Innehållsförteckning för #135 från AppleMagazine

Avi Shenkar runs his four hair salons from the palm of his hand. Work for the owner of Bio/Out Blow Dry Bars begins as soon as he grabs his !Phone at 6 a.m. while still in bed. He scrolls through messages on group texting app GroupMe to see if any of his stylists are running late or need the day off. He pumps pop and electronic dance music through the wireless speakers in his stores using an app for Sonos, a brand of wireless speakers. And he can see what's going on in each location by watching video on his phone from cameras with the Samsung !Polis app, a video camera security system. "The phone is always with me/' says Shenkar, whose salons do blowouts for $35. "It's an extension…

Apple is getting ready to hitch the !Phone to cars in a mobile marriage of convenience. The ambitious project, called CarPlay, implants some of the !Phone's main applications in automobiles so drivers can control them with voice commands, a touch on the steering wheel or a swipe on a display screen in the dashboard. It's expected to be available this summer when Pioneer Electronics plans to release a software update for five car radios designed to work with the !Phone. Alpine Electronics also is working on CarPlay-compatible radios for cars already on the road. Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Ferrari are among those expected to start selling car models with built-in CarPlay services this year. Google Inc. is working with car makers to do something similar with smartphones running its…

Many teenagers today would scoff at the idea of buying a compact disc that contains an entire album on it. As for the idea of a cassette tape, or a large black disc that requires a needle to be run along some grooves to hear the music, well that sounds positively Mesozoic. The shift to buying music by the song, rather than by the album, is just one of the many iconic changes that !Tunes has brought to the way in which we listen to and consume music. Looking back at its meteoric rise, it seems impossible that the juggernaut that is !Tunes has only been on the road for 13 years. HOW !TUNES BEGAN Steve Jobs met with executives from Sony and Warner Music. Those execs had a plan…

Japan's Sony has signed a partnership in China to manufacture and sell its PlayStation consoles on the mainland. The deal, formed as two joint ventures with Shanghai Oriental Pearl, gives Sony access to an estimated 500 million gamers in China. China has had a ban on gaming consoles since 2000, citing their adverse effect on the mental health of young people. But in January, the government said it will allow foreign firms to manufacture and sell consoles. China's gaming market, which is currently dominated by PC, mobile and online games, is seen as a key growth area for console makers. The two partnerships are both with Shanghai Oriental Pearl, one gives Sony a 70% share and the other a 49% stake and both will operate out of Shanghai's free trade…

The Fault In Our Stars (Music From the Motion Picture) Various Artists Get ready for the upcoming romantic comedy-drama film The Fault In Our Stars, starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, by sampling its soundtrack. Arranged by Nate Walcott and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, it features contributions from both high-profile and lesser-known artists such as Ed Sheeran, Jake Bugg, Birdy and Grouplove. FIVE FACTS: 1. Of the inclusion on the soundtrack of M83's"Wait", director Josh Boone said that he was "honored", adding that he had listened to it on repeat driving to and from the hospital where one of his best friends died of cancer in 2011. 2. Ed Sheeran confirmed on Twitter that he had written the end credits song for the movie. 3. The film is based…

Wearable technology is all the rage these days for adults. Now, the concept is spreading to kids. LeapFrog, the maker of kids' tablets and other educational products, recently unveiled the LeapBand, a device worn around the wrist. It's really more of a toy, designed for kids ages 4 to 7, rather than a true fitness tracker. Yet it does offer some of the same features in a kid-friendly way. And in light of concerns about kids getting too much screen time, some parents may see the new product as a way to satisfy technological cravings while keeping kids active. The LeapBand doesn't go on sale until August, but I've had a chance to try one out in recent weeks. It will retail for $40 and come in blue, green or…

Google will build a car without a steering wheel. It doesn't need one because it drives itself. The two-seater won't be sold publicly, but Google said Tuesday it hopes by this time next year, 100 prototypes will be on public roads. Though not driving very quickly - the top speed would be 25 mph. The cars are a natural next step for Google, which already has driven hundreds of thousands of miles in California with Lexus SUVs and Toyota Priuses outfitted with a combination of sensors and computers. Those cars have Google-employed "safety drivers" behind the wheel in case of emergency. The new cars would eliminate the driver from the task of driving. No steering wheel, no brake and gas pedals. Instead, buttons for go and stop. "It reminded me…

Visa and MasterCard are renewing a push to speed the adoption of microchips into U.S. credit and debit cards in the wake of recent high-profile data breaches, including this week's revelation that hackers stole consumer data from eBay's computer systems. Card processing companies argue that a move away from the black magnetic strips on the backs of credit cards would eliminate a substantial amount of U.S. credit card fraud. They say it's time to offer U.S. consumers the greater protections microchips provide by joining Canada, Mexico and most of Western Europe in using cards with the more advanced technology. Chips aren't perfect, says Carolyn Balfany, MasterCard's group head for U.S. product delivery, but the extra barrier they present is one of the reasons criminals often choose to target U.S.-issued cards,…

iOS #01 - Stay In The Line By Barry Wyckoff Category: Games Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #02 - Elevate - Brain Training By Elevate, Inc. Category: Education Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #03 - 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. #04 - Toilet Time - Mini Games to Play in the Bathroom By Tapps Tecnologia da Informagäo Ltda. Category: Games Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #05…

Europe's moves to rein in Google - including a court ruling this month ordering the search giant to give people a say in what pops up when someone searches their name - may be seen in Brussels as striking a blow for the little guy. But across the Atlantic, the idea that users should be able to edit Google search results in the name of privacy is being slammed as weird and difficult to enforce at best and a crackdown on free speech at worst. "Americans will find their searches bowdlerized by prissy European sensibilities," said Stewart Baker, former assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "We'll be the big losers. The big winners will be French ministers who want the right to have their last…

Once again, media company CEOs are among the highest paid executives in the nation, occupying six of the top 10 earning spots according to an Associated Press/Equilar study. Compensation experts say a variety of factors are at play, including the gain in media stocks, the intangible value of talent in a hit-or-miss business, the control of shareholder power in very few hands, and the decline of the financial sector. STOCK OUTPERFORMERS Outsized stock growth boosts the value of stock and option grants. Media companies' shares have rebounded strongly since the 2008 recession, mainly because advertising spending grows in tandem with a growing economy. That means higher-priced ads and higher-priced execs. Stocks of the six media companies on the list all outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which grew 128…

Music-streaming service Spotify has become the latest high-profile technology company to be hit by a security breach. The Swedish firm said no financial data had been accessed, and there was no "increased risk". A portion of its 40 million users will need to reenter, but not change, their log-in credentials. Furthermore, all users of its Android mobile app would be forced to upgrade "over the next few days". "We've become aware of some unauthorised access to our systems and internal company data," chief technology officer Oskar Stal wrote on the firm's website. "Our evidence shows that only one Spotify user's data has been accessed and this did not include any password, financial or payment information. "We have contacted this one individual. Based on our findings, we are not aware of…

"Starcraft II tournaments s are popular in South Korea, where the top player's winnings total $423,988" The publisher says the software undermines online multiplayer battles and could cause players to lose interest in the title. It has filed papers with a California court calling for the unidentified programmers to be made to compensate it for copyright infringement. One industry watcher described the move as "aggressive". "The only reason that cheats like this exist is because there is demand for them/' said Ed Barton, a video games analyst at the consultancy Ovum. "But the competitive scene for Starcraft is very important, especially in Korea, and Blizzard needs to preserve the fantasy of the core experience." News of the legal action was first reported by the Torrentfreak news site, which noted that…

Apple announced it has agreed to acquire the critically acclaimed subscription streaming music service Beats Music, and Beats Electronics, which makes the popular Beats headphones, speakers and audio software. As part of the acquisition, Beats co-founders Jimmy lovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple. Apple is acquiring the two companies for a total of $3 billion, consisting of a purchase price of approximately $2.6 billion and approximately $400 million that will vest overtime. "Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "That's why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world."…

iOS #01- 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. #02 - Heads Up! By Warner Bros. Category: Games / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #03 - 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. #04 - Minecraft - Pocket Edition By Mojang Category: Games / Price: $6.99 Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. #05 - AfterLight By Simon…

X-Men: First Class With the X-Men franchise once more thrust into the public eye thanks to X-Men: Days of Future Past, what better time could there be to revisit this 2011 outing? This one takes on the X-Men story from the very start - the days when Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) were friends, and had not yet become Professor X and Magneto. FIVE FACTS: 1. X-Men: First Class takes its name from a Marvel Comics comic book series. 2. Other members of the cast include Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne and January Jones. 3. The movie has grossed $353,624,124 worldwide. 4. Michael Fassbender admitted to getting "knee-deep" into the X-Men comics for his role as Erik Lensherr. 5. Jennifer Lawrence commented: I am ashamed…

The US-based firm said it needed more time to work on the system's controllers, which feature two haptic-feedback trackpads. The announcement is also likely to impact the 14 third-party manufacturers planning to sell their own Steam Machine hardware. However, one industry watcher suggested Valve had taken the right decision. "It is targeting a very demanding demographic with the Steam Machine platform, and the controller is one of the key features designed to address the impression that PC gaming can be slightly inaccessible," said Ed Barton, a gaming analyst at consultants Ovum. "It's a very ambitious concept to try to replicate the accuracy of a mouse input with the controller's two circular touchpads - and if it doesn't work, the platform would likely struggle to get off the ground." LIVING-ROOM GAMES…

Facebook said it will reduce the number of auto-shares on users' News Feeds making it an opt-in feature and instead favoring only explicitly shared stories. Facebook said user feedback suggests that "people often feel surprised or confused by stories that are shared without taking an explicit action." Third-party apps many times share updates without any action required from users. Spotify, for example, will tell a users' friends what music they are listening to. Posts and status updates that are explicitly chosen by users have better circulation as compared to auto-share updates. While autoshares will still exist, they will not appear on News Feeds as often. While Facebook seems to be taking a tough stand against third-party apps, Peter Yang, from Facebook's product marketing team, provided a number of alternatives for…