The Los Angeles Unified School District has agreed to a $30 million deal with Apple to put iPads into the hands of every student at 47 schools over the next two years, according to the LA Times.
The iPad deal is a pilot program: the LA Unified School District is the second-largest in the nation, with a total population of over 660,000 students and more than 1,100 schools. This will put iPads in the hands of 35,000 of those students. The iPads will come pre-loaded with educational software and include three-year warranties, including district-wide allowances for repair and replacement of damaged units.
Phil Nickinson of Android Central, Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry, Rene Ritchie of iMore, Daniel Rubino of Windows Phone Central, and Marcus Adolfsson of Mobile Nations provide live color and commentary on today's Talk Mobile topic -- What will it take to get every app on every platform?
There are three ways to choose what smartphone experience you're going to have: by carrier, by device, and by apps. Choosing by carrier places the quality of your voice and data service first, whereas making a decision based on the device means you're after a specific platform experience and hardware features. But choosing by apps is trickier.
The current array of mobile ecosystems is simultaneously fragmented and unified across the many platforms. Some major apps are available on all or most platforms, as are apps from smaller developers. Other apps are exclusive to a platform by virtue of features unique to the operating system or the resource constraints of the developer. But if you need that one app to do what you need to do, then the carrier or the device don't matter so much.
But what if all apps could be available on all platforms? Is cross-platform development something that developers should be concerned about, and what are the pitfalls that can be faced in doing so? Is it better to build an app specifically for each platform, or should the app be built with a cross-platform web-based framework?
Users and developers alike can agree that having an app available regardless of platform is a great ideal. But at what cost?
The Apple TV has been updated with access to five new content services, including premium cable broadcaster HBO, sports content from ESPN, Britain's Sky News service, concert film and music documentary service Qello and anime service Crunchyroll.
David Gelphman, former graphics and imaging engineer at Apple, talks to Guy and Rene about working on Postscript at Adobe, his time at General Magic, and how to avoid inverting bug fix prognostication equations. (Part 1 of 2)
GOG.com has announced the free release of Runic Games' dungeon crawler Torchlight, but you have to act fast, because the deal only lasts for 48 hours, and they announced it yesterday.
The Amzer Skin Case is made out of 100% premium silicone and is a great, lightweight option for protecting your iPhone 5. The durable silicone absorbs any shock your device may receive from accidental drops or bumps, keeping it just like new. The smooth silicone gives you a sure and lasting grip on your iPhone 5 and prevents slides on flat surfaces.
The Vauxhall Adam -- or OPEL, if you're in mainland Europe -- hasn't been on the market for long, but from today each Adam that drives out of the showroom will have Siri connectivity. But, current owners aren't left out, as they can take their car back to Vauxhall for a free update to their Intellilink to give them Siri in their car as well.
Registered Apple developers have been able to test OS X 10.9 Mavericks and iOS 7 since their announcement at WWDC 2013, but reports are now emerging that Apple is widening the reach of both slightly. According to 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman, selected Apple retail employees are now receiving an invitation to test out Mavericks for themselves:
