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- Microsoft Backs Down After Apple Legal Threats, Changes Ad
After so brazenly bragging about Apple’s legal department’s request that one of Microsoft’s ads be pulled last week, Redmond has quietly made changes to the ad in question to make sure that it accurately reflects reality, which is what Apple wanted in the first place. Kind of puts a damper on Microsoft COO Kevin Turner’s bubbly enthusiasm, I’d imagine.
Last week, he basically did a little dance for joy when he received the call from Apple legal, and trumpeted the news to the masses to make sure everyone knew that Microsoft had indeed scored a direct hit, even going so far as to call it “the greatest single phone call” he’s ever taken. The ads in question are the Laptop Hunter series, in which Microsoft gives random people a sum of money and challenges them to find their perfect laptop, at which point they get it for free. The ads were created by Crispin Porter & Bogusky.
The specific ad Apple took issue with is the “Lauren” ad (not that “Lauren” ad, the other one), in which Lauren and her mother are shopping for a computer under $1,700. At one point, they comment on the MacBook Pro’s $2,000 price tag, asking “Why would you pay twice the price?” As of the latest notebook lineup refresh, Apple’s top-of-the-line MacBook Pro no longer costs $2,000, coming in instead at a much easier to swallow $1,700. Which, coincidentally, is actually within Lauren and mom’s budget.
Microsoft, for its part, is saying the minor change doesn’t change “the focus of the campaign,” according to AdAge.com, so it’s clearly still counting this as a win. I’m willing to bet Microsoft’s legal department has been in contact with Apple on quite a few occasions, yet COO Tim Cook doesn’t break out the noisemakers and party hat every time that goes down.
Переслать - Google Launches Latitude for iPhone
In another move in Google’s continued bid to dominate the entire internet — albeit with useful and occasionally innovative services — the search giant has officially launched Latitude for the iPhone.
Latitude allows users to locate and track each other, via their cell phones. Since its original launch back in February this year, it’s been rolled out on a number of mobile platforms, including Android, Blackberry, Nokia smartphones and Windows Mobile (allowing us all to find the one guy who actually uses a Windows Mobile handset).
The iPhone and iPod touch app, which launched today, is a web app which makes use of iPhone 3.0’s ability to use geo-location services from within Safari. Notably, Latitude’s initial launched sparked a wave of controversy surrounding privacy-related issues, an issue familiar to Google after recent issues in the UK regarding the rollout of Google Streetview clashing with data protection laws.
For now, Google claims that Latitude for iPhone and iPod touch is only available in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The plan is to add more countries to the service, down the line. It would seem on first glance that iPhone-users outside of Google’s initial launch territories are fresh out of luck, however, that may not be the case.
I’m based over in Finland, Nokia’s heartland and a country that is perhaps way down Google’s launch priority list for Latitude. I tested out the Latitude web app earlier today and discovered that it works perfectly, despite being in an unsupported country. It’s worth noting however that I signed up for Latitude while living in the UK and my Google account is UK-based.
Google notes that since the iPhone can’t run apps in the background, unlike several competing devices, the service will be updated as and when the web app is visited in Safari. In the official blog post, Matt Belez, Product Manager on the Google Mobile Team, noted that “Apple requested we release Latitude as a web application in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone, which uses Google to serve maps tiles.”
Opening Safari and pinging Latitude with your location is a functional workaround, but I can’t help but think Apple should have been more accommodating to Google. Embedding Latitude within the native Maps app would have provided a richer and more streamlined experience, without duplicating functionality across the apps, such as Directions and Search.
Complaints aside, it’s a functional and potentially fun service. Users can access Latitude now by visiting google.com/latitude from their iPhone or iPod touch.
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Переслать - Thanks to TheAppleBlog Sponsors!
We’d like to say thanks to this month’s sponsor of TheAppleBlog:
- Mozy: Back up your photos, music, and files with Mozy for as low as $4.34 per month.
Переслать - Rumor: Apple Tablet for Early 2010
Citing “people well-respected for their striking accuracy in Apple’s internal affairs,” AppleInsider has put its mongering reputation on the line by reporting the near-mythical Apple tablet will be unveiled in the first quarter of 2010.
Photo courtesy AppleInsider
According to AppleInsider, the tablet will have a 10″ inch display and be a 3G device. Pricing is pretty much a mystery. Bore than an iPhone, less than a Macbook, but that would be in line with previous reports of an $800 device. Reinforcing previous rumors, the company is in talks with Verizon for a network partner. If that were not enough rumor buzz, the device will not have Intel inside, but use a CPU from Apple-acquired P.A. Semi. The rumor theory is that Apple was dissatisfied with battery life of Intel’s Atom.
This would mark the culmination of development for a project that has been years in the making. According to AppleInsider, during that time “development was frozen and key aspects of the device rethought, retooled and repositioned.” Not surprisingly, Steve Jobs personally oversaw the product “from his home, office and hospital beds.” How fitting it would be to see the iconic CEO at an Apple Event that is not Macworld Expo in January, holding aloft the Next Great Thing.
I want to believe, too.
Переслать - Ballmer: How Wrong Can One Man Be?
Allow me to set the scene. It’s January 2007. The iPhone has just been announced and the tech world is going crazy. CNBC interviews Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
CNBC: "Let me ask you about the iPhone [...] What was your first reaction when you saw that?"
Ballmer (laughs): "Five hundred dollars?!! Fully subsidized?!! With a plan?!! I said if that isn't the most expensive phone in the world… and it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine. Now, it may sell very well…"
And sell very well it did — the estimated total is now 37 million and counting. OK, so Ballmer was never going to clap his hands and rave about the iPhone, but while laughing dismissively might have irked Apple enthusiasts, it likely reassured Microsoft's shareholders. Ballmer, after all, must answer to them.
Culture
In another interview, this time with USA Today in April 2007, Ballmer said, of becoming CEO of Microsoft:
"…the CEO in a lot of ways becomes the icon for many things in the business. The CEO establishes culture."
This from the man who heaved himself, sweating and scarlet-faced, across a stage screaming with unbridled joy over Microsoft. Well, you can't fault him for being passionate. Sadly, it's a passion he doesn't seem to want to celebrate or promote amongst Microsoft's customers.
"USA Today: People get passionate when Apple comes out with something new[...]. Is that something that you’d want them to feel about Microsoft?
Ballmer: It’s sort of a funny question. Would I trade 96 percent of the market for 4 percent of the market? (Laughter.) [...] There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our software in 60 percent or 70 percent or 80 percent of them, than I would to have 2 percent or 3 percent, which is what Apple might get."
Let me take off my Apple Hat for a moment and consider his answer more carefully.
"It's sort of a funny question." Steve, how is it a funny question? It's a very simple question. Would you like your customers to be as passionate, loyal and fanatical about your products as Apple's customer base is to its?
If I were a Microsoft shareholder, sure, I want to hear you reinforce the fact that 80 percent market share is more attractive than 3 percent. But I also want to hear you acknowledge that customer enthusiasm — particularly of the Apple Fanboy variety — is at least desirable. I want to know that you're pushing the boundaries everywhere, not just in the corporate world. You don't seem to mind whooping and skipping when you want to share your passion for Microsoft. So why is it a "funny" question to ask if you want to engender that same passion in your customers?
Furthermore, according to Gartner, this is how worldwide Smartphone Sales by Operating System looked, first in 2007, the same year Ballmer dismissed the iPhone, and then again 12 months later.
When a Bad Economy is a Good Thing
In March, at the McGraw-Hill Companies' 2009 Media Summit, Ballmer said of a slight downturn in Apple sales:
“The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment — same piece of hardware — paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that’s a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.”
Superficially, this sounds like common sense. I mean, a laptop is a laptop, right? Whether it's wrapped in plastic or aluminum, you're talking a chip (probably Intel), a few gigs of RAM, a keyboard and a screen. To the blissfully unaware, to the Lauren's of this world…the difference is little more than a glowing fruit on the lid.
What Ballmer is really saying here is distasteful, not just in what it implies but also because he didn’t even try to make the point subtly. He's suggesting Apple's sales dipped because customers are struggling financially, not due to any special marketing strategy or other efforts on Microsoft's part. To hang a lantern on it and tacitly state "The economy is helpful" is crass and insensitive. I wonder how the marketing team in Redmond felt when they heard their boss say that?
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Fast forward to this week. Apple announced its latest quarterly earnings. In Apple's own words, its "best non-holiday quarter ever." So much for Ballmer's 'helpful' recession. Also, the Wall Street Journal reported that despite accounting for less than 3 percent of the global smartphone market, Apple's iPhone has taken 20 percent of that market's operating profits. Predictions from Deutsche Bank for year's end point to Apple and RIM sharing 5 percent of the smartphone market and taking almost 60 percent of its profit.
Ballmer's assertion that it's better to have massive market share suddenly deserves scrutiny. Apple and RIM don't command 60 percent of the market (yet) but they're soon going to command 60 percent of its profits.
The iTunes store continues to perform superbly (8 billion songs downloaded as of June 2009), while the App Store is a smash hit. Mac sales have remained strong despite the crippling economy Ballmer relies upon to keep the competition in check.
I’m Not Taking Shots
This article isn't about taking an easy shot at Microsoft, or gloating about Apple's recent successes. I know, so far it reads that way, and I won't deny there's a certain satisfaction to be had basking in Apple's glow. I've brought you on this journey to make a serious point that's more about leadership and vision than smartphones, laptops or market share. (But those facts are crucial to placing these final thoughts in the right context.)
At the Media Summit Ballmer was asked if he used any Apple products. “No, none. I don’t, my sons don’t, my wife doesn’t.”
Imagine you are a Microsoft shareholder with a vested financial interest in Microsoft's success. Certainly you don't want the CEO to promote the competition, but you do want him to demonstrate he's in touch with the real world.
Surely the right answer should have been, "Yes, I have an iPod. I also have a Zune, of course, and a Zen. I have them all. It's important to see how they work — see what choices our customers have. I want to experience first-hand where these products succeed, and where they fail. So, sure, I have an iPod. I have all the other music players, too!"
But, no. Instead we got Ballmer's typical, speaks-before-he-thinks derision.
Ballmer said a CEO "establishes culture." If Microsoft is looking to him for its creative and business leadership, no wonder Windows Mobile 7 is practically vaporware and the company's next operating system is referred to by many not as an incredible new OS but instead as Vista "done right."
Ballmer appears less relevant with each passing year. He’s not a man to respect or fear, despite chair-tossing antics. Rather, he’s becoming a sad and lonely figure, out of touch with the tech industry outside of Microsoft’s dusty old-boy network.
But why should it matter if Microsoft has crummy leadership? We don't care, right? Good riddance to 'em?
It matters because, if Microsoft does a lousy job it will ship lousy products. Apple will therefore face less vigorous competition. In any market, when competition is weak or lackluster, the dominant player becomes complacent. It's hard to justify the R&D costs of constant, breathtaking innovation when the competition isn't doing the same.
We need a creative, innovative Microsoft that today behaves with the same hunger for success it had in the 70’s. As long as we have that, we'll have an Apple that stays one step ahead, delivering products Microsoft can only aspire to produce. We can’t get there with Ballmer in the driving seat. He’s out of his depth, and it doesn’t matter how much he sweats as he screams “Developers! Developers! Developers!”; he simply fails to inspire creativity or confidence — just as he fails to recognize opportunities in new/developing markets, such as mobile media or the rapidly-changing smartphone space.
We need a Microsoft as imaginative and exciting as Apple. If that could happen, just imagine what Apple would do to raise the bar ever-higher. I'll leave you with one more excerpt from that 2007 USA Today interview.
"USA Today: You don’t find you’ve got a problem with people saying, “Sorry, but I really think you’re wrong here”?
Ballmer: That happens all the time. From 10 this morning until I came over here, I got more “Steve, that’s wrongs” than I got “Steve, that’s rights” today. It was two to one, “Steve, that’s wrongs.”
He's just not getting it, is he? Maybe someone’s trying to tell him something…
Переслать - For Better or Worse, Macs Dominate High-End Sales
Joe Wilcox at Betanews does some math with NPD’s June numbers and finds that Mac market share for computers costing $1,000 or more is a commanding 91 percent, up from about 66 percent a year ago.
While Apple sells only two models of Macs below $1,000, the MacBook and the Mac mini, according to NPD the average selling price for a personal computer was $701 in June; $515 for a Windows PC, $1,400 for a Mac. If you believe the aphorism that a business is an entity whose sole purpose is to increase shareholder equity, that’s great, but consumers, especially in difficult economic times, might like a little more for less. That truism also played out over the last few months with Apple.
Mac year-over-year retails sales declined from last November through this April, even as revenue increased. In January and February, PC unit sales were up 16.7 and 22 percent YOY, respectively, while Mac unit sales were down 5.4 and 16.7 percent. The fall in unit sales was likely the rationale for the price drop of the MacBook in late 2008, from $1,099 to $999, as well as this June’s price reduction at WWDC for the MacBook Air, 13″ MacBook Pro, and 15″ MacBook Pro.
What this means for Apple could be argued as one of two diametrically opposed outcomes. On one side, you have the rational assertion that Apple will have a lock on up to about a tenth of the overall market, and that the “race to the bottom” in pricing by companies like Dell was actually off a cliff. Certainly, that seems to be the feeling of the company as expressed by Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook at the latest quarterly conference call.
I would say it differently, really, and maybe I haven't expressed it well. Our goal is not to build the most computers, it's to build the best. And we will — whatever price point that we can build the best at, we will play there.
However, the counter to the above argument is that the commoditization of PC and Mac hardware, along with ever-falling PC prices will, ultimately make Microsoft’s latest “bargain hunter” ads a grim reality for the Mac. This theory is also known as: Apple is doomed!
Either way, both scenarios will take years to play out, but in the near term the takeaway is more concrete: don’t buy an iMac unless you have to. According to Apple’s Q3 FY09 report, Mac desktop sales were down 10 percent YOY. This will almost certainly spur a price drop and spec bump for the flagship desktop in the near future, as early as August, no later than October. Who knows, we may even see the Mac mini return to its original price of $499.
Переслать - iPhone Game Earning $10K Per Month Via Ad Revenue
iPhone app developer MobilityWare just let us in on some pretty impressive revenue stats for its game Word Warp. On average, Word Warp brings in just over $10,000 a month.
That isn’t revenue from sales of the app, however, but via advertising, at an eCPM rate of $1.91 since September 2008. iPhone owners have the option of buying the game for 99 cents, or downloading a free version that feeds interstitial ads in between matches, sent via iPhone ad network Greystripe. In a phone call yesterday, MobilityWare marketing director Dave Yonamine told me that less than 20 percent of total Word Warp owners opt for the paid version; instead, they overwhelmingly go for the free, ad-driven version, downloading it roughly 1.5 million times.
“We’re going to give consumers that choice,” Yonamine told me, “and whatever they go with is fine with us.” By offering that choice, the company gets another healthy revenue stream besides app purchases, on a game, which by Yonamine’s estimation, cost mid-five figures to develop.
The advertising income also helps the company fund updates and enhancements to the game, which in turn helps keeps Word Warp relatively popular. More than a year after being in the Store, Yonamine said, the app still gets thousands of downloads a day. As he put it, “I find it humorous that people say the ad-support model is flawed.”
Переслать - Palm Hacks Again: webOS Update Re-enables iTunes Syncing
With the release of webOS 1.1, Palm Pre users cut off from iTunes 8.2.1 are connected again, at least until iTunes 8.2.2 shows up in Software Update.
For today, however, Palm can talk some trash. Or at least John Traynor, VP of Business Products for Palm, can and does on the company’s blog.
Oh, and one more thing: Palm webOS 1.1 re-enables Palm media sync. That's right — you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1).
You have to love the “one more thing” bit, if not the battle between Apple and Palm over iTunes. A war which no one is winning, though ironically the biggest losers arguably are Pre users.
To recap, the Palm Pre was released on June 6 with “Media Sync” built into the OS for synchronizing with iTunes. On June 16, Apple published a knowledgebase article warning that newer versions of iTunes “may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.” That newer version, iTunes 8.2.1, was released on July 15, breaking Pre compatibility with iTunes. Pre users wondering why webOS 1.1 was taking so long to come out probably got their answer today, as Palm was likely waiting for Apple to break the hack so the Palm could patch it, and make no mistake, a hack it is. The Pre fools iTunes by using Apple’s USB vendor ID, identifying itself as an iPod. Whether or not that’s illegal, it’s certainly not fair.
It’s not fair to Pre users.
Palm advertises iTunes syncing as a feature of webOS, and when that feature suddenly stops working, they are at a loss until Palm issues a new hack. Sure, Palm blames Apple, but what does that do for Pre users who just want to listen to their music? Pre users are looking at a future in which their Pre won’t work half the time with iTunes. If Palm doesn’t have the resources to create its own media software, it should point users towards doubleTwist or Missing Sync for Pre. If Palm can’t do right by its customers, perhaps looking at it from a financial perspective would make sense. A hyperlink on a web page costs even less in development time than a miserable hack.
Переслать - iPhone Headphone Freedom Coming Thanks to Third-Party Apple Remote
My Apple in-ear headset is fine. Despite complaints that there’s too much cable noise, and that they don’t seal well, I’ve had little trouble personally (or I’m just good at overlooking flaws in Apple hardware). Still, I have some nice noise-canceling Sony DJ cups just sitting unused in my closet, and I’m actually far more partial to an around-the-ear than an in-ear design. But I need the in-line remote.
It’s a problem whose solution is obvious: build a third-party remote/adapter that will allow regular headphones to work with the iPhone, including all the fun new remote features available on the 3GS and the 2G touch. Unfortunately, I am not a third-party hardware peripheral manufacturer. iLuv, however, is, and luckily they had the same bright idea.
The iLuv iEA15 adapter has been announced, according to Crave Asia, and offers a solution for those unwilling to trash their current headphones of choice in favor of something with less sound/comfort quality with a built-in Apple remote. It’s compatible with any iPod or iPhone that supports remote functions, which includes the newest iPod Shuffle, and, I assume, the iPhone 3G, albeit without the use of the volume buttons, since those weren’t supported until the 3GS.
You’ll also get Voice Control and VoiceOver support via the in-line microphone, which is frankly the best part about this new remote. So long as quality isn’t an issue (and hopefully won’t be, since iLuv has a pretty good track record so far), I can easily see this taking over as my iPhone peripheral of choice. I may even spring for those Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones I’ve had my eye on.
No word yet on official release date or pricing, but you can bet it’ll be less than the $80 Apple charges for its in-ear headset, and probably well under what most third-party headset manufacturers charge, too. It’ll work with the 3GS, iPod touch 2G, and Shuffle 3G as mentioned above, and also with the iPod classic 120GB and iPod nano 4G.
Переслать - How-To: Move Photos From Aperture to iPhoto
Aperture is a great photo management application, but may not be suitable for everyone. I recently made a decision to move back to iPhoto in order to use some of the features in the latest release. Several of these, such as face recognition, are not present in the current version of Aperture.
This decision posed a problem. How do you move several thousand photos out of Aperture and back into iPhoto, without tearing your hair out in the process? This how-to will outline a few different possibilities, along with the process I found to work best.
Why Move?
Before exploring the different export options, I feel the need to answer the question of why you would want to move away from an advanced application such as Aperture:
- You could be switching to a different workflow, with a different “pro” tool such as Lightroom.
- You may desire the faster performance of iPhoto, which feels much quicker than Aperture on lower specification machines.
- Or, like me, you may want to switch to access iPhoto-specific features.
Although you can access Aperture images in iPhoto, this isn’t the same as moving them all across from one application to another. If you’d just like to access Aperture images, you can do so by clicking File > Show Aperture Library:
Show Aperture Library
A solution is needed for exporting all of your images in a useful folder structure, ready for importing into another application of choice.
Drag-and-Drop
The simplest way to move photos from one application to another is by dragging and dropping them out of Aperture, then back into a new iPhoto event or album. Providing you’ve set Aperture to export full-resolution versions when dragging out, this method can work well.
The problem with this solution is simple: time. If you have a few hundred photo albums, exporting each one separately can be a very long winded process, and take far too long to be practical. A better solution exists for exporting all the photos in your Library with one click.
Bulk Exporting
Fortunately, Aperture comes with a fairly advanced set of export preferences allowing you to specific exactly how a folder structure will be created, along with how files are to be named.
First, select the images to export (this is likely to be all the images in your Library). Click File → Export → Version (or Master, if you’d like the original images). You can then look for the “Subfolder Format” section, and choose “Edit” to define your own export structure.
Edit Folder Structure
This will launch a simple interface for defining a folder structure for export. This is particularly user friendly and easy-to-use.
Export Settings
The options chosen here will reflect how you have chosen to organize your Aperture library. You may have a different Project for each shoot, or prefer to use Folders to structure photos. Either way, you can select from a few of the following:
- Project Name
- Folder Name
- Year/Date/Time (both the current time, and that of shooting)
- Various Custom Numbers/Fields
Using a combination of these options should allow for a flexible export structure, and result in a well organized set of photos on your hard drive.
You can also adjust how files themselves are named using a similar process under the “Name Format” menu.
Importing into iPhoto should then be as simple as dragging the resulting folders of photos into the application. Appropriately titled events will automatically be created.
Other Solutions
A few other solutions exist for simplifying this process and automating it further. You could try this Automator script which, while a little dated, could do the trick.
It’s also possible to approach the problem with AppleScript, though this is a slightly more advanced solution.
Either way, I hope you no longer feel unduly concerned that you are “locked in” to Aperture. The export process can be fairly simple and, while you may lose some meta data, it isn’t too difficult to move a structured set of images out of the application.
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Переслать - Apple Releases New Final Cut Studio and Logic Studio
Today, Apple released a huge update for its Pro series of audio/video editing applications, including both the Final Cut and Logic Studio suites of applications. People (and businesses) who need the extra muscle of Pro applications (as compared with the iLife suite, for example) will be happy to note that with this latest update, Apple has dropped the price for Final Cut Studio by a very respectable $300, from $1,299 to $999 for the full studio package, or $299 for existing users to upgrade.
Final Cut Studio
Final Cut Studio includes Final Cut Pro 7, Motion 4, Soundtrack Pro 3, Color 1.5, Compressor 3.5 and DVD Studio Pro 4. While all of the applications included in the suite received an upgrade, Final Cut Pro bears the most significant changes over its previous iteration.
New features include iChat Theater support, so that you can actually edit collaboratively in real-time while working remotely. It’s a great way for Apple to leverage existing tools in an innovative way to provide a truly useful function for people editing media, since collaborators don’t even need to have Final Cut installed. There are also new Change Speed and Share windows, which give you better control over video speed changes and the ability to preview your content when exporting for web, Blu-ray or Apple devices.
There are also new and improved versions of Apple’s ProRes codec. ProRes 422 (Proxy) helps with offline editing; ProRes 422 (LT) provides broadcast quality at reduced sizes; and ProRes 4444 gives you the highest quality possible for editing.
Motion 4 now allows you to add light sources to cast reflections and shadows on any surface, and offers new text, tilting, and depth of field tools. Color 1.5 should now work with a wider range of effects, and includes native support for RED ONE camera files. Compressor 3.5 now has Job Action features to make it easier to export to open and export a file to various destinations and work with Automator workflows. Finally, Soundtrack Pro 3 brings new tools like Advanced Time Stretch which boasts all-new audio stretch and compress algorithms, and Voice Level Match, which matches volume from the vocals of one clip to another.
Logic Studio
Logic Studio comes in at a respectable $499, and includes both Soundtrack Pro 3 and Compressor 3.5, mentioned above, in addition to Logic Pro 9, MainStage 2, and WaveBurner 1.6. It also ships with all six Apple Jam Pack loop sets and tons of bundled plug-ins, instruments and effects. Current Logic Studio or Logic Pro users can upgrade for $199, while those with Logic Express will have to pay a heftier $299.
Logic Studio brings a lot of new stuff to the table, with over 200 new features. Some highlights include the new Amp Designer amp modeling software, which comes with 25 amps, 25 cabinets, and three mics to allow users to customize the sound of their guitar tone, which was lacking in Guitar Amp Pro, their previous modeling software. Pedalboard works with Amp Designer to bring 30 stompbox effects, which can be arranged on a virtual pedalboard.
Flex Time, a new feature for Logic Pro, allows you to manipulate timing so that if one of your tracks (or part of the track) is slightly off with the others, it’s much easier to drag the affected area to try to correct the timing, and Logic Pro will compress or expand the areas nearby to accommodate the change.
Early impressions from Apple Pro users at Macworld and CNET seem to indicate that many of the changes introduced with the new versions make working with audio and video significantly easier than in previous installments. Apple really has put the focus squarely on usability improvements this time around, and it shows. Both suites are available immediately from Apple’s web site.
Переслать - Apple Backs Down in Syncing Lawsuit
Days after releasing an update to iTunes that blocked the Palm Pre from syncing, Apple has ended another dispute concerning iTunes, this time by settling.
Last November, Apple began issuing cease-and-desist letters to Odioworks, which runs Bluwiki, a public wiki. In this case, people were publishing decompiled code from iTunesDB, the library file that stores music and playlist information for an iTunes user. The goal was simple: Make Apple devices interoperable with other media applications, like Songbird.
Apple asserted this was a violation of the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provisions, raising the possibility of legal action. In response, Bluwiki took down the pages and sought legal assistance. The Electronic Frontier Foundation took the case and Odioworks v. Apple was born.
Today, it died, though what ultimately killed the lawsuit is up for debate. If you believe Apple’s letter (PDF), it was because the technology was rendered moot. Apple had “stopped utilizing the code in question,” thus publishing the code was “no longer of any harm or benefit to anyone.” A less charitable interpretation might be that Apple’s legal maneuverings had successfully prevented open discussion, at least at Bluwiki, until changes were made to iTunes.
The problem is that what Apple did was wrong. The DMCA explicitly allows reverse engineering for “analyzing those elements of the programs that are necessary to achieve interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs.” It’s anti-competitive behavior like this that makes appropriate action like stopping the Pre hack seem less so.
Переслать - App Review: iBank Mobile
App Quick Stats
The developers of iBank, the robust alternative to moribund Quicken for the Mac, have gone mobile with their latest product. With iBank Mobile for the iPhone and iPod touch you can bank on the go, but probably not go it alone.
To be fair, there is no perfect personal finance manager (PFM) in the App Store. There are standalone apps like the cryptically-named iXpenselt, and cloud apps like Mint and Quicken Online Mobile — which unbelievably does not sync to Quicken for the Mac or PC.
Synchronization with the desktop is where iBank Mobile comes in. Certainly, it was a much improved experience over using it as a standalone application. Creating fake accounts, transactions, and categories using iBank Mobile for the purpose of review was incredibly time consuming. Having said that, once iBank Mobile is up and running, it follows the money pretty well.
Accounts
Left, the Home screen provides an overview of accounts and access to the spartan control scheme: Home, Spending, Settings, Sync, and New Transaction. The Spending screen shows categories and activity. Drilling down from Spending lists transactions sorted by category, each transaction selectable for details. Transactions can also be accessed by account.
The interface is straightforward and useable to this point, with one minor complaint. Accounts can only be sorted alphabetically, though they can be grouped in two lists: Primary and Other.
There is also an issue regarding general performance, at least on an iPhone 3G. Upon first accessing accounts, totals may appear as "calculating" until iBank Mobile catches up. Scrolling through transactions is a little sluggish, too.
Transactions
Creating a transaction is a guided process: Account → Transaction Type & Amount → Payee → Categories & Memo. Payee editing benefits from autocompletion, which is great, but lack of a "back" button through every step of the transaction process is not so great.
Split transactions work well, especially if you already have a list of categories, as there is no autocompletion here: select or create. Categories are best derived from the desktop software, which underscores an important point. Whether using iBank Mobile is a chore or a pleasure really comes down to whether or not you use iBank for the Mac. Syncing is where iBank shines.
Synchronization
Even if you don't plan on syncing with iBank, the passcode option protects your transaction data on the iPhone, while encryption is used during syncing. As for syncing itself, it just works. Via Wi-Fi, MobileMe, or WebDAV, setup is simple. Syncing more than 5,000 transactions took about five minutes, while normal syncing after setup takes seconds.
Summing Up: Bronze Award
As a standalone application, iBank Mobile is rather spartan; no online options, no bill calendar, no charts, no budgeting, just transactions and spending. According to the developers, customer feedback will be a driving force in updates, though direct download of transactions from financial institutions is a priority. For now, I don't recommend iBank Mobile as a standalone PFM, but then I don't recommend any standalone PFM application for the iPhone and iPod touch. However, I do recommend iBank Mobile as complement to the desktop product.
The value in iBank Mobile is tracking where your money goes as you spend it over time, like cash from an ATM withdrawal. That information then easily integrates into iBank for the Mac through the excellent syncing options. What you do with that information is up to you, but the first rule of personal finance is knowing where the money goes, and iBank Mobile makes that possible wherever you are.
Переслать - Apple, Foxconn Comment on Worker's Death
Yesterday may have been when Apple hosted its quarterly earnings conference call, but the company’s financial performance was somewhat overshadowed by the tragic death of a worker at an iPhone manufacturing facility. The factory, run by supplier Foxconn, is located in the Chinese city of Shenzen. Apple has previously come under fire for the labor practices of its Asian suppliers, most recently Wintek, which makes displays for the computing company.
The worker, 25-year-old Sun Danyong, was responsible for the final packing of a sample shipment of 16 iPhones. When one of said iPhones went missing, suspicion fell on Sun, and Foxconn management launched an investigation into the matter. Reports also indicate that a security officer, Gu Qinming, physically struck him during a confrontation regarding the theft. Sun denies the allegations.
While it isn’t clear whether or not Sun was actually found to be responsible following the investigation, he fell to his death from a 12th story window on July 16, an apparent suicide.
Foxconn spokesman James Lee admitted that the company’s management bore some responsibility for the incident, saying, “[H]is suicide, for whatever reason, in a way reflects a management defect on the part of Foxconn…especially over the troubles faced by our young employees.”
Apple also commented on the matter. Jill Tan, a spokeswoman for Apple based out of Hong Kong, stuck to the company’s principles and standards in a brief statement made to the Associated Foreign Press: “We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death. We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect.”
Sun’s death occurred only two days after a Bloomberg article went to press detailing the risks Chinese factories and their apparent disregard for labor law pose to Apple’s international reputation.
Переслать - Thanks, Apple: Wireless Broadband Exploding
Wireless broadband is growing like wildfire. Current estimates are that by the end of the year there could be over 250 million subscribers to HSPA connections (the tech behind 3G wireless broadband).
With over 26 million iPhone’s sold in the past 2 years, and sales of the iPhone 3GS booming, Apple is clearly playing a major role in the growth of wireless broadband tech.
GigaOM has the full rundown on the growth of wireless broadband around the globe.
Переслать - Microsoft Retail More Like Brick-and-Mortar Advertising Depots
Microsoft is counting on a turncoat to help jump-start its recently-announced efforts to compete with Apple on the retail store front. Former VP of Apple’s Real Estate department, George Blankenship, has been confirmed as a consultant attached to Microsoft’s retail efforts, which should bear fruit beginning this fall.
Blankenship is responsible for shaping the way Apple chose to place its inaugural retail locations, along high traffic routes in places with extremely high property values. The gamble was that being in upscale shopping centers would offset the high lease price of the store locations because it would attract bigger fish, or shoppers with more money to spend and more inclination to spend it.
That’s apparently the approach Microsoft wants to copy when setting up its own brick-and-mortar chain, which will obviously carry hardware from a variety of manufacturers, since it doesn’t make any computers. Those third-party partners might be interested to know that Microsoft’s apparent goal with its shiny, new, expensively placed stores won’t actually be to move product, but to showcase it.
AppleInsider cites an earlier leak as suggesting that Microsoft will be using the storefronts more as an environment for hands-on demos and product showcasing than as a place to aggressively sell product. I think it realizes that it will have a hard time staying competitive with the wide range of online and traditional retailers who sell its products, many of whom have much more leeway with regard to pricing than Apple generally allows its authorized resellers.
In a world in which ignoring advertising is becoming easier to do (TiVo, ad blockers, consumer resistance through overexposure), Microsoft might be on to something with a brick-and-mortar retail approach to raising brand awareness. The Apple Store, after all, is an iconic monolith in the mind of the American consumer, owing to the unity and uniqueness of its design. Let’s see if Redmond can come up with something equally evocative.
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