Wednesday Recap: Amazon Santa, Path 2.0, Spotify Apps, Steve Jobs T-Shirt
Posted 11/30/2011 at 5:15pm
| by J.R. Bookwalter
Holy moley, can November really be over already? Tomorrow, December will be upon us and the deafening rumble of Santa’s sleigh won’t be far behind. Most of us are already getting in the holiday spirit, which gives us little time to catch up on what’s happening in the tech world. So without further ado, here’s a taste of what’s new for this Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
Path 2 Introduces Smart Journal
Instagram may get all the hype, but Path has been quietly making inroads over the last year as well. The company today introduced version 2.0 of the Path app for both iOS and Android, featuring a new, cleaner design, the ability to decorate your Path with wallpaper-like photos and a new “Smart Journal” mode that recognizes when you spend time in a new place, recording it for you automatically. The free app also offers more ways to share (via Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare), including check-in and music as well as improved push notifications.
Rumor: Apple Killed 64-Bit Final Cut Pro 8 Dead
Still fuming over Apple’s decision to abandon Final Cut Pro 7 in favor of Final Cut Pro X? Your mood isn’t likely to improve when you read this: According to 9to5Mac, not only was there a 64-bit version of Final Cut Pro 8 which retained the same user interface professionals know and love, but Apple supposedly killed it in favor of the more forward-thinking FCPX. This rumor comes courtesy of RHED Pixel founder Richard Harrington, who recently discussed the decision during a talk at American University’s Filmmaker in Residence program. “[Apple] looked at it and said, ‘This is not what we want to do… this is evolutionary, not revolutionary, and they killed it,” Harrington explained. That news is likely to stir up the hornet’s nest all over again, but at least FCPX is improving with each new update in the meantime...
GeeksRiot Offers Steve Jobs T-Shirt
Another day, another Steve Jobs tribute. This time it’s in the form of a new T-shirt available exclusively from GeeksRiot.com, with all proceeds benefitting Movember. “This is our tribute to a man who changed the world,” the geeks explain on their website. “We were deeply moved by the passing of Steve Jobs, and wanted to create a piece of art in his memory. A piece that would strike someone in the same way that he always struck us: bold, uncompromising, and true to the heart. This is our tribute to a true visionary. Please help us build a future where no man is taken before his time by cancer.” The slick-looking T-shirt (shown above) is available in small, medium, large and XL for only $24.99 from the group’s website, and be sure to Like their Facebook page as well while you’re at it.
Spotify Introduces Apps (Now Where's the iPad App?)
Remember that Spotify announcement we told you about last week? Turns out it wasn’t as exciting as the company’s invite might have let on. The streaming music company’s “brave new world” is Spotify Apps, billed as “a bunch of cool, exciting and integrated apps inside Spotify, created by some of the best and brightest in the world.” That includes Last.fm, TuneWiki, Rolling Stone and others, who are bringing HTML5-based apps to the Spotify application, which can now be downloaded in a preview version. Gee, we would have been much happy to have a native iPad app or even an entirely browser-based client like some of the rumors were speculating… but we still love you anyway, guys.
Amazon Wants to Play Santa For Your Kids with New App
Already receive way too many packages from Amazon each week? Prepare to receive even more for the next few weeks, as the e-tailer has rolled out a new iPad-only app entitled Amazon Santa. As you can imagine, the free app encourages the little ones to seek out and wish list all the stuff they want from Santa Claus this year, making it way too easy for parents to buy it all. “Get more smiles and shouts of joy this Christmas when you use the free Amazon Santa App -- a fun and easy way for kids and parents to create personalized, holiday Wish Lists to share with Santa, friends and family,” the app description reads. The 13.4MB download is available now and requires iOS 4.2 or later.
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