This Week's Sponsor:

PowerPhotos

The Ultimate Toolbox for Photos on the Mac

Posts in links

The Insanely Great History of Apple→

The Insanely Great History of Apple

Pop Chart Lab created a poster about the history of Apple products:

The world’s most comprehensive mapping of Apple products, this print shows every computer released by Apple in the last thirty years, from the original Mac through the MacBook Air. Products are sorted according to type, including the connections between various form factors which have arisen as Apple has invented–and reinvented–insanely great products.

18-inch x 24-inch, only 500 copies are available. Starts in 1983 and goes all the way down to the iPhone 4S. Nice work of art for Apple aficionados, and also a useful timeline to have on your wall. [via The Loop]

Permalink

WSJ: NTT DoCoMo Still Negotiating Over iPhone Launch→

WSJ: NTT DoCoMo Still Negotiating Over iPhone Launch

The Wall Street Journal has a story today (behind paywall, but try to Google the URL) detailing some possible reasons why NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s biggest carrier by number of subscribers, still hasn’t launched the iPhone. Namely, the carrier would like to have some of its apps pre-installed on iPhones:

The closed operating system of the iPhone also limits NTT DoCoMo from pre-installing some of its applications—including its e-wallet, which allows consumers to pay for merchandise with their smartphones, as well as its i-mode email service—which Mr. Yamada said are important for Japanese customers.

Apple wasn’t immediately reachable for comment about talks with NTT DoCoMo.

I believe that’s been a common concern among carriers that eventually got the iPhone – not being able to pre-install carrier software (alternative app stores, email clients, general bloatware) on devices sold on contract. But I also remember reading this old piece from Wired, which described how the iPhone destroyed the wireless industry’s standards by providing an integrated experience where the carrier’s only responsibility is the network, and everything else is up to Apple.

Apple will never let a carrier dictate the kind of experience an iPhone comes with out of the box. If true, NTT DoCoMo is hitting a dead spot with these negotiations. As far as other possible points in the talks between the carrier and Apple go, the company would certainly want the biggest carrier in Japan to sell the iPhone, especially considering the kind of growth that Apple is seeing in Asia. The iPhone 4S, for instance, is currently available in Japan through Softbank and KDDI, which recently joined Softbank. From Apple’s perspective, it only makes sense to have the iPhone available in as many places as possible.

However, this is not the first time we’re hearing of failed negotiations between Apple and carriers recently. China Mobile, for example, was reported asking for a part of the App Store’s revenue in order to sell the iPhone.

Permalink

iCloud Status In iTunes 10.5.1→

iCloud Status In iTunes 10.5.1

Jason Snell at Macworld has a good overview of the different iCloud status icons that you can find in iTunes 10.5.1, released earlier today with support for iTunes Match. In particular, iCloud has a “not eligible” status for songs that can’t be uploaded to iTunes Match:

Some iTunes-compatible file formats are not allowed in iCloud at all. Digital Booklets, podcasts, bookmarks to Internet radio streams, and the like are marked Not Eligible. A few people on Twitter are reporting that low-bit-rate MP3s (perhaps below 96 kbps) are also considered ineligible for use in iCloud, though we haven’t been able to confirm that.

In our overview of iTunes Match for Mac and iOS devices, Don took a look at the scanning process of iTunes libraries and the performances of iCloud music over WiFi and 3G. Understanding iCloud’s status icons might come in handy if you’re having initial issues with iTunes Match, which went live only a few hours ago.

Permalink

Developers Explain Changes in Growl 1.3→

Developers Explain Changes in Growl 1.3

Speaking of Growl themes, the developers of the popular notification system for OS X have seen a bit of confusion after the release of version 1.3 on the Mac App Store. They have published a post with a summary of changes, and here’s the most important point:

Growl is still open source and under the BSD license, but version 1.3 is sold at $1.99 on the Mac App Store. This paid model allows the developers to work on Growl full-time.

So why upgrade to Growl 1.3 when the old version might still work? First off, to get the new features. More importantly, for a reason I didn’t know about:

Growl 1.2 and older will not work with Sandboxed applications - Sandboxing is meant to protect users from bad things happening (which is a good thing!), but it has consequences for applications which are doing good things too (like Growl). Apple announced this summer that Sandboxing is a requirement for all applications in the Mac App Store. As our developers who went to WWDC this year quickly realized, the impending Sandboxing requirement would have broken Growl entirely for applications in the App Store, for everyone, without a large amount of changes. Growl 1.3 introduces support for Sandboxed applications.

We may debate on the pros and cons of sandboxing, but the point is that, eventually, the old Growl will stop working with sandboxed Mac App Store applications. If new features and compatibility aren’t compelling reasons to upgrade, then I guess the problem is with those users not willing to spend $1.99, not Growl. The Mac App Store charts, by the way, seem to indicate Growl 1.3 has been pretty successful so far.

I use Growl on a daily basis and I like the new version a lot. Another thing I didn’t know about: apps written with the Growl 1.3 SDK will be able to display notifications even if Growl 1.3 isn’t installed. The system is called “Mist”, and a comparison table is available for developers here.

Permalink

iOS 5 Notification Style for Growl→

iOS 5 Notification Style for Growl

Back in September, MacThemes forum user SkyJohn created an iOS 5-like notification theme for Growl, which was recently released on the Mac App Store as version 1.3. A few days ago, following feedback from the MacThemes community, SkyJohn updated the Growl theme to include the same “cube” animation seen on the iPhone or iPad. The effect is very nice, as you can see from the screenshots above.

The latest version of the theme is available for download on deviantART, and it includes black and white variations. Being a Growl theme, you can’t expect the notification popup to roll down from the menubar exactly as in iOS 5, but the result gets very close. Make sure to check out MacThemes’ thread as well for suggestions and other modifications.

And if you don’t like the iOS 5-like banner style for notifications, check out this iOS 5-inspired translucent theme for Growl by Philipp Rappold (via). Growl is a $1.99 download on the Mac App Store.

Permalink

IGN Goes Hands-On with Infinity Blade 2, Coming December 1→

IGN Goes Hands-On with Infinity Blade 2, Coming December 1

IGN’s Justin Davis got to spend some time with Chair’s upcoming iOS sequel to Infinity Blade, aptly named Infinity Blade 2, and says the game is a huge improvement over its predecessor:

It’s impressive what Chair has been able to pull off. The original Infinity Blade launched with about 10 combat locations. The sequel has over 40. It seems virtually every element of Infinity Blade 1 has been blown out. The company has aggressive post-launch plans far beyond just adding more swords and football helmets, as well. Clash Mobs are one teased feature. Players might fight an enemy with “10 million or more” hit points. If Infinity Blade players around the world whittle down the shared health pool, all participants can be awarded with special bonuses.

Infinity Blade 2 is due out December 1.

Infinity Blade 2 will feature more levels – or, in the game’s parlance, “loops” between areas and enemies – new weapons, an updated combat system and graphics completely re-engineered for Apple’s A5 chip. Indeed, Infinity Blade 2 was demoed at Apple’s “Let’s talk iPhone” media event in October to showcase the iPhone 4S’ graphics capabilities.

The original Infinity Blade was a success on the App Store (grossing $1.6 million in five days) and the first game to truly show what the A4 processor, Apple’s Retina Display and the Unreal Engine could do for mobile games. The game received a series of updates, including multiplayer support, but was criticized for its repetitive gameplay and tedious cut scenes. Infinity Blade 2 seems to have a fix for these issues, so make sure to read Davis’ preview to learn more.

Permalink

Apple Storefronts Photos→

Apple Storefronts Photos

Thomas Park (via MacRumors) has created an impressive gallery of storefronts photos from every Apple Store around the globe as of September 2011. The 357 stores, organized by opening date thanks to ifoAppleStore’s database and presented through Apple’s original photos from its website, include the most recent additions such as IFC Mall in Hong Kong and Centro Sicilia in Italy. The full gallery, available here, allows you to filter stores by country with a navigation menu at the top.

Way back in August of 2001, some good friends and I took a road trip down to Virginia to attend a Radiohead concert. Unfortunately the rains came, the venue got flooded, and the concert was cancelled. Disappointing, but as something of a concession prize, I got to check out the very first brick & mortar Apple Store, which had opened in Tysons Corner just a few weeks earlier. At the time, most analysts considered Apple’s fledgling retail initiative to be doomed. But though Tysons Corner seemed like a modest start, it was a blueprint for big things to come.

Park notes that in taking a look at the gallery, it’s clear Apple follows some design conventions but they’re not afraid of breaking them and trying something new according to a retail location’s unique properties and features. So whilst most stores in the United States and Europe follow a consistent design trend, others have seen a kind of experimentation that has lead to beautiful and original designs like Regent Street, Fifth Avenue, or State Street in Santa Barbara.

Apple’s next flagship store in Grand Central Terminal is currently undergoing construction and is set to open soon. At the Q4 2011 earnings call, Apple announced that they opened 30 new retail stores in the September quarter, 21 of which were international (non-US) stores. Average revenue per-store was $10.7 million with overall revenue from retail up 1% at $3.6 billion.

Check out Thomas Park’s gallery here.

Permalink

Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” In Amazon’s Best Books of 2011→

Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” In Amazon’s Best Books of 2011

In a press release published this morning, Amazon has announced the 100 Best Books of 2011, which include Editors’ Picks for the Top 100 Books of the Year and “Top 10 lists in more than two dozen categories”. Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs is in the Top 10 editors’ picks ranking at #8:

Few in history have transformed their time like Steve Jobs has. In this timely book, Isaacson paints a vivid, compelling portrait that pulls no punches – the end result is satisfying, complete, and gives insight into a man who managed to turn his contradictions into potent strengths.

Last week, “Steve Jobs” was reported to have sold 379,000 copies in the first week of US availability, and 37,000 copies in the UK in first five days of sales. Those numbers didn’t include digital sales for the book, which is available on Apple’s iBookstore as well as Amazon’s Kindle Store. After its release on October 24th, “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson quickly became a bestseller on Amazon, suggesting the bio would be one of the most successful books this holiday season.

Permalink

Siri and iPhone URL Schemes→

Siri and iPhone URL Schemes

Alex Heath at iDownloadBlog came up with a way to let Siri launch third-party apps on an iPhone. The solution is far from integrated and it requires some tweaking, and it uses an iOS app’s internal URL scheme (example: fb:// for Facebook) and the Address Book to open apps, provided you’ve asked Siri to visualize a “contact card” with some shortcuts in it. You’re basically creating a fake Address Book entry for apps, and assigning a URL scheme to one of the available fields. Tapping on it will open the app or a specific section of the app.

If you have a select number of apps that you’d like to have quick access to with Siri, you could create a “Shortcuts” or “Favorites” contact and add each trigger. Telling Siri to “show shortcuts” would then pull up your list of app shortcuts to open within Siri.

Many have speculated that, in the future, Siri will gain new functionalities including the capability of launching apps directly from its voice-based interface. But wouldn’t it be cool to ask Siri “Open my Facebook messages” rather than just “Open Facebook app”? Or perhaps ask Siri “Go to my OmniFocus Home project” instead of just launching OmniFocus? And what about creating new content from Siri inside a specific section of an app (a new task inside an OmniFocus project), without actually opening it? That’s why I think URL schemes will be worth keeping an eye on – Apple could offer developers a new set of APIs to associate their apps’ sections and menus with Siri actions, and perhaps revamp the URL scheme architecture to include support for Siri and new APIs. This is just speculation on my side, but I think it’d be interesting to see Siri becoming a new, lightweight interface for basic tasks in external apps.

Meanwhile, if you really want to launch apps using Siri and the Address Book, check out iDownloadBlog’s tips here.

Permalink