If you have a mid-2012 MacBook Air, Apple has released a small firmware update that addresses “a storage firmware issue that, in rare cases, may cause a system to fail to recover from crash.”
The update itself is just 1.69MB, and can be downloaded here
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Apple has released a new firmware update for the mid 2012 MacBook Air today that helps to address problems with the device recovering from a crash. Apple release notes said the update addresses “a storage firmware issue that, in rare cases, may cause a system to fail to recover from crash.”
The MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 is available to download on Apple’s website here and should be hitting Software Update soon. The 1.69 MB update is available for mid 2012 MacBook Airs running OS X 10.7.5 or OS X 10.8.3.
Rovio really does make its games a worthwhile investment. Angry Birds Seasons is almost two and a half years old now, and it has just received yet another 36 new levels — plus a new power-up — on Android and iOS. That’s not bad for a 99¢ game now, is it.
The update’s description reads:
Abra-Ca-Bacon! It’s a beautiful spring night, and the bad piggies have learned some magic tricks — and the first one is making the eggs disappear! Not to worry, the Angry Birds have some tricks up their sleeve… like the all new MAGIC PORTALS!
In addition to 36 all-new and “magical” levels, this update brings portals, a never-before-seen game mechanical that allows you to magically transport within levels. There’s also a new power-up called AllakaBAM, which adds additional exploding boxes to certain levels.
Check out the update’s release trailer below:
You can download the latest Angry Birds Seasons update now from the App Store and Google Play.
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Google today announced that it is revamping the Google voice search feature available in Chrome on the desktop. While users have always been able to search with their voice through Chrome, Google is attempting to make the service work more like it does through Google Search apps and Google Now on mobile devices.
Chrome will now include “conversational search” with a brand new interface that doesn’t require users to click in order to search with their voice. Like on mobile devices with Google Now, users will now be able to simple say “Google” in order to activate voice search.
Today, we previewed what this conversational experience will look like in Chrome on your desktops and laptops. Soon, you’ll be able to just say, hands-free, “OK Google, will it be sunny in Santa Cruz this weekend?” and get a spoken answer. Then, you’ll be able to continue the conversation and just follow up with “how far is it from here?” if you care about the drive or “how about Monterey?” if you want to check weather somewhere else, and get Google to tell you the answer.
The new interface, as pictured above from Google’s demo of the feature, is much like the voice search interface for Google Now on Android devices.
The new feature will be coming to Macs and PCs through Chrome soon.
Google also briefly showed off some new content coming to Google Now including new cards for Reminders, Music Albums, TV Shows, Books, Public Transit, and Video games rolling out today:
We knew from leaks in the weeks leading up to I/O that Google was planning some gaming related announcements and today the company has officially announced the service in a press release ahead of its Google I/O keynote taking place now. Not only will the service allow Android developers to build in real-time multiplayer, social features, achievements, and leaderboards while storing game saves and settings in the cloud, the SDK for Google Play game services will also be available to iOS and web developers.
Google noted a few titles for Android have already been updated with the feature including World of Goo, Super Stickman Golf 2, Beach Buggy Blitz, Kingdom Rush, Eternity Warriors 2, and Osmos.
Not surprisingly, the cross-platform gaming service will also build in Google+ integration to track high scores, achievements and more:
-Achievements that increase engagement and promote different styles of play.
-Social and public leaderboards that seamlessly use Google+ circles to track high scores across friends and across the world.
-Cloud saves that provide a simple and streamlined storage API to store game saves and settings. Now players never have to replay Level 1 again.
-Real-time multiplayer for easy addition of cooperative or competitive game play on Android devices. Using G+ Circles a game can have up to 4 simultaneous friends or auto-matched players in a game session together with support for additional players coming soon.
Google’s full press release below:
Introducing Google Play game services (May 15th, 2013)
We love to talk about games at Google. Especially the old ones, like Pac-man, Pitfall and Frogger. Since those classics, games have changed a lot. They’ve moved from that clunky box in your living room to the screen that you carry with you in your pocket wherever you go. They’re mobile, they’re social, and they’re an important part of Google Play.
Today, we’re launching Google Play game services, a core part of building a gaming platform for the next generation of games. These services help you make your games more social, with achievements, leaderboards, and multiplayer, as well as more powerful, storing game saves and settings in the cloud. They are available on Android, and many on iOS or any other connected device. By building on Google’s strengths in mobile and cloud services, you can focus on what you’re good at as game developers: creating great gaming experiences for your users.
With game services, you can incorporate:
Achievements that increase engagement and promote different styles of play.
Social and public leaderboards that seamlessly use Google+ circles to track high scores across friends and across the world.
Cloud saves that provide a simple and streamlined storage API to store game saves and settings. Now players never have to replay Level 1 again.
Real-time multiplayer for easy addition of cooperative or competitive game play on Android devices. Using G+ Circles a game can have up to 4 simultaneous friends or auto-matched players in a game session together with support for additional players coming soon.
Several great Android games are already using these new game services, including World of Goo, Super Stickman Golf 2, Beach Buggy Blitz, Kingdom Rush, Eternity Warriors 2, and Osmos.
Google Play game services are available today through an SDK for Android, and a native iOS SDK for IPhone and iPad games. Web and other platform developers will also find corresponding REST APIs, with libraries for JavaScript, Java, Python, Go, Dart, PHP, and more.
We’re excited to see what games will do with these new services and experiences, and this is only the beginning. Wait until you get to the boss battle… er.. Check out our developer site to get started: https://developers.google.com/games/
Greg Hartrell, Lead Product Manager
The new Yahoo! Mail app for iOS has received another update just two weeks after its big revamp. This release adds support for Apple’s AirPrint service, allowing you to wirelessly print emails and attachments from your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
You’ll need a printer that’s compatible with AirPrint, of course, or a desktop application that turns any printer into an AirPrint-compatible one — such as HandyPrint for Mac. You can then print emails and attachments you receive in Yahoo! Mail wirelessly.
To use the new AirPrint feature in an email, simply tap the reply button at the bottom of the screen and choose the ‘Print’ option. To print an attachment, open the attachment and then find the ‘Print’ option inside the share button.
You can select the printer you wish to send your documents to, and the number of copies you’d like to print.
You can download the latest Yahoo! Mail update with support for AirPrint from the App Store now.
Source: App Store
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Google I/O kicks off today, and one of the announcements you can look forward to is a new Google Maps service. Google accidentally teased major changes ahead of its official unveiling by opening up a new webpage that allowed users to request an invite to a new Maps service.
That page has now been pulled, but not before screenshots began making their way around the Internet.
While those screenshots, which were obtained by Droid-Life, don’t give away too much information, they do hint at some of the changes coming to Google Maps — and they give us a glimpse at some of its interface tweaks.
They also promise “the most comprehensive map, now built for you.”
“The new Google Maps draws you a tailored map for every search and click you make,” one page reads. “So whatever you’re trying to find or wherever you’re trying to go, you’ll always have a map highlighting the things that matter most.”
There’s a new “smart search box,” which displays things like ratings, reviews, and indoor maps automatically as you type out your search. The new Maps also incorporates imagery from Google Earth, and Google’s flight search service to provide you with as much information as it possibly can on your destination.
“From outer space down to the streets, the new Google Maps gathers all the imagery of a location into one spot, making it easy to explore your world from every angle,” Google says.
There’s no mention of this new Maps service on mobile yet, so expect it to come to the desktop first and then mobile devices at some point in the future. And as we mentioned above, it appears it’ll be invite-only at first, before it’s open to everyone.
These pages have now been pulled, unfortunately — but we expect to see Google’s official announcement on the new Google Maps later today at Google I/O. Stay tuned for more as soon as we have it.
Via: Droid-Life
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Pinterest is rolling out a big update to its mobile apps today that brings a number of highly requested features to both the iPhone and iPad. Some of the more notable updates include notifications and push notifications for comments and mentions, the ability to @mention friends from within the app, and improved search that provides suggestions as you type.
The updated app will also now let users invite friends to group boards.
A full list of what’s new in Pinterest 2.4 for iOS is below:
What’s New in Version 2.4
- Send a pin to someone and we’ll seal it with love (iPhone & iPod only)
- Get push notifications so you never miss a beat
- Search…and you shall receive suggestions
- Invite friends to pin with you on group boards
- Pin from more places — now more easily from the web
- Mention your friends (at last)!
Philips today launched a big update to the Hue app that provides users with control over their network connected Philips Hue lighting system which the company began selling exclusively through Apple Stores last year. Version 1.1 of the app adds a ton of new features including Geofencing to trigger scenes when you leave or return home, recurring schedules for functions such as alarms, a new synchronous scenes, and much more.
One of the big announcements accompanying the launch of the updated app is a new IFTTT (If This Then That) channel for Hue. IFTTT is a service that allows online applications to talk to one another by letting users set up actions for one app that are triggered by another. For example, with the Hue channel, users can have “access to any application programming interface (API) on the Internet, allowing Hue smart bulbs to act as informational gateways and visual cues for updates on weather, stock quotes, sports scores, email, social media and more.” Imagine getting a notification through Hue related to a weather forecast or update on a social network.
The Philips Hue starter kit is available now for $199 with 3 bulbs and additional bulbs are available to purchase for $59 each.
A full list of what’s new in the update Philips Hue app is below:
- Geofencing feature: Scenes can now automatically turn on when coming home and turn off when leaving home
- Scenes can now be switched on or off using a timer between 1 and 59 minutes
- Alarms can now be set to recur in a weekly schedule and with a random offset for the start and end time
- Fades of alarms now start at the set time instead of ending at the set time
- Increased reliability of alarms
- Improved vibrant colors for LivingColors and hue lights and added support for LivingWhites
- When activating a scene the lights change at the same time synchronously
- Compatible lights can now be added to the system using their serial number
Facebook for iOS has received another new update today, which adds a new “photo viewer button” which allows you to save and share images, and make them your profile picture. It also makes improvements to places editing, and more.
After installing the new Facebook update, you’ll notice that a new button appears at the bottom of the photo viewer that allows you to save and share your favorite photos. If you’re tagged in a photo, you’ll also have the option to make it your profile picture.
In addition to this, the update improves places editing when checking in on iPhone, and promises to make events load faster on iPhone.
The latest Facebook release is available to download from the App Store now.
Source: App Store
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