United to give 6,000 of its customer representatives an iPhone 6 Plus

United today announced that it will be providing 6,000 of its customer representatives with the iPhone 6 Plus so that they would be able to better service its customers.

The move will allow United representative to print out luggage tags,
boarding passes, help customers with rebooking, and handle other
requests from customers.

The company has taken this decision after listening to
their staff who requested better tools to serve their customers,
especially during poor weather conditions and peak times.

The answer is the iPhone, according to United SVP of
airport operations Jon Roitman, who added: “we have seen great success
with the custom-made tools on the iPhone 6 Plus and believe expanding
the use of a smart phone device with other applications is a great
investment in our employees.”

United already uses a custom iOS software at its backend to service its customers.

United has long been among the largest enterprise customer of Apple. Back in 2011, the airline gave iPads to its pilots, and last year, it gave 23,000 iPhone 6 Plus’ to its flight attendants.

[Via TechCrunch]

United to give 6,000 of its customer representatives an iPhone 6 Plus

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Developer streams Steam games from PC to new Apple TV

Developer Kevin Smith who had previously demoed a MAME emulator
running on the fourth generation Apple TV has now tweaked his tool
making it possible to stream Steam games to the media center box from
Apple.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, the developer showcases Grand Theft Auto V
being streamed to his Apple TV that is running on his PC. He managed to
achieve this feat by modifying Moonlight for iOS, an open source
alternative to Nvidia’s GameStream.

In the video description, Smith makes it clear that this is a “very
very quick and very dirty compilation of the code” that does not take
into account the restrictions imposed by tvOS. This ultimately means
that the app will never be making its way to the tvOS App Store from
Apple. Nonetheless, the hacked code works well for streaming games to
his Apple TV and even works perfectly with the Nimbus controller.

Thanks to the powerful internals, tvOS and a dedicated App Store, the
community around the fourth generation Apple TV is really building up
despite some heavy restrictions from Apple. Adding game streaming
support to the fourth generation Apple TV will definitely make the
device more useful, but the chances of Apple actually adding it are
almost nil.

Do you think the ability to stream games from PC to your Apple TV 4 will increase the usefulness of the device?

[Via MacRumors]

Developer streams Steam games from PC to new Apple TV

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Consumer Reports survey show MacBooks topping customer satisfaction and reliability

A survey recently conducted by Consumer Reports shows that MacBooks
are still at the top
when it comes to customer satisfaction and
reliability. The survey saw more than 58,000 participants who purchased a
laptop between 2010 through 2015.

Based on the results of the survey, the report states that MacBook
Air have an estimated failure rate of just 7 percent, with MacBook Pro
trailing them just by a whisker with a failure rate of 9 percent. No
Windows based laptop managed to score a reliability level in single
digits. Gateway’s NV laptops were the best Windows laptop in terms of
reliability and had a failure rate of 13 percent, while Samsung, Dell
and Lenovo laptops had a failure rate of 14-15 percent. Lenovo’s Y
series had the worst reliability score of 23 percent.

When it comes to customer satisfaction, MacBooks
were once again leading the way with 71 percent owners reporting that
they were completely satisfied with their purchase. On the other hand,
Windows running laptop owners had a satisfaction rating of only 38
percent.

However, the report states that when a MacBook does break, they are
almost always more expensive to fix than Windows running laptops. It
thus recommends MacBook owners to get an AppleCare for their laptop
within a year of its purchase that will further extend its warranty by
two additional years.

A survey with a pool size of 58,000 consumers is by no means small
and does give a fair idea of what the truth really is. MacBooks have
long been considered to be reliable compared to Windows running laptops,
and this survey just proves that.

[Source Consumer Reports; Via ZDNet]

Consumer Reports survey show MacBooks topping customer satisfaction and reliability

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Apple accused of ignoring complaints against copyright infringing apps

Apple has been accused of ignoring complaints against iOS apps that illegally use copyrighted material
. Brian Raub, founder of Lakelubbers.com, says Apple is unwilling to do anything about apps that are stealing and repackaging content from his website.

Raub’s website is made up of content from a team of three editors and
20 freelancers, and it is focused on lake vacation spots
across America. All of the content is original, and Lakelubbers earns
money through advertising. But it doesn’t receive any compensation when
that content is stolen.

Raub discovered that a number of paid iOS apps were
taking his content and selling it on, without even so much as crediting
Lakelubbers for the work. Raub attempted to contact the apps’ developer,
but they simply denied any wrongdoing, and refused to work things out.

When Raub initially took his complaint to Apple, the Cupertino
company didn’t want to help, but he persisted and it eventually removed
11 offending apps from the App Store. Since then, another 20 apps — from
the same developer — have appeared and are doing exactly the same
thing.

Just as it did before, Apple is showing little interest in helping,
Raub says. The latest crop of offending apps was first discovered in
September, and they’re still available to download today. They’re not
just using bits of Lakelubbers’ content; they’re taking entire articles
and reproducing the whole thing.

The Roanoke Times reports
that it has contacted Apple, which says it is now investigating Raub’s
claims. It’s unclear whether the offending apps have been removed yet.

[via 9to5Mac]

Apple accused of ignoring complaints against copyright infringing apps

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Ford adding Siri Eyes Free support to its SYNC-enabled cars sold since 2011

Ford today announced that it will be rolling out a software update
for its SYNC platform for vehicles released on or after 2011 adding Siri
Eyes Free functionality to them.

Post the update, owners of Ford vehicle can activate Siri Eyes free
by pressing the voice recognition button on their steering wheel, which
will then allow them to issue voice commands to Siri like making calls,
finding phone numbers, searching for directions, send text messages and
more. Ford already offers similar features through its Sync platform,
but Siri integration will be better and smarter. Obviously, this will
only work when their iPhone is connected to their car via Bluetooth.

The software update from Ford is available for all its vehicles that
feature the second generation of SYNC platform, which is also known as
MyFord Touch in North America. The SYNC platform is used across the
company’s various vehicles released between 2011-2016. Ford says in its
press release that more than 5 million Ford vehicle owners will be able
to enjoy Siri Eyes Free thanks to the update.

While other car makers have added CarPlay and Siri Eyes Free support
to the infotainment systems of their car through updates, none of them
have offered updates for vehicles that were released as far back as
2011.

[Via Engadget]

Ford adding Siri Eyes Free support to its SYNC-enabled cars sold since 2011

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Apple patent reveals work on 3D color printer

Apple has been developing a 3D printer capable of producing colored
objects,
according to a new patent published by the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. Unlike most of days 3D printers, Apple’s uses two
heads that allow for the creation of multicolored models.

3D printers are slowly but surely taking off, but as things stand,
they’re very much professional machines that are far too expensive for
the average consumer. They also have their downsides, with most models
employing just one print head printing just one color.

Apple’s, which is described in a patent titled “Method and apparatus for three dimensional printing of colored objects,” works in much the same way as existing machines, heating and squeezing plastic through a print head to create a 3D model.

However, Apple’s also has a second head that is designed to add color
to that plastic. The company suggests that it could use inkjet
technology, spray nozzles, airbrushes, and even multicolored markers,
which would allow users to make multicolored models that aren’t possible
with most machines.

“In one version, the print head deposits a layer and moves up and out
of the way as the color head comes in to add a layer of color,”
explains AppleInsider. “Another
embodiment has the print head complete the build before the color
application head moves into position for paint application.”

It’s not totally clear whether Apple designed this machine for
consumer use, or for its own benefit — perhaps to produce early
prototypes when developing future devices. However, its patent does
include references to home use, and creating custom toys.

A 3D color printer could certainly appeal to creative professionals,
who Apple already serves with products like the MacBook Pro, Mac Pro,
and now the iPad Pro. But it still seems fairly unlikely we’ll see a 3D
printer making its way into Apple’s lineup in the foreseeable future.

Apple patent reveals work on 3D color printer

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Apple Pay gains support for 40 more financial institutions in the United States

Apple today added support for 40 more banks, credit unions and financial institutions in Apple Pay
in the United States.
With the addition of these new institutions,
Apple Pay now supports more than 800 different banks in the U.S.

Ever since its launch in the U.S. last year, Apple has been expanding
support for Apple Pay every month by adding support for more banks and
retailers. However, outside of the U.S., the company has made little to
no progress with its NFC based payment service. While this year, Apple
launched Apple Pay in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, the payment service has been crippled due to the lack of support from some major banks and credit unions.

The full list of new institutions supporting Apple Pay can be found below:

• American Heritage Federal Credit Union
• Associated Credit Union
• Bangor Savings Bank
• Bank of Bourbonnais
• Bank of Clovis
• Bank of the Pacific
• Baton Rouge Telco Federal Credit Union
• BHCU
• Cardinal Bank
• Corning Credit Union
• First Financial Credit Union (IL)
• First National Bank of Trenton
• First Nations Bank
• First Republic Bank
• Flint Area School Employees Credit Union
• Glass City Federal Credit Union
• Guaranty Bank and Trust Company
• Hawthorn Bank
• Hills Bank and Trust Company
• Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union
• Leader Bank, N.A.
• Michigan Tech Employees Federal Credit Union
• Midcoast Federal Credit Union
• Oatworth Capital Bank
• Ohio Valley Bank
• Partnership Financial Credit Union
• Penn Liberty Bank
• Police and Fire Federal Credit Union
• Prime Merdian Bank
• Reading Cooperative Bank
• Republic Bank
• Section 705 Federal Credit Union
• Secured Advantage Federal Credit Union
• Southern Bank
• Southwest Missouri Bank
• TowneBank
• West Plains Bank and Trust Company
• WesTex Federal Credit Union
• Wilmington Savings Fund Society
• WSFS Bank

Apple has also been working hard on bringing Apple Pay to China. Recent reports suggest that the company has already signed a preliminary agreement with UnionPay in China to launch its payment service in the country by February next year.

[Via MacRumors]

Apple Pay gains support for 40 more financial institutions in the United States

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Apple hosting free ‘Hour of Code’ workshop across its retail stores on December 10

Apple today announced that it will be participating in the “Hour of
Code” initiative from
Code.org again this year. Under this programme,
the company will be hosting free workshops across its retail stores to
get 6 years+ old kids familiar with coding. 

This will be the third year that Apple has supported the ”Hour
of Code” initiative from Code.org. Apple will also be holding a ‘Hour
of Code’ workshop on December 10. This is a free one-hour workshop
introducing beginners to the basics of computer programming.

In addition to the workshops, Apple will also be hosting
developers and organisations that support computer science
education in six events across the world. The events will be hosted by
Hadi Partovi, the CEO and cofounder of Code.org; Koji Sugiyama, CEO of
LoiLo Inc.; Grant Hosford, CEO of codeSpark; Andy Sum, developer of
Crossy Road; Jacqueline Rossi, creator of J’s Flashcards; and Danny
Yaroslavski; CEO and founder of Lightbot.

If your kid is interested in ‘Hour of Code’, make sure to sign him up
for the free coding workshop at your nearest Apple retail store here.

Apple hosting free ‘Hour of Code’ workshop across its retail stores on December 10

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PanicLock9 lets you discretely lock apps on your iPhone via an Activator gesture [Jailbreak Tweak]

Do you want to keep the personal information on your iPhone secure while handing it to someone else?
If so, you should probably check out a new jailbreak tweak known as PanicLock9.

The tweak provides a handy method to quickly lock some apps on your
iPhone before lending it to someone. With a simple Activator
gesture, PanicLock9 locks the apps on your iPhone so that no one will be
able to access it. This means that no matter how much the user taps on a
locked app icon, it will not get launched.

To disable PanicLock and gain back access to all your apps, you simply have to invoke the gesture again.

Once installed, the tweak comes with a dedicated preferences pane
available in Settings. From there you can assign an Activator gesture to
the tweak that will enable or disable it when invoked. You can also
toggle on the apps that you’d like to be protected when PanicLock9 is
enabled.

The pane also features additional toggles such as enabling/disabling vibration when invoking the tweak.

The best way to use PanicLock is to assign an Activator gesture that
makes use of the iPhone’s physical buttons. In this way, you can
secretly invoke the tweak without anyone noticing.

PanicLock9 lets you discretely lock apps on your iPhone via an Activator gesture [Jailbreak Tweak]

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Monument Valley, one of the best puzzle games on iOS, is free for the first time

Monument Valley, one of the prettiest and most enjoyable puzzle games on mobile
, is now free on iOS
for the first time since it made its App Store debut. It’s unclear if
this is a permanent or temporary reduction, but the title is normally
priced at $3.99.

Monument Valley has been free on Android through the Amazon
Underground for a while, but this is the first time we’ve been able to
get it free on iOS. It’s thought creator Ustwo has taken this step to
boost downloads, which in turn could boost in-app purchases of its $1.99
expansion pack.

Either way, this is a giveaway you don’t want to miss. Monument Valley is
one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played on mobile, and every
minute of it is pure delight. I’ve always recommended it even at $3.99,
so when it’s given away for free, you simply have to check it out.

Monument Valley is a universal title that you can enjoy on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch — and you can get it now by following the link below.

Download link:

• Monument Valley

Monument Valley, one of the best puzzle games on iOS, is free for the first time

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