Creative Punk

With iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2, Apple has updated its Podcasts app with support for iCloud subscription syncing. Just a few minutes later, updates to Apple’s other apps went live in iTunes, including iLife and iWork apps and utils like Find My Friends, Remote, AirPort Utility and more. With so many third-party apps being updated for iOS 6 support as we speak, you may want to prioritize your downloads. Here’s what’s new in Apple’s own updated apps for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad… iBooks  version 2.1.1 is a maintenance update weighing in at 42.4MB and addressing an issue which prompted you to sign in with your Apple ID at unexpected times. Apple urges people who experienced this issue to open iBooks after updating. Find My Friends  version 2.0  now features location-based alerts, a feature requiring iOS 6 and allowing, say, parents to receive alerts when their kids leave school or when a family member arrives home safely. You can also take ...

If you’ve been using iOS 6 beta, they you’re probably pretty familiar with the default Passbook screen that prompts you to open the App Store. Prior to iOS 6′s release just a few hours ago, the App Store page wouldn’t load, or at the very most remained blank.   Screenshots from IPhone... Today, all of that changes. If you open the App Store link from the Passbook app, you’ll be presented with a introductory list of apps that currently support the fledgeling venture. The list of the currently supported apps are as follows: Fandango Live Nation Lufthansa MLB.com At Bat Sephora to Go Ticketmaster Walgreens Since the possibility of me using most of those services is low, I decided to take the safe route, and download and install the Walgreens app. I mean, c’mon, there’s a Walgreens on every corner, isn’t there? Upon initially loading the app, I was presented with a pop up outlining the new Passbook integration. It looks like Apple has indeed worked closely with the developer...

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer may have hurt Nokia’s feelings at a presser yesterday by calling HTC’s flagship phones, the 8X and 8S, truly Windows Phone hero products. Returning the favor, Nokia likened the new HTC devices to a “tactical re-branding”. Better yet, the ailing Finish cell phone maker thinks that the recently unveiled Lumia 920, its inaugural Windows Phone 8 device, is a far better proposition compared to the industry’s golden benchmark by which all smartphones are measured, Apple’s iPhone. To prove its point, Nokia chose to play the specs game and published an interesting graphics on Facebook comparing the Lumia 920 to the iPhone 5… Stay Tuned...

You were sleeping during the middle-of-the-night hour last Friday when Apple still had the iPhone 5 in stock for pre-orders. You have watched with dismay as shipping delays on Apple's e-store have mounted. And you've got a serious iPhone 5 itch that's driving you, well, nuttier than usual.     So how do you -- procrastinator that you are -- score a new iPhone on Friday? We're guessing by expending some serious time, money, or both. Hey, no one said it was easy being an Apple addict. Where do I get an iPhone 5? As usual, your best bet is an Apple retail store. Apple doesn't disclose the quantity of inventory on hand, and what with the fast pre-order sellout and the ensuing delivery date pushback for online orders -- Apple now says new orders won't ship for three to four weeks -- the smartphone may be in short supply Friday. Traditionally, Apple retains the bulk of its walk-in sales stock for its own stores, and to their dismay, shorts the carriers and others. W...

Bill Buxston  is a technologist, a designer, a musician, an author, outdoorsman and a nationally ranked equestrian. He has spent decades working on the future of tech, but he paddled the rivers of Saskatchewan last summer in 1,000-year-old technology: a birch-bark canoe sealed with tree sap and bear fat. Bill Buxton is multiplatform the way Leonardo da Vinci was multiplatform. At Microsoft, Buxton is a researcher who also has been charged with spreading the "design matters" message to engineers who would rather hack code than clay. Design matters to Microsoft's bottom line, as Apple leapfrogs the company in market share and market capitalization with the elegant iPhone and iPad. Microsoft has shown pockets of more sophisticated design with the Windows Phone 7 interface and the Arc Touch mouse, but it has a long way to go. The company remains synonymous with the boxy PC, a cutting-edge device in the '80s that now has the sex appeal of mom jeans. Hired in...

The new iPhone 5 is here. It's thinner and faster than ever, with a new form factor that uses a gorgeous panoramic screen with more resolutions and less consumption. It also surfs the web much faster, thanks to its new LTE capabilities. And, just as we knew, it has a new smaller dock connector called Lightning. Overall, it seems they have incrementally improved every single aspect of the iPhone. It's not a revolutionary phone (no hype), but it is a very nice release. Physical specifications The iPhone 5 looks exactly as the leaked images: an unibody aluminum body with a glass screen. "It's thinner than the previous generation: 18 percent thinner, which puts it at 0.29 inches (7.6 millimeter). They are claiming this is the world's thinnest smartphone. It's actually the world's thinnest LTE smartphone. It's also 20 percent lighter than the current iPhone, just 3.95 ounces (112 grams). It comes in black and white models. Their new ma...

Maps, the Siri update, and Passbook seemed to steal the show when  Apple  introduced its next mobile operating system,  iOS  6. But there are hundreds of other improvements in the update. Since we've been playing around with iOS 6 this week, we figured we'd show you all the cool stuff Apple didn't show off the other day. Finally! Downloading a new app doesn't close the app store. New iTunes/App Store Interface Bluetooth in the main settings menu. Post to social networks from Notification Center Enhanced Privacy S ee a list of the songs you've previewed in iTunes Revamped sharing menu Custom Dictionary in the Cloud. If you teach your iPhone a new word, it'll show up on your iPhone and Mac too. Bing Maps and TomTom maps instead of Google Maps Steve Kovach, Business Insider The weather app got a slight make over Top bars change colors depending on which app you're in. Newly downloaded apps receive a "New" b...

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has discussed Windows 8 a number of times this year, once describing it as "the rebirth of Microsoft Windows," but the outspoken chief of Microsoft has switched gears to talk about the company's upcoming Surface tablet and its future as a devices-and-services company. In an interview with The Seattle Times, Ballmer believes Microsoft has a "very competitive product from the features perspective," with Microsoft Surface, and that "probably $300 to about $700 or $800" is the "sweet spot" for pricing. That's not to say that the Surface might not debut at a lower price point with a subscription to the company's Xbox Music service, but Microsoft is clearly looking at generating some profit from its tablet venture. When Ballmer first introduced the Surface back in June, he described it to the forum as a device that will "prime the pump" for the upcoming release of Windows 8. Likewise, in othe...

It's a huge year for Microsoft.  The venerable tech giant is essentially reinventing itself from the ground up for 2012. A new server OS, new desktop OS, new Microsoft Office suite, new mobile platform, and new tablet hardware are all being launched virtually simultaneously. To say Microsoft has a lot riding on the success of the new products is an understatement. Apparently, Microsoft is willing to put its money where its proverbial mouth is, though, and lead its customers by example. There are reports that Microsoft plans to accelerate its normal PC refresh cycle to give all employees new Windows 8 desktops and laptops. But, wait--there's more! Microsoft is also allegedly issuing new Windows Phone 8 smartphones and Surface RT tablets to all employees as well.  Aside from Microsoft playing Santa Claus (or Oprah--choose your own benevolent icon), and bringing Christmas to employees a tad early, the move also demonstrates Microsoft's confidence in the new platform...