Fresh off the letterpress, Fontcase 2.0 succeeds its previous design with grace and elegance, wowing us like any great font would with a tailored design built for the 22nd century. Re-imaging the font case with the kind of class only a design built for Lion could brag about, comparing fonts underneath the new Fontcase hood embraces a simpler restyling with basic (yet intuitive) drag and drop finesse. Curate your fonts with the font manager that’s re-writing Apple’s Font Book into an interface anyone from the casual web developer to the mindful graphic designer can appreciate: the focus is always on previewing fonts, and never on extraneous UI or flashy features. There are, however, some delightful surprises waiting inside the second generation of this svelte, font briefcase.
Kalimat, The Refreshed Word Game We’re Giving Away
Do we need another Words with Friends or Scrabble? I don’t know about you, but if I have a chance to unhinge the competition because I’m smart and fast, or if I have the opportunity to find the hidden Ali Baba, be warned that I’m going to juggle some really long words if I can. Sure, I might add those two letters to your eight as a cheap way to get some bonus points, but think about it! Corners are often havens for power-plays. Kalimat changes pace from traditional word games by offering some original gameplay in the form of Remix mode and Jeopardy-style rewards where you could land on those ever useful bonus points (which could change the tide of the game). Don’t get too comfortable: Remix mode prevents your opponent from checking answers on Google (Boo!) by rewarding players for thinking on your toes. The faster you get a word out, the more you’ll be rewarded. With OpenFeint integration it’s really easy to create an anonymous online identity so you can get paired with new players wanting to duel you for word cred (read up on those dictionaries), and you can trash talk or make friends with the built in chat tool. Available for $2.99 in the App Store, we’re giving away five copies of Kalimat to our lucky readers looking to stretch their brains over the latest word craze. Check past the break for the rules.
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Apple Is Now More Profitable Than Microsoft (“Bill, Thank You. The World’s a Better Place”)→
Apple Is Now More Profitable Than Microsoft (“Bill, Thank You. The World’s a Better Place”)
Another remarkable–and remarkably ironic–milestone for Apple, which surpassed Microsoft in market cap last May. It was Microsoft, after all, that breathed new life into a struggling Apple back in 1997 with a $150 million investment in the company (see video below). What was it Bill Gates said at the time? “We think Apple makes a huge contribution in the computer industry. And we think it’s going to be a lot of fun helping out.”
A lot of fun indeed. Paczkowski reports that Microsoft reported a net income of $5.23 billion on Thursday, whereas Apple’s net income was $5.99 billion for the second quarter. Bill Gates was the best thing that could have happened to Microsoft, and I don’t see where Steve Ballmer is bringing fresh blood into the company. The focus has been on “Windows,” and not refactoring to make really great products. Arguably Windows Phone 7 isn’t bad, but is the future of Microsoft to re-skin everything to look Metro? (It feels the hip Zune style is playing a big role in where Microsoft wants to go interface wise - it’s at least fresh and exciting.) Microsoft can’t survive on Microsoft Office, and they need to work hard to remove the “Windows” stigma. Heck, I think Joe Belfiore (who is an excellent image for the company) has a better vision to take Microsoft places out of any of the execs currently running the corporate giant. Just look at where the corporate culture is taking RIM.
Is Apple Collaborating with Nike to Deliver a Fitness Center App?
Apple & Nike already deliver the Nike + app to iPhone and iPod owners, and they consistently collaborate in improving the experience with a sports sensor and connectivity to cardio equipment. As Apple penetrates the gym with the iPod touch and iPod nano, Apple may take the gym experience a step further by offering a Fitness Center App. Focused on building relationships at the gym (to actually get you off your butt and go have fun), the health culture Apple wants to curate will revolve around being able find local fitness centers, finding classes that are right for you, joining friends, and getting motivated to keep up the hard work.
Our Choice, Proving Push Pop Press Will Revolutionize Digital Publishing
When Co-Founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris set out to change the world of digital publishing, not many would have guessed that Al Gore would be at the forefront of their first title until Our Choice was demoed as a TED Talk, where the workings and interactions of the first title built using the new platform were revealed. Today, Our Choice is available at an introductory $4.99 on the App Store for the iPhone and the iPad, delivering rich interactive content via a completely custom app built on a native backbone. The Push Pop Press platform is seeking to revolutionize how content is published and made interactive, and my initial impressions with Our Choice can validate that cause. What’s at stake isn’t just the future of the new digital platform, but a complete rethinking of the traditional digital magazine or newspaper. The App Store is flooded with projects traditionally based on Adobe technologies, and while it was a good first attempt, the content we view needs to be intuitive, interactive, but most importantly fluid and un-static. Push Pop Press is the ideal platform to revolutionize how we think of traditional media, and Our Choice is the launch title proving that this new vision for content is a clear winner.
Apple May Have Snagged iCloud For a Cool $4.5 Million
If you ever thought Apple might rebrand MobileMe to something more Apple-esque, the purchase of iCloud.com for $4.5 million could be a sign of things to come. While not confirmed, GigaOM reports that Xcerion (having recently rebranded iCloud to CloudMe) may have sold the iCloud.com domain. As of one o’clock tonight, Xcerion still shows up as the domain’s owner, though this could change in the coming hours. MacRumors reports that the domain will likely come under the control of MarkMonitor, a brand management firm that handles high-profile domain name registrations.
With Apple’s new cloud services preparing for launch, the purchase of iCloud.com could indicate that new services from Apple may be arriving sooner than later, as Apple is talks with record labels and have recently gotten Warner Music Group on board. A music subscription or storage service from Apple could cost $20 a year, and the iCloud also play a big role in a traffic and navigation app. Could MobileMe remain and entail its current email and contact sharing prowess, or would iCloud encompass the original service and expand to include new offerings? Don’t forget: Apple has recently stopped selling MobileMe on retail shelves, and have even turned down customers to opt for the free trial.
AViiQ Portable Quick Stand Now Available
The AViiQ Portable Quick Stand launched a week ago, but being a fan of the company and the great products they make, we didn’t want to miss out on celebrating the launch of AViiQ’s next generation of portable stands. Following AViiQ’s Premium Portable Laptop Stand (and we thought the original was a grade A laptop stand), the Portable Quick Stand is the younger brother that folds out into a triangle to lift your laptop to comfortable heights. Just like the Portable Laptop Stand, the Portable Quick Stand snaps open and uses the weight of the laptop to secure its position, utilizing a colored grip (so it totally fits your style) to stay seated and prevent any shifting. I just got mine a couple days ago, and I can tell you I’m pretty impressed with the quality of AViiQ’s newest family member so far. I’ll be doing a full review next week, so keep yours eye glued to MacStories for the final verdict. In the meantime, you can check out AViiQ’s Portable Quick Stand in action past the break, along with the press release.
Radium Revisited: Review & Giveaway
If you listen to the B&B Podcast, Ben Brooks & Shawn Blanc arrived at a topic that would make for a good ice breaker over a cup of Caribou Coffee. If MacBooks weren’t yet on the table, the question of, “What are your five quintessential Mac Apps,” would quickly lead to a scurry of charging cables and open lids. If you asked me, I’d have a difficult time choosing three of the four (if the fifth includes OS X), but I’d have no problem in preceding that answer with Radium for the Mac.
You might ask me of what value Radium delivers that it can potentially keep FastScripts, TextMate, TextExpander, or some other key productivity app off of my MacBook. And the answer isn’t that these other apps aren’t as good, but rather that Radium sort of defines everything I grew up with in music. There are a lot of trends when it comes to curated online playlists, but nothing can top a good radio station playing all of my favorite singles. Package all the music I grew up into a delightful app that fills the room with great tunes, and Radium defines my sort of superhero theme songs. It’s the one app that will always start with my Mac and goes to sleep with it.
Amazon.com tries to toss Apple ‘app store’ trademark suit→
Amazon.com tries to toss Apple ‘app store’ trademark suit, cites Steve Jobs in its own defense
Amazon.com today responded in court to Apple’s lawsuit over the name of its Android Appstore — calling the iPhone maker’s claim to the “App Store” trademark baseless, and pointing to a statement from Apple CEO Steve Jobs as one piece of evidence in its favor.
“So there will be at least four app stores on Android, which customers must search among to find the app they want and developers will need to work with to distribute their apps and get paid. This is going to be a mess for both users and developers. Contrast this with Apple’s integrated App Store, which offers users the easiest-to-use largest app store in the world, preloaded on every iPhone.”
Amazon’s argument is if App Store is specific to Apple, why did Steve Jobs generically refer to the Android Marketplace as an “app store?” The argument is that he voided his own definition of what he considers the App Store to really be. If you ask me, I’d say Apple probably won’t secure the App Store branding as it is too generic. You can get away with specifically calling it the iOS App Store, the Mac App Store, and the iTunes Store, but calling it the App Store as one inclusive generic entity is a stretch don’t you think? As with everything else, Apple may have been better off appending an “i” in front of the name and calling it day. Amazon’s Appstore stands a fair chance of keeping its name, no matter Apple’s requests to speed up the process.