wwdc

The 404 1286: Where we're tired of zombies (podcast)

On today's show we're welcoming Dan Chiappini from GameSpot Australia along with 404 veteran Scott Stein. We'll briefly recap Scott's time down at WWDC but then get right into some more E3 talk where we make Scott feel jealous about missing what was probably the biggest E3 in something like seven years. Dan think he knows why Nintendo refuses to open its "vault" of games and we all wonder how the company can rebound from a bleak E3 showing.

We're also chatting about the mundane abundance of shooters at E3, the lack of innovation, and which games actually piqued our interest.

And be sure to enter CNET's awesome "From Old School to Tech Cool" contest that's currently underway on our Facebook page!

- Follow our new buddy Dan Chiappini on Twitter.

- Make sure to do the same for 404 veteran Scott Stein.

- Catch up on Scott's and the rest of CNET's WWDC coverage.

- Give CNET's E3 2013 page one last skim.… Read more

iOS 7 said to let users zoom while recording video

As users wait for Apple's new iOS 7 to come out of beta, developers are learning all of the ins-and-outs that the upcoming operating system will have to offer. The use of camera zoom controls while recording video is the latest feature said to be discovered.

According to iDownloadBlog, users will reportedly be able to zoom in and out by using the pinch gesture while shooting video. Most likely, there will also be a zoom slider at the bottom of the screen -- like when using the camera in iOS 6. Apparently, users will also supposedly be able to … Read more

iOS 7: What about the iPad?

There was a missing device at Apple's 2013 WWDC keynote, and it's one of the company's most popular product lines. iPad, where were you?

iOS 7, a product of Jony Ive, Apple's design mastermind, took the stage at WWDC -- but the iPhone 5 was the featured runway model. Apple's Web site shows app after app on the iPhone 5's 4-inch screen. iOS 7 beta is available, but just for iPhone and iPod Touch. the iPad was mentioned for all of a few seconds. Macs and iPhones ruled the day.

The iPad beta is … Read more

Are you an Android user envying iOS 7? There's a skin for that

Android users who want to see if the grass really is greener on the Apple side of the fence now can try out the new color scheme debuting in iOS 7.

A theme called jbOS7 marries the Jelly Bean version of Android with the iOS 7 style. Its creator, shmogt, used some custom icons and TeslaCoil Software's Nova Launcher home screen replacement app.

"It is more than just a background image with some icons," shmogt said by e-mail. "The theme also has a lock screen as well as two additional screens that act as apps. For … Read more

Game change: iOS 7 welcoming game controllers is a big deal

With one small feature, iOS 7 might introduce the biggest change in iOS gaming since the App Store.

There's something I've wished for on both the iPhone and iPad for years: a true, universal, dedicated game controller. iOS 7 has granted my wish: indeed, one of the small but very significant additions to the next mobile OS announced at WWDC allows for third-party controllers. It's funny this happened to be announced during E3, because it just might be the trigger to change the mobile gaming industry.

Why it's big Third-party accessory-makers have tried making game controllers … Read more

Rumor Has It: What're you going to do now, Microsoft?

This week has been just crazy.

Among all the fun and games: At WWDC, Apple announced a completely revamped iOS 7, iTunes Radio, new MacBook Airs, a new Mac Pro, and a new OS X. At E3, Microsoft announced a price and release date for the Xbox One. And Sony announced the price, release date, and used-games policy for the PlayStation 4. Everyone cheered, and then passed out from exhaustion.

But because of all the hoopla, I think that Microsoft is going to ease up on its restrictions. What do you think?

Also, Samsung could beef up its Galaxy Note lineup, and an analyst predicts you'll be wearing an iWatch by the end of the year. … Read more

iFixit tears down the new AirPort Extreme

iFixIt took a look at the guts of the new MacBook Air, as well as the new AirPort Extreme base station, which Apple unveiled at WWDC 2013. The new AirPort Extreme offers more advancements in speed, connectivity, and capacity than its predecessors and has a new design, to boot.

Instead of being squat and flat, the new design is an elongated cube that looks like a brick standing upright. Apple claims this was required to implement a major advancement with directional antennas that should extend both the range and speed of connections to wireless devices.

This new design has spurred … Read more

Hidden iOS 7 feature puts panoramas in lock screen

An otherwise undocumented iOS 7 feature has been discovered that lets users view the entirety of large, panoramic photos on their iPhone's lock screen.

The feature uses the device's built-in gyroscope to track movement, and pans across the photo. In its demos of the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple had only shown off that the background of the lock screen and home screen would move slightly as users tilted the phone.

A Vine of the eye candy, spotted by Business Insider on Wednesday, shows the feature in motion. Try not to throw up watching … Read more

Tim Cook maintains Steve Jobs' Beatles business model

Tim Cook likes to talk about Apple's values and the virtues of teamwork. At the Worldwide Developers Conference this week, he told the 5,000 developers in attendance to build products for Apple's platforms that trigger emotional responses, such as "delight," "surprise," "love," and "connection" for users.

One of the videos shown at WWDC, and released as a TV ad, introduces the world to Apple's value system: "We spend a lot of time on a few great things...until every idea we touch...enhances each life it touches.&… Read more

iOS 7 looks great, but can it lure this Android user?

iOS 7 is still not quite the Droid I've been looking for in an iPhone.

I've been an Android devotee for about three years now, but ever since the introduction of the iPhone 4S and Siri -- something totally new running on a nice piece of hardware -- I've been considering making the switch to iOS. As intriguing and enticing as the 4S was, I balked due to the lack of LTE. The iPhone 5 fixed that, but by then iOS seemed stale to me, and the lack of any major new innovations kept me tapping away on my aging Droid Razr and led me to declare that the iPhone and the ascendant Apple of this century's first decade had peaked. (Actually, the phrase I used was "jumped the shark" -- I suggest reading the original post for an explanation.)

So I watched with great interest on Monday as Apple unveiled a reboot to its mobile operating system in the form of iOS 7, which is being hailed as beautiful and ambitious. CNET editors have dubbed it a "radical new look" and part of Apple's "quest for perfection and the devotion to creating objects of profound and enduring beauty," as our Dan Farber put it.

From what I've seen of the OS, you'll hear no disagreement from me, but I'm still left comparing Apples and Androids.… Read more