Table of contents for July 2013 in Macworld

Your smartphone is probably one of the most expensive things you carry around each day. Yet many people are downright miserly when they browse the virtual shelves of the App Store. Why? Ironically enough, that tendency to be cheap may prove costly in the long run. It’s no shocker that free apps are vastly more popular than paid apps: Everyone likes getting something for nothing. But it is surprising that folks consider a $3 app expensive, and a $10 app exorbitant. I know people who play the same free iOS game every day—despite its constant, intrusive ads—rather than pony up $5 once and then go ad-free forever. Of the top 20 best-selling iPhone apps (as I write), 15 cost $1; the priciest one costs $7. The average price of the…

The speeds delivered by two popular data-transfer technologies—Intel’s Thunderbolt, and USB—are expected to double this year. Intel has announced that its Thunderbolt data transfer technology will soon shuttle data between computers and peripherals at a rate of 20 gigabits per second. This is the first big speed boost for the interconnect technology since its introduction in 2011. The improvement could set the stage for Macs to support 4K displays, whose resolution of 3840 by 2160 pixels is four times today’s HD resolution. The Thunderbolt speed boost will enable “4K video file transfer and display simultaneously,” Intel said via email in a statement. The speed boost comes through a new controller chip. It will go into production by the end of this year, Intel says. Meanwhile, the USB Implementers Forum has…

It’s hard to say why Funny or Die, a website best known for its short comedic videos, decided to make a full-length Steve Jobs biopic. But iSteve—a free, 79-minute, humorous retelling of the Apple cofounder’s life—is surprisingly amusing. iSteve stars Justin Long in the title role. Jorge Garcia plays Woz; and James Urbaniak takes on the role of Bill Gates. The film tells the story of Jobs and Woz teaming up to build the original Apple computer; of Apple the company; and of the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and (briefly) iPad. Well, it sort of tells that story. The film—knowingly—gets many facts wrong. But the better you know the original story, the more entertaining the parody version can be. As Funny or Die tells it, Jobs and Woz’s early friendship was…

In its latest major upgrade to its iOS apps, released in April, Facebook emphasizes images and messages. For starters, Chat Heads are small bubbles that pop up with your friends’ Facebook profile photos when they send you messages. On Android devices with Facebook Home, Chat Heads are visible on the home screen and in any app. iOS users, however, see Chat Heads only when the Facebook or Facebook Messenger app is open. When I took Facebook 6.0 for a test-drive, I found that the Chat Heads feature is indeed far more convenient for Android users. In the iOS version, Chat Heads are an attractive way to receive a message, popping up on the top bar of the app on the iPhone or iPad. But as soon as you exit the…

Wunderlist 2.0 PRODUCTIVITY I’m terrible at keeping track of things; typically I operate on a day-to-day basis. As such, I took it as a bit of serendipity when I got the opportunity to use 6Wunderkinder’s Wunderlist 2.0. Finally, a tool designed to help me fix my pathological disorganization. Smart lists (which ensure that you’ll never see anything but what is most relevant), in-app notifications, email alerts, and Facebook integration are just some of the features that make Wunderlist 2.0 a breeze to use. Adding lists and items is elementary. Things get more interesting and elaborate once you start fine-tuning tasks. You don’t just assign alerts—you can also generate subtasks, due dates, notes, reminders, and recurring tasks. You can invite other users via email or Facebook to partake in communal to-do…

When you want to share tunes on your portable device with friends, a speaker is the way to go. And a compact model that connects via Bluetooth lets you listen on the go, without the hassle of wires. I looked at four similarly priced models with lightweight, bag-friendly designs. I compared the four to the $180 Jawbone Jambox and the $200 Jabra Solemate, two popular speakers with similar features, footprint, and sound quality. Beats Pill Winning points for design, the Beats Pill measures 7.5 by 1.8 inches and weighs about 11 ounces. The volume buttons are frontside, and the back has a power button, a USB port, an auxiliary-input jack, and a Bluetooth indicator. It comes with a USB cable, an AC adapter, and an auxiliary cable. You can use…

THE STREAMING WARS I feel that I have already won the streaming wars [“How to Win the Streaming Set-Top Box Wars”; go.macworld.com/wars]. A $50 Roku box and Plex software on my existing iMac let me do 99 percent of what I want to do. Programming my Harmony One for the Roku box took five minutes (and that included walking upstairs and back). The real knock on the Apple TV is that it is intended for those people who are heavily invested in the iTunes universe. For me, it introduces more problems than it solves. I have zero interest in syncing to an iOS device and overtaxing its battery to AirPlay my video to the Apple TV. k88dad, via Macworld.com Tried Apple TV, which was a grand waste of time. So…

Apple’s Find My Mac service can show the location of a stolen Mac, but it doesn’t always provide enough evidence to justify a search warrant and get the device back to its owner, Dutch police said recently. The free service for Apple users helps them find the approximate location of a missing device on a map using iCloud. The same service is also available for missing iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices. You can also use Apple’s finding services to play a sound, display a message, remotely lock a device, or erase all the data on it. The devices broadcast their location if they are connected to the Internet via a mobile or Wi-Fi network. If a Mac is connected only by an ethernet cable, Find My Mac will not…

HANDS-ON If iOS’s Siri is a digital “assistant”—taking your instructions, sending messages, and updating your calendar—Android’s Google Now is more of a concierge, reminding you of your next appointment, checking the weather, and anticipating your needs. The recently released Osito, a free “predictive intelligence” iPhone app, offers many of the most prominent features of Google Now. To do that job, Osito uses data on your phone. You have to give it access to location services and to your calendar; be sure to enable push notifications, too. You don’t have to give it access to your Google account, though you may want to if you do scheduling through Google Calendar. (The company promises to keep all of this data private.) Osito looks at your schedule, where your next meeting is, and…

Following T-Mobile’s and Sprint’s endeavors, AT&T is set to enable HD voice calls over its 4G LTE network later this year. HD voice technology has been available in select European markets, though its adoption has been limited because it requires not only a compatible network but also phones that support such capabilities. Also known as wideband audio, HD voice is meant to produce better-quality sound. It packs in more frequency data, helping to reduce background noise and generate clearer audio overall. In January, T-Mobile was the first U.S. carrier to announce availability of HD voice calling. The initial handsets supported are the Samsung Galaxy S III, the HTC One S, and the Nokia Astound. T-Mobile’s version of the iPhone 5 will also support HD voice. The feature is available only…

Hardware iStabilizer Dolly $60; iStabilizer; www.istabilizer.com iStabilizer’s Dolly, which works with an iPhone, iPod touch, or compact camera, features four wheels and an 8-inch articulating arm that lets you move your photo-shooting device smoothly and position it in different ways. The joints are tight, which is great for stability, but as a result the arm isn’t always easy to move. The wheels roll smoothly and quietly, though moving the Dolly fluidly at a constant speed takes practice. The Dolly is a compact, configurable accessory for capturing smooth, stable tracking shots.—JEFF CARLSON Seagate Wireless Plus $200; Seagate; www.seagate.com Using the Wireless Plus 1TB Wi-Fi portable hard drive with an iOS device requires the free Seagate Media app for iPad or iPhone, which provides quick and simple access to the drive’s…

Audyssey Audio Dock Air DESKTOP; AIRPLAY, AUDIO JACK; $400 A black, upright, rectangular slab, the Audio Dock Air needs little shelf space. A volume dial is the only control; the speaker lacks even a power button. Once connected to your Wi-Fi network, the Audio Dock Air streams nicely, with nary a hiccup‚ and the audio quality is very good. Behind the black fabric sides are two 0.75-inch tweeters, two 3-inch woofers, and two 4-inch passive bass radiators‚ giving bass presence even at moderate volumes. Boston Acoustics MC200 Air PORTABLE; AIRPLAY, AUDIO JACK; $400 The MC200 Air takes little space (it’s even wall mountable), but still offers very nice sound. It has a headphone jack, though how often you’d need to use it is hard to say. The MC200 Air is…

Amazon, Hulu, the iTunes Store, and Netflix aren’t the only game in town, just the most popular. Consider these other streaming options if the big services don’t tickle your fancy. Vudu: On Vudu (vudu.com), you’ll find the latest movies and television shows to buy or rent. You can rent movies for $1 to $6, or rent TV series for $2 to $3 an episode. If you’d rather own items, you can buy movies for $5 to $25, or purchase seasons of TV shows for $17 to $44. The Vudu app comes installed on many HDTVs and Blu-ray players, and you can download it for game consoles, Roku set-top boxes, and iOS and Android devices. Redbox Instant: For $8 a month, Redbox (redboxinstant.com) lets you stream videos on your computer…

As successful as the iTunes Store has been, is the model of the past ten years viable for the next ten? In my view, no. Two factors have altered the landscape: the changing attitudes of today’s media consumers, and Apple’s competition. In the old days, you’d lay down $14 or so for a CD and feel it was worth it. Then the advent of illegal file-sharing services such as Napster and legit free streaming services like Pandora chipped away at that notion of value. As attitudes about music’s worth change, the idea that the iTunes Store will remain rooted only in media sales and rentals seems quaint. So where does the company go from here? Music subscriptions: Free music-streaming services are popular but face a hurdle in getting users to…

Bowers & Wilkins Z2 $400; Bowers & Wilkins; www.bowers-wilkins.com Bowers & Wilkins’s $400 Z2 speaker lets you wirelessly stream audio via AirPlay from the latest iPhone, iPod touch, and iPod nano models. Measuring 7.1 by 12.6 by 3.9 inches, and weighing 5.7 pounds, the speaker has a distinctive look. In front of its Lightning dock sit two touch-sensitive volume buttons. On the back are an ethernet port, a reset button, and an auxiliary-input jack (for a wired audio source). My iPhone 5 connected to the Z2’s Lightning dock easily and securely. Getting the Z2 onto my network took a bit of work but wasn’t too painful. The included remote sports the usual playback buttons, along with an input-selection button you’ll need to switch between AirPlay, the Lightning dock, and the…

Pinpoint Crashing QuickTime Components Do you use third-party Mac applications to access video or photo files? If you do and you obtained the apps from the Mac App Store, you might experience crashes, especially when launching them. If so, here’s what’s likely going on. Numerous video-related software packages, such as Flip4Mac Windows Media player and CamTwist Studio, are composed almost entirely of QuickTime components—or they install QuickTime components as part of a larger application. If you have any QuickTime components installed on your computer, you’ll generally find them in the/Library/QuickTime or username/Library/QuickTime folder. These components may also work with other video-and photo-related third-party software besides QuickTime. And this is where the app-crashing problems usually crop up. Apps sold via the Mac App Store must meet Apple’s sandboxing restrictions. Some QuickTime…

App developer Silvio Rizzi has announced that despite Google’s shuttering of its Reader RSS service on July 1, he will continue development of his Reeder app for Mac and iOS. Reeder, a popular RSS reader for Apple devices, currently relies on Google Reader as a back end for serving up feeds and syncing them between devices. With Google Reader being put out to pasture, developers and users are on the hunt for a new solution. In a posting on Reeder’s site, Rizzi said that the iPhone version of the app already supports other services besides Google Reader, and that he is adding more, such as Feedbin. Those enhancements will appear as part of the forthcoming version 3.1. Eventually, Rizzi plans to give users the choice of a number of different…

Mail Pilot The $15 Mail Pilot (go.macworld.com/mailpilot) may not help you get to Inbox Zero, but it should help you be more productive: It organizes your email as a to-do list, in which you can mark items as complete or assign them a due date. And if they fit that little-used third category known as “other,” you can mark them to be set aside so that you can deal with those items later.—JOEL MATHIS Mini Display Why spend a ton of money to add a second full-size monitor to your Mac setup? Just $13 will get you Mini Display (go.macworld.com/minidisplay), which converts your iPad or iPhone into a second monitor and expands your “desktop” workspace.—JOEL MATHIS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run Some ideas are so simple…

If you decide to use Hulu, Netflix, or another streaming service, you won’t find every current television show. In many cases, however, you can turn to television-network apps to enjoy the latest shows. If you have an Apple TV, note that some of the following apps include AirPlay support, so you can extend the viewing to your big screen. For apps that don’t include native AirPlay support, you can usually use AirPlay Mirroring to display your screen’s content through an Apple TV. All of these apps are free to download, though many include commercials. Other networks offer apps, too, so check the App Store for your favorite station. ABC Player (go.macworld.com/abcplayer): ABC’s app streams the five most recent episodes of its current shows. Cartoon Network (go.macworld.com/cartoonnetwork): Through this app you…

Hardware Apricorn Aegis Bio 3.0 $199 (500GB), $219 (700GB), $249 (1TB); Apricorn; apricorn.com The pocket-size Apricorn Aegis Bio 3.0 external hard drive combines solid performance with biometric security features (including a built-in fingerprint scanner) that safeguard access to your data. The drive can store up to five different fingerprints, for multiuser access. You can add fingerprints at any time; but to do so, you first must scan a fingerprint that someone has already registered on it. After enrolling the fingerprints, you can easily unlock and access the Aegis Bio 3.0 with one slow swipe of your finger—usually. To lock the drive, you simply press and hold down a button located directly under the scanner. The encrypted drive protects its data even when detached from its biometric component. The Aegis Bio…

Q& Looking for the way to join tracks when you rip CDs with iTunes 11? Need to know how to get tracks into playlists quickly? What about iTunes Store device limits and gifting apps? All this and more in this month’s column. Q: I am unable to join CD tracks as I did in previous versions of iTunes. The menu command to join tracks is no longer in the Advanced menu. How can I do it? A: The command has been moved from the Advanced menu to the Options button, near the top right of the iTunes window, which you see when you insert and click on a CD. If you click the Options button, you’ll see the Join CD Tracks command Note that the command shows up only if…

Quickly Access Domains for Different Countries in iOS You may know that, when you’re typing in iOS, you can press and hold down the period (.) key or the .com key (depending on the app and the kind of field you’re typing in) to access a pop-up menu with a handful of top-level domains, such as .com, .org, .edu, and so on. If your iOS device is set up to work in a country other than the United States, you’ll have these options plus others, such as .co.uk if you’re in the United Kingdom, or .de if you’re in Germany. You can also gain quick access to other countries’ top-level domains by simply adding international keyboards to your iOS device. To do this, go to Settings →General →International →Keyboards, and…

Remember when Mac users were the fringe, the holdouts, the misfits, the ADB plugs put in the USB holes? Well, everyone’s found our party. That’s awesome—but I’m still not totally comfortable with it. Why? Let me explain with an analogy. I know a shocking number of songs only by way of the “Weird Al” Yankovic parody versions. I have no idea what the real lyrics are to James Brown’s “Living in America,” but I can name all the medical conditions in “Living With a Hernia.” The popular kids had the popular songs, but I had the same songs with arguably funnier lyrics. So in my 12-year-old mind, I won. Before I switched to the Mac, I had an Amiga—a computer so far ahead of its time that it could handle…