Fresh Apple: The Apple Blog (6 сообщений)

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The Apple Blog
The Apple Blog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products.
http://theappleblog.com
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It's good to see Apple's focus on quality in 10.6
I find it sad that in the time past since the keynote very few bloggers or news have really understood what 10.6 promises. From what I know inside of Apple, they’re not kidding about improving OS X. Let’s take a quick inventory of the IT industry and what is about to happen in the next 10 years.
- Vista is a failure. I can’t deny it and sad to say it, but it sucks. I’ve tried to like it and give it a shot, but it doesn’t work. For those of you who could righfully disclaim me as a so-called Apple fanboy, I’d like to remind you that during the day I do .Net programming. And most of the time I get it done on a Mac. Touche.
- Linux, well I hope you figure out that people outside of the IT sector don’t give crap about their computers or even want to see a crash detailing what happened during kernel traps or memory faults. Not saying your efforts are fruitless, but if you want to be a successful distribution, break free from branding as another Linux distribution. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a consumer say ‘Isn’t linux for people who understand computers?’. Figure out how to do drag-n-drop software installations and the Linux community might get a better following. Then figure out how to make desktop applications not crash so frequently. I have ran everything from straight Darwin, to FreeBSD, to Ubuntu 8 and one thing has always come back when attempting Linux as my desktop system. Consumers are not interested in having an IT guy as a friend. Shocking, I know.
So who’s left in the crowd? Surprise surprise, do any of you seriously think this wasn’t easily figured out 5 years ago? I wasn’t surprised to be honest. Many of us grew up using Apple computers in schools. We miss having stuff that just worked. We grew up in an era of believing in seamlessness over configuration. We’re tired of configuring when DVD players play movies and microwave cook food without a college degree. Computers are machines; they service a purpose as utilitarian in modern day life as speaking to each other. They must work just as well as our own air passes over our vocal cords in a stream of language interpreted at the other end of a sound wave. I don’t see any other platform doing it as well as the 1-2-3 of Apple, Google, and the Internet.

Which brings me back to today. 10.6 is what I’m more excited about than any other iPhone App demo or glanced over news release in the last 48 hours. I wrote peviously how this flurry of new features came at some cost to Apple engineers. I’ve been in the situation were the code that works isn’t necessarily the best way to do it. Sadly, more times than I can even recollect. So says Fake Steve:

“Brokenhearted Apple watchers wasted no time in bemoaning all the missing features that remain unaddressed.” That’s what you wrote. Well, of course they bemoaned. I told you yesterday they would do that. They always do. You know why? Because they have no idea how products are made or how software is written. Because they know nothing — nothing — about technology. They think our headquarters in Cupertino is some kind of Willy Wonka chocolate factory and I’m Mr. Wonka himself and all I have to do is snap my fingers and dream up some new features (or just make a list based on fanboy email) and that’s it — just like that, the miracle products are brought to life.

Which only highlights that I’m honored and appreciative that I see Apple (and as a former employee wondering which direction this push came from) is pausing to go back and just spend time rethinking, polishing, and improving what is already great but not all the way 99% perfect. In fairness and my love for software, I hope to see Microsoft just do the same damn thing. We need an era in tech were we can all say, you know what, the Internet is fine but we could go back and just make what we have work better. Perhaps we already have, it just took an event like WWDC to really make it apparent that great features might sell, but broken features cost more in support and bad press.

The only thing I’m more interested in with the review of code is how Apple handles charging (or even better NOT charging) for this new release of OS X. They’ve spent a few years now dinging us for $129 bucks for new features, but are we do for a freebie when Apple could certainly afford to do so? It’s certain that 10.7 is going to have more features than we’ll be able to comprehend in a single web page.

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Save .Mac Bookmarks!
While there’s an awful lot to like about MobileMe (tight iPhone integration, web apps that look like they’re going to be awesome—this second point is big considering I usually dislike web apps), there are some parts of .Mac we’ll have to say goodbye to. Here’s an excerpt from the MobileMe FAQ:

Are any other .Mac features affected?
As part of this transition to MobileMe, some features are being discontinued: Web access to bookmarks (bookmark sync between your Macs and/or PCs is still supported), iCards, .Mac slides, and support for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther sync.

That’s right; say goodbye to iCards. The loss of iCards isn’t what disappoints me, though. iCards were a holdover from iTools, and simply would not mesh well with MobileMe (and they hardly meshed with .mac, for that matter). And .Mac Slides? Who ever used that feature? No, the one lost feature that I’d hate to see go is .Mac Bookmarks. As the FAQ states, bookmark syncing between devices isn’t going anywhere, but accessing bookmarks through a web browser (.Mac Bookmarks) is.

Here’s a scenario: you’re away from home (say the school library), you don’t have access to your MacBook (it’s being repaired), and you don’t own an iPhone (you’re locked into a plan for another year—argh). You need to access a certain page (say it’s a login page), but you don’t remember the URL you bookmarked. If you’re a .Mac subscriber, you might just visit bookmarks.mac.com, sign in, and find the bookmark you need. After July 11, if this sounds like you, you’ll be out of luck.

Why Apple would ditch this service is beyond me. After all, .Mac Bookmarks totally fits in the “Mobile” part of “MobileMe.” Not everyone is going to own an iPhone, and not everyone owns a laptop. But everyone leaves the home at some point, and sometimes they need to get on another computer to work. Knowing that you always have access to your bookmarks in such a situation is one of my favorite .Mac features, and it’s saved me in a pinch a number of times.

So here’s to MobileMe, and here’s hoping that Apple changes its mind and retains this one feature.

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One step closer to GarageBand in your pocket
About a year ago, I mentioned how eventually you could have GarageBand in your pocket thanks to the iPhone. Today, we’re one step closer with Beatmaker and Band, two new applications for the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

There were some critics of this idea since the total capabilities of the iPhone were not fully known. Beatmaker is a sequencer that allows you to make beats on your iPhone. Apple featured Moo Cow Music’s Band application. According to Moo Cow Music, “Drums, bass, guitars, keyboards can all be played and recorded into one song from the same application.” I am very excited at this prospect and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I usually get music ideas while I’m traveling via train and this would actually allow me to work out an idea right on my phone. This application obviously could not replace a music studio, but it is a great way to work out demos during wasted time like traveling or standing in line.

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3G iPhone: It's what comes in the box that counts
While looking at the new 3G iPhone I happened to check out what came in the box and was estactic to see a new much needed item.

That’s right, it looks like the new iPhone comes with a special tool for removing the SIM. In my world we call it a paperclip, but to Apple it’s known as a “SIM ejector tool.”

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Forum Activity: June 9, 2008
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Late rumor shows new developer Mac; is this for real?
Ah, there’s nothing like the thrill of last-minute keynote rumor-mongering. This is one I don’t think anyone saw coming, which in my book lends it some credibility. TUAW has posted some images of a page purportedly from Apple’s web site advertising Mac Fusion, a new Mac specifically for developers with the tagline, “Leave your apps behind. Build your apps for OS X.” The photos look legit insofar as it looks exactly like Apple’s marketing. That said, I’m simultaneously skeptical and intrigued by this new rumor.

Why skeptical? For starters, why would Apple release a Mac specifically for developers? Running WIndows and Linux via Boot Camp? Can’t you do that with any other Mac? How would this Mac be any different than a Mac mini with the developer tools installed? Second, what is it with people taking photos of the screen instead of screenshots? Is it to lend credibility to it? “I took a photo therefore it has to be real”? Never mind the fact that photos can be doctored, often with convincing results if the right person is at it. Lastly, how would Apple get away with the name “Mac Fusion” without upsetting VMWare, makers of the popular Fusion?

On the other hand, I am intrigued, despite my skepticism. I mean, this comes out of nowhere. Usually we see fakes of stuff we expect to see, not something totally out of nowhere. The marketing is spot-on Apple, as I mentioned before, in terms of the slogan and page layout. Also, the page mentions “OS X,” not “Mac OS X,” which is consistent with Apple’s apparent shift in OS X branding. And perhaps there are other special features with developers in mind; there’s not a whole lot to go off on with these photos.

Looks interesting, maybe. So to sum it up, this is could be real but is likely a well-done hoax. Only a few hours left until we know for sure.

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