The big news of the day has to be the discovery of a beta iCloud website, which has the rumor blogs grabbing up paper bags in an effort to stifle their hyperventilation. Seems as if we’ll be seeing new Reminders and Notes web apps as part of the iCloud website, but personally we’d prefer some of the old-school MobileMe settings and features to come back. Oh well, we can’t have everything — but one thing we can have is a break for the weekend, right after you have a look at the news for this Friday, May 11, 2012.
Apple’s Siri virtual assistant may sometimes seem like she’s a miracle worker, but after using the iPhone 4S for a while, all of the things she’s not capable of soon come to light. One of those is language translation, but fear not — developer Sonico GmbH, makers of the iTranslate app, have created their own App Store solution called iTranslate Voice, which emulates the Siri experience and translates whatever you speak into it into one of 31 different languages. The full list includes English (US), English (UK), English (Australia), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (United States), Spanish (Mexico), French (France), French (Canada), German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin (China), Mandarin (Taiwan), Cantonese, Korean, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Polish and Russian, a few others are also available for voice output as well. Since the 3.4MB app just launched on Thursday, the developer is having a sale and it can be yours for a mere 99 cents, but it will be worth its weight in gold if you’re about to head overseas. Just make sure you have an internet connection, which is required to use iTranslate Voice.
9to5Mac is reporting that Apple has accidentally leaked some forthcoming features of iCloud, following the discovery of a beta website with web apps for Notes and Reminders — both of which are making the leap from iOS to OS X Mountain Lion this sunny summer. Code strings for the beta website have also turned up references to iOS 6, which is expected to be previewed next month at WWDC 2012 in San Francisco. The beta.icloud.com website has been up and down sporadically all day, but we can indeed confirm its existence, which requires a developer account to access. But don’t worry, we’re sure that Apple plans even more surprises for us in a few short weeks…
Face.com has announced the release of its KLIK app on Thursday, a camera app that uses facial recognition to quickly tag Facebook friends in real-time. The free app requires a Facebook account and iOS 4.3 or later, but also adds some Instagram-style fun with “Face Filters,” the app’s own built-in technology focused on making faces appear better in photos. While you’re not using KLIK to snap photos, the app can be used to check out Facebook feeds nearby, for your friends and even other photos. Perhaps the star feature of KLIK is its ability to see your friends’ names instantly appear next to their faces, even before you’ve taken a photo of them — or the app can be trained to learn the names of people it doesn’t recognize. KLIK is available now from the App Store and it’s absolutely free.
As part of a profile on manufacturer Foxconn’s plans to shift into distribution, China Daily appears to have inadvertently let slip some news about another project more near and dear to Apple fans. Foxconn CEO Terry Gou reportedly told the newspaper the company “is making preparations for iTV, Apple Inc.’s rumored upcoming high-definition television.” Now before you trip over yourself in search of a credit card to buy the thing, the report notes that neither development nor manufacturing has actually started yet — so we don’t necessarily know anything more about the fabled Apple HDTV than we did yesterday. Take it for what it’s worth, folks…
MacRumors is reporting that Dropbox appears to have tweaked its SDK to Apple’s liking, with iOS developers noting that their Dropbox-enabled apps are again being approved by App Store reviewers. Always trying to get developers to stick to the letter of its frequently vague App Store laws, app rejections started piling up a week or so ago, all related to how the Dropbox SDK previously included a Mobile Safari link to sign up for those who don’t have an account — a definite no-no, since users could then choose to upgrade their account to one of the paid options without giving Apple their 30 percent from in-app purchases. The developers of Cambox quickly deployed the new Dropbox SDK, submitted it to Apple on Thursday and the update is already approved and available in the App Store. Crisis averted, folks — nothing to see here.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
Our donation drive for DonorsChoose was such a big success. We raised ,190 for projects on our Giving Page in just two weeks, and our match code was used for more than ,000 worth of donations around the site. That means that between the matches and the money donated to get those matches, our community’s total impact was more than ,000.
That’s amazing. I’m blown away. Thank you to everyone who was so generous!
And even though I’m sure you all donated out of the goodness of your hearts, you get prizes too. I just emailed each and every person who participated in this year’s DonorsChoose Challenge, with a code for free software, and/or a notification about a cool prize headed their way in the mail. Everyone is a winner, but public school teachers and kids most of all.
This is the stack of awesomeness I’m dropping in the FedEx box. Enjoy, everyone!
We gave to 22 completed projects, and if you still want to top off a project, our hand-picked Giving Page is still up, but one of the best things about DonorsChoose is using the search filters to find a project that speaks to you, whether it’s from your hometown, your favorite subject growing up, or an interest you hold dear today. Like, I dunno, technology, maybe.
See you next school year for another DonorsChoose Challenge. Have a great sunny summer…
Close on the heels of iOS 5.1.1’s arrival on Monday, the second and third generation black Apple TV models finally got their own taste of the modest software update on Thursday night with Apple TV Software Update 5.0.1.
Apple has released Apple TV Software Update 5.0.1, which despite the version numbering scheme, incorporates the miscellaneous fixes rolled into iOS 5.1.1 earlier this week into the Apple TV as well.
The update also addresses a handful of Apple TV-specific issues which include:
iTunes previews
Previews for movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store can now be viewed in HD.
AirPlay
Fixes an issue that caused some iOS apps to have trouble connecting via AirPlay.
Home Sharing
Improves the reliability of Home Sharing connections.
Netflix
Addresses an issue affecting Netflix login and navigation.
Stability and performance
Includes fixes for issues affecting stability and performance.
Those all sound like good reasons to download the update, but fair warning: If you’re currently enjoying a jailbreak on your second-generation black Apple TV, you’ll lose it should you install this update. (There’s currently no such jailbreak for the latest 1080p model.) But we’re pretty sure the hackers will come to our rescue soon enough…
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
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