Apple releases Garageband and updated iMovie for iOS

To coincide with the release of the iPad 2 today, Apple's let loose both an update to the iOS iMovie app, supporting Apple's newest tablet, as well as a brand new GarageBand app for iPad. Released yesterday, both apps can be had for $5 a piece, and with some positive reviews coming in already, $4.99 seems quite a deal for the amount of utility you get, especially with GarageBand.

Both apps support the iPad 2, with iMovie also supporting the iPhone 4 and 4th generation iPod touch running iOS 4.2.6 or higher. GarageBand supports Apple's first-generation iPad too, but Apple has chosen not to support the original iPad with iMovie. The original iPad can run the application if you can get it installed however, and we've got a quick guide to show you how to just that without jailbreaking your iPad.

If you're an iPad owner and you've ever wanted to edit video on that 9.7-inch screen whilst out and about, or fancy yourself a budding musician, then iMovie and GarageBand are well worth checking out.

Apple releases Garageband and updated iMovie for iOS originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/11/apple-releases-garageband-and-updated-imovie-for-ios/

FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL FAIR ISAAC FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS F5 NETWORKS EPICOR SOFTWARE EMULEX

BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 screenshots leak

A leaked early version of RIM's upcoming BlackBerry Messenger 6 has been making the rounds since late February, but images of the new app are just now beginning to appear. Over at CrackBerry, the crew has shared a handful of images of BBM 6 in action. Unfortunately, you won't get a glimpse at a chat or file transfer -- only the profile screens (after the break) and what you see above. All that's really revealed so far is the option to set custom contact and chat colors and BlackBerry OS 6.1-style icons.

CrackBerry also warns against installing the leaked BBM 6 app. There's no guarantee this app hasn't been tampered with, and BlackBerry devices are becoming a more common target for cybercriminals.

Continue reading BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 screenshots leak

BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 screenshots leak originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/blackberry-messenger-6-0-screenshots-leak/

ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS SAIC SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES SES SHAW COMMUNICATIONS SIEMENS

Gmail Contacts auto-save can now be disabled plus myriad of small updates

The Gmail team has been busy behind the scenes of late addressing a plentiful supply of little niggles. First up on the chopping block is the annoying (or amazing, depending on how you look at it) auto-save contacts feature, which has been the bane of many-a-contact neat-freak (myself included) since its inception. Now Google has finally added an option to turn off the auto-save contacts feature. It's available in the 'General' tab of Gmail settings going forward, and should please anyone who syncs their phone contacts with Gmail contacts.

Gmail will also now point out any incorrectly entered email addresses visually, rather than simply telling you something was wrong. This will be handy for anyone addressing emails to a long list of recipients, as it'll be a lot easier to spot the typo. A few of Gmail's error messages have also migrated from pop-ups to in-window messages that allow you to action things more easily, while still getting on with the task in hand. Gmail will also now send you back to the message you were looking at if you happen to create a filter for 'messages like these,' a nice tweak that should save you some time.

If you're into your keyboard shortcuts, Gmail now has one turned on by default and that's the shortcut help key. Hit 'shift' and '?' together and you'll be presented with an overlay detailing all the keyboard shortcuts available to boost your productivity. Last but not least, the 'refresh' link is now a button on to match the rest of the buttons on the toolbar. Consistency in UI is important for a decent user experience, and now Gmail conforms just a little bit more.

To check out these little changes, all you have to do is head to your Gmail and have a look around the UI. Many people rely daily on Gmail in the browser, and these small, but important changes, can make the difference between a slick and productive experience, and a sluggish and frustrating one.

Gmail Contacts auto-save can now be disabled plus myriad of small updates originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/gmail-contacts-auto-save-can-now-be-disabled-plus-myriad-of-smal/

INTERSECTIONS INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM) INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTEL

Poll: Will the Nokia Lumia Lure Mobile Developers to Windows Phone?

Microsoft is known to pay a developer ecosystem to stay loyal to its platforms and products. That has become no different with Windows Phone. On the other end, Nokia has a worldwide base of developers that are very loyal to the device maker, especially in emerging markets. The question remains though, can Nokia and Microsoft capture the hearts and minds of regular developers that would normally focus on iOS and Android? That is the question for this week's ReadWriteMobile poll.

Sponsor

Talking with developers and Microsoft project managers for Windows Phone development at Nokia World 2011 this week, it became clear that Windows Phone indeed has a pretty loyal developer base. Whether Microsoft subsidizes them to stay around is another story.

A development team from Halfbrick, which made popular games Fruit Ninja and Monster Dash, took part in the Nokia World Hackathon this week. We ran into them at the (oddly glamorous) cocktail event on the first night of the conference and got them to share some of their thoughts on Windows Phone and what Nokia is doing with it.

The graphics rendering on the Nokia Lumia devices is terrific. It is hardware accelerated and uses WebGL for its interactive features. There are a variety of location-based APIs and SDKs for Nokia's different flavors of maps and its Drive and Public Transportation services. From Nokia World 2011, these are the top functions that Nokia has brought to Windows Phone.

On the Microsoft side, developers like Halfbrick both like and dislike it. They like it because, as a native framework, all the tools are provided and are easier to use. As a stand-alone development, Windows Phone is one of the easiest and most intuitive. On the other hand, Windows Phone is hard to port to and from other platforms. Some basis of code can make it over, but Windows Phone truly does stand alone in the developer ecosystem.

That brings us to the developers. What will it take to really grab on Windows Phone as a platform the same way the ecosystem has with iOS and Android? Does it come down to phone sales, pure and simple? Can developers be enticed with offers and incentives? Take the poll and let us know you thoughts on the Lumia and the Windows Phone developer ecosystem in the comments.

Discuss

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/aTx0Rg2lodU/poll-will-the-nokia-lumia-lure.php

SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS SILICON LABORATORIES SI INTERNATIONAL SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC GAMES SANDISK

New Wikipedia Layer on Geoloqi Gives You Vision Beyond the Greek Gods

Last night I rode my wife's bike through North East Portland, Oregon and my new favorite iPhone app purred in my pocket with push notifications each time I passed through a new little neighborhood. "King is a neighborhood bounded by MLK and the river..." it whispered (in text). "Vernon is a traditionally working class neighborhood now subject to gentrification," (like nerds biking through it and freaking out about iPhone push notifications, presumably) it told me.

Wherever I go, whatever I do, if you or I have the mobile app from Geoloqi running and the new Wikipedia layer turned on, we'll receive push notifications whenever we are in the physical proximity of a place or a thing that has been written about in Wikipedia, the world's largest and richest encyclopedia. Now we will know about the neighborhoods we're in, the buildings we're in front of, the landmarks we visit: beyond old fashioned information placards, but with the infinite knowledge of the Internet. If that's not a Super Power, I don't know what is.

Sponsor

I should confess: apparently it was my idea. Hah! Portland, Oregon geolocation startup Geoloqi announced today that it has turned on a layer of location data for Wikipedia, enabling users to opt-in to geofenced push notifications for geo-coded encyclopedia entries. The geo-enriched data was acquired from data startup Infochimps and co-founder Amber Case mentioned in the blog post announcing the new feature that it came from conversations the company and I had in its early days. Awesome! I'm sure they would have thought of it otherwise, of course, it's a pretty obvious idea I think.

Below: I will walk a finite but unknown number of steps on the earth before I die. I appreciate an app that offers to help me understand the places I take those steps, as I take them and with the help of knowledge accumulated from other mortal beings unknown to me and all around the world. Except in this case I was biking, Instagramming, Twitter DMing and being Geoloqied all at the same time.

All I have really ever wanted from the Internet is something like this. It is a robot that gently taps my shoulder whenever I am in the presence of a place or a thing for which there is an invisible story written in the sky, collaboratively nurtured by editors all over the world for years, that I can pull down into the illuminated device in my hand.

I can't wait for even more layers to be added to Geoloqi. Hopefully the company will make it easy for anyone to publish datasets to the platform and there will be enough interest that I'll be able to switch on layers of locations of ceramists' studios open to the public and places significant to the history of artisan cheese. Or whatever. You name it.

Rose colored glasses? Give me glasses (no don't, actually, and no brain implant) or give me a mobile app that lets me unobtrusively see slices of reality otherwise invisible but already associated by place with wherever I am. If there are infinite ways of describing a place, then each of those descriptions could be turned into data, associated with other related descriptions and opened up as a new dimension in which to experience standing on earth and freaking out. If flipping between those dimensions is as easy as sliding a mobile app's button from on to off, well then I think we've found a fitting tribute to the ancient salmon that died in the hydroelectric dams used to power all this stuff. (Not really, but I dare you to come up with a better one available yet.)

Speaking of power, Geoloqi says that the next step will be to fix its still troubled relationship with your phone's juice. Persistent location tracking is hard work on that little battery but the company thinks it's come up with a good technology solution for optimization. Case said today in her blog post that the solution would be implemented soon and made available to developers of other apps struggling with the problem.

Now go forth into the world and see it annotated with the shared knowledge of everyone who has contributed to Wikipedia. I am so excited about it!

Discuss

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/1MnIOdZzKBQ/new_wikipedia_layer_on_geoloqi_gives_you_vision_be.php

FEI COMPANY FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL FAIR ISAAC FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS F5 NETWORKS EPICOR SOFTWARE

RIM's BlackBerry Messenger Social Platform beta SDK now available for developers

RIM have announced that their BlackBerry Messenger-based social initiative, dubbed 'BBM Social Platform,' has made it into public beta. Promised at the end of September last year, RIM has created a BBM SDK, opening up its popular messaging service to developers for integration into other apps, pushing the social edge, allowing embedded chat, status updates, location sharing, and file transfers.

This will give developers the ability to embed BBM chats into games for example, creating what RIM calls 'Super Apps,' allowing gamers to communicate over BBM without exiting the game and without having to have pre-existing contacts to chat like you do in the ordinary BBM client.

Currently the beta SDK is only for Java developers, but RIM promised that BlackBerry WebWorks developers will get a taste of the pie starting in April, including all the API access given to Java apps. Interested developers can head on over to the BlackBerry Developers zone for more information or download the SDK.

RIM's BlackBerry Messenger Social Platform beta SDK now available for developers originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/17/rims-blackberry-messenger-social-platform-beta-sdk-now-availabl/

WESTERN DIGITAL VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC VERISIGN

LaidOffWithMe: The Day The Axe Fell At BuyWithMe

Editor's note: Guest contributor Peter D'Amato�was recently laid off as a copywriter at daily deals site BuyWithMe, which cut half its staff and is trying to sell itself to Gilt Groupe. �Below is his account of that day.

October 19 was a rainy Wednesday afternoon, and the remaining employees of BuyWithMe poured out cups of whiskey and wine from bottles purchased by the CEO. An untouched bottle of Prosecco sat ignored on another table. The mood was gloomy. The group had already torn through the half dozen boxes of pizza that had been ordered?it had maybe been enough pizza for the fraction of the company that would still be employed at the end of the day, but it was uncomfortably clear that it had not been ordered to feed all of the more than 200 employees waiting to find out if they were being terminated due to BuyWithMe?s failure to ?identify sufficient funding to sustain [its] business current employment levels? (as my termination letter so ungrammatically put it).

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/zG97-SuNPBw/

MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY NII HOLDINGS NIKON