Joe Rossignol

Joe Rossignol is a former iDB editor.

Every single Halfbrick Studios game is now free

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Halfbrick Studios must be in a generous mood, because it has just discounted its entire game lineup on the App Store. Its complete collection of games for iPhone and iPad are now free, ranging from Monster Dash and Age of Zombies to Fruit Ninja and Colossatron. The award-winning developer has not confirmed if this is a limited time sale, or if the games will remain free on a permanent basis. There are over 10 apps ahead, many of which were 99 cents and others that were already free… 

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Apple reaches settlement in $840 million e-books antitrust lawsuit

Joe Rossignol ∙ June 17, 2014

Apple has settled with U.S. states and consumers that were seeking damages for alleged price fixing on e-books, protecting itself from a trial where it could have faced up to $840 million in claims. Bloomberg was first to report on the news, claiming that a trial had been set for July after Apple was found to be conspiring with book publishers to raise e-book prices as part of an illegal scheme… 

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Unicode 7.0 includes 250 new emoji icons that could come to future iOS update

Joe Rossignol ∙ June 16, 2014

The Unicode Consortium announced today that Unicode 7.0 is now available, adding currency symbols for the Russian ruble and Azerbaijani manat, historic scripts and other new symbols. But as reported by MacRumors, the bigger news for iPhone and iPad users is the addition of approximately 250 new emoji icons. Before you get too excited, Apple still has to update iOS to support the new Unicode standard first… 

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MoreInfo provides media search for Activator

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

iOS 8 might be stealing a little bit of the thunder from the jailbreaking scene as of late, but the community is still going strong. MoreInfo is a new extension designed for use with Activator, the useful jailbreak tweak for assigning gestures to trigger common iOS actions. It allows for a quick in-browser search of the currently playing song or movie, with support for multiple search engines and several customization options. A full rundown of the extension follows… 

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Apple begins reaccepting Bitcoin apps on the App Store

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

Apple can't make up its mind. Just months ago, it pulled all Bitcoin wallet apps from the App Store after enacting a policy against all apps using the virtual currency. Now, it has reversed that decision and is allowing apps based the virtual currency back into the App Store. As reported by The Next Web, at least one app has already made its return to the storefront. Take a look…

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Giveaway: Enter to win I-MEGO MAZE Studio Headphones

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated June 22, 2014

iDownloadBlog is pleased to announce our latest giveaway of the I-MEGO MAZE Studio Headphones, valued at $139.99. The MAZE headphones launched just a few weeks ago, featuring a soft memory foam cushion, semi-transparent vinyl record-like deco plate, and an integrated metal slider. The pair have a patent pending design that aims to deliver enhanced acoustics. Read ahead for how to enter… 

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Mac App Recap: 10 apps for OS X to test drive

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

App Recap primarily focuses on iPhone and iPad apps throughout the week, but each weekend we post a special edition Mac App Recap for our OS X readers. If you have a Mac, you're in for a real treat. This edition of the roundup has apps ranging from a SoundCloud player and popular RSS reader to a desktop thermometer and an exciting new adventure game. Read ahead for a look at 10 apps that every Mac owner should check out… 

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Powershot is a useful screenshot annotation and markup app for Mac

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

I take a lot of screenshots for a variety of purposes, often times for inclusion in a blog post or to simply show something quickly to someone. For that reason, I was interested in trying a new app called Powershot that I stumbled upon in the Mac App Store. The simple OS X utility allows you to annotate and markup screenshots systemwide, without the need to use third-party software. Read ahead for a closer look at how the app works… 

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Apple working to encrypt iCloud emails in transit

Joe Rossignol ∙ June 13, 2014

Email encryption is a hot topic right now. A few weeks ago, Google published a report that reveals how much email sent in transit is encrypted and which major providers are taking measures to encrypt their own emails. Then yesterday, the NPR published a more in-depth report (via 9to5Mac) that looks at how well major email providers in the United States are doing at protecting the data of users online.

As it turns out, Apple was among several major email providers failing to properly encrypt its emails sent and received from other providers like Gmail and Yahoo. Following the report, however, the iPhone maker reached out to NPR to confirm that it will be working on encrypting its emails in transit. The company says the change will occur "soon," but no timeline was provided… 

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Apple cracking down on fake App Store ratings

Joe Rossignol ∙ June 13, 2014

The latest statistics reveal that there are over 1.1 million apps and counting on the App Store, making app discovery for small and large developers alike increasingly challenging. On top of that, Apple is known to have an algorithm that makes only apps with higher ratings more easily discoverable.

As a result, a significant number of developers manipulate the position of their app in the App Store charts by posting fake reviews with high ratings, often times five stars. But according to TechCrunch, Apple is aware of the rank manipulation and is now taking action against these fake ratings…

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