Apple to Spotify: We’ll take it from here.
Apple’s long-awaited new streaming-music service, Apple Music, isn’t just a shot at the dominant player, which has 60 million active users. The new app challenges the way people get songs from Apple itself, which has long placed a high premium on its iTunes digital download storefront and emphasized how that platform revolutionized the music industry.
Apple’s new service, unveiled during Monday’s keynote at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, takes iTunes to the next level by making 30 million of the expansive catalog’s songs streamable. That’s millions of songs on demand, right alongside the music you already own. You can comb through the iTunes catalog to find tracks you like or want to save for later.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Apple brought out the big guns, from CEO Tim Cook to musical performer Drake, but perhaps the loudest reaction at the company's Worldwide Developers' Conference Monday in San Francisco resulted from news that the Swift programming language is being open sourced."We think Swift is the next big programming language, the one that we'll all be doing application and system programming on for 20 years to come," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering who in addition to discussing Swift introduced Apple's iOS 9 developments. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Major changes are coming to our iPads, from the way we select text, to the way we interact with our favorite apps and play videos.Speaking at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, Senior Vice President Craig Federighi showcased an updated version of iOS 9 that included a few new features designed specifically with tablet users in mind.MORE FROM WWDC: Apple's El Capitan OS X 10.11 to bring natural language search, other enhancementsLet’s start with QuickType, an enhancement to the iPad’s onscreen keyboard that includes new shortcuts and turns into a trackpad when you place two fingers on it. The trackpad can be used to select text, move objects around, and generally combine the convenience of touch controls and the precision of a mouse.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Developers will be able to create applications that run natively on the Apple watch using a new version of the wearable device’s operating system announced Monday.
CEO Tim Cook gave the announcement a brief mention during his introduction to Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote at San Francisco’s Moscone West conference center. His proclamation drew cheers from the audience of developers, who will be able to do more with the Apple Watch than they could at the time of the device’s launch in April.
It’s an improvement to the current state of Apple’s Watch OS, which currently requires users have their iPhones on and within range in order to work with third party apps. That limitation has been criticized by both developers and reviewers alike, since it reduces the Watch’s utility.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With WWDC slated to begin in less than an hour now, Apple will be providing live streams of what promises to be an exciting event. That said, live streaming will only be officially supported on either iOS devices or Macs. Which is to say, Windows or Android users who want to keep tabs on what Apple is announcing today are out of luck.Or so you might have thought.As it turns out, there is a clever way for Windows and Android users to tune in to Apple's live presentation today.Here's how it works.Download the popular VLC media player app to your computer or your smartphone. The desktop link is here while the Android link is here.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The future doesn’t look very bright right now for alternative mobile operating systems Firefox OS, Tizen and Ubuntu.It’s always been difficult to attract developers to these platforms, and now smartphones powered by the OSes are also falling behind affordable Android devices on hardware specs. So not only must their users put up with a smaller selection of apps, but also with less powerful devices.Struggling to compete with Apple in the high-end of the smartphone market, the Android camp has increasingly turned its attention to mid-range and low-end products. While this has been good for consumers looking for more affordable products, it has turned up the competitive heat on Firefox OS, Tizen and Ubuntu.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
All of the recent hoop-la about extending smartphone battery life with special metals, using graphite batteries to charge a device in seconds, and even power-reducing microprocessors, could well be moot.Researchers at Ohio State University think that the way to extend battery life is not by improving battery tech—something we've found hard to do in comparison with other tech innovations—but by using the existing energy that's already found in the device that goes to waste.The reason: the radio signals emitted by a smartphone are a form of power.So harvest the stray signals, convert it all to DC, and squirt it back into the phone in the form of electricity, the researchers say.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
After enormous early success, Apple's iPad and its myriad competitors and imitators are facing a bit of an identity crisis. As laptops get smaller and lighter and smartphones get bigger and more powerful, tablet sales are slowing. According to IDC, the global 2015 tablet market will be 221.8 million units in 2015, down 3.8% from 2014.That's still a lot of tablets, of course, but the devices are increasingly seen as "nice-to-have" complements to smartphones for everyday use and awkward substitutes for a PC when you have to do real work. If tablets are going to regain their place at the center of mobile computing, something has to change.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Every once in a while, there comes a bit of tech that lets you do what you're already doing, but in simpler and more effective ways. After using the Apple Watch for a month, I've decided that the watch is that kind of product. If you're already in the Apple ecosystem, chances are that you'll want one.The design of the watch is typical Apple minimalism: A simple square of stainless steel, aluminum, or gold measuring 1.65 x 1.41 x 0.41 in. for the 42mm versions and 1.52 x 1.31 x 0.41 in. for the 38mm version. Weight varies by model and materials, ranging from 2.43 oz. for the 42mm Edition to .88 oz for the 38mm Sport. All models feature a capacitive multitouch Retina display with Force Touch technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google Now and its “cards”—those bite-sized alerts, reminders, and personalized recommendations—are so prescient, they’re positively spooky. One such card might tell you that today’s the birthday of a close friend, while another might point out a news article that it somehow knew you’d want to click.Google Now cards may also alert you to traffic jams on the way home, thunderstorms in tomorrow’s forecast, that dinner rezzie you made for Friday, a thrilling victory by your favorite baseball team, or a hot new bistro in your neck of the woods.ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Google Graveyard: Here's what Google has killed
So, what’s going on here? Is Google Now reading our minds or something? Can these Google Now cards be controlled—or stopped?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
South Korean team wins DARPA bot battleSouth Korea’s Team Kaist took the top honors in the DARPA Robotics Challenge finals on Saturday after a two-and-a-half-year battle. The group won a $2 million prize in the competition among 24 teams of roboticists from around the world, Computerworld reports. Their nearly six-foot-tall, 176-pound humanoid robot finished all eight tasks in the course in just 44 minutes and 28 seconds.Apple Pay for UK, streaming music to debut at WWDCApple is expanding the reach of its mobile payments system, with Apple Pay slated for launch in the U.K. in a couple of months, the Telegraph reports. The newspaper cited sources saying that the news will break at the World Wide Developers Conference on Monday, one of a number of announcements planned for the event. The CEO of Sony Music shocked no one this past weekend by confirming that Apple will unveil a streaming music service at WWDC.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Wi-Fi stumblers and analyzers are a must-have when troubleshooting Wi-Fi interference and performance issues, or when simply checking channel usage on the wireless bands. They’re also needed for Wi-Fi site surveys during the network design and deployment phases, as well as for security audits to look for rogue or misconfigured access points.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Stumblers and analyzersWi-Fi stumblers and analyzers are a must-have when troubleshooting Wi-Fi interference and performance issues, or when checking channel usage. They’re also needed for Wi-Fi site surveys and for security audits to look for rogue or misconfigured APs. Each of these five tools gives you the basic wireless details of nearby APs, including SSIDs, signal strength, channels, MAC addresses, and security status. Most can also reveal “hidden” or non-broadcasted SSIDs. Some offer additional functionality, such raw 802.11 packet capturing, frame statistics, performance testing, and map-based surveying. (Read the full product review.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Tomorrow at 10 A.M Pacific Time, Tim Cook and his trusted cadre of lieutenants will take the stage at Moscone West in San Francisco where they will show us what the company has been working on over the last 12 months.When it comes to Apple related announcements, WWDC is undoubtedly one of the most exciting events of the year. Per usual, there's been a steady stream of rumors pointing to what we can expect to see from Apple tomorrow. To help you get acquainted with what some of the announcements may touch on, below is a broad overview of what Apple will likely touch on during tomorrow's highly anticipated presentation.iOS 9To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The world of Apple prognosticators expect a Beats-infused streaming music service, support for native Apple Watch apps and a first look at iOS 9 at this week’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference. But iPhone 6S or iPhone 7 are expected to gain nary a mention by Apple big shots at the annual San Francisco confab.Sure, iOS advances in Version 9 will be directly applicable to iPhone users, but who knows, Apple might be on to iOS 10 by the time its next iPhone surfaces. Enter the iPhone concept designs
Deviant Art
iPhone 7 design concept: Home button is nowhere to be seenTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
HTC on Friday took to Twitter to announce a new limited edition 24-karat gold M9 that it's releasing to celebrate Saturday's Champions League final. That's all well and good, but in one of the three photos HTC posted online, it's clear that they were taken with (gasp!) an iPhone.Here's the offending photo.Nothing terribly shocking at first glance, but if we zoom in a little bit on the lower right hand corner on the right-hand device, well, that's an iPhone 6 we see taking the shot.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
After a slow initial rollout, it's finally seems that Apple is getting a handle on Apple Watch supply.The Cupertino-based company yesterday announced that the Apple Watch is poised to launch in an additional seven countries come Friday, June 24.The countries being graced with the Apple Watch treatment include Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan. This will soon bring the total number of countries that carry the Apple Watch to 16.“The response to Apple Watch has surpassed our expectations in every way," Apple executive Jeff Williams said in a press release, "and we are thrilled to bring it to more customers around the world."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
After a backlash from critics, PayPal seems to be reconsidering a plan to give itself unilateral permission to ping its users with robocalls and text messages.The controversy started when PayPal recently indicated in proposed amendments to its user agreement and privacy policy its intention to engage in this type of communication with its customers. There, it also stated that the only opt-out recourse for those in disagreement with its plan would be to close their accounts.The plan drew attention from critics who, in blogs and on social media, questioned the prudence and legality of the new policy, which is slated to go into effect July 1. If the changes are adopted, PayPal would be able to make autodialed and prerecorded calls, and send text messages using any telephone number account holders have provided to PayPal or that the company has “otherwise obtained.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Taiwan held its 35th annual Computex trade show this week, and the event hasn’t aged well. There was little news to get excited about, the crowds were thinner, and there were no products on the show floor that generated the buzz seen in years past.To be sure, Computex has never had the glitz and glamor of CES, but for the PC industry it’s the big event of the year. Taiwanese companies make most of the world’s PCs—including those sold under more famous brands—and Computex has been a place where Intel and AMD launch new processors, and where competing memory and interface technologies battle for dominance.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Facebook has released a stripped down version of its Android app aimed at growing its service in developing countries and other areas with poor connectivity.The Facebook Lite app is less than 1MB in size—far less than the regular app—making it quick to download and install. It retains core features including the News Feed, status updates, photos and notifications, Facebook said. The company had been testing the app since at least January.The app started to roll out Thursday in some Asian countries, and will be available in parts of Latin America, Africa and Europe in the coming weeks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here