Entertainment Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Microsoft announces Xbox One, with more SmartGlass and TV integration

by Mike Schramm (May 21st, 2013)

Microsoft has announced a brand-new game console today, though the company would probably be disappointed to hear that I called it that. The Xbox One is really more of an entertainment center all-in-one -- it's designed to connect your games, your streaming media and cable television all ...

Big Nerd Ranch Clash of the Coders: Rule-based lock screens

by Erica Sadun (May 3rd, 2013)

One of the nicest things about hanging out with coders is the exposure to their pet personal projects. Brian James Turner at Big Nerd Ranch has been working on a new take on lock screens. Hosted at github, Turner's project transforms the iOS lockscreen from a series of memorized numbers or ...

Circadia celebrates 100,000 downloads with new content

by Mike Schramm (Apr 25th, 2013)

Circadia is a great game that I wrote about a little over a year ago -- it's put together by a developer named Kurt Bieg, and until now, it's basically just been sitting on the App Store waiting to be found. But Bieg has just put out a nice solid update for the game, and that gives me another ...

GoComics brings the funny pages to your iPhone

by Mike Schramm (Apr 23rd, 2013)

Universal Uclick is the company that holds the licenses for most of the comics in your daily newspaper -- the company was formed when the Universal Press Syndicate joined up with the Uclick media group. They've run a web archive of the company's comics for quite a while now, and today that ...

Daily iPhone App: Artkive helps you save your child's artwork for posterity

by Mike Schramm (Apr 16th, 2013)

I first learned about Artkive last week at an event here in LA, put on by Technori and designed to show off some of the best startup ideas in the City of Angels. The company has been around for quite a while, and has picked up a whole lot of buzz from mom bloggers and the parenting industry ...

Zombies, Run! kicks off season 2

by Mike Schramm (Apr 16th, 2013)

Zombies, Run! is one of the most creative running apps that you'll find on the App Store, hands down. It does what many other running apps do, like track your time and distance. But it's also a game. By combining sound effects, narratives, characters and GPS tracking, the app lets you "play" ...

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! gamebook coming to the App Store

by Mike Schramm (Apr 15th, 2013)

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! is an old series back from the early 1980s where you "played" through a sort of Choose Your Own Adventure-style story, except that instead of just flipping pages, you actually cast spells, fight in combat and do other fantasy-based activities. These books were reprinted ...

Turntable.fm releases Piki app, for music recommendations and streaming

by Mike Schramm (Apr 11th, 2013)

Turntable.fm is one of the many social streaming music sites out there -- it allows you and your friends to stream music and even listen in together to your favorite albums and songs. The company already has its own standalone app for the App Store, but it's trying a new tactic now to grab ...

Comixology claims responsibility for banning Saga #12, rescinds ban

by Mike Schramm (Apr 10th, 2013)

Yesterday, we posted about Apple reportedly banning issue 12 of a comic book called Saga, due to a couple of graphic sex scenes included in it. The book's creator, Brian K. Vaughan, had posted that Apple wasn't allowing his book to be sold on the App Store, though it was available through a ...

Apple bans Brian K. Vaughn's Saga #12 comic book due to graphic sex scenes [Updated]

by Mike Schramm (Apr 9th, 2013)

Update: It turns out this is not true -- the ban came from the book's digital publisher, Comixology, not Apple itself. Comixology has since rescinded the ban. Original Post: I never thought I'd write two stories in one day about Apple attacking the comic book industry over adult content, ...

Brother, can you spare a charge? ChargeBite goes indiegogo

by Erica Sadun (Mar 21st, 2013)

We've all been there. Out, carousing, maybe having too good a time, when suddenly it hits. Not in our wallet, no ... where it really counts. Our iPhone is wasted as we are. Its battery icon flickers with a hint of the red in our bloodshot eyes. Surely no white night can end well with a phone ...

DevJuice: Sneaking a peek at Bill Van Hecke's upcoming book

by Erica Sadun (Mar 11th, 2013)

If the name William Van Hecke doesn't ring a bell, he's the User Experience Lead for The Omni Group. He's the guy behind those beautiful interfaces, or as he puts it, "I try to make Omni Group software look presentable and behave politely." When my editor at Pearson said I could get a sneak ...

Meet CARROT: the game-ified to do list

by Erica Sadun (Feb 27th, 2013)

CARROT (US$0.99) is essentially a game with delusions of productivity. In fact, it was initially pitched to me as a utility app with "personality." That's problematic because it's not really all that useful. What it is, though, is silly fun with occasional side benefits of getting things ...

Can I Stream It? app will help you find those movies you crave

by Mel Martin (Feb 15th, 2013)

Can I Stream It? Is a free universal app that lets you see when movies you are interested in are available for streaming. The app checks several sources, including iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, VUDU, Crackle, Blockbuster and Xfinity. The company says it will be continually adding ...

Leonard Maltin Movie Guide for iOS adds movies and features

by Mel Martin (Jan 17th, 2013)

I looked at the Leonard Maltin Movie Guide a couple of years ago, and found it complete and easy to use. Current owners of the US$1.99 app will find a free update today, with more than 300 recent movies added. Other new features are weekly automatic content updates, improved integration with ...