iOS App Store is Blank

Some users have been experiencing a blank white screen when launching the Apple App Store on their iPhone or iPad.  There are numerous fixes from changing the date & time to just rebooting the device.  An unusual fix the I have been successful in, is changing the language setting; Ex. Change from US English to Canadian English and launch the App Store.  If the App Store populates, change back to US English.  Your issue should now be resolved.

Apple's Mac App Store Launches January 6th

Apple announced their controversial Mac App Store will go live January 6th. The new store is designed to give Mac users a "one stop shop" for all their Mac applications.  This is similar to Apple's iOS App Store with the exception users can still install software from other sources.  For their efforts, Apple is retaining 30% of all revenue from the store.

Apple Releases iTunes 10.1 Update

Today, Apple released the iTunes 10.1 update that will allow users to sync their iOS 4.2 devices to iTunes.  Apple is expected to release iOS 4.2 for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch early next wee


The update adds the below features:

• Use AirPlay to instantly and wirelessly stream videos from iTunes to the all-new Apple TV. 


• Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 4.2. 


• Provides a number of important stability and performance improvements

Manage Your eBooks With Calibre

Calibre is a great program for managing your eBook collection.  Calibre allows you to manage your collection in an iTunes like format and gives users great tools for converting eBooks to popular formats such as epub.  The Utility also syncs to popular eBook readers and can download missing cover art.  Calibre is free to use and is available for OS X, Linux, and Windows.

VLC Coming To The iPad?

If all goes well, we may see an iPad version of the popular media VLC (Video LAN Client) sometime next week. Mac4Ever reports (via MacRumors)  the app is currently awaiting approval from Apple's App Store.  The desktop version of VLC is the Swiss Army Knife of media players; if you have a video file, there is very good chance that VLC can play it.  While you may be willing to pay for VLC, you don't have to.  If approved, VLC for the iPad will be free!

Magazine Subscriptions Come To The iPad

Apple and Time Inc. have agreed to allow print subscribers free access to the iPad version of People Magazine, according to a report from CNNMoney.  Other Time Inc. magazines such as Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune are expected to adopt the same model within the next 30 days.  

With this new policy change, expect other publishers to ask for the same deal from Apple.  Hopefully, subscriptions for all magazines will be available on the iPad very soon.

iPad Tip: Watch Xvid AVI Videos On Your iPad

The video codec for iOS devices has been restricted to h.264 mp4 files, until now.  For some unknown reason, Apple has approved the CineXPlayer app for the iPad.  CineXPlayer allows you to transfer Xvid AVI videos to your iPad via iTunes file sharing and play them from the app.  Support for all Xvids is not 100% and the developer is currently working on improvements.  The best feature of the app is its price, free!  Go download it now incase Apple has a change of heart.

Google Introduces Voice Actions For Android

Google has introduced Voice Actions for Android.  With Voice Actions, you can speak to access music, directions, find and call contacts, search Google, send emails and more.  The app requires Android 2.2 and is included in the updated Voice Search app

Commands currently available (from Google's blog):

• send text to [contact] [message]


• listen to [artist/song/album]


• call [business]


• call [contact]


• send email to [contact] [message]


• go to [website]


• note to self [note]


• navigate to [location/business name]


• directions to [location/business name]


• map of [location]

QNAP App Allows Multimedia Streaming To iOS Devices

QNAP has launched an Application in Apple's iOS App Store that allows multimedia streaming from their NAS products.  To enable the feature, the NAS needs to have the QNAP v3.3 NAS management utility update applied to it.  The App is a free download, and allows you to stream your music, photos, and videos over WiFi or 3G.  QNAP also includes MyJukebox, a feature that enables browsing for playlists created on the NAS, without using iTunes. 

Source: Hot HardWare

Jailbreak For iOS 4 Released

A new jailbreak for iOS 4 has been released and the mod is very simple to do. On your iOS device, launch Safari and go to jailbreakme.com.  Once there, move the jailbreak slider to the right. That is all that's required!  The jailbreak downloads and installs without needing to be tethered to a computer.  The process took about 3 minutes on my 3rd generation iPod Touch.  My iPod successfully synced to iTunes 9.2.1 after Cydia was installed.  Now a warning; jailbreaking can brick your device and Apple has said they will void warranties on jailbroken devices ( I guess devices that can't be restored before requiring service), so proceed with caution and at your own risk. 

StreetMuseum App Gives Peek Back In Time

The Museum of London has released an iOS app that allows users to see historic photos from London. Through Geotagging, users can locate the cordinates of the photo and take a current snapshot of the location.  The StreetMuseum app will overlay the historic photo on top of the current image.  Gizmodo has a few examples of this on their site.  This is pretty cool and I can't wait to see more software like this in the future.

Demo Of Pressure Sensitive Drawing On An iPad

Ten One has released a demo showing it's possibile to develop an application with pressure sensitive drawing capabilities.  Their plan is to release this capability as a free library that could be used in any application.  Currently, the technology uses private Apple APIs, so it is unclear if Apple will allow the technology.

Wi-Fi Syncing App Available (Sort Of) for iPhone/iPod Touch

iPhone developer Greg Hughes recently created an app that would allow Wi-Fi syncing of iPhones and iPod Touches (iPad coming soon). According to Engadget, Apple unsurprisingly rejected the app, so it has appeared on the Cydia store for jailbroken devices. The app costs $9.99 and more information can be found on the developers web site.

http://www.getwifisync.com/