Fresh Apple: The Apple Blog (4 сообщения)

На что подписаться? | Управление подпиской

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
другие подписчики этой ленты также читают >>

Need a Hug?
The folks at Carsonified have just launched hugmymac.com, where they showcase an incredibly exclusive collection (a total of nine in existence) of staff created MacBook Pro and iPhone sleeves. The best part is that the sleeves aren’t for sale, they’re free - for “those who really need them”. You can fill out the (very) short form on the site to tell founder Ryan Carson and company why you’re worthy of owning one of these beauties.

What’s really impressive is that this entire project, knitting included, took Carsonified all of a week. That’s impressive.

So if you’re banging up your MacBook Pro and/or iPhone and “really need” a snazzy case, hit the site up. Personally, I’m a big fan of “Framed“. Man, I hate Comic Sans.

Комментарии к сообщению:
http://theappleblog.com/2007/12/07/need-a-hug/#comments
Calling Gifted Devs: Quicksilver Needs Your Help
Long ago, this post joked about the announcement by Apple to move to Intel chips. (It also spawned an unending quest for the origin of the title: Wait for it, Wait for it…but that’s a different story I suppose.) I bring this up because after reading Lifehacker’s exclusive interview with Alcor (Nicholas Jitkoff) - the Quicksilver developer - You could replace the punch line of the aforementioned joke with: “Alcor condemned Quicksilver to a ‘long slow death’, suggested 3rd party alternatives…” and pretty much understand the way that news made me feel yesterday.

What makes this hurt the most, is that Quicksilver is literally what I show people on my Mac first. Yes, Apple’s computers and operating system are clearly examples of special attention to engineering and development, but Quicksilver is really in a league of its own when it comes to making a computer system unlike anything else. The thought of this application dying a slow death is nearly unbearable for me. In fact, my first reaction was that this is the final straw, and it’s time for me to become an OS X programmer so I can pickup the Open Source Code and revive the application that I rely on almost every minute of the day (or at least the minutes I’m working on my computer that is). In fact I’ve been planning to start a project to learn Xcode/Cocoa/Objective C and blog about it here on TAB. It will likely still happen, but when my schedule and life get a bit less crazy… In the meantime however, I’m hopeful that someone or a group of someones out there have the chutzpah and the love for Quicksilver to do the same.

So mark this as my cry for help, directed toward the incredible community of talented developers supporting the Mac platform: Quicksilver needs you! Those of us who are addicted to Quicksilver need you! I have a hard time believing such a wonderful application could truly die away, but I would feel so much better knowing there are some ambitious folks out there ready to pick up the slack. Alcor is leaving some big shoes to fill - is anyone out there up to the task???

EDIT: A point I neglected to write about initially is the cost (or lack thereof) of Quicksilver (thanks for the reminder Weisheng).

Alcor has been kind beyond belief to craft Quicksilver free of charge all these years. The silly part is it is one of the few applications I would pay for without even thinking about it. I have many apps that I use just enough to merit the purchase of a license. Quicksilver is one program that I swear by - heck, even LIVE by - and wouldn’t hesitate to fork over my hard-earned dollars for.

A commenter in the original Lifehacker thread mentions the Radiohead model of letting people pay what they think the album is worth to them. I can’t think of a better application of this payment model, as Quicksilver is one of those apps that differs in brilliance for every user. I’d pay $30 easily, from my perspective…

Комментарии к сообщению:
http://theappleblog.com/2007/12/07/calling-gifted-devs-quicksilver-needs-your-help/#comments
The Apple Store - The Next Starbucks

As much as it saddens me to admit this, I must say it. I'm not the fanboy I thought I was. Gary Allen has completely shown me up. His devotion for Apple compels him to attend Apple store openings globally. What is this fascination and how does it translate to Apple marketing?

Going through my RSS feeds, I came across Allen's photos of the recently opened West 14th St. Apple Store in Manhattan. And it immediately hits me. This is why Allen goes to every opening: a beautiful descending glass spiral staircase, illuminated by a circle of lights below; glass walkways and a complete three story warehouse retrofitted with Apple simplicity in gray paneling, and beach wood accents. This is how I imagine my house to look, and it makes me want to fly to New York simply to enjoy the aesthetic presence of the store. It's an architectural marvel, and maybe that's just enough incentive to garner foot traffic for Apple.

Why it works

Nothing beats word of mouth marketing, and by creating a completely open environment for customers to enter and be free to play, talk or hang out is a beautiful thing. It's like the Starbucks of the IT industry. You compare the Apple store to the Dell stands you see in malls and you realize the immediate polarization in business models as well as brand. Apple fosters community-building relationships, not only between customers and machines, but between customers and other customers. Walking into an Apple store, I feel completely open to talk to the stranger standing next to me playing with the same device. After all, we tend to share one huge interest: our devotion for Apple. It's always interesting to see a new customer's interaction as well, the immediate joy they gain from playing with an iPhone or Apple TV. It's great to see the consumer-on-consumer action, where a knowledgeable customer is more than willing to share their interest and facts with others. Their enthusiasm and passion is conveyed, and the word of mouth has succeeded. Apple now has a new customer.

In that regard, Apple Stores are not about the sale. They are geared toward the special interest groups, giving rise to the Genius Bar and the kids section. These focus topics for discussion with professionals and other users. I remember when the iPhone was released. I picked up an iPhone and realized to my surprise the phone was completely activated. As other people caught on, you could see them calling friends and family right from the store. The staff was friendly, inviting and continued to cheer customers on their purchases. It struck me then that if ever I was in need of free access to the Internet, I could swing by a local Apple Store and get work done.

The Next Social

Apple continues to have a strong community presence, but imagine that spreading to local Apple Retail Stores. Apple has already taken this into consideration, what with their many workshops and one-on-one help services. Larger stores have gone so far as to have dedicated presentation rooms. Imagine being able to reserve it for meetings and more. You wouldn't need to bring anything, the store's already chock full of supplies. Throw in wifi, and you're set.

So the next time you have a few hours to kill, be sure to grab a tea from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and hang out at an Apple Store for awhile. Who knows, you might make a new friend.

P.S. I would love to see Frank Gehry get his hands on an Apple Store. That is something I would definitely make a trip for.

Комментарии к сообщению:
http://theappleblog.com/2007/12/07/the-apple-store-the-next-starbucks/#comments
Apple TV, the third cousin once removed?

Everyone still seems hot and bothered that the Apple TV remains nothing more than a "hobby." But if you consider a couple years ago, Steve Jobs assured us that Apple is listening, and that they understand user demands. What has this translated to us over time? Amazing products that usually go beyond our considerations, namely the iPhone. But will this translate down to a mere "hobby" product?

Hardware & Feature Upgrades

So far the expectations have always been centered on a complete digital media hub for the living room. Everyone's trying out different methods, whether it's the PS3, Xbox 360, or online, on-demand content. The second the Apple TV was announced, everyone screamed digital video recording (DVR). We all shared in the fantasy of hooking a tuner directly to it and being able to control TV content right from the box without a subscription fee. However, like good consumers we let it go; after all, hacking seemed to pacify the masses.

Still a possibility for a DVR? I don't think so. Why would you rent, or purchase if you could hook up your Apple TV right to your cable and record on-demand content? I don't see it shaping up from a marketing or consumer standpoint. Consumers aren't jumping on board like they did with YouTube. Plus the price hike for a built in tuner could end up turning away more customers then it would gain.

External tuner? Without an open API I don't see development gearing towards that possibility either. Sub channels, categories and functions could raise it much like the iPhone will be seeing. That said, I don't see any further web elements coming to the Apple TV. No one's been able to harness the web completely enough to access it from a television. Many will argue the Wii, but honestly how many people are purchasing a Wii specifically for its ability to surf the web? If Apple were to approach this segment, they would need something up their sleeve, much like they did with the iPhone's browser.

A natural increase in hard drive space is much needed. The 40 gig could use a bump, and maybe even a model in between the lower end and the 160 gig end. I'm hoping for it, but I don't see a flash version for at least another year.

Rentals or Subscriptions

It's clear that a rental service is on its way to iTunes. Whether that translates to a rental service that will be immediately accessible from the Apple TV remains a conflicted issue. The answer is a definitive yes, the Apple TV will eventually have an incorporated store and rental service. Will it reach it this year? I'm on the fence, only because of the iPhone's iTunes Store capability. I'm left in the dark wondering why the Apple TV didn't receive a nice firmware update as well. I guess we'll see what happens when January rolls around.

I think the larger question is what type of model the rental service will adopt. I'd love to see a Netflix style subscription model, one where for a set fee a month you receive unlimited rentals, with a set number at a time. Making new content, like TV shows available the day after airing would be icing on the cake. Quality control, and hopefully HD rentals, a subscription could prove cheaper than cable. But that comes down to viewing habits as much as it does to network allowances. More than likely it will be a pay-per-view rental feature. Will the market be as accepting of this? Depends on usability and practicality.

So while the Apple TV may have remained a hobby last year, I feel this coming year it will become more of a priority, and finally achieve the attention it deserves. Hopefully in the next round of updates, we'll get a broader sense of appeal that will truly turn this device into a full fledged media hub.

Комментарии к сообщению:
http://theappleblog.com/2007/12/05/apple-tv-the-third-cousin-once-removed/#comments