Satellite Safari gives you a unique vantage point for what is in orbit

Satellite Safari gives you a unique vantage point for what is in orbit -

Satellite Safari is a new iOS app from the creators of Sky Safari. Rather than look at the universe, Satellite Safari has more local ambitions.

The app contains a complete database of what is orbiting the earth. It allows you to find what is overhead, then view the spacecraft from earth, from above the earth, or right next to the orbiting satellite with the sun's lighting at the correct orientation. You can easily find what is above you at any time, and try to locate it with binoculars or with the naked eye if the satellite is bright enough. The satellite positions are updated every second, and the position calculations are updated every day.

This app packs a lot of power into an iOS device. It's just the thing to have when you are sitting out on our increasingly pleasant spring evenings seeing if you can spot some of the man-made traffic zipping by over our heads. My tests of the app were positive. No crashes, no surprises. Sometimes the animation could be a little jumpy. Lots going on in the background, but I never found it a problem. The app did everything I asked it to do, and worked quickly.

Even better, Satellite Safari is the official app of the Sky Cube Mission, which is expected to launch and deploy from the International Space Station in September. When it does, you'll actually be able to request your own images from/of Earth, and even 'broadcast' your own messages from orbit as 'tweets from space.'

Gallery: Satellite Safari

Like Sky Safari, Satellite Safari not only does good math, but displays its graphics in a compelling way. When you have the orbital view, you can zoom in to see details of the satellite, or rotate the image to see it from any angle. As you rotate, the light and shadows update in a realistic fashion.

Satellite Safari is a universal app on sale until April for US$2.99. It's optimized for the iPhone 5 and requires iOS 4.3 or later. A very cool app, which will only become more useful this fall when the SkyCube features ramp up.

Satellite Safari gives you a unique vantage point for what is in orbit originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 24 Mar 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Google Street View explores Japan's Fukushima nuclear zone

Google Street View explores Japan's Fukushima nuclear zone - The Web giant brings its mapping team inside the nuclear no-go territory to a desolate ghost town. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Amazon Introduces Free Send to Kindle Button for Web Publishers

Amazon Introduces Free Send to Kindle Button for Web Publishers -

It's taken them long enough, but e-tailer Amazon is finally launching an offensive against "read later" services such as Instapaper and Pocket, allowing readers to add articles to their Kindle with a click from most anywhere.

Amazon's Kindle Daily Post has announced that it's making it easy for web publishers to add a "Send to Kindle" button to their websites, with The Washington Post, TIME and popular blog Boing Boing among the first to implement the service.

"Have you ever encountered news, blogs, articles and other content on the web that you want to read but don't have time to do so immediately?" the blog post queries. "The Send to Kindle Button lets you easily send that content to your Kindle to read later, at your convenience. Just send once and read everywhere on any of your Kindle devices or free Kindle reading apps for iPhone, iPad and Android phones or tablets."

That should sound quite familiar to users of services like Instapaper and Pocket, who have been serving up content in the exact same way almost since the iPhone debuted. To Amazon's credit, however, Send to Kindle has existed on the Mac, PC, Chrome and Firefox for quite some time as well.

Have a website and want to offer a Send to Kindle button on it? Amazon is offering it free for web publishers, with a separate plugin also available for WordPress blogs.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

 

(Via Mac|Life all.)

Copyright Chief Urges Congress to Produce 'Next Great Copyright Act'

Copyright Chief Urges Congress to Produce 'Next Great Copyright Act' - Nobody doubts the United States is in need of reforming copyright law. Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante tells a House congressional subcommittee that everything from anticircumvention provisions and fair use to length of copyright and performance royalties should be on the table.

(Via Wired Top Stories.)

Apple releases Apple TV software update 5.2.1

Apple releases Apple TV software update 5.2.1 -

Apple has released the Apple TV 5.2.1 software update. Hulu users will notice that the Hulu interface has been completely redesigned, including category enhancements and other UI tweaks.

The update also addresses a number of security issues on the Apple TV, including one in which a local user may be able to execute unsigned code. In a security document, Apple describes the issue: "A state management issue existed in the handling of Mach-O executable files with overlapping segments. This issue was addressed by refusing to load an executable with overlapping segments."

Other security fixes include changes to the kernel, including the ability for a local user to determine the address of structure in the kernel: "An information disclosure issue existed in the ARM prefetch abort handler. This issue was addressed by panicking if the prefetch abort handler is not being called from an abort context."

A third issue that allowed a user to execute arbitrary code in the kernel was also fixed: "The IOUSBDeviceFamily driver used pipe object pointers that came from userspace. This issue was addressed by performing additional validation of pipe object pointers."

Users can manually check for software updates on their Apple TV by selecting "Settings -> General -> Update Software."

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Evernote Food update integrates OpenTable, Foursquare

Evernote Food update integrates OpenTable, Foursquare -

It was just a few short months ago that Evernote Food was updated to version 2.0, providing a way to save and search recipes, look for nearby restaurants, and share details about food experiences. Today Evernote updated Evernote Food to version 2.1, with even more goodness including integration with several popular restaurant and social apps.

To begin with, you can delete the OpenTable app from your iOS device if you use Evernote Food, since the popular reservation system for restaurants is now incorporated in the app. Discovering nearby restaurants is a piece of cake with Evernote Food, and with a tap you can make reservations.

In addition, venue ratings from Foursquare are now available so you don't have to wonder about that dumpy-looking seafood restaurant. With a glance, you can see what other food fanatics thought about the restaurant and make your decision from there.

Evernote Food also gained numerous performance enhancements, and Japanese and Chinese users can now browse for recipes provided by partners in those countries. Evernote also reminds you that if you haven't yet updated your password, please do so now.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Shocker: Samsung Wants Piece of Smart Wristwatch Market, Too

Shocker: Samsung Wants Piece of Smart Wristwatch Market, Too -

Sure, Samsung has been in the wristwatch business for years, but they haven't exactly had any better luck making them smarter than anyone else. Feeling a little pressure from those Apple rumors, are we?

Bloomberg is reporting that Samsung has confirmed its intentions to jump into the smart wristwatch market -- a move that's not much of a surprise, considering their rivalry with Apple in the smartphone business.

Of course, Apple has no wristwatch to speak of -- smart or otherwise -- but rumors that Cupertino will be leaping into the market this year certainly appear to be enough to get the copying machines fired up at Samsung.

“We’ve been preparing the watch product for so long,” Samsung Executive Vice President of Mobile Lee Young Hee told Bloomberg. “We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them.”

The Samsung executive even acknowledges that they're engaged in a race to see whose "smart watch" can revolutionize the market first. “The issue here is who will first commercialize it so consumers can use it meaningfully,” Lee added.

At stake is an industry that will rake in more than $60 billion in sales worldwide this year alone -- and one that Apple has not even publicly acknowledged outside of patent applications that only vaguely point to its interest in such product in the first place.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

 

(Via Mac|Life all.)

NightSky Review

NightSky Review -

NightSky is the kind of game that drops you into its world without a whole lot of explanation. Start a new file and you'll see a luminescent sphere, your charge that must be navigated over various physics-based environmental challenges. But you don't need much else to go on, really. In the opaque opening, you wonder over the origins of this mysterious object. Is it alive? Is it a crystal? The answer is unknown. You'll soon find out how effective a premise it is for the game’s atmospheric, ethereal tone.

Aside from the levels’ wonderful silhouetted art direction – a great mix of prominent shadow geometry and striking color – NightSky features some impressively nuanced touch controls. Swiping the sphere gets it moving, building speed (or sometimes fighting against friction, depending on the level) as it travels.

(Via Mac|Life all.)

Lunatik unleashes four tough iPhone 5 cases

Lunatik unleashes four tough iPhone 5 cases -

Lunatik burst onto the Apple accessory market in 2010 in one of the early successful uses of Kickstarter, coming out with a pair of iPod nano watch cases called the TikTok and LunaTik. Now the company is introducing a line of iPhone 5 cases that feature rugged designs to protect your investment.

Lunatik designs are the brainchildren of Chicago-based designer Scott Wilson and his design firm Minimal. The company has more than just a handful of Kickstarter projects behind it; Minimal has been involved with design work for Microsoft, Nike and other big-name corporations.

Lunatik provided TUAW with four of their latest iPhone 5 case designs. We'll take a close look at all four, then give you a chance to win one of the cases to keep your iPhone 5 safe and stylish.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Canon video sensor prototype can see in the dark

Canon video sensor prototype can see in the dark - It's only a research project now, but Canon can see for its super-sensitive sensor in nighttime jobs like astronomy and security. It can record by the light of a crescent moon. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Best music and audio apps for iOS

Best music and audio apps for iOS - Whether you're itching to hear a specific song or you want to sit back and let the app do the programming, we've got the music and audio apps for you. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Best music and audio apps for Android

Best music and audio apps for Android - Whether you're itching to hear a specific song or you want to sit back and let the app do the programming, we've got the music and audio apps for you. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)

Seagate phasing out 7200rpm mobile hard drives

Seagate phasing out 7200rpm mobile hard drives - Company is going hybrid for laptop hard drives. Gone are the days of the pure magnetic hard disk drive with high rpm. [Read more]

(Via CNET News.com.)