8/19/2013

[MacNews] Digest Number 3111

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Digest #3111

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Sun Aug 18, 2013 5:59 am (PDT) . Posted by:

"prMac Mailer"

Storytelling and the Future of Children's Digital Publishing Find Unity - Published on 08/18/13

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

App developer Wasabi Productions today announces the launch of a new breed of storybook app powered by Unity3D, which is more commonly a game development ecosystem. It's a high-tech approach for Gorilla Band, delivering an interactive storytelling experience in a completely three-dimensional world that continues to push the needle on the future of digital publishing.
Page turns are reimagined into camera pans complete with sweeping changes in perspective as the reader is moved through the book.

Atlanta, Georgia - App developer Wasabi Productions today announces the launch of a new breed of storybook app powered by Unity3D, which is more commonly a game development ecosystem. It's a high-tech approach for Gorilla Band, delivering an interactive storytelling experience in a completely three-dimensional world that continues to push the needle on the future of digital publishing.

Page turns are reimagined into camera pans complete with sweeping changes in perspective as the reader is moved through the story set. A variety of randomized dialogue tracks in distinct voices help build empathy for the characters and keep repeat reading encounters fresh.

Gorilla Band places its 2-7 year old audience at the center of the story, unfolding through their interaction, complete with dozens of original animations, more than 50 originally scored instrumental music tracks, 2 songs with rendered video clips and an educational studio that teaches how to identify instruments by sound and name.

The powerful Unity engine helps create this immersive content and makes it easy to publish cross-platform - with modest file sizes relative to the richness of the experience. It also boasts a rich community of tools and plugins - all making the development platform appealing beyond just the gaming ecosystem.

Importantly in publishing, Unity allows for a bank of reusable assets to be created, helping to enable more agile development and easier creation of follow up titles in future. Speed to market is a key advantage in this rapidly expanding industry, but traditional development cycles for high quality content (2-6 months) make it challenging to reach a still-warm audience with a follow up release.

Graham Nunn, Creative Director for Wasabi says, "At its heart Gorilla Band is a memorable story with many educational benefits. Unity has helped us bring it to life in a vivid way that also makes it possible to share on Android, Kindle, iOS and even the web."

Wasabi is proud to support American not-for-profit VH1 Save the Music Foundation around this app release with ten percent of proceeds from app sales going to benefit the charity's work in restoring instrumental music education programs in America's public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child's complete education .

Device Requirements:
* iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch and iPad
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
* 62.7 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Gorilla Band 1.2 is the fifth book app from Wasabi and is available as a universal app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch for $3.99 USD (Educational institutions discount applies through iTunes). It comes complete with original animations, a myriad of originally scored instrumental tracks, 2 songs and an educational studio. Launching soon on Google Play and Kindle store for Android. Special launch pricing of $0.99.

Gorilla Band 1.2: http://www.wasabipro.com/apps/gorilla-band.html#.UgymQ1N447A
Purchase and Download: https://itunes.apple.com/app/gorilla-band-3d-story-book/id662788357
YouTube Video (Trailer): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsiFL6SU6r0
Screenshot (Gorilla Band Cover): http://wasabipro.com.au/images/GorillaBandCover.png
Screenshot (Gorilla Band Page 3): http://wasabipro.com.au/images/GorillaBandPage3.png
App Icon: http://wasabipro.com.au/images/iTunesArtwork.png

Wasabi Productions is an independent publisher of original, high-quality storybook apps designed for pre-schoolers and touch screen technology. The company was born in Australia, and one of the first publishers of interactive children's books for the iPad. Wasabi focuses on reimagining storybooks for the digital age, and entertaining young kids with tales of memorable characters where their interaction is central. The books contain moral and social outtakes, and together with text highlighting and educational elements, contribute positively to early readers' development. Wasabi apps have received critical acclaim and the developer is one of the founding members of the Moms With Apps 'Know What's Inside' initiative to protect children's privacy in apps. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2013 Wasabi Productions. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and
registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.

###

Amy Friedlander
VP Marketing and Strategy
404-579-3861
United States
amy@wasabipro.com.au

Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/Wasabipro

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Sun Aug 18, 2013 9:14 am (PDT) . Posted by:

"prMac Mailer"

Developers create first social design app for the masses - Published on 08/18/13

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Overlay Studio today introduces Studio Design 1.0, an amazing new graphic design tool for iOS devices. Studio allows anyone to create and share amazing artwork. By combining a powerful design editor with a new social interaction, Studio helps the average person overcome the challenges of design creation. The app offers a layer-based editing system allowing for simple yet sophisticated design creation. Users can add filters, shapes, text, crops and more to their photos to produce unique artwork.

Provo, Utah - Overlay Studio today is pleased to announce the release of Studio Design 1.0, an amazing new graphic design tool for iPhone and iPod touch. Studio allows anyone to create and share amazing artwork. By combining a powerful design editor with a new social interaction, Studio helps the average person overcome the challenges of design creation.

A new social interaction:
Designs created in Studio are posted to a feed for friends and family to see. Any design posted in the Studio network is can be �reused� with the tap of a button. This means users can take any design they like, add their own base photo and create their own version of that design.

Users who feel less confident that they can produce fun, meaningful designs can get a jumpstart by reusing designs from the community. This simple yet powerful social interaction marks a departure from consumption-based social media. Studio enables visual content creation via social networking.

Joe Wilson, designer and co-founder of Studio says, �As users create artwork and post it to the community, the creative power of the community is multiplied. Everyone wins.�

A powerful design editor:
Studio offers a layer-based editing system allowing for simple yet sophisticated design creation. Studio users can add filters, shapes, text, crops and more to their photos to produce unique artwork. Studio ships with over 600 free design elements.

The design tool for everyone:
Studio was developed with everyone in mind, not just designers. Trendsetters, teens, moms and more will love creating designs with Studio.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPhone 5 and iPod touch
* Requires iOS 6.0 or later
* 18.4 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Studio Design 1.0 is Free to download and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Photo & Video category. In addition to 600+ free elements, users can purchase design packs from the Studio Marketplace. Anyone can download Studio and post designs. The Studio development team has worked with industry-leading designers to produce these design packs.

Studio Design 1.0: http://madewithstudio.com
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/app/studio-design/id671866502
Screenshot: http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Purple4/v4/88/1c/61/881c6182-85ba-5656-dabf-49aa983e34dd/screen568x568.jpeg
App Icon: http://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/026/Purple4/v4/5d/16/66/5d166627-8f63-4822-d1e7-4b973958bb68/mzl.gtnnkqdl.175x175-75.jpg

Located in Provo, Utah, Overlay Studio designs and engineers revolutionary design apps for the mobile platform. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2013 Overlay Studio Inc. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.

###

Joseph Wilson
CEO
United States
joe@madewithstudio.com

Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/Madewithstudio

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Sun Aug 18, 2013 11:59 pm (PDT) . Posted by:

"prMac Mailer"

New iOS app Dog Monitor lets you stay in touch with your pet - Published on 08/19/13

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TappyTaps's new Dog Monitor app enables all dog owners to stay in constant touch with their dog whenever they are away from home. Dog Monitor turns any two iPhones, iPads, or iPod touch devices into easy-to-use, reliable pet sitters. Simple to set-up and use, one device stays at home and the other stays with you. Backed up by support of both your Wi-Fi and cellular connection makes staying in touch with your pet at home easy and convenient no matter where you are.

Prague, Czech Republic - There are over 56 million dog owners in the US and the vast majority of these are forced to leave their beloved pets alone at home while they go off to work. Apart from the heart-wrenching feeling of leaving your poor dog behind, there is no way to know exactly what your dog is doing while you're away. Is he causing mischief, tearing up your curtains, ripping apart your new shoes, barking all day for no reason and upsetting your neighbors, or perhaps he is outside and digging-up your lawn?

Whatever it is, dedicated pet cameras or pet-sitters can be pricey and that's why TappyTaps presents a better and more affordable solution with the launch of the new Dog Monitor: an iOS app that enables all dog owners to stay in constant touch with their dog whenever they are away from home.

Dog Monitor enables every dog owner to:
* Monitor your dog when it is lonely and hear when it is barking
* View live pictures, which makes it easy to discover what your pet's doing or been up to
* Communicate with your dog to prevent him from chewing your favorite slippers, or, to stop her from barking and destroying your neighbors' sanity

Other Important features:
* Unlimited Reach - backed up by support of both your Wi-Fi and cellular connection makes staying in touch with your pet at home easy and convenient no matter where you are
* Vibration Alarm - alerts you discreetly so you can learn when your dog starts barking
* Night Light - makes it possible to see your favorite pet even in a dark room
* Network Efficiency - one hour of typical use requires only 2Mb of data, which means using the Dog Monitor won't drain your tight data plan

"The idea for Dog Monitor comes from dog owners themselves", explains Jindrich Sarson the developer of the app; he continues, "We already have the successful baby monitoring app and have received tons of emails from people who wanted something similar for their pets". That's why the TappyTaps team decided to rethink the app to accommodate the needs of those pet owners who have to leave their pets at home. "We always listen to feedback from our customers and are constantly looking to hear about the features that dog owners want. That way we can update and improve the app and provide you with what you need."

Supported languages:
* US English, French, German, Czech, Spanish and Dutch

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
* Requires iOS 5.0 or later
* 24.3 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Dog Monitor 1.02 is offered for $3.99 USD and is available worldwide exclusively through the Lifestyle category in the iTunes App Store. Even though two devices are required to use this application, the customer only needs to buy the app once: you can install The Dog Monitor on all your devices, or you have the option of turning on the iTunes Home Sharing facility to run the application on up to 5 devices. Review copies of the app are available on request.

Dog Monitor 1.02: http://www.dogmonitorapp.com
Purchase and Download: https://itunes.apple.com/app/dog-monitor/id626789870
Request Free Promo Code: http://redeemco.com/r/dog-monitor/
Screenshot: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nwx5xa79jy6oq3d/01_iPad_iPhone.png
App Icon: http://www.dogmonitorapp.com/images/en/press/Dog_Monitor_icon.png
Press Kit (zip): https://www.dropbox.com/s/d1f1zfhtijyqd4d/Dog_Monitor_Press_Kit_EN.zip

Located in Prague, Czech Republic, TappyTaps is a software development company specializing in applications for mobile operating systems, including Apple iPhone, Google Android and Windows Mobile. The company was founded in 2009 by Jindrich and Jan Sarson, and markets 12 innovative products, so far. Copyright (C) 2009-2013 TappyTaps. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPhoto are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries. Android and Picasa are trademarks of Google, Inc. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft, Inc. Flickr is a trademark of Yahoo, Inc.

###

Ondrej Nekvinda
Marketing director
+420 212 245 265
Czech Republic
ondrej@tappytaps.com

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/tappytaps
Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/tappytapscom

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Mon Aug 19, 2013 12:00 am (PDT) . Posted by:

"prMac Mailer"

techBASIC Sampler Unlocks iOS by Providing Working Apps w/ Source Code - Published on 08/19/13

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

techBASIC Sampler unlocks the secrets of the iPhone and iPad showing how easy it is to access electronics and sensors, perform complex math functions, and create interactive graphs by providing free working apps and the accompanying source code. The Sampler contains all the features of techBASIC except the ability to write or change programs. This gives users a great way to check out how powerful and easy it is to use techBASIC before purchasing it.

Albuquerque, New Mexico - Byte Works, Inc., today is proud to announce the techBASIC Sampler, a Free App that unlocks the secrets of the iPhone and iPad showing how easy it is to access electronics and sensors, perform complex math functions, and create interactive graphs by providing fully functioning apps with BASIC source code.

techBASIC Sampler is also the free companion app to the new O'Reilly book "Building iPhone & iPad Electronics Projects" from O'Reilly Media. The book includes detailed project instructions and complete source code showing how to create real-world Arduino, sensor and Bluetooth low energy apps for iOS devices using techBASIC.

techBASIC Sampler and the O'Reilly book show interested iPhone and iPad users how to:
* Connect to Bluetooth low energy devices like the Texas Instruments SensorTag
* Collect data from an Arduino using either a Bluetooth LE shield or a WiFi bridge
* Create a plant moisture meter using HiJack
* Turn an iPhone into a metal detector
* Access the built-in accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer to record and email data

techBASIC Sampler also includes samples showing how to:
* Easily perform advanced mathematical operations like integration and regression
* Process data with built-in matrix math routines
* Create colorful 2D and 3D interactive graphs
* Visualize complex data like the movement of the stars within 10 parsecs of the sun
* See the interaction of magnetic fields between two wires

techBASIC Sampler displays the full power of techBASIC, the only technical computing environment on iOS. Features include a step-and-trace debugger, built-in help system and a powerful implementation of the BASIC programming language customized to give users easy access to all the capabilities of the iPhone and iPad.

techBASIC Sampler runs every app and contains all the features of techBASIC except the ability to write or change programs. This gives users a great way to check out how powerful and easy it is to use techBASIC before purchasing it. The full version of techBASIC is accessible through an in-app purchase at any time.

techBASIC Sampler:
Requirements: iPhone, iPod touch or iPad running iOS 5 or later
Pricing and Availability: Free $0.00 (USD) available in the App Store Education category.

"Building iPhone & iPad Electronics Projects"
Pricing and Availability: $29.99 (USD) available in an Early Release Ebook Version from O'Reilly Media.

techBASIC 3.0:
Requirements: iPhone, iPod touch or iPad running iOS 5 or later
Pricing and Availability: $14.99 (USD) available in the App Store Utilities category.

techBASIC Sampler 3.1: http://www.byteworks.us/Byte_Works/techBASIC_Sampler.html
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/app/techsampler/id626214040
O'Reilly Electronics Book Purchase: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920029281.do
YouTube Video (Programming Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4ZOqhtB6g8
YouTube Video (Electronics Book): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn_VqZMfoMY
Media Assets: http://www.byteworks.us/Byte_Works/techSampler.html

The Byte Works has been creating quality Apps for People Who Think(TM) since 1982. Current directions include apps for scientific programming, calculators and astronomy programs for iOS. Past efforts include developing Apple Programmers Workshop and the award winning ORCA line of compilers for the Apple IIGS, the HyperLogo(TM) scripting language for HyperStudio(TM), and MediaBlender(TM), a multimedia authoring tool for education. Copyright (C) 2013 The Byte Works. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

###

Patty Westerfield
Vice President
505-250-5186
United States
patty@byteworks.us

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