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Apple making iOS 8 Notification Center a bit less useful by banning calculator widgets

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Pcalc-today-widgetDeveloper James Thomson of popular calculator app PCalc announced today via his Twitter account that Apple is forcing him to remove the app’s Today Widget due to a restriction that iOS widgets “cannot perform any calculations.”

Apple’s new Today Widgets feature in iOS 8, which allows developers to build functions into the system-wide Notification Center, does have some limitations that Apple outlines in developer documentation. For example, Apple encourages developers not to use Today Widgets for multistep tasks: If you want to create an app extension that enables a multistep task or helps users perform a lengthy task, such as uploading or downloading content, the Today extension point is not the right choice.” There doesn’t, however, appear to be specific references to apps that perform calculations in Apple’s developer guidelines.
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iHeartRadio iPhone app updated w/ CarPlay support & Today widget

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iHeartRadio CarPlayiHeartRadio, the Internet radio streaming app, is out with a new version for iPhone today adding a couple of new features for listeners. First up is support for Apple’s CarPlay feature for CarPlay-equipped vehicles. This presents an optimized version of the iPhone app on CarPlay equipped cars’ built-in screens when connected to the iPhone making it easier to navigate and control the app when driving.

Apple has mentioned that iHeartRadio is a supported CarPlay app since the re-branded feature was introduced earlier this year, but support was not yet available when we reviewed CarPlay in an aftermarket Pioneer display last month. iHeartRadio brings a wide variety of content to CarPlay with stations ranging from talk radio to sports to various music genres, and traditional AM/FM stations with online streams can be accessed through CarPlay using the new iHeartRadio app for iPhone.
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iPhone app Numerous adds iCloud sign-in, Today widget, more

Numerous, the number tracking app for iPhone, previewed a new version of the app over the summer with several features that take advantage of iOS 8. Today the update is live and includes support for HealthKit to read data from Apple’s Health app, a Today widget in Notification Center for glancing at numbers you track, and added AirPlay support for displaying an optimized version of your numbers on Apple TV.

The update also includes iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus enhancements and landscape support, but iCloud sign-in support is probably my favorite addition. Introduced earlier this year at WWDC, iCloud sign-in support allows developers to offer app users an alternative to easy log-ins through social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
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