Apple Publishes Its 'iOS Human Interface Guidelines' on iBooks [iOS Blog]

Apple has published its iOS Human Interface Guidelines to iBooks . The guidelines are Apple's recommendations and suggestions to developers for designing cohesive and usable apps that follow similar user interface principles to other iOS applications.



The company has long offered user interface guidelines, dating back to the original Macintosh, but has recently only offered on the Developer Portal. By making them available to anyone via iBooks, the company appears to be looking to inform and inspire more designers.





An excerpt from the book:

Designing for iOS 7



iOS 7 embodies the following themes:



- Deference. The UI helps users understand and interact with the content, but never competes with it.

- Clarity. Text is legible at every size, icons are precise and lucid, adornments are subtle and appropriate, and a sharpened focus on functionality motivates the design.

- Depth. Visual layers and realistic motion impart vitality and heighten users’ delight and understanding.



Whether you’re redesigning an existing app or creating a new one, consider approaching the job in the way that Apple approached the redesign of the built-in apps:



- First, strip away the UI to expose the app’s core functionality and reaffirm its relevance.

- Next, use the themes of iOS 7 to inform the design of the UI and the user experience. Restore details and embellishments with care and never gratuitously.

- Throughout, be prepared to defy precedent, question assumptions, and let a focus on content and functionality motivate every design decision.

The iOS Human Interface Guidelines are a free download from iBooks.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2014 at 11:40PM, May 13

NSA reportedly implants backdoors into U.S.-made servers and routers for foreign markets

A new report from The Guardian reveals that NSA has allegedly been tampering with U.S.-made electronic equipment including servers, routers and other network devices that are exported to foreign markets in order to insert backdoor surveillance malware, which can be later activated to spy on networks.

“The agency then implants backdoor surveillance tools, repackages the devices with a factory seal and sends them on,” The Guardian writes. “The NSA thus gains access to entire networks and all their users. The [NSA leaked] document gleefully observes that some “SIGINT [short for signal intelligence] tradecraft … is very hands-on (literally!)”.”

The publication obtained documents from Edward Snowden that details such operations dating back to June 2010.

“In one recent case, after several months a beacon implanted through supply-chain interdiction called back to the NSA covert infrastructure,” the report says. “This call back provided us access to further exploit the device and survey the network.”

Interestingly, the U.S. government has accused Chinese companies including Huawei and ZTE of doing exactly what these newly revealed documents claim the NSA is doing, which is inserting spying tools in networking equipment. Following pressure from these accusations, Huawei has left the U.S. market, although investigations from the House Intelligence Committee did not find actual evidence that the Chinese government was actually using Huawei and ZTE devices to spy on other countries.

“Warning the world about Chinese surveillance could have been one of the motives behind the U.S. government’s claims that Chinese devices cannot be trusted,” The Guardian notes. “But an equally important motive seems to have been preventing Chinese devices from supplanting American-made ones, which would have limited the NSA’s own reach. In other words, Chinese routers and servers represent not only economic competition but also surveillance competition.”

NSA has neither confirmed nor denied such practices in statements sent to CNET.

“As we have said before, the US technology industry builds the most secure hardware and software in the world today,” the Agency said. “NSA relies on these products to help protect our nation’s most sensitive information and, over the past decade, has turned to commercial technology to replace government-built technology. Given its own reliance on many of the very same technologies that the public uses, the US Government is as concerned as the public is with the security of these products. While we cannot comment on specific, alleged intelligence-gathering activities, NSA’s interest in any given technology is driven by the use of that technology by foreign intelligence targets. The United States pursues its intelligence mission with care to ensure that innocent users of those same technologies are not affected.”

“As we have previously said, the implication that NSA’s foreign intelligence collection is arbitrary and unconstrained is false. NSA’s activities are focused and specifically deployed against — and only against — valid foreign intelligence targets in response to intelligence requirements. We are not going to comment on specific, alleged foreign intelligence activities. Public release of purportedly classified material about US intelligence collection systems, without context, further confuses an important issue for the country and jeopardizes human life as well as national security sources and methods,” the NSA said.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2014 at 11:15PM, May 13

Tim Cook Charity Lunch Action Ends, Earning $330,001 for RFK Center

Tim Cook's second CharityBuzz auction, for a one hour lunch meeting with Cook at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, ended today at $330,001. Bids for this year's auction were quite a bit more reserved than the coffee charity meeting Cook auctioned last year, which brought in $610,000.





The money earned from the auction will benefit the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights, a charity that aims to achieve "a just and peaceful world by partnering with human rights leaders, teaching social justice and advancing corporate responsibility."



The winner of the auction will be able to meet with Tim Cook for approximately one hour at Apple's Cupertino campus, on a "mutually agreed upon date." The cost of the meal is included, but travel to Cupertino must be paid by the auction winner.



On May 10, Tim Cook added an additional benefit for the auction winner -- a VIP guest spot at an upcoming Apple event, announced on Twitter.

Join me for lunch and advance human rights @rfkcenter.You can also be my VIP guest at an Apple event. http://bit.ly/1jpswkw #RFKauction— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 10, 2014

Following multiple shill bids last year, CharityBuzz implemented a credit card authorization requirement for all bidding customers, a policy that may explain why this year's auction was ultimately less popular with bidders.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2014 at 07:46PM, May 13

Logic Pro X Updated With Improved 12-Core Mac Pro Support, App Enhancements and Fixes [Mac Blog]

Apple today updated its professional audio software Logic Pro X to version 10.0.7, adding support for 24 processing threads on 12-core Mac Pro models along with several new features to enhance the functionality of the app and an array of bug fixes.

What's new



- Now supports 24 processing threads on 12-core Mac Pro models

- The current volume, pan, and send values for all selected tracks can now be inserted at the playhead position

- Enabling Low Latency Mode no longer creates sync issues for Drummer, Ultrabeat, Native Instruments Machine and other plug-ins with integrated step sequencers

- Automation can now be copied and pasted to any location using the Marquee tool

- Adds an option for MIDI volume and pan data to control the instrument plug-in instead of the channel strip

- Resolves several snap and alignment guide issues

- Various fixes that improve XML import and export with Final Cut Pro X

- Contains multiple enhancements to Accessibility

Logic Pro X 10.0.7 can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $199.99. [Direct Link]

Read More [...]

Posted in 2014 at 07:21PM, May 13

Here’s the best Nexus 7 deal money can buy

Google may be ready to roll out new Nexus hardware this year, but that doesn’t mean potential Android tablet buyers should forget last year’s models. In fact, Google and Asus are currently offering U.K. residents a very interesting Nexus 7 deal on the 16GB model: each purchase comes with a free £50 Google Play store credit, and is valid through June 1.

Buyers who will purchase their 16GB Nexus 7 (2013) unit from either Asda, Carphone Warehouse, Currys or Tesco will then be able to apply online to get their gift card. The 16GB Nexus 7 (2013) model sells for £169 from Carphone Warehouse, with the retailer already listing the special Google Play Credit offer on its website.

Furthermore, because the promo started on May 5th, all purchases made after that date are eligible to receive the free £50 in Google Play store credit.

Unfortunately, Android fans in other markets where Nexus devices are sold will not have access to similar local deals.

Google and Asus may simply be trying to clear out existing Nexus 7 (2013) inventory before the next Nexus device is launched in the region, but the offer should still pretty interesting, especially to those buyers looking to purchase an affordable Android tablet that doesn’t necessarily have to be the latest Nexus model.

Google is rumored to launch a high-end Nexus 8 tablet made by HTC at some point later this summer.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2014 at 07:06PM, May 13

Google Search for iOS Updated With Smarter Conversations, Google Now Improvements [iOS Blog]

Google today updated its Google Search app to version 4.0.0, adding new voice question capabilities that let users have smarter conversations with Google.



For example, after initiating a casual conversation with an "Ok Google" command, users can ask simple questions like "What's the weather like?" followed by "What about this weekend?" Google Search is able to interpret that the questions are linked together, providing weather information for each query.



The app's Google Now functionality will also inform users of interesting articles on preferred topics, give information about upcoming trips, and share information on favorite blogs and authors.



Finally, the app has also been updated with cricket sports cards in Google Now, faster loading of both Google Search and Google Now, and more fluid image results.

With today's update, you can ask questions with your voice & get updates on topics you care about.



Have a smarter conversation with Google:

- Tap the microphone or say "Ok Google" to start

- Ask questions such as "What's the weather like?"

- Then follow up with "How about this weekend?"



At Google, we know the web well. With Google Now, we'll tell you when there's an interesting article for:

- Your favorite topics

- Your upcoming trips

- Your favorite authors and blogs



Smaller updates include:

- Cricket sports cards in Google Now

- Faster loading of Google Search and Google Now

- More beautiful and fluid image results

Google Search can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Read More [...]

Posted in 2014 at 06:46PM, May 13

LG's Heart Rate Earphones and Lifeband Touch Launching This Month

Earlier this month, a clandestine report on anonymous sharing site Secret suggested Apple might be exploring the possibility of sensor-laden EarPods able to measure heart rate. The report was later revealed to be a hoax, but earphones with built-in sensors are a reality -- for LG.



First introduced during January's CES, LG's fitness-oriented Heart Rate Earphones are designed to offer real-time heart monitoring. The earphones, which use sensors to measure blood flow through the inner ear, connect to a small medallion that is strapped to the arm or attached to a waistband, tracking metabolic rate and maximum oxygen consumption, while allowing users to listen to music.





The medallion that connects to the earphones is designed to work as a data processing hub, sending biometric information directly to the LG Fitness app or other popular third-party apps on an iPhone via Bluetooth. The earphones are said to offer hi-fi sound and they include a built-in microphone for making calls.



LG's earphones are also designed to work alongside the company's Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker, which is a full-fledged fitness band that measures a range of fitness-related statistics, including distance covered, calories burned, steps taken, and more.

LG's Heart Rate Earphones are designed to provide accurate heart rate data by measuring blood flow signals in the ear via PerformTek sensor technology while also delivering excellent sound. Because of the unique physiology of the ear, wearers can get more accurate health and fitness metrics with LG's Heart Rate Earphones than with other devices, especially when engaged in physical activity. LG Heart Rate Earphones can be used alone or with LG Lifeband Touch.

The Heart Rate Earphones and the Lifeband Touch can both be pre-ordered today from Best Buy and will see an official launch on May 18. The earphones retail for $180, while the Lifeband Touch can be purchased for $150.



Though the report of Apple developing EarPods with sensors was fabricated, the company has invested research into the concept, publishing several patents on the subject. It has also recently hired Eric Winokur, a researcher who developed an ear-worn vital signs monitor, likely for its wearables team. Despite this evidence, there's currently no indication that Apple is working on or plans to work on EarPods with sensors, but LG has demonstrated that the technology certainly exists should the company choose to go in that direction.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2014 at 05:03PM, May 13