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In September of 2011, Google introduced its Flight Search service. The service provides information on upcoming flights to specific destinations, providing schedule, price, and airline information. Now Flight Search has become iOS-friendly, perfect for those who want to check on flight availability and pricing on the go.
What Google did is to make Flight Search fit the Safari browser on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The features of Flight Search include searching, discover by location, filtering results by price, flight time, airline, and calendar view.
One little trick I found is that you can use Siri to call up Flight Search. Just tell Siri to "Google flights between Denver and Las Vegas" (or whatever two points you're interested in flying between), and one of the top results that Siri will produce is a Flight Search listing. It's a fast way to get a first pass at flight schedules and pricing while keeping up your personal relationship with Siri.
Google makes Flight Search iOS (and Siri) friendly originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
In the aftermath of the passing of Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, there have been a number of posts in the blogosphere pointing out specific videos that were captured at various points in his life. Now Chill's Scott Hurff has created a huge collection of just about every Steve Jobs video available.
The collection of 81 videos (by my count) covers interviews with Jobs from 1980 through 2011, was curated by Hurff, who is the Director of User Experience for Chill. Some of the highlights include a series of videos showing Jobs during his tenure at NeXT, a compendium of new product announcements by Jobs, the classic 2005 Standford commencement address, and the famous Jobs - Gates interview with Walt Mossberg.
If you're looking for a single source for Steve Jobs memories, this Chill collection is a great place to look.
Fantastic collection of Steve Jobs videos originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
For baseball fans, there's no happier day than Super Bowl Sunday, since we know that means that in a few weeks catchers and pitchers will be reporting for early Spring Training. Well, the pitchers and catchers are warming up and now another sign of spring has appeared -- news about pricing of Major League Baseball's MLB At Bat 12 app for iPad and iPhone for MLB TV subscribers.
If you subscribed to MLB TV in the past or plan on subscribing to a year full of baseball games, you're in luck -- MLB At Bat '12 will be available for free. That's a nice little bonus, since the MLB TV subscription plan costs US$124.99 for the 2,430 game baseball season ($119.99 if you subscribed last year). In the past, subscribers had to pay for the iPad and iPhone apps separately, which could add about $30 to the tab for baseball fans.
The apps will be available on February 29, 2012 so that you're able to start watching streaming video of games on your iPad or iPhone as the Spring Training season begins. There's no word, however, on what content (if any) the free apps will provide for baseball fans who don't want to pay the MLB TV subscription fee.
MLB simplifies iPhone, iPad app pricing for MLB TV subscribers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Mike Daisey is making headlines with The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, a stirring monologue about his love of Apple and disappointment with working conditions in Apple's supplier factories. Daisey's monologue details his trip to China and his time with workers from Foxconn's Shenzhen plant. If you want to read the monologue yourself, you can now do so at Mike Daisey's website.
The well-known storyteller released the text of his performance under an open license which lets you not only download the piece, but perform the work yourself. Daisey writes that his work "may be performed by anyone, anywhere, royalty free."
The text is moving, but it doesn't compare to a live show which infuses energy and emotion into the words. Our own Mike Rose attended one of Daisey's performances, and you can read about his impressions in an earlier post. Now that the text is available to the public, I look forward to derivative works which capture a different aspect of this stirring account.
[Via The Verge]
Mike Daisey's "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" available under an open license originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple will open an Apple Store in Amsterdam on March 3, bringing the number of countries with an Apple Store up to 12. It will occupy two levels of the historic and beautiful Hirsch Building in Amsterdam city center. Rumors of the store's construction started in November of 2010.
The store's windows have been covered with orange (orange is the national Dutch color) barricades for the past few weeks, with three stacked apples inspired by the Amsterdam coat of arms.
If you attend the opening, please send us your photos and stories, we'd love to check them out.
Amsterdam Apple Store to open March 3 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple started selling albums from The Beatles last year and now the company has released a set of ringtones taken from the band's most popular albums. The selections span a wide range of titles including early titles like A Hard Day's Night and later tracks like the 1970 chart-topper Let It Be.
You can buy the ringtones from the iTunes app using your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Each ringtone is US$1.29 or you can grab the 1 collection for $12.99 which has 27 ringtones from the band's twelve studio albums and 22 singles.
[Via ipodnn]
iTunes offers first Beatles ringtones originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
No doubt you watched Nightline's special edition about Shenzhen's Foxconn factory where workers assemble iPhones, iPads and Macs. If you missed it, you can watch it online at ABC's website (US only). As we noted last night, the documentary showed a rather clean Foxconn factory filled with young, Chinese workers.
Missing from the show, says Debby Sze Wan Chan of Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), were the underage workers who Foxconn hid during the Fair Labor Association (FLA) inspection.
Speaking to AppleInsider, Chan said "All underage workers, between 16-17 years old, were not assigned any overtime work and some of them were even sent to other departments." She claims two workers in the Zhenghou plant told her Foxconn was "prepared for the inspection."
A similar sentiment was expressed by FLA president Auret van Heerden who said he expects Foxconn to put on a show. Despite Foxconn's careful presentation, van Heerden asserts the FLA's bottom-up interviews could uncover any issues in the factory. It's worthy to note that Apple is a member of the FLA, paid US$250,000 to join the group and funded this latest round of inspections.
Though Apple works with the FLA, Chan claims she has received a cold shoulder from the company. No one within Apple has responded to her requests; supposedly the company even refused to receive reports, documentaries and petition cards from her when she traveled to Apple's California headquarters. A security guard who escorted her out of the building at One Infinite Loop took the paperwork and promised to deliver the items to someone in charge, but she has not heard back from Apple.
Speaking at a recent Goldman Sachs technology conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook told the audience that Apple is working to address underage labor, safety issues, and excessive overtime at its contract factories. Chan, though, doubts Apple has "any commitments to do so."
Factory workers claim Foxconn hid underage employees prior to inspection originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple today released a developer preview of OS X Mountain Lion — the ninth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system — which brings popular apps and features from iPad to the Mac and accelerates the pace of OS X innovation. Mountain Lion introduces Messages, Notes, Reminders, and Game Center to the Mac, as well as Notification Center, Share Sheets, Twitter integration, and AirPlay Mirroring. The preview release of Mountain Lion is available to Mac Developer Program members starting today. Mac users will be able to upgrade to Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store in late summer 2012.
The New York Times reports that a MacBook Air one-to-one program is helping raise student attendance, engagement, and performance at North Carolina’s Mooresville Graded School District, which “has quietly emerged as the de facto national model of the digital school.” The article notes, “Mooresville ranks 100th out of 115 districts in North Carolina in terms of dollars spent per student — $7,415.89 a year — but it is now third in test scores and second in graduation rates.”
Apple today announced that the Fair Labor Association will conduct special voluntary audits of Apple’s final assembly suppliers, including Foxconn factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China, at Apple’s request. “We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we’ve asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. A team of labor rights experts led by FLA president Auret van Heerden began the first inspections Monday morning at the facility in Shenzhen known as Foxconn City.
USA Today reviewer Edward C. Baig describes his experience using the first Multi-Touch digital textbooks published for the iBooks 2 for iPad app, noting that they are “engaging in ways that were simply not possible with the textbooks I grew up with.” Baig likes the portability, updatability, and low pricing of iBooks 2 digital textbooks and touts specific features like instant search, highlighting, bookmarking, and interactive graphics. Writes Baig, “It’s better to see an animated tour of the genome in E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth than just to read about it. ”
Bloomberg’s Peter Burrows reports that Apple is making rapid headway selling into corporations — especially financial services and pharmaceutical firms. Burrows writes that Apple’s corporate sales are being driven chiefly by iPad, which “has become a standard business tool.” The article quotes Matt Wallach, co-founder of Veeva Systems, who says: “I’ve seen a lot of devices come and go over the years. Nothing touches the speed of adoption of the iPad.”
Apple today released Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.3, a significant update to its revolutionary professional video editing application. Version 10.0.3 introduces Multicam Editing, which automatically syncs up to 64 angles of video and photos; advanced chroma keying for handling complex adjustments right in the app; and enhanced XML for a richer interchange with third-party apps and plug-ins that support the fast growing Final Cut Pro X ecosystem. It also includes a beta version of Broadcast Monitoring that supports Thunderbolt devices as well as PCIe cards. Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.3 is available from the Mac App Store for $299.99 (US) to new users, or as a free update for existing Final Cut Pro X customers.
StudioDaily’s Beth Marchant reports on “key features” delivered in Final Cut Pro version 10.0.3. Marchant interviews Radical Media CTO Evan Schechtman — an early adopter of Final Cut Pro X — who calls version 10.0.3 “an even bigger deal than the original release,” noting that his company is “ready to transition completely to Final Cut Pro X now that broadcast monitoring and multicam editing are in the mix.”
Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 first quarter, which spanned 14 weeks and ended December 31, 2011. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion, or $13.87 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $26.74 billion and net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. “We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.”
Apple today announced iBooks 2 for iPad, featuring iBooks textbooks, an entirely new kind of textbook that’s dynamic, engaging, and truly interactive. iBooks textbooks offer iPad users gorgeous, full-screen textbooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, and unrivaled navigation. Leading education services companies including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, and Pearson will deliver educational titles on the iBookstore, with most priced at $14.99 or less. And with the new iBooks Author, anyone with a Mac can create iBooks textbooks and publish them to Apple’s iBookstore. Starting today, iBooks 2 is available free from the App Store and iBooks Author is available free from the Mac App Store
Apple today announced an all-new iTunes U app, giving educators and students everything they need on their iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch to teach and take entire courses. The all-new iTunes U app lets teachers create and manage courses — including essential components such as lectures, assignments, books, quizzes, and syllabuses — and offer them to millions of iOS users around the world. The app also gives iOS users access to the world’s largest catalog of free educational content from top universities including Cambridge, Duke, Harvard, Oxford and Stanford. And starting today, any K-12 school district can offer full courses through the iTunes U app.
Apple today announced that iPhone 4S will be available in China and 21 additional countries on Friday, January 13. iPhone 4S features Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for fast performance and stunning graphics; an all-new 8-megapixel camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD-resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. “Customer response to our products in China has been off the charts,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With the launch in China next week, iPhone 4S will be available in over 90 countries, making this our fastest iPhone rollout ever.”
Just in time for the holidays, Apple’s fifth Manhattan store opens for business at New York’s world-famous Grand Central Terminal at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 9. The store overlooks the historic Main Concourse and features two Genius Bars, entire rooms dedicated to Personal Setup and Personal Training, and an expert team of 315 employees. Holiday shoppers can test-drive Apple products, attend 15-minute Express workshops, get free technical support, and more.
In an interview at National Geographic’s Adventure blog, director Tim Kemple of Camp 4 Collective — an outdoor video and film production company — describes using iPhone 4S to shoot a hi-def music video at the Great Salt Lake as an experiment in remote location capture. Kemple reports getting excellent video from iPhone 4S, noting that “because it’s always with you means you end up using it when you’d least expect.” The interview includes tips for stabilizing shots, optimizing for iOS 5 features, using helpful apps in extreme environments, and shooting in low light.
Students at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, are using Mac notebooks to research class assignments and show results in ways they never could before. These include songs and podcasts recorded and edited in GarageBand, digital presentations and portfolios created in Keynote, campus news videos edited in iMovie and Final Cut Pro, and even iOS apps built using Xcode. Says sixth grade teacher Sandy Chang, “The Macs in my classroom are completely indispensable.”
In a CNET Editors’ review, Jason Parker gives the new GarageBand for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch 5 out of 5 stars, citing the app’s “uniquely designed and authentic-sounding instruments, smart touch interface, and tools that make song creation easy.” He adds: “Anyone with even a passing interest in creating music should download GarageBand for iOS. Frankly, we wish we could give it more than five stars for the virtually unlimited song possibilities, ease of use, and excellent touch-screen controls.”
New York Times columnist David Pogue reports on AssistiveTouch, an “amazingly thoughtful” iOS 5 feature that makes it possible to complete Multi-Touch gestures using one finger or a stylus. Writes Pogue: “I doubt that people with severe motor control challenges represent a financially significant number of the iPhone’s millions of customers. But somebody at Apple took them seriously enough to write a complete, elegant and thoughtful feature that takes down most of the barriers to using an app phone.”
Apple announced that GarageBand, its breakthrough music creation app, is now available for iPhone and iPod touch. Introduced earlier this year on iPad, GarageBand uses Apple’s Multi-Touch interface to make it easy for anyone to create and record their own songs, even if they’ve never played an instrument before. GarageBand 1.1 for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch is available on the App Store for $4.99 (US) to new users, or as a free update for existing GarageBand for iPad customers.
Wired Magazine reports that Newsstand, a new feature of iOS 5, is “hitting it big with traditional media publishers thanks to its windfall delivery of new digital subscriptions.” Newsstand keeps all app subscriptions for newspapers, magazines, and journals in one convenient place on the iOS 5 home screen and makes it easy to shop for new reading material. Wired cites Conde Nast and The New York Times among publishers seeing large spikes in app subscriptions since Newsstand launched.
Vogue’s “Need It Now” column features the new Cards from Apple, which lets users create and mail beautifully crafted cards personalized with their own text and photos from their iPhone or iPod touch. Each card is just $2.99 when sent within the U.S. and $4.99 when sent to or from anywhere else — postage included. Vogue calls the Cards app “nothing short of genius” for reviving the almost forgotten pleasure of receiving a “real, honest-to-goodness paper greeting card in the mail” and concludes: “This is the kind of vintage innovation we would all do well to download.”
Reviewing iPhone 4S at TechCrunch, columnist MG Siegler finds much to like, including its faster speed, improved camera, iOS 5 with Notification Center, and Siri, which he calls “the true killer feature of the device.” He adds: “The iPhone 4 was a great product. The best smartphone ever made. Now it cedes that title to the iPhone 4S.”
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