Google Updates Maps Web App
Google has recently updated their web interface to their Map’s service viewable on mobile browsers such as mobile Safari. The update includes the ability to view your current location, give suggestions when entering locations, clickable icons, directions for when you are driving, walking, biking, and taking a transit system, the ability to view satellite, traffic, and other views as well as much more. Sounds like the built in iPhone Maps app! Well, now you can do all of these things straight through Safari via maps.google.com. Enjoy!
Steve Jobs and MobileMe
MacStories is chiming in today with an anecdote that steps into the mind of Apple’s head honcho Steve Jobs for a bit. The story was made first available as an in-app purchase through the Fortune magazine subscription on the iPad (later made available on the web on print copies).
The story shares some interesting information about Steve Jobs and the launching of the MobileMe web service. Specifically, the article shares the reaction Jobs had to the initial bogged networks and downtime of the service.
Amazon Makes Cloud Player iOS Compatible
iFans chimed in and gave some information on changes made with the Amazon Cloud Player. Among the changes, one of them was noted as Amazon making their Cloud Player software iOS compatible.
“While it isn’t quite as nice as an actual app, it provides nearly all of the functionality that you could ask for. Even the multitasking music controls work flawlessly. Sound quality is said to be ‘great,’ and the only part of it that is a little buggy seems to be the scrubbing capability”
WHERE for the iPhone Goes 4.1.5
WHERE, Inc. has released an update to their location-based app – WHERE to version 4.1.5. Here’s what the official text says:
- Morris Visitor Publications editorial content integration, providing the best visitor content for travelers.
- Smart type ahead on the home page: suggests previous search terms, names of places near you and the best part: direct links to places that you’ve saved to your WHERE Lists.
- Faster log in experience.
- Fixed several crashes & bugs.
WordPress for iOS Updates to 2.8
WordPress for the iPhone and iPad has updated to version 2.8. Here’s what the update text states:
Besides crash and bug fixes, the higlights for 2.8 are:
- Quick Photo button: only available on iPhone for now.
- Stats
- Added translations to Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Bosnian, Hebrew, German, Dutch, French, and Croatian.
The Quick Photo button allows you to quickly take a picture and attach it to a new post on any of your blogs with one tap. Also added is a Stats tab that works in tandem with the official WordPress stats plugin. Be sure to add that plugin to your blog before using this feature. If you haven’t, the app will walk you through the process.
Tweetbot Updates to 1.1
Tweetbot, the new bird on the block when it comes to Twitter clients for the iPhone and iPod touch, has recently updated to version 1.1. This much anticipated update comes packaged with the following:
- Landscape support for media, compose and web views
- Added User/Hashtag buttons to compose toolbar
- Improved accuracy of displayed locations
- Tweet gaps now load above instead of below
- Lists now sorted alphabetically
- Login now handles email address or username
- CloudApp image/video support
- Improved hashtag picker
- Fixed translation issue with British English
- Improved saving behavior for older devices
Do Not Track Tool Added To Safari
Cupertino has made some new additions to Safari in Mac OS X Lion since we last seen it. Apple has added a “do not track” tool within the web browsing software to secure users better online, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The tool is included within the latest test release of Lion, a version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system that is currently available only to developers. The final version of the operating system is scheduled to be released to the public this summer. Mentions of the do-not-track feature in Apple’s Safari browser began to appear recently in online discussion forums and on Twitter.
Updates for iOS/Safari 5
Upon speculations prediction, Apple has released iOS 4.3.2 for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod. The update brings several fixes to the software including a fix for the iPad in which FaceTime would freeze and become responsive after previous use. It also addresses an issue with Verizon iPads were users were unable to connect to the Verizon network after turning off network connectivity. The CDMA iPhone is still in 4.2.x and received a separate update, update 4.2.7.
This update contains improvements and other bug fixes including:
- Fixes an issue that occasionally caused blank or frozen video during a FaceTime call
Apple Hires Ex-Microsoft Data Manager
Apple is on it’s typical hiring frenzy and the company has picked up Microsoft data center manager Kevin Timmons. Timmons filled the position for Microsoft for a little under two years. He was picked up by Redmond from his previous decade stint with GeoCities/Yahoo!
News that a bunch of us have been discussing is Apple hiring Kevin Timmons (GM of Microsoft’s data center services group). Don’t expect any press releases from Apple or Microsoft on this one. … The position Kevin is going to fill is not known and is not the position vacated by the departed Olivier Sanche. Olivier’s position has been filled by another data center operations executive.
Time Warner Pulls MTV And FX From iPad
Getting complaints from Viacom, Discovery Communications, and News Corp., the cable company Time Warner has agreed to withdraw several channels from it iPad application. Apparently, the three big organizations are requesting more money because the content is being delivered to customers through their iPad as well as their television sets. New York Times recorded Time Warner stating that the company said they believe that they had:
