When you enable the Personal Hotspot feature on your iPhone, iOS will generate a password on your behalf. It's convenient, but recent research from FAU in Germany suggests it is not very secure.

According to researchers Andreas Kurtz, Felix Freiling, and Daniel Metz, the default Hotspot password uses a short english word with some random numbers at the end. Not surprisingly, these passwords can be cracked in no time via a brute force dictionary attack. Using one AMD Radeon HD 6990 GPU, the team was able to guess a password in 50 minutes. When they bumped the GPUs up to four AMD Radeon HD 7970s, they were able to drop the password cracking time to a mere 50 seconds.

One reason the cracking was so easy is that Apple apparently uses a password list that picks from 1,842 words, and the selection of these words is not done randomly. It wouldn't take much effort for a savvy hacker to figure out this pattern and write a tool that would compromise a hotspot password faster than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The take home message is to change your hotspot password from the default one that is generated by iOS to one of your own choosing. It's easy enough to do -- just tap Settings > Personal Hotspot or Settings > General > Cellular > Personal Hotspot, depending on your device and software. Then tap the Wi-Fi password field and type in a new phrase. The new password must be at least eight characters long and use ASCII/Unicode characters. You can read more about the Personal Hotspot feature on Apple's iOS support page.

[Via Engadget]

Researchers easily crack iOS-generated hotspot passwords originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Silicon Valley Historical Association has released a short video clip of Steve Jobs from 1994, part of a 20 minute interview he gave while at NeXT. Jobs talked about his future legacy and discussed if he would be remembered for his work.

The clip's release is a promotion for the Silicon Valley Historical Association's 60-minute documentary based around the interview. Titled "Steve Jobs: Visionary Entrepreneur," the documentary is available on the Silicon Valley Historical Association's website. A digital download is US$14.99, with the DVD costing $24.99, and an audio-only version for $4.99.

Steve Jobs talks about his legacy in new video from 1994 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rockstar Games has announced that it is bringing its popular console and PC title 'Mac Payne 3' to the Mac on Thursday. Rockstar has yet to release its pricing, only stating that the Mac version of the game supports "a number of advanced graphics options, scalable high-resolution textures and character models, DirectX11 features, multi-monitor support and 3D."

As far as what users need to run the game, Rockstar recommends the following:

• Mac OS X 10.7.5 Lion
• Intel Dual Core Xeon / Core i Series 2.4 GHZ or greater
• 4GB System RAM
• NVIDIA(R) 8800GT 512MB VRAM
• or AMD Radeon HD 4870 512 VRAM
• HDD Space: 35GB

'Max Payne 3' coming to the Mac on June 20 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Facebook has updated its iOS app, adding new status icons and new privacy features. The version 6.2 update follows updates made to the web version of Facebook, especially regarding the all-important privacy status. Now after a user has posted a status update, photo or a link, they can tap a drop-down arrow next to the update and change the privacy settings. Users can change the privacy settings for older posts as well.

Users can now select emoticons and other status icons while writing a status update. The emoticons are meant to be selected after a user has written a status update, with the intention that the emoticon will give that users friends a quick visual glance as to how that person is feeling.

Here's a complete rundown of all the changes made and Facebook 6.2:

o. Add icons to status updates to show what you're feeling, reading, watching and more (English only)
o. Easily change who can see something you've shared
o. Start a new conversation with photos you receive in messages
o. Bug fixes

Facebook for iOS is a free download.

Facebook update boosts privacy features to iOS app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple has released an update to its Configurator app. The OS X app allows users to configure and deploy iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices in an enterprise environment, such as schools or government institutions. While no major changes were introduced, there are several minor improvements that administrators of institutions will find useful. Here's the news from the release notes:

Apple Configurator 1.3 contains improvements and bug fixes including:

o. Significantly improved reliability, scalability and performance
o. A new status view that includes time estimates and error information with recovery suggestions
o. Ability to cancel scheduled or in-progress operations
o. Administrators can install apps on devices configured to not allow users to install apps

Apple Configurator is a free download in the Mac App Store.

Apple updates Configurator app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Square Enix's Bloodmasque was undoubtedly the strangest game I saw at E3 last week, and in a year defined by indie titles and two new HD consoles, I think that's saying something. Square Enix has had a weird time with the App Store -- other companies like Capcom and EA have found a lot of success in smaller titles, but Square Enix has clung to its own console traditions, releasing relatively large and high quality, high production titles for a relatively high cost. Bloodmasque follows this trend (though the price has yet to be announced just yet), and it also brings one weird little twist that was actually more charming than I expected.

The game is based in an alternate universe, sort of steampunky version of Paris in 1890, where an empire of vampires (yes, a vampire empire) rules the world. One plucky adventurer has the guts and the magical powers to stand up to those empires, and that adventurer is you. Literally you, I mean, because the game scans your face, and then inserts it right on to the main character. That's me and my character above, though keep in mind that this was day 3 of E3, so if I look a little tired, that's why.

The face-scanning thing is a gimmick, and yet strangely it works: After my face was scanned in and my hair was tuned to the right shape and color, I watched as my character (a little more fit than I am) saved a damsel in distress, and carried out a vampire fight scene. I tapped to attack, swiped to dodge, and then when the vampire was almost dead, pulled off a jumping leap and staked him right in the back of the neck. You can actually record three different faces, so you get one frowning, one standard and one smiling. Each of them can look very different, which can make the animation a little strange. Even under the best of conditions, the face looks weird and a little creepy, sure, but I could tell it was me, so I guess that's the point.

Bloodmasque itself is really just a series of missions, which you navigate around via an overworld map. There's a light social game built on it as well -- you can choose two friends to join you in battle scenes, and their faces will also show up on screen as you play (you can elect to keep your face private, if you like, or you can choose a premade face if you're not interested in showing your mug to the world). Your friends get bonuses when you use them in battle, and vice versa, so having an oft-used mug will earn you more blood for upgrades and XP for missions.

There are exploration levels, too, but I found them pretty bland, unfortunately. We'll have to wait until the full game arrives to see if the story pulls us in at all. But the setting is distinct (steampunk is always a plus), and that face gimmick makes for a very interesting twist indeed. If the combat can sustain the fun, Bloodmasque could be a riotous way to put a character together, featuring your very own look.

Square Enix seems attached to the idea that selling premium games at a premium price will work, and I'm not one to disavow them of that, especially as lots of other companies race towards the bottom. Bloodmasque should be an interesting experiment -- it's set to come out sometime later on this summer.

Square Enix uses your face for action in Bloodmasque originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thinking of buying new headphones for listening to music on your iPhone or iPod touch? You might want to try the Dirac HD Player or the Lite version instead to see if it can improve the sound from the headphones that came with your iOS music player.

Dirac is a Swedish company that does all kinds of high-end electronic equalization for the auto and electronics industry. You can hear their work in BMW, Rolls-Royce or Bentley autos, not that I get into too many Bentleys or other high-end cars...

Dirac has applied its sonic expertise to fixing some of the audio issues with Apple's headsets. The app is not designed for any other headset, as the EQ is quite specific to Apple's original iPhone and iPod touch headphones or EarPods.

The Lite version is free, and doesn't allow you to create or modify playlists, but the audio quality for the free and paid version (US$2.99) is the same.

I gave the app a listen on a variety of rock, jazz and classical tunes I had on my iPhone, and overall I would say the sound improved. My tests were with the Apple EarPods that came with my iPhone 5. The midrange seemed to be boosted, the edge was taken off strings, and there was a bit more distinctness to the bass lines. Sometimes I felt the sound was different, not necessarily better, but in most cases I liked the improvement. There are no adjustments to make, other than decide if you are listening on Apple headphones or EarPods.

A couple of caveats. You can only listen to music from your iTunes library. It won't work on other audio sources, like streaming radio. iTunes Match and iTunes in the Cloud aren't supported yet either, but they are coming.

If you are interested, I would suggest trying the free version to see if you like the sound improvement. If so, you might want to spring for the paid version for the extra flexibility.

I've listened to some other audio enhancers like the SRS iWow app and hardware solution. The results are more dramatic than the Dirac app, but the SRS app requires a hardware clip-on. However, it does work with any headphones and has many more adjustments.

The Dirac HD Players are optimized for the iPhone 5, and require iOS 5.1 or better.

Gallery: Dirac HD Player

Dirac HD Player can improve the Apple headphone and EarPod experience originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While Mavericks won't be officially released for a few months, developers already have their hands on the beta, and are putting the operating system to the test. One intrepid YouTube user, MrThaiBox123, has uploaded a video showcasing the strengths and weaknesses of the system's multi-monitor abilities. And he's done this with six 27-inch monitors. You know, just like your average work space.

It's important to note that the issues MrThaiBox123 deals with could all be fixed by the public release this fall. Still this is a fascinating look at both the upcoming operating system and the troubleshooting that comes with beta testing.

Testing the pros and cons of Mavericks' multi-display support originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A new update has been released for the popular social video app Vine that adds a sharing button beneath posts in your feed, along with the standard bug fixes that come with every update. Sharing is a nice touch that the app has been sorely lacking since its launch. When you hit share, you're given a list of options: Twitter, Facebook or embed.

When you share your own videos, the link is sent directly to the feed of your choice with no option to insert a personal message. The Vine is simply shared with the text you attached to it. However, when you share a friend's Vine you're given the option of attaching your own text to the repost, so you can tag friends... or perhaps enemies.

You can find the Vine version 1.1.3 in the App Store right now.

Vine 1.1.3 update adds a share button originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been over a week since Apple announced the new Mac Pro, and while public opinion has been quite positive, the creative professionals who will most likely be the target market for the shiny cylinder haven't been heard from ... until now. Macworld UK's Karen Haslam followed up with a number of power users, and found that while many are thrilled with the prospect of Apple's new flagship product, there are some concerns as well.

The lack of internal expansion in the new design is of concern to several commenters. Writing for Broadcast Engineer, David Austerberry noted that "If I upgrade, that spaghetti under the desk will be joined by more Thunderbolt spaghetti connecting to external storage." Referring to the turntable base of the new Mac Pro, Austerberry says that "If I need to plug in an external drive to bring in video content, I can attempt to plug in at the back, but the chassis isn't going to turn easily with all the cables plugged in. Some front connectors would have been dead handy!"

Despite the concerns about internal expansion, Final Cut Pro trainer Larry Jordan recently blogged that 80 percent of current Mac Pro users don't have any PCI cards installed except for the graphics card. Jordan also wrote that "Apple essentially provided a virtually unlimited number of card slots for users that need the maximum in expandability," in reference to the use of the still unproven Thunderbolt 2 bus.

Pros need a lot of storage. Video editor Lou Borella bemoans the lack of Thunderbolt peripherals, saying that the "missing piece is the lack of high-speed Thunderbolt-native RAID 5 storage systems" and "very, very few 5 to 10 drive RAID 5 systems, which we editors need the most."

Most of the pros seemed thrilled with the prospect of the Xeon E5-powered Mac Pro and fast PCIe Flash memory. But most were also concerned about the lack of choice of GPU in the new Mac Pro. Borella "was drooling at the thought of two NVidia Titans" in his future Mac Pro, but Apple has apparently decided that the two built-in AMD FirePro workstation-class GPUs are enough. Some Mac users have software that isn't optimized or even compatible with the new graphics card, so the ability to swap out GPUs is a major concern.

For the most part, many of the pros were optimistic, with Borella noting that "This machine will change the way my peripherals sit on my desk. It will cause me to take a hard look at my current monitor situation. It will cause me to re-evaluate my home network and my NAS devices. It might even cause me to give a harder look to FCPX. For good or bad this Mac Pro will change everything and cause a ripple effect in my entire computing life... It's probably about time that some company takes me to the next step."

We'll hear more about the Mac Pro, including pricing and expansion possibilities, as the fall release date draws closer. If you're a current Mac Pro owner and have your doubts or hopes about the new model, please leave us your comments below.

Mac pros react to the Mac Pro originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Agricola is one of the most popular board games around these days -- it's sort of a farming simulation game, where you can take two turns every round, and then periodically get rewards paid off in a harvest. Playdek is an up-and-coming iOS developer that's mostly done card games so far -- they're behind the Penny Arcade card game, as well as the excellent Ascension and a more complicated one I really like called Nightfall. Now, Playdek has teamed up with the creators of Agricola and Lookout Games to produce this iOS adaptation, available right now on the App Store for $6.99.

The way the game works is that every round, you send out a family member to perform some task for you, including growing crops, bringing in resources, or building fences for animals. During the game, you can add more members to your family, which means you'll have more chances to bring in resources, but you'll also have more people to feed when the harvest comes around. The game is complex, but the core idea (of building up your farm bit by bit) is strong, so after playing through the tutorial and seeing the process for a while, it's easy to start building your own strategies and plans.

Just as with the rest of their titles, Playdek has done a great job here in the presentation -- the game's stark but beautiful music goes well with the theme of fighting just to have enough, and all of the title's various processes and features are clearly displayed with charming and iconic touches. The game uses a top-down 2D drawn style, which might not have been quite as impressive as a full 3D farm environment, but works very well in getting all of the information you need across clearly. Plus, in addition to four gameplay modes, there's online or offline multiplayer, including a pass-and-play mode which is always a nice. Playdek knows well how to translate card games over to iOS, and this title proves they've been able to bring that expertise to board games as well. Agricola might be a bit pricey for those unfamiliar (or uninterested) in the original, but if you're looking for a full-featured, well-made adaptation of the popular board game, this is definitely it.

Daily iPhone App: Agricola is Playdek's great adaptation of the board game originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Subscribe via RSS

Daily Update for June 18, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The clever folk over at Kintek have posted a handy system-to-system guide for anyone working in the mobile development space. This metaphor overview quickly references how items like buttons, switches, one-of-n selection, and other common interface items are expressed by default in the target arenas.

You'll find items from Android, iOS 6, and iOS 7 listed side-by-side, so you can quickly review their visual presentation. Resource links take you to developer documentation. It's nicely done and well worth checking out.

[Via Swiss Miss]

DevJuice: iOS/Android PortKit translates visual metaphors originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked selections that include some sweet deals on iOS and OS X software (all prices are USD). Prices are subject to change.

• StackSocial: [Mac Software] The Name Your Own Price Double Down Mac Bundle for $4
• DiscountMags: [Magazines] Macworld Magazine 2-Year Subscription (24 issues) for $13
• MacUpdate Promo: [Mac Software] Flavours for Mac downloads for $10
• Adorama: [Camera Accessories] LumiQuest Event Shooting Kit for $35 + free shipping
• Paydeals.com: [iPad Accessories] ZAGG iPad and Android Tablet Accessories from $25 + free shipping
• all4cellular.com: [Camera Accessories] 160-LED Continuous Light Panel w/ Mount, Filters for $25 + free shipping
• DealGenius: [Surge Protectors] Coleman Cable 10-Outlet Surge Protector 2-Pack for $20 + free shipping
• Paydeals.com: [iPhone Accessories] Griffin TuneFlex AUX Car Charger Mount for iPhone for $7 + free shipping
• TigerDirect: [Keyboards] Ultra Slim USB Keyboard for $0 after rebate + $2 s&h
• Adorama: [Digital Tablets] Wacom Bamboo 4-Button Craft Tablet for $55 + free shipping
• Paydeals.com: [iPad Accessories] Sena Florence Leather Folio for iPad for $13 + free shipping
• TigerDirect: [Battery Backups/UPSs] Battery Backups at TigerDirect from $80 + $15 s&h

• Gridditor [iOS Universal; Category: Photography & Video; Now free, down from $1.99] Gridditor is a new way to quickly and easily edit photos.

• World War Z [iOS Universal; Category: Games; On sale for $0.99, down from $4.99] The World War Z game challenges you: play to survive. In a race against time, travel the world to rescue your loved ones in the midst of the deadly Zombie pandemic.

• TinyLegends[TM] Monster Crasher [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Now free, down from $0.99] Thousands of lives are depending on you. And valiant warriors are waiting for your call to eliminate the impending threat once for all.

• Commando Jack [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Now free, down from $0.99] You are Commando Jack, the baddest, meanest, toughest soldier planet Earth has to offer, and it's up to you to save the world from alien invasion.

• Occasions+ [iOS Universal; Category: Productivity; Now free, down from $0.99] Occasions+ is the best way to keep track of and remember important occasions in your busy life.

• mPass Pro [iOS Universal; Category: Productivity; Now free, down from $4.99] mPass provides a safe and simple way to store and manage all your passwords and private information.

• Random Heroes 2 [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Now free, down from $0.99] Sequel to the amazing Random Heroes; now with more guns, explosions and crazy characters.

• RPG DarkGate - KEMCO [iPhone; Category: Games; On sale for $0.99, down from $6.99] Presenting Dark Gate, a full-blown fantasy RPG.

• Star Defender 3 [iPad; Category: Games; Now free, down from $1.99] Get ready to fight through hoards of alien beasts in Star Defender 3.

• LetterLasso [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Now free, down from $0.99] A new dynamic touch-based spelling game where a player attaches moving letters together in the correct order to spell a word.

• Battle Academy [iPad; Category: Games; On sale for $9.99, down from $19.99] Approachable, absorbing and visually impressive yet detailed, Battle Academy aims to revolutionise the strategy games market with a blend of intuitive design and compelling game play.

• Posing App [iOS Universal; Category: Photography & Video; Now free, down from $2.99] The ultimate posing reference for both photographers and models.

• CIA : Operation Ajax [iPad; Category: Books; Now free, down from $4.99] Operation Ajax tells the true story of the first CIA backed coup which toppled Iran's democracy in 1953. Combining subtle animation with a film-quality soundtrack, the story unfolds in a groundbreaking cinematic reading experience.

• Net Master - IT Tools & LAN Scanner [iPhone; Category: Utilities; Now free, down from $5.99] Net Master is a utility application developed for Network Administrators and IT Professionals but presented in a format targeted for non-professionals.

• My Measures & Dimensions [iOS Universal; Category: Productivity; Now free, down from $2.99] Just take a photo, add arrows, angles, text or notes. Now the measures are stored and always in your pocket wherever you go.

• 7 Minute Workout [iOS Universal; Category: Health & Fitness; Now free, down from $0.99] 12 high intensity bodyweight exercises. 30 seconds per exercise, 10 seconds rest between exercises.

• Paper Titans [iOS Universal; Category: Games; On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Paper Titans is a charming and gentle papercraft-inspired puzzle adventure set across 45 lovingly crafted and beautifully realized levels.

• Over [iOS Universal; Category: Photography & Video; On sale for $0.99, down from $1.99] Add beautiful text and artwork to your photos and share them on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr & Instagram.

• Tapatalk Forum App [iOS Universal; Category: Social Networking; Now free, down from $0.99] Tapatalk is the top forum app that allows you to connect to thousands of internet forums with ability to access private messages and upload images.

• Toca Hair Salon 2 [iOS Universal; Category: Education; Now free, down from $1.99] Our bestselling app Toca Hair Salon is back in an even better version, with new characters, new tools, new accessories and even more hairstyling fun. Apple's App of the week.

• Two Dollar Tuesday [OS X; Category: Various; On sale for $1.99] Two Dollar Tuesday offers three OS X apps for $1.99. Titles include Snail, Keynote Quarter and DM1:Drum Machine.

• Fantastical [OS X; Category: Productivity; On sale for $19.99, down from $29.99] Presenting the calendar app you'll actually enjoy using. Type in that you have "Lunch with John on Friday at 1pm" and Fantastical will schedule it.

• EverFont PRO - Font Preview Tool for Developers and Designers [OS X; Category: Utilities; Now free, down from $2.99] A font sampling tool for developers and designers, or anyone who just want to check out all the beautiful fonts included in Mac.

• iBank [OS X; Category: Finance; On sale for $49.99, down from $59.99] The Gold Standard for Mac money management. 10th anniversary sale, $10 off until July 15.

• popCalendar [OS X; Category: Productivity; Now free, down from $0.99] popCalendar is a tiny calendar that fits in your menu bar giving you a faster access to your timetable.

• Snap [OS X; Category: Productivity; Now free, down from $0.99] Launch an app in a snap. Ridiculously easy shortcut management for the Mac.

• ForkLift - File Manager and FTP/SFTP/WebDAV/Amazon S3 client [OS X; Category: Productivity; On sale for $4.99, down from $19.99] ForkLift is a robust and elegant file manager and FTP/SFTP client.

• MoneyWiz - Personal Finance [OS X; Category: Finance; On sale for $19.99, down from $29.99] Do more with your money. View all your accounts, budgets and bills in one place. Experience reports on a whole new level. Sync Everything across devices.

Daily Deals for June 18, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The excellent iOS RPG Knights of Pen and Paper has been updated to the +1 Edition (as we heard it would be back at GDC) and is now available as a free update on the App Store. This new version, which is technically 2.02, brings lots of new content, game updates, new dungeons to explore, and many other extras. For example, there's now a place called The Tavern, where you can keep old heroes and swap in new ones. Several new battle options nearly turned Knights of Pen and Paper into entirely new game.

The +1 edition was spurred on by the game's new publisher, Paradox. Thanks to that collaboration, the game is also now available on Steam for $9.99. But again, the iOS version is a free update, so if you've grabbed the game already, do be sure to download and give this version a try. If you haven't purchased it yet, you can grab it now for $2.99.

Knights of Pen and Paper now updated to +1 edition originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GOG.com has launched a huge summer sale today, with over 500 games available for very cheap and more changing in and out every day. I'm mentioning it here because the site has a big Mac section with classic games like Dungeon Keeper, Syndicate and even the great System Shock 2 all on sale for less than US$5 each. Alpha Centauri is one of my favorite games ever, and it's also on sale, as is the recent indie success FTL: Faster Than Light.

GOG is even offering the excellent dungeon crawler Torchlight for the low, low price of completely free, so definitely grab that and play it if you haven't yet. The big sale lasts through July 5, and there will be more titles in the mix as the event goes on, so stay tuned for more great games to play on your Mac this summer.

GOG.com hosts big summer sale, including lots of cheap Mac games originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What do you do when your one and only iPad app is a runaway success? If you're FiftyThree, the development firm behind the beautiful journal / art app Paper (free, many in-app purchases available), you get funding for expansion into new areas.

FiftyThree announced today that it received US$15 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreesen Horowitz, with such stellar investors as Twitter's Jack Dorsey, Bright Capital, Highline Ventures and SV Angel joining the party. Paper has been profitable from day one; it's usually in the Top 10 Paid Apps on the App Store, and over 80 million users have downloaded the app.

What's FiftyThree planning on doing with $15 million? Co-founder and CEO Georg Petschnigg says that he wants to add to his team of employees in Seattle and NYC, and create a suite of software, hardware and services. GigaOM's Erica Ogg talked with Petschnigg and although he wouldn't elaborate, the idea of a Paper-branded stylus is a natural outgrowth. Petschnigg's big picture for the firm appears to be collaboration: "We've been focused on iPad there, but the next part we're working on is services that will start to answer the question of how people work together and collaborate."

All secretive talk aside, we're looking forward to seeing what's next from the team at FiftyThree.

Paper for iPad developer receives $15 million in funding originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pushing towards a paperless future, the neat folks at Neat have released version 2.0 of Neat for iOS. The new build of the scanning-on-the-go application features much faster performance, scan annotation, new sharing and collaboration options, plus a new expense reporting tool.

Neat has made its bones as a desktop scanning solution, offering both compact and ADF-enabled scanners that work with the company's Mac and PC applications for document management. The Neat mobile app extends that find-my-files experience for access on the go, with scans and folders synchronizing to the NeatCloud online service. You can quickly share folders or individual scans to collaborate with colleagues, or search the OCR/indexed text of your documents to find what you need quickly.

The expense report feature is intriguing; it creates a summary PDF from a collection or folder of receipt scans, totaling up the expenditure and listing categories as it goes. It's not going to supplant dedicated expense reporting iOS tools like Concur, but for mobile freelancers who want a quick way to send expense overviews while simultaneously filing the receipts for safekeeping, it may get some traction.

The NeatCloud platform also includes an optional human-powered verification step called NeatVerify, which will run the automatic OCR results from your receipt or business card scans (no documents) past the eyes of a real live person for checking. You can get 30 credits for this service for $4.99 a month, so it's probably best to save it for key items.

Speaking of credits, while the Neat application is a free download from the App Store, the required NeatCloud service works on a paid subscription basis. After a 30-day free trial, you will need either the $14.99 or $29.99 monthly NeatCloud plan (discounted if you sign up for a year) to use the app; both plans offer additional features like extra users, cross-service search and more. Compare and contrast the $45 annual cost of an Evernote premium subscription, and you get the sense that Neat is aiming at the more demanding side of the market.

Neat revises mobile scanning app, adds expense reporting originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Casual artists looking to expand their sketching skills to the iPad should take a close look at Tayasui Sketches. The app landed in the iOS App Store earlier this month and rivals Paper as one of the best easy-to-use sketchbook apps.

Sketches reminds me of an artist's workbench with a canvas in the middle and a handful of tools neatly arranged on the side. Sketches includes six drawing tools, one fill tool and one eraser to get you started. You can use a US$1.99 in-app purchase to buy the complete set of 12 tools and their interchangeable tips. Besides the new tools, the pro version also gives you the ability to change the size and opacity of your tool tip.

Sketches may look simple on the surface, but there are a few key features that make the app a useful tool for serious sketchers and not just child's play. First and foremost is the ability to zoom in on the canvas and add small details to a drawing. It's great for adding a wrinkle to a forehead or the veins on a leaf. You can also draw a shape and fill it in with a pattern in one or two taps. You can even tweak the colors using a level tool that'll let you get the right hue, saturation and brightness. About the only thing missing from the app is support for notebooks. It would be wonderful to be able to group your individual sketches into a notebook to organize them.

Tayasui Sketches is available for free from the iOS App Store.

Daily iPad App: Tayasui Sketches is a basic, but beautiful sketching app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Flexibits has released Chatology for Mac (US$19.99), which lets you search your Messages chat history with great ease and success. It's looks will make it familiar to just about anyone who's used a Mac within the last ten years and and its integration with Messages is just lovely. Say goodbye to Apple's chat search.

Chatology is similar to iTunes, iPhoto and others as it has a list on the left and related details on the right. Again, it will be super familiar to most Mac owners, so you'll be up and running in no time. Click any name on the right to view the associated chat logs in clear, legible text. Conversations, images and links are a mere click away.

Finally, you can opt to see your conversations as balloons or boxes (I prefer balloons).

Gallery: Chatology for Mac

Chatology finds the chat logs stored on your Mac at launch and displays each conversation according to the person on the other end. Click any name in the leftmost column to see your full history with that person in the center column, sorted by date. You'll also see the conversation's start time and duration.

You can refine your history by viewing logs from today, within the last seven days, the last 30 or within the last year. Once you've selected a particular history to scour, you can view the full conversation, just images or just links. While testing this app I was able to find two images I remembered seeing in chat but failed to drag out. It was crazy easy to find them: I just pulled up the conversation, clicked "images" and there it was.

There's a search box, too. Simply type in the term you're after and there it is.

Here's what I love about Chatology. There's a preference to enable Messages integration. When enabled, you'll be brought right to Chatology when you hit Command-F in Messages. It's like launching über-search mode.

Finally, you can export any conversation as a plain text file, use Quick Look to view images and delete a chat log, all from the app.

Those who have lots of conversations in chat, especially those that might include desirable reference information, will do well to install Chatology. Likewise, it's a good choice for users who are not satisfied with the search feature in Messages.

Chatology for Mac is available now for US$19.99 from the Flexibits Store. It requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later. Please note that Chatology for Mac will only be available from the Flexibits Store. It will not available from the Mac App Store. Unfortunately, Apple's policies won't allow an app like Chatology on the Mac App Store.

Pick it up now and get searching.

Chatology for Mac lets you easily search Message histories originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.