Apple is hunting down unused, dysfunctional apps
Apple has vowed to remove from the App Store any programs that no longer work, don’t follow current review guidelines or are simply outdated. Starting September 7th, Apple will review and remove apps that crash on launch, and the company will contact developers whose apps don’t meet the new guidelines. Developers then have 30 days to submit an update; otherwise, their programs are gone for good.
Even if they’re removed, apps will continue to work for anyone who has already downloaded them (and that includes in-app purchases). Plus, new developers won’t be able to steal the names of deleted apps — those remain tied to the original developer’s account.
Apple also plans to fight spammy and long names in the App Store, TechCrunch reports. After September 7th, all app and update names will have a maximum length of 50 characters. This gets rid of apps that attempt to capture extra search relevance with names that read like a list of Tumblr tags.
These moves are aimed at cleaning up search results in the App Store, which hosts more than 2 million games, tools and time-wasters. September 7th also happens to be the day of Apple’s big iPhone event, where we expect to see the so-called iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
Source: Apple, TechCrunch
Fitbit Adventures lets you run the New York City marathon virtually
Fitbit’s app rolled out with several new updates today, squarely focused on offering ways to experience virtual outings in the form of Fitbit Adventures.
Utilizing a series of non-competitive micro challenges, Fitbit Adventures will task you with running the New York City Marathon or hiking the trails of Yosemite from the comfort of the gym or your own home. Instead of trudging away on the treadmill, you can pretend you’re experiencing something much more majestic.
Each program will allow you to splice it up into multiple day plans or tackle them in one day, offering photographs and other interactive experiences that correlate with where you’re currently at in the trail. Moving your phone around will alter what you’re currently looking at, as if you were actually hiking each trail, much like apps do in VR space.
If you’re looking for a way to spice up your fitness routine, you could do way worse than this. The update’s available now if you want to give it a go.
Via: Fast Company
Facebook Messenger’s ‘Instant Video’ looks awfully Snapchatty
Bots have been all the rage in Facebook Messenger over the last few months, but today the social network is adding a new way to chat with your pals. The company announced a tool called Instant Video that allows you to have those quick conversations face-to-face in addition to text and photos. Yes, video calling was already available in Messenger, so what’s new here? Well, Instant Video is meant to be easily and instantly (get it?) accessible inside a chat conversation rather than having to go through the process of making a call. It’s all about efficiency.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Snapchat allows you to do something similar. Inside that messaging app, you can tap to share video with the person you’re already having a text conversation with in a flash. Facebook’s version works pretty much the same way with an Instant Video icon situated at the top of the window. As long as you and the person you’re talking to are both running the latest version of Messenger for Android or iOS, you’ll be able to employ the feature. Instant Video only works as long as you keep the chat open and you can continue conversing via text while the window floats over your chat. Audio is turned off for the recipient of the video by default.
This isn’t the first time Facebook or one of its apps has taken cues from Snapchat. Instagram Stories arrived in early August to compile images and videos in a format that’s very similar to Snapchat’s own Story feature. Facebook also nabbed face-swapping app Masquerade back in March to add photo filters to its arsenal of apps. In fact, the social network has already announced that those features would be available in Facebook Live at some point. Zuckerberg & Co. have clearly taken notice of Snapchat’s popularity, so it’ll be interesting to see it Facebook decides to take any more inspiration from that app in the future.
Via: The Verge
Source: Facebook
The new Papa John’s app for Apple TV makes ordering a breeze
Papa John’s knows a delicious pizza goes well with marathoning your favorite shows by way of the Apple TV. That’s why the pizza giant has launched a new app to let you order, customize and pay a pizza order directly from the Apple TV itself.
The new app actually beats Domino’s to the punch, a surprising turn of events given Domino’s “emoji” ordering and the Xbox ordering campaign launched a while back. The fact that Papa John’s got to Apple TV first is a milestone for the company in addition to the fact that it was the first pizza chain to offer up digital ordering back in 2001 and the first to introduce mobile ordering back in 2007. Has it really been that long?
You can use the “pizza builder” to create the pizza of your dream via the Apple TV app, access favorite orders and even sign in with your pizza profile and saved payment information. New app users will get 25 percent off their first order as well.
You could be ordering dinner via the app tonight with the whole squad sitting around making choices. Papa bless.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Papa John’s
Surface Pro 3 battery issues disappear in today’s update
The Surface Pro 3 has been plagued with a software problem that causes some tablets to quickly lose power once unplugged from a charger, but a firmware update released today squashes the battery bug. Microsoft first acknowledged the problem in July and confirmed it was a software issue, rather than a flaw in the tablet’s hardware, earlier in August.
In an update FAQ, Microsoft explains that the battery levels in some Surface Pro 3s were being misreported to the operating system and firmware, meaning the tablets stopped charging well before they hit full capacity.
“Think of this like a fuel gauge in a car, where the car looks to the fuel gauge to determine how much to fill the tank,” Microsoft says. “In this case, if the fuel gauge isn’t working right, the car would also not be able to fill the tank — even though the tank is fine.”
After applying the update, the battery issues will self-correct over “the next several charge and discharge cycles,” Microsoft says, and any tablets that weren’t able to run on battery power will be able to do so.
Source: Microsoft
Microsoft Office for Mac gets 64-bit support for better performance
Microsoft announced in April that it would make the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit for Office 2016 for Mac. Well, the time has come. The update is rolling out to those who are running Microsoft’s productivity suite on OS X. Apple’s desktop operating system has been 64-bit for a while now, but Windows still allows users to to choose between 32- and 64-bit versions. With this latest update, Office 2016 for Mac is making the permanent switch to 64-bit support which Microsoft says will boost performance and allow for new features.
This new update makes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote 64-bit for anyone running Retail, Office 365 Consumer, Office 365 Commercial, and Volume License installations of the software. What’s more, the August release (version 15.25) will arrive just like any other update to the apps. You’ll receive a notification on your desktop about the new version just like you do for other releases. If you don’t see that message, you download the 64-bit update manually from the source link below. As 9to5Mac notes, this new version has been available to Office Insider beta testers, but this is the first time 64-bit software has been available to all users.
Microsoft does warn Office for Mac users that the switch to 64-bit software could affect third-party add-ins for the apps. Those companies have had a few months to make the necessary changes, but if you rely on any of those extras, you may want to double check before installing. If you’ve yet to make the leap, Office 365 for Mac costs $70 per year or you can make a one-time purchase of Office 2016 for Mac that’s priced at $150.
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Microsoft
Bumble is adding paid features to help find your perfect match
Bumble, the dating app that’s previously dabbled in offering services beyond traditional swipe-based matching, is now offering a subscription model that offers three new features for just $9.99 a month.
Beeline, Rematch and Busybee are meant to boost your personal dating experience. Beeline will offer a queue of users who’ve already “liked” you while using the app. All you’ll need to do is match with them if you like what you see, which removes the requirement to swipe and takes away some of what could be viewed as ambivalence or frustration. It’s a lot easier to look at a premade list of suitors just for you and decide from there.
Rematch will keep expired matches for an additional 24 hours so you can return to them if you don’t grab their interest the first time. Busy Bee extends the 24-hour match window so you can have a little longer to match with someone else. Male users previously had this feature in the form of “extend,” and now both male and female users will be offered unlimited “extends” in the form of Busy Bee.
These additional options are available to augment Bumble users’ experience, and the company stresses that anyone who doesn’t opt to pay the $9.99 won’t be missing out on any features. In comparison, Tinder’s paid version is $9.99 a month as well for most users, so Bumble’s suite of options isn’t so far from the mark.
If you’re interested in trying them out, you can do so today.
Via: TechCrunch
Photo-editing app VSCO is turning off its sync feature today
Almost two years ago, the popular photo-editing and sharing app VSCO released a big iOS update that, among other things, brought the app to the iPad. At the same time, VSCO added a sync feature: if you imported a photo into your VSCO library and made edits on your iPhone, the same photo and edits would appear on your iPad (and vice versa). It was a handy feature, letting you make changes on the iPad’s big screen while sending them to the iPhone for easy sharing to apps like Instagram. However, as of today, that sync feature is going away.
VSCO announced the change with an email to users a few weeks ago, but today is doomsday for the feature. At the moment, sync appears to be working, albeit in limited fashion. I’ve been able to import photos into my VSCO library on both my iPad and iPhone and have edits stay in sync. That’ll probably disappear before long, however, so don’t necessarily rely on it. The good news is that none of your images will be deleted and there’s an “export all” feature to save them to your camera roll. But if you delete the app from a device, those images and edits will be gone for good, so make sure they’re backed up somewhere.
Despite the quality of VSCO’s edits, the app has always been a little confusing, so removing sync might actually make for an easier experience in some regard. And while the experience of making edits on one device and having them appear on another was nice, you can always export your edited photos to the camera roll and have the same image appear on another device thanks to iCloud’s photo library or Google Photos. Given the amount of photo syncing and backup options out there, it does make sense for VSCO to stay firmly focused on editing.
VSCO also recently pushed out a visual redesign in the iPhone app, but most of those changes haven’t come to the iPad yet — maybe as the company removes its sync feature, it’ll put the apps back on par from a visual standpoint.
Source: VSCO
Grindr is launching its own clothing line
Grindr is looking to insinuate itself into every part of your life it can. Next stop? Your wardrobe, of course. But it’s for a good cause, in support of Athlete Ally’s efforts in fighting against LGBTQ discrimination. You can find various items of clothing within the dating app’s new collection, including tops, outerwear, bottoms, accessories and more.
It seems like a pretty bizarre leap from relationships to fashion, but Grindr’s founder is actually related to fashion designer Jonathan Simkhai, responsible for dressing names like Kristen Stewart and Kendall Jenner. It makes sense that clothing would enter the picture eventually.
The apparel line is meant for “the guy who likes to break a sweat” and all proceeds are being donated to Athlete Ally. You can take a look at the tasteful designs at the official online shop and go shopping for a good cause.
Via: Paper
Waze will help you avoid traffic jams around big events
Navigation apps like Apple Maps, Google Maps and Waze are good for letting you know when you’re approaching a traffic jam. Waze is taking that task a bit further with its new Global Event Partner Program. The company is teaming up with organizers of big events like marathons and pro sports to keep you from experiencing unnecessary delays. Those partners will now be able to use the Waze Closure tool to input any scheduled closures ahead of an event. TechCrunch reports that event organizers will be able to add details like turn restrictions, lane reversals, parking locations for more than 65 million users.
What’s more, a Live Map can be embedded on an event’s website to provide updated information on traffic flow and more. Waze says that the new effort will help get attendees to and from events faster which will lead to happier fans and, in theory, more merchandise and concessions sales for the venues. Even if you’re not going to the race or game, the app will let you know the areas to avoid when you’re heading out on the roads close to where an event is being held.
The mapping app is launching the new initiative with 20 partners in North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. Here in the US, that list includes the Atlanta Falcons (Georgia Dome), Washington Redskins (FedEx Field), Detroit Lions (Ford Field), Washington Nationals (Nationals Park) Atlanta Hawks (Phillips Arena) and the Rock n’ Roll Marathon Series. Timing couldn’t be better for Waze as a new NFL season is set to kickoff next month.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Waze
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