Vudu’s upgraded mobile app brings offline rental viewing
Unlike some big streaming video services, Vudu isn’t sitting on the fence when it comes to offline playback. The Walmart-owned provider has revamped its Android and iOS apps with several big features, most notably an option to download your rentals — you can watch that movie in mid-flight even when the in-air WiFi is lousy. You’ll also have access to movie extras for supporting titles, and iOS users now get both higher-quality 1080p HDX streaming as well as AirPlay. And if you’re still attached to hard copies, you can buy discs inside the app instead of heading to the web. So long as you live in the US and like Vudu’s à la carte approach to movies and TV, you can check out the upgrade right now.
Source: Vudu Blog, App Store, Google Play
Microsoft’s iOS app augments hues for color-blind folks
Color Binoculars landed on the App Store today, promising to infuse the real world with color for anyone with the three most common forms of color blindness. This isn’t the first app designed to help color-blind folks see a broader spectrum of colors, but it comes from two Microsoft software engineers (one of whom is color blind), and its straightforward filter method is simple to use.
The app uses the iPhone camera to adjust colors in a way that makes them easier to distinguish for color-blind people. The enhanced image shows up on the iPhone screen, allowing users to pick out flowers, choose matching outfits or take in the beauty of fall, for example.
Tom Overton and Tingting Zhu started working on Color Binoculars during Microsoft’s 2015 Hackathon and they finished it in the company’s Garage program, which helps experimental apps go public. Overton is color blind, so he was both a developer and the app’s main tester.
Tom Overton and Tingting Zhu (Image credit: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures)
“It’s an app that helps color blind people distinguish color combinations that they would normally have trouble telling apart,” Overton tells the Microsoft blog. “For example, since I have difficulty distinguishing between red and green, our app makes reds brighter and greens darker so that the difference is more obvious. It replaces difficult color combinations, like red and green, with more easily distinguishable combinations, like pink and green.”
Source: Microsoft
Apple starts selling refurb iPhones through its online store
If you’ve ever wanted to buy an iPhone straight from Apple but thought that brand new unlocked models were out of your reach, you’re in luck. Apple has started selling refurbished iPhones in its US online store, with hefty discounts depending on what you want to buy. An unlocked 16GB iPhone 6s is selling for $449, or $80 off the usual price; splurge on a 64GB iPhone 6s Plus and you’ll shell out $589, or $110 less than usual. The iPhone SE and iPhone 7 are absent, but that’s not surprising given that owners have only had them for several months at best.
This won’t be as big a bargain as you’d get by purchasing an iPhone through a used goods site, an auction or a friend. However, you’ll get both a year-long warranty and the knowledge that there won’t be any rude surprises when you open the box. In short: if the thought of shopping on eBay or Swappa makes you nervous, this is your best bet.
Via: MacRumors
Source: Apple
Apple’s Refurbished Store Now Offering iPhones
Apple recently updated its online refurbished store to include a range of different iPhone models, giving customers a way to purchase a certified refurbished device at a lower cost directly from Apple.
Apple is currently offering refurbished iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models in a variety of colors and capacities. Prices for an entry-level 16GB iPhone 6s start at $449, while a 16GB iPhone 6s Plus can be purchased for $529.
Those prices are $100 to $120 less than brand new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices, which are priced at $549 and $649 for 32GB of storage space. All refurbished iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models are unlocked and SIM-free, meaning they are compatible with all U.S. carriers.
While Apple has long offered iPads and Macs in its refurbished store, it has never before allowed customers to purchase refurbished iPhones. Customers who wanted lower prices on iPhones had to wait for third-party deals or purchase refurbished/used devices from a third-party retailer.
All of Apple’s refurbished products, iPhone included, are tested, certified, cleaned, and guaranteed with a one-year warranty. iPhones also feature a brand new battery and a fresh outer shell, ensuring there are no scratches or other cosmetic damage.
Related Roundup: iPhone 6s
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Buy Now)
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Apple Drops Prices on USB-C Adapters
To make it easier for customers who purchased a new MacBook Pro to make the transition to USB-C, Apple has dropped the prices on all of its USB-C adapters by $6 to $20.
The simple USB-C to USB Adapter, formerly priced at $19, is now $9, while the more expensive USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter, formerly $49, is now available for $29. Even Apple’s newly released Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter has seen a price drop from $49 to $29.
A full list of prices on the adapters in the United States is below:
– USB-C to USB Adapter – Was $19, now $9
– Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter – Was $49, now $29
– USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter – Was $69, now $49
– USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter – Was $69, now $49
– USB-C to Lightning Cable (1m) – Was $25, now $19
– USB-C to Lightning Cable (2m) – Was $35, now $29
Apple is also dropping the prices on all third-party USB-C peripherals available from Apple,com and Apple retail stores. USB-C accessories will be discounted by about 25 percent, with some accessories, such as SanDisk’s USB-C SD card reader, seeing a steeper $20 discount, dropping the price from $49 to $29.
Apple’s price cut on USB-C adapters and accessories may assuage customers who have been dissatisfied with the high price of the MacBook Pro coupled with the need to buy a wide range of adapters to use the new notebook with older peripherals. Apple’s lower prices also make its adapters more competitive with the wide range of third-party adapters available on the market. Apple explained the pricing cut in a statement that was given to The Verge:
“We recognize that many users, especially pros, rely on legacy connectors to get work done today and they face a transition. We want to help them move to the latest technology and peripherals, as well as accelerate the growth of this new ecosystem. Through the end of the year, we are reducing prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals we sell, as well as the prices on Apple’s USB-C adapters and cables.”
Apple did not mention a solution for customers who have already purchased adapters to use alongside their new MacBook Pros, but recent purchases can still be returned to the Apple Store and repurchased at the new lower price.
Update: According to MacRumors reader Philip, Apple will refund the price difference for customers who have already purchased adapters for their MacBook Pros. Customers who still have orders pending will also automatically see a price drop.
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India wants the tech used to unlock the San Bernardino iPhone
Israeli forensics company Cellebrite helped the FBI access the contents of a suspect’s iPhone 5c following the shooting in San Bernardino last year. Now India is in talks to buy the company’s tech that will allow it to unlock phones and other devices. The Economic Times reports that India’s Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) is purchasing the tool and should have it in hand within a month. What’s more, the FSL says India will be “a global hub for cases where law enforcement is unable to break into phones.” In other words, the India government will lend a hand to other countries that need to crack encrypted devices.
The Economic Times reports that the Indian government has already enlisted help from Cellebrite in “a few cases,” but now it will have the encryption cracking tech on hand to use as needed. Details are scarce on if the country will be the exclusive owner of the technology or under what circumstances it will make the resource available to other governments around the world. It’s also not a done deal yet, but FSL officials seem confident the government will complete the purchase soon. There’s no word on how much the transaction will cost, but the FBI paid Cellebrite over $1 million for its services in the San Bernardino case.
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: The Economic Times
Single Sign-On Now Available in tvOS 10.1 and iOS 10.2
Sometime over the course of the last few hours, Apple appears to have quietly activated the much-promised Single Sign-On feature for the Apple TV and iOS devices, making it available to developers running the tvOS 10.1 and iOS 10.2 betas.
Single Sign-On, as rumored, appears to support only a limited number of cable services, including Dish, GVTC Communications, Hotwire, and Sling TV.
On the fourth-generation Apple TV, Single Sign-On settings can be accessed by opening the Settings app and navigating to accounts, where a TV Provider section is now available alongside Home Sharing. Customers can sign in to a service at this menu and will presumably be able to access all content associated with that subscription.
On the iPad and the iPhone, the same TV Provider section is available in the Settings app, located below the section for signing into social networks.
Single Sign-On is designed to allow users to sign in once with their cable credentials to access all live cable content available through their cable subscription, even when it’s spread across multiple apps. Apple’s aim with Single Sign-On is to simplify and streamline the television-watching experience on the Apple TV.
Dish and Sling TV are well-known television providers, while GVTC and Hotwire are smaller regional services. Hotwire is available in Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, while GVTC is only available in a small part of Texas, including north of San Antonio and the Gonzales area.
With the limited availability of Single Sign-On, it will only be available to a small number of Apple customers to begin with, but Apple is undoubtedly working to get more providers on board.
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Vine Creators Announce Live Video Streaming App ‘Hype’
The creators of discontinued short-form video service Vine have announced a new live streaming app for iOS called Hype.
Hype will have to compete with existing live video streaming platforms including Periscope and Facebook Live, but its creators Colin Kroll and Rus Yusupov are betting on its success because it offers some additional features that the others don’t have.
Going in its favor, Hype lets users add media to their live video streams, such as photos, music, and animated GIFs. Users can also play music from their iTunes library and choose themed backgrounds for their streams where text and emojis can be added.
Viewers meanwhile can comment on streams and participate in polls, while broadcasters can favorite comments, offering more interaction than Hype’s rival live streaming platforms.
Twitter announced plans to shut down Vine last week. The social media company plans to discontinue the mobile app in the coming months, but did not give a specific timeline.
Hype is a free download for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]
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Vine co-creators unveil their own take on live streaming
Vine may be on the way out, but two of its original architects are determined to carry the torch for mobile video apps. Co-creators Colin Kroll and Rus Yusupov have launched a livestreaming app, Hype, that aims to do more than just broadcast raw footage. You can slip music, photos and videos into your stream, and customize the layout to suit your presentation. It doesn’t just have to be about whatever you capture on-camera, to put it another way — you can take a back seat. There’s also more two-way interaction than you get with the likes of Periscope or Facebook Live, as the audience has direct ways of asking and answering questions, casting votes or getting their comments featured.
The result is a service that’s less about as-it-happens events and more about pre-arranged productions. Test users have created news and talk shows, for instance. And even if you’re not bent on internet stardom, Hype could be helpful for recapping a vacation without having to send a wave of media links to your friends.
Hype is only available for iOS right now (the team is creating an Android version), and there’s no certainty that it’ll find success. Remember Meerkat and Qik? Facebook and Twitter already have many livestreaming fans, and it may be difficult to shift the momentum away from these heavyweights. The newer service may stand a better chance than most, though. It’s offering features that Facebook Live and Periscope don’t offer right now, but aren’t just novelties — there’s a tangible benefit to expanding the kinds of broadcasts you can offer. The challenge is convincing users that it’s worth switching to Hype for these new tricks.
Via: BuzzFeed
Source: Hype (Medium), App Store
Talkshow shuts down its chat-in-public app on December 1st
If you tried Talkshow’s public-facing chatrooms but left wondering why they were necessary, you’re not alone. The startup is shutting down its service after determining that it won’t be “big enough” to have its intended effect. As of November 1st, Talkshow’s iOS app is no longer available in the App Store. You can participate in conversations until November 8th, when everything will revert to a read-only mode. You’ll have the option of exporting your chats after that, but you’ll have to act quickly — everything will turn off on December 1st.
As for the factors behind that low popularity? Like other struggling social services, it may be just a matter of Talkshow trying something that wasn’t especially unique or vital. People have public chats all the time on Facebook and Twitter, and moving them to a messaging app format isn’t necessarily advantageous. And of course, many people prefer still like to keep group chats private so that they can share sensitive info in confidence. Talkshow’s harassment-free environment and focus on topics helped it stand out from the crowd, but those perks might not have been enough to cultivate a sizeable following.
Source: Talkshow (Medium)
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