteen-year lease. Zara is out; Apple will assume the lease for the remainder of the time. ifoAppleStore notes that this space is almost double the size of the standard Apple Store, so Apple may just occupy the ground floor and sublet the upper level.
26 Zara employees are losing their jobs as a result of the announced closing, but there's a good chance that more jobs than that will be created when the Apple Store opens. The Drake Circus store is about 45 miles from the Princesshay Apple Store in Exeter, and fills in coverage for the Devon and Cornwall region of the country.
Apple assuming retail lease, plans to open new UK Apple Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sparrow 1.6 for Mac available with POP support, more
After releasing its mail app for the iPhone, Sparrow is back again with another update of its Mac email client. Version 1.6 adds the highly-anticipated support for Pop accounts, giving you a true unified inbox. There's also a handful of minor tweaks and bug fixes that'll make it easier for you to send and receive mail on your Mac. You can see the full list of changes on Sparrow's blog.
Sparrow for the Mac is available from the Mac App Store for US$9.99.
Sparrow 1.6 for Mac available with POP support, more originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple receives regulatory approval for solar farm in North Carolina
As noticed by AppleInsider, the North Carolina Utilities Commission approved Apple's application to build a 20-megawatt solar farm on land adjacent to its Maiden, North Carolina data center. The proposal was filed on February 15 and publicly announced at the end of March. It received no complaints and was approved by the Commission on May 14.
This approval gives Apple the green light to continue work on the solar farm, which will provide a portion of the power required by its data center. The solar array is expected to be completed by November and will start providing power late in December. Apple has said it will be the largest user-owned solar array in the United States.
Apple's data center has been the target of several Greenpeace demonstrations around the world. The environmental activist group criticizes Apple for its reliance on coal and says the company could improve its usage of clean power.
[Via AppleInsider]
Apple receives regulatory approval for solar farm in North Carolina originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Infinity Blade: Dungeons gameplay revealed
Our friends at Joystiq have procured the first gameplay footage of Epic's followup to the popular Infinity Blade series, called Infinity Blade: Dungeons, and you can get a look at it below. As you can see, it's set in the same world as the first two games, but features a completely different take on gameplay, using gestures to fight baddies from a top-down view rather than a fixed camera.
There are also some interesting crafting mechanics, like rubbing out imperfections on a blade you're making, or tapping dents in metal to clear them off. Infinity Blade: Dungeons was announced at the iPad 3 Apple event, and is supposed to be out later on this year.
Infinity Blade: Dungeons gameplay revealed originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sprint to offer $100 towards iPhone 4S upon trade-in
Sprint wants customers to buy the iPhone 4S and is offering a US$100 credit for the 4S to anyone who brings in an older iPhone as a trade. Details of this trade-in offer was published by TechnoBuffalo, who received it from a trusted source. This offer is supposedly available to both new and existing customers who agree to a new two-year contract and will last until June 30.
Sprint to offer $100 towards iPhone 4S upon trade-in originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Beepocalypse: How Apple could improve multi-device reminders
Today, beloved leader Victor pointed me to this write-up over at Tidbits. Although Joe Kissel's experience with quite so many devices (nine, I believe) falls a bit into the extremes of iOS/OS X use, the problem of dealing with distributed alarms is a real one: a single reminder can set off alerts all over the home or office. Surely, there's got to be a better way to focus alert attention.
Victor asked if I could brainstorm some geek solutions up that might help coordinate reminders with multi-device deployment (I won't even try to figure out "how to deal with bosses who remind you about too much stuff with shared calendars"). The idea is to let users choose reminder strategies across several devices: Macs, iPads, iPhones, etc.
The strategy brought up by Kissel was to add "do not disturb" buttons and slight time offsets to alerts. The opt-in would allow you to disable alerts either per-device or per-Apple ID. The offsets would allow users to respond to a dialog, allowing them to accept the reminder and disable triggers on other devices. The only slight problem with the time offsets approach is determining which device gets priority.
You can imagine being in bed, exhausted, sleepy and hearing a slightly long symphony of beeps that finally arrives at the iPhone on your bedside. Being able to prioritize a device (e.g. "always alert this iPhone first") would certainly help.
I also started thinking about activity -- and, specifically, giving priority to any device experiencing touches and mouse and key interaction (e.g. "always alert active devices first"). An active use pattern generally links to a human presence -- the likely target of a reminder. It's an easy way to connect alert reception to an audience.
Devices could trigger in order of most recent use, with the reminder ending once a user taps an acknowledge key. In the worst case, the reminder lasts 9 times longer than it did originally, but in the best case, only the most active device is triggered. Per Apple ID, of course. Your partner's devices would have its own alert chain.
But that doesn't take location into account . If your devices are idle but in distributed locations, say one at home, and one at work, which takes priority? Perhaps you'd want both to ring because there's no a priori knowledge of your location. Or maybe you'd want it to alert at work first and then home (e.g. "prioritize work").
And at home? If you have a device downstairs and another upstairs, they may seem to be at the same location-to-detection algorithms, but you certainly would want to be reminded of lunch no matter which floor you're on. At the same time, you'd think devices could potentially figure out they're clustered together.
What if Apple, in addition to slight time delays, could listen to hear alerts from triggers they know would happen on a related device in their Apple ID family (e.g. "listen for duplicate alerts")?
You might be able to skip the active "Okay I get it" button then. Devices could actively suppress extra alerts by listening for ones in their vicinity. The problem again, would be if two Apple IDs were linked to similar reminders but didn't share calendars explicitly.
For this, Apple could build in a "coordinate my alerts with..." option and harmony would once again reign in the land of the multi-device family.
Beepocalypse: How Apple could improve multi-device reminders originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Daily iPhone App: Amoebattle does RTS right
Most takes on real-time strategy for the App Store have to corrupt the form in some way, yet some still turn out well (see Total War Battles for a a great RTS game that takes a different turn). But Amoebattle impressively does RTS as you expect it. You choose units, send them around exploring, and tap to attack or move through the fog of war in real-time.
There are nine different unit types to be discovered during the campaign, and each has its own attributes and abilities. The graphics are cute and colorful, but the tactics are hard to master -- especially near the end, when the game has no shortage of challenges to overcome.
Amoebattle is an excellent RTS title for Apple's touchscreen devices, something that a lot of RTS fans have dreamed about ever since the iPad was first announced. It's not perfect, but it doesn't skimp from RTS traditions, even on a mobile device, and it holds up to them well. The game is US$4.99, in a universal version, on the App Store now.
Daily iPhone App: Amoebattle does RTS right originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Time Warner Cable, Viacom settle dispute over TV iPad app
Time Warner Cable and Viacom announced in a joint press release that the two companies have resolved their disagreement over video streaming to mobile devices. Details of the settlement were not announced.
The new-found friendliness means Viacom shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will be available to Time Warner Cable subscribers who watch TV via the TWC TV app. The additional channels should be added in the next few weeks. Customers can download The TWC TV app from the iOS App Store for free. It requires a Time Warner Cable subscription.
Time Warner Cable, Viacom settle dispute over TV iPad app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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