If you rely on VNC protocol to access your desktop computers remotely on your iPad or iPhone, then Screens VNC is as best an app you could get. Screens VNC is pricey at $19.90 for an iOS app, but the app gets it right by implementing features that make it easy to use touch based interface to maneuver the cursor on the desktop. Screens app is an universal app with iCloud and AirPlay integration. And a free Screens Connect helper app enable you to access your desktop from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Screens VNC on App Store

Apple has sent out reminder email to its iWork.com users that the website and its service will be discontinued as of 31 July 2012. iWork.com users are advised to download all their documents to local Mac before the cut off date.

Apple launched iWork.com website as a public beta on January 2009, which provides a web interface for viewing, commenting and downloading of uploaded iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) documents. iWork.com does not provide editing feature and is not related to iCloud.

By shutting down iWork.com, Apple reduces the confusion as iCloud will be the only place to store your documents in the cloud. iWork apps for iOS support iCloud storage directly and there is an iWork area in iCloud.com website where you can access your documents in iCloud using a web based interface.

iWork app for Mac currently does not support iCloud storage directly. You can however upload and download documents to iCloud using the icloud.com website. iWork for Mac is expected to support iCloud storage directly with its next major upgrade.

Apple support document on downloading files from iWork.com

Prior to iOS 5.1, photos uploaded to Photo Stream in the iCloud are read only and can not be deleted. Apple fixes this annoyance with the release of iOS 5.1. You delete Photo Stream photos in the same manner as you would delete photos in the Camera Roll album:

• To delete a single photo, select the photo by tapping the photo when you are inside Photo Stream album. Then tap on the Trash icon to remove it.
• To delete multiple photos, on the main Photo Stream screen, tap on the action icon. Then tap one after another to select the photos to delete. And then tap on the red color Delete icon to remove the selected photos.

Apple released a brand new iPhoto for the iOS during its March 7 iPad media event. iPhoto for iOS, costing $4.99 on the App Store, is a universal app for both iPhone and iPad. It requires at least iPhone 4/4S and iPad 2, and requires the latest iOS 5.1.

When you try to install iPhoto on the first iPad, a message will pop up preventing you from buying and installing the app. The message “This app requires a front facing camera” is indeed strange as iPhoto is not a camera app.

We are highlighting this for those who own the first generation iPad. You can purchase the app on your iPhone 4/4S, thinking that it will work on your old iPad. Bt if you’ve already plan to buy the new iPad, then it is just a couple of days of waiting to use the app on a bigger screen.

Apple just completed its March 7 media event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. If you want the full coverage, please visit the usual suspects such as Engadget, MacWorld etc websites. For those in a hurry, here are the quick summary:

• iOS 5.1 will be available later today. Those with iOS 5 can update directly from within Settings app.
• As part of iOS 5.1, Siri will add Japanese language support.
• iTunes in iCloud now support movies with the ability to re-download movies you’ve purchased on any device. iTunes movie now come in 1080p.
• Apple unveils third generation Apple TV with 1080p support with a streamlined new user interface. The price is the same as existing model at $99. Available next week March 16th, order starts today.
• Apple launches new iPad. It is not iPad 3 or iPad HD, just iPad. Or the new iPad. Or third generation iPad.
• New iPad comes with 264ppi 2048×1536 resolution Retina Display. This is twice the resolution of existing iPad and more than 1 million pixel more than HDTV 1080p (1920×1080) standard. The new screen also boasts 44% greater saturation.
• New iPad has a new A5X processor with quad-core graphics and is twice as fast as Tegra 3.
• New iPad has a 5M pixel iSight camera with backside illuminated sensor, 5-element lens, Hybrid IR filter, face detection and ISP (signal processor) module built into the A5X chip. It can record video at 1080p with video stabilization and temporal noise deduction features.
• There is no Siri for the new iPad. Instead it comes with voice dictation for US English, British, Australian, French, German and Japanese.
• The new iPad supports World Ready 3G and next-generation 4G LTE wireless. It is capable of 21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, and LTE at 73Mbps. (Compare with iPad 2 which is capable of 3.1Mbps on EV-DO and 7.2Mbps on HSPA).
• The new iPad has a 10 hours battery life. The battery life is 9 hours on 4G LTE. It is 9.4mm thin and weights 1.4lbs, which is slightly heavier than iPad 2.
• The new iPad has the same pricing as iPad 2: $499 for 16GB Wi-Fi, $599 for 32GB Wi-Fi and $699 for 64GB Wi-Fi. The price for 4G LTE version is $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB.
• The new iPad will be available March 16 for US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Pre-orders starts today.
• The new iPad will be available March 23 for Austria, belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
• Apple updates iOS apps: iWorks, iMovie, Garage Band. Free update for existing users.
• Apple releases new iPhoto for iOS with photo editing and organization features. $4.99 available today.
• iPad 2 16GB will be made available at $399, a price drop of $100.

Apple announced the preview to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, just seven months after OS X Lion’s release last July. Here are the new features in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion in summary form for quick digestion:

• OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion has a serious looking cat.
• Similar to Snow Leopard, the name Mountain Lion suggests it is a fine-tuning release of Lion.
• Apple surprised everyone by announcing the preview release without the usual press event. Instead, only selected tech publishers are invited to closed door briefings by Apple.
• Apple released a preview of Mountain Lion to its developers as part of the announcement.
• OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion is scheduled to release in late summer 2012.
• With OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Apple is changing to an annual release cycle of OS X, to be on par with its iOS counter part.
• Apple started using “OS X” without the “Mac” naming since the release of Lion. But “Mac OS X” is still the title when view from within let say the “About This Mac” screen in Lion. In OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Apple officially drops the “Mac” title from within the operating system.
• OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be exclusively available from the App Store. It will not be available in USB stick like in Lion.
• iCloud is integrated deeper with Mountain Lion. You will be asked to sign-on with or create new Apple ID during installation. This is similar to the startup of iOS 5.
• iCal is renamed to Calendar and Address Book is renamed to Contacts, making apps to have consistent naming in iOS and OS X.
• Messages app will replace iChat in Mountain Lion. Messages app supports existing iChat services and iMessage, allows you to message to anyone using iMessages on their iPhone and iPad without the carrier texting charges. Apple released a public Messages beta for existing users to try out Messages before it’s release in Mountain Lion.
  
• Reminders will be moved out from iCal into a standalone Reminders app. The app looks similar to its iOS counterpart and will sync with iCloud, enable you to have the same tasks on your Mac, iPhone and iPad. 
  
• Notes will be moved out from Mail app into a standalone Notes app. The app will sport the same look as iOS version and will sync between the OS X Mountain Lion and iOS. 
  
• Notification Center will be a system feature in OS X Mountain Lion. Apps can publish notifications to pop up in a sidebar. This is a port of Notification Center from iOS, and is likely to replace Growl to become the de facto notification standard in OS X.
  
• Apple will bring the Game Center app from iOS to OS X. This will bring social gaming to the desktop, let you play games and chat with friends, and keeping your game score.
• AirPlay Mirroring allows you to mirror the content of iPad 2 and iPhone 4S to your HDTV via Apple TV. With Mountain Lion, you can stream 720p content from your Mac to HDTV via Apple TV.
  
• Share Sheets is a system window component that allows app to implement standard sharing mechanism. Safari, Preview etc in Mountain Lion will have a small button at toolbar to trigger the Share Sheets, allowing you quick access to email, message, tweet, AirDrop, share to Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo etc.
• Twitter is integrated with Mountain Lion, as with iOS 5.
• You can install apps from anywhere or from App Store in Lion. With Mountain Lion, Apple introduced a third type of app which is available outside the App Store but is digitally signed with Apple. This is a measure to combat malware as Apple is able to remotely prevent digitally signed apps from installing. Signed apps also can not be modified as it will break the signature. Gatekeeper is a new security mechanism introduced in Mountain Lion that allows the users to choose the type of apps that can be run. By default, Mountain Lion will allow only apps from App Store and identified developers with digital signature.
• OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion reflects the rising importance of the China market. Mountain Lion will have integration with Chinese services such as Baidu, Weibo, Youku, QQ etc.
• Mountain Lion brings a new Documents in the Cloud view to the traditional Open/Save File Dialog for apps that support working on documents in iCloud. iCloud will appear as another location besides your local disk for opening and saving your documents.
• The usual Software Update will be relocated under App Store app in Mountain Lion.
• OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion comes with an improved Safari 5.2. One notable new feature in Safari is its integration of search bar within the address bar. Apple has seeded a beta release of Safari 5.2 to its developers.
• There are reports that some older Mac models can run Lion but not Mountain Lion. Those affected are mostly machines with integrated graphics. It is still too early to confirm the minimum requirement since there is no official statement from Apple and Mountain Lion is still months away from release.

Apple’s OS X Mountain Lion Sneak Peak

Apple greatly improved mobile Safari app with iOS 5, bringing a number of features previously found only in Safari for OS X. Beside improved performance, Reader is another welcomed new feature especially when you are reading on a small iPhone screen.

Reader is a feature where Safari displays only the main content of the web page, sans the flashing advertisements and sidebars on most web page. It is not so obvious how to access Reader as not all web page can be rendered in Reader. When a web page can be viewed with Reader, a Reader icon will be displayed at the address bar.

Tap on the Reader icon. The Reader page will pop up to display the web page content. And you can adjust the font size with a tap for an easier read.

As mentioned, Reader is not available for all web pages. Based on our experience, a web page needs a certain number of paragraph of texts for the Reader feature. Most blog posts, reviews and articles page will be able to rendered under Reader, but not forum or search result pages.

With Photo Stream enabled in iCloud settings on an iDevice, a copy of the photo you just snapped will be automatically uploaded to Photo Stream. You can then access the photos in Photo Stream folder from any devices including the Mac.

iCloud will store only the last 30 days of photos. Older photos will be removed automatically by iCloud. There is no way for you to manually remove individual photo in Photo Stream. You can however reset your Photo Stream which will remove all your Photo Stream photos from iCloud.

To reset Photo Stream, you need a browser. Go to icloud.com website and sign in using your Apple ID.

Click on your account name at the top right corner of the page.

On the Account setting screen, click Advanced, and then click Reset Photo Stream. Click Done to close the Account screen.

The new 8MP 1080p camera with its low-light capability is one of the highlighted feature of iPhone 4S. Camera in smartphone is now a capable replacement for your point-and-shoot camera. Hardware asides, it is the iOS 5 that makes the camera really shines. And older iPhone that runs iOS 5 can take advantage of the improvements Apple made in camera and photo apps. Here are the 9 new features:

1. Photo Stream. Photo Stream is an iCloud feature. When you enable Photo Stream in your iCloud settings in your devices, a new “Photo Stream” photo album will be created. From then on, when you snap a picture, a copy of the picture will be automatically stored into “Photo Stream” and then sync to iCloud. Each devices with your iCloud account will then be able to access the photo in the same “Photo Stream”.

Photo Stream can be viewed as temporary buffer for your current photos. iCloud stores photos for 30 days only and will remove older photos automatically. There is also a limit of 1000 photos that you can view on Photo Stream. You can setup Photo Stream on Apple TV, and iPhoto and Aperture on the Mac.

2. Organize with photo albums. iOS 5 finally brings the ability to add and delete photo albums. Great way to organize your photos.

3. Access camera from lock screen. When you double tap to unlock your phone, a camera icon appears at bottom corner for quick access to the camera app.

4. Swipe from camera app to camera roll. While using the camera, you can swipe from left to right to switch to the camera roll. A quick way to check whether the last taken picture is good or not.

5. Grid lines. Grid lines are helpful to get horizontal alignment of objects right for the shot. It is also an essential guide for framing your subject. To turn on grid lines, tap on the Options button on the Camera app, and then toggle the “Grid” switch.

6. Use Volume Up button to snap. You can now use the Volume Up hardware button to snap a photo while in Camera app.

7. AE/AF Lock. When you touch and hold on a spot while taking a picture, the Camera app will apply Auto-Exposure and Auto-Focus lock on the spot. The exposure reading and focus position will then be used for your next snap.

8. Pinch to zoom. While taking picture, you can now pinch to zoom instead of using the slider at the bottom to zoom. You might find it a much simpler and quicker method.

9. Photo Editing. The Photo app now comes with built-in editing features. You can rotate or crop a picture. An auto-enhance mode can be used to apply automatic improvement to the color and tones of the picture. And there is a red-eye removal tool.