MacRumors

Apple today released an update to its universal Remote application for iOS devices, bringing support for several new features including controlling AirPlay content pushed from iTunes on a user's computer to an Apple TV, as well as controlling Internet radio in iTunes.

What's New in Version 2.1

- AirPlay video support to control iTunes on your computer to stream videos to an Apple TV
- Internet radio control to play thousands of internet radio streams in iTunes on your computer
- The ability to control iTunes on your computer to play Movies and TV shows that are rented from the iTunes Store
- Addresses issues connecting to an iTunes library or Apple TV
- Includes stability and performance improvements

AirPlay streaming for audio, video, and photos, has been a major feature promoted by Apple in iTunes 10 and iOS 4.2, and the company has released several updates for its various applications and operating systems to support the functionality in a number of ways.

One of the more high-profile App Store releases over the last several months has been Skyfire Web Browser, an alternative web browser that allows users to view Flash video on the iPhone by converting content to HTML5 on the company's own servers and sending it back to the user's device. Despite some mixed reviews regarding app performance, Skyfire Web Browser raked in nearly $1 million in its opening weekend and was so popular that the company had to quickly pull the app and bring it back for purchase in only small batches as the company upgraded its servers to handle the demand.

We've known for awhile that Skyfire has been working on an iPad version of its browser, and it now appears that the new version will be available shortly, as the application has been submitted to Apple for review. Engadget has been able to get hands-on experience with Skyfire for iPad, which features smooth performance and social network integration with links to Facebook, Twitter, and Google Reader "quick links" right in a toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

For example, when the Facebook button is pushed, you're presented with a trimmed down version of the social network. The same goes with Twitter and Google Reader. The app also features Fireplace, which allows you to view specifically the links your Facebook friends have shared, and 'Popular', which shows all the related links your friends have shared based on what website the browser parked on, and of course a dedicated 'Like' button. The Share function lends you an easy way to share links via various popular networks.

Aside from the new social features, Engadget notes that performance is much improved over the iPhone version, with smooth scrolling and pinch-to-zoom along with relatively fast page loading making for a solid user experience.

Update: Skyfire Web Browser for iPad is now available, priced at $4.99.

Soon after the launch of iOS 4.2 late last month, it was discovered by mobile programmer Maximiliano Firtman that Apple had updated the iOS version of Safari to support a number of new HTML5 and W3C standards, one of the most interesting of which was support for using devices' accelerometer and gyroscope features right in the browser.

As you may know, all iOS devices have accelerometer sensors (plus magnetometer and gyroscope on some devices). However, as web developers, we didnt have access to such sensors until now. Safari now supports the DeviceOrientation API (W3C draft). Looking at the available objects, it seems that all the API is fully supported (including ondeviceorientation and ondevicemotion events). . .

Firtman coded a quick demo (functional on iOS 4.2 devices only) of the new capabilities, allowing users to roll a ball around the browser window using accelerometer input.

With the new support not being broadly advertised by Apple, it has taken a little while for developers to create truly functional implementations of the features. But as noted by The Next Web, Occipital, the company behind the popular 360 Panorama photo application, has now harnessed the features to provide immersive viewing of panorama photographs.

As an example of the feature in action, this link to a panorama utilizes traditional click-and-drag panorama navigation when accessed through a desktop or notebook browser, but on an iOS 4.2 device users can pan around the photograph simply by moving their device to mimic experiencing the scene as if they were there.

After you capture a panorama with the 360 Panorama app, one can upload the picture, getting the URL to view the experience in Safari Mobile. In essence, the raw jpeg image files are hosted on either TwitPic or yFrog after a user uploads a panorama through 360 Panorama.

After launching the URL in Safari Mobile, one will see "Gyro ON" and simply by moving your phone in any direction, you can have a complete panoramic experience using the photo you've captured. Moreover, experiences can be viewed on TwitPic, or the location of the experience using Apple's "Maps" app.

360 Panorama is currently on sale for $0.99.

App store developers TapTapTap have re-released their popular iPhone camera utility Camera+ after an involuntary four month absence from the App Store.

In August, TapTapTap had written a blog post explaining that one of the features they called "VolumeSnap" had been the reason for their latest update being rejected by Apple. The feature allowed the user to remap the iPhone's volume button to trigger the iPhone's camera shutter. The developers were not surprised to find the feature rejected as it was explicitly prohibited in the App Store's terms of service. While they removed the feature from the next update, they hid it as an easter egg which was easily turned back on.

The app was quickly removed from the App Store for this violation despite being ranked #3 amongst paid apps at the time. That sort of App Store position typically reflects over 10,000 sales a day. With the reapproval, TapTapTap has, of course, removed the easter egg but added over 50 new features (including new filters, shooting modes) and dropped the price from $1.99 to $0.99 [App Store].

Apple today released iPhoto 9.1.1, bringing a number of minor new features and fixes to the company's consumer-grade photo editing and management application included in iLife '11. Among the most prominent features included in the update are new email options for using third-party email programs, new themes for photo emails, and the ability to easily resize photos when attaching them to emails.

This update adds new email options to iPhoto '11. It also improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues. Specific fixes include:

- Adds a preference allowing photos to be emailed using an external email application
- Adds "Classic" and "Journal" themes to email.
- Photos attached to an email can now be sized to Small, Medium or Large
- Improves reliability when upgrading a library from an earlier version of iPhoto
- iPhoto now correctly preserves the sort order of Events after upgrading a library
- Event titles displayed in headers can now be edited in Photos view
- Addresses a problem that could cause duplicate photos to be added to a MobileMe album
- Scrolling overlay now correctly displays ratings when photos are sorted by rating
- Photos are now sorted correctly when a rating is changed and photos are sorted by rating
- Fixes a problem that could cause text formatting controls to become inaccessible when editing a calendar

Apple released iPhoto 9 as part of the iLife '11 package in late October, but had to quickly release iPhoto 9.0.1 the following week to address issues with data loss for some customers upgrading to the new version. In early November, Apple released iPhoto 9.1 to restore support for photo calendars that had gone missing in the initial iPhoto 9 release and to include support for new holiday-themed letterpress cards.

iPhoto 9.1.1 weighs in at 62.09 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.6.3 or later.

Last week, we noted that Microsoft is preparing to relaunch its vision of tablets at January's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011 in Las Vegas. Despite a tablet-focused keynote by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at CES 2010, Apple's iPad has stolen the show and dominated the tablet market this year as competitors have stumbled trying to bring their products to market.

One of the prototype tablets demoed by Ballmer at CES 2010 was a "slate" from HP, which eventually did come to market in modified form as a business-focused tablet running Windows as originally demoed. But HP has seen fit to reboot its tablet strategy in the wake of its acquisition of Palm earlier this year, reportedly shifting gears to base its forthcoming consumer-focused tablets on a tweaked version of Palm's webOS.

FoxNews.com now reports that HP/Palm is planning to introduce three models of the "PalmPad" at CES 2011. According to the report, the PalmPad will be similar in many respects to the iPad, although it will offer front- and rear-facing cameras and sport mini HDMI and USB 3.0 ports.

HP will introduce three models of the PalmPad at CES, with minor hardware differences distinguishing them. All three will run a new iteration of the WebOS operating system, version 2.5.1; they're collectively a spin-off of the never-released HP Slate. A fourth version won't be shown off at CES, I'm told, but it will be custom made for university students to prove how versatile the machines can be.

The consumer version of the PalmPad will run on Sprint's fast 4G network, but otherwise it has hardware specs nearly identical to Apple's iPad. There are minor differences, of course: It has a mini HDMI port, for example, while the iPad requires a special dongle for video output. And there are front- and rear-facing cameras (1.3 megapixel and 3 megapixel, respectively), both with LED flashes.

Sources indicate that the PalmPad will be available in March 2011, likely bumping right up against the release of the second-generation iPad if recent rumors are correct in pointing to a yearly refresh cycle for the device.

TechCrunch notes that Apple has removed from the App Store an unofficial WikiLeaks application that had offered access to the controversial leaked government documents

As shared in a Tweet from the app's developer, Igor Barinov, the application was "removed from sale" by Apple less than three days after it was approved.

Basically the paid app was selling WikiLeaks content (available for free) for $1.99. Its entry into the app store on December 17th was actually surprising, as Apple is usually quite strict and somewhat vague about its app approval standards. WikiLeaks and founder Julian Assange are quite controversial, to put it lightly but I'm not sure if the app directly violated anything in Apple's TOS.

In the past couple of weeks corporate biggies Amazon, PayPal, Mastercard, Visa and Bank of America have all tried to disassociate themselves in one way or another from WikiLeaks. If this isn't some kind of glitch, Apple has plenty company.

Barinov claims that of the $1.99 purchase price for the unofficial WikiLeaks App, $1.00 would be donated to WikiLeaks, leaving only about 40 cents per sale for Barinov after accounting for Apple's take of the revenue.

We have yet to hear word from Apple on an official reason for the removal.

Update: While Apple still has yet to provide an official reason for the removal, it is possible that the application simply ran afoul of Apple's rules regarding donations. Apple's review guidelines require that application soliciting donations be free and that donations be made to recognized charitable organizations via either a website or SMS. The donation aspect of the application had been noted in its App Store description:

One Dollar For Internet Freedom

Internet democracy requires funds to stay strong. By purchasing the Wikileaks app, you donate 1 dollar of the purchase price towards organizations that work to promote the future of online democracy.

Update 2: Business Insider received word from Apple that the application was in fact pulled due to the content and not App Store rules regarding donations:

We reached out to Apple for comment on why it pulled the app and here's what a representative told us:

"We removed WikiLeaks because it violated developer guidelines. An app must comply with all local laws. It may not put an individual or target group in harms way."

Apple declined to elaborate on the "individual or target group" it had determined was placed in "harms way" by the application.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

In one final promotional push before Christmas, Apple today announced that sales of the new Apple TV will hit the one-million mark this week. The company also noted that users are currently renting or purchasing over 400,000 TV episodes and 150,000 movies per day through the iTunes Store.

Apple today announced that it expects sales of its new Apple TV to top one million units later this week. The new Apple TV offers the simplest way to watch your favorite HD movies and TV shows, stream content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe, all on your HD TV for the breakthrough price of just $99. iTunes users are now renting and purchasing over 400,000 TV episodes and over 150,000 movies per day.

One analyst estimated in the days after the new Apple TV became available that the company appeared to be selling at least one million units per quarter. With the new Apple TV having launched at the very end of September, the estimate appears to have been very much on target.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced at the company's mid-October earnings conference call that it had sold over 250,000 units of the new Apple TV in just under three weeks on the market. Consequently, it appears that Apple has sustained that momentum in order to reach one million units in the device's first twelve weeks of availability.

Apple has emailed developers this evening informing them that they will be shutting down their Mac OS X Downloads page in favor of listings in the Mac App Store:

Thank you for making the Mac OS X Download site a great destination with apps that offer users new ways to work, play, learn, and create on their Mac.

We recently announced that on January 6, 2011, the Mac App Store will open to users around the world, presenting you with an exciting, new opportunity to reach millions of customers. Since the introduction of the App Store in 2008, we've been thrilled with the incredible support from developers and the enthusiastic response from users. Now we're bringing the revolutionary experience of the App Store to Mac OS X.

Because we believe the Mac App Store will be the best destination for users to discover, purchase, and download your apps, we will no longer offer apps on the Mac OS X Downloads site. Instead, beginning January 6, we will be directing users to explore the range of apps available on the Mac App Store.

The move isn't entirely surprising as it makes sense for Apple to consolidate listings in one single location. It's not clear how much traffic the Mac OS X Downloads section receives on a daily basis, but if the iOS App Store is any guide, the Mac App Store should do quite well.

Apple has just launched a new software tool called iAd Producer (via MacStories).

iAd Producer makes it easy for you to design and assemble high-impact, interactive content for iAd. iAd Producer automatically manages the HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript behind your iAd to make creating beautiful, motion-rich iAd content as easy as point and click.

The tool is available for members of the iOS developer program and significantly opens up the iAd creation. While Apple's iAds have generally been seen as a success, the slow content creation process has been cited as significant hurdle for some of their early partners. Prior to this tool, it was said that Apple handled all of the ad creation in house.

Apple's choice to use HTML5 for iAd creation has likely been part of this issue as the tools have not been as mature as those for Adobe Flash. iAd Producer offers visual layout and design with Page Templates, Pre-built animations/effects, advanced Javascript editing and more.

As followup to the reverse engineering of AirPlay, Erica Sadun has released an alpha version of a new tool called AirFlick. The previous tool allowed iOS 4.2 users to stream video to their Mac.

This new tool called AirFlick now allows Mac users to stream video content to their Apple TVs. This includes both locally saved files as well as streaming from files hosted on the internet.

It also allows you to open videos located on the Internet by pasting a URL and clicking the play button. I was able to watch a number of Internet Archive (archive.org) mp4 videos on a big screen TV by browsing that website, selecting URLs, and opening them with AirFlick.

The software is still in an early alpha state. Still, it's an interesting proof of concept and hopefully someone will pick it up and run with it, or maybe Apple will provide this functionality themselves in the future.

It seems CES 2011 will be much like CES 2010 with a big focus on upcoming tablets with inevitable comparisons made against Apple's popular iPad. Readers may remember that last year's CES was dominated by talk of the tablets with heavy rumors about the not-yet-announced Apple iPad.

In this teaser video called Tablet Evolution, Motorola hypes its upcoming Android-based tablet that will be unveiled at CES 2011. In the video, Motorola labels the iPad as "It's like a giant iPhone, but... it's like a giant iPhone" and even takes a shot at the Galaxy Tab which is described as "Android OS, but Android OS...for a phone".

The Consumer Electronics Show 2011 kicks off the first week of January 2011.