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- Thoughts on the iPhone App Store review process
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
Should Apple have approved "I Am Rich"? Pretty much everyone agrees that it's a useless application. But once approved, should they have pulled it? Jason Kottke says it should stay in the App Store. He argues that Apple should be providing an open marketplace rather than a hand-selected boutique.
Say what you will about Apple's App Store shortcomings (no shopping carts? What were they thinking!), iPhone consumers are split between those who'd prefer greater oversight and those who'd rather let the free market decide.
Follow the jump for more thoughts about the App Store review process.
Continue reading Thoughts on the iPhone App Store review process
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple engineers: We're indentured servants
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail, Bad Apple, Apple
On Monday, a group of Apple technical staffers filed suit against Apple alleging that the company denied them overtime pay and meal compensation. Both the pay and meal compensation are required by California state law. The suit also claims that many Apple employees are subjected to working conditions that are similar to indentured servitude.
The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, David Walsh, was an Apple network engineer from 1995 to 2007. He stated that he was often required to work more than 40 hours a week, miss meals, and spend evenings and weekends on call without any overtime pay or meal compensation. [Author's personal comment: this is not unusual in the tech industry]
Walsh alleges that Apple deliberately classified Walsh and others as management employees so that they would not receive overtime compensation as required by California law for hourly employees. The class action suit also seeks to include the staffers at Apple Stores as plaintiffs.
Should the plaintiffs win, Apple could be required to revise its compensation practices and pay retroactive compensation to many present and past employees. Apple has not responded to the complaint.
Thanks to Charles for the tip!Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Goin' underground with TubeStatus
Londoners like to know what's going on in the tunnels beneath their feet. The Tube is how every Londoner gets pretty much anywhere, and when bits of it are broken, it helps to know before you walk to the nearest Tube station.
The beauty of the Tube, (well, the central zones in particular) is that the lines are so intertwingled that it's often quite easy to route yourself around breakages or blockages. If the Northern Line's hosed, maybe the Piccadilly or Jubilee Lines might get you close enough to where you need to be. And if the Circle line's running slow (which is often is), you might be able to skip round the problem via one of the many other lines that bisect it.
Which might explain why TubeStatus (App Store link) by Malcolm Barclay is such a good idea.
Oddly, though, Malcolm had been hoping that it wouldn't appear in the App Store, while he sorted out some copyright issues with Transport for London, the body that manages not only London's transport network but also the data feeds about it that make apps like TubeStatus work. If we hear anything further on the status of TubeStatus, we'll let you know.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple updates Apple Software Update for Windows
Filed under: Software Update
A little friend showed up yesterday on Boot Camp-equipped Intel Macs and PCs with Apple apps (iTunes, Safari, QuickTime) installed -- an update to the updater that updates our updating. Apple Software Update 2.1.1 for Windows is out... there's no download page at Apple, so for now the only way to get your hands on it is via the existing Apple Software Update on your machine.
What does it do? Well, it improves security and overall reliability. Recommended for all users. Keeps your refrigerator smelling fresh and can be used as a dentrifice ... wait, no, sorry, wrong stuff. If you do install the update and you notice any changes, positive or negative, do let us know.
Thanks Adam!Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: Pennies for iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
Pennies is a new iPhone application from the same people who brought you AppZapper and Disco. Pennies is a simple, yet beautifully designed, application to manage your monthly budget right from your iPhone or iPod touch. When you first launch the application you are presented with a "This Month" budget screen where you can set your monthly budget, see how much you've spent, see top expenses, and get some statistics.
In the "Expenses" tab you can add, edit, or annotate your expenses. When you add an expense, you can select a category and enter an amount. You can choose between 10 categories including: general, food, electronics personal, and groceries. When you enter an amount and save the expense, it is automatically deducted from the budget and the "fuel gauge" moves towards the "empty" line on the month screen.
Overall, this is a very nicely designed application that offers a handy solution for managing your budget on-the-go. However, it would be nice to have a desktop application on the Mac that this app could sync with. Perhaps via a WiFi link, like 1Password for iPhone -- maybe it could connect with ChaChing? Still, for $2.99, this application is definitely worth the price. Pennies (iTunes Link) is available right now via the App Store.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Piper Jaffray analyst predicts Sept. MacBook updates
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Rumors
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is speculating that Apple will hold a special event in early September to announce new iPods and MacBooks, according to a research note he released.
Munster is bullish on seeing Apple enter the sub-$1,000 market for its MacBook line, and has been saying so since last month. He also anticipates a new form factor for the MacBook Pro line, noting that its exterior design (and that of its predecessor, the PowerBook G4) has only slightly changed over the last five-and-a-half years.
In the same note, he suggested that larger-capacity iPod shuffles and nanos are on the way, but with no change in pricing. He said that the iPod touch could even be redesigned and priced at $199.
Looking into the future, Munster said he thinks a touchscreen Mac portable isn't ready now, but could be available closer to 2010, while a redesigned (even smaller) MacBook Air could hit store shelves next year.
[Via Barron's.]
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iPhone hacker says devices "phone home," allows for disabling apps remotely
Filed under: iPod Family, Bad Apple, iPhone, App Store
iPhone Atlas is reporting that Apple has a way to blacklist and remotely remove applications from your iPhone. According to the post, the iPhone will remotely "phone home" and check a posted blacklist of bad applications. These speculations are based on a URL found on Apple's site with references for a blacklisting mechanism:
https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps
Jonathan Zdziarski, an iPhone hacker, says nothing has been blacklisted as of yet. However, the mechanism is there, and the iPhone could call in on occasion to see what has been blacklisted. Zdziarski says that Apple could have the ability to shut down applications you've purchased from the App Store.
While this may sound like a privacy violation, our sources tell us that Apple has put this tool into place as a security measure to shut down rogue apps if needed, and it could simply be a proof of concept that hasn't yet been implemented for actual takedowns. We're not convinced that this is new, considering that the only entry in the unauthorizedApps list is dated "2004" and is clearly a test entry.
[via Engadget & Macrumors]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - GyazMail: the mail client for older Macs
Filed under: Software, Retro Mac
This takes me back to the 10.1/10.2 days, before anyone had invented decent webmail, the days when I still used Eudora and loved it. Passion for Eudora aside, I still experimented with alternative email clients (everybody did, right?), and one of those was GyazMail.
It was actually pretty good, at the time, and a serious rival to Apple's then-still-young Mail. In recent years I'd rather forgotten about it, but lo and behold, here it is popping up with new updates.
This new release kills a bunch of bugs and tweaks a few features, but what impresses me most is that the update is available for Jaguar users, with a separate (Universal Binary) version for those on 10.3 or later. That's what I call legacy support.
If you have a creaky old Mac that still serves you well running one of these older big cats, and you need a mail client for it, GyazMail is well worth a glance.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Pangea updates Enigmo for iPhone to 1.1.1, adds downloadable content
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
Over the past day, Pangea Software has issued two updates for their Enigmo physics game for the iPhone/iPod touch. The updates in question (1.1 and 1.1.1) allow you to download custom levels from Pangea's website via the application.
Be sure to sync your iPhone and complete the backup process before updating Engimo, as the saved game deletion issues continue to be a concern. Pangea has officially acknowledged the issue, and offers backups as a solution. You can download/buy Enigmo from the App Store (iTunes link).
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: Sketches
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, iPhone, Graphic Design
Sketches was one of the apps I picked up the very first day the App Store opened -- in fact, it was the first I ever bought, and I bought it as a mistake: Apple's one-click shopping bit me for $7.99 (the app has since dropped in price to $5.99). But it turns out, as a mistake, it was a fortuitous one, because it's one of the apps I've been most impressed with. There are a few other "Paint" style apps floating around the store nowadays, but Sketches is worth the price of admission for doing exactly what it says: letting you easily and quickly draw whatever you want on whatever you want.
The quantity of options in a simple app like this are surprising. Choose from six different kinds of backgrounds, including photos shot with the phone's camera, existing album photos, a solid color, a webpage pulled from an in-app browser, a map of your location or a library of six included backgrounds.
Next, select from a bevy of colors and line thickness for drawing or the provided clip art. Finally, save the sketch in the app, export it out to your photo album or send it to Twitter. And even as you use the app, more fun appears -- there's a cool Etch-a-Sketch-like shake feature to erase what you've drawn, and the zoom button can move you in close for even more detail.
Text input is missing (and reportedly will be included in a later version), but as a quick sketch creator (you won't be designing the Mona Lisa with this, more like circling something on a map or pic before a quick upload to Twitter), Sketches is a really fun, very professional app. LateNiteSoft has it up to 1.2 so far, and even though I had no intention of buying it when I pressed the "Buy App" button without thinking (weren't we all a little feverish when the App Store first dropped?), I don't regret my purchase one bit.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: iPocket for iPhone/iPod touch
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
One of our fellow bloggers, Erica Sadun, sent me an iPhone/iPod touch application that she created to manage files. iPocket is sort of like a Finder for your iPhone. It allows you to peer into the file structure on your iPhone. Specifically, I was looking to retrieve one of my voicemail.amr files for saving.
This application allows you to browse files locally, through FTP and a web interface. You can also send files via Bonjour (using a specially made Mac app) and through email. This is really handy if you want to browse the file structure of an application, or if you need to grab a file. Currently you can view images, sounds, movies, PDF files, text, and property files in iPocket. You will not, however, have access to your iTunes media library on the iPhone as Apple doesn't allow you to view this data.
Although this was submitted before the App Store deadline, it remains in review with an uncertain shelf date. You can also check out the gallery of screenshots from the application.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - How to move your iTunes library (more safely than I did)
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, How-tos, Tips and tricks, iTunes
I should say, even before I start this post, that I've moved my iTunes library from one installation of iTunes to another, and what I did was just copy everything in the /Music/iTunes folder from one Mac to the other. But that's the transfer equivalent of parallel parking a semi and stopping when it "feels right" -- it worked for me, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else. I also have almost no iTunes purchased music in my library, and that's likely not the case for anyone else.
Fortunately, for people who don't enjoy playing Russian Roulette with their iTunes library transfers (and don't want to buy the software for it), here's a quick and easy guide to how to transfer everything over properly, and make sure that all the little hooks and crannies line up correctly in the new installation -- specifically, iTunes keeps an XML file that tracks where everything is, and you've got to change paths (using a quick find and replace) on all the tracks in your library. iTunes will then use that XML file to backup its own records, and then you're hunky dory.
What I can't find, according to this guide, is what damage I may have caused to my system by just hauling everything in and starting up iTunes -- I checked the Location key on both my new Mac and the old one, and the Locations are completely different, without me ever changing them. Either way, even though I throw around my libraries with abandon (look Ma, no backup!), you'd probably much rather be safe than sorry.
Thanks, Robert!Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - August 22: Big day for iPhone abroad
Filed under: iPhone
Mark your calendars for August 22, when many countries will start offering the iPhone 3G for sale. Here's a list of the countries that are expecting launches that Friday (and their associated carriers, in parentheses):
- Argentina (America Movil)
- Chile (Claro/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica)
- Colombia (America Movil)
- Czech Republic (Telefonica O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone) Thanks, Luke and Tom!
- Ecuador (Porta/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica) Thanks, Andy!
- El Salvador (America Movil)
- Estonia (TeliaSonera, EMT)
- Guatemala (America Movil)
- Honduras (America Movil)
- Hungary (T-Mobile)
- India (Bharti Airtel, Vodafone)
- Latvia (TeliaSonera)
- Lithuania (TeliaSonera)
- Paraguay (America Movil)
- Peru (Claro/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica)
- Philippines (Globe Telecom)
- Poland (Orange, Era)
- Romania (Orange)
- Slovakia (T-Mobile, Orange) Thanks, Hannah and Bulu!
- Uruguay (America Movil)
Apple said last month that 20 countries would be getting iPhone 3G on the 22nd. Singapore is also rumored to be releasing the iPhone 3G that day, but SingTel hasn't confirmed their participation yet.
In other news, Virgin Mobile is now offering iPhone 3G service in Australia. This addition gives the country four providers to choose from: Vodafone, Optus, and Telstra are the other three. Sadly -- according to this article, they're already out of stock.
[Compiled with help from setteB.it, VentureBeat and AppleInsider.]
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - ColorWare does their thing for the iPhone 3G
If black and white aren't enough for you, ColorWare is now offering their gadget coloring service for the iPhone 3G. Their iPhone site allows you to customize parts of your phone with 35 different colors on an à la carte basis. Obviously you have to send in your iPhone and the service takes about two weeks.
Unfortunately, it's not cheap. Just to color the back of the phone is $150 (all prices are US dollars), with additional color options for the frame, home button, SIM tray, earbuds, and dock running $10-$20 each. In fact, if you went wild and purchased full customization, your bill would be $230 -- more than the iPhone 3G. On the other hand, can you really put a price on being the only guy whose lilac-colored iPhone has a Candy Apple button?
[via Gizmodo]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: RiverGuide for Kayakers
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
Kayakers who want up-to-date info on river conditions now need to look no further than their iPhones (assuming they are brave enough to take said iPhones out to the river).
RiverGuide for Kayakers (link opens iTunes), by developer Wayne Daley, provides real-time streamflow information throughout the U.S. The app has a very logical layout -- the first screen you see breaks the country into seven regions. Tapping on the appropriate region shows a list of states, and then tapping on the state displays an alphabetized list of rivers or river segments. For each river, RiverGuide for Kayakers displays the time and date that the streamflow information was recorded, the cubic feet per second (cfs) that the river is running, and a wave icon signifying high, medium or low relative water level.
That's enough information to make sure that you don't arrive at a river with your kayak only to find that the water level is at a trickle. However, RiverGuide for Kayakers also has a built-in newsreader for getting the latest scoop on general topics (whitewater, Olympic, or sea kayaking, and American rivers), or regional kayaking news.
At $1.99, RiverGuide for Kayakers is an absolute bargain for kayakers, rafters, or even fishermen who can use the up-to-date info. Be sure to check out the gallery! And be sure to keep your iPhone dry while you're out there on the river with an OtterBox or AquaPac.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Selling your iPhone
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, iPhone
There are many iPhones and iPhone 3Gs being sold right now, and not just at Apple and AT&T Stores. If you're thinking about selling your old iPhone to get a little spendin' cash, here are some simple tips for you:
Tip #1 - Pick a reasonable price. What's reasonable? Anything close to whatever other sellers are asking. A lot of 8GB iPhones are selling on eBay in the range of $325 - $450. Will you get that much? Who knows? That's the "joy" of online auctions.
Tip #2 - Show 'em the merchandise. People want to know what they're getting, so always take closeup pictures of everything that's included in the sale. eBay has special rules for iPhone sales:
The gist of the message? If you're selling an iPhone, put your User ID on all photos to prove you have the iPhone in your hot little hands. Sigh.
Tip #3 - Don't want to sell it on eBay? You can always try Craigslist, or you can get a guaranteed price buy selling it to a broker who will turn around and probably sell it on eBay. Some of these brokers include NextWorth (buying 8GB iPhones for $202) and Rapid Repair ($150). That's not as good a deal for you, but definitely a lot less hassle than eBay.
Have you sold your first-generation iPhone? Leave a comment telling us how you sold yours, and how much you made on the sale.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - ProjectPlus for TextMate
Filed under: Software, Developer
It's been a while since TUAW talked about TextMate, and fans of the venerable text editor will want to check out ProjectPlus, Ciarán Walsh's latest contribution to the TextMate community. It provides a set of features compiled from several of Ciarán's other plugins, and then some, such as:
- SCM status badges for SVN and Git, displayed in the project file list and the window proxy icon
- Swapping the project drawer for a panel, ala MissingDrawer (can be disabled if you prefer MissingDrawer)
- The project panel can be placed on either side of the window
- Maintains support for ⌃⌥⌘D and ⌃⌘R shortcuts
- Support for Finder color labels in the sidebar panel
- Color labels can be set through the context menu
- Preserving the project tree state on re-open
- QuickLook preview of files in the project file list through the context menu (or ⌥␣ when the file list is focused)
- Sorting options in the project file list context menu
- Display folders at the top of the list
- Sort by file extension
- "Open With" option
Subversion users might also want to take a look at SVNMate, also by Ciarán. Also check out some of the great contributions from Thomas Aylott, a.k.a subtleGradient. TextMate is an amazing text editor, but the contributions of the TextMate community are what make it my favorite text editor.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Rumor: New Cinema displays at Macworld '09?
Filed under: Accessories, Hardware
MacRumors speculates on the possibility of Apple releasing updated Cinema displays at next year's Macworld Expo. According to the post, the new displays could incorporate the LED backlight technology that Apple has started building into their 15" MacBook Pros.
MacRumors notes that LED backlit displays going into the 30" range tend to be more expensive than Apple's current 30" Cinema display. However, if this is true, it would be a nice change from Apple's 2004 design of the current Cinema displays. There is no word yet on if the new displays would include the iSight camera.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: EccoNote
EccoNote is a nice little free audio recording app - one of many similar recorders available in the App Store.
I use the word "little" deliberately, because EccoNote is very simple. In a good way. You can record your audio notes, you can play them back, and that's about it. There are no settings to mess with. The audio quality is very good and the controls nice and obvious.
The only odd thing is that the developer's web site, as listed on the App Store, does not appear to exist (at least not as I'm writing this). Their notes in the App Store description field say that they plan to add an email-to-contacts feature within the next month, something I hope they succeed with because that would be very useful.
As I said at the top, there are many other voice recorder apps available. Some for free, some for a little money. I've tried a few (not all) and this is one I like best so far. Your opinions of Ecco and its rivals would be welcomed in the comments.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Export your Yojimbo database to a Tiddlywiki
Filed under: Software
You've got all your iStuff inside Yojimbo (hands up who loves Yojimbo and I'll count, starting with me), but for some reason you need to get it on to another computer, perhaps one running a different OS. What to do?
This AppleScript takes your entire Yojimbo library (well, everything except the PDFs) and exports it to a Tiddlywiki that you can carry around and view on pretty much any computer.
I say "any computer" but iPhone users shouldn't get too excited just yet. Apparently, the standard Tiddlywiki doesn't display that well on an iPhone.
But, ooh, wait: what do we have here?
Thanks to Jon for the tip.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать
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