Happy End of the World Day! If you're reading this, the predicted Mayan apocalypse did not occur and you can continue enjoying the holiday festivities with one less thing to worry about. However, your intrepid MacLife.com news recap reporter will be taking a much-needed hiatus over the next two weeks, so enjoy this final day of coverage before our return on January 7, 2013 -- and fear not, your diligent editors will have plenty of other fine content rolling out during the break to pass the time with. Happy holidaze, folks!
Are you a music lover hoping for a new Roku player this Christmas? If so, you'll be thrilled at this double blast of good news. First up is the announcement that streaming music provider Spotify has finally arrived on Roku, opening up a whole new world of music right on your TV. The only potential downside is that you'll need to be a paying Premium member ($9.99 per month) to gain access, but that isn't exactly a hardship for the real die-hards. Music video service VEVO also has reason to celebrate, because it's also being offered as one of more than 600 providers serving up content to the Roku. The addition of both services sure does make Apple TV look pretty anemic, but kudos to the Roku folks for pulling it off.
T-Mobile has announced another round of iPhone-friendly 4G coverage now being served up to 37 new markets including New York City, Los Angeles and points in-between. If you want T-Mo service but can't find any plan compatible with your wallet, the carrier has also announced a new partnership with Solavei, which offers a $49 per month plan featuring unlimited voice, text and data along with the unique opportunity to earn recurring monthly income just by sharing with friends and family. Add a Trio of three members and you could get $20 per month back, just for sharing. Solavei is contract-free, and already counts more than 100,000 members nationwide among its ranks.
If you own a Steadicam Smoothee and have been bummed out that the camera mount was entirely too small for your swanky new iPhone 5, it's time to turn that frown upside down. The Tiffen Company announced this week that the popular mobile camera accessory is now ready for the iPhone 5, combining Apple's improved camera optics with the same technology used on $60,000 camera mounts in Hollywood. The iPhone 5 variation of the Steadicam Smoothee carries the same retail price of $169, and existing owners can purchase the mount by itself for only $24.95 from their favorite Tiffen retailer.
'Tis the season for giving, and the folks at iStoryTime are indeed caught up in the Christmas spirit with not one, but two of their popular storybook apps now available absolutely free. Ice Age Movie Storybook Collection serves up all of the prehistoric fun from the movies, while The Smurfs Classic Series is using the occasion to launch a new storybook called "Dreamy's Nightmare," available as an in-app purchase. Both storybook apps are universal builds so they'll work equally well on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, and include the first storybook free of charge.
Noise Industries has announced another fine addition to its FxFactory plugins for Final Cut Pro X with the release of Tokyo PiPinator, an advanced but easy to use solution for creative video users who need dramatic picture-in-picture effects. Combining the power of menu-driven animation with a wealth of useful features, FCPX editors can create elegant and original composites using videos, stills, titles or other graphics, all without the need to keyframe them. Tokyo PiPinator is now available through FxFactory for only $49, and a free trial download will let you try out the software before committing to a purchase.
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