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- Virgin America Kills Flash as a Result of Apple/Adobe Conflict
It’s probably not the first site to eschew Flash in favor of greater compatibility with Apple’s portable devices, but it’s one that’s definitely big enough to make waves. Virgin America has launched a new, Flash-free website with the stated intent of reaching more customers on Apple’s devices, where Adobe’s rich web content application is not welcome.
Honestly, I think this is only the beginning of a new tide that will see corporations retreating away from either Adobe’s or Microsoft’s proprietary solutions for displaying animations and other advanced media elements in their websites. When the goal is to reach as many customers as possible, it only makes sense to take into account the limitations of some platforms. Flash may run on many portable non-Apple devices, but that doesn’t mean it does it well.
As reported by the Register, the decision to go with only HTML is about inclusion, even though the move by Apple that preceded it is all about exclusion:
Virgin picked HTML to give users of iPhones and other mobiles the option in the future of checking in through their phone. The battle between Adobe and Apple has seen Flash deliberately excluded from the Jesus Phone.
Virgin’s new site is designed to let users check-in using their mobiles, using a system that issues electronic boarding passes you’ll be able to show to airport security staff. The plan is awaiting approval by the U.S. Transportation Security Authority. The site is responsible for 70 percent of Virgin’s $100 million quarterly revenue. Right now it’s advanced enough to suit the company’s needs, but Virgin does anticipate making the jump to HTML5 once it’s cleared by the W3C.
Virgin America’s Chief Information Officer Ravi Simhambhatia added, in defense of the decision, that “[t]his year is going to be the year of the mobile [for Virgin].” The sentiment echoes Steve Jobs’ recent declaration that Apple is now a mobile device company first and foremost. There’s just no denying that if companies want to be taken seriously on the mobile scene, they need to take into account, if not focus on Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch, and the upcoming iPad.
The message is clear: Apple can succeed at stonewalling Adobe. The iPhone has been a massive success despite a lack of Flash support, and the iPad is poised to do the same when it launches late this month. Magazine companies aren’t happy about having to choose, but let’s be honest, print publications and their online components hardly hold the industry sway that they did 10 years ago. The death of Flash is coming, and Virgin is only the first harbinger of said death.
Переслать - Apple's Cloud Storage Plan Extends to Movies, Too
There was lots of buzz not too long ago about Apple trying to get into the streaming music service, and moving that content to the cloud to compete with services like Pandora and others who seem to be taking some of the wind out of iTunes’ sails. Now, it seems like music wasn’t the only thing the Mac maker’s been planning on moving to the cloud.
According to CNET’s sources, Apple has been in talks with major film studios about allowing iTunes customers to store their movie purchases in the cloud using the company’s servers. Add that to its possible plans to stream television and music, and you’ve got a very attractive combo for users who are getting tired of having to clear off hard drive space every few weeks.
Not only would the plan see the reduction of used HD space, which isn’t a problem for people who just want to watch something once and then delete it, but it will also allow any authorized Internet connected device to access and stream the content automatically, without the need to transfer or convert it first. In theory, then, any device with iTunes on it should be able to access the movies, including Apple’s upcoming iPad.
As details of these talks continue to emerge, it’s clear where Apple thinks the future of personal electronic devices is headed, and the popularity of streaming services like Internet radio and the Xbox’s 1080p streaming HD movie rentals suggest that Cupertino is right on the money. CNET’s source said of Apple, “[b]asically, they want to eliminate the hard drive.”
The barriers in the way of getting studios to buy in are fairly steep, at least by Apple’s standards. Reportedly, Hollywood won’t sign any deals that could see the content purchased by iTunes users limited in terms of playback to Apple devices and software. That means that for film studios to feel comfortable authorizing cloud storage, the media would have to be able to be viewed on whatever device the customer chooses, say, for instance, on a Microsoft phone and/or media player.
It’s not a deal I see Apple making, although I’m still not entirely sure that Hollywood will actually force things to go that way. For one thing, the movie studios currently allow Apple to distribute their films in Apple’s proprietary format, which makes it at least incredibly inconvenient to play it on other devices. A switch to streaming might temporarily make it impossible instead of just difficult, but I honestly don’t think iTunes customers are all that interested in playing content purchased in the iTunes store on their Nokia devices, or they’d buy from somewhere else, like Amazon.
Apple must be getting some positive indicators from these media companies, or it wouldn’t continue going around and trying to sweet-talk others into getting in on the deal. I’d say it’s a good bet that everyone’s waiting for one of the others to jump before following suit. Or for the iPad to launch so that they can gauge the consumer reach of Apple’s new wonder device.
I’m still someone who likes the option of storing my media locally, since I can’t shake the admittedly paranoid thought that one day any media I only have streaming access to could go offline forever, leaving me with nothing to show for all the money I’ve spent over the years. Still, the idea of having remote access to any movie or music all the time via any device with a network connection is definitely an attractive one. But even if that does come to pass, the question of Apple’s server reliability will inevitably come up. MobileMe took well over a year to reach a level of stability I’m comfortable with. How long would all-media streaming take to adjust?
Related GigaOM Pro Research: Do Consumers Care Where Their Content Is Stored?
Переслать - How-To: Setup an Airport Extreme in Bridge Mode
When our community went live for AT&T U-Verse, we jumped right on the opportunity to get a service with advanced voice, data and TV on the same line. Unfortunately, we found out that U-Verse requires you use to use their router. So we had to replace our beloved Airport Extreme, right? Not quite.
Our situation was U-Verse related, but others may have situations whereby your Extreme can no longer provide Internet routing functions. Fear not, because you can still take advantage of its features with Bridge Mode. Bridge mode essentially turns off the Internet routing portion of the Airport, but leaves intact all of its other features such as Wi-Fi, printer sharing, disk sharing, and Time Machine support.
Let’s begin!
Getting Started
First, unplug all network cables from the Airport and reset it so you are starting with a clean slate. Instructions to reset can be found here.
Next, plug an Ethernet cable from your computer into one of the Ethernet ports on your Airport Extreme. You can configure via Wi-Fi, but wired is easier. If you do it over Wi-Fi, you’ll need to search for your particular Airport.
Once you are connected to the Airport base station (either via ethernet or Wi-Fi), launch the Airport Utility on your Mac. The utility is located in /Applications/Utilities. Once it loads, you will see your Airport router listed in the upper left corner. If the router doesn’t show up, make sure you are physically connected to its network from your Mac.
Click “Manual Setup” towards the bottom of the window and then click the “Internet” icon that appears at the top of the window.
After you click the “Internet” icon, the Internet Connection tab should appear. At the bottom of this window, you will see an option for “Connection Sharing.” By default, this is probably set to “Distribute a range of IP addresses” or “Share a public IP address.” You want to change this so that it says “Off (Bridge Mode)”
At this point, you are done. The Airport is setup for Bridge Mode, but you’ll want to configure a few more things.
Configuring Your Bridge
To configure the Wireless Security and Wireless Network Name, click the Airport icon at the top of the window and then click Wireless.
If you reset the Airport first, you’ll want to click the Base Station tab to rename the Base Station and create an Airport Extreme Password (which may or may not be the same as your wireless password).
If you want to share a connected printer or disk, click the Printers and/or Disks tab as applicable. Personally, I use the USB port and Disks function to have a remote Time Machine shared by multiple computers.
Once you have made all the changes you wish to make, click on “Update” in the lower right corner, and your Airport base station will restart. At this point, you can disconnect from the ethernet port and now must plug in the ethernet cable from your ISP-provided router into the Broadband port of your Airport Extreme.
After it restarts, the Airport Extreme indicator in the front should go green. You can test the bridge by connecting to your Airport via Wi-Fi (or ethernet if you want) and surf the Internet as well as see any disks or printers you might be sharing.
Keep in mind that there are a few limitations of bridge mode. Because the Internet routing features of the Airport are not used in Bridge Mode, certain features that rely on special functionality of the Airport router, like Back To My Mac, may not work. Additionally, port forwarding (for things like games or Bit Torrent) needs to be done using your ISP’s router’s web interface, rather then the Airport Utility. Some ISP routers have a special mode called “DMZ” which allows you to use these features on the Airport, but setting this up is router-specific and often subject to change.
Переслать - MacHeist Returns: Offers 7 Mac Apps for Less Than $20
Software bundle web site MacHeist has unveiled its latest offer. The ‘nanoBundle2‘ was made public as midnight struck on Wednesday, revealing a range of seven Mac OS X applications.
For those unaware, a typical MacHeist promotion sees a number of Mac applications being made available at a discount rate (sometimes even for free), but only for a limited time. Following a build-up of teasing tweets this past week, the bundle is now available, with the latest collection of software including:
MacJournal (Retail: $39.95)
Writing software, MacJournal, from Mariner Software is an Apple Design Award-winning application that claims to be perfect for any amount of writing, whether that’s just a quick small list, a more detailed blog entry or a full-on book.
RipIt (Retail: $19.95)
RipIt is a simple DVD importing tool from ‘the little app factory.’ The application aims to make the process of importing your DVD collection onto your Mac as simple as it is for CDs. You can even compress your DVDs for portable use on an iPhone.
Clips (Retail: $27)
Ever went to copy something and suddenly stopped, remembering that you may already have something stored on your computers clipboard? Conceited Software is offering clipboard management application, Clips, as the solution to just that problem.
CoverScout (Retail: $39.95)
Equinux’s CoverScout is one of several currently available apps that will take an ever-growing iTunes library, then find and replace any missing cover art. Developers Equinux claim that due to the visual nature of humans, music with no cover art is more likely to be ignored when browsing your collection.
Flow (Retail: $25)
Flow is an FTP client from Extendmac that boasts not just a fresh, clean user interface but also claims to take advantage of the latest OS X technologies. Beyond its basic FTP capabilities, Flow also has live editing and other development tools. It also is an Apple Design Award winner.
Tales Of Monkey Island (Retail: $34.95)
Although currently locked, Telltale Games’ adventure title Tales Of Monkey Island will be unlocked for all MacHeist customers once 50,000 bundles have been sold. Once that goal has been reached, six episodes of pirate based fun will be yours.
RapidWeaver (Retail: $79)
RapidWeaver, the last application in the latest MacHeist bundle, is a web site creation tool from Realmac Software. The application has similarities to that of Apple’s iWeb.
The nanobundle2 is available now for just seven days, so if you were looking to buy any of the above applications now would clearly be a good time. If you were to purchase each of the included applications separately it would cost an excess of $266. So buying through MacHeist not only donates money to charities (over $1.5 million since the heist’s began), but it could also save you up to $246!
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