Category Archives: Apps

Google’s Field Trip app gets you into 13 museums for free right now.

Posted by isenze on

Museum buffs and tourists might want to download Google’s Field Trip app right now. The location-based app shows you cool things to do while on a trip. For a limited time, the app will also get you into 13 major US museums for free, as Google announced on the Field Trip Google+ page:

Rumor has it you can visit 13 museums in 6 cities for FREE with Field Trip…

RUMOR CONFIRMED!!! For a limited time you can walk into any of these for free:

Conservatory of Flowers, SF
California Academy of Sciences, SF
Walt Disney Family Museum, SF
Museum of Contemporary Art, LA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Adler Planetarium, Chicago
The Field Museum, Chicago
Museum of the city of New York, NY
Museum of Arts and Design, NY
National Building Museum, DC
Portland Children’s Museum
Portland Art Museum
Pittock Mansion, Portland

If you are around one of the following 13 museums, you will get a Field Trip card with “Free Entry” in the title (check the ‘nearby’ tab). Show the card on your phone to the admissions staff and they’ll take care of the rest.

Enjoy your Field Trips!

Living in Europe I’m pretty spoiled, as almost every major museum is free. But looking at the list above — especially seeing three of Chicago’s best museums (my old stomping grounds) — leaves me feeling a little envious of my US friends at the moment.

Field Trip is a free download for iOS and Android.

Source: TUAW.

DevJuice: Spark Inspector offers real time iOS interface inpection.

Posted by isenze on

 

Spark Inspector (US$39.99 single-license) offers an exciting new development tool. Targeting devs looking to refine their user interfaces, it enables you to interactively tweak view properties like frames and layers.

The app centers around an Interface Builder-like experience, with familiar-looking attribute and size inspectors. If you’re comfortable in Xcode 4, you’ll easily find your way around this tool.

In addition, it provides a custom layer inspector — one that could (and, honestly should) inspire Apple. It enables you to update layer attributes like shadows and transforms, while viewing the results in real time.

Perfect for devs who otherwise write their interfaces in code (I am guilty as charged), it breaks out of the tweak-build-run loop that takes up so much time and energy in the normal development day. Instead, you apply your tweaks within the app itself, adjusting the interface until it looks just right.

This is the point at which Spark Inspector displays its one big weakness (keep in mind that it’s still in development). Instead of producing an updated XIB (which would be okay) or PaintCode-like Objective-C output suitable for re-integration to your apps (which would kick ass), you take responsibility for transferring values back to your Xcode project.

Honestly, It’s not a huge deal — especially when your tweaks change a constant from say 50 to 58.5 — but it’s something that could be a killer feature in future updates. For now, you make notes of what values worked best for you. And no, there’s no “bookmark this UI for later comparison” option either, another thing I would have liked to have seen.

One of Spark Inspector’s nicest features is its 3D extrusion display. This pushes views out in parent-child hierarchies, letting you explore and select items with more tangible visualization than you get in IB.

Spark Inspector also offers a notification inspector, which may be useful for some devs. If you’re already writing your UIs from code, however, you probably know how to set up a listener that logs notifications.

Setup is easy. There’s a setup assistant for configuring Xcode projects, or (if you’re paranoid like I am) add both the SparkInspector and libz frameworks to your dev builds, making sure to enable the -ObjC flag in Other Linker Flags. Include the SparkInspector header as such:

DevJuice Spark Inspector offers real time iOS interface inpection

and enable the inspector in your application delegate, typically in application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:

DevJuice Spark Inspector offers real time iOS interface inpection

Make sure you test using the simulator, and not (as I first tried) on device. The standalone Spark Inspector app (DMG) must be running. As soon as your app hits the “enable observation” stage, it seamlessly connects to the inspector, and you’re ready to test and tweak.

DevJuice Spark Inspector offers real time iOS interface inpection

For forty bucks, this promises to be a valuable tool that many devs will benefit from. If you’d like to kick the tires before you buy, there’s a free 30 day trial available on the Spark Inspector website. If you do decide to buy, you purchase directly from the vendor.

Source: TUAW.

eBay for iOS gets new interface.

Posted by isenze on

eBay’s iPhone app has today received a UI overall, bringing a completely new look to the app.

Version 3.0.0 brings a new interface, which is now much simpler to use, however there are some tweaks to the apps core features too. The app has an improved bidding feature to make bidding near the end of auctions more effective  There are also larger photo views, and a feature which enables users to checkout multiple items, however this feature is only available in the UK and the US.

iPhone Screenshot 1

There’s a new feature which allows you to enlarge the photos of a search result (iOS 6 required), which should also make searching a lot easier, this will come into effect in the next couple of weeks.

Perhaps the coolest feature in this update is the ability to create an eBay account simply by scanning your Drivers License with your iPhone’s camera.

There are also some bug fixes and minor tweaks. The app is available universally on iOS (5.0 or later) now! App Store

Source: TodaysiPhone.

Lemon Wallet: Create Passbook cards for your entire wallet and much more.

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Lemon Wallet for iPhone review: Create Passbook cards for your entire wallet and much more

Lemon Wallet for iPhone is basically a virtual wallet similar to Passbook but picks up where it lacks. For instance, you can easily create Passbook cards with Lemon Wallet for any credit card, identification card, or rewards card regardless of whether or not that actual merchant supports Passbook. Lemon Wallet also has add-on paid features that allow you to track transactions and report a lost or stolen wallet for easy card replacement options.

Upon launching Lemon Wallet, you’ll be asked to sign up for a Lemon account. The process is quick and easy and relatively painless. You can pop into the settings portion of Lemon Wallet to fill out the rest of your information whenever you’d like but to create an account, you’re really only required to enter your email address and verify it. Simple enough.

To add cards, simply tap the camera icon and select the type of card you’d like to add. The camera app will populate and then ask you to snap a photo of the front and back of your card (or receipt). From there you’ll be asked to enter some information including the name as it is on the card, expiration, and to confirm the card number.

Lemon Wallet will automatically pull in numbers on credit cards but ask you to verify the image scan worked. For things such as driver’s licenses, while you can store them and create digital copies for Passbook import, you’ll need to manually enter them in since the format varies from state to state and country to country. You can also take photos of receipts and store them within Lemon Wallet as well which makes for an easy way to track business expenses on the go. Just snap a picture and enter the date and amount.

To add any card already in your Lemon Wallet to Passbook, just tap into the card and then tap on the menu option button in the upper right hand corner. This is where you’ll have the option to add Lemon Wallet to your Passbook app.

The interesting part of Lemon Wallet is actually its add-on service, Lemon Wallet PLUS. For either $4.99/month or $39.99/year you’ll get premium services that include active account monitoring, enhanced security with an additional passcode lock, card expiration alerts, and lost wallet services. If you ever lose your physical wallet, Lemon Wallet says you can cancel and replace your cards with basically a button tap. I haven’t personally utilized this service as my wallet isn’t lost, but I’d be interested to hear if anyone has, and how the experience was.

As far as viewing transactions with a premium plan, Lemon Wallet PLUS has the ability to tie in with BillGuard, one of our favorite Passbook compatible services in order to monitor transactions and alert you of any fraudulent activity that may be happening on any of the accounts you have linked.

If you aren’t sure about picking up Lemon Wallet PLUS right off the bat, you can try it for free for 15 days.

The good

  • Better interface and design than most third party wallet apps available
  • Turn any card you own into a digital Passbook card
  • Lost Wallet service makes it less of a hassle to replace stolen and lost credit cards and ID cards
  • No credit card needed to try premium services before you decide to buy

The bad

  • You’ll have to have the premium version to add a secure access code to the app, which is a downer considering the app contains highly sensitive information. This should be an option for everyone, not only premium users

The bottom line

While Passbook does a good job of storing cards for merchants that have supported the service, it’s still lacking. Lemon Wallet can somewhat bridge that gap and allow you to finally track all your cards and information in one place. Whether you use Lemon Wallet exclusively or use it as a middleman to Passbook, it does what it says it does, and it does it well.

Source : iMore.

‘Watch ABC’ app goes live on App Store, brings live TV to New York and Philadelphia.

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abc

On Sunday we noted that Disney’s ABC apps for iOS devices would this week begin live streaming TV to users in New York and Philadelphia. It’s the first time a major broadcaster is offering a live TV experience in its iOS apps and today the updated ABC apps have officially hit the App Store. The ABC Player is now called “Watch ABC” and with it comes the new live TV experience as well as the full length on demand episodes that were previously available. The new live streaming service will also be available to users on Kindle Fire and online at ABC.com.

The live video features will initially be limited to Philadelphia and New York City and starting July 1 users will have to verify their “eligible TV provider account for continued access.” For now eligible cable providers include Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, AT&T U-verse, Charter, and Midcontinent.

There are also plans to roll out the app to other markets this summer including: Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno. 

Watch ABC version 3.0 is available now for iPhone and iPad. 

What’s New in Version 3.0.0

- The ABC Player is now called WATCH ABC.
- Now in select markets, WATCH ABC is a new way to experience ABC television. You can watch your favorite TV shows and local programming – LIVE.*

*Live video available in Philadelphia and New York City area only. Must be within each station’s local viewing area. Program substitutions may apply. Starting July 1, 2013, simply verify your eligible TV provider account for continued access to LIVE video.

Philips Updates Hue iOS App To Include Geo-Fencing, Timers, And IFTTT Support.

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huebulbsinapack

Philips Hue lightbulbs have quickly become one of our favorite iPhone accessories for the home. Not only can change your lighting to fit any mood, you can also create light shows with your music, and now Philips is adding some new features to the bulbs to make them even more powerful.

Philips released a new update for its Philips Hue app for iOS today that adds a number of features including geo-fencing, timers, alarms, and IFTTT support.

Here’s a video of some of the new features:

With Hue 1.1 you can setup a geo-fence so that your lights automatically switch on when you get close to your house and then turn off when you leave. If you only want your Hue bulbs to come on when it’s dark outside, there’s no an option for that too.

The big update for Hue 1.1 though is that the bulbs are more connected to the Internet than ever thanks to IFTTT support. Now you can set your bulbs can tell you if it’s raining, flash whenever your favorite sports team scores, or alert you if you have new email.

Hue combined with IFTTT adds a whole new dimension to what you can do with the smart bulbs, and thanks to the developer SDK Philips released last month, we’re pretty excited to see what cool stuff people come up with next. Philips Hue 1.1 is available in the App Store for free right now.

Source: Cult of Mac.

Don’t Like Creative Cloud? There’s a Petition for That.CS6

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Don't like Creative Cloud? There's a petition for that.When Adobe announced that it will be dropping its traditional perpetual license model for Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and the rest of its professional creative apps in favor of the Creative Cloud software subscription model, the public response was less than enthusiastic. The reaction from at least some Adobe app users was so negative, in fact, that an online petition quickly popped up urging Adobe to keep the Creative Suite perpetual license model alive.

The petition to kill the Creative Cloud-only model was started by Berek Schoffstall at Change.org who said he feels the monthly subscription model is bad for consumers. He stated,

In the end it comes down to this: all of Adobe’s consumers will not be able to make such a large payment every month on the CC subscription model. In the short term, the subscription model looks to be okay, but over time the only entity that is benefiting from this is Adobe. The (no longer) current model: paying a one time fee for infinite access is a much better business model and is better for the consumer.

For some Adobe app users, Mr. Schoffstall is right: They’ll end up paying more in the long run as Creative Cloud users compared to what they paid for a one-off license. For users that need to upgrade on a regular cycle, however, they may find that Creative Cloud is more economical. The reality is that unless you plan to buy your Adobe apps and then never upgrade — ever — you’re making regular payments to Adobe. It’s just a matter of when.

Depending on your budget, lump sum upgrade charges may be the way to go, but spreading that payment out over time might be easier on your bank account, and regardless of which is better for you, monthly payments are certainly a better deal for Adobe.

So far, about 10,000 people have signed the online petition; some with legitimage concerns and some based on misconceptions. That’s a sizable number of disgruntled users, but certainly only a small fraction of Adobe’s customer base. That number started me thinking about who it is that will see the biggest immediate impact from the change to Creative Cloud, and I found my answer in the petition:

So, we want you to restart development for Adobe Creative Suite 7 and all future Creative Suites. Do it for the freelancers. For the small businesses. For the average consumer. For the people who use your products on an inconsistent basis. Do it for the sake of creating a more beautiful world together.

The average consumer, it says. The person that wants to dabble a little in photo editing make the occasional flier or invitation. Someone that breaks out Photoshop CS3 off an on, and has no need to upgrade to anything newer because it already does more than they’ll ever need.

From Adobe’s perspective, it already addressed the average consumer with Photoshop Elements and Premier Elements, both of which are still offered with a perpetual license — and at a far lower price point than thier professional counterparts. These are the users that, like it or not, Adobe isn’t even considering with its subscription-only model.

These are also the people that can switch to products like Pixelmator or Acorn and Adobe won’t care. They’re the people that can use Pages instead of InDesign because they don’t need to print spot colors, and they probably don’t even know what “spot color” means. The casual Dreamweaver users can turn to products like Sandvox and Freeway, and Adobe probably won’t even notice.

Freelances and small businesses, however, are locked into the Adobe game, and even though they may be able to get by with older versions of Adobe apps, they should at least consider staying up to date because that’s what their competition is doing. For them, an extra $50 a month — which is what a Creative Cloud subscription costs — may be a hardship. If so, then shelling out between $375 and $1,050 for upgrades is probably a hardship, too.

And that’s where Mr. Schoffstall’s petition comes in. He, along with at least 10,000 other people, wants Adobe to keep offering its customers a choice in licensing options. Those voices, I suspect, will ultimately fall on deaf ears. Adobe is big enough that it can move forward with its Creative Cloud model, and it won’t even look back to see who is left behind as we’re rushed into the new world of software subscriptions.

For some, Creative Cloud will be great. For others, not so much. For Adobe, it’s the future, and the company isn’t afraid to leave behind anyone who thinks differently no matter how passionate they may be.

Source: The Mac Observer.