OS X Mountain Lion Reviews Around The Web:

Apple released OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion today, and the reviews around the web are coming in, and while it’s not unanimous, it looks like the “experts” are loving Mountain Lion! I know I’m digging it, but lets see what other sites are saying…

Nilay Patel, The Verge:

Ultimately, this is pretty easy: you should spend the $20 and upgrade to Mountain Lion, especially if you have a newer Mac. You’ll gain a handful of must-have features, and everything will get faster and smoother. I haven’t really missed Snow Leopard at all since upgrading, which is remarkable considering how much I disliked Lion.

Michael deAgonia, Computerworld:

For users with production-critical machines, it may make sense to delay upgrades for a bit. For most users, however, there’s no real reason not to take the plunge. Certainly, pricing shouldn’t be an issue; this is the cheapest OS X update ever.

Brian Heaterm, Engadget:

Does Mountain Lion justify its $20 price tag? Yes. Of course it does. If you’re an OS X user with a reasonably new piece of hardware, stop what you’re doing and upgrade now.

Joanna Stern, ABC News:

Mountain Lion is worth your $20. Not only do you get a bevy of new features, which I found to enhance and speed up my day-to-day computing tasks, but it cleans up some flaky issues that lingered in Lion.

CNET:

Though it’s not a complete system or interface overhaul, Mountain Lion’s improved core apps and new features make it well worth the $19.99 price.

Jim Dalrymple, The Loop:

There will be tens of thousands of words published on Wednesday when Mountain Lion hits the Mac App Store, but let’s face it, what you really want to know is whether Mountain Lion is worth the upgrade. Let’s get that out of the way now — yes, it is definitely worth it.

And, just so you don’t think we’re only publishing reviews from people who liked it…

Jesus Diaz, Gizmodo:

It feels like Apple has run out of ideas. Or worse, that Apple is too afraid to implement new concepts, fearing it will kill the company’s golden goose. Too afraid to change the world once again, as Steve Jobs used to say, one desktop at a time.

So there you have it, the word around the web is that you immediately run over to the Mac App Store and start downloading Mountain Lion.

Have you installed Mountain Lion yet? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.

7 Ways to Make Life Easier With Your iPhone:

The whole idea of having a dynamite device like the iPhone is to play endless games of Angry Birds… I mean the whole idea is to make your life easier. Some people have no idea how to accomplish tasks on the iPhone with a minimum of button presses. Well fear no more downcast iPhone-ite, your old Uncle Chris is here to help, and you’ve got the entire weekend to practice. And yes, there will be a test on Monday.

Dial a Number from Safari

No need to try and remember the phone number of the restaurant you just looked up in Google – heck, you don’t even need to copy and paste it! You’ll notice the phone number is underlined on the page. Just tap it, Safari will show a prompt with the number asking if you want to “Cancel”, or “Call”. I’ll let you decide which one to press if you want to talk to someone on the other end.

Quick Scroll Through Contacts

Sure, you can scroll through your contacts by the trusty finger-flick method, and you can also tap the letters along the right side to go directly to contacts beginning with that letter, but my fat fingers always hit the wrong letter. Luckily, there’s another way: just hold your finger on the alphabetical list and then slide up and down—you’ll be able to scroll through your Contacts in a faster, more controllable manner than by flicking your finger.

The Favorites and Recents Lists Isn’t Just for Phone Calls Any More

You’ll see “Favorites” and “Recents” at the bottom of the main Phone screen. But you can use these lists for more than just re-dialing numbers. If you tap the > button next to the contact name or number, and assuming it’s a mobile phone number, tap the Text Message button at the bottom of the contact listing. Boink! You’re in the text message screen.

For Heaven’s Sake, Use iCloud!

Why would you want to enter notes in 2 or 3 places? Same with contacts, and bookmarks… Make your life easier and use iCloud. Make sure everything is set to sync between all your devices and your computer. Then, if you change or add something in one place, it’ll replicate everywhere else.

Make sure Photo Stream is turned on too, then all of your photos you take with your camera, or save to your photo album will go into the stream, and be available in iPhoto on your Mac next time you start it up. Unless it’s “those kind” of photos, then forget about it. No one really needs to see those.

iPhone 4S Only – Have Siri Set Location Based Reminders

Want to remember to get gas on the way to work in the morning, or to pick up dinner on the way home? Just activate Siri, and tell her “Remind me to pick up dinner when I leave here.” She’ll verify that she heard it right, (8 times out of 10 for me so far), and offer to set the reminder. Then, thanks to location services, she will pop up the reminder as you leave.

Create Shortcuts for Often Used Words

Create shortcuts for words you use often. Don’t want to type out “Head Dude What in Charge” every time you send an email to your boss? Go into “Settings”; “General”; “Keyboard”; and select “Add New Shortcut”. Here you can add new words or phrases, and assign shortcuts (such as “HDWIC,” in our example above, then it’ll automagically type out the full word each time.

                                                               

Find Your iPhone When You Lose It

You know you’re going to lose your iPhone, or some jerk will steal it. Download the free “Find My iPhone” app and it will help you locate your device on a map, from your computer or another iOS device. You can send a message, up to you to decide how civil the message will be, or initiate a loud ring so you can see if you just maybe left it somewhere in the house or car. You can also remotely lock or wipe the iPhone’s data.

There are many other tips for making life with the iPhone easier, and we’ll explore them in future installments.

If you have some you’d like to share with us and your fellow readers, just send them to gurumoorthy.arumugam@gmail.com. Subject “iPhone Shortcuts”.

Picture: Visual Proof That The iPad Changed Everything::

In considering the recent lawsuits against Apple, one of the most frequent responses is that the very notion of a touchscreen smartphone or tablet is so obvious that the lawsuit doesn’t make sense. What such folk fail to realize, however, is that nobody had managed to make a commercially successful touchscreen phone or tablet until Apple came along.

To illustrate the point, check out the following image from Obama Pacmandemonstrating what tablets looked like before the iPad versus after.

The image pretty much speaks for itself….

Next-Gen iPhone Reportedly Already in Production, On Track for October Launch:

According to a report from Japanese blog Macotakara last week, Apple’s next-gen iPhone has already gone into production at Apple’s Chinese manufacturing partner. If true, it mean the device would likely be ready to launch in September (even if Apple doesn’t actually launch it that month.)

Macotakara has a relatively decent track record – and they reported that the new iPad went into production in January of this year, which is likely accurate given typical manufacturing times. The estimate also seems likely based on the expected October launch of the next-gen device. Likewise, The Wall Street Journal also reported that production of the next-gen iPhone would begin in June.

Meanwhile, 9to5Mac this morning shares new images posted by Apple.proshowing a supposed next-gen iPhone faceplate with a centered Facetime camera. The faceplates line up well with previously leaked panels, as well asleaked photos and schematics of next-gen iPhone components.

The fact that so many leaks and rumors agree about the design of Apple’s next iPhone is significant – although the same was true of last year’s iPhone rumors, and Apple released the iPhone 4S rather than a redesigned next-gen handset.

Even so, it’s rare for Apple to keep a design around on one of their flagship products for more than a couple of years . Further, Apple seems to have formed a pattern of changing the design every two years, as with the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS.

The device is expected to feature a two-tone metal rear casing, and a thinner design compared to the iPhone 4S. It’s also expected to feature a smaller dock connector, taller 4-inch screen, LTE compatibility, and other internal enhancements, and (judging by the iPhone 4S) will likely be released in October.

Hacker Shows How to Steal In-App Purchases on iOS (Please Don’t Steal From Developers!)

Earlier today, a story began making the rounds about how a hacker discovered how to steal in-app purchases on iOS devices. While I’d like to say I was shocked to see how many sites provided detailed instructions on how to steal from developers, the sad truth is that I’m actually not shocked at all! Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens all the time.

The story (no, we’re not linking to it. Sorry!) has gotten a number of responses. Unfortunately, most of those responses are little more than thoughtless knee-jerk mentions of how Apple’s clearly lagging behind in security, and how they need to fix this immediately. Because it’s clearly Apple’s issue, right? Wrong.

First of all, the problem doesn’t lie with Apple’s in-app purchasing system. It has more to do with how developers implement in-app purchasing. An app that has properly implement in-app purchasing cannot be hacked using the method that circulated this morning. As Matthew Panzarino points out, Apple has provideddetailed and publicly available instructions for how to properly implement in-app purchases.

This isn’t about who’s fault this is: the people who are really responsible are the ones who would shamelessly steal from developers just because they can. The bigger issue to address is the fact that hacks like these pose risks for both developers and users alike.

As developer Steve Troughton-Smith points out on Twitter, methods like the one circulating this morning pose a serious potential threat to the account security of anyone who uses them. The hack intercepts the purchase before it gets to Apple, which could let the hacker responsible steal your iTunes account information.

Aside from the security risk, the biggest issue of all deals with the harm that stealing content causes to the development community. Most developers aren’t rich. They make a living off of their apps and content. When you steal their content, you might as well be stealing from their wallet.

Even worse, when users steal from developers, it reduces their incentive to continue working on improving their apps, or make new ones. Why would they put hard work into something that isn’t profitable for them? Stealing from developers puts the entire app ecosystem at risk, and robs every user of potential new apps and innovations.

Plenty of sites have just told you how to steal from developers – just so they could sit back and collect some page views! Your responsibility is to do the right thing. Don’t steal from developers. For that matter, don’t steal at all! Just because you can steal something doesn’t mean you should.

Windows Phone 8 vs. Jelly Bean vs. iOS 6: Which one comes out on top?

iOS 6 and Jelly Bean still ahead of the Windows Phone 8

Apple introduced iOS 6 at WWDC, after that Microsoft unveiled its Windows Phone 8, and later on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was released at the Google I/O event. To stay in the competitive mobile market, Microsoft is trying to rebuild the mobile platform. In order to understand these leading OSes, why not compare them? Here’s what we have come up with.

User Interface

Apple’s iOS platform is loaded with innumerable features. The company has tried to introduce many newer versions over the year, but its UI has somewhat remained the same all along. The iOS 6 has minor visual changes with the same plain menu stretched across pages, although Android offers complete customizations as you can place your favorite widgets and re-size them on the homescreen. Microsoft’s Windows phone 8 is much similar to Windows Phone 7.5, but it has been given a new touch with lively tiles, which can be resized. What’s more, Window Phone 8 UI can also be used to personalize the lively tiles.

Maps

The iOS 6 has its own Mapping app powered by TomTom. Google Maps is used in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean integrated with Google search listings. Microsoft is also trying to enter in the mobile market with a big bang. To promote Windows Phone 8, Microsoft will add the Nokia Maps in the phone and tablets. Apple’s iOS 6, Google’s Jelly Bean and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 are configured with 3D views, turn by turn navigation and traffic information. Windows Phone 8 and Jelly Bean support offline mode for maps, but Apple’s iOS 6 doesn’t.

Voice assistant

Apple is trying hard to improve Siri-integration within iOS 6. Jelly Bean has some speech recognition and voice search abilities. It also has the knowledge graph and a built-in speech recognizer. Microsoft’s Window Phone 8 is loaded with voice commands to make calls, send texts and search the web, etc.

Social Network Integration

The iOS 6 is wholly socially integrated. Earlier Apple’s iOS 5 had Twitter integration, but the company has added Facebook in the iOS 6. Jelly Bean is completely loaded with social integrations like Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Google+ and Picasa, etc. After learning the tricks of marketing, Microsoft has also integrated Windows Phone 8 with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Windows Live.

Mobile Payment

Apple’s iOS 6 has a feature called as Passbook, which allows you to keep your debit cards, credit cards and tickets, etc. in one place.  Jelly Bean includes Google Wallet, which allows mobile payments rewards, offers and deals, etc. Google Wallet is accelerated to NFC. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 has a feature called Wallet helping store your credit/debit cards, rewards and additional features.

Calling Features

The iOS 6 is loaded with many calling features like ‘rejecting the call with a response.’ It also allows you to personalize your settings with response templates. You can use the DO NOT DISTURB feature, where the device won’t disturb you about your calls/messages. Android offers a feature known as quick auto-replies after declining calls. It also allows you to filter out your calls for some specific people. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 has advanced filtering and call block options.

Video Calling

Apple’s FaceTime can be used on cellular networks and Wi-Fi. However, it is limited to ‘i’ devices, while Google’s Android offers Gmail and Gtalk to communicate with Gmail users on other device platforms. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 allows video calling by Skype, which supports other devices and platforms.

Apps

App store is loaded with many apps and their numbers are increasing one after another day. Google has also redesigned the Google Play store. Microsoft is planning to add some more apps.

Conclusion:

Although the Windows Phone 8 has been loaded with some really good features, it still lags far behind the iOS 6 and Jelly Bean in terms of user experience, features and apps. There is no doubt that Microsoft has done well with the Windows Phone 8, but to catch up to Apple and Android, it has to do a little bit more. But the question is will the Windows Phone 8 give the iOS 6 and the Jelly Bean a run for their money? Well, it will depend on how well the Windows Phone 8 devices do in the market. While Apple and Android devices are literally dominating the market, Windows Phone handsets and tabs have not been able to do that well. With the Windows Phone 8, Microsoft has done its bit. Now it is up to the handsets maker to do their part as well.

iOS Doubles Android’s Growth Rate in Q2 2012::

As Apple and Google continue to grapple with each other over domination of the mobile, comScore’s latest research provides some very compelling insight into how the race is going. Interesting, this time around, comScore has found that Android’s growth is slowing down significantly, while iOS continues to gain share at twice Android’s rate.

The research notes that Android currently dominates the mobile market with a 50.9% share of the market, compared to 31.9% for iOS – but while Android only saw gains of 0.9% over the past three months, iOS grew by a significantly larger 1.7%. This follows a previous report suggesting that Android’s  growth rate may be leveling off.

What’s especially interesting about the data is that, while Apple did not release any new iOS devices last quarter, several new Android devices hit the scene, making Apple’s increase in growth much more significant by comparison.

Is Android losing its forward momentum while Apple catches up from behind? It’s difficult to draw such conclusions given only 3 months of data as a basis – but it certainly seems that way! You can check out the full report over at comScore.