Category Archives: News
Apple may acquire Italian digital audio editing software firm Redmatica
Speaking at the recent D10 conference, Tim Cook said Apple is still in the business of buying companies, but he doesn’t want to announce these accusations unless necessary. According to a recent Tech Crunch report, Italian startup Redmatica may be the target of one of these quiet buyouts. The source of this acquisition information is Italian blog Fanpage, which found a paper trail in the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (Agcom).
Redmatica specializes in music-editing software for the Mac. Its website lists several apps including the flagship Keymap Pro 2.3, a sampled instrument editor. Though the details are not known, it’s possible that Apple is purchasing this company to improve its music offerings like Logic Pro and GarageBand.
Pixar president Dr. Ed Catmull, Oracle’s Larry Ellison discuss Steve Jobs
Over the years, Steve Jobs was a big part of the annual D:All Things Digital conference and his presence at the recent D10 was sorely missed. In one long sit-down session, both Pixar President Dr. Ed Catmull and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison talk candidly about their interactions with Jobs and his influence on technology.
In one part of the interview, Ellison focuses on Jobs’s cutting personality and how that led to his removal from Apple in the early days of the company. Ellison called this removal “an incredible mistake” and said it influences how young CEOs do business today.
Hipstamatic’s Snap is a beautiful magazine worth having on the iPad
One of the best places to show off sumptuous design and photography is the iPad, and Hipstamatic is taking advantage of that with its new Snap magazine, a digital publication that combines Hipstamatic user pictures with print and other art that’s completely free.
AllThingsD billed Snap as a photography magazine, but I agree with TechCrunch’s assessment that it’s more of a culture and lifestyle publication. While Hisptamatic images are the driving force behind the magazine, there is a lot to be said for the content.
Daily iPhone App: Duckers is colorful fun for free
Duckers is a game we’ve been waiting for quite a while. I first saw it last year at 360iDev, where Retro Dreamer (the same guys behind iOS’ Velocispider) showed it to me as a work in progress. But now it’s all finished and available on the App Store as a free download.
It’s certainly a colorful title, with plenty of cute graphics and fun objects to find and collect as your duck drills into the ground. If anything, I’d say the game is almost a little too easy. While there are a growing number of obstacles to dodge the deeper you go, the gameplay is so casual that it’s not too hard to line up your duck just right and grab tons of coins and gems on the way down. Given that it’s a freemium title, however, it certainly seems like Retro Dreamer wanted to aim for a broad audience on this one, and I can’t begrudge them that.
ITV Player 2.0 adds live streams of the UK broadcaster’s TV to iPhone, iPad
For our friends in the UK, ITV Player has received a 2.0 update that gives you live access to ITV 1 and ITV 2 over Wi-Fi or 3G. ITV also will provide an extra stream for live events that do not show on either of those channels. For those wanting to catch up on a show, however, that can only be done via Wi-Fi at this time.
Users can now use content switching within the app and will be able to mirror using AirPlay. Retina graphics and improved location services have been added to the app.
