Amazon debuts Kindle Windows 8 app

With all the hubbub surrounding today's Microsoft event, who can blame Amazon for wanting to get in on the action? The mega-retailer used the opportunity to announce the Windows 8 version of its popular reading app. Interested parties can download the thing for free from the Windows Store, giving them access to the company's selection of 1.5 million titles. The app is available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and offers up good old Amazon features like Whispersync. Amazon also used the opportunity to announce that Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung will be pre-loading the app on their devices. More information can be found in the source link below.

[Source: Engadget]

Skype 6.0 lands with Microsoft and Facebook account integration, Retina support

You're probably saying to yourself, "didn't Skype just get a Windows 8-friendly refresh?" Why yes, yes it did. But Skype 6.0 here isn't limited to Windows RT slates, instead it's designed for more traditional Windows systems and even has a similarly numbered OS X counter part. There's a number of notable changes here, including the ability to sign in directly with your Facebook or Microsoft account. (If you've got a Live Messenger, Hotmail or Outlook.com account, then you've got a Microsoft account.) The most visible changes, however, will be the "flattened" Don't-call-it-Metro-friendly UI on Windows and the addition of Retina display support on OS X. There's a few other minor changes, including some additional localizations, which you can read about at the source. And heck, since you're already there, might as well download Skype too.

[Source: Engadget]

iTunes leaks mention of iBooks 3.0 ahead of next week’s Apple media event

Apple’s iTunes Store has leaked a mention of iBooks 3.0 ahead of Apple’s October 23rd media event. This media event will discuss a smaller iPad, which will likely be education oriented. French site iGen first discovered the listing, and The Next Web snapped the above screenshot in the French iTunes Store. The current version of iBooks is iBooks 2.0, which was announced earlier this year with digital textbook support.

[Source: 9to5Mac]

Put Google Maps back on your iPhone with Maps+

If you're one of the many who are underwhelmed with Apple's Maps and wish you could get Google Maps back on your iPhone, I highly recommend downloading Maps+. Besides using the Google Maps API, Maps+ offers several features now missing in Apple's new Maps app. The app also adds plenty of features that were never in Google Maps on the iPhone, like bicycling directions, location-based alarms, current location coordinates and altitude and more.

There are pros and cons to consider with Maps+. For one, point-of-interest search results in Maps+ aren't as good as the old Google Maps app, but often better than Apple's Maps. Also, Maps+ lacks public transport directions and Street View. Then again, the app is free, and if you're missing Google Maps on your iPhone, this is the best way to get them back.

[Source: TUAW - Click here to read the full story]

TweetBot for Mac reaches the Mac App Store, keeps the 3rd-party Twitter client flame alive

When Twitter put out its strict new API guidelines, there was some doubt as to whether or not third-party clients like Tapbots' Tweetbot for Mac would even make the cut -- the user caps and other curbs on unofficial apps potentially made it tough to develop competition around a different (and possibly better) experience. That makes today's official appearance of Tweetbot in the Mac App Store as much symbolic as it is practical. While there won't be many significant shocks for those who've been participating in Tweetbot's alpha and beta stages, the finished version gives everyone running OS X Mountain Lion a major and sometimes more advanced alternative to official choices, such as TweetDeck, as well as existing third-party options like Twitterrific. A $20 price doesn't make Tweetbot the cheapest way to buck convention by any means, but it might be worth the investment if you're already committed to Tapbots' iOS apps or want to make a statement on the value of third parties in an ecosystem.

[Source: Engadget]

Adobe Reader for iOS and Android updated with cloud storage support

On Monday, Adobe dropped details for an update to its iOS and Android versions of Reader. The most noteworthy enhancement here is the introduction of cloud file storage with Acrobat.com, which allows users to view and edit documents seamlessly across mobile and desktop devices, à la Google Docs Google Drive. Reader Mobile has also gained FormsCentral data support, improved selecting and highlighting of Asian text, and mobile document rights management with secure watermark support. If Android is your mobile platform of choice and you'd like to give these new features a spin, head on over to Google Playto claim your prize. iPhone owners, on the other hand, have a bit of a wait ahead of them. The update is still awaiting Apple's approval before hitting the App Store.

[Source: Engadget]

Microsoft Office 2013 releases to manufacturing, reaches most of us early next year

Break out the party streamers and balloons -- if only in an orderly fashion, because this is the day Office 2013 has been released to manufacturing. The completion swings Microsoft's attention towards a rollout staggered over the next few months. Wider availability will have to wait until the first quarter of 2013 -- such synchronicity with your branding, Microsoft -- but companies who've sprung for volume licensing will get access as early as mid-November to December 1st, depending on whether or not they're embracing a Software Assurance plan. In the meantime, Microsoft is offering an easy path for anxious workers by promising a free copy of Office 2013 to everyone who buys Office 2010 from October 19th onwards. The upgraded software might not be cheap for those who aren't already buying a Windows RT tablet, but it's likely to be an important piece of the puzzle for anyone hunting down a touchscreen Windows 8 PC.

[Source: Engadget]

Ubuntu One reaches Mac in beta, completes the cloud storage circle

For all of the many directions Ubuntu One's cloud storage has gone, it hasn't headed the Mac's way. Official clients have been the province of Linux devotees (naturally, Ubuntu is recommended) and their Windows friends across the aisle. A newly available Mac beta puts all three major desktop platforms on an even keel, very literally -- the OS X port is almost identical to what you'd get in Linux or Windows, including a few rough points where other interface concepts clash. Still, the Ubuntu One test build has a handy Mac-specific menu bar item, and it's one of the few cloud options that will natively support both the Ubuntu box in your den and the MacBook Pro in your bag. Grab your copy at the source link if you can deal with a few unfinished elements.

[Source: Engadget]

OS X 10.8.2 Supplemental Update 1.0 live in App Store

Do you have issues with certain Japanese characters not appearing in Mail? Are you frustrated by Safari's inability to access secure sites when parental controls are turned on? Or is your system having trouble starting up with more than 64 GB of RAM? If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, you may be interested in the OS X 10.8.2 Supplemental Update 1.0, currently downloadable from the App Store.

This 27 MB Mountain Lion 10.8.2 patch fixes the three specific issues listed, and does require a restart. Macworld notes that there's also a 10.7.5 Supplemental Update in the wild, which addresses a Time Machine issue and a problem with Developer ID-signed apps failing to launch.

[Source: TUAW]

Foursquare rolls out iPhone 5 / iOS 6 update, Explore gains more personalization options

Foursquare is on an update tear. Aside from the "Always On" feature it introduced recently, the company just rolled out a new iPhone update that lets users create more personalized maps. Compatible with iOS 6, the update improves upon the existing Explore map with a more tailored search experience -- you can map out places you haven't been, top destinations, favorite spots, or where your friends have checked in. The app also promises to be faster and to have an improved design that takes advantage of the iPhone 5's larger screen. The new update certainly goes along with the company's philosophy that Foursquare is a discovery and recommendations engine rather than just another social service. Let's just hope the new Apple Maps doesn't hamper that experience.

[Source: Engadget]

Sky+ launches 7-day Catch Up TV, 2TB HD DVRs and adds zeebox extras to its iPad app

Sky+ in the UK has bundled several updates to deliver all at once, including expected ones like zeebox integration into its iPad app and an expanded Catch Up TV lineup, plus a new 2TB Sky+ HD DVR. Viewers will notice the new 7-day Catch Up TV section in their video on-demand section stocked with shows from Sky, ITV Player and Demand 5, with BBC iPlayer arriving this fall and 4oD next year. The Sky+ iPad app has been updated to v4.1 with a notification for possible recording conflicts plus expanded content info and social tie-ins powered by zeebox. Now, you can not only change channels from the tablet, but also find out more about what's playing. Finally, the new expanded size DVR outpaces the stock configuration available from competitor Virgin Media, and we're told it is priced the same as the previous 1TB offering. Check after the break for a press release with all the details, the gallery for screenshots and a look at the DVR or hit iTunes to grab the updated app right now.

[Source: Engadget]

OS X Lion hits 10.7.5 with most recent update, brings improved security with Gatekeeper

While the latest software for OS X Lion isn't nearly as exciting as a couple of other updates that Apple released today, Lion users will find a few worthwhile improvements within the new OS X 10.7.5 update. Most importantly, the latest software introduces Gatekeeper, a security feature from Mountain Lion that makes it more difficult to inadvertently install malicious software. The update also brings improved WiFi reliability for the iMac (late 2009 and newer) and squashes a bug that'd caused Launchpad icons to become rearranged. You'll find an even greater number of fixes / improvements after the break, and it's also worth a mention that even Snow Leopard users have received a bit of love today in the form of a security update. Want to prove you're a good cat owner? Go ahead and check for new updates right away.

OS X 10.7.5 improvements / fixes

• Resolve an issue in which icons in Launchpad could get rearranged after a restart
• Improve Wi-Fi reliability for iMac (Late 2009 and newer)
• Resolve an issue using Spotlight to search an SMB server
• Improve compatibility connecting to Active Directory servers
• Address an issue playing audio when a MacBook Air (Mid 2012) is connected to a Thunderbolt display
• Improve Active Directory clients updating computer password and DNS records
• Correctly update the keychain when changing an 802.1X password
• Address an issue that could cause text input fields to appear black in some applications
• Preserve iCal events when migrating to Microsoft Exchange Server 2010
• Enforce managed preference based on a user's primary group
• Address an issue accessing secure websites when using a web proxy
• Improve compatibility with RSA token used to authenticate with 802.1X networks
• Improve compatibility with Centrify DirectControl authentication
• Enable automatically logging into an NIS account
• Support @icloud.com email addresses
• Resolve a video issue with some VGA projectors when connected to certain Mac notebooks

[Source: Engadget]