By Graham K. Rogers

I just arrived home from a brief shopping trip in the middle of the day here and was surprised to see some iTunes app updates. I check every morning and these have arrived since: right now it is around 01:30 in Cupertino and 04:30 in New York. It is 16:30 here and, just to rub it in we have slight cloud with temperatures of 33 degrees (Celsius). The same weather is predicted for the next week or so, when it will start to get hot.

One of the apps was a surprise to me as it was the free gift in Day 3 of Apple's 12 Days of Xmas promotion: Halftone 2. There are a considerable number of changes to this app. The list is as follows:

• Halftone 2 has been updated to version 1.1.7 and has the following -
  • Added toon filter by request of users
  • Localised 6 more languages
  • Three new page layouts added
  • Page style button added to primary toolbar, giving easier access to colors and layouts
  • 3D glasses image added as a reminder for users to use suitable glasses with the experimental anaglyph feature
  • Send feedback option added under settings
  • Usage tips added - these will pop up. . . .
  • Performance improvements and bug fixes

  

• MacTracker is an essential tool for anyone that follows Apple/Macs, or who is interested in the specifications. A wealth of detail is carried in this app. There is also a version of MacTracker for the Mac of course and this has been on my computers for years. Ian Page has done excellent work over the years and deserves support. Version 3.2 of the iOS MacTracker app has a number of updates related to model changes:
  • Mac Pro (Late 2013) added
  • Information on Thunderbolt and 4K display support for recent models now added
  • Adds typical acoustical performance (where available) to Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro models
  • Other minor changes and additions

• Retro Camera Free is a version of an interesting app from CLBLITZ Ubiquitous Communications. It allows a tryout of some interesting filters and effects for free, with a paid version ($1.99) also available. The link to the developer website is broken, but Retro Camera Free downloaded perfectly and works fine.

  

• SCB Easy is one of the apps developed for the Siam Commercial Bank (to locals this is Thai Phanit) that is part of a strategy for those with accounts to carry out transactions via their iOS devices. Other apps are available.

  With the international nature of iOS and the approach of the AEC (ASEAN Economic Community), the SCB Easy app details in the iTunes store are in Thai and English, which is better than some banks here can manage. That includes the update details of what is now version 1.0.60.

  • Redesign Password Setting
  • Able to view your Flexible Fixed Account
  • Click, "Get bill" to retrieve new balance of Metropolitan Electricity Authority bill
  • Improve security for Top Up transactions.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand where he is also Assistant Dean. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.