Innehållsförteckning för #131 från AppleMagazine

Google says it has turned a corner in its pursuit of a car that can drive itself. The tech giant’s self-driving cars already can navigate freeways comfortably, albeit with a driver ready to take control. But city driving - with its obstacle course of jaywalkers, bicyclists and blind corners - has been a far greater challenge for the cars’ computers. In a blog entry posted Monday, the project's leader said test cars now can handle thousands of urban situations that would have stumped them a year or two ago. “We're growing more optimistic that we're heading toward an achievable goal - a vehicle that operates fully without human intervention,” project director Chris Urmson wrote. Urmson's post was the company's first official update since 2012 on progress toward a driverless car,…

When it comes to original programming, Microsoft is going to throw it at the Xbox and see what sticks. After nearly two years since launching a studio to create new shows to be streamed on Xbox consoles, Microsoft is finally ready to serve an assorted helping of original programming this summer for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. However, viewers shouldn't expect Xbox Originals, as they're called, to be available the same way that content is provided on Netflix and Hulu. “We don't necessarily know what approach will work, and we don't necessarily know what approach won't work,” noted Nancy Tellem, the president of Xbox Entertainment Studios during a recent press preview of Xbox Originals at Microsoft's offices in Santa Monica, California. The event was organized by Microsoft ahead of…

iOS #01 – Piano Tiles By HU WEN ZENG Category: Games Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #02 – 2048 By By Ketchapp Category: Games Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #03 – Swamp Attack By Out Fit 7 Ltd. Category: Games Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #04 – Flappy Hero Go: jumpy wings bird By ningning xing Category: Games Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #05 – Beats Music By Beats Music, LLC. Category: Music Requires…

Sprint Corp, the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider on Tuesday reported fewer subscribers leaving than expected and strong tablet additions, as the company undergoes a massive network overhaul in a highly competitive market. Sprint shares were up 7 percent, as the company cut costs to offset subscriber losses due to a network overhaul and competitor price cuts. “Network is obviously a crucial foundation for being competitive,” Sprint's chief executive, Dan Hesse told analysts in a post-earnings call. “We are beginning to see churn improvements after a few months but it takes longer to see improvements in gross adds,” he said. The company, 80 percent owned by Japan's SoftBank Corp, said it lost 231,000 net postpaid subscribers in the first quarter, compared with Wall Street estimates of 244,000 losses. Yet excluding…

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security advised computer users to consider using alternatives to Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer browser until the company fixes a security flaw that hackers have used to launch attacks. The bug is the first high-profile security flaw to emerge since Microsoft stopped providing security updates for Windows XP earlier this month. That means PCs running the 13-year old operating system could remain unprotected against hackers seeking to exploit the newly uncovered flaw, even after Microsoft figures out how to defend against it. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, a part of Homeland Security known as US-CERT, said in an advisory released on Monday morning that the vulnerability in versions 6 to 11 of Internet Explorer could lead to “the complete compromise” of an affected system.…

Shares in Twitter dropped to their lowest levels since the company's stock market flotation, as it reported slower than expected user growth. The number of active users on the social network reached 255 million in the first three months of 2014, up 5.8% on the previous quarter but below analysts' expectations. Twitter also reported a net loss of $132m (£78m) for the latest quarter. But it posted revenue of $250m, $226m of which came through advertising. Despite higher user growth than the previous quarter, when Twitter saw just a 3.8% rise, Twitter's stocks fell by more than 11% in after-hours trading, sending the price below its initial public offering of $38.80 per share. The rise in Twitter active users comes after four consecutive quarters of declining growth, but the turnaround…

EXCITING NEWS FOR MANY NON-DEVELOPERS There's some very interesting news out there right now for all of you Mac users who have ever wished you could get a taste of the latest OS X before (almost) anyone else: it isn't just developers who can now access it in its beta form. By 'the latest', we are, of course, referring to the much-publicized OS X Mavericks, now in its 10.9.3 version. Yes, that's right: you can be a mere mortal, a humble member of the public, a bog-standard average Apple user, and now (potentially) gain access to Mavericks in its current prerelease form. As the Cupertino firm notes on the website for its OS X Beta Seed Program, those who join can “help make OS X even better. Install the latest…

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN TWITTER STROVE NOT TO END UP LIKE FACEBOOK. As the social media phenom prepared to debut in November, the last thing it wanted was a repeat of its larger rival's rocky IPO and subsequent sell-off. Now, the one-time Wall Street darling's inability to replicate its bigger cousin's success in mobile and online may be what holds it back. Wall Street remains divided over Twitter as the seven-year-old company prepares to unveil only its second set of quarterly numbers on Tuesday. Eleven of 31 investment analysts polled by Thomson Reuters rate it a “sell,” outnumbering the seven who deem it a “buy.” The rest have a hold rating or its equivalent. That's a stark contrast with Facebook and Google, neither of which has a single sell…

iOS #01– A Dark Room By Amirali Rajan Category: Games / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #02 – Blek By Denis Mikan Category: Games / Price: $2.99 Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #03 – NOAA Weather Alerts By WeatherSphere Category: Weather / Price: $3.99 Requires iOS 6.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #04 – AfterLight By Simon Filip Category: Photo & Video / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #05 – Heads Up! By…

Blue Ruin This Jeremy Saulnier directed thriller charts the story of Dwight (Macon Blair), whose life as a gentle Southern drifter changes when he learns of the recent release from prison of Wade Cleland, Jr (Sandy Barnett). However, coming back home to Virginia to kill Wade only results in the victim's family pursuing Dwight and his family for revenge. FIVE FACTS: 1. Other members of the cast include Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack and Eve Plumb. 2. Blue Ruin won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. 3. Jeremy Saulnier said of what inspired him to direct Blue Ruin: “The story was born out of necessity but soon evolved into an incredibly personal work of art. Initially, there were two simple objectives: showcase my ability as a…

US HAPPY (FROM “DESPICABLE ME 2”) PHARRELL WILLIAMS ALL OF ME JOHN LEGEND LET IT GO IDINA MENZEL DARK HORSE (FEAT. JUICY J) KATY PERRY TALK DIRTY (FEAT. 2 CHAINZ) JASON DERULO THE MAN ALOE BLACC POMPEII BASTILLE #SELFIE THE CHAINSMOKERS TURN DOWN FOR WHAT DJ SNAKE & LIL JON THIS IS HOW WE ROLL (FEAT. LUKE BRYAN) FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE UK SHE LOOKS SO PERFECT 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER I GOT U (FEAT. JAX JONES) DUKE DUMONT MY LOVE (FEAT. JESS GLYNNE) ROUTE 94 HAPPY (FROM “DESPICABLE ME 2”) PHARRELL WILLIAMS CHANGES (RADIO MIX) FAUL & WAD AD & PNAU ALL OF ME JOHN LEGEND WIZARD (RADIO EDIT) MARTIN GARRIX & JAY HARDWAY RATHER BE (FEAT. JESS GLYNNE) CLEAN BANDIT DARK HORSE (FEAT. JUICY J) KATY PERRY TSUNAMI (JUMP)…

Netflix will pay Verizon Communications to help clear up some of the congestion that has been bogging down its Internet video service. The deal marks the second time in less than three months that Netflix Inc. has anted up for a more direct connection to a major Internet service, even though CEO Reed Hastings objects to having to pay for better access. Netflix negotiated a similar arrangement with Comcast Corp. in February. The financial details of Netflix's partnerships with Comcast and Verizon Communications Inc. haven't been disclosed. Netflix is reducing its reliance on third-party vendors to deliver video to Internet service providers because the streaming speeds of its movies and TV shows have been slowing in recent months. The company hopes the Verizon deal “will improve performance for our joint…

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said the number of its flagship Galaxy S5 smartphones shipped with non-working cameras was “very limited” and that it has taken measures to ensure the issue does not recur in new shipments. Reports of the problem surfaced last week and come less than a month after the phone's global launch, with Samsung banking on the S5 to outdo its predecessor and rebuild momentum for the brand in an increasingly competitive market. The South Korean firm has warned profits are likely to have fallen in January-March from a year earlier, its second straight quarter of decline. “We have discovered that the issue has been seen in a very limited portion of early production Galaxy S5 units, and was caused by complications in the ROM (Read Only Memory)…

PREVIOUSLY SLAMMED COMPANY FINALLY EMBRACES ALL THINGS ECO Once upon a time, Apple was the last tech company that you'd have associated with environmental friendliness. Even in a world in which social responsibility was becoming firmly in vogue, within the Steve Jobs-led Apple of the late 1990s and 2000s, there seemed disdain about such an agenda. When Greenpeace reported on the Cupertino company's credentials in this area in 2012, it certainly did not have many good things to say. In categories like Energy Transparency, Infrastructure Siting, Energy Efficiency & GHG Mitigation and Renewables & Advocacy, only grades of D and F were offered, resulting in an overall Clean Energy Index of 15.3 per cent. That compared to far superior efforts by rivals like Dell and Google. The allegation was clear:…

Nokia is planning for a turnaround now that it has sold its lossmaking handset business to Microsoft, naming on Tuesday a new CEO, promising dividends again and laying out its vision for its remaining operations. For the first quarter, the last for which it will include figures for its cellphones unit, Nokia said its net loss was 239 million euros (173 million) compared with a loss of 272 million a year earlier. Revenue fell to 2.6 billion euros from 3.1 billion euros, with mobile device sales plunging 30 percent. To lead the Finnish company in its focus on the remaining businesses of networks, software, and maps, it named Rajeev Suri, the Indian-born former head of Nokia Solutions and Networks, to become CEO on May 1. The 46-year-old, who joined Nokia…

The New Classic (Deluxe Version) Iggy Azalea It's been a long time coming, thanks to various delays and label conflicts, but it's now finally here - Australian hip hop star Iggy Azalea's debut album, The New Classic. It's already spun off such singles as “Work”, “Bounce”, “Change Your Life” and “Fantasy”, showcasing the considerable production talents of The Invisible Men, The Messengers and 1st Down, as well as - of course - the rap prowess of Iggy herself. FIVE FACTS: 1. Iggy Azalea was born Amethyst Amelia Kelly. 2. Azalea first came to wider public attention due to the music videos for her controversial songs “Pussy” and “Two Times” going viral on YouTube. 3. She has described Tupac Shakur's “Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)” as “the song…

Google, Jay Z and crowdfunding site Kickstarter are among the winners of this year's Webby Awards, a celebration of Internet achievement that got its start nearly two decades ago. The awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a group of about 1,000 Web experts and Internet professionals. Judges included Tumblr founder David Karp and “House of Cards” actor Kevin Spacey. Each Webby category is split in two: There's an award from the academy and a “people's voice” award for which anyone can cast an online vote. Winners in the latter category include Beyonce, Tumblr, the NASA website and satirical news site The Onion (which was also the academy's pick in the humor category). The website “Reasons My Son Is Crying” received both the Webby and…

The Supreme Court has declined to take up software maker Novell Inc.'s appeal in a long-running antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. The justices on Monday let stand an appeals court ruling that rejected Novell's $1 billion lawsuit alleging Microsoft undermined the once popular WordPerfect writing program in favor of its own Word program with the Windows 95 rollout. Novell claimed Microsoft duped it into developing WordPerfect for Windows 95 only to pull the plug so Microsoft could gain market share with its own product. Novell says it was forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss. The 10th Circuit ruled that Novell's complaint came too late and it failed to make the larger case that Microsoft was protecting a monopoly on operating systems.…