Posts in stories

An Interview with Shawn Blanc

Shawn Blanc runs one of my favorite weblogs, one of those you open for a quick 5 minutes read and you end up spending the whole afternoon on. With a good cup of coffee and some Mac nerdery state of mind.

Since we started working on MacStories 3.0 in April (true story), I knew that I wanted an interview with Shawn ready to publish by launch day. What happened is an interesting internet experiment: MacStories 3.0 took 6 months to complete, and our email interview turned into a conversation. A pretty long one. We started when the iPad wasn’t available, we wondered what Loren Brichter might be working on and we ended up talking about Flipboard. I think this conversation between me and Shawn is a great example of how fast things change on the internet in a matter of a few months. And, most of all, it’s a great example of how Apple rolls.

Long, unedited, real. Check it out below. And go grab some coffee. Read more

Ping: Apple’s Naive Social Demo

Last night I wrote about iTunes 10, and Apple’s problem with its flagship media management application becoming a bloat. Feature-creep, that is. The app wasn’t available yet, so I couldn’t give you my thoughts about Ping, Apple’s new attempt at social networking inside iTunes, although I already had some doubts about it. I installed iTunes 10 as it went live and immediately signed up to Ping.

Just like I expected, it’s useless.

Read more

You Can’t Define The iPod Touch

The new iPod Touch is awesome. It’s got two cameras (even though the rear one isn’t the same of the iPhone’s), it’s got an all new sleek and thinner design, it’s got a Retina Display. Unlike many people said on Twitter today, it’s the same Retina Display you’re used to on the iPhone 4. The camera is different, the display’s the same. The new iPod Touch is one hell of a music player.

Or, it’s not a music player at all. It takes photos and HD videos, it’s got a state-of-the-art display perfect for reading and gaming - Steve Jobs himself said the iPod Touch outsells both Sony and Nintendo combined.

It’s time to stop thinking about the iPod Touch as an iPod.

Read more

The 2010 Apple TV: “All Your TV Are Belong To Us”

Apple’s hobby has certainly turned into a delicate little surprise. The new Apple TV is incredibly tiny, fitting into the palm of your hand with its glossy block sides and matte black top. It’s a departure from what Apple normally does with their aluminum based Mac Mini or their plastic white Time Capsules, but as a small addition to your TV, it’s joyfully inconspicuous. Featuring HDMI out, USB, Optical out, and the ever sleek aluminum Apple remote, this year’s Apple TV is greatly compatible with all of your new HDTVs. But how does it fare on the software front? Streaming, not syncing seems to be the answer, but I’m a little disappointed at the total offering.

Read more

iPad & iOS 4: A Match Made In iPhone

The rumors were right: the iPad is getting iOS 4 in November. iOS 4.2, precisely, which will unify the operating system across all Apple’s mobile devices. From what we saw earlier today, iOS 4.2 seems to be the solution to our iPad-related problems: it’ll bring wireless printing (huge for business users), multitasking, folders, widget controls. It’s also got a new feature which I’m extremely excited about: AirPlay. Together with iTunes and the new Apple TV, AirPlay will allow you to easily stream content back and forth between your mobile device, computer and Apple TV. One click media sharing. It looks great.

But there’s one thing Apple didn’t with iOS 4 for iPad: they didn’t change it. They didn’t took the same iPhone codebase and revamped the experience to take advantage of the iPad’s unique features. They made it bigger. And it turns out, I was wrong.

Read more

The iPod shuffle and the iPod nano: Click and Clip

Today we saw the return of the 2nd generation iPod shuffle as a smaller, 4th generation upgrade that features VoiceOver and a familiar scroll wheel in pale yet lovely shades of silver, blue, green, orange, and pink. Arriving in similar hues with savvy graphite and slick (PRODUCT)RED coats, the iPod nano has truly become the nano charm I’ve always wanted: a no-camera, no-video mini music player featuring an interactive multitouch interface and a clip-able form factor that’s perfect for my morning jog. I’m incredibly satisfied with this year’s offerings, and the click-and-go functionality of Apple’s latest iPods are great.

Read more

iTunes 10: Ping Me With Your Feature Creep

In case you missed it, there was an Apple keynote earlier today. A Stevenote. Yeah, no big deal. Really: they just announced a completely refreshed iPod line with new Touches, Nanos and Shuffles, a new Apple TV, HDR photography in iOS 4.1 and they previewed 4.2 for iPad. With multitasking. Oh, they also talked about Game Center and iOS 4.2 unified across all devices. But really, no big deal.

Amongst all these insignificant updates, Apple also revealed a new version for their popular music player, ehm, video player, ehm, app installer, ehm, Store - ok, they announced a new version of iTunes. iTunes 10. Not X, 10. The tenth iteration of a software which, over the years, has gone from playing music to managing your iBooks. An application that now gets a new icon (I like it, was about time to ditch the CD), new close / minimize buttons (more on this in a minute), a refined UI and…a social network. Inside the app. Another feature in iTunes.

Apple: are you sure about that?

Read more

Was the iPod nano Camera Ever Useful?

When I think about the iPod nano, I think of it being that tall and slender iPod one shoves into an armband before jamming out to a Nike + tune on their thirty minute run. When I think about the iPod nano, I think of the FM radio and iTunes tagging capabilities. I think of the genius playlists and its subtle curves. Though the iPod nano does have a camera, it never struck me as something I’d want to have for that device.

Read more