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- Square: Hands On
The first guest during Guy Kawasaki’s feature presentation at Macworld was Jack Dorsey, who has recently changed his focus from Twitter to his new startup, Square.
Square’s goal is to allow anyone to easily accept credit card payments on their iPhone or iPod touch using a tiny dongle that fits into the device’s audio input. Imagine how easy it will be to buy or sell items through Craigslist using a credit card. What if your friend owes you money but he doesn’t have any cash? Plug in the dongle, which Dorsey claims will be initially free (although I can’t imagine that strategy lasting forever), launch the Square app, swipe your friend’s credit card, and you’re done.
Dorsey and Square are trying to improve the experience around credit card transactions. Instead of paper receipts, Square users can receive receipts via email. The image below is an example of one from when I visited Sightclass Coffee, a coffee shop in San Francisco that Dorsey often visits and was even mentioned during Kawasaki’s presentation (their coffee is delicious but the shop is still under construction so there’s nowhere to sit!).
Have you ever seen such a gorgeous receipt? It was immediately emailed to me after I signed using my finger on the iPod touch’s screen. Innovation at its finest. The merchant’s logo, email address, Twitter account, and location are included. Note: $7.00 for two lattes…
Before today I had several questions about the service. Fortunately I received some answers:
Is Square getting around traditional credit card security?
Square is actually working closely with banks and is in full compliance with all credit card security regulations.Is the iPhone/iPod touch the only device that can be used with Square?
The dongle is designed to work with any device that has an audio input jack. That means a lack of software is the problem for now. Dorsey mentioned Android, Blackberry, and even the Mac as devices that will accept payments in the future.How difficult is it to sign up for Square?
Go to the website. 10 second process. We’re just waiting for the dongle to become available to those who aren’t lucky enough to be in the beta program.Below is a picture of Square in action at Sightglass.
Note: The iPod touch’s audio input jack is on the bottom of the device, so the Square dongle is covered by the employee’s fingers.
Переслать - The iPad Developer Gold Rush is On, But Will it Pan Out?
Are you making an iPad app? If the answer is yes, you’re definitely not alone. A recent report by Flurry Analytics, a firm which conducts research on mobile tech and trends, found that the number of new projects being developed for the iPhone (and now for the iPad, too) nearly tripled after Apple’s announcement of the new device.
The information is based on the number of developers who are integrating Flurry analytics into their iPhone OS-based apps, a number which increased threefold to nearly 1,800 applications in January, versus less than 600 in December. It’s a difference that’s too great to be accounted for by chance alone, and it’s the largest surge ever measured in the history of Flurry’s stat tracking. The surge also helped Apple reinforce the dominance of its App Store versus its most significant competitor, the Google Android market. In December, new Android projects rose sharply, while new iPhone projects experienced the largest dip yet seen since the introduction of Google’s Android developer API. The January numbers more than reversed that trend, however.
So while there’s no denying that the gold rush is on for iPad development, there does remain the question of whether or not said gold rush will actually pay off for developers. Apple must be pleased as punch, because it sells its devices on the back of content, a big chunk of which for the iPad and iPhone platform comes from the App Store. But developers hoping to cash in and repeat some of the early successes of the App Store following its initial launch may be sorely disappointed when March comes around.
Yes, Apple will be expanding the customer base of the App Store by a significant margin, even if sales don’t meet the ambitious expectations the company seems to have for the device. But how much of that will translate into people willing to pay for new apps for their new devices? We already know that free app downloads exceed paid ones by a pretty wide margin. And there’s a very good chance that many of the iPad’s early adopters will be owners of iPhones and iPod touches. It’s entirely possible that this group will stick with the purchases they’ve already made, and be wary of making new ones without a solid demonstration of added value from iPad-specific apps.
The landscape is also very different this time around. There are many more established players on the scene now, including ones that ensconced themselves in consumers’ hearts after coming out of nowhere when the App Store initially launched. ngmoco is a good example of one of these. The existence of these iPhone stars will likely make iPad app downloading less of a merit-based system than it was in the frontier days of the App Store’s origin.
Is it a good idea to work on your iPad development skills (sub required)? Probably. Larger companies and brands will no doubt be looking to farm out app development down the road. Should you expect to hear about or experience the same kind of overnight success stories that accompanied the App Store’s launch? I’d say not. Lightning doesn’t often strike twice, and this is one instance where that old maxim’s likely to be proven true.
Related GigaOM Pro Research:
Переслать - Infographic: Google vs. Apple
GigaOM has put together and infographic with a timeline of the back and forth tech battle between Google and Apple. Check out the full graphic here.
Переслать - Macworld Expo 2010: Best of Show
Just before opening the show floor to the 2010 Macworld Expo, the editors of Macworld and Matt Marsahll, the founder of VentureBeat, announced the winners of this year’s Macworld Expo Best of Show. The winners this year heavily favor the iPhone or hardware solutions with very little Macintosh software represented. From that group of 12 winners, seven were chosen to give six-minute demonstrations of their products on stage in the style of the DEMO conference.
I made a few notes on a couple of the products that intrigued me. You can get the full details at Macworld.com.
Canson Papershow has an interesting take on the digital pen trend. Papershow lets you draw on special paper that is printed with invisible microdots that let the camera in the pen track the exact position of the pen. The trick here is that the software is focused around live streaming of the pen position, rather than capture of what was written for transfer to the computer later. You can write and draw right on top of your slide presentation in real-time. The solution consists of the pen, the special paper, and a USB stick with the software on it. A nifty little product that offers something (live streaming) that is not available in other digital pens.Carina Software SkyFi is a Wi-Fi access point with a RS-232 serial port that lets you drive an automated telescope mount. I think there will probably also be some cool applications for this device in the home automation business where some high end home theater equipment still comes with RS-232 interfaces for control where Infrared might be impractical or unreliable.
FastMac U-Socket is a wall socket replacement that includes two USB ports.
Frolicware Autopark provides iPhone software to help you find where you parked.
Inrix Traffic Pro lets you use your iPhone to plan the best route to your destination before you leave by analyzing traffic and historical trends.
Kanex HDMI to Mini DisplayPort Connector enables the video-in port on your 27″ iMac so that you can use that beautiful screen with a Blu-ray player, PS3, Xbox 360, etc.
Marketcircle Billings Touch is a gorgeous iPhone app that can work standalone or as a companion to the desktop version of the Billings invoicing application.
Microvision ShowWX is a laser-based pico projector that can project a bright, colorful image on any surface in a package about the size of an iPod Classic. Because the light source is a pinpoint laser and not a diffuse LED, the image is always in focus, even on an uneven surface. These devices, priced at a reasonable $500, might be perfect for the road warrior looking to lighten their load. I talked with Matt Nichols of Microvision on the show floor for a bit, and the technology here came out of Defense research into wearable heads-up displays. While this pico projector won’t make you Robocop, it might be nearly as useful as Teflon.Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite lets you connect to your documents in cloud storage and edit documents and spreadsheets on your iPhone.
Sachmanya Yapper is a web-based service for quickly creating iPhone (and Android) apps from existing RSS feeds. They have special Macworld Expo discount pricing through Saturday. Be sure to check it out now if you’re interested because the discount is substantial.
Ten One Design Inklet is software that lets you use your trackpad as a pressure-sensitive drawing tablet.
The DEMO format for this year’s presentation was quite good and a nice change from the standard award show presentations. The heavy emphasis on iPhone and hardware solutions this year gave me the impression that some innovation in Mac software was overlooked. Next year, perhaps Macworld Expo will just flat out change the name to the iPad Innovation Awards.
Переслать - Aperture 3: Upgrading Aperture 2 Libraries May Cause Headaches
So Aperture 3 is finally out. The trial has been an absolute dream to play with. It doesn’t upgrade your existing Aperture 2 library, so you need to test it on newly imported images. However, for those who immediately bit the bullet and upgraded with a full license, it hasn’t been all roses. If you’re new to Aperture in version 3, you may carry on with your day — but if you’re moving from version 2 to the 3, you should probably read on.
Hopefully, you’re reading this before you’ve run into any problems. Here at TheAppleBlog, we aim to lessen your pain. It should go without saying, but please, please, make sure you’ve got at least one backup of your Aperture library. You should have this on any given day of course, but it counts double when you’re planning on upgrading and performing any changes to software in general. With that public service announcement out of the way, we can talk tragedies (hopefully averted).
I haven’t had issues first hand (thankfully), because I’m still just using the trial version on a newly created version 3 library. But as my father-in-law dove right in, he’s had nothing but pain and frustration as Aperture 3 has attempted to update his existing library to the newer database structure. Looking at the Apple Support forums for Aperture shows that he’s not alone.
The culprit seems to be at the point in time when the library file is being converted/upgraded. The beach ball of death comes on full force, and in turn makes the Mac unusable. This can go on for hours! At best you can restart and avoid the upgrade until there’s a fix to the issue — at worst, you may lose library data.
Apple Support has recommended trying the Aperture Library First Aid. You have the option to Repair Permissions, Repair Database, or Rebuild Database with this tool. To access, you’ll need to open an Aperture Library file directly, and hold Option+Command while doing so. These processes have not proven to fix the issue, but are at least worth attempting.
116 responses (at the time of this write-up) may not be a lot, relatively speaking, but clearly represents an issue to be aware of. If you’re considering buying the upgrade to Aperture 3, you may want to keep an eye on this forum until there’s an identified issue or fix. Happy upgrading!
Thanks to Tom for the tip on this, and good luck!
Переслать - 10 Billion iTunes Song Downloads Could Equal $10K for One Lucky Customer
Planning on buying any music anytime soon? If you are, you may want to keep an eye on the new counter Apple is running over on its web site. You can find it by visiting the special 10 Billion Song Countdown contest page the company has set up as it nears the momentous milestone.
When that number does hit 10 billion (as of this writing, it was almost at 9.9 billion), one lucky iTunes customer who actually makes the 10 billionth purchase could win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card. That’s a lot of songs, TV shows or even apps, depending on what you fancy. Especially if rumors prove true and TV show prices drop to just a dollar. And at the current pace of around 100 songs per second, it will be just under two weeks until that milestone is hit.Apple took the opportunity to also toot its own horn, which is only fair considering it’s hard to overstate the impact iTunes has had on the music industry:
iTunes changed the way you buy music, making songs and albums available for download, day or night. Seven years later, we're about to celebrate our biggest milestone for music, yet — 10 billion songs downloaded. Buy a song, and if it's the 10 billionth download, you could win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.
Viewed over the long term, hitting the 10 billion downloads-mark so soon after the it hit 3 billion (July 2007), a number which took three years from the initial launch of the iTunes store, Apple is doing very well. Recent developments, however, have had a negative influence on iTunes music sales numbers. Specifically, I’m talking about the new deal Apple worked out with record labels that saw prices for some bestselling music jump to $1.29 per song from 99 cents.
Since then, digital album sale growth has been steadily on the decline. According to AppleInsider, the second quarter of 2009 saw 11 percent growth in digital sales, while the third only saw 10, and the crucial fourth quarter — which included the 2009 holiday season — saw only 5 percent growth. Sure, it’s still technically growth, but that rate of decline has got to be making both Apple and music industry executives nervous.
For its part, Apple is probably just content to let the music sales slow so that it can go back to record companies and say “I told you so” regarding the effects of the price flexibility required by the labels in exchange for DRM-free tracks. Customers could actually come out on top if sales continue to trend downward, since the industry might be forced to try going back to a flat, 99-cent-per-song-downloaded rate, a move Apple would no doubt support.
Related GigaOM Pro Research: How to Manage Access to Digital Content
Переслать - How-To: Create an iPhone Web App
The iPhone OS is pitched as the entire Internet in your pocket…minus Flash. This works most of the time, but what if you just want to design a site or form that looks like a native iPhone App?
This is where iWebKit comes in. iWebKit is a free framework package for creating websites and applications that are optimized for the iPod Touch, iPhone & iPad. The bulk of the framework is CSS3 which can work its magic to makeover any dreadful site and make it look fresh.
I will be covering the web-form aspect of creating an optimized site, but iWebKit has many deeper features that can communicate directly with the OS. Its documentation is excellent, so dig around or check out the demo site on your iPhone to get inspiration.
When designing for the iPhone OS, you should use the iPhone simulator available in the SDK to get an idea of where your design is heading. You can also use Safari to get a pretty close representation, but nothing beats using a real physical device. It’s amazing how cool it feels and you really do get the impression it’s a native application.
Getting Started
Here is what the form looks like on the iPhone before we optimize it.
It’s pretty dull looking, to say the least. Below is the original HTML code being used. We’re going to get Apple-blood running through it and give it a makeover.
<html><head><title>Test Form</title></head> <body> <form method="post"> Name: <input type="text" size="12" maxlength="12" name="name"> Password:<input type="password" size="12" maxlength="36" name="passw"><br /> Gender:<br /> Male:<input type="radio" value="Male" name="gender"><br /> Female:<input type="radio" value="Female" name="gender"><br /> Favorite Food:<br /> Steak:<input type="checkbox" value="Steak" name="food[]"><br /> Pizza:<input type="checkbox" value="Pizza" name="food[]"><br /> Chicken:<input type="checkbox" value="Chicken" name="food[]"><br /> <textarea rows="5" cols="20" name="quote" wrap="physical">Enter your favorite quote! Select a Level of Education:<br /> <select name="education"> <option value="Jr.High">Jr.High</option> <option value="HighSchool">HighSchool</option> <option value="College">College</option> </select><br /> <input type="submit" name="" value="Submit" /> </form> </body> </html>
This code needs to be in an HTML file in the same folder as the iWebKit framework. I called it
index.html.
The first step is to add these lines between the
<head>tags.<meta content="yes" name="apple-mobile-web-app-capable" /> <meta content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type" /> <meta content="minimum-scale=1.0, width=device-width, maximum-scale=0.6667, user-scalable=no" name="viewport" /> <link href="css/style.css" type="text/css" /> <script src="javascript/functions.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="homescreen.png"/> <link href="startup.png" rel="apple-touch-startup-image" />
These lines tell the iPhone browser that this page is designed for it. It also references the CSS, JavaScript and images for the iPhone Home Screen and a startup image.
To create the top title bar we need to enter the following code immediately after the
<body>tag.<div id="topbar"> <div id="title">Test Form</div> </div>
If you load up the page in your iPhone simulator browser you will see this bar at the top.
Now we need to start our main content with the following
<div>tag.<div id="content">
All the form fields will be inside of this
<div>and we won’t close it till the end of the form. The first form fields we want are the Name and Password fields.Replace the original code:
Name:<input type="text" size="12" maxlength="12" name="name"><br /> Password:<input type="password" size="12" maxlength="36" name="passw"><br />
With this:
<ul class="pageitem"> <li class="bigfield"><input placeholder="Name" name="name" type="text" /></li> <li class="bigfield"><input placeholder="Password" name="passw" type="password" /></li> </ul>
Our Name and Password fields have now been transformed.
The
<ul>container represents the white box while the<li>tag is to signify separate sections inside of the white box. You could also put each of these fields in their own<ul>containers and they would look like two separate boxes. To save screen space, I group similar items together. Now lets replace those old fashioned radio buttons from the Gender question.Replace this:
Gender:<br /> Male:<input type="radio" value="Male" name="gender"><br /> Female:<input type="radio" value="Female" name="gender"><br />
With this:
<span class="graytitle">Gender</span> <ul class="pageitem"> <li class="radiobutton"> <span class="name">Male</span> <input name="gender" type="radio" value="M" /> </li> <li class="radiobutton"> <span class="name">Female</span> <input name="gender" type="radio" value="F" /> </li> </ul>
The radio buttons are changed for the better.
Next up are the checkboxes under the Favorite Food question.
Replace this:
Favorite Food:<br /> Steak:<input type="checkbox" value="Steak" name="food[]"><br /> Pizza:<input type="checkbox" value="Pizza" name="food[]"><br /> Chicken:<input type="checkbox" value="Chicken" name="food[]"><br />
With this:
<span class="graytitle">Favorite Foods</span> <ul class="pageitem"> <li class="checkbox"> <span class="name">Steak</span> <input name="steak" type="checkbox" /> </li> <li class="checkbox"> <span class="name">Pizza</span> <input name="pizza" type="checkbox" /> </li> <li class="checkbox"> <span class="name">Chicken</span> <input name="chicken" type="checkbox" /> </li> </ul>
Now instead of check boxes, we get those pretty on/off sliders we’re accustomed to inside the iPhone OS.
The textbox is pretty simple since it just creates a nice white box around the textbox.
Replace:
<textarea rows="5" cols="20" name="quote" wrap="physical">Enter your favorite quote!</textarea><br />
With this:
<ul class="pageitem"> <li class="textbox"> <textarea name="quote" rows="5">Enter your favorite quote!</textarea> </li> </ul>
Lets move on to the dropdown menus. Dropdowns always use the iPhone’s built-in method and help create the feeling of a native app.
Replace this:
Select a Level of Education:<br /> <select name="education"> <option value="Jr.High">Jr.High</option> <option value="HighSchool">HighSchool</option> <option value="College">College</option> </select><br />
With this:
<span class="graytitle">Level of Education</span> <ul class="pageitem"> <li class="select"> <select name="education"> <option value="Jr.High">Jr.High</option> <option value="HighSchool">HighSchool</option> <option value="College">College</option> </select> <span class="arrow"></span> </li> </ul>
Notice the arrow span class adds the down arrow to the right of the selection box.
As far as the form goes, all that’s left is the Submit button and to close the
<div>tag.Replace this:
<input name="Submit" type="submit" value="Submit" />
With this:
<ul class="pageitem"> <li class="button"> <input name="Submit" type="submit" value="Submit" /> </li> </ul>
Now close the content
<div>tag with the following:</div>
Finally, we may want to put a footer at the bottom of our page. It’s nice to also support the iWebKit folks.
<div id="footer"> <a href="http://iwebkit.net">Powered by iWebKit</a> </div>
That’s it for the HTML portion. Two nice little touches you can do are for when someone adds the page to their home screen. When browsing the page, click the “+” button and select the Add to Home Screen option. You will see an icon that, by default, is a screenshot of the page. You can customize this by making your own 58×58 pixel image and referring to it in the
<head>section. Mine is named homescreen.png and I’ve already included the code at the beginning of the article.
Now when this page is added to the Home Screen, it will look and feel like a native app. Why not have a startup screen displayed while the page loads? iWebKit also has this feature and you simply need a 320×460 pixel image that again, is referenced in the
<head>section. I have called mine startup.png.
That’s it, we’re done! iWebKit has many other features that you should check out. You may get some inspiration for an app or at least look good to your boss when you pretty up that old form that’s been around for years. All the files used in this article are also attached for your viewing pleasure along with a short video walkthrough of this tutorial.
Project Files: iwebkit-tutorial-files.zip (94 KB, ZIP)
Переслать
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