MacRumors

Back in March of 2014, iSkelter launched the SlatePro TechDesk on Kickstarter, which was designed with built-in docks and cutouts to accommodate Apple devices like iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks.

The desk was highly successful, leading the company to create a range of furniture products aimed at MacBook and iPhone users, including the new SlatePro TechDesk Special Edition. The SlatePro TechDesk Special Edition is a new version of the original SlatePro desk, introducing an entirely revamped design and several additional features like felt pockets and a dry erase board.

Like the original SlatePro TechDesk, the new edition's main attraction is its built-in air vents for keeping laptops or desktop computers cool and its cutouts that are able to house an iPhone and an iPad. Design wise, the Special Edition SlatePro takes on a more popular U-shape with steel legs and a hazelnut bamboo surface.

The filing rack has been replaced with a set of recessed felt trays able to hold accessories, pens, and more, and there's now a stainless steel cupholder instead of the original wood. With the hazelnut bamboo and a new beveled edge, the updated version has a much sleeker look. Finally, there's a large dry erase board built directly into the desk for taking notes.

When ordering a SlatePro, it can be customized with a variety of options. Users can choose a left or right setup, and opt to remove any of the available features like the ventilation holes, dry erase board, display docks, mousepad, or drink holder.

The SlatePro TechDesk Special Edition is currently on sale and can be purchased from the iSkelter website for $598. The original SlatePro TechDesk is available for purchase at prices starting at $498. iSkelter also produces a range of lap desks and device docks, with prices that start at $30.

Following the release of Pushbullet for iOS, Mac, and Safari, we have been testing out the new software to see how well it keeps notifications, links, photos and other files in sync between devices. Pushbullet is the marriage of AirDrop, Notifyr and other OS X Yosemite features in one package, but is it a worthwhile alternative? Find out our first impressions in our hands-on video ahead.

The process of setting up Pushbullet takes just a few minutes. Depending on which platforms or web browsers you want to send and receive links and files between, download the Pushbullet apps or extensions that you need and make sure that iOS to Mac notifications and universal copy and paste are enabled in each app's preferences. iOS and Mac apps are available alongside Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Opera extensions.

You can optimize your experience further by going into the Mac app's preferences and checking off specific apps that you would like to receive iOS notifications from. For instance, if you already receive mail notifications on your desktop, then you probably don't need Pushbullet pushing the same mail notifications from your iPhone. Notification settings can be configured for both stock and third-party apps.

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Facebook today updated its Paper app to version 1.2.5, adding several improvements to the app's photo management capabilities. It's now possible for users to access their "Favorited" photos album on iOS for faster sharing of preferred photos, and the Camera Roll in the app organizes photos by date.

The "Favorites" album was introduced with the iOS 8 Photos app revamp and houses all of the images that a user favorites via tapping the heart icon on individual pictures within the app.

Today's Paper update also includes performance enhancements that are designed to make various features within the app run faster, including photo uploads.

We've been working to perfect your experience with Paper. In this release, we've focused on making it even faster and easier for you to share photos, in addition to fixing a few issues you've let us know about. Thanks for your feedback!

Here's what's new and improved:

- Camera Roll organized by date. When selecting media to share in the composer, photos and videos are now organized by the date they were taken.
- Share your Favorited photos. Quickly share photos from the new Favorites album introduced with iOS 8.
- Faster performance. We've improved the responsiveness of several parts of Paper including posting a photo.

First introduced in January of 2014, Facebook's Paper app is a news creation and curation tool that pulls in content from a user's Facebook news feed and other well-known publications, organizing it into a magazine-style layout for easy reading. Many people have come to prefer Paper over the standard Facebook app to read through their news feeds.

Facebook's Paper app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

YouTube yesterday announced it has begun using HTML5 video by default for all playback on its website, marking a substantial step in its gradual move away from Flash. The company states the new default will work in most popular web browsers including Safari.

Richard Leider, Engineering Manager for YouTube, reiterated on the adaptability of HTML5 over Flash and the use of the former's capabilities beyond a simple web browser. With YouTube's extension to devices like gaming consoles, and even the Apple TV, the benefits of dropping Flash became far more apparent over the years.

Over the last four years, we’ve worked with browser vendors and the broader community to close those gaps, and now, YouTube uses HTML5 by default in Chrome, IE 11, Safari 8 and in beta versions of Firefox.

The benefits of HTML5 extend beyond web browsers, and it's now also used in smart TVs and other streaming devices.

The new shift to HTML5 will allow better video streaming in adjustment to shifting network conditions, quicker video playback, easier access to 60 FPS HD and 4K content, with updates to encrypted media extensions that will allow the service to overall be "faster and smoother."

Despite having long dominated web video and other interactive content, Flash has been under fire for years over performance and security issues. Back in 2010, Steve Jobs famously wrote an open letter, his "Thoughts on Flash," to address the ongoing controversy over Apple's refusal to support Flash on its iOS devices. After summing up a series of shortcoming of Flash, Jobs end his letter by suggesting "Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind."

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday issued a public enforcement advisory that warns hotel chains and other commercial establishments about intentionally blocking or interfering with Wi-Fi hotspots. The FCC's Enforcement Bureau claims that interfering with Wi-Fi hotspots is illegal and that it will take appropriate action against violators by imposing substantial fines.

The warning follows an FCC investigation in which the government agency discovered a so-called "disturbing trend" where hotels and other commercial establishments were purposefully blocking wireless customers from connecting to their Wi-Fi hotspots. Marriott Hotels was found to have "deployed a Wi-Fi deauthentication protocol" to block customers from accessing Wi-Fi and agreed to pay a $600,000 fine.

iPhone users have long resorted to Personal Hotspot to turn their cellular data connection into a Wi-Fi network for the purpose of tethering a Mac or other connected device. Apple made Personal Hotspot more convenient in iOS 8 with Instant Hotspot, a new feature that automatically detects when an iPhone is within close range of an iPad or Mac and displays the device in the list of available Wi-Fi networks.

Earlier this month, the iPod shuffle's shipping estimates slipped to 7-10 days in the United States, Europe and other regions, leading to speculation as to whether the portable media player would soon be discontinued or was going through reported supplier changes. Today, we are beginning to see a clearer picture.

For now, it appears that the iPod shuffle will continue to live on. iGen.fr was first to notice today that shipping times for the iPod shuffle have improved to 5-7 days on the Apple Online Store in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and some other European countries. The improved shipping times are not reflected in the United States or Canada storefronts yet, which still display shipping estimates of 7-10 days.

While demand for the iPod shuffle has been overshadowed by devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch, the portable media player remains a convenient and affordable option for incorporating into a daily workout routine or similar. The current fourth-generation iPod shuffle with front-facing media controls was introduced in 2010 and has not been updated since outside of a few color changes.

It appears that today's iOS 8.1.3 update fixes many of the exploits that were used for the iOS 8 TaiG jailbreak, which worked up until iOS 8.1.2. The earlier Pangu jailbreak was disabled with the iOS 8.1.1 update that was released on November 17.

TaiG has not yet confirmed whether iOS 8.1.3 breaks its jailbreak tool, but reports on the MacRumors forums and on Twitter suggest that is indeed the case. Apple's support document detailing the security fixes in iOS 8.1.3 credits the TaiG jailbreak team for finding four now-patched vulnerabilities in the operating system.

At the current time, Apple is still signing iOS 8.1.2 so it's possible to downgrade from iOS 8.1.3 back to iOS 8.1.2 or upgrade to iOS 8.1.2 from an earlier version of iOS, but that could end at any time.

Released this morning, iOS 8.1.3 includes a range of bug fixes including a repair for a lingering Wi-Fi issue, and it also reduces the amount of storage space required to perform an iOS update.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed on Tuesday during the company's quarterly earnings call that it has sold more than 1 billion iOS devices to date since launching the original iPhone over seven years ago. According to Cook, the impressive milestone, which accounts for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, was reached in November and was helped along by a record-breaking 74.5 million iPhones sold in Q1 2015. The milestone device was kept by Apple and is at the company's Cupertino headquarters.

Cook emphasized that iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus demand was stronger than any other iPhone it has ever released, selling at a pace of roughly 34,000 devices per hour. The success of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was aided by the widest international rollout of an iOS device to date, with the smartphone launching in more places than ever before and in a total of 130 countries.

Since its introduction in October, Apple Pay has accounted for two of every three dollars spent through contactless payments on Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook who shared the information during the company's earnings call for the first fiscal quarter of 2015.

"Apple Pay is off to a very strong start," said Cook, adding that he expects 2015 to be "the year of Apple Pay." About 750 banks and credit unions have signed on to accept Apple Pay, and according to numbers shared by Cook, Apple Pay was responsible for 80 percent of mobile payments at Panera Bread, and at Whole Foods, mobile payments increased by 400 percent.

Earlier information has also pointed to Apple Pay's success. Apple Pay had more than 1 million card activations during the first 72 hours Apple Pay was available, and in November, Apple Pay captured a total of 1 percent of all digital payment dollars.

Thus far, Apple Pay has proven to be most popular at Whole Foods, with the speciality grocery store responsible for 20 percent of all Apple Pay transactions and 28 percent of all Apple Pay spending. Walgreens and McDonald's were also popular with Apple Pay users.

Apple Pay is still in its infancy, limited to the United States. In the coming months, Apple plans to expand to several other locations across Europe, Canada, and Asia. In the United States, Apple Pay now supports cards representing 90 percent of U.S. credit card purchase volume.

Pushbullet has long been one of the more popular third-party solutions for keeping notifications, links, photos and other files in sync between a smartphone or tablet and computer, although one important feature it has lacked until now is support for Apple devices. The wait is over, however, as Pushbullet announced today the availability of full iPhone, iPad and Mac support alongside a new Safari extension.

Pushbullet is the marriage of AirDrop, Notifyr and other features in one single package. First and foremost, the software enables iOS notifications to be pushed to Mac and dismissed remotely from Notification Center on iPhone. The app also has drag-and-drop functionality for sharing photos between devices and the ability to copy and paste links from Mac to iPhone using the newly available Safari extension.

The app utilizes Bluetooth LE to allow iOS notifications to be seen, acted on and dismissed from a Mac, with customizable per-app settings to fine-tune the experience to your liking. Pushbullet is now officially a cross-platform too as well, meaning that you can view your Android notifications right on your Mac desktop without taking your smartphone out of your pocket. Likewise, you can copy and paste links to your Android device using the Safari extension.

Pushbullet developer Ryan Olzenburg claims that iOS notifications cannot be pushed to Windows yet, but says to stay tuned for further updates. Pushbullet for iOS [Direct Link], Pushbullet for Mac [Direct Link] and the Safari extension are all free to download. If you use a different browser, extensions are available for Chrome, Firefox and Opera as well. We'll be going hands-on with Pushbullet soon.

Super Bowl XLIX is airing this Sunday, with the New England Patriots facing off against the Seattle Seahawks. If you don't have a cable subscription, you might be worried about missing the game -- but rest easy, there are several ways to watch if you have an iPad, computer, or Verizon iPhone.

We've outlined all of the ways you can catch the Super Bowl in the video below, and we've also got a walkthrough complete with links in this post.

iPad and iPod touch

NBC is running a promotion called "Super Stream Sunday" that will let all U.S.-based users watch 11 continuous hours of NBC content through the NBC Sports Live Extra app on the iPad or iPod touch.

The app normally requires a cable subscription and authentication to log in, but beginning at noon Eastern Time on February 1, the login requirements will be eliminated. NBC's Super Stream Sunday will include the full game, the halftime show with Katy Perry, and pre- and post-game shows.

Apple TV users can use AirPlay mirroring to watch content from their iPads on their televisions.

The NBC Sports Live Extra app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Mac/PC

Super Stream Sunday also extends to Macs and PCs, which can be used to watch the Super Bowl by visiting the NBCSports.com website. As with the app, streaming content from the NBC website will include the game itself, plus all of the add-ons.

Mac users can use AirPlay with an Apple TV to stream content to their television sets.

iPhone

NBC does not have the rights to stream Super Bowl content to iPhone users, so the NBC Sports Live Extra app will not work for streaming the game on the iPhone. Verizon has an exclusive content deal with the NFL, which means that if you don't have a Verizon phone, you'll need to find an alternate way to watch the Super Bowl.

If you are a Verizon subscriber with a MORE Everything plan, you can stream the Super Bowl on your iPhone through the Verizon NFL Mobile app.

NFL Mobile can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

International

If you're not in the United States but want to watch Super Bowl XLIX, you can purchase an NFL Game Pass that gives access to a live stream of the Super Bowl for $9.99. NFL Game Pass lets you stream NFL games on your computer or iPad.