Posts tagged iTunes
Apple integrates Rotten Tomatoes into iTunes Movies
May 20th
Here’s something that no one expected to see: most of the popular movies in iTunes have Rotten Tomatoes reviews integrated directly into the movie’s information page. The picture above comes from the Avatar info page. We found a few movies like Sherlock Holmes (great movie, definitely worth seeing) didn’t have the tomatometer just yet. We expect that it’s still a feature that’s rolling out to all of the movies… we just discovered it today.
We’re actually excited about the partnership. We use Rotten Tomatoes all the time to check out what movies are worth seeing. We find ourselves agreeing with the ratings quite often and have begun to trust it for our movie-going experiences. We’re happy to see that Apple included the feature. It may even help them rent more movies. We hate the average iTunes reviewer in the iTunes Store… some we like. Most of them just want to complain about something stupid and don’t leave anything of substance… that’s why we exist. We try and do legitimately helpful reviews and very often work with the developer. We’ve even helped some developers improve their apps before our reviews went live. Like us, Rotten Tomatoes has a tendency to have more accurate reviews and ratings than anything we’ve found in the iTunes Store. Now that it’s integrated, that may change. Shoot. Apple, remove it, please?
Anyways, we welcome it to the iTunes Store and may your movie favorites be considered fresh and not rotten.
Wireless sync coming to the iPhone
Apr 26th
… but not from Apple.
The video below is a very quick demonstration of wireless sync for the iPhone. It’s so quick that it’s hard to believe. But both Engadget and MacRumors are pointing to this as real software… so we thought we’d at least mention it.
We here at CTA have been waiting and waiting for wireless sync capabilities for the iPhone. There’s really no reason it shouldn’t exist already. The developer of this software is actually using a standalone application that he claims will be available on the App Store in the near future. It also requires a separate piece of software available for the Mac and the PC in the near future.
To his knowledge, he hasn’t violated any of Apple’s rules or terms of the SDK. We’re a little skeptical but we’d pay a hefty price for the ability to wirelessly sync either way. Apple has been known to reject iPhone Apps because they too closely mirror upcoming features that are currently in development behind Apple’s closed doors. We wish the developer luck… for all of us.
No sex in the champagne room (App Store)
Feb 20th
We’re sure that Chris Rock never wanted us to use that joke in reference to the availability of iPhone porn, but we did anyway… sorry. Over the past week, developer after developer has been told by Apple that their applications were too risqué for the App Store. That’s one giant leap backwards for mankind.
Please remember that the statements below are generalities (We’re not obsessed with porn nor do we have any opinion on the matter).
Since the App Store launched back in 2008, we’ve heard countless stories of “overtly sexual” content being rejected and then approved. Most of this is due to policy changes in the App Store approval process — the policies really haven’t been defined well and seem to change on a daily basis.
“Wobble iBoobs” was an app that originally popped up in the App Store quite some time ago and was shortly followed by the real problem apps: all of the stupid “pasties” apps that show everything possible without nudity (no nipples). We’re not sure who turned on the switch for porn, but we do know that the amount of “pasties” apps were getting well into the double digits. Some stupid, new app showed up on the top downloads nearly every week.
Maybe the sheer number of crappy porn apps caused Apple to tighten their belts and lay out stricter rules… maybe they were pressured by your mother (yeah, she saw you). Who knows? Apple has responded to this barrage of internet news coverage with the following statement:
“Whenever we receive customer complaints about objectionable content we review them. If we find apps that contain inappropriate material we remove them from the App Store and request the developer to make any necessary changes to their apps in order to be distributed by Apple.â€
We’re not sure we buy that. There’s been some pretty heavy banning in the App Store this week, and we’re sure that mom didn’t start complaining on Monday.
Click the read link… it’s worth reading the rest of this, we promise 
Apple Makes Our Work More Difficult… Nearly Impossible
Sep 29th
We really hate complaining about Apple but they’ve given us way too much fodder recently. Go ahead, check your computer’s iTunes App Store…
You’ll notice that there’s no longer links to the handy dandy “All iPhone Applications,” “All Free iPhone Applications,” “All iPod Touch Applications…” Â In fact, there’s no way, shape or form that you could see what was just released today, yesterday, or the day before.
Apple has completely axed our way of scouring the App Store and looking for new, great applications.  If we want to see new apps, we have to click EACH and EVERY friggen CATEGORY to see what could be new.  Stupid?  More like BullSH*T.  That or we could rely on the TOP PAID apps and the TOP FREE apps sections… but how would that help our readers?? If an app is already at the top, there’s a pretty good chance it’s worth downloading.
CTA wants to stay current, so help us smack Apple with some constructive/destructive criticism and get the App store back to the way it once was… easy to navigate, easy to see what’s new. Â Please click here to send some feedback and demand that they allow us to continue the work we do.
All we can say at this point: “Come on, Apple. Â Get your crap straight.”
Pwnage Tool & QuickPwn Now 2.1 Compatible (Updated!)
Sep 22nd
***Update*** Â
Looks like the windows version of quickpwn is out. Â We did it on our brand new iPhone 3G 16 GB… all we can say is nice! Â Worked like a charm. Â Let us know your results in the comments! P.S. Â Anyone who has news about Customize.app — please share.
***End Update***
Remember what we said about iTunes 8 would need a patch to allow pwange?  Well, it seems that we — The Dev Team as well — were wrong but thankfully!  iTunes 8 no longer requires a hack to install the custom ipsw that you create with the Pwnage Tool.  You can now use the newest versions of QuickPwn and Pwnage Tool to their full capacities with iPhone Software 2.1 — note to early adopters: it is still NOT available for iPod Touch 2nd generation.  All iPhones and 1st generation iPod Touches can be pwned.  Click here for the full release from the Dev Team.  The downloads are available via Torrent infrastructure for now.  If you don’t know how to use torrents, just hold off for a bit, they’ll have direct links on their website soon.Â
Apple’s App Store Policies Sketch? Yep.
Sep 15th
Remember Netshare (Now completely banned from the App Store as of Septemer 13th)? Â How about Box Office (Replaced with “Now Playing”)? Â Well it appears that there’s a new app that’s been rejected without probable cause: Podcaster. Â It’s designed to exist as a podcast manager on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Â Apple explained to the developer that it “assists in the distribution of podcasts, it duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes.” Read on for more information about Apple’s sketch policies and how one developer is getting around them…
Can I Haz iTunes 8.1? (Updated)
Sep 11th
If you couldn’t tell by the title, we found iTunes 8 to be a little on the, “I’ll wait to upgrade” side of the fence. Â We’ll definitely say that the new features appear to be promising, but what it took to get there does not. Â Read more about our love/hate relationship with iTunes 8 after the break…
Dev Team Vs. Apple : Fight!
Sep 11th
Before you get your panties in a wad… if your device is already pwned, it will continue to function normally and will work totally fine with iTunes 8. Â If you haven’t pwned your iPod Touch or iPhone yet but are looking into it, then you have some more work to do. Â It seems as though Apple is still battling the Dev Team’s antics at least somewhat: iTunes 8 no longer allows you to restore an unpwned device with custom firmware, your device must first be pwned or iTunes 8 must be modified. Â Read more after the jump…
