(Credit: Patently Apple)

Discovered by Patently Apple in a group of 21 patents issued to Apple by the Patent and Trademark Office, the in-vehicle remote-control patent describes a product designed for drivers wishing to control their iOS devices more easily.

Currently, drivers must fumble around with their iPhone, iPod, or iPad to change songs, get directions, or make calls if their car’s in-dash system doesn’t support iOS devices. This lack of integration can cause serious distractions for drivers.

Apple’s solution is a small device that would attach to any steering wheel, allowing users to connect to their iOS devices and control basic functions.

As pictured in the patent, the remote would resemble Apple’s iconic click wheel, featuring a menu button, forward and back controls, a play/pause button, and a center select button.

The difference in this device is that the faceplate would also be touch-sensitive.

(Credit: Patently Apple)

Other features of the steering-wheel remote would be a universal clamp system mounted to the bottom of the device’s base and a rotatable faceplate that would enable users to orient the controls based on where they clamp the remote.

Would you purchase an iPhone and iPad remote for your car’s steering wheel? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal have revealed a plan that has Apple creating a photo-sharing experience that would compete with the popular Facebook-owned Instagram.

(Credit: Screenshot by Joe Aimonetti/CNET)

iCloud currently offers users the capability to store and sync photos to other iOS devices and PCs using Photo Stream. That functionality does not, however, include the capability to share with other users directly.

According to the WSJ sources, users would be able to comment on shared photos, but any further details of the service have yet to be disclosed.

The iCloud update is expected to be officially announced by Apple at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which begins June 11.

Last week, several sneak peeks at Apple’s plans for its iCloud service made their way to the Internet buzz circles. First, a notification system similar to the drop-down banners found in iOS was spotted, leading many to believe that Apple is planning to introduce synced notifications through iCloud.

Then, just a few days later, Apple briefly showed iCloud versions of its Notes and Reminders apps, currently found on iOS and already slated for Mac OS X Mountain Lion.

This report, should it pan out, may shed some more light on Apple Senior Vice President in charge of iOS Phil Schiller’s recent decision to drop Instagram. According to Twitter, his decision was because Instagram “‘jumped the shark’ when it went to Android.”

While Instagram’s adoption of the Android platform may have contributed to Schiller’s “Instadeparture,” Apple creating its own photo-sharing platform could certainly have contributed.

Clearly, iCloud is a major focus of Apple’s future plans to keep its users integrated and synced. Well over 100 million users are currently signed up with iCloud — a user-base that, should Apple release a public photo-sharing function, would instantly be competing with Instagram.

If Apple were to add photo-sharing to iCloud, would you be inclined to drop Instagram? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

The latest rumor to get everyone talking is that Apple will drop Google Maps for their own proprietary software. Sources told 9to5 Mac that a new Maps app will debut with iOS 6 with an Apple-created backend that will resemble the current Maps app, but with a more amenable solution.

This really isn’t the big shocker that everyone is making it out to be. The writing has been on the wall for a couple of years. It was never a matter of if Apple would drop Google but when. The question was asked as early as 2009 when Apple bought Placebase. This was followed by the acquisition of several 3D-technology companies — Poly9 in 2010 and C3 Technologies in 2011. While Apple and Google did renew their partnership last year, it was most likely on a year-to-year basis. Apple wasn’t ready with the technology in 2011. It looks to be ready now, and the leak could be intentional to drum up excitement for WWDC.

The proof is in iPhoto for iOS. When the iOS version of iPhoto debuted in March, Apple was using older OpenStreetMap data instead of Google. This was most likely a testing ground to see how their own maps would function before pushing it out to a wider audience with a major iOS release. While the iPhoto maps aren’t anywhere near as full-featured as a new Maps app would likely be, and I hope it looks different because the maps in iPhoto are rather ugly, it was a good place to start.

Maps for iOS has long lacked the features offered to Android users, including a solid integration with voice control. If this Maps app does debut with iOS 6, I hope Siri can be used to voice turn-by-turn directions. The addition of 3D-map technology would of course bring additional benefits. What features would you like to see in a new Apple-originated Maps app?

New Maps for iOS? Its not exactly a surprise | TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

While many researchers are arguing just how many percent of the tablet sales the iPad accounts for, a new study released on Friday brings forth some very interesting numbers, according toChitika Insights the three generations of Apple’s iPad account for an overwhelming amount of all tablet-based internet traffic.

Chitika Insights, the research arm of the Chitika ad network, analyzed its database of ad impressions and came to the conclusion that 94.64 percent of all tablet web traffic can be attributed to the iPad.

When you compare this to the biggest competitor Samsung, the Galaxy Tab only accounted for a meager 1.22 percent of the market. As you can see in the graph below, the loosing team was Barnes and Noble’s Nook with a measly 0.54% of the market.

What’s interesting is that the iPad shows no signs of slowing even though the competition is increasing, both from Android-based devices as well as potential future players including Microsoft, who entered the tablet war with their $300 million investment in B&N’s Nook.

What do you think, will the iPad continue to reign the Tablet market or will the competitors eat some of its market share?

iPad currently takes 95% of all tablet web traffic | Mobile Orchard.

It was opened in 1904, with the hope of making it the crowning glory of the New York subway system in elegant architecture and a place for commemorative plaques to honour the work that had resulted in such a successful underground mass transit system. It was to be the original southern terminus of the first ‘Manhattan Main Line’; however the station was closed and boarded up in 1945. The gem of the underground began gathering dust, forgotten by the general public, as passengers were forced off at the Brooklyn Bridge Stop before the train continued on to the terminus to make its turnaround.

The reason for its closure was that newer longer cars were required to match the demand of passengers that passed through the system. But as the stations tracks were severely curved, a dangerous gap between the train doors and the platform was formed making it an unsafe area. This combined with the fact that only about 600 people used it, resulted in its closure with only mythical plans of turning it into a transit museum. But this was never followed through.

via Travelettes » New York City’s Hidden Subway Station.

This obviously isn’t for the mass offloading of files (you’d be holding your hand up for what would seem like an eternity), but rather for a quick bit of info—a photo, a map, a song. This is more a concept for the noobs than the power users. In theory, a user would hold up their portable device to their computer, and a visual link in the form of a circle, would spill onto both devices, signifying they’re connected and ready for data transfer. From there, one could drag files from the desktop to the home screen easily.

It’s elegant, simple, and most of all, has visual cues which are actually helpful. [Ishac Bertran via Co.Design]

via Design News, Videos, Reviews and Gossip – Gizmodo.

What’s new in version 5.2

- Resolve the issue when news are not updated

- Resolve the fixtures issue

Feel free to upgrade your application:

App Store – Manchester United Massive.

The developer reached out to AppleInsider after they received a reply from Apple after submitting a bug report. Apple’s Bug Reporter includes an option to specify that a submission isn’t a bug report, but rather a suggestion.

In the suggestion submitted to Apple, the developer simply requested that the company add support for multiple users to the iPad.

“After further investigation it has been determined that this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering,” the official response from Apple Developer Connection’s Worldwide Developer Relations team reads.

The developer said they have often used Apple’s Bug Reporter to submit requests for new features. However, this standard form letter is the first time that Apple has actually responded to such a submission from this particular developer.

Apple’s response is not the first indication that the company may be working on multi-user support for the iPad. In 2010, before the iPad was officially announced, The Wall Street Journal reported that an early prototype of the device was designed to be shared by and customized for multiple family members.

Sharing the iPad was said to have been a major focus for Apple early on in the device’s development. One idea the company was said to have experimented with was the ability for users to leave virtual sticky notes on the device for someone else to read once they began using it.

Apple was also said to have considered having the iPad recognize individuals via a built-in forward facing camera. The 2010 report said it was “unclear” whether the features would be included at launch, and it would turn out that none of them would be a part of the first three generations of iPad models.

Facial recognition has also been the key element of Apple’s patent applications related to multi-user support on iOS devices. One such filing detailed by AppleInsider in December described a system that would quickly identify a user, and customize the device with their unique applications, settings and wallpaper.

Apple says lack of multi-user support on iPad is a ‘known issue,’ ‘being investigated’.

IN THE MATRIX, the famous “bullet time” effect showed how Keanu Reeves’s character Neo was able to sway out of the path of incoming bullets, as time appeared to slow. Now the film has inspired engineers to develop a way to cope with cyber attacks on crucial infrastructure, such as electricity grids, water utilities and banking networks.

The idea, from security engineers at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, is to slow down internet traffic, including malicious data, to give networks time to deal with attacks. To do this, when a cyber attack has been sensed, an algorithm sends hyper-speed signals accelerating ahead of the malicious data packets to mobilise defences.

“Slowing the malicious traffic by just a few milliseconds will let the hyper-speed commands activate sophisticated network-defence mechanisms,” says Sujeet Shenoi at Tulsa (International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcip.2012.02.001).

Such measures are needed because cybercriminals increasingly seem to target crucial industrial infrastructure. In 2010, for example, the Stuxnet worm infected Iran’s nuclear programme. It was shown to be not so much a typical computer virus as a multifunctional weapon that can be reprogrammed to target any crucial industry. As industrial systems generally go for many years without software upgrades or password changes, they can often be vulnerable to such attacks.

‘Bullet time’ to stop cyber attacks on power grids – tech – 30 April 2012 – New Scientist.

Cross-Platform Development Considerations.