News

The Apple Store isn't the first place that comes to mind when it comes to buying light bulbs. Philips is looking to change all that with what they're billing as the "world's smartest LED bulb" scheduled to hit Apple Stores on October 30. The energy-efficient bulb system is called hue.

Hue makes it possible to remote control the bulbs from anywhere using an iOS app. The lighting can be adjusted to fit specific colors or a variety of shades of white light. Controlling and monitoring the lighting in your home can make it look like you're there even while traveling.

Apple is taking no chances with its storefronts this week, with a major hurricane bearing down on the northeastern US. 35 retail locations are directly in the path of the storm, and Apple has reportedly taken precautions at up to 50 stores in anticipation of dangerous weather. Several of these locations are temporarily closed due to high winds and the threat of flooding coming along with hurricane Sandy.

The photo above from Vince Lattanzio shows sandbag installations to prevent flooding at the Philadelphia Apple Store in Center City. There's no need to say that water and electricity don't mix, and Apple's stores could be particularly vulnerable thanks to in-floor electrical outlets and wood displays.

The east coast of the US is about to get clobbered by hurricane Sandy. For those iPhone owners who still have power, several apps can track the action and help you prepare to keep your family safe. In fact, these iOS applications can help during any emergency, natural disaster or dangerous weather event.

From locating shelters to learning first aid, most of the apps are free. Several have configurable alerts that will keep you informed without even having to open the app. Here's a list of the top 5 iPhone apps for storms and hurricanes. Keep that iOS device battery charged in case the power goes out!

That's right, Grand Theft Auto fans. Rockstar is working on an iOS version of Vice City to be released for the touch screen platform later this fall. The game joins other mobile entries by Rockstar including Grand Theft Auto III, GTA Chinatown Wars and Max Payne Mobile currently available on iTunes.

Rockstar Games is celebrating Vice City's 10th anniversary, and the company plans to release several enhancements to the title in the mobile version. These include native high-resolution graphics and new artwork to commemorate the anniversary. GTA Vice City will also come to Android devices and Rockstar will release a new trailer featuring key scenes from the game.

The multitasking app switcher in iOS is great for quickly flipping between running apps. Over time, there are so many icons that pile up in the multitasking bar it can be tedious to manually delete them all. Several solutions exist to streamline and customize the process, including MultiCleaner which we've looked at before.

Now thanks to the ModMyi repo on Cydia, jailbreakers have a new option that provides simplicity. SwipeAway provides two settings for a gesture that clears all of the apps in the multitasking bar. The options are Swipe up or Swipe down, that's it. Once installed, you can open the app switcher then swipe in the direction that's picked in the settings to clear all of the apps.