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Apple Now Accepting iPad Apps, Planning “Grand Opening” of iPad App Store

Apple is now accepting iPad apps for a “grand opening” of the iPad App Store, according to an email just sent to registered developers.
“iPad will begin shipping soon and your opportunity to be part of the grand opening of the iPad App Store starts today,” the email says.
There’s no details about when the store’s grand [...]

Security Expert: “Mac OS X Is Safer, But Less Secure”

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Tech site H-Online has an interesting story today, quoting security expert Charlie Miller about his forthcoming talk at the CanSecWest conference next week.
He says OS X is full of security holes. There are lots more than in Windows, he claims.
And yet: OS X is a safer system to use. Why? Because, in the words [...]

Apple Devotes Entire Home Page To Jerome York Obituary

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If ever you needed a sign that Apple was a different kind of technology company, this is it.
What other computer manufacturer would remove its top-selling, hype-inducing, industry-altering new product from the prime spot on its website home page, and replace it with an obituary to an investor?
This is one of those “Here’s to the [...]

Coming Soon: Steve Jobs, the Sitcom

Fake Steve creator Dan Lyons just signed a deal to bring Steve Jobs to another small screen near you.
The half-hour series called “iCon” is billed by the presser as “a savage satire centering on a fictional Silicon Valley CEO whose ego is a study in power and greed.”
Making sure the barbs prick will be the [...]

iPhone Applications Spreading Like Wildfire

Ugly Iphone App

New Apple hardware platforms are the new favorite home of interesting software development. When the AppleTV launched, the box was immediately hacked to do a lot of things it was never designed for. Now, the iPhone is rapidly filling with Web 2.0 applications, even 10 days before it actually rolls out the door.

You can see ample evidence of this over at iPhone Application List, which is trying to keep track of every new development for the device. While some apps look great — the shopping list one I linked the other day, news reader iActu — others are not quite up to Apple interface standards, to put it mildly.
It’s interesting proof that good apps can be built solely on Web technology. On the other hand, the applications all behave in pretty much the same way. And we’ve also very rapidly reached the ugly phase of iPhone development. One problem with Apple’s deliberately vague non-SDK approach is that iPhone apps look a lot like the Internet. And at this point, it’s safe to say: The Internet ain’t always pretty.

What are you still waiting to see in iPhone app form? Anything you don’t think is possible (other than anything requiring Flash, obviously)?

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About the author

Petemortensen

Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete's particular Apple avocations are both around design--interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!

Email the author | Read more posts by Pete Mortensen.

4 comments

    Three things: ability to edit rich text, edit excel compatible spreadsheets, and at least read file-maker databases. This would move the iPhone to the “smart phone” category instead of music player/phone.

    Sounds like Google needs to work on getting Google Docs, Spreadsheets and Base rolled out in iPhone form then, huh?

    [...] I was asked by a young Mac-head why web apps aren’t good enough. I see that the Cult of Mac blog is singing the same song, pointing out the crop of apps that have appeared on the iPhone application list. Of course, some [...]

    [...] asked by a young Mac-head why web apps aren’t good enough. I see that the Cult of Mac blog is singing the same song, pointing out the crop of apps that have appeared on the iPhone application list. Of course, some [...]

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