Fresh Apple: GigaOMApple (6 сообщений)

rss2email.ru

Интернет-инструменты для малого бизнеса

Александр Хабаров: жесть вместо золота

GigaOMApple

http://gigaom.com
рекомендовать друзьям >>

Screencast: How to Set Your Photoshop Scratch Disk
Here’s a quick video demonstration of how to set or change your scratch disk in Photoshop CS5 or Photoshop Elements for OS X. If lack of RAM or available disk space is causing crashes, this could be the fix you’re looking for.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req'd):
Переслать
iOS 4.3: Better AirPlay, Hotspot Settings, iPad Gestures
Apple finally allows third-party apps to broadcast video content to Apple TV 2 in the new iOS 4.3 beta released today. Also new in the beta is support for a variety of new multi-touch gestures for the iPad, and new settings for creating a Personal Hotspot, as we suggested it might include earlier.

The update represents major improvements to Apple’s mobile operating system. The new AirPlay support allows any third-party app to share video over-the-air with the new Apple TV. That means Hulu Plus, Netflix, and any other streaming video application could potentially beam content to your big screen TV. AirPlay is disabled by default in the new beta, but at least now developers have the option of turning it on.

iPad multi-touch gestures introduced in iOS 4.3 include the ability to pinch with four or five fingers to exit an app and return to the home screen, or to swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar. You can also swipe left or right to switch between your open apps. I’m surprised it took so long for these to appear. The iPad also gets a setting to let users choose whether to use the hardware switch to mute or rotation-lock the device.

Finally, iOS 4.3 does seem to offer Personal Hotspot capabilities, like those unveiled at Verizon’s press conference Tuesday for its version of the iPhone 4. These settings are definitely available for the iPhone, but it’s not yet clear whether they’ll also be available to 3G versions of the iPad, which can’t yet even share its connection via tethering. And even though the settings are there, that doesn’t mean every carrier will take advantage of them.

There’s also a new FaceTime origin that looks a little odd, and it looks like 4.3 won’t be available for the iPhone 3G or iPod touch 2nd generation.

Which new feature are you most excited about?

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req'd):
Переслать
Why Microsoft's "App Store" Block Attempt Will Fail
The Financial Times reports today that software publishing behemoth Microsoft has filed a motion with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week, objecting to Apple being awarded the trademark “App Store.”

From the Financial Times;

Apple applied to have the term trademarked in 2008, shortly after it launched its App Store for the iPhone. However, in a motion filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week, Microsoft points out that the term "app store" is used as a generic term by lots of companies to describe the online retail outlet used to sell mobile phone applications to consumers.

Microsoft lists other smartphone developers with App Store-like services (Research in Motion, Palm, Nokia, Samsung and, of course, Google) claiming that they all use the phrase “app store” in their marketing materials.

Microsoft trademark legal advisor Russell Pangborn said that the term “App Store” was no different to generic terms like “shoe store” or “toy store,” and that it was “…a generic term [that is] commonly used by companies, governments and individuals. The term "app store" should continue to be available for use by all without fear of reprisal by Apple.”

I don’t know about you, but as far as I can remember, “App Store” isn’t a phrase I ever heard, thought, said, wrote or read anywhere before it appeared for the iPhone. Since then, I’ve seen variations on the term appear elsewhere as alternatives to (and clones of) Apple’s App Store as they have launched on rival platforms — Google’s “Android Market” or Nokia’s “Ovi Store” and so on. In each case, I’ve always thought “Right then — that’s their version of the App Store,” and left it at that.

So what exactly is Microsoft trying to achieve here? They’re suggesting that, because the media at large refer to all these things as “app stores,” Apple shouldn’t be allowed ownership of the phrase. I can only see two reasons for being picky about this;
1. Microsoft doesn’t trust its PR staff/agencies to avoid using the phrase “app store” in marketing materials (and thereby face the threat of legal action from Apple) or,
2. Microsoft knows that, as far as customer perceptions go, “App Store” is a term synonymous with Apple’s high quality products and services, making it a valuable term in future marketing efforts. Or, put another way — “App Store” has some pretty glittery coat-tails that Microsoft wants to ride. After all, everyone has heard of the “App Store” — but who has heard of the “Marketplace”?
Granted, Microsoft had their Windows Mobile platform on sale for years before the iPhone was announced, for which third-party software was widely available. But Microsoft missed a trick — as they so often do — by not seeing an opportunity to streamline the process of app discovery, acquisition and updates. That Apple did have the foresight to make third-party application support an enjoyable experience was a breakthrough in the smartphone industry that Microsoft could have delivered first if they had only been more focused.

I’m glad they didn’t, mind you, or else a Microsoft app store would have been titled “Windows Mobile Universal Application Platform Services” or some other such unwieldy mouthful.

As far as I’m concerned, Apple should retain the trademark, since the Mac-maker deserves it. Apple did it first, and Apple did it best. Rather than wasting time and money fighting petty battles, Microsoft should instead concentrate on making their existing “Marketplace” such a compelling and easy-to-use service for Windows Phone 7 users that no one will even care if it’s referred to as an “app store” or not.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req'd):
Переслать
Google Places iPhone App Now Available
Google Places with Hotpot is now available as a free download from the iOS App Store (s aapl) (opens iTunes). The Yelp competitor from the search giant provides location-based recommendations for restaurants, bars, attractions and other points of interest. It’s been available for Android since July 26, 2010.

The app lets you find, rate and review businesses and other points of interest in your immediate vicinity. It provides real-time distance information relative to your current position, lets you see the location in Google Maps, call or find directions. You can add your own custom searches for specific businesses, and those searches will be saved for later use on the app’s home screen. You can even reorder and delete existing searches and the ones you create.

It’s a handy little app, and one that benefits from Google’s extensive search database. I’ll probably continue using Yelp for restaurant recommendations for the time being, since it seems to have a more mature database of reviews. Google is clearly keen to grow in that regard, since the app asks you constantly to rate nearby locations via a dialog bar at the bottom of the app’s home screen.

Google Places is at its best when paired with Google’s free turn-by-turn GPS navigation app, which exists on Android but has yet to make an appearance on the iPhone platform. If Google navigation ever does come, either via an update to the built-in Maps app or on its own, I wouldn’t bet on Yelp’s chances of coming out on top in the location-based recommendations game.

Yelp or Google Places: Which app gets pride of place on your iPhone’s home screen? Or maybe you’re more into Gowalla or Foursquare? Let us know in the comments.
Loading
NextPrevious
Picture 1 of 5

Переслать
How the Mac App Store Could Lead to a Better iTunes

Much of the discussion surrounding t he Mac App Store has been around the repercussions it will have on Mac application development, but I think the conversation is missing something. I feel the Mac App Store could be the starting point for a better iTunes, or at least the death of iTunes as we know it today.

On the Mac, music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and every other type of media are downloaded and managed through one application: iTunes. This is entirely different from the way things are done in iOS, where the iTunes app is strictly for downloading media, while separate video, music, and photo apps are used for managing it.

As we learned in October, the stated goal of OS X Lion is to bring features of iOS back to the Mac. It seems likely that could include the way different types of media are managed on iOS, meaning separated apps for managing and downloading content.

It actually sounds pretty great to me: iTunes would be used exclusively for downloading media, and then there can be secondary apps for managing it. A music app for music and podcasts, a video app for movies and TV shows, and then a books app for, well, books, and so on. Oh, and also a separate app for Ping. We can’t forget Ping. While it may seem more complicated, it would actually make more logical sense from a user perspective. Where does one go to see video? The Video app. Why would a user new to the platform ever expect to find that content in something called “iTunes?”

Of course this leads to the question of how all this media is going to be synced to iOS devices. For that, Apple could bring back the long-neglected iSync application. Beef it up, make it more apparent to the user, and there you’ve got your syncing solution. It could be somewhat like the Windows Phone 7 sync client for Mac.

And it could be that the release of the Mac App Store is just the first step in this transition. It’s worth noting how similar the Mac App Store icon is to the iTunes icon. Both are circular and blue. The only real difference is the image in the middle. The icons for the iOS versions of the App Store and iTunes are also quite similar, the main difference being that former icon is blue and the latter purple:

By making the icons so similar, Apple could be setting the groundwork for a decentralization of iTunes. Since iTunes just turned 10, I think it’s time for a change from the trend of more bloat, and I hope Apple agrees.

What do you think? Do you envision a future where iTunes isn’t the master of your iOS life? Or are you happy with one application managing everything? Tell us in the comments.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req'd):
Переслать
Rumor Has It: Personal Hotspot Coming to All iPhones in March

The Verizon iPhone finally became a reality Tuesday, and it brought with it one feature the existing AT&T GSM version lacks: Personal Hotspot, which lets you share your data connection with up to five other devices via Wi-Fi. That feature might not remain exclusive long.

Many sources yesterday speculated the Personal Hotspot feature might be coming to iPhones not on Verizon’s network later thanks to an iOS update. This morning, BGR is reporting that it received confirmation from an anonymous source that Personal Hotspot would make its way out to other iPhones by March. The blog has a number of screenshots (with the carrier name blocked out) to back up its claim.

The feature will be included as part of iOS 4.3, which, according to BGR, will carry the version identifier 8F5148b. No pre-release beta of iOS has appeared on the iPhone developer portal since the arrival of iOS 4.2, so it’s possible Apple has been waiting to allow Verizon to be the one to reveal the Personal Hotspot feature.

A personal hotspot feature makes sense for iPhones, since it’s becoming common on Android devices. It’s also a good reason to jailbreak, since the MyWi app for jailbroken devices allows iPhones (and iPads) to act as personal hotspots already.

BGR reports that AT&T users might not receive the feature as soon as it becomes available. AT&T subscribers had to wait quite a while to get tethering, and the company may be wary of straining its network even further. The feature will be even more desirable on a GSM network, however, since it won’t be interrupted by incoming calls, like it is on Verizon’s CDMA network, so AT&T might want to adopt it quickly if it wants to retain more of its iPhone users.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req'd):
Переслать