Apple

GigaOM noticed that Apple quietly released an update to Siri that offers to put a user in contact with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, should he or she mention suicide. Should the person decline the offer, Siri then brings up area suicide prevention centers in a second attempt to provide resources. As GigaOM notes, Google has had this search since 2010. Apple noted in its customer privacy statement on Tuesday that among the most common requests from law enforcement are ones from police hoping to prevent suicide. There's a lot of useful and even more silly ways to take advantage of Siri, but having a proactive response to a serious issue is a wonderful thing to have in the program.Apple updates Siri to help those considering suicide to get help originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cinema camera manufacturer Red has started shipping its 4K media player. Users of the Red User forum have started to receive their pre-orders of the Redray Player, which Red bills as a comprehensive media source for owners of Ultra HD televisions that is capable of playing back native 4K video, upscaled HD video, and the company's own 4K .Red file format....

Apple has issued a v5.3 update for second- and third-generation Apple TVs. The new firmware adds support for several video services, most notably HBO Go, WatchESPN, and Sky News. Also included are Crunchyroll, which concentrates on anime and other Asian content, and Qello, which hosts concerts and music documentaries....

Readdle’s awesome Calendars+ app, which is normally priced at $6.99, is now free for 48 hours. It’s one of the best Google Calendar apps for iOS, packed with useful features and a great user interface, and it won’t cost you a penny if you download it now. But hurry! Calendars+ promises to be “the most elegant and easy to use calendar application available on the App Store.” It syncs with Google Calendar and Apple’s built-in Calendar app and lets you manage all of your events whether you’re online or offline. The app’s interface is designed to make it as easy as possible to manage your schedule and it doesn’t get in your way, allowing you to quickly navigate between dates, create new events or modify existing ones, and more. And because it integrates Google Calendar, you’ll find support for all the great Google Calendar features, including tasks, SMS reminders, recurring events, and invitations. Syncing is super fast — even if you’ve made lots of changes to your calendars — and there’s even a handy search feature that will let you find upcoming events even if you’re forgotten when they’re scheduled. Calendars+ is worth its $6.99 price tag, so picking it up for free is a real treat. But once the sale period is up, Calendars+ will go back to its normal price. Source: App Store The post Readdle Makes Calendars+ Free For 48 Hours Only appeared first on Cult of Mac.Related StoriesApple’s Own Hotspot Passwords In iOS Can Be Cracked In Under A MinuteSteve Jobs Was Wrong: He Thought He Would Be Forgotten By History [Video]HBO GO & WatchESPN Now Available On Apple TV With iOS 5.3 UpdateWill Apple Ever Make An iPhone Cased In Wood?XCOM: Enemy Unknown For iOS Starts App Store Rollout

Apple has issued a v5.3 update for second- and third-generation Apple TVs. The new firmware adds support for several video services, most notably HBO Go, WatchESPN, and Sky News. Also included are Crunchyroll, which concentrates on anime and other Asian content, and Qello, which hosts concerts and music documentaries....

The Los Angeles Unified School District is redirecting US$30 million of its budget to provide roughly 35,000 iPads to 47 district schools, the Los Angeles Times reports. Because the devices will come pre-loaded with educational software, the price per unit clocks in at a hefty $678. LAUSD is the nation's second-largest school district with nearly 695,000 students as of data released in 2009, only surpassed by the New York City Department of Education with more than 1 million students. The LATimes says that the actual benefits to Apple will actually be in the hundreds of millions of dollars during the two-year contract. LAUSD's superintendent John Deasy appeared in a video as part of Apple's textbook event in New York City in 2012, which was the launch of iBooks Author and iTunes U. [via All Things D]Los Angeles schools award $30 million iPad contract to Apple originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple announced today that HBO GO and WatchESPN are now available on the Apple TV. Eddy Cue, Apple senior vice president of Internet Software and Services said that "HBO GO and WatchESPN are some of the most popular iOS apps and are sure to be huge hits on Apple TV." The two new content providers are joined by Sky News, Crunchyroll, and Qello. Sky News on Apple TV will deliver 24/7 news to viewers in the US, UK and Ireland. Crunchyroll is a Japanese Anime and Asian media provider, and will let subscribers view the latest HD shows one hour after airing in Japan. Qello is an on-demand streaming service for HD concerts and music documentaries, and offers free or paid subscriptions. Both Qello and Crunchyroll will be available for subscription on Apple TV. The full press release from Apple is included below. Show full PR text HBO GO & WatchESPN Come to Apple TV iTunes Viewers Now Purchasing Over 800,000 TV Episodes & Over 350,000 Movies Per Day CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple(R) today announced that HBO GO and WatchESPN are now available directly on Apple TV(R) joining the great lineup of programming offered to customers. iTunes(R) users have downloaded more than one billion TV episodes and 380 million movies from iTunes to date, and they are purchasing over 800,000 TV episodes and over 350,000 movies per day. "HBO GO and WatchESPN are some of the most popular iOS apps and are sure to be huge hits on Apple TV" "HBO GO and WatchESPN are some of the most popular iOS apps and are sure to be huge hits on Apple TV," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "We continue to offer Apple TV users great new programming options, combined with access to all of the incredible content they can purchase from the iTunes Store." Apple TV users can choose from an incredible selection of programming including over 60,000 movies and over 230,000 TV episodes, as well as the world's largest collection of music on the iTunes Store(R). Apple TV also offers great content from Hulu Plus, Netflix's streaming catalog, live sports from MLB, NBA and NHL as well as Internet content from Vimeo, YouTube and Flickr.* In addition to HBO GO and WatchESPN, three new content providers* are also available today on Apple TV including Sky News, Crunchyroll and Qello offering live news, sports and current TV programming. HBO GO users get unlimited access to their favorite HBO shows, including HBO original programming, hit movies, sports, documentaries, comedy specials and more. This includes full seasons of the best of HBO, plus bonus features and special behind-the-scenes extras. HBO GO on Apple TV requires a subscription to HBO through participating television providers. WatchESPN on Apple TV delivers a one-stop video destination for sports fans with live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN Buzzer Beater/Goal Line to those who receive ESPN's networks as part of their video subscription from affiliated providers. Popular sports and fan-favorite shows include college football and basketball, Monday Night Football, MLB, NBA, major golf tournaments, all four Grand Slam tennis events, SportsCenter, PTI and more. Additionally, curated on-demand video featuring the most recent and relevant content-including highlights and news clips from ESPN.com as well as short-form segments from programs such as E:60, Outside The Lines, SC Featured, Sport Science and others-will be accessible through WatchESPN for the first time via Apple TV to all users. Sky News on Apple TV delivers a live 24/7 news feed to users in the US, UK and Ireland, including breaking news and headlines from business, politics, entertainment and more. In addition to the live feed, users can catch up on specific stories at any time via the extensive on-demand news library. Crunchyroll, the leading global video service for Japanese Anime and Asian media, will allow subscribers worldwide to watch the latest HD shows one hour after they air in Japa

Dish Network has halted its battle with Japanese carrier Softbank for Sprint, after failing to provide a final offer for a merger. The withdrawal now allows SoftBank to continue in its attempt to acquire Sprint, with a completion of the purchase likely to finish, thanks to Softbank upping its original $20 billion offer to $21.6 billion....

Leaked schematics -- allegedly drawn by Apple, and now in the hands of a major accessory maker -- show the dimensions of the iPhone 5S and an "iPhone Lite/Light," according to AppleInsider. The 5S appears to maintain roughly the same design as its predecessor, but with a pill-shaped flash on the back that may fit dual LEDs. The iPhone Light plans match recent rumors and case production surrounding a low-cost iPhone. That includes details like a thicker body, and rounded edges....

From 9to5Google: Following Google’s announcement that its RSS Reader product would be retired on July 1st, apps like Feedly that relied on the Google Reader backend announced big plans to help itself and other apps through the transition. Feedly has been preparing its move to its own “feedly cloud” back end since the announcement, and earlier this month transitioned its own iOS client to the platform. Today, Feedly is officially launching the new back end and API, as well as a brand new web interface and the first apps to integrate the feedly cloud platform: As of today, feedly cloud is now live, providing a fast and scalable infrastructure that serves as the backbone to feedly, as well as a number of connected applications. Feedly cloud is open today to all users visiting http://feedly.com, providing a simple one-click migration path from Google Reader.  And thanks to the great developer community that has gathered around it, providing multiple safe and sound alternatives to Google Reader.  With the release of feedly cloud, feedly today transitions from a product to a platform. We are also today delivering a new, completely stand-alone Web version of feedly. On top of the new API and feedly cloud back end, the company is also delivering on one of the most requested features for the service: a standalone new web interface that doesn’t require any plugins or browser extensions. While there are many others trying to provide an alternative for Google Reader, Feedly tells us it’s had significant traction since Google’s announcement and hit 12 million users at the end of May. That’s up 8 million from the 4 million users it had before Google announced Reader would be retired back in March. It’s also currently processing around 25 million feeds a day. As part of its ‘Normandy’ project, Feedly has been building its own backend and API for third-party RSS apps and readers that also previously relied on the Google Reader API. It isn’t the only one: Earlier this week Digg teased images of its Google Reader replacement coming to the web and mobile devices on June 26th. It too is planning to offer an alternative API for third-party devs. Today Feedly is announcing the first apps to integrate with its new backend but promises more will be added in the coming weeks as more than 200 developer have shown interest: -IFTTT -Sprout Social for iOS/Android -Nextgen Reader for Win 8 and Win Phone -gNewsReader for BlackBerry 10/Symbian/MeeGo -gReader for Android -Press for Android -Newsify for iPhone/iPad -Pure News Widget for Android -Menere for Windows Developers and users interested in learning more about the new and improved Feedly can do so here. Feedly offers one-click migration from Reader to its service to ensure an easy transition and reminds us just 10 days remain before Google Reader officially shuts down. Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of Apps, iOS, and cloud.What do you think? Discuss "Feedly launches new cloud backend & web interface, hits 12M users ahead of Google Reader demise" with our community.