Odds and ends Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

OtterBox acquires LifeProof

by Steven Sande (May 22nd, 2013)

OtterBox, a pioneer in smartphone case technology based in Ft. Collins, Colo., today got a little bit larger. The company acquired LifeProof, a company that builds a line of waterproof cases that provide superior protection without adding a lot of ...

Apple applies design changes to online store

by Steven Sande (May 22nd, 2013)

It may not seem like all that much changed after last night's Apple Store downtime, but the company actually made a number of design changes that, according to MacStories editor Federico Viticci, bring "a cleaner, more subdued style for graphical ...

AT&T waiving overage charges for Oklahoma customers affected by tornadoes

by Steven Sande (May 21st, 2013)

This morning, AT&T sent out a message to Oklahoma customers affected by yesterday's tornado devastation noting that those in the affected areas will have all voice, data and text overages waived through June 30. The company also reminded ...

Caturday: Mac mini is Biru's pillow

by Steven Sande (May 18th, 2013)

What can be more comfortable to a cat than a pillow that blows warm air out of an optical media slot and vibrates ever so gently? That appears to be why Biru (Indonesian for Blue) loves to rest on a Mac mini owned by reader Peter Stagg and his ...

Apple's 50 billionth app contest winner saved up five app purchases

by Steven Sande (May 17th, 2013)

Brandon Ashmore, a 21-year-old from Mentor, Ohio, has a lot to smile about as the winner of a US$10,000 gift card from Apple for being the person who downloaded the 50 billionth app from the App Store. Ashmore told NewsChannel5 in Cleveland that he ...

Rovio teams up with Sony for the Angry Birds movie, coming July 2016

by Mike Schramm (May 15th, 2013)

Rovio has announced, via tweet and then by news release, that it has lined up a deal and a date with Sony Pictures to distribute the upcoming Angry Birds movie. Rovio's been working on putting the frustrated fowl into a motion picture for a ...

Belkin WeMo rolls out IFTTT multi-device control

by Steven Sande (May 15th, 2013)

TUAW readers know of my affinity for Belkin WeMo home automation tools, whether I'm using them to get Siri to turn on the Christmas tree or keep my cat cool in the summer. Today Belkin announced IFTTT multi-device control for WeMo switches. What ...

NY State attorney general asks smartphone manufacturers to help combat theft

by Steven Sande (May 13th, 2013)

Smartphone thefts are running rampant -- especially in New York City -- so much that the practice of grabbing the expensive phones is being referred to as "Apple picking." Bloomberg announced yesterday that New York State Attorney General Eric T. ...

A glimpse of the future: 5G wireless technology in the labs now

by Steven Sande (May 13th, 2013)

Over the past few years, 4G LTE wireless networks that can handle download and upload speeds of up to 75 megabits per second (Mbps) have become increasingly more commonplace. Still, it takes a long time to download movies, and streaming video can ...

Caturday (late): Max and his Magic Trackpad

by Steven Sande (May 12th, 2013)

You thought you were going to get through another weekend without that TUAW classic Caturday? Well, you're wrong. Today's feline geek is Max, a six-month-old Singapura who loves to help his human, Sumner Paine, work on his 27" iMac. According to ...

Myth killer: iPad magnet effect on defibrillators wasn't "discovered" by a 14-year-old

by Steven Sande (May 10th, 2013)

Those magnets in every iPad that allow the Smart Cover and Smart Case to attach securely have the ability to accidentally shut off implanted heart defibrillators if the iPad happens to be lying on the patient's chest. According to a Bloomberg news ...