My name is Kris, and I'm the mind behind Funk-iSoft and the Mac OS X App Magic Media Marker. Magic Media Marker is an app for automating the very receptive tasks of converting and tagging TV Shows & Movies. Sure, you've heard of apps that do this this already like iFlicks & iDentify, so what sets MMM apart from the other guys? Automation!

Magic Media Marker's origin stems from a series of AppleScripts and Automator Folder actions put together to watch for incoming media files and automate the process of getting them ready for my AppleTV. The goal wasn't just to convert the video type, but also to apply artwork and other metadata to the files so they'd look nice in iTunes and on my various iDevices.

I started with tutorials for various aspects of what I wanted to do and built on top of it until I had a workflow that met my needs. My problems at this point is that it was a very custom set up that I couldn't easily share with people. No one wanted the hassle of settings all these scripts up and maintaing the system. That's when I decided I sit down and teach myself Objective C (the programming language used by OS X and iOS) to build my workflow into a single, easy to use app.

It took 3 months from opening a book on Objective C (and having no other programming background besides what I taught myself in AppleScript) until I had Magic Media Marker for sale in the Mac App Store. So what does Magic Media Marker do? Well, it will watch a folder and wait for new videos files to be dropped in. Once it picks up a video file it will automatically determine if it's a Movie or a TV Show by the file's name. It then downloads poster artwork, title, synopsis, genre, rating, etc and tags the file.

Optionally if your video files are not in the correct format for your iDevices you can link Magic Media Marker up with HandBrakeCLI and it will do the conversion for you as well. When it's all done it drops the video into iTunes into the appropriate library so it's ready to watch/sync. What's more is it will optionally look for TV Shows that have been watched, but not given a rating, and remove them from your iTunes library.

The idea being if there are shows that you will only watch once, leave them unrated and MMM will clear them out for you. All this is done without the need for user interaction, past initial set up, which only takes a minute. Although the focus of Magic Media Marker is automation, you can also manually feed MMM videos as well. Magic Media Marker is constantly being updated to improve the file naming conventions it understands and to add new features. I'm always interested in user feedback, many of the added features from version 1.0 were user suggestions.

For more information you can go here: http://www.funk-isoft.com

or check it out at the Mac app store here.

MacApper Editorial:

Kris did a great job of describing the application above as you would expect…  The application costs a modest $6.99 which seems like a really reasonable price for this type of help with organizing your iTunes media files. We haven't spent much time with this particular application so we would love to hear from fans or critics of the application out there to get a better feel for the benefits and/or disadvantages of using the application.

If you are a Mac or iOS developer, please take advantage of our developer submission program and we will do our best to follow up with you just like we did with Barry.

IntoNow the amazing “identify what you’re watching on TV and share it to the world” app has recently updated to version 1.2.  Here is what they did:

• Rate episodes, shows and movies!  Simple thumbs up and thumbs down will help us create recommendations for you, and ratings for the show!
• Share with a single tap: easier and faster to share.
• Bug fixes and performance improvements!

You can now rate what you’re watching.  By either giving a thumbs up or thumbs down, IntoNow can collect your opinion and help give users recommendations on what to watch as well as give the shows you’re watching ratings.  Sharing has become a lot easier by reducing the taps you need to share to one.  And what would an app update be without bug fixes and performance improvements?  It’s all here in version 1.2.  Get it now at the AppStore.

Fandango’s movie app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is now available in the form of 4.3.1.  Here’s what the update text states:

• Now available for iPhone/iPod touch, view details about movie casts and crews via our “Performer” pages
• On the iPad you can now “favorite” actors and other cast members in addition to movies and theaters.
• Also on the iPad, signup for Showtime Alerts to receive notification when tickets are available for the movies you want to see
• Other general usability enhancements

This update adds some features from the iPad version and gives them to the iPod touch and iPhone edition.  For example you can now view the “Performer” pages on the smaller screened devices.  On the iPad you can now “favorite” people, movies, and theaters as well as sign up for Showtime Alerts – giving you push notifications when tickets are available for movies newly added to theaters.

Be sure to update to 4.3.1 if you like to Fandango to your next favorite blockbuster film or if you’re new to the scene, check it out here and download it for free.

Earlier on in the week, a source gave GigaOM information stating that Apple has purchased the domain name iCloud.com for $4.5 million. It was assumed that Apple is planning to roll out their new cloud-based music service under that particular name. The original owner of the name have renamed the site CloudMe and redirected visitors who try to navigate to the site using the iCloud domain name.

My source, who is familiar with the company, says that Xcerion has sold the domain to Apple for about $4.5 million. Xcerion hasn’t responded to my queries as yet. At the time of writing, the Whois database showed Xcerion as the owner of iCloud.

It seems as the Cupertino purchase is definitely legit as All Things Digital has been able to confirm that Apple has purchased the name from the group, though ATD wasn’t able to get the exact purchase price of the name.

Apple has indeed acquired the domain name iCloud.com from Sweden-based hybrid cloud computing outfit Xcerion. Sources in position to know confirm that Apple bought the domain as GigaOm first reported Thursday, though they declined to say whether its rumored $4.5 million price tag was accurate.

Alongside the major update to the Creative Suite collection, Adobe introduced a new type of touch SDK that allows developers to create software for the mobile and tablet devices of today and have these softwares interact with PS.

Our friends over at MacRumors did some great profiling of the details of the new SDK

Adobe Eazel

With Adobe Eazel, you can use your iPad and your fingertips to paint beautiful works of art. Paint across your entire iPad screen, and easily access the tools you need. Send your artwork directly to Photoshop CS5 from any location?all you need is a network connection between your iPad and computer. Or do all your painting in the app, and share via email.

Adobe Nav

With Adobe Nav and a network connection between your iPad and computer, you can customize the Photoshop CS5 toolbar on iPad to easily access the tools you use most. Browse, reorder, view, and zoom in on up to 200 open Photoshop documents on iPad. Tap a document on iPad to make it the active document in Photoshop CS5. Disconnect from the network and use iPad to easily share files in person with others.

Adobe Color Lava

With Adobe Color Lava, you can use your fingertips to mix colors on your iPad and create custom swatches and five-swatch themes. Instantly access them in Photoshop CS5?all you need is a network connection between your iPad and computer. Or use the app wherever inspiration strikes, and then bring your colors into Photoshop CS5 when you’re connected. Share colors via email, too.

Macworld gives you an in-depth peek at these application for the iOS platform. These apps are not yet of the App Store.

Although one of the iPad 2′s killer features is it’s built-cameras and the ability to run a fully featured version of iMovie (version 1.2) with it’s faster processor, little do people know that iMovie for the iPhone has also been updated.  Here’s what the official App Store notes state (excluding iPad only features) :

• Multitrack audio editing with 8 themed soundtracks and over 50 bundled sound effects
• Audio recording directly into the timeline
• Three new themes – Neon, Simple, and CNN iReport
• AirPlay support for sharing to Apple TV (compatible only with second-generation AppleTV; requires iOS 4.3 or later)
• Project transfer to your computer and compatible iOS devices through iTunes
• Ability to add titles on photos
• Option to add fade-in from black and fade-out to black
• Numerous enhancements, including trimming in Video Browser, in-use markers, video rotation, and more

iMovie for iOS is available in the iTunes App Store for $4.99 USD for use on both the iPad and the iPhone.  To get this update version 1.2, either download it via iTunes on your Mac or on your iOS device.

Apple this week released an update to the Apple TV software that addresses some issues some users have documented experiencing. Apple TV software 4.2.1 addresses issue with Apple TV products display flickering and flashing screens, spontaneous wake ups, and a issue with audio outputs. Apple covers all the changes made to the software with the attached support document.

“- TV compatibility: Addresses issues that may cause the screen to flicker or display incorrect color on some older TVs.

- Wake from sleep: Addresses an issue where Apple TV may not wake up from sleep.

- Audio: Addresses an issue where audio may not be heard on some TV models after switching from another input.

- Stability and performance: Apple TV Software Update 4.2.1 includes stability and performance fixes for Apple TV.”

Apple TV 4.2 brought some new content, such as MLB.tv and NBA League Pass, to the Apple TV catalog. However, with the update that’s based off the iOS 4.3 software, users have also been experiencing the flickering screens when video output automatically changes to 720p and 1080i which was the most profiled issue. The update falls in line with Apple promising to assess the issue that users have been witnessing with a forthcoming software update.

With the service enabled, tap the AirPlay button on your iOS device to enable streaming.  Banana TV is available for $7.99 at http://bananatv.net/.

Once Stephens had captured the source of the explosion, he drove to a nearby parking lot, transferred the footage from his iPhone to his iPad 2 (we recently covered how to do this using Apple’s USB Camera Connection Kit), edited the footage, added a map, subtitle and voiceover describing the incident and finally uploaded the film to YouTube and iReport. Stephens then tweeted (with a few stills) permission for others (including the media) to use the footage and before long his breaking news was getting coverage on CNN and MSNBC.

Stephens used Apple’s recently updated iMovie for iPad to cut the footage up and add all of the bells and whistles together.

Check out the actual footage here.

Business Insider noted that Apple will possibly be updating the Apple TV software sometime this week. It seems as though that speculation has come to bear fruit as MLB.tv has announced that they now offer live and streaming content right through Apple TV.

“Enjoy select Spring Training games and a full slate of regular season games on Apple TV.

Regular Season features include:

- HD Quality (where available)

- LIVE and archived games

- Home and away broadcasts*

- Quick navigation to run scoring plays or a particular at bat”

To acquire the feature in your Apple TV, users must have a subscription to MLB.tv. Packages for the services range from $19.99 to $24.99 per month.  The NBA has also offered their League Pass service through Apple TV. Users can download live stats from games and get in depth analysis as well. You can even upgrade were you’ll receive the ability to watch live and archived content. Ranges for the video services range from $65 to $100 depending what type of material you are looking for.

Aside from that, the new Apple TV software includes new photo transitions, Dolby 5.1 surround sound for Netflix streaming, and a redesigned onscreen keyboard.

“What’s New in Version 1.2

- Universal app designed for iPad 2, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (4th generation).

- Multi-Touch Precision Editor (iPad only).

- Multitrack audio editing with 8 themed soundtracks and over 50 bundled sound effects.

- Audio recording directly into the timeline.

- Audio waveforms (iPad only).

- Three new themes – Neon, Simple, and CNN iReport.

- HD sharing directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and CNN iReport.

- AirPlay support for sharing to Apple TV (compatible only with second-generation Apple TV; requires iOS 4.3 or later).

- Project transfer to your computer and compatible iOS devices through iTunes.

- Ability to add titles on photos.

- Option to add fade-in from black and fade-out to black.

- Numerous enhancements, including trimming in Video Browser, in-use markers, video rotation, and more.”

GarageBand is compatible with both the first and second generation iPad

“GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio – so you can make music anywhere you go. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses on your iPad. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument. Enjoy a full range of Smart Instruments that make you sound like a pro – even if you’ve never played a note before. Plug an electric guitar into your iPad and play through classic amps and stompbox effects. Use the built-in microphone or a guitar to record, or capture any performance. Then mix up to eight tracks to create a song you can share.”

Apple is going begin sale of the iPad in the US on Friday, March 11 through it online store beginning at 1am. In-store availability will be at 5pm local time.

“Wallaby” is the codename for an experimental technology that converts the artwork and animation contained in Adobe Flash Professional (FLA) files into HTML. This allows you to reuse and extend the reach of your content to devices that do not support the Flash runtimes. Once these files are converted to HTML, you can edit them with an HTML editing tool, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, or by hand if desired. You can view the output in one of the supported browsers or on an iOS device.”

As of right now, not all the features are supported, as stated in the release notes for the software. However, Adobe has made many conversions of the basic aspects of Flash, such as text, buttons, fills, and layers to HTML. The main objective of Wallaby is to convert Flash banner ads to non-Flash HTML compatible. The banners are currently the main objective being that they posses most of the basic functions that Adobe is focusing on.

Wallaby is available right now as a free download in which Adobe can gain feedback and it’s performance and what the user would like to see tweaked. As development of the function continues, Adobe will determine of they will include it in future versions of Flash for Professionals. Video after the jump

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With the “Wallaby” release made this week, Adobe has also released the beta version of Flash 10.3. The new software introduces new features like enhanced privacy and setting controls that integrate with System Preference.

• Integration with browser privacy controls for managing local storage

Users now have a simpler way to clear local storage from the browser settings interface – similar to how users clear their browser cookies today. Flash Player 10.3 integrates control of local storage with the browser’s privacy settings in Mozilla Firefox 4, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and higher, and future releases of Apple Safari and Google Chrome.

• Native Control Panel

Flash Player 10.3 provides users with streamlined controls for managing their Flash Player privacy, security and storage settings. Windows, Mac, and Linux users can access the Flash Player Settings Manager directly from the Control Panels or System Preferences on their computers.”

New for Mac users is the notification system that helps users to make sure that they are using the latest software. Other improvements to the software include video measurement analytics and acoustic echo cancellation for improved audio quality in collaborative environments.

With the introduction of the new iPad set to hit shelves March 11, Apple introduced some new software that will also be making a launch on iPad 2 day to complement the purchase of the new tablet computer. Cupertino has managed to bring GarageBand and iMovie to the iPad.

If you are familiar with iMovie on your Mac and iPhone, Apple has created an experience on the iPad that is quite possibly the most innovative and intuitive representation of the video editing software yet. Like iMovie on the iPhone, the app on the iPad allows users to edit videos shot right from the iPad 2’s rear and front-facing cameras. The application even comes equipped with still image support, new themes, and the Precision Editor. User’s can create more in-depth videos right on their iPads and the implementation of the Precision Editor, video management is simple and very intuitive. Audio waveforms, sound effects, voiceovers, and sharing video over the Web, device to device, or through AirPlay has also been included.

GarageBand for library has to be one of the most in-depth music application that we have seen on a iOS device yet. The app offers a variety of functionality that include simple touches to more complex and elaborate gestures that sound and visually react like the actual instrument would. Users can also mix tracks together to create studio quality music bundled with a variety of amps and effects to make individual sounds stand out. User’s can even use the application to turn their iPad into an actual amp and record material from real live instruments. Sharing material directly from the application is also including by allowing users to share content via email or iTunes. GarageBand for iPad is compatible with it Mac OS X counterpart, so transporting projects from machine to machine is hassle-free.

iMovie and GarageBand will be making their appearance on the App Store with the launch of the new iPad for a $4.99 price tag.

A couple days ago Apple released FaceTime for out of beta for $0.99 on the Mac App Store.  This occurred just in time for the release of the new MacBook Pro’s with HD FaceTime cameras.  FaceTime for Mac allows you to video conference with a bunch of Apple’s devices whether that is another Mac, an iPhone, or the latest iPod Touch.  To find out more about  FaceTime for Mac, check out our preview here.

FaceTime for Mac comes free on every new MacBook Pro and is available to earlier machines on the Mac App Store for $0.99.  Click here to check it out here.

RipIt is known as the simple DVD ripper for a reason.  Just insert a DVD into your Mac and boom!  RipIt will show you a depiction of how big the movie is file-size wise, give you the option to name your movie, and give you two choices.  The first is a simple “Rip” option.  This will  take the DVD data straight off of the the disk an onto your hard drive.  This includes the movie, extras, subtitles, and alternate tracks.  The second choice presented to you is the “Compress” option.  This is where RipIt shows its power.  Choosing “Compress” rips the movie from the DVD, then it compresses and converts the movie into a file playable on your iPhone, iPod, iPad, and AppleTV with one click.

Once you choose an option, RipIt displays a spinning disk and gives you a countdown and percentage.  Now all you have to do is wait. Doing this process is said to increase battery life by playing them on your computer instead of watching the disk.  RipIt is shareware meaning you have 10 full rips until you have to purchase it.  RipIt is $24.95 (USD) and is available here.  Unfortunately, at the time of writing, RipIt is not yet available on the MacAppStore.

Warner Brothers have begun launching applications which contain a flurry of features and streaming video content of extra footage and the film itself. The initiative will be starting with Inception and The Dark Knight providing in-depth content such as additional footage, off-line viewing, and full film content including interactive features such as photo snapshots and Facebook/Twitter integration.

“App Editions provide a fully-loaded, connected viewing experience that gives consumers the first five minutes of a feature film and a portion of bonus content that can include games, trivia, soundtracks and soundboards. The entire feature film can be unlocked via an in-app purchase, which enables downloading and unlimited streaming, as well as access to the entire array of bonus content available within the App.”

Inception is available for purchase for $11.99 while The Dark Knight is ticketed at $9.99. The Warner Brothers also mention that the apps give the company opportunity to capitalize on markets where Apple doesn’t yet offer the iTunes Movie Store as the applications can provide streaming content of their collection of films where certain markets are unable to obtain. App Edition is a universal application, which means it can be ran on iPad, iPod, and iPhone.

Warner Brothers have plans to release more movies into their App Edition initiative. They plan to include feature-films, old and new, from their catalog.

Have you ever been put into a situation where you’re watching a TV episode and you want to know who’s in it or what the name of the episode is?  Well now instead of trying to quickly decipher the credits at the end of the show you can use your iPone with IntoNow.

All you have to do is tap a button and IntoNow listens to the audio of whatever’s on TV to look up its information.  You then get a page filled with information including the series title, description, a cast list, a picture, a link to IMDB (International Movie Database) and even a link to iTunes for you to purchase or rent this episode to enjoy it again and again.

IntoNow is amazingly accurate.  It takes only a few seconds for it to listen and fetch information.  IntoNow works with DVDs and Pre-Recorded television media as well so it doesn’t have to be currently on the air waves.  In fact, I tried it during an NBA basketball game and it preformed flawlessly.

IntoNow also includes a small social network aspect.  Sign up for free and you can follow people which lets you keep up with what they’re watching.  People will also request to be your friend and follow what you’re watching.  You can also check out what is popular and what is currently playing on the air.

IntoNow is fre and available now on the App Store.  Click here to check it out!

A little while back, Apple introduced a beta into the Mac App universe allowing you to video chat with other Apple devices using their new video calling service “FaceTime”.  These devices include (at the time of writing) iPhone 4 and  an iPod Touch “with camera”.  Here’s a look at what this beta has to offer.  After downloading and installing the beta, you are given the option to enter or create an Apple ID. This will be the address that people will use to call you through FaceTime with.  Once set up, FaceTime for Mac will populate a list with your contacts allowing you to call them using their email addresses.  As long as they have FaceTime open and have it connected to the corresponding address you have in their Address Book card, then your video conferencing adventures are but a click away.

You can also create a list of favorites from this contact list, or choose the “Recents” tab to view all of your recent calls.  FaceTime for Mac is a pretty light weight app and runs quite smoothly.  The interface is self explanatory and follows a familiar black shiny look.  You can find FaceTime for Mac as a free beta at apple.com/mac/facetime.

With the release of the iOS beta, developers are finding new things that are providing more confirmation on what Cupertino is planning to do with not only the final release of the “world’s most advance mobile OS”, but with future iDevices. Devs are now discovering the Camera icon from the iPhone as well as two new icons for FaceTime and an iOS version of Mac OS’s Photo Booth. Take a gander at this image recently posted to the Net showcasing the icons.

With this in light, the second generation iPad can initiate and conduct FaceTime calls with iPhones and iPods. We here at MacApper aren’t guaranteeing that their will be a rear camera on the new iPad. The Camera app could possibly be used for the front facing camera. However, with the knowledge of how Photo Booth is used on the Mac and the revealing of a Photo Booth application on the iPads home screen, it could possibly mean that we will see a camera on the back of an iPad soon.

With the release of Skype 3.0 for the iPhone comes the ability to video chat.  This long awaited feature is now available.  Here’s what the official update text says:

- Make Skype to Skype video calls on WiFi and 3G*

- Call Skype desktop users (Mac OS X or Windows) and other iPhone users.

- Two-way video calls supported on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 4th gen.

- Receive only video supported on iPad and iPod touch 3rd gen, with no camera.

- Make video calls in portrait and landscape.

- Skype video calling requires iOS 4.0 or above.

* WiFi connection or mobile data plan required

You can now make Skype video calls over WiFi and 3G to any Mac or Windows computer, iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4 and 4th gen iPod touch.  You can also create a one-way video chat and just receive video calls on a few iOS devices without a camera.  These are the 3rd gen iPod touch and the current first generation iPad.  Just like Apple’s FaceTime feature, the service requires iOS 4.0 or above and can broadcast and receive video in portrait or landscape orientations.

Skype 3.0 is available as a free update on the App Store.

New York Times chimes in this week that Google has asked the list of its manufactures to hold off on introducing and rolling out new Google TV ready products at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The CES event was said to the choice site for a number of new development with Google TV.

But Google has asked the TV makers to delay their introductions, according to people familiar with the companys plans, so that it can refine the software, which has received a lukewarm reception.

There are a few Google TV products that are currently on the market. LogiTech’s Revue  set top box product that incorporates Google Tv is one of the few, but it has received some pretty low ratings on reviewers scoreboard. Many were weighing in before the release of Google TV that it would be a worthy competitor to Apple’s Apple TV project. Apple has revised their living room project to be iOS based and largely streaming based while also bringing the price down to a cool $99 dollars.

The shortfall of Google TV was rather well predicted by Steve Jobs at the D8 conference when he was asked about computer technology on the television frontier. The iGod basically stated that television isn’t as standardized as the mobile device market, the subsidization model in a sense has tarnished the possibility for innovation, and that their isn’t an effective go-to-market strategy that would have such a device flourish like the iPhone has been doing since it’s 2007 debut and the iPad has been doing all year since April.

“Subsidized set-top boxes have squashed innovation because no one wants to pay for separate boxes…ask TiVo, ask Roku, us, ask Google in a few months. The set-top box needs to be torn up and redesigned to get things the way people want them, and there’s no go-to-market strategy for that. With the iPhone, and now the iPad, we could partner with carriers, but television is very balkanized…everything is local.”

Apple is still boasting their Apple TV product as a hobby. With their hobby, they are experimenting with a number of ventures including making the iOS platform the base of the device. With this move, many are speculating that Apple will bring the App Store to the form factor.

You may find it hard to believe, but not all people who use a Mac use an iPhone as their choice of mobile phone. With that being said, Microsoft and RIM have released software that will allow users of their devices to sync content that is on their Mac.

Research in Motion released their Blackberry Desktop Software 2.0 for Mac OS X. The new version of the software brings several new updates for Blackberry users on the Mac OS platform. Probably the most notable and largest update would be the addition of wireless syncing, a feature that many iPhone, iPad, and iPod users have been waiting for in iTunes. Along with that, the new update also incorporates a “Device Switch Wizard” which eases the transition of content from an old Blackberry device to a new one, slightly similar to the seamless way iTunes preserve and transfer   content between new and old iOS devices. RIM also made it easier for content to be synced to iPhoto.

Microsoft also had some updates of their own. Redmond recently updated their Windows Phone 7 Connector syncing software for Mac users. The update addresses a number of issues within the software while adding some new features such as providing support for syncing purchased music on the device to their users Mac. Features also include new expansion of options for manual media management and perks to the new device setup wizard.

Install

You know some Mac apps use installers and others are standalone executables that you just drop into your applications folder and rock on. This application uses an installer which isn’t better or worse, just how it is. The install process went smoothly and nothing sensational to report there. However, they also install a removal option in the application folder and we appreciate that VERY much!

Start Up Safari

Okay this is where we encounter our first glitch. Upon installing Free YouTube Downloader for Mac we now get greeted with an error message every time we start up Safari 5.0. The warning looks like this:

We are not going to lie… that’s pretty annoying! However, it seems attributable to a different plug-in that up until installing Free YouTube Downloader for Mac, was working fine (iPlace).

Downloading from YouTube

So, even though Safari now complains a little indeed the Free Youtube Downloader plugin seems to be working fine. we went to YouTube and for test purposes just cruised through some Mac versus PC ads because generally we think they are hilarious. Next to the YouTube video is a nice download button/image and as soon as we clicked on that the download began in Free YouTube Downloader for Mac. We went about our business and sure enough it downloaded the video and we could replay it perfectly. Here is a screenshot:

So from an ease of use perspective, this is about as simple as it gets. You just navigate to a video you are interested in and download it. In order to convert the video to another format you have to upgrade from the free application so if that is what you are after you will want to look at Wondershare’s other products or upgrade this one from the offer inside the application.

Review Summary

In general we think this is a good application that definitely works as advertised, but it would be good if they could help us figure out why it conflicts with and/or triggers problems for the iPlace plugin. When the next update occurs, we would be happy to update this review.

The British Broadcasting Corporation, better known to the world by the acronym BBC, plans on debuting an application that will allow users to subscribe to content from the network. Initially targeting viewers in the US, the app is extended world wide and any user can subscribe. At this point in time, plans for the new software are still being developed, according to the Financial Times. The company already has an application that is used by it’s United Kingdom audience dubbed iPlayer made free to use as viewers in that region already pay fees to support the company’s programming. The company isn’t allowed to charge for content on it’s network, so they are currently creating plans to build software that will allow users to subscribe to see content from the network. The US market is where the company plans to venture first.

“In part to get audiences used to using the service, but more importantly so we can generate additional value from the service in terms of the user data that it gives us,”

Bradley-Jones states, managing director of BBC online.

“Planning for the Global iPlayer to initially launch just on the iPad platform, as it provides such potential to develop a truly interactive video-on-demand service, and also maps pretty nicely on to our core target audience for the service.

The app won’t be all pay though. The company plans to work with advertisers to provide free content for subscribers

AirPlay is one of the major features that Apple has touted in the iOS 4.2 update for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It allows users to stream images, video, and audio to AirPort Express and Apple TV connected devices. The debut of the feature did come with some limitations as Safari and third-party applications can only stream audio content to other devices.

Since then, there has been some hackers who have been able to figure out the code for the restrictions on the video streaming aspect of the new iOS software and have enabled people to obtain a workaround for the feature. However, many users in the ecosystem would rather Apple provide official support for the feature to be used by third parties and their applications through a public application programming interface.

MacRumors has a collection of subscribes and visitors to their site who have many questions for the team at Apple and often reach out to Steve Jobs for some answers. One of their readers recently inquired about the AirPlay feature ever making it to other parts of the software. Steve Jobs, as he is known for doing, replied back to the individual and confirmed that they have plans to stretch the feature throughout the software

Q: Hi, I recently updated both my iPhone 4 and iPad to 4.2. I think my favourite feature is airplay. This is seriously amazing and makes sharing content seamless. I just purchased Apple TV and was wondering are you ever going to make airplay video work for videos in safari and 3rd party apps? I hope to get a response.

A: Yep, hope to add these features to Airplay in 2011.

Some other feature are also hoped to be added to the mix. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber mentioned one the features, as obvious as it may seem, that he hopes to see in the very near future.

The most obvious shortcoming: You can’t use AirPlay to play videos shot on your iPhone. That’s an obvious feature, right? Shoot a video on your iPhone, then play it back for family and friends on your big TV via AirPlay. No syncing, no docking, no moving files around. Just hit play. But it doesn’t work in iOS 4.2.1 – even though you can use AirPlay to show still photos from the Photos app.

Some thought that high definition video shot with the iPhone 4 couldn’t be streamed because of the bandwidth that may be required to stream it. However, syncing the content to iTunes and the back to the iPhone will allows users to stream the same HD content shot with their iPhone. It’s been theorized that Cupertino released the AirPlay and AirPrint features to the new software in order to meet the goal they have set for themselves. Functionality of the feature should develop quickly over the next couple of months.

Hulu this week updated their application Hulu Plus for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Few of the additions that have been added to the app have been,

- New split-screen player on iPad
- Enhanced queue and subscription management
- Improved playback performance
- New thumbnail viewer on iPad
- Miscellaneous bug fixes

This update comes as Hulu lowers their subscription service price lowered to $7.99 a month. They also announced that the premium service has come out of preview mode and went public.

I am happy to announce that today we are launching the Hulu Plus subscription service out of preview. With this launch, we are proud to offer our users the only subscription service with the full current season of hit TV shows like Glee, Modern Family, The Office, House, 30 Rock, Grey’s Anatomy, and more, with minimal ad-load, across computers, TVs, mobile phones, and tablets.

Hulu stated that customers who signed up for the service will be credited a difference back.

Hulu Plus officially took off on Roku boxes and support for TiVo Premiere boxes will becoming in the near futurte. People have been wanting Hulu to bring their service to Apple TV, but that announcement has not been made at this point.

One of Adobes dominating technologies has been one of the topic of discussions in the tech world. Flash has gotten much attention from Apple stating that the tech is definitely not ready for the mobile arena to experts stating that the tech will eventually take a backseat as HTML5 moves in to replace. A move from Cupertino that has gotten much attention from the public is their decision to no longer include Flash pre-installed on the platform, starting with Apples praised MacBook Air. Ars Technica put Flash under a microscope and tested it on the new Apple notebook, declaring that the results show that when browsing the web on the machine with Flash took a dramatic blow to the battery. The review getting much attention as it provided another form of proof to Steve Jobs Thoughts on Flash open letter. This, in turn, lead Chief Technology Officer of Adobe Kevin Lynch to indeed confirm that it does take more power to run Flash than to not, not forgetting to mention that HTML5 could use the same amount of power.

CEO Shantanu Narayen noted this week that the company has an optimized version of Flash running on an Apple MacBook Air and is testing its performance.

He said it’s really all about optimizing for silicon: “When we have access to hardware acceleration, we’ve proven that Flash has equal or better performance on every platform.” You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that sentence a cop-out, but that’s actually not the case — the chief executive says they’ve presently got a Macbook Air in the labs and have an optimized beta of Flash for the device presently in testing.

Apple reformed polices to allow fro hardware-accelerated decoding of H.264 video from third party devs on certain GPUs. Among the list was the NVidia GeForce 320M, the same graphics processing unit included in the new MacBook Air. Adobe released an update to the Flash software a while back utilizing hardware acceleration on a number of Apple machines.

Looks like second generation iPhone owners are going to take another hit. It seems as though in the latest build, Cupertino has decided to completely axe AirPlay from the iPhone 3G. The feature was functional in the previous builds on the device, but it didn’t make the final cut the Golden Master version.

“After speaking to multiple developers and users testing out the iOS 4.2 betas, we have determined that AirPlay did in fact work on the iPhone 3G at one point, meaning the AirPlay functionality was definitely removed from Apple’s two-year-old iPhone at its GM stage.”

Source: 9 to 5 Mac

What’s probably more interesting is that on Apple’s product page for the function, it lists that AirPlay will be available on all iOS 4 devices.

The situation mimics the same predicament that the iPhone 3G had with Game Center. In the early builds of iOS 4.1 Game Center was accessible from second generation device. However, in the last stretch to launch day, Apple cut the feature from the from the final product for iPhone 3G. The feature also got disabled on the second generation iPod touch, but was later restored on that device, leaving the iPhone 3G as the only iOS 4 device that didn’t have the feature.