As new iPad owners anxiously await the calendar turning over to Friday, March 16, this “hump day” is looking more agonizing than most. After all, who likes waiting, especially in this era of digital instant gratification? Unfortunately, we can’t help bend space and time or whisk you into the future, but we can try to distract you with some tech news to take your mind off that impatient waiting, courtesy of today’s recap for Wednesday, March 14, 2012.
Apple launched 1080p movie and TV show content last week, managing to efficiently compress these files into a size not much larger than their 720p predecessors. But how do they stack up against Blu-ray discs? That’s what Ars Technica decided to find out in their “video smackdown,” using the feature film 30 Days of Night as a reference. While the iTunes 1080p version is a bit softer in spots, color reproduction was nearly identical. The real Achille’s heel for iTunes comes with highlights and dark gradients — but for many users, the difference may be negligible. “I was surprised to see how close the iTunes 1080p download comes to Blu-ray, considering that it’s only a fraction of the file size,” writes Ars scribe Iljitsch van Beijnum. “And let’s be honest: there are lots of Blu-ray titles that look much worse than this iTunes download.” Now that movies are part of iTunes in the Cloud, movie lovers might be willing to trade convenience for slightly higher quality — especially if Apple can manage to bring the price down a bit.
Speaking of shootouts, Dr. Raymond M. Soneira of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation has published a preview of his Display Technology comparison, which will pit the new iPad against last year’s iPad 2 and the one that started all this Retina Display madness, the iPhone 4. While the full article with lab measurements and viewing tests for the new iPad won’t be posted until Monday, March 19 (we know what Dr. Ray will be doing this weekend!), the current preview offers some extensive insight into the world of Retina Display “based on detailed laboratory measurements and extensive viewing tests with both test patterns and test images.” Dr. Ray takes on the Retina rumor mills while explaining why the new iPad is a true Retina Display but not an actual Retina Display — something Apple’s Phil Schiller also acknowledged at the media event last Wednesday when he disclosed that the new iPad packs 264 pixels per inch (only four ppi more than necessary). The preview shootout makes for some fascinating reading, especially if you find yourself camped outside a local retailer waiting for Friday 8m, or wondering when the UPS or FedEx truck will come down the street with that preorder.
Billed as “the wildest PC shooter series ever,” Devolver Digital’s Serious Sam is going somewhere it’s never been before: The Mac platform. The high-energy shooter Serious Sam 3: BFE is finally making the leap to the Mac on April 23, which the company announced today in a playfully Apple-esque commercial embedded here. Devolver’s latest chapter of the Serious Sam saga “is a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person shooters where men were men, cover was for amateurs and pulling the trigger made things go boom.” Serious Sam 3: BFE will be available for both Steam and Get Games on April 23, and players are encouraging to visit the developer’s Facebook page for more details — including system requirements, which are coming soon.
Things have been a bit quiet from developer Readdle lately, but the Ukrainian company looks to have a busy month, starting with today’s update of Remarks. Version 1.1 of the innovative iPad note-taking app has gained improved handwriting and wrist protection as well as sync for Dropbox, Google Docs and WebDAV. The .99 Remarks Version 1.1 is now available on the App Store as a free update for existing users. Meanwhile, PDF Expert 4.0 has been submitted to the App Store with full support for the new iPad’s Retina Display as well as the ability to watch embedded video or listen to audio in PDF files, iCloud support and thumbnails for previewing files. Also on deck for the near future is ReaddleDocs 3, a major update to the classic iPhone app which brings a new UI, iCloud support and much more. No word on when the pending updates will arrive, but we’re looking forward to seeing PDF Expert 4.0 on that new Retina Display iPad when it lands in our hot little hands…
Ape Entertainment and Bolt Creative have announced the release of Pocket God Comics issue 14, which wraps up the current story arc with a final chapter entitled “Para-Abormal Activity” based on one of the best-selling iPhone games of all time. “Straight from the spooky aisles of ghostliness and with the girls unable to regenerate, this may not be the best time to hang out on a haunted island,” the press release teases. “Yep… ghosts, a mystery, and a dubious murder make this an ooky-spooky, extra-kooky issue of Pocket God.” The app is frequently updated with free extras including The Pygmy Peril newsletter, an exclusive remastered version of the first Pocket God animated short and more. Pocket God Comics is available for only 99 cents from the App Store in partnership with iVerse Media, LLC.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
It may not matter much to those of us paying .99 per year for iTunes Match, but Apple is still quietly adding new functionality to iTunes for those continuing to sync the old-school way — such as additional bitrates for converting higher quality songs while syncing.
AppleInsider is reporting on a subtle new change found in iTunes 10.6, which has added 192kbps and 256kbps options to the media player’s “Convert higher bitrate songs” option. The change will likely be welcome to higher bitrate audiophiles who want to save space when syncing to their iOS device.
“Convert higher bitrate songs” is an option that’s been available for a while as a method for converting iTunes Plus 256kpbs tracks to 128kbps on the fly while syncing. The option was introduced when Apple started to roll out flash-based iPods with small storage capacities compared to the older hard disk-based models.
The option appears to have gained a new lease on life with last week’s iTunes 10.6, which now offers the ability to choose the bitrate songs are converted to: 128kbps, 192kbps and even 256kbps, which is an ideal compromise for audiophiles who choose to rip their CD collections in the higher 320kbps bitrate on the Mac or PC but prefer to save space on an iOS device.
While the change may be welcome, its functionality is largely negated by iTunes Match, the .99 per year subscription service that not only scans and matches a user’s music collection, but also offers access to that complete library from any iOS device or computer using the same iTunes account. Instead of syncing music and playlists in the traditional way, users can selectively download tracks on the go as the mood strikes them, all at 256kbps iTunes Plus bitrate when they’re pulled from iCloud.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Image courtesy of AppleInsider)
Now here’s a nifty little side effect of iTunes in the Cloud gaining the power to re-download your iTunes movie purchases: Digital copies included with many DVD releases are also appearing on the Apple TV and iOS devices as well.
AppleInsider is reporting that iTunes in the Cloud didn’t just gain the ability to re-download your iTunes movie purchases on Wednesday — it’s also capable of calling up those DVD Digital Copy authorizations, allowing such titles to be downloaded again from iCloud on an Apple TV, iOS device or even iTunes itself.
“Following the release of updated software for the Apple TV earlier this week, Gabe Gagliano of Tech of the Hub discovered that some of his iTunes Digital Copy files automatically appeared in the Purchased section of his Apple TV and were available for streaming via iCloud,” the report reveals. “The media also appeared under the Purchased tab of the iTunes app on an iPhone.”
Unfortunately, a contractual obligation with HBO is preventing Twentieth Century Fox and Universal from offering streaming or re-downloading via iTunes, so you won’t see movies from those studios showing up quite yet. We checked the Purchased tab of the iTunes app on our iPhone 4S and sure enough, two Digital Copy titles from Disney — Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 3 — showed up as available for download.
Digital Copy is something of a precursor to the Ultraviolet technology that Hollywood is now pushing for. Many DVDs include an extra disc for a Mac or PC along with a code that’s entered into iTunes so the digital version can be imported there, a convenience that also no doubt also discourages users from attempting to rip their own copy from the disc.
If you’ve got some DVD or Blu-ray releases lying around with Digital Copy codes you haven’t redeemed, now would be a great time to do it — no more gobbling up disk space, since many of them can be re-downloaded from iTunes in the Cloud again in the future.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
Few would argue that Apple has made a significant impact on the music industry in recent years, and over the weekend the company’s late CEO was honored with a posthumous Special Merit Grammy Award recognizing those accomplishments.
MacRumors is reporting that The Recording Academy has presented the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs with a Special Merit Grammy Award “in recognition of his contributions to the field of music with the iPod and iTunes Music Store. First announced in December, the Trustees Award was accepted by senior vice president of internet software and services, Eddy Cue, at a ceremony for the Special Merit Awards on Saturday.
“On behalf of Steve’s wife, Laurene, his children, and everyone at Apple, I’d like to thank you for honoring Steve with the Trustees Grammy Award,” Cue said. “Steve was a visionary, a mentor, and a very close friend. I had the incredible honor of working with him for the last fifteen years.
“Accepting this award means so much to me because music meant so much to him,” Cue continued. “He told us that music shaped his life…it made him who he was. Everyone that knows Steve knows the profound impact that artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles had on him.”
Finally, Cue reminded the audience how this love of music flowed into the products Jobs helped create at Apple: “Steve was focused on bringing music to everyone in innovative ways,” Cue explains. “We talked about it every single day. When he introduced the iPod in 2001, people asked ‘Why is Apple making a music player?’ His answer was simple: ‘We love music, and it’s always good to do something you love.’
“His family and I know that this Grammy would have been very special to him, so I thank you for honoring him today,” Cue said in conclusion.
The Recording Academy also posted a tribute to Steve Jobs written by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a personal friend of Jobs who has racked up an amazing 16 Grammy awards over his own career.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Image courtesy of MacRumors)
Apple made a lot of music fans happy with its iTunes Match feature. For only .99 per year, the service scans and matches tracks a user’s library and makes it available from iCloud to other devices. But one group that may be even happier are the independent musicians using TuneCore to sell their music.
The TuneCore Blog has announced some good news for indie musicians using their service to get exposure on iTunes. CEO Jeff Price seems quite happy with the first royalty payment from Apple’s new iTunes Match service, which puts more than ,000 into the pockets of their musicians in only two months.
“This is magic money that Apple made exist out of thin air for copyright holders,” Price writes.
TuneCore’s CEO goes on to explain how iTunes Match is essentially “found money” for its clients. “Each and every time the consumer either re-downloads or streams a song he or she already has, copyright holders get paid,” Price reveals.
“A person has a song on her computer hard drive,” Price elaborates. “She clicks on the song and plays it. No one is getting paid. The same person pays iTunes for i(Tunes)Match. She now clicks on the same song and plays it through her i(Tunes)Match service. Copyright holders get paid.
“Same action, same song, one makes money for the copyright holder, and one does not,” the CEO writes. “This is found money that the copyright holders would never have gotten otherwise.”
While some artists may be unhappy with their slice of the iTunes Match pie, Price sums it up thusly: “Well, before you were getting zero, now you are getting something.”
It will be interesting to see if iTunes Match becomes a steady income stream for indie musicians — not to mention major record labels — as time goes on. After all, at .99 per year and with Apple retaining its usual 30 percent share, it would seem like the money would hit a ceiling at some point…
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
