How Bad Are Apple Maps (and does it matter)?

By now, I’m rather certain you’ve heard that Apple’s replacement maps aren’t living up to some customer’s expectations. While there has been all sorts of rumor and speculation as to why the change was made, as a consumer, it’s mostly noise (from the apologists). The bottom line for many iPhone owners is that Google Maps have been replaced by Apple Maps. And while, at first blush, they sounded superior with flyover 3D renderings and turn-by-turn nav (finally! on some models…), in many geographic areas the data leaves much to be desired. For example, as you can see above, Apple believes I live in a beige patch of nothingness whereas Google has a relatively decent picture of my neighborhood. Yet, I’m not often lost in our community and had good luck doing some minor Apple Maps navigation in the big city. So I’m wondering, on a practical level, how bad are these new Apple maps… and has it impacted you?

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Scanner Pro for iPhone & iPad (On Sale)

A few months back I was pretty stoked to learn Epson provides a free iPhone app for my multi-function device. Yet, while print functionality has come in handy, scanning isn’t all that efficient. Enter Readdle who reached out around WDCC and introduced me to their line of productivity apps, providing a copy of Scanner Pro to check … Read more

Half Off Slingbox Mobile Apps

For the first time in recent memory, Sling Media is running a sale on their mobile apps – that enable you to watch your home video service while on the road (or, perhaps, in other areas of your house) via smartphone or tablet. The SlingPlayer apps are a hefty 50% off through July 22, and … Read more

Download iOS 6 Now

iOS 6, the next iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system, was announced at their Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Early notable new iPhone and iPad features include Passbook, native Facebook integration, turn-by-turn navigation, store enhancements, and the Blackberry-esque Do Not Disturb. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like new forms of glanceable info, via widgets or new badges, have made it in. Further, folders appear to retain the same limitations of iOS 5. But it is early. In fact, only developers have access to iOS 6 until its Fall release. Or do they?

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Add Media Center To Windows 8

windows8-mce

The untimely death of Windows Media Center has become something of a self fulfilling prophecy for Microsoft as they skate to where the puck was rather than it could go… under their care. No, Media Center hasn’t actually been EOL-ed. But it’s been banished to a higher tier Windows 8 package or “Pro Pack” upgrade. Hoping for significant updates? Good luck with that:

What version of Windows Media Center will be included in Windows 8?
The version of Media Center included in Windows 8 is what we shipped in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. It is much consistent with what shipped in Windows 7.

Adding insult to injury, Microsoft will no longer fund MPEG2 codec licensing under Windows 8… meaning no DVD playback for you (without third party software). It’s a real shame as Media Center has been and remains a stellar product. But, as Microsoft did with Windows Mobile, they’ll let it atrophy and whither away as they’re lapped by their competitors. Or will they? As MS is wisely doubling down on the Xbox brand and ecosystem. Unfortunately, Microsoft missed their opportunity to merge the Media Center, MediaRoom, and Xbox divisions into a unified living room juggernaut as we begged years ago.

Assuming you’re less doom and gloom than I am regarding Media Center’s future prospects, you can always download the free Windows 8 Release Preview and follow these steps to take a remarkably familiar Media Center for a whirl:

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TiVo's iOS Companion App Updated

TiVo’s fine iOS “companion” app sees a rather significant update today. And, while it doesn’t yet feature iPad “retina” graphics (coming soon), the oft forgotten TiVo HD and Series 3 owners should be quite pleased with their newfound ability to manage Season Passes. Speaking of Season Passes, we’re now free to continue using the app … Read more

Deal of the Day: Adobe Educational Software, 80% Off

Via a Lifehacker link that crossed my Twitter feed, I discovered Adobe’s blowing out a variety of creative software at 80% off their already drastically reduced educational pricing. Of course, that’s one heck of a caveat – only students and faculty need apply. While I no longer fall into either category, I happen to live … Read more

Waze for Android Goes 3.0 – New UI & Social Features

Navigation app Waze announced a new software release for Android today with updates to the overall UI, and new social network integrations. If you’re a Waze follower, you know the platform is based largely on user-generated data, and that the result is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of both features and performance. However, Waze has a lot going for it, and the company is clearly showing a commitment to Android now in addition to iOS.

First the good stuff in the 3.0 release. Waze has added a new menu icon for easy access to navigation functions, user reports, settings and more. The UI is clean and mostly user-friendly, letting you wander maps by touch and scan traffic conditions with the help of little symbols indicating driver speeds, hazards, police patrols and more. In its previous iteration, Waze apparently included a number of pop-ups and unnecessary clutter. That’s not the case now. Waze has also integrated with Foursquare in the latest update, so if you’re the check-in type, you can link directly to your Foursquare account in addition to Facebook and Twitter. The company says it’s integrated with Yelp as well, but for the life of me I couldn’t find Yelp options listed under any menu or sub-menu. Perhaps Yelp data will start showing up as users submit relevant links?

On the not so good front, the routing on Waze makes me distinctly nervous.

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