New parents: Drop those poopy diapers and head to the Mac App Store, immediately! (Or, you know, when you’re done cleaning up.) The best-selling Anne Geddes baby record book My First Five Years has now been converted to a Mac app and it looks pretty amazing. Don’t have a kid? Then gift it to someone who does! About the only way this could be even better is if they make it available for the iPad (hint, hint). While you ponder that, read on to find out what else is making news for this Thursday, April 12, 2012.
We’ve already seen Windows 7 running on an iPad, but that’s old news now that Microsoft plans to roll out the Metro-centric Windows 8 later this year. Splashtop Inc. today announced the availability of Win8 Metro Testbed, a remote desktop app for software developers and technology enthusiasts alike to simulate the Windows 8 environment on an iPad. Empowered with Windows 8 Metro touch gestures, the app allows developers to test this functionality as they code and compile new apps for Windows, without having to invest in a Windows 8-compatible tablet. “Since Apple’s App Store generates over 80% of all tablet app revenue, nearly every software developer that writes apps for tablets has an iPad,” noted Mark Lee, Splashtop CEO and co-founder. “With Windows 8 Metro expected to ship on over 400 million new PCs and tablets annually, these developers have high expectations for an enormous new market. Splashtop lets them turn their iPad into a development testbed to evaluate touch gestures and functionality of their app in a Windows 8 environment.” Win8 Metro Testbed is available now at a special launch promotional price of $24.99, which promises to jump to $49.99 at some undetermined date.
If you prefer to play fast and loose with your Apple ID, don’t be surprised if you’re soon asked to add some additional layers of security real soon now. The Next Web is reporting that Apple has started requiring three security questions as well as a backup email address for your Apple ID over the last 24 hours. If you don’t already have these in place -- and many users may not -- don’t be surprised if you’re prompted to enter this information the next time you purchase something from iTunes or either one of the company’s App Stores. “Whilst the new prompt will undoubtedly help secure accounts, many Apple device owners are confused by the new pop-up message and believe it is a phishing attempt,” the report adds. “In the past 24 hours, a number of threads have popped up on Apple’s Support Forums that discuss the added security step, questioning its authenticity.” Apple remains silent on these inquiries for the moment, but fear not -- the additional information is legit and it’s for your own good.
Many parents are already familiar with Anne Geddes’ popular baby record book, My First Five Years. But did you know that the author has now created a digital version of the best seller? Available now in the Mac App Store for $14.99, My First Five Years is billed as “an incredible new way to record your baby’s precious early years.” Featuring the ability to add photos and videos at the touch of a button and share the final creation with friends and family, My First Five Years collects those treasured memories from your little one’s early years and preserves them forever in digital form. The Mac version includes more than 120 pages and users can create multiple variants of the same book, custom-tailored to family members. The completed book can be presented as a slideshow or pages can be shared online as well. My First Five Years is only $14.99 from the Mac App Store and the 520MB download requires OS X Lion 10.7 or later and a 64-bit processor.
Cupertino has taken some lumps in the last year since introducing the completely reworked Final Cut Pro X editing software, with many pro users jumping ship into the loving arms of Adobe’s Premiere Pro. However, Apple wants you to know that many pros are quite happy with the new version, which just received a fourth update ahead of the NAB 2012 convention next week. A section of the Final Cut Pro website has been carved out for “Final Cut Pro X In Action,” a trio of testimonials from working pros including Electric Entertainment, who uses FCPX for its all-digital workflow on the hit TV show Leverage, and veteran editor Knut Hake, who uses the software to cut Danni Lowinski, one of Germany’s top TV shows. Major New York post-production house @radical.media is also profiled after switching their entire facility over to Final Cut Pro X. If you haven’t tried it yet, Apple has a free 30-day trial available for download at the same website, and is patiently waiting for your $299.99 purchase in the Mac App Store.
While Adobe is making a splash with professional users with the announcement of CS6 Production Premium today, they’ve also got a little something in store for regular folks. Adobe Revel 1.2 is now available for both Mac and iOS, which beefs up the company’s cloud-based photo services with the ability to label and group photos by events, share, export and delete multiple photos at once and even update the time and date your shots were taken. A new grid view lets users focus on a single day or event, and photos can now be viewed by event or event date. Revel now offers a way to view only those photos tagged as favorites, and adds additional language support for French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese and Korean. The iOS version also takes full advantage of the new iPad’s Retina Display, while also gaining improved editing performance. Last but not least, users with a trial that expired prior to today will now get an additional 30 days to try out the new version, simply by logging in with your existing Revel (Adobe) ID. But don’t worry: You won’t be automatically charged at the end of this additional 30 days, which costs $5.99 per month as an in-app subscription should you decide to continue.
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RobK
April 12, 2012 at 9:23pm
You do not clearly state that a desktop running Windows8 is required or this app is useless. It's certainly implied but saying "remote desktop" but most may not understand that. PLEASE make this clear.
