iOS 7 and other Apple Annoucements…

iOS 7…

Yes I’m testing it, what do I think so far?

Thinks that make you go hmmmmmmmmm…….

I’m back!

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks at work and at home and I haven’t had a lot of time to update this blog of late and my apologies for that!

A lot has been happening and lots of news from the Apple front with the release of the iPad 2, iOS 4.3 the new Macbook Pro’s and lots of rumours flying about iPhone 5 and iPad 3 etc.

I’ve been developing an iPhone application for work and that’s been interesting.

There has been lots of new applications for the Mac, new Apps and games for iOS and I’ve busy trying those out too!

Stay tuned!

XBMC Media Center for Apple TV, iPad and iPhone 4

posted by arn on Thursday January 20, 2011 10:46 PM on MacRumours

XBMC Media Center has released a version of their software that will run on the iPad, iPhone 4 and new Apple TV. XMBC is a free media player that began life on the Xbox but has since grown to be a multi-platform solution.

XBMC Media Center (formerly Xbox Media Center) is a free and open source cross-platform media player and home entertainment system software with a 10-foot user interface designed for the living-room TV. Its graphical user interface allows the user to easily manage video, photos, podcasts, and music from a computer, optical disc, local network, and the internet using a remote control.

The software is not available through the App Store, and requires a jailbroken Apple TV or iOS device.

While jailbreaking has been a known way to load third party apps onto the iPad and iPhone, it’s not been a very common procedure for the Apple TV. Due to similarities of the underlying iOS firmware on the new Apple TV, it’s been widely expected that these unauthorized apps would become available for the device. Apple presently offers no authorized way to install apps on the Apple TV.

TUAW posts video showing it running on the Apple TV (as well as iPad and iPhone 4):

Apple Seeds iOS 4.3 Beta to Developers: Personal Hotspot, AirPlay Video Streaming, New iPad Gestures

posted by Eric Slivka on Wednesday January 12, 2011 04:09 PM on MacRumours

MacStories reports that Apple has seeded the first beta version of iOS 4.3 to developers. The iOS 4.3 beta is available in versions for iPad, iPhone 4 and 3GS, and third- and fourth-generation iPod touch, as well as a separate download for the new Apple TV. Consequently, it appears that Apple will no longer be supporting the iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod touch with operating system updates.

Details of changes included in the new version are unknown at this time, although Apple has been said to be building in support for personal hotspot functionality as seen on the Verizon iPhone, as well as possible support for recurring billing for App Store content subscriptions such as News Corp.’s forthcoming tablet-focused news publication, The Daily.

Update: We’ve heard that the new version now allows developers to stream video to compatible devices via AirPlay.

MacStories also notes that Apple has implemented new multi-touch gestures for the iPad, including four- and five-finger pinch gestures to take users to the home screen, swipe for multitasking tray, and swipe to switch apps.

Update 2: Configuration settings for personal hotspot functionality are indeed present in the iOS 4.3 beta.

Personal hotspot settings in iOS 4.3 beta

Update 3: A new FaceTime icon and support for full-screen banner format iAds for the iPad have also been spotted.

Apple released iOS 4.3 beta for iPod/iPhone/iPad & Apple TV to Developers

Apple has released the 1st beta of iOS 4.3 to developers for testing.

Currently there are beta images available for iPod/iPhone/iPad and Apple TV.

Apparently the beta release of Apple TV iOS is so that you can AirPlay from your iOS devices running beta iOS 4.3 so there must be a fair bit of change for Apple TV.

Due to Non Disclosure Agreements I’ve agreed to I cannot paste too much info on this but I’m about to load up the betas and will report back when I’ve seen what’s new.

aTV Flash (black) for Apple TV 2G Now Available

by tomek on December 2, 2010 on AppleTvHacks

Fire Core has finally released the first beta version of aTV Flash (black) for the Apple TV 2G. It gives you a web browser with HTML5 support (not all HTML5 sites are supported yet), a Plex client that lets you stream nearly any kind of video from Plex Server running on your Mac, Last.fm access and some info on demand (current weather and news feeds). Fire Core promises to enable additional media formats such as AVI, MP4, MKV, DVD files and to support media streaming from most NAS devices (including Airport Extreme and Time Capsule) in the near future. You don’t need to be worry about the original Apple TV features, they will all remain fully operational.

The new aTV Flash is compatible with the 4.0 Apple TV software only. The new 4.1 software requires a few adjustments and the company plans to have compatible version available soon.

Note: before installing aTV Flash (black) your atv will need to be jailbroken!

Currently the software is for Mac only. Windows compatible version is expected to be available within the next few days.

For the current users aTV Flash is available as a free upgrade.
(Some instructions from the developer: After logging into your account you will have an extra download link for aTV Flash (black). Your normal aTV Flash license and download links will remain unchanged. Additionally any available renewal specials can also be found in your account.)

For the new users the software is available at the discounted price of $19.95 during the beta (pre-order) phase. Once the final version is ready for release the price will return to the normal level of $29.95.

The original aTV Flash is also being reduced to $USD39.95.

Apple TV 2 Update

A few words about my Apple TV 2 experiences so far after having had the little black magic box for a few days.

Had a few friends over for a BBQ last night and decided to hook the ATV2 up to the loungeroom 42″ HD LCD TV and stream music from my Macbook Pro left in the bedroom.

My guests were quite amazed at the way I could browse my music collection on the big screen with the little silver remote and then couldn’t believe I could also remote control the music from my iPhone sitting outside at the outdoor table while we ate and drank.

The possibilities are endless when you think about it. I’m tempted to jailbreak my own ATV2 when I purchase it shortly and try some of the 3rd party plugins available and see what else I can do.