This Week's Sponsor:

Textastic

The Powerful Code Editor for iPad and iPhone — Now Free to Try

Daylite Touch Goes 1.5: Reminders, Retina Display Graphics, New Features

Daylite Touch, the app that allows you to professionally manage your team and business, has been updated to version 1.5 - which introduces a lot of improvements and new features. First, Retina Display and iOS 4 multitasking support: the app now looks great on the iPhone and can sync with the Mac version in the background. Good stuff.

As for the new features, you can now filter your contact list or disable the sync process on the app’s launch. Daylite Touch is available for free here. Check out the full changelog below.

Read more

Flash 10.1 for Mac Updated with Hardware Acceleration

MacRumors is reporting that Flash 10.1 for Mac has finally been updated to include support for hardware-accelerated decoding of video content, which offers a smoother playback and eats less battery. At least Adobe says so.

Adobe project manager Thibault Imbert:

“We just pushed a few minutes ago a new version of the Flash Player 10.1.82.76 containing a nice feature that was in beta until now called “Gala”. Yes, H.264 GPU decoding in Mac OSX is now officially enabled in the Flash Player.

You should notice now a nice difference when playing H.264 content on your Mac in terms of CPU usage. We rarely enable new features in security releases but we really wanted to enable such a cool feature.”

Go download Flash here. Then, go download ClickToFlash here.

Plants vs. Zombies for Mac Available on Steam

Mac gamers, rejoice: one of the most acclaimed games for iPhone and iPad, Plants vs. Zombies, is now available on Mac OS X via Steam. It’s the game you know and love, available on your desktop computer of choice.

This “Game of the Year” edition also includes support for Steamcloud and a new feature called “Zombatar” which allows you to incorporate your own custom zombies into the game.

Check out the full press release below. [Thanks, Jack]

Read more

Apple Opens Up Compatibility Labs for Developers

If you’ve been a member of Apple’s Developer Connection program, you’ve no doubt taken advantage of Apple’s compatibility labs. If you’ve ever wanted to test the next hit application on a variety of hardware, Apple launched on Monday a $99 Single Day Lab Day Pass for compatibility lab testing inside the Tokyo and Cupertino campuses.

500 different hardware configurations are available for testing from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and while Apple Lab Engineers will be on hand to assist you with configurations, items such as certification and engineering support aren’t available.

It’s suggest that you’d inquire for a Day Pass three days before you actually need to use the labs, and while the $99 Day Pass makes Apple’s labs accessible, you can’t forget about the travel and lodging fees you’ll incur along the way. Hopefully you’re a native on the American West Coast (or metropolitan Japan).

Apple has a spiffy compatibility lab site you can check out here.

[via Macworld]

Times for iPad: Beautiful Visual Newsreader. Review and Giveaway.

Ever since I bought the iPad, I knew it was going to change the way I read news online. Be it the New York Times or MacStories, TechCrunch or The Huffington Post, the iPad and the developers who create new apps for this new device have changed the way we approach news. At least this is what we thought before Flipboard came out. Flipboard pushed the game to the next level, enabling users to create their own digital magazine starting from their Twitter and Facebook streams - something many had tried in the past but never quite nailed as much as McCue and his guys did.

Now we have choices: RSS readers, apps that start from RSS subscriptions to build something visually new, and Flipboard. In fact, we reviewed a lot of these “visual newsreaders” in the past.

Where does Times for iPad fit?

Read more

MobileMe Calendar Beta NOT Public

[Update]: What was implied as an update available to all users, the author must have just received his invite and got a bit excited over it. The MobileMe Beta is still invite only - you can learn more and request access to the beta here: Apple calendar preview.

With MacStories on pause between a bit of R&R, we hope you haven’t missed out on the new MobileMe Calendar Beta now available to you iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch savvy subscribers. Having just launched yesterday evening, your MobileMe calendar now includes redesigned views, along with improvements to calendar sharing and event invitations. We’ve shown it off before, but you actually get the chance to play with it. Enjoy!

[via The Loop]

Apple to Hold iPod Media Event Early?

Mac Magazine claims they’ve got the sources in Cupertino that points towards an August 16th or 17th media event to unveil Apple’s brand new line of iPods.

We have an idea of what the next generation iPod touch might look like, sporting a front facing camera and possibly a rear cam as well, though we’re not sure what the next iterations of the iPod nano or iPod shuffle might bring. It’s rumored that the shuffle might be getting a very tiny display, but then it wouldn’t be the absolute minimal shuffle we know and love (I might be the only one who actually liked the 3rd-gen shuffle).

I’d like to see a quick announcement of a new iLife at the event, and being a Verizon subscriber, you already know I’m on board for the next iPod touch. It only takes a couple of days for Apple to set up shop (likely at the Yerba Buena Center) for these events, so we’ll see if these rumors hold true or not.

Also, if Apple is provide a major update to the iPod shuffle, I would be excited to see something along the lines of Fitbit meets Nike+ in a portable package you’d wear all day. Wouldn’t that be cool?

[Mac Magazine via Cult of Mac]