The best writing apps for your Mac, iPad and iPhone
Whether you are tentatively planning your first ever blog post or are a best-selling novelist working on your latest blockbuster, there are plenty of apps out there designed for writers. But as writers are sometimes known for their procrastination techniques, and choosing the right app could be the excuse for putting off work on your Great American Novel for several days, we thought it would be helpful to provide a few pointers.
All of the apps featured are available for both Mac and iOS, as I feel it’s important that you can work on the move as well as at a desk. In my comments, though, I’m focusing on the Mac versions as that’s the platform on which most people are likely to do the bulk of their writing.
The obvious starting point, of course, is the app Apple gives you for free: Pages. In fact, some might question why you would ever need anything else, so let’s start with this before considering some of the alternatives …
Filed under: Apple
MFC says its ‘iBUS’ is the first to let users restore an Apple Watch S1
Up until now if you experienced problems with the software on your Apple Watch, and the standard OTA method didn’t work, you were forced to visit an Apple Store to resolve the issue. In fact, I have an Apple Watch Series 0 sitting on my shelf right now that I’ve not used for the past 6 months because I haven’t bothered to schedule an appointment at the Genius Bar.
The folks over at MFC claim to have a limited solution to this problem: the iBus Data Cable — a small little dongle that attaches to the maintenance port nestled inside the band reservoir on the Apple Watch. Many Apple Watch users probably have no inkling that such a port exists, but the team at MFC have engineered a dongle to take advantage of the I/O provided by this port to facilitate watchOS restores. more…
Filed under: Apple
Microsoft brings shared calendar access to Outlook for iOS
Microsoft is introducing shared calendar support to its Outlook client for iOS starting today. The new feature is available as part of the 2.16 update available on the App Store now.
Filed under: Apple
Apple Pay coming to more restaurant tables with new E la Carte Pay-At-Table EMV terminals
More restaurants will soon be offering the option to pay table side with Apple Pay as EMV terminal maker E la Carte announces its newest product that introduces the functionality. You might have noticed the company’s pay-at-table Presto touchscreen terminals at some restaurants already— its two big customers are Outback Steakhouse and Applebee’s— but its new Presto Prime terminal announced today offers a number of enhancements with Apple Pay among them:
Filed under: Apple
Apple supports Google in resisting FBI warrant, says would set ‘troubling’ precedent
Apple has joined Amazon and Microsoft in a court filing which supports Google’s decision to resist an FBI warrant demanding that it hand over emails stored outside the USA. The tech companies argue that this would set a ‘troubling’ precedent.
Business Insider reports that the FBI served search warrants ordering Google to hand over emails belonging to suspects in a criminal investigation. The emails in question were stored on a server stored outside the USA, and Google refused, arguing that a domestic search warrant could not apply to data stored in a foreign country …
Filed under: Apple
OLED iPhone 3D Touch module reported to cost 60% more to make, suggests iPhone 8 will sell at higher prices
There have been a few reports over the last couple of months that the iPhone 8 will be significantly more expensive than the current iPhone lineup, with one source citing $1000 starting price points. Ostensibly, Apple’s new flagship iPhone will include many advanced features to justify that higher pricing tier; bezel-less display, integrated fingerprint sensor, and wireless charging to name a few.
Today, Digitimes is reporting that the 3D Touch module in the OLED iPhone will cost $15, an increase of 60% over existing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. This supports the idea that the iPhone 8 will come at a premium, as Apple will have to increase prices to retain its margins …
Filed under: Apple
Report: New 10.5-inch form factor iPad to be announced at Apple event in early April
Following leaks about as-yet-unannounced iPad device identifiers, Digitimes is today reporting that Apple has moved up production plans for a new 10.5 inch iPad to this month, and will unveil the new iPad at a product event in ‘early April’. The 10.5 inch iPad is expected to have an edge-to-edge display, a new virtual Home Button and other upgrades. […]
Withings excluded from new HomeKit accessory page as Apple’s patent battle w/ Nokia drags on
Earlier today, we told you about Apple’s all-new HomeKit accessories webpage where the company lists out a variety of products that are compatible with its HomeKit platform.
While over 100 products across 15 categories can be found on that webpage, one notable exclusion is the Withings Home Plus…
Filed under: Apple
Guide to iCloud storage plans: How to upgrade & manage your storage
Apple includes 5 GB of free cloud storage with each iCloud account, yet with iPhone and iPad cameras improving each year and an expanding amount of ways to utilize iCloud, that free storage fills up fast. Let’s take a look at managing your iCloud storage plan along with a few tips and tricks on managing what you’re saving with iCloud.
Filed under: Apple
Apple Music vs the competition: How today’s music streaming services compare
Earlier today, Pandora officially took the wraps off of its new Pandora Premium streaming service. The service is Pandora’s attempt at competing with the established players such as Apple Music and Spotify.
With Pandora Premium unveiled, we’ve decided to take a step back and compare the major streaming music services. Read on for all of the details…
Filed under: Apple