Earlier this year a fellow called Edward Snowden made some earth shattering revelations about the various electronic spying programs of the NSA. The leaked documents listed a number of globally recognized companies such as Apple, Google and Yahoo, though the companies initially denied having any knowledge of the agency’s programs. Interest in encrypted messaging services surged after these revelations, which is when Cryptocat’s popularity reached new heights. iPhone users waiting for an app should give up on waiting, Apple has rejected Cryptocat’s app for its smartphones.
Cryptocat is popular due to its ease of use, it simply lets two users exchange messages using end-to-end encryption. Nadim Kobeissi, who developed the app, was quite vocal on Twitter against Apple’s decision to reject the app. Since he’s bound to a non-disclosure agreement which is part and parcel of the Apple developer program, he can’t go into details as to why the app was not approved, but he believes that the reasons he was given were “illegitimate.” However, it is interesting to note that Cryptocat is available for download from the Mac App Store, which has similar guidelines for developers as the iOS App Store. So perhaps it really doesn’t have to do with Apple’s reluctance in approving Cryptocat for iPhone, perhaps it really has found something during the approval process which has compelled it enough to stop it from being listed on the App Store. Kobeissi, on the other hand, is “seriously considering lawyering up.”
If you’ve used a previous iteration of GarageBand for OS X, the update to version 10 of the software for OS X Mavericks shouldn’t require too much convincing. It’s essentially a new iteration of the same high-powered set of features with additional features to boot. But what about those users who want to pay the […]
So yesterday we reported on the possibility of a bug in the Mac App Store that allowed users running trial versions of the iWork suite (amongst other software) to upgrade to full versions for free. Well it turns out that the bug might not necessarily be a bug after all. This is according to J. Glenn Künzler over at MacTrast when he managed to upgrade his version of Aperture for free. He then proceed to test this out with a DVD version of iLife ’09 and found that it worked as well, which is when he decided to reach out to a contact at Apple to find out what was going on and if they were planning on fixing the bug. (more…)
While we discourage piracy and advocate that users should pay for the software they use, it seems that there is a bug in the Apple Mac App Store that is allowing iWork trial users to upgrade to the entire suite for free. This is according to a smattering of reports where users have found that despite running the 30-day iWork trial on their Mac computers, they are now able to get a free upgrade to the entire full-version of the iWork suite at no cost!
This is thanks to a bug where the Mac App Store is unable to differentiate between a boxed copy of the iWork suite and the trial version, and is treating the trial version of iWork apps as a fully purchased copy, allowing users to install the updated (and full) version of the apps for free. Granted the apps themselves are bundled free with purchases of new Mac computers, but those running older Macs are still required to pay for them. This bug has also extended to the Aperture app. We’re sure Apple is working to get this fixed and we’re not sure if already upgraded copies will be reverted once Apple solves this, but we’ll keep our eyes and ears peeled for any updates pertaining to the matter.
If you’ve seen the likes of the Apple Volume Purchase Program in the past, you’re likely part of an Education or Enterprise-based organization, and you’ve likely wished they had the same program for Mac Apps as well. While this program had only worked with iOS-based apps and books in volume in the past, Apple has […]
Just yesterday the 2013 Super Bowl revealed the very first glimpse most of the world had at Apple’s URL-shortening “AppStore.com” in the Star Trek Into Darkness teaser – and lucky you, you’re already signed up! The AppStore.com structure is not one where there will be a massive “land grab” as often is the case with these sorts of things, instead Apple has opted for a more automatic sort of push, with URLs like http://appstore.com/slashgear being active automatically. That particular address will bring you straight to the iTunes App Store listing of the SlashGear app – easy as pie!
This structure also works for the Mac App Store. If you head to http://appstore.com/mac/osxmountainlion/, you’ll be taken to the Mac App Store’s listing of OS X Mountain Lion, also launching the Mac App Store as the iTunes App Store links launch the iTunes app. This shortened link structure includes both names of apps and names of companies. You’ll be able to link to link in three different ways to two different kinds of final locations as follows:
http://appstore.com/companyname/
http://appstore.com/companyname/appname/
http://appstore.com/appname/
As the iOS Developer Library lets us know, each of these also works with the “mac” inserted to head to the Mac App Store instead of the iTunes App Store. The Mac App Store, for those of you that don’t know, is made for desktop apps rather than mobile apps – while your iPhone apps come from the iTunes App Store, your MacBook apps come from the Mac App Store.
http://appstore.com/mac/companyname/
http://appstore.com/mac/companyname/appname/
http://appstore.com/mac/appname/
The way you’ll get the correct app or company name for this structure is to remove all whitespace, make sure all letters are lower-case, and make sure all copyright, trademark, and registered mark symbols are taken out. You’ll be replacing the ampersand with the word “and”, and all of the following punctuation must be removed: “!¡”#$%’()*+,\-./:;< =>¿?@[\]^_`{|}~”. You’ll need to replace all accented and “decorated” character with their most basic form (elemental character) while all other characters are left as is. So make your title as basic as possible and it should, by all means, link easily.
Above: Star Trek Into Darkness trailer displays first-ever appearance of an AppStore.com/ vanity url.
If you have trouble finding the correct structure for your app or company on either app store, be sure to let Apple know at http://developer.apple.com/bugreporter. There you’ll want to tell them the full current or desired URL you’re hoping to work with, the countries your app or company works in, and the iTunes-generated long URL you’ve been working with up until now (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app…). You can get this longer URL by right-clicking or control-clicking the little triangle next to the app’s price in your respective app store and selecting the “Copy Link” option.
Sound all good to you? Let us know if you’re pumped up about this simple yet powerful measure Apple is taking to keep links to their app stores clean and quick!
The OS X version of Evernote 5 has been released out of its Beta state now for the public, available for all to download in the Mac App Store. This version of the app is ready to bring on “100+ new features” including shortcuts, easy access to recent notes, notebook expansion, and tag lists. This version also has easier browsing with a fully updated user interface and works with a lovely new notes list for simple usability all around.
Evernote 5 has a brand new Cards View so you can visualize what you’re opening rather than just relying on text titles. You’ll be able to edit notes inside Evernote rather than relying on 3rd party applications. You can change a geographic location of a note – this along with many other changes may seem small to some, but are game-changing for others.
Evernote 5 for Mac allows you to convert a file to plain text on the fly and works with a new set of keyboard shortcuts. You can use the following to bring on two- or three-click excellence to your Evernote-loving life.
CMD-J: Jump to a notebook from anywhere in the application CMD-Shift-A: Jump to All Notes CMD-Option-(1-5): Switch to main sidebar sections (Notes, Notebooks, etc) CMD-(1-9): Jump to Shortcuts CMD-L: Edit current note title CMD-’: Edit current note tags CMD-]: Indent text
You’ve got several different ways now to view your notebooks and tags including a new Grid view – this stacks all your stacks and notebooks in one place and sorts them according to owner, note count, or name. You have a brand new Atlas mode that allows you to see your notes visualized on a set of maps, map view also bringing you pan and zoom features – much like the updated version of Evernote 5 for your mobile device.
This is just the beginning, too – you can see a full list of feature changes over at Evernote’s Mac Feature Page or just download the app for yourself. Might as well – it’s totally free! Total integration with your mobile devices working with Evernote continues here too – notes for all!
We know Pocket has had a strong presence on iOS, Android and other platforms for quite some time now, but today the service formerly known as Read it Later announced it is now making its way to a bigger Cupertino screen. Naturally, Pocket’s new application isn’t much different than its mobile versions, meaning it’ll offer the same offline access, save-for-later features as it currently does on the mobile front but with a more “native Mac experience” — of course, this includes the ability to sync across multiple devices, stream videos and share tidbits via those cherished social networks. What’s more, Pocket won’t be charging a dime for its novel and handy OS X app, though this shouldn’t come as a surprise given the outfit’s somewhat recently adopted no-cost model — still, it’s a gesture most people will certainly appreciate, and one you Mac folk can start enjoying now by downloading from to the desktop-based App Store.
Though the price might be a bit of a turn-off for those of you not familiar with the power of the environment, Tweetbot has hit the Apple desktop environment today in a big way. This Twitter app is up for $19.99 USD, and for that price they’ve brought on one whole heck of a lot of features in this final first release (that being non-Beta, as it were). With this brand new universe for the Twitter king you’ll get Retina Mac Support, integration with your Notification Center, and even syncing with iCloud – of course you’ll need 10.8 Mountain Lion for that.
This update ties together with the iPhone and iPad versions of the app, Tweetbot now ready for the whole Apple universe. This update brings on the Twitter timeline for your desktop with single or multiple window view as well as column view, whatever you do so desire. This app has inline media preview – this working with several kinds of media such as photos and videos from multiple 3rd party networks. If you’re getting too much of a good thing from people you’d rather not hear from as much as you do, you can block and report users for spam and/or mute users, hashtags, clients, and keywords, too!
This release includes the ability to save tweet drafts for future publishing and to use lists as timelines, too. You can create a list of co-workers and friends and set it separate from the rest of your feed – or just make one for the comedians in your life. You can make sure you’re looking good to the rest of the world from this app as well, with the ability to edit your Twitter profile and avatar right from the Tweetbot app.
You can see what’s popular around the world with both local and worldwide trends support, following the hashtags as well as the keywords that you might never otherwise be seeing, right near your doorstep. We’ll be having a more in-depth look at this app later today – if you want to grab the app right this minute, you certainly may. You can find it the Mac App Store under “Tweetbot for Mac” and you will indeed be dropping no less than $19.99 for it – believe it or not!
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