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- Apple stock at another all-time high, market cap 4th in US
Filed under: Apple Financial
Apple's stock rose to another record high earlier today, reaching $228.36 at market close. That's almost another $10 above the record high it set back on March 5, which translates into nearly nine billion dollars in market capitalization gained in less than three weeks.
Apple's market cap is so high that only three publicly-traded US companies have market caps higher than Apple's: Exxon, Microsoft, and a little retailer called Wal-Mart. Apple will probably never catch up to Exxon's market cap, which exceeds Apple's by more than $100 billion, and it has another $55 billion to go before it can surpass Microsoft -- not likely, but not impossible. Apple's market cap is within striking distance of Wal-Mart's, however, with only about $5.5 billion more to go before Apple surpasses the market value of the world's largest retailer.
What's even more interesting than the companies still above Apple are all the companies below it. Apple's market cap exceeds Google's by more than $30 billion, and 1980s rival IBM is nearly $40 billion below Apple's value. Even more telling than that: in terms of market capitalization, Apple is now worth more than Nokia, RIM, Sony, Motorola, Palm, Dell, and Adobe -- combined.
Apple's all-time low market value was back in 1982, when it was a mere $640 million. For perspective, that's more than $37 million below Palm's current market value (before adjusting for inflation, naturally), and Palm is widely expected to go belly-up any day now. 28 years later, Apple has grown to occupy a position in the market that I doubt anyone would have dreamed of even only five years ago. Whatever else you might think of Apple, one thing is undeniable: someone at the company is doing something right, because they're raking in money like almost no other corporation anywhere.
Disclosure: I own absolutely no Apple stock whatsoever, but I wish I could tell the 2004 version of me to go buy some so I could retire next year.TUAWApple stock at another all-time high, market cap 4th in US originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple - Microsoft - Nokia - Google - Sony
Переслать - Eye-Fi Pro X2 cards have arrived, and you probably want one
Filed under: Accessories
I pre-ordered an Eye-Fi Pro X2 from Amazon a few weeks ago. (Don't be too jealous, I did it when I decided that I was going to have to wait for an iPad for financial reasons.) This is not my first Eye-Fi card, as I bought a 2GB version a few years ago -- and quite frankly, I hated it and thought it was overpriced.
We have talked about the Eye-Fi before, but if you are not familiar with it, here's a basic summary: the Eye-Fi cards are Wi-Fi enabled, meaning that you can upload your pictures from your camera without a USB cable or card reader. You can set it to automatically upload to iPhoto, or just to a specific folder on your computer. You also have the option to have your pictures uploaded to MobileMe, Flickr, Evernote, Picasa, Facebook, and many other places (see chart in new window). Videos can be uploaded to Flickr (only 90 seconds maximum, though), Picasa, YouTube, Facebook, Phanfare, and Photobucket. You can even set it up to send notifications via email, Facebook, Twitter, or SMS when transfers start, finish, or are interrupted.
The Pro X2, at US$150, is still expensive and it is SD-only (sorry, CF users), but the new card comes with a host of new features which make it worthwhile. The first is the the card is a Class 6 device, meaning that it is fast. The older Eye-Fi card always felt like it was really slow to me, which meant that I didn't always want to use it. This new card is as fast as any card I own, and the limiting factor now seems to be my camera, not the card.
There's a whole lot more.
That's not the only "speed" increase either: the new cards are 802.11n compatible, meaning that if you have a "Wireless-N" Wi-Fi network, it will transfer your pictures very quickly. Previous cards only worked on "G" speeds, which made the transfers seem very slow. Videos can now also be wirelessly transferred as well, removing another previous limitation.
It still boggles my mind that they can fit 8GB into something so small, but since it also has RAW image support in the Pro X2, the more space the better. A new "Endless Memory Mode" will automatically remove pictures and videos after you have uploaded them to ensure that you don't run out of space on the card. You can control whether or not to use this feature at all, and if you do enable it, the companion "Eye-Fi Helper" application lets you set how much space to set aside. For example, if you say "Keep 4GB open" but then take 6GB worth of pictures, it will upload all 6GB and then remove the oldest 2GB worth of pictures from your card. If you are like my mother and keep every picture you've ever taken on the camera, you can set it for a lower amount. If you are like me and want the pictures off the card once you know they are safely uploaded, you can set it for a higher amount.
Geotagging via Skyhook is included with the "Explore X2" and "Pro X2" cards (see a chart of differences between the different "X2" models here). The Explore and Pro cards also come with one year of "Hotspot Access" available at "tens of thousands of locations, including Starbucks, Barnes & Nobles, restaurants, major hotels, airports, and more." The cards will upload from any open network. Note that you have to configure the card to access hotspot and "open" networks, and it will not work with open networks which require some sort of login.
About the only blemish in the entire Eye-Fi experience for me is the "Eye-Fi Center" software. As far as I can tell this is some sort of GUI "shell" which wraps around a web service. It's fairly craptastic. The UI seems unpolished, although very colorful, and it's more difficult to find some settings than it needs to be. That is a minor complaint, however, compared to the all-too-frequent problem of telling me that I need to insert a card which is already inserted and which has been inserted for some time now and which the "Eye-Fi Center" software has been accessing up until the point when it decides, for no particular reason, that it is no longer inserted. Most of the time the problem is solved either by relaunching the software or by ejecting and re-mounting the card in its USB reader. In the grand scheme of life it is a minor issue, but it happens far too often.
One final feature note: the Pro X2 also supports "Ad Hoc," meaning that if you are out somewhere without a real Wi-Fi network but only your laptop, you can create an Ad Hoc Wi-Fi network on your laptop and have the pictures upload to your laptop without a router.
As someone who was very disappointed with the first generation of Eye-Fi cards, I am hopeful that the second generation "X2" cards will finally live up to all the promise. The ideas were always solid, but now the technology has finally caught up. Obviously I've only had the card for a few hours, but I look forward to putting it through the paces. At $150 there is no doubt that you are paying a hefty premium for the card, but the feature set makes it worth it to me, if for no other reason than this one: With an automatic upload to Flickr and my hard drive, every picture I take is automatically backed up off-site as soon as I get back to my computer.
Note: This review is based on a unit I pre-ordered a few weeks ago, and paid for myself (my birthday is coming up), not a review unit. If you look at Amazon's web page for the Pro X2, it says that it won't ship until April 6th. This is Amazon's way of saying that it is backordered (a word that Amazon does not seem to like), which you can confirm at Eye-Fi's webpage. Pre-orders began shipping last week.
TUAWEye-Fi Pro X2 cards have arrived, and you probably want one originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - US Army meets with Apple, discusses tech for soldiers
Filed under: iPod Family
Earlier this month, Major General Nick Justice and several members of his staff traveled to Apple's Cupertino campus to discuss soldiers using Apple's products and technology in the field. In addition to having the most awesome name ever, Maj. Gen. Justice also heads the US Army's Research, Development, and Engineering Command. He's reportedly interested in moving the Army away from the custom-built "big green box" electronics that the Army has used over the past decades; instead, Justice wants the Army to investigate existing solutions from the commercial sector, including Apple's portable lines.
Rather than continuing to invest heaps of money to research its own devices, Maj. Gen. Justice wants to take a different approach: leveraging the knowledge and research of the commercial sector into the Army's portable equipment. This approach makes perfect sense for a number of reasons. Companies like Apple have already laid a lot of the groundwork for developing durable and easily portable devices, and their devices provide multiple functions with an extremely easy-to-use interface.
Thanks to TUAW reader Ryan for the tip.
One of the Army's lead computer scientists working for the Communications-Electronics Research and Development Center said, "Apple technologies offer unique and proven solutions with intuitive designs that allow users to learn quickly without a training manual." Indeed, most of the Army's soldiers either own an iPod or have at least used one before. So whether we're talking about a direct use of iPod touches and iPhones out in the field, or rather, Army-specific tech influenced by Apple's design, there's very little training needed to adapt soldiers to the technology. As a former member of the military myself, I can tell you that using simple interfaces like the iPhone OS in the Army's portable equipment would be a huge step toward "soldier-proofing" the devices, making them both easier to use and more reliable in the field.
This isn't the first we've heard of Apple's portables being deployed for military applications. A Newsweek article from about a year ago noted the many uses that the iPod touch has seen on the battlefield already. It's been used for everything from language translation to ballistics calculations for snipers in Afghanistan via an app called Bulletflight. Other US Department of Defense projects for the iPhone OS include software to display video from aerial drones, video conferencing with intelligence agents, and even a remote control app for bomb disposal robots. The Army's Communications-Electronics Research and Development Center is also developing COIN Collector, a counter-insurgency information collection app, and MilSpace, a social networking/planning app.
Apple most likely didn't have military applications in mind when they developed the iPhone OS, but the simple, yet flexible interface has drawn the military's attention anyway. It may not reach the point where soldiers are given Army-issued iPod touches alongside their M-16s (although that would be a great recruitment tool), but it's likely that, at the very least, future Army devices will draw much of their inspiration from Apple's portable lines.TUAWUS Army meets with Apple, discusses tech for soldiers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW giveaway: A mobile bonanza from Dr. Bott
Filed under: Accessories
Ahhh, the joys of being in the Apple press! We're constantly getting a stream of items, both hardware and software, to review. Here at TUAW, it is our policy to never keep anything so that we can't be accused of being "bought" for a review. So when a boxful of mobile-oriented goodies from Apple-friendly retailer Dr. Bott showed up in the mail the other day, our immediate thought was to give them away to some lucky TUAW reader!
This giveaway is oriented towards those of you who have both a MacBook of some sort and an iPhone 3G or 3GS. Here's what's in the mix:
- Moshi ClearGuard MB -- this clear urethane keyboard protector is one-fifth the thickness of silicone protectors, and is completely washable and reusable. It works with any of the existing MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air laptops from Apple. It's valued at US$24.99.
- Speck CandyShell -- If you have an iPhone 3G or 3GS, you're going to love this case with the hard shell and soft center. This is the "green/green" version, which is very... green. The value of this yummy case is $34.95.
- ifrogz Voltz USB Car Charger -- iPods, iPhones, and other USB devices can be charged with this car charger, which comes with a Luxe Red finish. It's worth $12.99.
- Matias Mini Rizer -- this is perfect for those situations where you want to watch a TV show or movie on your iPhone or iPod touch, but you don't feel like holding it for a couple of hours. This clear plastic, credit card-sized stand is adjustable to two angles, and has a suggested retail price of $14.95.
- Skullcandy Rasta Sweatband and Skull Necklace -- Skullcandy makes some great headphones as well as iPhone and iPod accessories. You'll be bangin' with your Rasta sweatband and skull necklace, valued at $5.95 and $9.95 respectively.
- Road Tools Podium CoolPad -- This sweet little pivoting laptop stand will work with just about any laptop Apple has ever made, except for that old Mac Portable... This one is black, will probably work with your iPad, and retails for $29.95.
- ThemaPAK HeatShift Pad -- We saw these selling like hotcakes at Macworld Expo 2010. These pads use special heat-absorbing crystals and can lower the temperature of your MacBook by 6 degrees Celsius. This one is made for 13" MacBook models, and comes in black. The suggested retail price is $28.00
- Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
- To enter, leave a comment giving us a location on Earth where you'd like to use your Dr. Bott mobile accessories.
- The comment must be left before Sunday, March 24, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
- You may enter only once.
- One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
- Prize: A selection of mobile computing products from Dr. Bott (see list above - $161.73 value)
- Click Here for complete Official Rules.
TUAWTUAW giveaway: A mobile bonanza from Dr. Bott originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Slick card magic for your iPhone
Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Review
I've enjoyed reviewing some of the clever magic tricks that are getting developed for the iPhone over the last year, and I want to be sure to point out Magic Card which is clever and will likely fool the uninitiated.
Here's what the spectator sees: a person cuts the deck to select a card, which is kept face down. You use your iPhone to take a picture of the card, either alone on the table, or as I prefer at the top of the stack. The spectator sees you select the camera icon and take the picture. To be sure the picture wasn't taken in advance the spectator can put something in the picture like a ring or tableware next to the card to prove it.
You display the picture you have just taken, and shake the iPhone a bit. In a moment, the face down image of the card changes to a face up picture. When the card is turned over, it matches.
The trick can be repeated, and another card will show up. To the experienced, it may be obvious how it works. To people I tried it out on, it was a 'gee-whiz' moment. If you've done a bit of magic before, you can use alternate methods to get the card selected that may be even more mysterious.
I think this is a nifty effect to do at a party or at a bar. Of course you'll need a deck of cards, but no self-respecting conjuror would be without one.
Magic Card is on sale at the app store for US$2.99. Early versions of the app were reported to have some bugs, but I found this release to be rock solid. I think magic tricks will have a place on the iPad as well, and look forward to seeing versions in higher resolution.TUAWSlick card magic for your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Report: One-third of iPad buyers will read books, newspapers
Filed under: iPad
comScore recently polled 2,176 iPad customers regarding their plans for the new device. Not surprisingly, one-third of them said that they intend to use it to read books and newspapers.
Specifically, 37% of respondents said that they're "likely" to read books on their iPads, and 34% said they intend to use it to read newspapers and magazines. Drilling down further, comScore identified that those who already own Apple products (they call them "iOwners") are more likely to pay for newspaper and magazine digital subscriptions -- a full 52%.
Among all the people I've discussed the iPad with, the vast majority intend to use it just as I do -- as a leisure device. I see it being the thing that's left on a coffee table to be picked up in the evening for watching videos, leisure web browsing and reading books and magazines. Today I sit on the couch with my wife while my MacBook Pro singes my legs and takes up too much room. An iPad the size of a magazine will be much more pleasant to manage and pass back-and-forth while we relax together at the end of the day.
Once additional apps are released, increasing its functionality, there will be more and more roles for it to fill. Mark my words: It's going to be a huge hit.
[Via AppleInsider]TUAWReport: One-third of iPad buyers will read books, newspapers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Scanner Pro updated, still powerful, still complex
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
Scanner Pro is a US$6.99 iPhone app by Readdle which will let you easily take a picture with your iPhone.
We've looked at Scanner Pro before and now a new 2.0 version has been released with page edge detection, image stabilization, and German, Spanish, French, and Italian localizations.
Unfortunately, it doesn't do much to address the UI issues that Erica pointed out in her original review. The UI is complicated, and it took me several attempts to even figure out how to take a picture. The screen shot at the right shows the "workflow" for creating a new document (tap the icons at the bottom, working left-to-right, to step through the process).
After I took a picture of a page of text, another menu offered to let me "crop" the scan down to particular sizes. it took a bit of effort to get the margins lined up, and eventually I just hit the "Select All" button instead.
Scanner Pro does offer a few advanced features such as the ability to create PDF files with passwords, landscape orientation, manual light/contrast adjustments, Dropbox support, and integration with Print n Share to print your scans. It also supports iDisk (or other WebDAV servers) and Evernote.
I tested the Dropbox support and it worked very quickly and smoothly. However when you initially save a document, you are only offered the option to send the file to Evernote, your photo library, or Google Docs. Dropbox is inexplicably missing from the "Send to" menu, which means that you have to step back out of the process and go to another menu to upload it.
Frankly I think the whole idea of using your iPhone as a scanner is flawed in the first place, akin to using a wrench as a hammer. If you don't have a hammer but need to whack something, a wrench will do in a pinch, but no one with any serious hammering to do would ever choose a wrench for the job. Likewise, the ability to use your iPhone to capture a piece of paper and send it to someone else or yourself could come in handy in an "emergency" but I wouldn't do it very often. For occasional, light use I still don't see any reason not to use something like Evernote which is free, or just take a picture from the iPhone camera app and email it to yourself later.
If you find yourself wishing that you could print and password protect PDF scans from your iPhone, you're much more of a power user than I am, and may find Scanner Pro worth the price. I still wish that the App Store supported time-limited demos so that people could download an app and test it for themselves before buying. I suspect that there are plenty of power users who would be willing to learn Scanner Pro's UI and benefit from what it has to offer. For the average iPhone user, $7 is probably more than they are likely to spend on an app they'll seldom use.TUAWScanner Pro updated, still powerful, still complex originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Fifth Ave Apple Store is NYC's fifth most-photographed location
Filed under: Retail
Philip DeWitt at Apple 2.0 is reporting that Apple's Fifth Avenue retail store is now New York City's fifth most-photographed location. The ranking is according to a year-old analysis of 35 million Flickr images by Cornell University students on a university supercomputer. So which four landmarks are beating the Fifth Ave store? The Empire State Building, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and Grand Central Station, in that order. It's hard to believe the Apple Store beat the Statue of Liberty (ranked 7th).
Cornell's study can be read here (PDF). It's an interesting list of the most photographed cities and landmarks around the world. Even when you take all the landmarks of the entire planet into account, the Fifth Avenue Apple Store is still ranked 28th globally.
Ironically enough Peter Bohlin, the man who designed the hottest computer store on the planet, has been good-naturedly called "a total computer illiterate" by his Philadelphia partner. When Steve Jobs met with Bohlin they wondered how to turn the property, part of which was underground, into a space people would want to enter. The answer, Bohlin told Philly.com, was to make the cube into a giant skylight. "There has always been something magical about a glass building." And thus a star -- er, cube -- was born.TUAWFifth Ave Apple Store is NYC's fifth most-photographed location originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Videos: Wired, VIVmag showcase iPad offerings
Filed under: iPad
One of the elusive goals of tablet computing has been to totally replace print media with something new. To date, nobody has been completely successful. When the Windows-based Tablet PCs shipped in the early 2000s, for instance, there was a lot of talk about how magazines would move completely to electronic publishing platforms such as Zinio.
Well, here we are in 2010 and many of us still have print magazines showing up in our physical mailboxes on a regular basis. But it could be that the new generation of tablet devices, as heralded by the iPad, could finally create such a great user experience that most magazines would finally make the jump from "dead-tree" to electronic versions.
Two magazines well-known for their content, typography, and art design have produced videos highlighting their upcoming offerings for the iPad. Wired Magazine is featured in a video that appears to have been produced by Adobe, highlighting how the magazine plans to use interactive advertising, social tools, and a very paper-like user interface to bring the Wired experience to tablet devices. The second video is from ViVmag, an online woman's magazine touted as "the first interactive all-digital luxury magazine for women." The VIVmag video shows how the magazine plans to use dramatic animation to move between elements in a story.
Both videos give you a taste of what we might expect to see starting shortly after April 3rd. Click the Read More link to view the videos, and let us know iif you've already given up paper-based magazines or if you'll still need your paper copy of Popular Mechanics for bathroom reading material.
[via Creativebits]TUAWVideos: Wired, VIVmag showcase iPad offerings originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iMac goes steampunk
Filed under: iMac
Brian Chen over at Wired came across this sweet Victorian iMac mod. If you're a steampunk fan, it's a must have. The owner of Old Time Computer makes all the covers by hand. This iMac's cover is hand crafted oak with brass and gold trim accents. A hand painted faux marble finish base covers the iMac's aluminum stand. To complete the look there's a keyboard trim cover made of oak and gold trim for the Apple Wireless Keyboard. If you've got deeper pockets, splurge on the antique keyboard and mouse set. The iMac cover is available for the 20-inch and 24-inch Core 2 Duo models and start at US$265 with the keyboard costing an additional $345.
Now the iMac can finally join the Mac mini in steampunk glory.TUAWiMac goes steampunk originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Rumor: Eric Schmidt chewed out by Jobs, gave iPhone to mistress
Filed under: Steve Jobs
While Google CEO Eric Schmidt may wield enough power to influence search results in China, this power apparently isn't strong enough to develop and maintain good friendships -- this is according to a post at Valleywag. The piece examines the persona that is Schmidt, the head of one of the most well-known companies in the world, through the lens of the events at Burning Man 2007.
While Schmidt longed to connect with his peers, Valleywag claims that he didn't exactly go out of his way to establish those connections. Rather than camp out in the desert at Burning Man, Schmidt chose, instead, to drive two and a half-hours back and forth from his Reno, Nevada hotel room in order to sleep on his cozy bed. During one of these treks, Schmidt received a phone call from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The rest, as they say, is history.
At the time, rumors had begun swirling about the Google "G-Phone" and, while Schmidt was on the road, word of the phone leaked from HTC. Feeling a sense of betrayal, Jobs allegedly berated Schmidt during the call. "Steve was very, very upset," Schmidt is said to have told his companion Kate Bohner (more on her in a bit). "My God, he was so angry."
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/ CC BY-SA 2.0
Well, of course he'd be angry. What'd you expect?
All of this information reportedly came from a close friend of Bohner's. According to the piece, Schmidt was having an extramarital affair with Bohner, and besides divulging his conversations with Steve Jobs to her, he also gave her his personal iPhone, which at that time, was a prototype.
However, Valleywag says that the phone in question did not go to Bohner directly. Apparently, Schmidt wasn't too fond of the iPhone's on-screen keyboard, and ended up giving his prototype to his wife. After his wife played with the iPhone and didn't care too much for it either, Schmidt gave it to Bohner. From the picture that Valleywag paints (they even add a little pity into the mix), it's not too difficult to see why the apparent feud between Jobs and Google about the two competing smartphones took the route that it did.TUAWRumor: Eric Schmidt chewed out by Jobs, gave iPhone to mistress originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Found Footage: Opera Mini for the iPhone
Filed under: iPhone
At long last, Opera Mini for iPhone has been submitted to the App Store. It was almost 2 years ago that Opera Software CEO Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner told the New York Times that Apple was not going to admit the browser to the App Store, a claim which was later refuted.
Last February, Opera Software officially announced that Opera Mini will be made available for the iPhone, and offered a sneak peak at Mobile World Congress 2010 (MWC) in Barcelona.
Today, a preview video has been released (above) that shows off some of Opera Mini's impressive features, namely tab management and speed. Opera Mini makes use of server-side rendering, significantly compressing data before it reaches the phone, resulting in speedy browsing and less data usage. At the end of the video, you'll see an impressive head-to-head speed test between Opera and Safari running on identical iPhones over EDGE.
I'm looking forward to giving this browser a try. The tab management looks well done. If you're also eager to use it, watch the official submission countdown (or count up, actually). While you're there, place your guess as to when it will be approved. Whoever comes the closest will win a new iPhone.
[Via First & 20]TUAWFound Footage: Opera Mini for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Project Gutenberg books will work on the iPad
Filed under: iPad
If you don't already know about Project Gutenberg, you should. The site has over 30,000 free ebooks, most of them classics whose copyrights have lapsed. The site includes big-name titles from big-name authors, representing everyone from Dante Alighieri to H.G. Wells. The site's free digital ebooks saved me untold hundreds of dollars while I was doing undergrad work for my English degree.
9to5Mac points out that all of those ebooks should be compatible with Apple's forthcoming iBooks app for the iPad. iBooks will be using the ePub format, and Apple itself has said "you can add free ePub titles to iTunes and sync them to the iBooks app on your iPad." ePub is one of many formats available for Project Gutenberg's ebooks; therefore, it stands to reason that those ebooks should all work in the iBooks app.
However, even if Project Gutenberg's ebooks don't work in iBooks, whether for technical reasons such as formatting or more sinister reasons such as content providers' demands, it won't matter. Project Gutenberg's ebooks are already available on the iPhone and iPod touch through multiple channels -- the Stanza app, and through Project Gutenberg's own site via MobileSafari -- and the iPad will be able to access Project Gutenberg's library in the same way. Reading those ebooks will undoubtedly be a better experience on the iPad's larger screen, whether it's through iBooks, Stanza, Safari, or some other means.
Apple isn't advertising the iPad as coming with 30,000 free books, but thanks to Project Gutenberg, without spending a penny more than the cost of the iPad itself, you'll be able to carry an entire library of classics around in a device that weighs less than most hardcover novels.
[Via Cult of Mac]TUAWProject Gutenberg books will work on the iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Jobs on a roll, drops three more emails; expect universal iPhone mailbox
Filed under: Steve Jobs
Okay, who hasn't gotten an email from Steve Jobs this week? Yesterday we reported on an email Steve sent to a user regarding Google's Picasa. Also, a MacRumors reader emailed Jobs yesterday about his concern that Apple is putting all its efforts behind the iPad and losing vision in the MacBook and MacBook Pro department. Jobs reportedly replied with an email that said, "Not to worry."
But Jobs wasn't done with his emailing that day. Late last night, a TUAW reader sent us an email that was reportedly from Jobs. The reader asked if there was a way he could transfer his Google Docs to his iPad through iWork.com or iDisk. Jobs' reply? "Yes."
The fourth email is perhaps the most welcome one. Reader Julio R. asked Steve if we can expect a universal mailbox on the iPhone. His answer? "Yep."
The emails are short and sweet, but as the TUAW reader who sent us the email about MacBooks pointed out, "When a CEO personally responds to a consumer, you know you're getting the best service on the planet." It should be noted that while the Picasa email was sent from Steve's iPhone running OS 3.1.2, the Google Docs and universal mailbox emails were sent from his iPad.TUAWJobs on a roll, drops three more emails; expect universal iPhone mailbox originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPhone devsugar: 9 ways Apple can improve App Store
Filed under: iTS
Apple has been working hard to make the App Store a better experience for both customers and developers. Recently, they introduced in-app purchases, scheduled sale prices for apps, provided review status indicators in iTunes Connect, and introduced other new features. Despite that, they still have a long way to go.
Through talking with developers, I've assembled a list of items that Apple might yet look into and implement. They range from issues arising from iPad development and deployment, to longer-standing items that would benefit the entire store. Here, then, is a list of nine suggestions for improving the App Store experience for iPhone OS developers.
1. Offer In-App Purchase Promo Codes
Although iTunes Connect allows developers to generate promo codes for reviews and other marketing purposes, they have yet to introduce a way to create freebies for in-app purchases. When your application revolves around those purchases, reviewers either have to skip those features during product testing, or pay out of their own pocket.
Since the introduction of in-app purchases, many developers had reverted to gifting iTunes credits to reviewers, and that quickly proved to be a problem. Between taxes and left over money, it's been an accounting nightmare. What's more, revised iTunes terms and conditions make it clear that you cannot gift in-app purchases directly, and you cannot apply iTunes credits to IAP items outside the United States. Introducing promo codes for in-app purchases would help both developers and reviewers to this end.
For that matter, extending regular promo codes outside the United States (not just for IAP) would help developers outside of the United States. At this time, reviewers and testers must create US accounts in order to use promo codes. Think about developers outside the US, who make applications localized to the surrounding language and culture. They cannot offer promo codes to local testers or reviewers unless those people open a second US account with all the associated clerical and legal problems. Extending promo codes to the world (even if to specific stores around the world, as Apple would likely require) would solve that problem.
2. Offer device-specific iPhone archive files (.ipa files)
You've been there. I've been there. You're at an airport or on the road, trying to download an app, and you get the message about needing a Wi-Fi connection because the app exceeds the 20MB (formerly 10MB) over-the-air download limit. What do you do? I know what I do. I find something else to download.
It's just going to get worse with the iPad. Developers from major game brands have been complaining that building universal resources, that is to say, apps with graphics that are optimized for both smaller and larger iPhone OS devices, might tip them over that 20MB over-the-air limit.
If Apple allowed devs to split up their apps into non-universal builds specifically targeted to install-devices, they could decrease the size of those over-the-air ipas, take up less space on each device, and provide only those resources immediately needed. Also, should Apple allow those separate builds to share a single unique application identifier, it would become easier for each device to maintain just a single slot for each device-specific version of the application. Let iTunes decide which ipa to install on each device. It would make things smaller and simpler.
3. Create application families and introduce "Complete My App"
Many developers are currently struggling with the need to build separate iPhone and iPad applications. Many iPad adaptations include significant changes and development costs that cannot be covered with a single universal application upgrade (let alone the issues about over-the-air media limitations). They're also worried that their new "for iPad" applications will be listed separately in the App Store, and that customers will struggle to find them.
Introducing App Store application "families" would work to solve these concerns. Creating a family of apps (an iPhone version, an iPad version, a universal version, and so on) that shared common application ids and was presented on a unified App Store page would allow developers to meaningfully group new product entries along side of existing applications. Instead of writing separate marketing text, shooting separate screen shots, gathering separate reviews, and otherwise dealing with divided resources, a single application family page could bring all of those materials together into one place. Apps in the same family could share the same branding and the same SKU.
Application families would also allow developers to price their device-specific products separately, and open the door to a "Complete My App" purchase. Although most iPhone app purchases will run on the iPad using pixel doubling, using "Complete My App" would allow developers to sell iPhone-only versions at a lower cost, and also allow those users to upgrade for a lesser cost when they finally do buy an iPad. Think of it as a "preowned discount" for loyal users.
Even with separate entries in an application family, developers may still want to update each member of that family to provide for in-app cross promotion in order to better unite those products. At the same time, building those applications into a family structure will make that task easier (and more user friendly!), especially if StoreKit calls could report back as to what items each user has already purchased, and which items remain outstanding.
4. Offer Paid Upgrades
The "buy once, own forever" App Store model is not sustainable. At some point, developers need to recoup costs for continued development and improvement. It's clear that Apple is exploring the paid upgrade arena (as previous leaks have shown), but developers have yet to see that upgrade path become real.
In that scenario, users will be given the choice of paying a nominal fee to upgrade from an existing purchase, or to buy into the upgraded product at full price. Paid upgrades fit with the application family scenario as well, where over time, users can opt in for device and feature upgrades from the same App Store page.
A paid upgrade path isn't limited to feature enhancements though. Another App Store feature that would be welcomed by many developers is "TryWare", full featured software that times out after a certain amount of time. Once the application times out, a paid upgrade/in-app purchase path would restore full functionality to that application. As one developer imagined it, "Apps would grey out in Springboard. When users try to open them, a dialog would explain the timed-out state, giving them the option to unlock the app by buying it now."
This approach would offer an alternative to the "lite" feature-limited application. Users would get to experience the full application feature set before deciding whether to make their purchase. Developers could opt to distribute their software using this model or continue with the existing alternatives. Until Apple green lights this idea, though, it's a no go. Under current App Store submission criteria, a timed-out application, whose functionality stops after a given date, is unacceptable.
5. Introduce an unreviewed beta program
Developers would certainly benefit from a way to send their applications into the wild without having to resort to the headaches and heartaches of Ad Hoc beta testing. Ad Hoc testing is labor intensive and you're limited to an audience of, at best, 100 devices. Too often, getting folks to properly install the special provisioning proves to be a recurring fail point.
Imagine, if you will, a way to produce beta builds of your applications and offer those to the entire App Store audience -- albeit with the knowledge that these are unapproved builds and that users need to use those builds at their own risk. Apple could even make this an opt-in program, strictly for people who consider themselves "power users". A public beta brings a lot to the table in terms of a wide audience with diverse equipment and firmware.
Even if Apple insisted on some kind of automated review process (I don't imagine Apple would ever allow the kinds of apps that you regularly see on Cydia or the Rock Store into their beta program), open betas would offer developers a better opportunity to produce superior debugged products than the system that is currently in-place.
6. Provide a public list of known rules and common-sense rejects
At this time, developers are scratching their heads about whether they can build applications called "XXX for iPad," or whether the use of iPad in the name will violate Apple branding issues. It would really help if Apple posted lists of noncontroversial, easy-to-follow rules (basically a technical requirements checklist) that would save developers time, and prevent them from wondering whether an app was taking a long time to come through the review process due to some issue with the marketing text or the name.The more rules published the better -- it's easier to comply with said rules when you know what rule book the other team is playing from.
I am now adding the following text to my iTunes Connect submissions: "If you think there may be any approval issues due to naming or any marketing materials, please let me know asap and I'll adjust accordingly. I'd rather change any doubtful items immediately than wait for higher-level review. Thank you in advance." To date, it hasn't done anything one way or another, but the sentiment it expresses reveals a deeper need.
It would be great if Apple could introduce "common sense" rejects, allowing reviewers discretion to say: "Would you like me to reject your application because if you change your name from "XYZ", I won't have to pass this up the chain of authority?" Just introducing that level of common sense would really help to avoid high level reviews for matters that many developers don't really care about.
I remember that my Voice Notes application, submitted the first day that the App Store accepted submissions, was caught in review for about four months because there was something that concerned Apple in the marketing text. (I had mentioned that you could use the application on the iPod touch using a third party microphone like the XtremeMac MicroMemo. This was an unauthorized device usage.)
Developers don't care about that; they care about time. Go ahead and reject the app -- we're happy to fix the stuff that doesn't matter. Common sense rejects allow both Apple and developers to work around the tricky issues by bypassing them at the start, not the end, of the review process.
For that matter, if a submission does raise a flag, a more transparent ticketing system (even more transparent than the status items recently introduced in iTunes Connect) would allow developers to know which hill their app is dying on. Most developers might simply decide to find a different hill instead of allowing the battle to be fought on the one that Apple seems to care about.
7. Offer Project Managers for the "Unannointed"
When your company has a strong working relationship with Apple, you are assigned an internal manager who acts as your personal point of contact for review issues. Apple should consider offering a paid program for small companies who have yet to achieve those exalted connections. Serious developers should be able to pay a serious fee, and in return, receive the kind of professional attention that is on par with the service offered to Apple's hand-picked partners.
Waiting to see if Apple comes knocking simply isn't a choice for many new start-ups. Introducing a paid program for higher level technical and marketing support, beyond the two code-level incidents wrapped into the basic $99 program, would alleviate a lot of developer griping about program transparency.
It would also really help if Apple's developer forums encouraged Apple's marketing and review folks, as well as their technical staff, to participate for the sake of smaller developers who would not opt in to such a paid program.
8. Add video previews as well as screen shots
Video previews play such a powerful role in explaining what an app does and how it works -- and there's no way yet to integrate them into the App Store browsing experience. So here's a last suggestion for Apple: please consider adding developer-produced, iTunes-compatible, m4v videos to an application's App Store marketing materials. They augment the buying experience and ensure that each customer better knows what he or she is buying.
Admittedly, Apple would have to safeguard copyright for video. There's a tendency for people to create videos using material they don't own, typically music. Admittedly, even adding a "no music" (or at least a "no music you don't own") rule and legal sign-off would be a hassle. At the same time, video previews could really help sell and explain applications in a way that static images cannot.
9. Allow developers to sell their applications -- to other developers
Imagine this scenario: You're a small, independent developer and you build an application that sells like wildfire. I'm thinking of Graveck's Skeeball application, was originally called 10 Balls 7 Cups. It was a fantastic application. So fantastic, that is, that it was bought out by Freeverse.
At this time, there is no way to transfer an application from one developer account to another. Applications cannot retain their original name, user base, SKUs or application identifiers. When an application changes hand, there's no process in place in App Store to facilitate that transfer. The application must be completely withdrawn and re-issued by the new owner.
For anyone who dreams big and has created something special, this missing link in App Store can prove to be a problem. And this situation arises more often than you might imagine. Apple could better facilitate these transfers so that customers do not have to buy identical or slightly upgraded applications a second time and so both the original and acquiring developers can create continuity between the original product and the new one.
Thanks, Bartosz, Joachim Bean, David Morris, Adam Martin, Matt Covery, Mare "Borked", and everyone else who offered feedbackTUAWiPhone devsugar: 9 ways Apple can improve App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Largest independent book publisher signs with Apple
Filed under: iPad
Despite threats from Amazon that it will stop selling the independent publisher's books if they sign on with Apple's iBookstore, Perseus Books Group, the largest independent publisher, has signed a deal with Apple. David Steinberger, chief executive of Perseus, told the New York Times, "We're working with Apple to make books from The Perseus Books Group and the independent publishers we represent available on the iBookstore starting on April 3. As the leading provider of distribution services for independent publishers, including digital distribution through our Constellation digital service, Perseus is thrilled to be making our books available on the iPad."
Perseus also distributes books from 330 smaller presses, the most notable being Harvard Business School Press and Zagat. Similar to Apple's deal with app developers and the other large publishers who have already signed on, Apple will allow Perseus to set prices for their ebooks while Apple will receive a 30% cut. With the number of publishers clamoring to get in on the iBookstore, one begins to wonder if it's more of a question of "when" and not "if" that Apple will become the largest ebook reseller.TUAWLargest independent book publisher signs with Apple originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Flurry data: 44% of apps tested on the iPad are games
Filed under: iPad
Sunday night on the Talkcast, we pointed out that we didn't know exactly which developers were getting those test iPads to play with. However, we might know just which apps they're testing. According to Flurry Analytics, who have (somehow) been watching traffic from the iPhone OS 3.2, 44% of the apps being tested on the iPad right now are games. Entertainment apps (which seems like a broad category) falls into second place with 14%, and then the list evens out around there -- social networking claims 7% of the apps, sports 6%, travel 5%, and so on.
It's not completely clear where this data comes from -- presumably, Flurry is finding web traffic somewhere that's marked as coming to or from an iPad. Of course, that doesn't guarantee that these numbers are legit. Some apps are more likely to send traffic than others, and all we see here are percentages, as Flurry hasn't released actual numbers. "Games," as we speculated last night, probably means that bigger companies like EA and Gameloft have test iPads to try out, and "social networking" probably means that Facebook and possibly Foursquare are testing their apps. "Sports" could mean that MLB is testing its app, and so on.
It looks like gamers who have an iPad on day one will at least have plenty of game titles to choose from. The iPhone's App Store took a little while to get rolling with some hit apps, but developers and Apple seem to be doing everything they can to ensure that there are some popular downloads in the iPad's App Store right away.
[via TheAppleBlog]TUAWFlurry data: 44% of apps tested on the iPad are games originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Found Footage: MIDI wind instrument controlled with the iPod touch's accelerometer
Filed under: Found Footage
Onyx Ashanti is an American musician living in Berlin. He specializes in "beatjazz," which he describes as being built on "live looping, sound design, and jazz improvisation."
Using a Yamaha MIDI wind controller (that looks like an electronic clarinet) and an iPod touch running the TouchOSC app (US$4.99), Ashanti has been able to create some pretty incredible sounds. In the above video, Ashanti has the iPod touch strapped to his right hand, and he's able to use the accelerometer in the touch to translate his hand motions into control inputs for PureData audio processing.
You may not necessarily like beatjazz, but you've got to admit it's cool that musicians like Ashanti are pushing the edge with Apple technology.
[via Engadget]TUAWFound Footage: MIDI wind instrument controlled with the iPod touch's accelerometer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Flickr Find: Papercraft Steve Jobs
Filed under: Steve Jobs
I love this -- papercraft artist Jay Hauf has constructed a little papercraft Steve Jobs cutout. Over on his Flickr account, he's posted a picture that you can print out, cut out, and then fold up into the form of our favorite CEO. The little figure even comes with a paper iPhone, though I guess if you want (and if you're a little skilled with Photoshop), you could put an iPad or another Apple product in there.
It does look pretty great -- somehow, even with that big blockhead and all of the other weird shapes on the "Cubee," those eyes and that black turtleneck with jeans make it clear right away who you're looking at. Excellent work there.
[via iPhone Savior]TUAWFlickr Find: Papercraft Steve Jobs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - SimCity Deluxe coming soon to iPhone
Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad
An updated version of the the preferred game for those who want to create cities and watch them prosper or founder is coming to the iPhone this summer.
SimCity Deluxe from EA Mobile will have a user interface that improves on the current Sim City offering, with enhancements that make it look a bit more SimCity 4 on the PC. SimCity has been popular on the iPhone since it was released in 2008
The game includes different seasons (with appropriate disasters, of course) and 7 starter cities just waiting for you to run them into the ground.
The new version will sport improved frame rates, and the ability to modify terrain with a touch and swipe of your finger.
These type of games go way back. I remember playing Santa Paravia which was a similar, but considerably more primitive economic simulation, way back when it was on the TRS-80. Ah, memories.
The new SimCity Deluxe will work on the iPhone and iPod touch, and I reckon that you can count on an iPad version as well.
[via Slide to Play]TUAWSimCity Deluxe coming soon to iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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