Indie app devs start massive game sale

I’ve always been as much of a sucker for not-to-be-missed deals on App Store games as the other guy. And why wouldn’t anyone want great value for their hard-earned cash?

If you’ve been on the lookout for deep discounts on dozens of notable games for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, you don’t wanna miss out on this insane deal.

Organized by a bunch of independent developers who banded together for greater cause, it spans application stores across multiple platforms…
Aptly named Because We May, this one’s in celebration of application marketplaces which allow developers to set their own prices.

Discounted games include items found on Apple’s App Store and Mac App Store, Google’s Play store for Android, Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace, as well as the Steam platform and direct distribution channels.

According to the official website:

We believe that developers should have the freedom to price their games how they like, without interference from the online stores that sell the games. Why? Because it allows us to promote our games more freely, as we are doing here! We rely on the ability to promote our games for our livelihood and control over pricing is an important tool for this purpose.

Siri by the numbers: interesting stats about Apple’s assistant

Ever since Apple unveiled Siri at its iPhone 4S media event last fall, the digital assistant has remained in the spotlight. Whether it’s celebrity-laden TV spots or class-action lawsuits, it seems like it’s always making headlines.

But some would argue that Siri is more of a black eye for Apple than an accomplishment. It’s spent the last 9 months in beta, its location services still aren’t available abroad, and its functionality in general is still super limited.

In fact, is anyone even using the feature anymore? Infographic time!
The folks over at t3n News just published a sizable infographic that is loaded with interesting facts and stats on Apple’s digital assistant. Check it out:

As WWDC approaches, and the unveiling of iOS 6 draws near, you have to wonder if Apple has anything planned for Siri. Will it receive performance enhancements? Third-party API acces? Where will the feature be in two years?

Apple airs two new iPhone 4S ads starring John Malkovich

As noted by a number of other tech sites tonight, Apple has started airing two new iPhone 4S commercials featuring actor John Malkovich. You might recognize Malkovich from such films as Con Air, and Burn After Reading.

The two spots, both of which star the actor, are titled “Joke” and “Life” respectively. And like nearly all of Apple’s iPhone 4S commercials before them, the new ads are all about Siri…
Joke

Life

It seems like celebrity spots are becoming a trend with Apple, who recently released similar commercials starring Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel.

It’s interesting that Apple is continuing to keep Siri at the forefront of its iPhone 4S campaign, despite recent lawsuits from handset owners that believe the ads to be misleading.

What do you think of the new commercials?

Music Widget: an upcoming Dashboard X music interface

One of the wonderful things about the Dashboard X widget interface is its out of the box compatibility with Notification Center add-ons. Cjori — the developer of the popular widget interface — could have easily used that as an excuse to not design widgets exclusively made with Dashboard X in mind, but as a benefit to us, he and others have decided not to do so.

As a result, we have exclusively designed items like Dashtweet, Clock Widget, and now Music Widget — a widget designed specifically for showcasing now playing music on the iOS Home screen.

The only controls you’ll find with Music Widget are previous, play/pause, and skip. Tapping the album artwork will hide or reveal the buttons and track names. Music Widget is no where near the deep experience you’d derive from something like Music Controls Pro, but if it’s simplicity you’re after, it’s hard to go wrong here.

Music Widget is still in beta testing, but as you can see from the video, it can make a solid addition to an iPhone or iPad’s Home screen. Music Widget forgoes complexities for an extremely simple and clean interface that’s befitting of iOS.

We’ll be sure to send out an update once Music Widget is released on Cydia. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts below.

Deal of the Day: 52% off the Case-Mate Tough Case for iPhone

Get a great deal on the Case-Mate Tough Case for iPhone. Today, and today only, you can get it from the iDB store at a 52% discount.

The Tough Case combines high quality protection with a custom color combination for your iPhone…
Dual layers form together to guard against any fumbles. A form-fitting silicone skin surrounds the device completely, while absorbing shocks and impacts. The ABS plastic hard shell wraps around the skin for extra protection, as well as an easy-to-hold grip. The Tough Case features access to all ports and functions.

Features:

■Dual layers of silicone and ABS hard shell plastic combine for secure protection
■Form fit feature covers back and corners
■Impact resistant, flexible plastic shell
■Access to all ports and functions
Your price: $18.04 (52% off)

This deal is available in the iDB store, while supplies last.

Hulu updates iPad video player with Retina support

Hulu has finally updated their iPhone and iPad video player with the much-needed support for the Retina Display of the new iPad.

They also redesigned the user interface and brought out an enhanced video playback engine that takes advantage of the iPad’s bigger canvas.

The app also features improved AirPlay mirroring and HDMI support on the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 and above…
Other enhancements include the obligatory bug fixes and support for browsing and discovering new shows by genres.

The company also announced in a blog post ten new summer shows, including basketball comedy We Got Next and Spoilers and other exclusives featuring KEvin Smith.

Here’s another screenshot.

Your release notes follow right below.

Hulu Plus version 2.1.5

• Support for browsing and discovering new shows by genres
• Re-engineered, optimized video player
• Updated, nicer, more graphical user interface (for iPad)
• Retina support (3rd-generation iPad)
• Improved AirPlay mirroring and HDMI support (iPad 2 and above, iPhone 4S and above); try it out in split view on the iPad!
• Miscellaneous bug fixes and enhancements

And here are two more screenies.

The Hulu Plus app is a free download right from the App Store.

It requires It requires a Hulu Plus subscription that goes for eight bucks a month.

If you’re a Hulu subscriber, let us know down in the comments if the new app streams higher-quality video on the new iPad.

Upcoming jailbreak tweak makes notifications more verbose

iOS 5′s upgraded notification system was a welcomed addition to iOS’ repertoire, but as time goes on it’s evident that it can be improved even more so.

Developers Joshua Tucker and Conrad Kramer have taken matters into their own hands to improve iOS notifications. The result is a tweak that allows you to view the full body of your notifications from the Lock screen or via banner notifications.

Take a look at the preview video for Reveal inside…

With Reveal installed, banner notifications are more verbose by means of a horizontal marquee scroll, which enables you to scroll through the body of the entire message.

Lock screen Notifications received attention as well; now you can scroll vertically to view an entire message, or tap the Lock screen notification to fully expand the table cell.

Reveal has been submitted to Cydia, and will be available within the next 24 hours for $1.99.

What do you think?

iSpaceship is a research campus, won’t replace corporate HQ

Apple’s ring-shaped, spaceship-like campus wont replace the company’s corporate headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California, where approximately 10,000 employees come to work, 9to5Mac has learned.

Instead, the spectacular all-glass structure will serve as research facility office space for an additional 13,000 employees and will provide an additional 300,000 feet of expansion space for future growth.

The publication was able to glean this information from a brochure Apple sent to Cupertino residents as it sought feedback amid concerns that the facility will add to the traffic and change the surrounding area…
As you know, late CEO Steve Jobs originally presented the idea for the upcoming structure a day following WWDC 2011.

Seth Weintraub, who runs the 9to5Mac site and was my former boss, was able to get hold of the brochure from one of Apple’s new neighbors.

Apparently, the new facility is now being referred to as ‘Campus 2′.

Unfortunately, it won’t be open to the public.

Campus 2 will be dedicated to research while the current campus at 1 Infinite Loop will continue to be the company’s corporate headquarters, prompting Weintraub to speculate that “top executives will likely stay behind”.

Site plan also calls for a corporate fitness and recreation center in a separate structure and a solar panel-covered roof.

The brochure also reveals that the “world class” auditorium at Campus 2 will host product launches and corporate events, which is exciting news for those lucky members of the press who get invited to Apple’s media events.