Apple Adds Uploading Capabilities to iCloud Photos on iCloud.com Beta Site

Apple has recently updated its iCloud.com beta site for developers, adding the ability to upload images to iCloud Photo Library for the first time. The standard iCloud.com site currently allows users to view all of their iCloud Photo Library images, as well as download and delete them, but there are no tools to allow for the uploading of photos.



On the iCloud beta site, it's now possible to upload JPGs, but the site does not currently accept other image and video formats like .PNG, .MOV, .MP4, and more. When a file is uploaded to the site, it syncs instantly to all of a user's iOS devices, much like a photo taken on an iPhone or iPad or added to iCloud Photo Library via the iOS Photos app.



The presence of an uploading tool on the beta site means that the feature will likely make its way to the main iCloud site in the near future, giving users a way to add to their photo libraries from their Macs and PCs.




Toolbar on beta.icloud.com site at top, non-beta iCloud.com toolbar on bottom


Currently in beta and introduced with iOS 8.1, iCloud Photo Library is designed to store all of the photos and videos that a user takes in iCloud, making them available on all iOS devices and Macs. iCloud Photo Library images can be viewed in the Photos app on iOS or through iCloud.com on the Mac, and the upcoming Photos app that Apple is creating for Macs will also work with iCloud Photo Library.



While users now have the ability to upload all of their photos to iCloud Photo Library via the iCloud.com beta site, doing so uses iCloud storage space. Apple offers 5GB of storage space for free, with additional plans ranging from $0.99 for 20GB of storage space to $19.99 for 1TB of storage space.



After being tested on the iCloud.com beta site, the iCloud Photo Library upload feature will make its way to the official iCloud site, but it is unknown how long testing will last.



(Thanks, Konrad!)

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Posted in 2014 at 11:31PM, November 06

'Swype' Keyboard for iOS Named App of the Week, Available for Free [iOS Blog]

Normally priced at $0.99, Swype is one of the new third-party keyboard apps that was released alongside iOS 8, Apple's newest operating system that enabled systemwide third-party keyboards for the first time.



Swype, from Nuance Communications, is a gesture-based keyboard that allows users to drag their fingers from key to key in order to create words quickly. The keyboard features a built-in predictive text engine that is able to determine what's being typed, and it offers predictive punctuation to further speed up typing. As Apple's App of the Week, the keyboard will be available at no cost for the next seven days.

Swype is the most accurate keyboard on the planet. Whether you type or Swype we enable you to input words faster and easier. It learns the way you type so the more you use it, the smarter it gets.



Product Features:

- Incredibly intuitive language models that accurately predict what you type or Swype

- Five beautiful themes - FREE on iPhone.

- Quickly enter symbols, punctuation and capital letters with Swype gestures

- Swype learns how you type. You can tell it to add or remove words from your personal dictionary

- You can Swype on your iPad as well as your iPhone

Swype, which has long been available on Android, also offers several different themes for custom looks and it will learn from its users to become more intelligent over time, offering improved text prediction capabilities.



In the App Store since September 17, Swype has proven to be one of the most popular third-party keyboards, garnering thousands of downloads. Swype is one of the few keyboards that does not require full access to an iPhone or iPad to function, but that also means it's a slight bit more limited than other offerings, not offering cloud backups and syncing at this time.



Ahead of going free, the app was updated on November 4 to add 21 additional languages, intelligent emoji support, an improved iPad layout, customizable keyboard layouts, and more.



Swype can be downloaded from the App Store for free for the next week. [Direct Link]

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Posted in 2014 at 10:34PM, November 06

iMovie for iOS Updated With Support for iCloud Photo Library [iOS Blog]

Apple today updated iMovie for iOS to version 2.1.1, adding support for the iCloud Photo Library beta and introducing the ability to share videos with iCloud Photo Sharing. The update also resolves an issue that surfaced when a device was rotated while in the Video browser and it includes performance and stability improvements.

What's new

-Support for iCloud Photo Library beta

-Share videos with iCloud Photo Sharing

-Resolves issues that could occur when rotating a device while in the Video browser

-Performance and stability improvements

Introduced as a beta service in iOS 8.1, iCloud Photo Library is designed to store all of the photos and videos that a user takes in iCloud, syncing them across all of a person's iOS devices and Macs to make them available at all times.



Along with today's iMovie update, Apple has also given several of its other apps minor updates with stability and performance improvements, including Beats Music , Pages , Keynote , Numbers , and iTunes Connect .



iMovie can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]

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Posted in 2014 at 09:55PM, November 06

Hidden secret behind Steve Jobs’s most epic speech revealed

One of the most memorable speeches Apple’s Steve Jobs ever gave was the 2005 Stanford commencement address, with recordings of it having millions of views on YouTube. But one little known secret behind this particularly inspiring speech has not been revealed so far, and Bloomberg Television got some of the inside story.

Continue reading...

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Posted in 2014 at 09:05PM, November 06

The ‘Netflix for Pirates’ explains why it will never be taken offline again

Popular torrent streaming Popcorn Time version Time4Popcorn — also informally known as the “Netflix for pirates” — lets users instantly watch pirated movies and TV shows on a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. But the team of developers is currently rebounding from an attack from EURid, which suspended Time4popcorn.eu last month following a legal investigation into the streaming app. However, Popcorn Time says it's learned from this experience and has vowed to make itself impossible to shut down again in the future.

Continue reading...

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Posted in 2014 at 08:30PM, November 06

Apple Adds CBS News Channel to Apple TV [iOS Blog]

CBS News today announced the launch of a new ad-supported digital streaming news network, making the service available on the CBSNews.com website, CBS News apps for Windows and Windows Phone, and various connected television platforms. While the Apple TV was not announced as one of those platforms, a CBS News channel is indeed just debuted on Apple's set-top box.

The network features a 60-minute format delivering live, updated news content from 9:00 AM - midnight ET every weekday at launch, and it takes advantage of the interactivity of digital platforms through a unique video player and on-screen interface. It gives viewers the full flexibility within each hour to control what they watch and when they watch it via DVR-like functionality that allows them to watch previous segments and jump back into live programming seamlessly and across devices.

Beyond the live coverage with simulcasts of breaking news, the new channel offers a variety of supplemental on-demand content from sources such as CBS affiliates, CNET, CBS Sports, Entertainment Tonight, and more.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:11PM, November 06

SEC Investigating GT Advanced's Trading Activity

It appears the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an inquiry into GT Advanced's trading activity, according to a new filing released today.



The SEC sent a letter to GT Advanced on October 15, letting the company know that it was seeking "certain information regarding trading activity in the Company's securities," along with more information on its sapphire business and securities offering dating back to January 1, 2013.



Shortly after GT Advanced filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it became clear that GT's CEO Thomas Gutierrez and COO Daniel Squiller had been selling off large amounts of stock, with some of the plans put in place just after production troubles surfaced in February 2014.





Gutierrez sold off 9,000 shares of GT Advanced stock a day before the iPhone 6 was announced as part of a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 Plan enacted in March. He earned $160,000 from that particular sale, but had also sold shares on several other occasions in 2014, netting more than 10 million dollars. Comparatively, Gutierrez sold no stock in 2013, ahead of the company's Apple deal.



Squiller sold $1.2 million worth of stock in May, and made plans to sell off additional shares throughout 2014, garnering an additional $750,000 before the company's October bankruptcy filing, and it appears that the well-timed divestitures have roused suspicion with the SEC.



After GT Advanced inked a deal with Apple in 2013, its stock began to rise significantly on rumors suggesting Apple would use the company's sapphire in its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Stock prices went on to fall more than 1/3 in September after it became clear Apple had not opted to use sapphire for the devices.



According to court documents and leaked information, the deal between Apple and GT Advanced soured over the latter company's inability to hit necessary milestones and the strict contract terms that Apple imposed on GT. Additional court documents were recently unsealed, and new details on the relationship could come to light as soon as tomorrow.



The two companies have already signed an agreement to dissolve their relationship, with GT Advanced planning to decommission and sell off furnaces to repay the $440 million it was loaned from Apple. GT has already begun shutting down its Arizona plant, with a final shutdown planned for December 31.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:04PM, November 06