I practically woke up to the news of an iPad Mini 2 leak, except that it probably is not going to be called iPad Mini 2. According to Mobileaks, Apple has diverged from the practice of naming their gadgets following number sequencing. We see this from the “New iPad”. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from tacking on numbers on the gadgets anyway.

But enough of this chattering. What do we know about the iPad Mini 2?

iPad Mini 2 Render

A detailed render, that’s how Mobileaks describes this leak. I’m in love even more. If that is even possible.

iPad Mini 2 Specs

The pertinent details:

• 7.9 inch Retina display
• 2048 x 1536 pixels
• 324 ppi
• Apple A6X processor
• 8.0 megapixel camera
• 2.0 megapixel front camera
• 16, 32, 64 GB internal memory
• 7.5 mm thickness

They got me at RETINA! Nothing too surprising here, but these leaks always get me going.

Are you excited yet? Are you going to to upgrade to the next generation iPad Mini when it does come out?

Apple is under fire from the United States Department of Justice for allegations that it has conspired with other book publishers to illegally fix the prices of e-books.  The DOJ has has said that Apple’s defense against the allegations are unconvincing and “untethered from both precedent and logic.”

But in an 81-page April 26 filing that recently became public, Apple has denied the accusations. The company has gone on to say that the discussions described by the DOJ are not a proof of collusion but were nothing more than tough business negotiations. It further said that the end result of those negotiations led to an agency type e-book pricing model where the publishers set the prices, not the retailers. This has then led to an e-book market that is more competitive.

The document further stated that Apple did not in any way conspire to fix e-book prices. What events were actual evidence that Apple acted “independently” in order to advance its own business goals through the negotiations it made with publishers who wanted to enter the exploding e-book market.  Apple said the agency model was the most logical move for a company that was then just entering the e-book market.

Ultimately, the paper said, Apple should be commended for spurring competition and innovation in the e-book industry.

Realmac Software, makers of some of the slickest Mac and iOS apps, are preparing to drop a new photography app called Analog Camera. If you love the ultra-simple interface and gestures of their to-do app Clear, you’re going to feel right at home with Analog.

I should clarify that the “rival for Instagram” in the title above isn’t meant to refer to Instagram’s social network. It’s a reference to Instagram’s photography and filters.

Analog Camera works just as you’d expect an iPhone app from Realmac to work: with quick gestures and a silky smooth UI. Like Instagram, a variety of filters are offered to enhance your photos, but Analog presents them all on a single screen, arranged in a three-by-three grid. Tap-and-hold one of the filtered images, and that one pops out from the grid and grows a little bigger so you can see it better. There are lots of chimes and dings built in that sound very similar to those heard while using Clear.

All the usual importing and exporting options are available, and it’s easy to share straight to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more. The design of the app is nice and flat (Sir Jony Ive will approve), too.

In applying the features that work so well in Clear to Analog Camera, Realmac seems to be singlehandedly creating an entirely new design paradigm for iOS apps. I’d love to see others follow their lead, as their stuff is so clean, beautiful, and perfectly simple-to-use.

Analog Camera for iPhone will hit the App Store in late May. Sign up here to be notified when it becomes available.

[Image source]

If you happened to be driving past Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California last night with the windows of your car rolled down, you might have heard music filling the air. Everyone on staff knew about the party/concert/event, but many were surprised by the band Apple brought out to perform: OneRepublic.

According to OneRepublic’s Facebook page, their presence was planned as a surprise for Apple employees to help celebrate iTunes’ 10th anniversary at a special stage erected on the campus grounds. All indications suggest that a fun time was had by all, especially since the party appears to have included an open bar.

Check out the full gallery below.

Paris, France

Apple has just gone live with a new 3D “Flyover” city in Apple Maps, and it’s a big one: Paris, France.

Seems like we’ve been waiting for ages for this one. Ever since Apple Maps was launched with several major world cities depicted in 3D mode, users have been wondering why Paris wasn’t one of them. While we still don’t know what took so long, it’s impossible to argue with the quality of the finished product. Paris is fully rendered in all its 3D glory, and it’s one of the best-looking 3D cities Apple has presented yet. The chunk of land included in this update is enormous; one Apple Gazette reader estimated it at over 1,000 square miles.

You’ll find all of the Paris hotspots in full 3D, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Versailles, Notre Dame, Disneyland Paris, the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, and much more.

Don’t forget, Apple Gazette has the most complete, most exhaustive list of 3D cities in Apple Maps you’ll find anywhere online. Many thanks to our loyal readers who pointed us to this massive update!

1. My Apple ID

URL: appleid.apple.com
Your Apple ID is what you use to login to all of Apple’s various services, including iTunes purchases, iCloud, messaging (iMessage/iChat), FaceTime, iBooks, and plenty more. Chances are, you already have an Apple ID. But if you don’t, you can sign up for one right here. It’s 100% free. At this same website, you can retrieve your Apple ID if you’ve forgotten it, or change any of the details of your account, such as your primary email address or billing information.

2. iForgot

URL: iforgot.apple.com
If you forget your Apple ID’s password, here’s where you can reset it.

3. Apple Services Status

URL: apple.com/support/systemstatus
If you’re having trouble accessing iCloud, iTunes, Siri, Maps, FaceTime, or any of Apple’s 30+ other services, take a quick glance at the Apple Services Status page [. It’ll show you if Apple is experiencing an issue with the service on their end. If they are, then there’s not much you can do but wait for them to fix it. If everything  is working properly on Apple’s end and you’re still having a problem, then the problem is coming from your device. (See #4.)

4. Genius Bar Reservations

URL: concierge.apple.com/reservation/us/en/techsupport
If you’ve got a problem with your device that you can’t resolve on your own, then you’re going to want to see a Genius. That’s the smarty types that work behind the counter at the back of your local Apple Store. They’re tech gurus who know how to fix just about anything Apple-related that can be fixed. But you can’t just walk in and expect to see a Genius; you have to make a reservation. This webpage lets you make your reservation online, no phone call required.

5. Support Database

URL: support.apple.com
If there’s a feature of your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other device that you don’t know how to use but would like to learn, the Support database page is what you want. There are also suggestions you can try for troubleshooting. Dig deep enough and you’ll find an incredible wealth of knowledge and instructions here. And since it’s Apple, you won’t have to worry about deciphering any heavy tech jargon.

6. Contact Apple Support

URL: expresslane.apple.com
Some issues can only be resolved by talking to a real human being — but may not require a trip to the Genius Bar. Billing issues, for example. You can get that process started on this page. Or if you’ve already been to see a Genius but you had to leave your device there for repairs, you can get status updates on how it’s going at this URL.

7. My Support Profile (Serial Numbers)

URL: supportprofile.apple.com
If you accidentally leave your iPhone at the airport, or your home is broken into and your MacBook Pro is gone, then you have to report what’s happened to the authorities. Apple Inc. can’t do much to help you track down your stuff, although the Find My… apps can be a lifesaver. Assuming you’ve activated them, of course. When you’re ready to contact the police or security or whoever to report your stolen item, one of the first things they’ll ask you for is your device’s serial number. The My Support Profile page has a helpful list of every device you’ve registered with Apple, and the serial number for each one.

8. Product Manuals

URL: manuals.apple.com
These days, very few (if any) Apple products ship with manuals. The thinking behind this is that Apple products are so user-friendly that you already know how to use them, no manual required. In spite of this, Apple does create manuals for every single product it creates. (And they can be mighty handy if you take the time to look through them and learn all the tips and tricks.) You just have to download them. This page is where you can find them all.

9. Apple Security Updates

URL: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
“Security” is one of the Internet’s biggest buzzwords, because you’re always hearing horror stories about identity theft online. Anytime a hole is found in a device’s security that can be exploited, Apple identifies the problem and releases a patch to fix it. It’s a good idea to periodically check the Apple Security Updates page to see if there are any new patches (apple calls them “security updates”) you need to download to keep your personal information safe.

10. Privacy Policy

URL: apple.com/privacy
Speaking of security, these days you have to be proactive about maintaining your personal privacy. Stay aware of Apple’s security policies and practices by keeping an eye on this page. It hasn’t been updated in about a year now at the time of this writing, but if and when Apple makes a change to its privacy policy, this is where you’ll find it. It’s got some other useful info, too; I had no idea there was a page iOS device users can go to, to opt out of how Apple and its partners keep tabs on your ad impressions and effectiveness.

While most of the stops are in the San Francisco area, where Jobs spent most of his life, there’s a second leg that takes you across America, to other important places like the location of the first Apple Store, or the hospital where Jobs received his liver transplant in 2009.

Of course, this is just for fun. I’m not suggesting anyone actually undertake this road trip. That sort of thing is reserved only for the most obsessive Apple fans in the world, and we’re certainly nothing like that.

Time was, creating and hosting your own webinar was a complicated, cumbersome undertaking. But oh, how far we’ve come. These days, holding your own webinar is a snap. Here’s how it’s done.

Got something you want to share with the world? A subject you’re knowledgeable about that you’d like to teach to others? Maybe you read Robin’s How An App Is Made article yesterday and it’s inspired you to share your own expertise on the subject? Perhaps you’ve invented a cool new iPad accessory and you want to put together a brief instructional video. Or maybe your relatives come to you with their tech support questions, and you’d like to teach them a few basic things to keep from getting asked the same stuff over and over.

Whatever your reasons, recording your own webinar is something anyone can do. Thanks to the technologies and services we enjoy today, it’s almost laughably simple. Here’s what to do.

1. The first step might actually be the hardest — though it may not sound that hard. Your first move is to select a webinar service provider. I mean, sure, you could do it without a provider if you’re a computer genius. But for most of us, using a provider lets someone else take care of all of the complicated stuff, so we can focus on the webinar’s content.

There are jillions of webinar providers out there (okay, maybe just dozens), but picking one is a simple matter of matching up your needs with the options they provide. Some of the best known webinar providers include FuzeBox, GoToMeeting, Webex, and many more. And yes, they’re all Mac-friendly. You’ll want to compare features like ease of use, bandwidth speed, maximum attendee numbers, customer support quality, and of course pricing. A comparison site like Best Webinar can help you shop around and make the smartest choice. Some of these providers even have apps in the App Store, should you want to hold your webinar using your favorite iOS device instead of your Mac.

2. Options from here will depend largely on which service you pick, but most of them start you out the same way: by helping you set up your first webinar. Typically, you’ll create a name and write a description of your webinar, and then set the date and time it will take place. (If you’re recording your webinar as on-demand content instead of holding it live, most providers will give you options for this, too.) There will also be toggles for adjusting your privacy settings, user registrations, and how you want to interact with your audience during the webinar. You may want them to send you questions via text chat, for example, instead of audio or video.

3. I strongly recommend creating your slides or files ahead of time and uploading them to your webinar provider early, well ahead of your chosen date and time. Best to have those things in place, on the webinar host’s server, than have some sort of connection issue arise at the last moment. Most webinar providers will accommodate just about any file type you want to use during your presentation, including audio, video, images, and Keynote or PowerPoint slides.

4. Now comes the fun part. It’s time to send out your invitations! Again, the webinar provider will provide options for this, but my experience has been that inviting people to a webinar in person always generates the best results. People get emails about all sorts of things, and stuff in their Inbox gets forgotten. But we remember things we experience for ourselves, people we meet and shake hands with and talk to. People we look in the eye. Take advantage of the online invitation system provided by your host, but don’t rely on it as your only means of creating an audience. Also be sure to post links to your webinar on your website, blog, and social networks.

iMac FaceTime camera

5. It’s webinar day! Most Mac users already have FaceTime cameras built into their iMacs or MacBooks (or even iPads), but if you’re on an older machine, you’ll need to acquire a webcam and connect it to your computer. When the appointed time comes, login to your service provider and start the show. There will be clearly marked “Begin” and “End” buttons that let you start and finish the webinar, and other controls you’ll need as you go along are right there inside the host’s software — such as communication controls and toggles for your slides or other content.

A couple of last-minute tips:

• If you’re holding your webinar live but would like to archive it for on-demand users, there will probably be a “Record” button somewhere in the software. Be sure and click it before you start!
• Hold a rehearsal a day or two before your webinar. This not only prepares you for your performance, but it gets you familiar with your provider’s software.
• Remember to smile when you’re on camera! Nothing kills a great presentation like projecting a sour personality — even when you don’t mean to.

Crono prototype screenshot

Have you ever wondered how apps get made? How they’re dreamed up, designed, coded, and made to work? How apps are submitted to the App Store, and how they get approved (or denied)? In this exclusive, multi-part series, we’re going to follow one app’s development from idea to “on sale,” and find out exactly how it all works.

The app in question is a gorgeous, dynamic new email app for iPad called Crono. (I briefly introduced Apple Gazette readers to Crono a while back.) Crono was initially launched as a Kickstarter project, but has since evolved into a more traditional investor-funded venture, and is on track to launch later this year. The creators of Crono have graciously agreed to give of their time to demystefy the system for those of us on the outside looking in. Don’t expect a training course in writing code or designing graphics; instead, we’re going to learn about the process, from beginning to end.

Part One of our series dives into the origins of Crono, the individuals building it, and how they first imagined how the app will eventually look and function.

Birth

The Crono team: (l-r) Andrew Rothberg, Stephen Weigel, & Jack Freeman

Crono traces its beginnings back to a little over a year ago, but to fully understand how it got started, you have to rewind to 2006. That’s when Stephen Weigel, Jack Freeman, and Andrew Rothberg met as freshmen roommates at the University of Colorado and discovered a mutual love of technology. “At the time, we didn’t really know that we would all be working together on an app,” says Weigel, now the fledgling company’s CEO, “but we would brainstorm ideas every now and then, hoping we could come up with the next big thing.”

Freeman left school in ’08 to start his own business developing iPhone apps. He saw some success with games and utility apps. After the other two men graduated in 2010, Rothberg poured his energies into pursuing a law degree, while Weigel entered the financial sector. By late 2011, the trio reunited, meeting weekly to talk ideas and try to pool their skill sets into something all three of them would find fulfilling.

Their first app idea was for a Flipboard-esque news aggregator that integrated deeper with social media, email, productivity, and more. It didn’t take long to realize that this idea was too ambitious for their first project together, so they refined their plan until the app became focused on just one major function: email. It was their “a-ha moment.”

“We saw a lot room for improvement that could be made with the default Apple mail app,” says Weigel, “especially regarding search functionality, the handling of attachments, and general aesthetics.” These foundations would become the group’s guiding principles going forward, all the way up to the day the three men became a real business.

Crono prototype screenshot

Maturation

According to Weigel, things finally started coming together in 2012. “Once we had the idea, we started our business in March of that year and began brainstorming how we could make the email experience more intuitive, more social, and less of a chore, all while making the app beautiful.”

To symbolize their idea, the trio settled on the name “Crono” as a reference to the various ways their app would save users time. It’s loosely named after the Greek god of time, Chronos, which the group liked because it signified time management, the chronological way that email is traditionally sorted, how email has become a daily part of our lives, and that the app works seamlessly with your calendar.

Wireframe sketch of the “Group” page

Their first step was to create a “Requirements Document,” which I would imagine is the sort of tool that many developers use. The Crono team’s Requirements Document is a 35-page doc that breaks down every screen in the app with wireframe sketches, detailing what should be on the screen, where it should go, what effects should be used and where, and how each screen links to other screens. Put simply, it’s the app’s roadmap. (I’d love to show it to you, but it contains far too many proprietary secrets for public eyes.)

Wireframe sketch of the User page

The next order of business was tracking down a talented designer. Great functionality is crucial, as we all know, but a foundational truth of iOS apps is that they never find an audience if they’re ugly. Between June and September of 2012, the designer they hired (who prefers to remain anonymous) went through several rounds of design and refinement to get the app looking as close to the team’s vision as possible. The results speak for themselves: Crono is gorgeous. Its colors pop, its typefaces are modern, and its overall look and feel is clean and intuitive.

With the design complete, Freeman got to work writing the code for the app while Weigel and Rothberg tackled the next major hurdle.

Failure to (Kick)start

It’s an expensive undertaking to build a new app from nothing — especially if you want to create a high-quality, high-visibility app like Crono. To secure the funds they needed, Weigel, Freeman, and Rothberg turned to Kickstarter, the popular crowdfunding website where individuals pledge financial support to big ideas.

Before the Kickstarter campaign could get started, there was one important ingredient yet to be added to the mix: they needed a killer video. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Kickstarter campaigns have to have great accompanying videos in order to get any attention from backers. The big success stories on Kickstarter are the projects that have proposals communicated via pro-level videos. By late ’12, the Crono team had found its videographer and put together a strong proposal video, which you watch see below.

The Kickstarter campaign launched in early January, with a modest goal of $40,000. This would give the team the income and resources they needed to finish the app and get it into the App Store. Kickstarter was hot off the success of Tim Schafer’s groundbreaking “Double Fine Adventure” campaign, which was the first to break the $1 million barrier and would go on to top $3.3 million. Other promising projects were launching all the time, and there was every reason to believe that Crono‘s smart, slick design would make it another successful Kickstarter campaign.

But just the opposite happened. The campaign ended having met just 8% of its goal. It looked like Crono was dead.

But its makers weren’t giving up that easy.

Crono prototype Inbox screenshot

Born Again

Even though the Kickstarter campaign didn’t raise the funds the team needed, it did achieve another important goal: it raised the app’s profile. Several venture capital investors were attracted to the project, sharing the trio’s enthusiasm for building a great iPad email client. They went in for meetings with several of these investors until they finally found the right one.

A deal was negotiated in late February, and Crono was back in business.

In Part 2 of this series, we’ll go in-depth with the Crono team to learn about exactly how an app is built. Stay tuned.

[All images ©2013 Crono. Used by permission.]

Despite what Apple thinks, there are legitimate uses for Flash. Sure, HTML5 and JavaScript get more press these days, but plenty of websites still employ Flash animations, videos, and even web apps. So what’s an iPad owner to do?

You have three options. Let’s take a look at each.

Remote Server Browser

iPad browser app Puffin running a Flash game

It’s the most obvious solution to the Flash conundrum: if Flash can’t run on iOS, then run it elsewhere and stream it to iOS. That’s exactly what remote server web browsers do. They do everything else that other web browsers do, but when you go to a website that’s running Flash, a remote server kicks in and runs that Flash operation for you and streams it to your iPad. I know, I know… It sounds like lag-o-rama. But it’s not nearly as slow as you think. It even handles your no-download RPG or MMO surprisingly well.

Pros: The tech behind these browsers has come a long way. Cream-of-the-crop browsers like Puffin provide a solid, lag-free Flash experience on your iPad that’s as close as technologically possible to a desktop browser.

Cons: There’s not one Flash-friendly iPad web browser of any quality that’s free.

Remote Desktop

iPad running MS Office through OnLive app

The remote desktop solution is the same basic idea as the remote server: run Flash offsite and stream it to your iPad. The difference is that in this case, the Flash operation is run somewhere a little closer to home. Namely, on your own computer. Remote desktop apps, as the name suggests, function as a window to your main computer’s screen. You can do a lot more than run Flash via a remote desktop — you can control more complex stuff like running apps, full-screen video games, and loads more. There are tons of these apps available (just search the App Store for “remote desktop”) and many of them even work with Windows PC desktops.

Pros: You’re using your own desktop or laptop to access Flash content, you’re just doing it remotely. It’s the convenience of your bigger, more powerful computer on a remote device.

Cons: Remote desktop apps don’t work over long distances, so it’s not a good on-the-go/travel solution. Speed is entirely at the mercy of whatever WiFi network you’re using. Security concerns mean remote desktops are not recommended for public WiFi hotspots.

Jailbreak Your iPad

By far the most extreme solution, jailbreaking your iOS device carries with it all sorts of consequences that shouldn’t be ignored, like voiding your warranty, endangering your iPad’s OS (and therefore, its entire usability), and depending on where you live in the world, may even be against the law.

That said, it’s certainly the most direct, the most “pure” solution, if you will, for getting Flash on your iPad. It’s not perfect, ’cause when it comes to iOS and Flash, there’s no such thing. Older iPads just don’t have the horsepower to smoothly run high-end Flash animations and web apps. But if you want to try it, it’s not hard to find instructions on how to make it happen.

Pros: It’s the only solution that lets you do the impossible — actually run Flash natively on your iPad.

Cons: It’s on the shady side, it’s dangerous to your device, and depending on which way the legal winds are currently blowing, it could lead to a run-in with the fuzz.

About the Author
Kirk Wallace is the Social Marketing Manager, Director of Content, and Host for MMO Attack. In his spare time, he enjoys playing guitar, traveling, gaming, and many outdoor activities.

The NPD study revealed that iTunes maintains a healthy 63 percent share of the market for the last quarter of 2012. This means that almost six of every ten music downloads happens in iTunes. The second placer in the study is Amazon, which has a 22 percent market share.

The NPD study, the Annual Music Study 2012, also mentioned that the rankings are based on unit sales and not revenue or profit share. If the study based it on the share of the $2.9 billion spent on digital music, Apple’s dominance would get even more impressive. Apple does not strongly rely on sales or lower prices to generate purchases from users anymore.

The study also revealed that the number of people who purchase digital music, pegged at around 44 million, has not changed over the last three years. Also, about one-third of those who were interviewed said that owning music is more important to them than having it streamed through music streaming services.

The study has made one definite finding – digital music purchase is still a growing market. Even though the number of buyers have not grown, the amount of music they’re buying has. Revenue from digital music sales has actually increased by 8.9 percent.

How about you? Do you buy music online, stream music, or do you still buy CDs?

Image via 401(K) 2013 on Flickr

Freedom Expression Bluetooth Keyboard

I’m becoming increasingly convinced that as mobile users move away from laptops in favor of iPads, keyboards are going to be the most indispensable tablet accessory. So Apple Gazette is taking a look at a wide variety of iPad-compatible keyboards — wireless, compact, Bluetooth-enabled — so you can pick the one that’s right for you.

Our first keyboard on the docket is the Expression, by an accessory manufacturer you’ve probably never heard of called Freedom Input. But don’t write it off just because it’s not a top name brand; I was impressed by a lot of what the Freedom Expression has to offer.

The back

Weighing the same as a standard-sized Smart Cover, the Expression isn’t much to look at. It’s got a basic black design on front, and a brushed steel look on the back. It measures 8 2/3 inches long by 4 3/4 inches wide and about half a centimeter deep. So it fits easily into a purse, briefcase, or even the outer pocket of your iPad case. The brushed steel construction gives it the kind of unbending, solid feel that you might not get from a plastic keyboard. It weighs roughly the same as a Smart Cover for a full-size iPad.

An on/off slider right beside the micro USB port allows you to preserve battery power when it’s not in use. The Bluetooth pairing process is so easy, my mom could do it. As long as you only ever use it with one device, it will always be paired to that device when you turn it on. In other words, pair it once and you’ll never have to do it again.

Profile view

The 80 keys have a springy feel to them the way that you expect keyboard keys to feel; this is no touchpad or faux board. But unlike a traditional keyboard where there are gaps between the keys (more in some places versus others), the Expression’s keys maximize the available space by doing away with gaps altogether. Every single key is tucked snugly right up against the next, which takes some getting used to if all you’ve ever used is a laptop or desktop.

On the rear, there are four narrow rubber “feet” strips that do a good job of gripping whatever surface you place the keyboard on, keeping it from sliding around while you’re using it. On the front, the familiar bumps are there on the F and J keys, helping your forefingers find the right starting points without having to look.

Micro USB port and power button slider

My only major issue with the Expression is the placement of the space bar. It’s shifted to the left a little further than it I think it should be, so every time my right thumb comes down to hit the space bar, I hit the Command button instead. A few other buttons gave me some hiccups as well. I literally could not find the quotation mark button for a good five minutes. It’s not hidden or anything, it’s just in an awkward spot that’s very far away from where a standard keyboard puts it: on the far left next to the shift button.

The Expression works with tablets other than the iPad (it even works with other kinds of devices, like your PlayStation 3), but it’s definitely made with the iPad in mind. It’s got loads of convenient buttons that give you direct access to various iPad functions. There are buttons at the top that adjust the screen’s brightness; cut, copy, and paste buttons; play, back, and forward buttons for media playback; a “reload” button; volume controls; a button that brings up the virtual keyboard or hides it; two “home” buttons that have the same rounded-square printed on them as your iPad’s home button; and best of all, arrow buttons. The virtual keyboard’s lack of arrows is one of my biggest pet peeves about the iPad, so their inclusion here is a godsend.

Size comparison with 10-inch iPad

Battery life is a dream. Freedom Input claims the Expression has over 300 hours of battery life, and I absolutely believe it. I’ve been testing mine for two or three weeks now, and I’m still on my very first charge — a charge that only took an hour or so to max out via the included USB cord. Those results may not be typical, but I’m impressed nonetheless. There’s no backlighting, which is a bummer, but that light would probably suck up extra battery usage, so its absence is understandable.

In addition to the USB cord, it also comes with a simple neoprene slip case. Honestly, I found it challenging to “slip” the keyboard inside the slip case. I don’t have much use for the slip case; I just slide it down inside my iPad bag or folio case and I’m good to go.

Freedom Expression Keyboard with 10-inch iPad

The Freedom Expression isn’t going to turn any heads when you whip it out, and it has a few odd button placements. But it’s rugged, it’s dead simple to use, it has all the hotkeys you want from an iPad keyboard, and the battery life is just stunningly good.

If you’re looking for a reliable iPad keyboard that gets the job done without any fancy trappings, the Freedom Expression is a great choice.

There are three iPhone activation errors that display when something goes wrong during activation. The differences between them are almost irrelevant, because the solutions are the same for all three. They are:

• “Your iPhone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable.”
• “The iPhone is not recognized and cannot be activated for service.”
• “iTunes was unable to verify your device.”

It’s irritating when you’re itching to start swiping through your awesome new iPhone, but it’s not the end of the world. There are a few different things you should try.

First, restart the phone. Hold down the power button for several seconds. A red slider will appear that says “Slide to power off.” Slide it, and wait about thirty seconds for your phone to completely shut down. Then hold down the power button again until the Apple logo shows on the screen. Now try the activate the phone again. This will fix the problem the majority of the time.

If that doesn’t do the trick, then maybe there’s an issue with your cellular connection. To rule that out, you’ll want to try connecting to the activation server in a different way. First, if you’re not already connected via WiFi, find a WiFi hotspot and try the activation process there. If that doesn’t work, physically connect the phone to your computer using the USB cord that came with it. Once it’s connected, open iTunes. iTunes should detect the new iPhone and attempt to activate it for you on your computer.

Last, if all else fails, you can restore the phone to its factory settings. Restoring this way is a much bigger deal if you’ve already got personal info saved on the phone, along with songs, videos, email, etc., because it erases every bit of that. But since you’re just trying to activate your phone out-of-the-box, you don’t have any of that saved data so it doesn’t matter.

To perform a factory settings restore, use your USB cord to connect the iPhone to your computer. Launch iTunes (if it doesn’t launch itself). The iPhone will appear in iTunes; select it. Click on the “Summary” tab, and then the button that says “Restore iPhone.” A window will pop up asking if you’re sure you want to do this. Click on “Restore” to proceed. Your computer now restores the iPhone — a process that will take a while. (I’d go get something to drink or turn on the TV while you wait.) Once the Restore is done, the phone automatically restarts itself. Once it’s back on, it will be like new, so you’ll do the whole “Slide to set up” thing all over again, which will of course lead to the activation page again.

If the iPhone still doesn’t activate this time, then something’s wrong that you can’t fix yourself. You’re going to need to contact Apple Support or make an appointment at your local Apple store’s Genius Bar.

About the Author
Internet writer Nayab has never worked in an Apple Store, but would like to manage one someday. His favorite Apple blogs are GeekSuper and of course Apple Gazette.

You know how it goes. You’re hard at work typing something. You’re watching a cool video. You’re surfing the Web. Whatever you’re in the middle of, you don’t want to be bothered. And there comes that blasted notification banner: Updates Available. New software is ready to be installed. Get your butt over here and click this banner. We won’t take no for an answer.

That last part might as well be there, because that aggravating banner just plants itself in place, refusing to budge until you update those apps. It’s not like an email notification, or a Twitter or Facebook notification; it doesn’t vanish after a few seconds. And it doesn’t care at all if it’s blocking other buttons or things on your screen. It’s like a stray cat just outside your door that sits there and stares at you, unblinking.

You might think that the only way to be rid of that banner is to click on it. But that’s not true. Sure, you can go into the Mac App Store and turn off notifications altogether. Or you can go to the Update page in the Store and right-click or two-finger-click on an app to “Hide” that app’s notifications. Or you can temporarily turn off all alerts in the notification menu.

But what if you don’t have time to be torn away from what you’re doing? What if you just plain don’t want to open the Mac App Store?

In that case, hover your cursor over the banner and do a two-finger swipe to the right. Whoosh, just like that, the banner’s gone. It’s such a quick gesture that it doesn’t even interrupt your work flow. It’s practically a reflex. No brainpower or attention required. Swipe and it’s gone.

Now the caveat to using this method is that it’s a Band-Aid. It only gets rid of the banner for a short time. About an hour, I think. So you may end up using it multiple times as you work. But as a temporary fix for those times when the banner’s in your way and you don’t want to click on it… It’s a godsend.

The startup screen

Clashot is an iPhone app that sets out to turn the photos on your iPhone into cash in your pocket. Does it really work? Read on.

Newspapers, magazines, websites, and book publishers have an insatiable hunger for fresh photos. Using cameraphones to increase the pool of available pictures is a clever notion, and Clashot is one of the numerous players in this hot new business. Simply put, you upload your pictures to their service and they provide exposure for your work, making it available to media buyers all over the world. Anyone can buy your photos and make use of them, and you and Clashot split the profits.

Photos for sale inside the Clashot app.

Clashot comes from the people at Depositphotos, a stock photo resource used by loads of media agencies, as well as individuals like me and you. It’s not entirely clear what the relationship is like between the two entities. Do Clashot photos show up at depositphotos.com, or vice versa? I have no idea, and couldn’t determine any way of finding out.

Photos you upload are grouped into “Reports,” or folders with titles and tags. You can theme these Reports around specific events, locations, people, etc. It makes logical sense to group things this way, and the presentation is nicely designed.

My “Reports” screen. That tiny blue arrow shows that this one photo was uploading to Clashot’s servers. It took almost an hour.

I was disappointed to find that the built-in camera is very limited. It has nothing to offer aside from pinch-to-zoom. There’s no way to lock the focus and exposure — which seems like a no-brainer of a feature for taking pro-level photos — there are no editing tools, no filters, no cropping, no anything. Clearly, if you’re going to have any decent photos to contribute to Clashot‘s database, they’re going to come from a source outside the app (like the excellent Snapseed).

You can easily upload any picture from your phone’s photo reel, and then tag, title, and make them available for sale. The first time I tapped on one of my uploaded pictures to add a title and tags, the app crashed. Not a promising start.

A search results screen. I waited a long time, and even tried it multiple times. It never did display any photos.

Unfortunately, my experience never quite recovered from there. When I tried uploading a second photo later, it took almost a full hour to complete. That’s one hour for a single, standard-sized image, when my uploads to the likes of Instagram and Facebook are virtually instantaneous. To give Clashot a fair shake, I went back and tried to access their photos again at night. (My first attempt was early afternoon.) I got the same results — or lack thereof — at both times of the day.

The library of photos is impressive, but the search function leaves a lot to be desired. For example, I tried searching for a current hot topic in the news — the Boston Marathon bombings — and got back zero results. I find that astonishing. Surely there are pictures from the Marathon, the aftermath, the capture of the suspect, etc. But reaching them is seemingly impossible.

My “Reports” screen.

Likewise, it appears that there are tons of photos taken by others that are available to view and purchase, but getting to them proved problematic. Sometimes it worked: I searched for “Canadian Mounted Police” and got dozens of results back, all accurate. But when I searched for “iPad,” I got gazillions of results — yet they were all blank. The listings were there but the app refused to display the photos themselves.

All in all, the problems I experienced with this app seem to boil down to connection issues. Sure, it’s not the most attractive app ever, but it’s competently designed and (most of the time) works as it’s intended to. Maybe I caught Clashot at a bad time; perhaps they were experiencing a server crash or network hiccup or something. I know it wasn’t a problem on my end, as I’m always connected while doing my work, and there were no slowdown problems in any of my other apps or devices.

From here, you can select favorite photographers you want to “Follow,” so you’ll never miss anything they upload.

Connection issues aside, Clashot is a fairly good online store for buying and selling photos. The thing is, there’s not much in there to sweeten the deal for potential users. The success of these cash-for-pics apps comes down to the number of shoppers they bring to viewing your photos, and the overall amount of successful sales they regularly produce. And you have to draw comparisons to the competition: Foap, Pictorama, VukeeM, others. Many of those other apps provide editing software and tools, as well as being more aesthetically interesting.

The truth is, even though these kinds of services can bring home some money for us amateurs, the chances of making any real income to speak of are remote. Modern smartphones make it so easy to take good looking photos, that it takes a lot more than clever angles and cool filters to catch a buyer’s eye. What we need is an app that helps photographers not just make their images available for sale, but that provides smart new tools for helping them establish a brand identity and stand out from the crowd.

Maybe some future updates will resolve the connection issues I experienced. Right now, I can’t find much in Clashot that makes the cash-for-pics process worthwhile.

According to information released by Vietnamese site Tinhte, the long-rumored iPhone 5S will sport an improved camera and will also come with certain enhancements to taking photos.

Tinhte may be a little-known site but it has proven itself historically by releasing accurate information on Apple products.

For the iPhone 5S, the site reported that the new phone will have a 12 megapixel camera, a 4 megapixel jump from the iPhone 5’s 8 megapixel camera. This is a good development since the Apple has not changed the resolution of the iPhone camera over two generations (the iPhone 4s also had an 8 megapixel camera). Another possible feature that will be added to the iPhone 5S is the ability to take better photos during low light conditions. This is potentially a really cool new improvement to the iPhone. Majority of iPhone owners use their device exclusively for taking photos and even though the iPhone has one of the best cameras out there, its ability to take decent photos when there is inadequate light is still a little suspect. This improvement will really make the iPhone one of the best built-in cameras in the market.

Other features that are being rumored to be included in the new iPhone include NFC support, a faster processor and, quite possibly, iOS 7.

There is still no news on when the iPhone 5S will be launched.

The first bundle (and the one that expires soonest) is from the awesome people at MacHeist. I’ve written about MacHeist before; they do quality work and always manage to attract an incredible group of developers to contribute to their bundles. They’ve come through once again with eight great apps that would normally total $260, but which you can snag now for $9.99. The apps in this bundle include:

• Clarify – easily create your own tutorials (reg. $30)
• CleanMyMac 2 – speeds up your Mac by deleting unneeded files ($4o)
• Fantastical – a calendar app that’s about 100x better than OS X’s Calendar ($20)
• iStopMotion – make your own stop-motion animations ($50)
• Little Inferno – brilliantly off-kilter game that’s getting rave reviews ($10)
• Path Finder – a smarter, more customizable Finder ($40)
• Totals – invoice maker ($40)
• xScope – on-screen measuring tools for designers & developers ($30)

I can’t help noticing on the MacHeist front page that there are two empty slots that look like windows. Past ‘Heisters will recognize this as a hint that two more apps are going to be added to this bundle that have yet to be revealed. (If you look closely at those windows, you can already see the shadows of the app icons that will go there.) MacHeist will unveil them probably one at a time in the days leading up to the deadline.

Speaking of which, you have until April 23rd to take advantage of this MacHeist bundle. MacHeist has been known in the past to extend their offers with an extra day or two, but I wouldn’t count on it every time.

The second bundle comes from 9to5Toys.com, and it works a little differently. Then 10 apps available in this bundle are being sold as a name-your-own-price deal — with a catch. You can literally pay a penny if you like, but you’ll only get three apps. To get all 10, you have to pay at least one penny more than the average price that other shoppers are paying. This means that the more people that buy the 9to5 bundle, the higher that average goes. At the time of this writing, it’s a little over $8, which is still a phenomenal deal for apps that are worth a cumulative $400.

They’re also running a contest where if you pay more than anyone else has so far, you’re entered into a contest to win a MacBook Air. There’s a leaderboard on the promotion’s page that shows what the current highest bidder has paid. At the moment, it’s hovering around $100.

The apps in 9to5′s bundle are some of the best apps on the market, including several that make it worth the purchase all by themselves.

• CrossOver 12 – run any(!) Windows programs on your Mac, no Boot Camp, no Windows license, no anything (reg. $60)
• DiskTools Pro – powerful hard drive utility ($80)
• Elmedia Player Pro – VLC competitor that plays (and saves) tons of video formats, including Flash ($20)
• Gemini – we gave this duplicate file find-and-delete app high marks for its gorgeous design and smart searching ($10)
• HoudahSpot – a faster Finder with tagging and bookmarking ($29)
• Mac Blu-ray Player – high-quality Blu-ray software; requires external Blu-ray drive ($60)
• Musictube – like Spotify for music on YouTube ($11)
• Paperless – eliminate all paper from your life with smart digital storage ($50)
• PhotoBulk – bulk resizing, add watermarks, and optimize your photos ($10)
• Snapz Pro 10 – record anything on your screen ($69)

You have until April 25th to take advantage of the 9to5 bundle. I grabbed this one myself, because the inclusion of CrossOver and Mac Blu-ray Player made it an absolute steal for the $8 I spent. Act fast, and you won’t have to spend much either.

Oh, and in both cases, 10% of your purchase price is donated to some very worthy charities.

Switch Between iMessage Texting and SMS

This one’s useful for those times when Apple’s iMessage service is on the fritz. If you can’t get a message to send through iMessage, you can have it try again as a standard SMS text message.

• Double-tap on the blue bubble you want to resend as SMS. The bubble will turn green, indicating that your phone has changed it to an SMS text and sent it that way.

Have Siri Insert Punctuation in Your Dictations

Siri’s great for dictating stuff to instead of always thumbing the virtual keyboard. But if you want to dictate more formally, with proper punctuation marks and all, that’s always an option. Siri understands all punctuation marks if you say them aloud, like “new paragraph” or “quote… end quote.”

• Just say what you want, exactly where you want it. For example, you might dictate, “Hi comma how are you question mark” to get Siri to output “Hi, how are you?”

Create Customized Vibrations

You probably know you can set different ringtones for different callers, and chimes for notifications. You may even know that you can set different vibrations for various uses. But did you know you can use your iPhone to create vibration patterns? Maybe you want your phone to vibrate in Morse Code, or the drum beat to a favorite song. It can be anything you can imagine.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap Sounds, then select any item on the “Sounds and Vibration Patterns” list.
3. Tap Vibration.
4. Tap “Create New Vibration.”
5. Tap out the vibration you want to create. When you’re satisfied with it, tap Save. You can now assign it to any action or caller.

Automate Phone Dialing of Extensions and Pass Codes

Speed-dial is great, but it hits a big ol’ speed bump when you have to dial an extension or you get one of those godawful automated operators. Fortunately there’s a very easy way to keep even this part simple. Using one of two options, you can insert pauses in your speed-dialing.

1. Go to Contacts.
2. Select the one you want to add an extension to, and tap Edit.
3. Enter the phone number first.
4. Tap the “+*#” button on the keypad.
5. Choose Pause or Wait and then enter the extension.

Pause inserts a 2-second break. You can use Pause multiple times if you want to add longer breaks. Use this one when you know exactly how long the break is between the answer on the other end and the moment when you’re directed to enter the extension.

Wait stops all dialing activity until you hit the Dial button a second time. So you enter the phone number and then it kicks into the Wait function while you listen for the recording on the other end to finish. Use this when you don’t know the exact break time between when they answer and when they ask for your extension. Or if the break is a different length each time you call.

Lock the Camera’s Focus and Exposure

I never knew about this one until I read the iPhone manual, and boy do I wish I’d known it before now. You know how it is: you’re trying to snap a great picture but people or cars or whatever keep moving in and out of the frame in the foreground — making the camera’s autofocus go all kinds of wonky. It keeps changing focus so various areas of the frame get blurry while others sharpen up, shifting between light and dark, and it all fluctuates so wildly you can’t get it to land on the right focus or exposure. To work around this, you can easily force your camera to focus on one specific spot and lock it there.

1. With the Camera app open, identify the spot on the screen that you want it to lock focus on.
2. Touch and hold your finger on that spot until the rectangle starts to pulse. “AE/AF Lock” will appear on the screen near the shutter, indicating that you’ve been successful. Now, no matter what happens, the focus and exposure both will remain locked on your sweet spot.
3. When you’re ready to turn it off, just tap the screen.

Change the Shortcut Buttons in the iTunes Store

The iPhone’s version of the iTunes Store is very minimal, and one size doesn’t fit all. The black shortcut bar at the bottom defaults to Music, Movies, TV, and Search, but if these don’t suit your needs, you can customize the bar to include the shortcuts you want.

1. Open the iTunes Store on your phone.
2. In the shortcut bar at the bottom, tap on More at the far right.
3. On the next screen, tap Edit in the top right corner.
4. A new menu will slide down showing the nine buttons available to use in the shortcut bar. You can change out your shortcuts for stuff like Tones (ringtones), Audiobooks, Genius, and more.

Sadly, you can’t customize the shortcut bars in the App Store or iBooks.

Trick Out Do-Not-Disturb Mode

You’ve probably heard of Do Not Disturb mode, but you may not realize just how smart and useful it can be. It’s not a blanket thing where you throw the switch and suddenly all sounds are turned off. Or rather, it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t even have to manually turn it on and off.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap Notifications, then Do Not Disturb.
3. The next screen gives you a number of options you can tweak here to make DND work more intelligently. At the top of the screen you can set specific time you’d like your iPhone to turn DND on and off for you each day. Below that, you can allow calls from specific people when DND is on. (These are defined in Contacts, by setting individuals as Favorites or putting them in Groups.)

Zoom In

You don’t have to have vision problems to want to see things on your screen a little easier. Your iPhone’s robust Accessibility suite includes a nifty option for zooming in that works on the Home screen and inside most apps.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap General > Accessibility > Zoom.
3. Turn Zoom on.

From here, use the following gestures to control the settings on-the-fly:

• Auto-zoom in and out: double-tap the screen with 3 fingers
• Manually zoom in and out: tap the screen with 3 fingers and then drag up or down
• Navigate a zoomed-in screen: drag the screen with 3 fingers

So what’s a VPN? A Virtual Private Network makes your WiFi or broadband Internet connection secure. That is, the connection itself, which is not secured by your standard antivirus/malware package, secure webpages (the ones that start with “https”), or WiFi password. All of those things are great, but once you’ve established a connection to the Internet, you’re putting your data out into the digital soup of the World Wide Web and receiving data from it. And the various security measures you’ve installed on your end won’t keep prying eyes from watching or intercepting your coming and going traffic (aka, data). If you’re at home using your own WiFi router, then you’re probably safe, but if you share WiFi with others or connect via a public hotspot, you’re opening yourself up to potential attack.

That’s where VPNs come in handy. It creates a virtual network that multiple computers and devices can connect to that keeps each one secure. When you surf the Web or check your email through a VPN, it secures the entire connection — not just your end but whatever part of the Internet you’re connecting to — by channeling your traffic through a secure “tunnel” that encrypts the data so it can’t be unscrambled by anyone but you.

Picking a VPN provider is kind of like picking an ISP (that’s an Internet Service Provider, like Time Warner, Comcast, Earthlink, AT&T, etc.). Both services are provided to you for a monthly fee. There are loads of VPN providers to choose from, each offering different options and prices, though most of them run between $5 and $10 a month. Choosing one is just like shopping for anything else: smart users will shop around first. I like BestVPN for its smart comparisons and thoughtful reviews.

Apple is known for making complicated computer tasks easy, and your Mac’s VPN setup is a prime example of this because it couldn’t be simpler. Click on System Preferences, and then click the Network icon. On the left, you’re going to see a list of your available network connections. Click the plus symbol at the bottom of that list, because we’re going to add a new connection.

A new menu will slide out from the top. Under Interface, pick VPN (probably the sixth item on the menu).

Another option will appear, letting you select the kind of VPN service you’re going to connect to. You don’t have to know anything about these VPN types; your VPN service provider will tell you what to use for this setting. The next option lets you name your VPN service, and you can call it whatever you want. Click the Create button when you’re ready.

Now your VPN will be listed in that sidebar menu, but you still have to configure it. Referring again to the info given to you by your VPN provider, enter the server address and account name.

Click the Authentication Settings button and type in the password your VPN provider gave you. Then click OK, and then Connect.

Congratulations, your Mac is all set up and ready to preserve your anonymity online.

More Mac Tutorials:

• How To: Rename Your Mail Flags For Better Prioritizing
• How To: Make Launchpad Useful
• How To: Spruce Up Mail With Contact Photos
• How To: Turn Off OS X’s “Natural Scrolling”

As near as I can tell, Apple awards employees who have been with the company for 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years. For all I know, they may do it for 15 years as well, but I’ve been unable to find any evidence of that. And staying with Apple as long as 20 years is pretty rare, so I can’t imagine very many have made it to 25 or higher.

For employee anniversaries, Apple used to give plaques signed by the company’s CEO (very likely Steve Jobs). This appears to have been dropped in favor of a fancy etched glass sculpture sometime around 2011 or 2012, which is now given to 10-year veterans. More on that later.

Here’s a look at the awards of yesteryear.

Prior to Steve Jobs’ return to the company in the late 90s, 5-year employees received a plaque that looked like this:

Recipients at the time were also given a golden apple pin with a diamond inset, and get this: a 6-week sabbatical! There’s no way today’s employees would get this kind of break; that’s exactly the kind of thing Jobs likely put a stop to upon his return. (I’d love to know what employees of this era received for 10 years of service or more. If anyone has knowledge of this, please let us know.) [Image by Steve Chazin]

Side note: does anyone recognize the CEO’s signature at the bottom of the plaque above? It’s definitely not Jobs (compare it to his signature below), and it doesn’t look like John Sculley’s either. My best guess is Gil Amelio, but I’m not positive.

After Jobs returned, the plaques were upgraded to something that probably better suited his sensibilities. Here’s the 5-year plaque from the Jobs era:

[Image by Drew Shepherd]

Today, the 5-year plaque has been downsized to the following, which is more in keeping with the company’s current design philosophies:

I think it’s safe to assume that the photographer added the sparkle effect. [Image by Mixx Hennings]

I have no images of 10-year awards from previous eras, but it’s safe to assume it was similar to the first two images above. These days, 10-year employees are the recipients of a snazzy etched-glass award that looks like this. The iPhone is for size comparison:

According to a story by a commenter at Gizmodo who claimed to have first-hand knowledge of this new award, it’s made of a “high lead content” glass that’s “vapor-honed (sandblasted with a water slurry)” to cut through its thick surface, leaving behind an uncommonly soft feel. His story goes that Corning, the company that created the Gorilla Glass used in the iPhone, had a division of theirs called Steuben create a gift for Steve Jobs as a thank you for all of the business he gave them. What this gift was exactly is unclear, but it was made of this same high-lead glass. Jobs was reportedly so impressed by its quality that he asked them to produce these glass blocks with the Apple logo etched out of the center as a gift for 10-year veterans of the company. [Image via Gizmodo]

Side note: Steuben Glass is no longer in business, but Corning apparently continues to produce the 10-year gifts in their place.

Gizmodo’s commenter also posted a photo of an unpolished prototype that he owns. He was allowed to keep it because he helped develop the process by which the Apple cutout was etched. Here’s that picture:

[Image by Gizmodo reader "bgeorger"]

Employees who receive this glass block also get a letter of congratulations, that looks like this:

[Image by Deep Jawa]

It also comes with a note explaining how the block is made. Needless to say, it’s an elaborate process.

[Image by Mark Kawano]

As I mentioned before, there’s also a 20-year award for employees who’ve stayed with the company for that long, and I believe this to be a very rare thing. I have no idea what 20-year veterans receive nowadays, but here’s the plaque that was presented to these employees as of five years ago:

[Image by Nicholas]

When Apple’s iMessage/FaceTime service went down today, I learned that Apple has a “Services Status” page. How did I not know about this? I feel so out-of-the-loop.

Maybe I’m the only person that didn’t know Apple has a “Services Status” page. But on the off chance that I’m not, I think it’s worth mentioning since it’s useful info.

If you point your web browser to apple.com/support/systemstatus, you’ll find a convenient list of almost three dozen online services (like iCloud) and online stores that Apple runs. Beside each item on the list is a color-coded icon showing whether or not it’s running normally, or if there’s some kind of issue. Unfortunately, in typical Apple style, that’s all the details they provide, so don’t hold out hope for any explanations about what’s causing an outage or estimates on when it might be back up.

Still, today I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wondering if I was having a problem with iMessage on my end, or if it was a problem on Apple’s end. It’s nice to know that there’s somewhere to look to find that answer.

Anybody can add gimmicky photography features. That’s not innovation. Throwing any and every new technology at mobile devices and seeing which ones stick ain’t how Apple rolls. They’re more thoughtful, both of the individual’s experience and the whole package — software and hardware working as one. That will never be more true than with the advent of iOS 7, because Apple’s design guru Sir Jonathan Ive is overseeing both. For the first time, an Apple device will have a completely unified vision, and that is something worth getting excited about.

These are the top 10 innovations we’re hoping Apple brings to iOS 7.

1. Reinvent the Home Screen
More than any other feature, most users (myself included) agree that the iOS home screen is in desperate need of an intervention. A lifeless grid of icons is so five years ago. It was serviceable in its day, but this is 2013 and we expect more. As much as I call Microsoft out for always cribbing off of Apple’s playbook, one thing I’ll give them props for is the “live tiles” design concept used on the Windows Phone and Surface home screen. It’s dynamic, it’s interactive, and it’s everything that a modern mobile device home screen should be. I adore great apps as much as the next guy, but… screw those darn icons! We need something more exciting, something that gives us at-a-glance current info and direct access to the data we need instead of the apps we get data from. Even Android has front page widgets for easy access to crucial info. It’s time for Apple to step up to the plate and show everybody what the dynamic, customizable home screen of the future looks like. [Concept art by theIntensePlayer]

2. No More Tacky Textures
Thank God the tacky leather, paper, and string stitching of Apple’s Game Center, Calendar, and more — aka a design language called skeuomorphism — are about to become extinct on Apple devices. They are the philosophy of a past regime, but those days are over and Apple is ready to step into the now. Like the wonders of design that Apple loves to tout, this issue is about a lot more than how an app looks. It’s about functionality as well. The loss of skeuomorphism will lead to not just more attractive apps, but apps that work better. Take email, for example. Third-party apps like Mailbox for iPhone and the drop-dead gorgeous Incredimail for iPad are showing us what email clients can and should be on touchscreen devices. Awesome Calendar and Tempo are far better calendars than Apple’s Calendar. The interfaces for iOS Mail and Calendar currently look and function identical to their desktop cousins. Has Apple forgotten that touchscreen devices and Macs are two different machines with different interfaces?

3. Multiple User Accounts on a Single Device
Maybe there are apps on your iPhone that your kids have no business using. Maybe you don’t want anyone else reading your email. What if the iPad that your family shares had customized settings (app layout, wallpapers, notification sounds, etc.) for each person that uses it? This is great not just for parents whose kids borrow their iPhone or iPad, but anyone who wants to share a device. Android’s been offering this feature since Jelly Bean arrived. Windows Phone gives parents with a “Kid’s Corner” area where the little ones can hop on mom or dad’s device and play their favorite kid-friendly apps. Frankly, this one’s long overdue. Apple should have built it into the very first iPhone.

4. Open Up (Some!) Standards
Apple is known for keeping a stranglehold on pretty much everything it creates, patenting their every screw and rounded rectangle. I think it’s time to relax that policy — just a little. (It wouldn’t be Apple if they went open-source-everything.) Steve Jobs once promised iPhone developers that FaceTime standards would be made available so that other apps and even non-Apple devices could make FaceTime calls. A few years later, we’re still waiting on that promise to be fulfilled. Or what about Siri? What does Apple gain by saving her for Apple-made apps only? Give developers access to a Siri API so she can interact with third-party apps. And then there’s the whole “saved files” issue. On iOS devices, most apps can only access files that they’ve saved. Photos have the Photo Library so image files can be shared, but there’s no similar “pool” for other kinds of data files like documents. Sharing files from one device to another is hard enough. Sharing files between apps on the same device needn’t be such a headache. And as long as Apple’s loosening its grip…

5. Give Us More Customization Options
Apple is known for simplifying the user experience with elegant interfaces that take care of all the complicated stuff so you don’t have to. But sometimes this philosophy causes them to err too far in the opposite direction. Case in point: the Stocks app on the iPhone. I own no stocks, and don’t plan on buying any. I have never once opened the Stocks app, but my iPhone won’t let me delete the blasted thing. That’s so dumb! But Apple, please don’t stop there. Today’s users want to personalize their devices to suit their own needs — and that goes beyond changing wallpapers and notification sounds. A really ingenious idea I saw over at Ars Technica would let users customize their devices on an app-by-app basis. So for example, you could set your display to low-light conditions for most apps, but have it automatically switch to a higher brightness level when you’re looking at photos. The possibilities are endless for this kind of conditional personalization, and it makes loads of sense.

6. Automatic App Updates
Developers update their apps constantly. If you have a lot of apps, you know what a chore it can be to go through the daily hassle of manually updating them. So why are updating them manually, again? Just simplify it and let developers update their apps automatically, running in the background, or at times when you’re not actively using your device. Users who want to know about what’s been updated can get a notification about it. Or turn off the options in specific apps if you don’t want them to auto-update.

7. Better Multitasking
iOS devices have never been great at multitasking. That’s a good thing for helping users focus on the task at hand, but not very convenient when you need to switch between apps. The four-fingered gesture that swipes sideways from one app to the next was a good start, but multitasking needs to go deeper. Fan-made demos have been appearing online for months showing how the multitasking bar can hold a lot more than just icons. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to see a live preview of whatever files are open in those apps, instead of just the boring ol’ icon? Take it a step further by enabling a drag-and-drop version of cut-and-paste to simplify sharing files (see #4) or clipboard data between apps.

8. Interactive Notifications
One of the few things Android does well is make notifications smarter and more user-friendly. Like iOS, you swipe down from the top of the screen to see your notification list. The difference is that Android lets you react to them right there. Apple’s devices require you to tap on an item on the list, which then takes you to an app where you can take some kind of appropriate action. The first time I saw Android’s smarter notifications, I thought it was one of those extraneous gimmicks that wasn’t necessary. But the more I think about it, the more value I see in eliminating that extra step between alert and action. It’s so obvious, it feels like a no-brainer.

9. Automated Tasks
Imagine being able to tie functions of disparate apps together and have them activated based on certain conditions. It’d be like IFTTT for everyday things you do with your phone. Apple has already dabbled in this for location-based tasks with Reminders and Passbook. But take it further and it opens up all sorts of possibilities. Just think… When you get in your car, your iPhone would launch Spotify or Pandora for you and couple to your car’s stereo speakers via Bluetooth. Go to work and your phone would launch your favorite to-do list app, or maybe your email. College students could go to class and their iPad would launch iBooks or iTunes U right on the page where they left off the last time they were there. But there’s so many different inputs your iOS device can read, like motion, weather, messaging, audio, dates and times, and so on. The possibilities are limitless and it’s not like this is something beyond technology’s reach. All this idea needs is for Apple to whittle it down to its essence and make it so simple your grandma can do it. Fortunately, that’s what they do best.

10. Fine Control Over Data Usage
This could be a gamechanger. Power users know what a hassle it can be to have to squeeze off the pipeline when getting close to their cellular data limit. Travelers know this better than anyone. A crafty way of solving this would be to have a handful of settings for data usage, which would alter how much data your apps are allowed to download in the background. Your “Full” or “Maximum” setting would be for places with WiFi, while incoming data would be slowed down on a “Low” setting at times when you have to rely solely on expensive cell data. They’re called “smartphones,” after all. They ought to be smart enough to keep you from going over your monthly limit.

As Apple rumors go, this one is quite interesting. There has been a lot of anticipation for the supposed launch of the iPhone 5S this summer, but more interestingly, there are reports that the development of iOS 7 has been experiencing delays.

An article from Apple blogger John Gruber, cited an unnamed source that said the team responsible for developing iOS 7 is very concerned about the delays that they have asked the help of engineers assigned to the Mac OS X 9 development team to help keep the iOS 7 development schedule back on track. Based on the schedule, iOS 7 is supposed to be shown at the Worldwide Developer Conference, which is usually held in the month of June.

Gruber wrote that Apple fans can expect a “significant system-wide UI overhaul.” The revamp is reportedly so different that engineers field testing the iOS are using polarizing filters on their displays to prevent other people from getting a glimpse of the operating system’s new look.

A revamp of iOS’ look is long overdue. It’s been the same look we’ve been seeing for years. The new look also jives with the report that Jony Ive has taken the helm in the redesign, opting for a “flat design”.

The big question is, would a redesign of iOS 7 bring in new customers? With stiff competition being raised by many Android phone manufacturers, especially Samsung and their constant innovations, Apple needs something exciting to bring back the kind rabid interest the iPhone  used to enjoy. Yes, the iPhone is still a hit but interest in the product has been slowly waning.

Are you looking forward to seeing what iOS 7 would look like?

It’s the update our readers have been waiting for: we’ve overhauled our popular List of 3D Cities in Apple Maps to include major suburbs.

The most comprehensive list of 3D “Flyover” cities in Apple Maps just got even more complete. Major cities with suburbs in 3D now have those smaller neighborhoods included in sub-lists. It’s not quite exhaustive yet, but with your help, it can be! Read more about it on the 3D Cities List page.

Oh, and if you’ve ever wondered just how Apple creates those amazing Flyover views of big cities, we’ve got a walk-through of the process right here.

If it worked, iCloud would be a terrific service. And in some ways, it’s great. Like when tied into iTunes, it usually does a good job of keeping track of your downloads, remembering everything you’ve purchased in the past and letting you re-download them again, or put them on other devices. But with photos and documents, it’s never quite the seamless experience it’s meant to be. (Don’t even get me started on iPhoto.) Which is pretty ironic considering that iCloud was meant to be the file storage and syncing solution that MobileMe never lived up to.

But iCloud isn’t Apple’s only backup-and-storage product that sucks. There’s also Time Capsule, that square little box that automatically backs up everything on your Mac. When you first buy Time Capsule, it typically works as advertised. But the consensus among users is that after a short period of time — anywhere from two months up to a year — it becomes a glitch-filled brick.

My family has a Time Capsule. In fairness, it’s about two years old, and most backup drives have a life expectancy of around two years. But ours hasn’t worked in months. It worked great out of the box, but about a year in, it started acting weird. Its internal WiFi router has always worked flawlessly. It’s more reliable and more powerful than our old AirPort ever was. The hard drive is a different story, though. It regularly returns error messages, it’s never able to complete a backup, and seems to cause more problems on our Macs than it solves. We still use it for the router, but rarely bother trying to back up anymore.

So I’ve been looking into backup alternatives lately. We all love Dropbox because it’s so easy and so good at sharing files between devices, but there are other options. Google Drive, Amazon Cloud Services, Microsoft SkyDrive, Box, Mozy, and others provide endless options for backing up. Dropbox and Box typically suit my needs just fine, but it’s worth shopping around to get the best price. There are other options to consider, too, like storage sizes, number of machines you can link to a single account, what file formats it accepts, and more. (If you need help making sense of all those options, I recommend comparison site Best Backups.)

What’s your experience been? Does iCloud work for you? How about Time Capsule? Or do they both — as they have been for me — represent Apple’s broken promises?