First Look at Lumos Icons from the Developer of Nox Icons
Nox Icons took the Android community by storm, simply because they are absolutely gorgeous. The 3D looking icons that seemed carved out of wood, caught the eyes of a lot of you, and I still use them to this day. Now Dave Kover is about to unleash some new icons tomorrow, January 24th, for the price of $2. I give you…LUMOS.
Lumos icons have a somewhat similar look to Nox, but Kover stepped it up a notch. The icons now have rounded corners, and the color is a little more dull. Kind of like a T-shirt that has been in and out of the wash many times, the dulled colors are actually very sexy looking. He still has his signature shade to the 3D effect, and everything just comes together nicely. I really dig these new icons, and hopefully you do too.
Lumos Icons will be available tomorrow in the Play Store, and once they are, I will place the Play Store link here in this post. Check out my video run-through to see the icons on my phone. Let us know what you think.
‘Celebrate the Mac’ Site Offers Photos of Vintage Macs in Celebration of 30th Anniversary [Mac Blog]
Jonathan Zufi, author of the coffee table book ”Iconic: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation” and the man behind the Shrine of Apple site, has created a new website that includes photos of Macintosh computers and portables from Apple’s early years.
To celebrate Mac’s 30th birthday, I’ve created this micro site for all the world to enjoy. In 2009, I started taking photos of every Apple product ever made since 1976. Then I turned them into a really big photo site. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane, and I hope that the Macintosh’s anniversary brings your happy memories of your own experience with Apple.
Divided into four sections, the site focuses on classic Macs like the 1984 Macintosh 128K and the 1987 Macintosh SE as well as portables like the 1991 Macintosh Powerbook 100 and the 1992 Macintosh Powerbook Duo 230.
There’s also a section on the Macintosh II and LC, Apple’s lower-end consumer computers introduced in the late 1980s and 1990s, and a section entitled “Other Awesome Macs” that shows off products like the 1993 Macintosh TV, the 1992 Macintosh Quadra 950, and the “Flower Power” iMac G3 from 2001.
Each photo is accompanied by a detailed description of product taken from Wikipedia, giving website visitors a quick history of the iconic computers that gave Apple its start. The full site, which has more than 35 photos and product descriptions, is well worth visiting.
January 24, 2014 marks the 30th anniversary of the initial unveiling of the Macintosh. In celebration of the event, Apple executives Phil Schiller, Craig Federighi, and Bud Tribble interviewed with MacWorld to discuss the Mac and Apple CEO Tim Cook has plans to speak with ABC news about the anniversary tomorrow night.
Some of the original Macintosh development team, including Daniel Kottke and Mike Markkula, will hold an event with the Computer History Museum on January 25 to celebrate the anniversary as well. That event will take place at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, where Steve Jobs originally introduced the Mac.
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New Apple TV may include a revamped interface, more kinds of content
The current Apple TV is long in the tooth, to put it mildly — the basic design emerged in 2010, and the 2012 refresh was really about keeping up with the Joneses. However, 9to5 Mac claims that there’s a substantial update in the pipeline this year. Apple is reportedly “well into testing” a fourth-generation media hub that would include both a reworked (if still iOS-based) interface and new forms of content. Just what that content would be isn’t certain. iLounge hears that an Apple TV software revision may bring games and Bluetooth controller support, but it’s not clear if this would also entail a full-fledged app platform. If any of the rumors are accurate, we may not have to wait very long for the improved living room experience. The 9to5 tipsters believe that the new Apple TV will likely ship in the first half of the year, and iLounge anticipates new software by March.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Apple
Android app learns from your phone to fend off malicious attacks
The last time we heard from Itzhak ‘zuk’ Avraham, he was at Defcon 2011 showing off an Android app that let even inexperienced users poke around networks for weak links and vulnerable computers. Now his company, Zimperium, is rolling out a new mobile intrusion protection app (or zIPS, for short) to help users figure out when their phones are subject to sneak attacks.
There’s no shortage of mobile antivirus apps out there, but according to MIT Technology Review Avraham doesn’t think the prevailing approaches are up to snuff. Many of them check downloaded files for known malware signatures, but zIPS’ machine learning system helps it figure out how your smartphone normally works and detects changes that may be symptomatic of something sketchy. That includes detecting seemingly benign apps that later download malicious payloads, man-in-the-middle-attacks and still more mobile nastiness.
Currently zIPS is enterprise-only, but a consumer version is in the works and the team hopes to hit iOS devices and a slew of connected home gadgets in short order.
Source: MIT Technology Review, Zimperium
HTC One will get KitKat certification in the US next week
Eighty-four days. That’s how long it’s been since HTC announced its intent to bring Android 4.4 KitKat to all North American versions of the One within 90 days. With just six days left to go on the countdown, HTC just tweeted on its US account that the final software has finally entered the hallowed carrier labs for testing and will be certified (and, we hope, rolled out) sometime next week. Of course, the process is now essentially under the control of individual mobile operators, so let’s hope that they don’t make liars out of HTC — we’ve had Wednesday circled on our Sense calendars for quite some time now.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile
Source: HTC (Twitter)
Samsung Misses Earnings Estimates as Apple and Others Pressure Mobile Sales
Samsung’s corporate earnings missed expectations and its mobile division saw flat growth year-over-year due to pressure from inexpensive rivals and Apple’s new lineup of iPhones, according to an analysis of its fourth-quarter earnings by Bloomberg.
The Korean conglomerate reported net income of 7.22 trillion won ($6.7 billion), well short of the 8.2 trillion won that analysts were expecting. Operating income at the company’s mobile unit, its biggest profit maker, was 5.47 trillion won, down from a record 6.7 trillion in the prior quarter, and roughly flat year-over-year.
The company also said it planned to cut its mobile marketing budget after heavy spending also impacted its fourth-quarter profits, reported Reuters. It will also look to make its marketing spending more efficient.
Analysts interviewed by Bloomberg blamed growth in Apple’s iPhone line, which saw the iPhone 5s and 5c launch early in the quarter. Apple is scheduled to announce its earnings on Monday.
Samsung Galaxy S4 (5-inch display) with Apple iPhone 5 (4-inch display)
“Samsung’s two major challenges for 2014 are to maintain its mobile-phone leadership in China and the U.S., while simultaneously growing its tablet business quickly enough to knock Apple iPad from its perch,” [Neil Mawston, an executive director at researcher Strategy Analytics,] said.
The company shipped 9 million units of the S4 in the fourth quarter, according to a Jan. 8 report from Daewoo Securities Co., lower than its earlier estimate of 13 million units, released on Dec. 23. In the third quarter, Samsung sold 17 million units, Daewoo said.
Apple is rumored to have sold more than fifty million iPhones in the fourth calendar quarter. Apple is not expected to update its iPhone line until next fall.
Samsung announced that it would launch a new version of its flagship Galaxy smartphone by April, alongside the second version of its Gear smart watch.
(Image courtesy Business Insider)
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Widely Acclaimed Tomb Raider Reboot Arrives in Mac App Store [Mac Blog]
Last year’s hit game Tomb Raider, which was critically praised for successfully re-imagining iconic video game character Lara Croft for modern times, is finally available on Mac. The Mac version of the action adventure game, which was ported by Feral Interactive, arrives just under a year after it first launched on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
When a young Lara Croft is shipwrecked on an uncharted island, she enters a fight for survival armed with nothing but her instincts. Help Lara perfect her natural gifts as she embarks on a perilous journey to save her friends and escape the island’s murderous inhabitants.
Scavenge vital resources, upgrade Lara’s gear and improve her exploration, combat and survival skills to fight back against vicious enemies. Jump and climb through dense forests, treacherous mountains and WWII bunkers to discover how an ordinary young woman became Lara Croft, Tomb Raider.
The game launches exclusively on the Mac App Store today, and will arrive on other digital storefronts, like Steam, on January 30. Although Tomb Raider is primarily known for its single-player campaign, it has an online multiplayer component. That multiplayer is not available on the version purchased from the Mac App Store. Players who wish to play online multiplayer will have to purchase the game on Steam, as the game requires a Steam account to take part in its Mac-to-Mac only online play.
Players will need Mac OS X 10.9.1, 14GB of free hard drive space, 4GB RAM, a 512MB graphics card and a processor with at least a 2.0 GHz output. Intel HD 4000 graphics cards will require an Intel i7 CPU or better.
Tomb Raider is available in the Mac App Store for $49.99. [Direct Link]
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Tim Cook Speaks With ABC News About Thirtieth Anniversary of Macintosh, Interview Airs Tomorrow
ABC News will air an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook on World News with Diane Sawyer tomorrow evening to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the introduction of the Macintosh (via 9to5Mac).
The interview, between ABC’s David Muir and Cook, will air tomorrow at 6:30PM Eastern, though a small portion of the interview will preview on Good Morning America.
ABC has not shared many details about the interview, but based on the image shown above, the Mac Pro will be a point of discussion. “ABC News Anchor David Muir exclusively interviews Apple CEO Tim Cook on the 30th anniversary of the Macintosh and what is next for the company,” ABC says.
In 2012, Tim Cook sat down with Brian Williams for a wide ranging interview that covered Apple’s poor mapping debut, Apple’s future in television and more. The interview is part of a larger media campaign by the company to promote the thirtieth anniversary of the Macintosh’s debut.
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Daily Roundup: Maingear Pulse 17 review, DJI’s photography-oriented drone and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Google tours the Top Gear test track
Google sent one of its former street view cars out for a tour of Top Gear’s test track. Lucky for us, a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (with a bit of attitude) joined the party at the starting line. Click on through for the video.
Uber-rare NES game lands on eBay
Back in the 1990′s, the Nintendo World Championship toured the US with 116 custom game cartridges containing special levels from Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer and Tetris. If owning a gem like that makes you flutter on the inside, now might be your chance! Click the link for details.
Maingear Pulse 17 review
Maingear’s latest gaming laptop, the Pulse 17, packs a 2.4GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB of DDR3 RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M GPU. But does this incredibly thin machine have enough bite to justify its $2,100 price tag? Click through for our review and find out.
DJI Phantom 2 Vision hands-on
DJI’s Phantom 2 Vision might look like your average drone, but it’s capable of more than just entertainment. Thanks to cutting edge maneuverability and camera mount features, this $1,200 copter gives prosumers a surprisingly stable birds eye view of the world streamed live to their smartphone. Follow the link for our hands-on.
Samsung profits drop slightly, but it’s still seeing increased demand for phones, tablets
Samsung has released a detailed report of its earnings for the fourth quarter, and as it predicted, its operating profit is slightly lower than last year. While 8.3 trillion won (about $7.8 billion) is nothing to sneeze at, last year Samsung notched 8.84 trillion won ($8.27 billion) in operating profit, creating concerns growth is slowing in its highly successful tablet and phone business. According to Samsung however, buyers want its phones and tablets just as much if not more than ever, however marketing costs and “year-end inventory adjustments” lowered shipments and cut into profits. According to Yonhap News, analysts believe a one-off special bonus payment to employees celebrating the 20th anniversary of its “New Management Initiative” also had an effect.
Developing…
Filed under: HD, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Samsung Q4 Earnings (PDF)
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