Canon brings iOS, BlackBerry app for its professional imageRUNNER printers

If you’re running a small business and need a fast and versatile system, the Canon imageRUNNER or imageRUNNER Advance could have well been your choices, and good news is that now both can be operated via a dedicated app that has just launched on the App Store and... BlackBerry World.

Yes, weirdly enough Canon went with BlackBerry over Android, and while we guess the reason for this is that RIM is still in some businesses, it doesn’t make much sense come to think that Android is easily the world’s most proliferate mobile platform.
The Canon Direct Print and Scan app allows you to... well scan and print, it’s pretty straightforward. If you have the huge imageRUNNER machines in your office (or home), check out the app on the catalogs below - it’s free.


Download Direct Print and Scan for Mobile[iTunes link]
Download Direct Print and Scan for Mobile[BlackBerry World link]

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Apple released a standalone Podcasts app into the App Store

Apple released a standalone Podcasts app into the App Store for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad today for junkies who want to separate their listening experience from the rest of iTunes. Users will get full access to Apple’s already extensive library of thousands upon thousands of audio and video podcasts.
Rumors about a dedicated Podcasts app have been a bit of a roller coaster over the past few weeks. Shortly after the first beta of iOS 6 came out, we reported Apple was working on bringing a Podcasts app to a future version of the OS because they were suspiciously removed from iTunes. Then yesterday, Apple released iOS 6 beta 2 which brought podcasts back to iTunes. Just when everyone thought the standalone app wouldn’t see the light of day, here it is.
The Podcasts app that was made a reality today takes a similar UI to the new iTunes Store and App Store in iOS 6 with dark navigation bars and backgrounds. You can scroll through podcasts or top stations, which will nicely organize them into a carousel sorted by category. A sleep timer is available if you’re listening at night and the app will also sync playback progress across devices. Tap the Catalog to flip over and browse more podcasts to subscribe, favorite or share.
There might be some negative feedback about Apple choosing to let podcasts go solo in iOS, but I think it was a smart move. Most people either faithfully subscribe to podcasts (or make podcasts themselves) or just ignore them altogether. Making a separate Podcasts app is beneficial to people on either side.
You can get the Podcasts app for free in the App Store.

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Apple has now been blocked the term Jailbreak from its iTunes app and music store.

Apple has now been blocked the term Jailbreak from its iTunes app and music store.

Such is Apple's concern over the jailbreaking phenomena that it's apparently censored references to it in content on the App Store.
The censorship was first picked up by an iOS hacker who noticed cetain music tracks with the term, such as rock band Thin Lizzy's ‘Jailbreak', appeared with their name partially blocked by asterisks.
At the time of reporting, the censorship appears to be somewhat inconsistent. It hasn't blocked out every search result on iTunes, and the ones it has see the title blocked but the description left unscathed.
It seems a bit extreme if you ask us - but then we know how Apple likes to keep its walled garden just that, walled, so it's not entirely surprising.
Interestingly, the censorship isn't affecting every version of the App Store in different global regions, so perhaps this is some kind of error.

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The Case For A MacBook Pro Without An Optical Drive

When Apple introduced the MacBook Air without an optical drive, everyone freaked out. “How on earth will we be able to watch all of our DVDs and listen to our CDs?” cried the internet. And sure, totally disowning physical media with a disk drive-less laptop may have been a little preemptive of Apple back in 2008, but the times have changed since then. We live in a world of digital media and digital software distribution. The success of services like Netflix and the Mac App Store proves that.
With rumors saying that Apple will introduce new and improved Macs in the coming weeks, what can we expect? Faster processors? Solid-state hard drives? Retina displays? While these features certainly seem to be on the table, there’s also the chance that Apple’s next-gen MacBook Pro will sport significant physical changes. Namely, we could finally see the optical drive retire from the MacBook line once and for all.
The MacBook Pro’s physical design has basically stayed the same since its aluminum unibody design was introduced way back in 2008. There hasn’t needed to be new a design because the current one is already fantastic — no other laptop has yet to match it in terms of build quality or design precision.
Apple introduced the new and improved MacBook Air with a gorgeous, tapered, ultra-thin exterior in October of 2010. The sleek, lightweight design of the MacBook Air is widely considered to be the future of Apple’s MacBook line. Heck, Apple even calls it the “future of the notebook” on its website. Call me crazy, but that sounds like foreshadowing.
The current Air weighs only 2.38 pounds, and the casing is only about half an inch thick. This engineering feat is accomplished with the help of Apple’s decision to ditch the optical drive out of the gate. You have to buy an exterior SuperDrive to read disks on the Air. And who really uses their SuperDrive that often? I know I don’t remember when I used mine last.

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Skype 4.0 is released for Apple Products

New version of Skype 4.0 is released for iPhone and iPad which contains the features Like improved stability and accessibility, as well as updated contacts and messages for iPad users in particular.
Company says The new Skype works on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad and iPod touch, according to the developers. Skype 4.0 requires iOS version 4.3 or above
The auto-restart function promises that the app will automatically restart after an unexpected shutdown. That’s an interesting and unique feature that I haven’t seen in any other iOS apps, but would definitely come in handy so you can hop back on a voice or video call as fast as possible.

Skype 4.0 is a universal app for both the iPhone and iPad. The app is free and available in the App Store.

Dowmload here Skype 4.0  

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Apple’s Mac App Store Passes 10,000 Apps Mark After 15 Months

After some digging along with a few database queries the folks by at MacGeneration noticed that Apple’s Mac-Exclusive App Store has surpassed the 10,000 listed apps mark in just by 15 months since its culmination. Although Apple once made an announcement when the Mac App Store passed the 100 million downloads mark, online reports claim that it is doubtful the Cupertino tech giant will announce that new milestone particularly with the company’s iOS App Store currently hosting more than 500,000 apps.

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Apple Halts Free Trials of iWork and Aperture

MacStories is pointing out that Apple has discontinued free trials for iWork and Aperture. Instead, when customers reach the URL where the trial downloads used to be, they are directed t the Mac App Store to purchase the software.
The exact moment in which these trials were taken down seems to be a moving target. It seems that the Aperture trial has been down for some time, but the iWork trial was semi-recently removed. That said, other markets, such as the UK, still seem to have the trial available to them. On the flip side, Apple is still offering a 30-day trial of Final Cut Pro X despite dumping trials for their other software offerings.
This is nothing more than a sign of the times. Apple has moved all of their apps to the Mac App Store, and is encouraging developers to do the same. Developers can continue to host trials through their own company websites, due to the Mac App Store’s lack of support for trials. Apple is also going to make apps and the Mac App Store an even greater priority in the forthcoming release of Mountain Lion with features further encouraging the use of the Mac App Store as the primary distribution channel for software on the Mac.
If you consider the fact that no one really knows when these trials were taken down, it serves as proof that few people were even downloading the trials nowadays. That said, I still think Apple should leave a trial for Aperture floating around somewhere, because $80 isn’t a huge amount of money, but it’s not an amount most would easily brush off either.

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Apple Stores replacing white 16GB iPhone 4′s with 4S’ due to supply shortage

9to5Mac has received word from two sources inside the Apple Store that confirm, depending on inventory, some Canadian Genius Bars will be replacing white 16GB iPhone 4′s with the equivalent-sized iPhone 4S. This is due to a significant shortage of inventory of the former, and a need to have sufficient replacements on hand for the many users who come in every day with legitimate warranty-related issues.
While it’s not known which stores in the US or Canada are doing this, and Apple certainly isn’t promoting the fact, there is a very good chance at the moment for you to walk out of an Apple Store with a refurbished white 16GB iPhone 4S.
Have you, or anyone you know, been treated to a iPhone 4S after taking in your iPhone 4 for replacement? Let us know.
Source: 9to5Mac

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Apple stock hits $600 ahead of new iPad launch

Shares of Apple stock briefly jumped above $600 shortly before the market opened on Thursday as investors anticipate the launch of the new iPad. Apple’s iPad, which is already available in Australia, launches in preliminary markets at 8:00 a.m. local time. The tablet features a new high-resolution 2,048 x 1,536-pixel Retina Display, a faster dual-core Apple A5X processor, an upgraded 5-megapixel camera and an option for integrated 4G LTE connectivity. Shares of Apple stock had dipped back below $600 at the time of this writing.

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