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!
Of all the weeks to need to drive my car. As widely reported on the Net, most notably at Engadget, we’ve got what looks to be a legit iPhone sighting, courtesy of a snap by Mark Trammell. And not just anywhere, but on Caltrain, the San Francisco to Silicon Valley commuter rail I normally ride twice a day. But this is what happens the second you stop watching for it. The Boy Genius Report suggests the user in question might actually be Mike Matas, an icon designer. I’m not sure the resemblance is strong enough…
No matter what one thinks of Safari for Windows (which has already been patched three days after launch and still can’t render A LOT of sites), it’s nice to see Apple attacking Microsoft’s browser hegemony on its own turf.
Right?
Unfortunately, not really. As John Lilly, COO of Mozilla, points out, when Steve showed off a pie chart depicting his vision of Apple’s Windows browser marketshare, he didn’t depict MS losing any share at all. Instead, the image just eats up all the alternatives, including the still-rising Firefox. And while I have my problems with Firefox (it strikes me as a program only a software engineer could love), I only want to see Apple bite into Internet Explorer’s customers, not the folks who have already sought out an alternative.
The computer world is not the American political scene, and there is room for way more than two players. And so it should be. The more browsers we have, the fewer “browser-specific” features develop and the more readily standards get adopted across platforms. We all stand to benefit from a diverse, competitive markets. A shame that Apple reveals they have no interest in the same. John’s Blog » Blog Archive » A Picture’s Worth 100M Users???
The general consensus is that Steve Jobs’ most recent keynote speech did not measure up to his typical standard. I’m not anywhere near so down on it (maybe because I didn’t go and only watched the online feed during stolen moments at work). This Joy of Tech trip sums up the sentiment pretty well. But you’ll have to click through to see the source of Steve’s sudden suck. Clever, gentlemen. Clever.
If you’re among the many people in the United States who either can’t use AT&T/Cingular or choose not to use the carrier’s services based on negative experiences, take heart — there still might be a way to use an iPhone without the company’s blessing. The iPhone ships in four weeks. And though Apple is officially keeping the device exclusive to AT&T for five years, never underestimate the black market for unlocked phones.
According to Ars Technica, Pure Mobile is now claiming it will sell unlocked iPhones for an undisclosed (read: EXORBITANT) rate almost as soon as the devices hit the market. As a T-Mobile user, this is very heartening news, but I can tell you there is no way I’m going to spend $1,000 or more for an iPhone. Maybe when the iPhone nano hits in two years, and someone unlocks that…
Anyone willing to take the unlocked plunge?
For all of the complaining that has tripped down the wire about Apple’s total lack of an SDK for the iPhone, a couple of entrepreneurial developers have already created iPhone apps to try out in Safari.
Shown above is David Cann’s alternate interface for Digg. It’s quite fun, and I actually find it a better way to navigate Digg than the real site. (Sorry, Kevin!) I especially enjoy the way it implements the “grab and fling” interface for the rest of us.
The other contender is OneTrip, a quick (though very elegant) grocery list program put together over-night by Neven Mrgan. Both apps are really nice and fairly clear evidence that sophisticated programs suited to use on the iPhone are possible. I think the new Apple strategy of “the web is the new SDK” is actually a wonderful one. They’re pretty unlikely to crash, and really powerful development is a possibility.
Anyone want to lay money on how long it will be until Google issues a version of Reader optimized for the iPhone?
Miss the WWDC keynote? Other than a couple of the specific features of Leopard, don’t bother. But you should watch the video above — it’s John “PC and also noted pseudo-intellectual” Hodgman posing as Steve Jobs and announcing the demise of the Mac platform. It was the opening act for real Steve. Hilarious.
So what is Steve Jobs didn’t introduce any new hardware in his keynote and the iPhone third-party application support is somewhat bogus? Core Animation, the new Desktop and new Finder or incredibly gorgeous, so watch Steve preach it on Apple’s official stream.
With all the excitement and, to be frank, disappointment that came with yesterday’s WWDC Stevenote, I haven’t seen anyone pick out the obvious with Apple’s innovative new GUI element Stacks, which allows users to cluster files that would otherwise clutter the desktop into a discreet pile of files that blow out into a scannable list with a simple click. It takes the super-janky right-click a folder in the dock movement we’re all used to now and replaces it with a sleek Dock launcher we can all get behind.
It’s really cool. It’s also a very old concept, one that Apple has had patented for 15 years. And this doesn’t look to be a great implementation of it. Way back in 1992, Apple called the Stacks content “Piles,” first demonstrating the new interface at the CHI conference. Gitta Solomon of Apple’s Advanced Technology Human Computer Interaction Group created the fascinating interview, which The Register mooted was finally destined for Mac OS X way back in 2003. Only four years too early — and 11 years too late. Click through to learn more about Piles.
For a lot of Apple geeks, the love affair with Apple began at school, using an Apple II while playing Oregon Trail, the all-time best game where you could explore the wild west and see your whole family die of dysentery or snake bite, all before afternoon recess.
Silicon User has pulled together a fantastic article detailing the history of the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, creators of Oregon Trail, Number Munchers and Word Munchers. Those were the titles that proved that Macs were good for playing games, even back then. What I hadn’t realized is that Apple enjoyed a very close relationship with the odd, government-owned corporation:
Throughout the 1980s, key individuals from Apple Computer attended MECC conferences as keynote speakers including Apple co-founder and then-Chairman Steve Jobs and Alan Kay (an Apple fellow) in 1982, Flord Kvamme (Executive VP of Sales at Apple) in 1983 and in 1985 John Sculley, then-CEO of Apple.
Having spent a day with the beta for Apple’s much-ballyhooed Safari browser for Windows XP, I’m ready to pronounce it the fastest browser for XP that I’ve used on a regular basis. On the other hand, it also is riddled with the kinds of bizarre bugs only a public beta could expose.
Sometimes, it’s both the fastest and the stupidest browser on all of Windows. If you’re on the fence, click through to hear whether your working style is ready for this not-quite-ready-for-prime-time browser contender while stranded in the Windows world.
Wanna know the No. 1 sign that we’re less than 12 hours from major product announcements by Apple? People are throwing up completely weak rumors that wouldn’t even get mocked normally. Chief among these at this very moment is an alleged rundown of The Stevenote address, which includes some errors so obvious that it even harms the credibility of the rest of the list. The Google translation from the original German at Apfelkueche is quite interesting, but take a look at the detail. The new iMacs are alleged to have LED displays at 20 and 24″. Really? I’d be pretty surprised. After all, Apple just rolled out MacBook Pros last week, and only managed to go LED for the 15.4″ models, not the 17″ SKUs. Could Apple pull together a machine built around a display a full 7″ bigger than a model they haven’t even shipped? I doubt it.
The wackiest rumor of all is, of course, the iPhone@Home, an alleged 10″ multitouch tablet mainly for movie-watching and Internet surfer. People have been throwing around rumors for years that Apple would release a tabletMac, and this is the same old rumor, repackaged as a pretend big brother for the iPhone. Who knows? Apple might be ready. But I can tell you this much: NO WAY ON EARTH is Apple releasing a machine called the iPhone@Home that isn’t actually a phone and can be used anywhere, not just at home. The company is way too smart to use such a stupid name. Keep your heads up, kids, the FUD is flying right now.
Via Digg.
Steve Jobs has made a hobby out of letting the world know that people aren’t interested in renting their music. We hear you loud and clear, Steve. One thing Steve has never claimed, however, is that people don’t like renting movies, as Netflix and Blockbuster will attest.
On the eve of his WWDC keynote, the Financial Times claims that Steve is about to put Apple at the forefront of the digital movie rental business:
A film would cost $2.99 for a 30-day rental. Its digital rights-management software would allow films to be moved from a computer to at least one other device such as the video iPod or iPhone. The software would prevent movies being copied.
Interesting notion. After all, Apple has gone through hell trying to sign up movie studios to sell their films through iTunes. A lot more companies than Disney and Paramount will leap in if this is legit.
Via MacRumors.
BusinessWeek and iSuppli partnered to analyze the costs of the AppleTV. Somewhat surprisingly, the $300 gadget was found to cost nearly $237, which yields a significantly lower margin than the iPod or iPhone.
Even more interestingly, the analysis shows that Apple makes significantly more money on each $400 AppleTV they sell, as the cost to upgrade the drive is much higher than the difference in raw cost to Apple. It is uncharacteristic for Apple to make this little of anything they sell. Anyone think this might be the source of Steve’s calling the device “a hobby”?
Thanks, Bill!
What would an Apple product launch be without a ceremonial unboxing? Incomplete. GeekSugar grabbed a new LED-screened MacBook Pro this morning and have posted the full results in a gallery. My geek-lust is strong right now…
(Thanks, Angelica!)
As rumored, Apple updated the MacBook Pro line this morning to use the latest screaming processors up to 2.4 Ghz from Intel and a more powerful GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor. The 15.4-inch machines also use mercury-free LED backlit displays, delivering on the announcement that Steve Jobs made in the company’s environmental roadmap. Disappointing that the 17″ machine is still on LCD, according to the release, but this is a new technology. I can’t wait to see how gorgeous the screens look up close. I might make it to an Apple Store this afternoon, so I’ll keep you posted. Full details after the jump. They are immediately available.
Apple dropped a few lovely and unexpected tidbits in addition to the already anticipated iTunes Plus DRM-free music downloads. Specifically, Apple’s new “hobby,” the AppleTV, will soon have direct YouTube support, and an build-to-order option to quadruple the device’s capacity to 160GB will roll out soon, for $100 extra. It’s still not a DVR out of the box, but this thing is getting very capable very fast…
iTunes Plus, meanwhile, includes the ability to buy-upgrade (“bupgrade?”) any iTunes Store song you already own without copy-protection and a higher bit-rate for 30 cents per song. I must admit, I’d be moving what few iTS songs I have to the superior format, but none of the songs I have are in the first bunch of iT+ selections. Anyone making the move?
Today’s D: All Things Digital conference has been quite interesting, from the introduction of Palm’s ludicrous Foleo device to Microsoft’s over-the-top (literally) Surface computing initiative and Apple’s more modest but interesting announcements of YouTube for AppleTV, iTunes Plus and the Big AppleTV upgrade.
Nothing, however, compares to the currently rolling Steve Jobs and Bill Gates chat on stage together. They’re mostly looking back with humor on their linked history. It’s hilarious stuff, from Engadget’s liveblog of it:
Steve: Gil (Amelio) had a saying, “Apple is like a ship with holes in the bottom leaking water. My job is to get that ship pointed in the right direction.”
After midnight Eastern tonight, Apple let its own cat out of the bag to go along with Microsoft’s announcement of Surface. The Mac OS X Software update brings iTunes 7.2, featuring support for DRM-free downloads off of the iTunes Store, what Apple is calling “iTunes Plus.” The update notice mentions this support from “participating labels” (does EMI have friends in its DRM-free world?), and then the help file goes further, as noted by MacRumors:
The iTunes Store also offers songs without DRM protection, from participating record labels. These DRM-free songs, called “iTunes Plus,” have no usage restrictions and feature higher-quality encoding.
The first time you buy an iTunes Plus song, you specify whether to make all future purchases iTunes Plus versions (when available). You can change this setting by accessing your account information on the iTunes Store.
If you already have iTunes Store purchases that are now available as iTunes Plus downloads, you may upgrade your existing purchases. To do so, visit the iTunes Store and follow the onscreen instructions.
Perhaps there’s hope for converting my library of FairPlay-encoded files to come back to life. We can only hope. Tomorrow’s going to be exciting. Stay tuned…
Remember that totally awesome touchscreen demo at huge scale that had broad applications such as natural photo sorting and editing and fingerpaints? Well, in advance of the D Conference today, Microsoft decided it would be a good idea to launch a product line that is…exactly that demo. They call it Surface, and if it lives up to the demo videos on the official site, it will be spectacular in use.
T-Mobile, Harrah’s Entertainment and others plan to roll them out very quickly. You might be playing with one in a few days. So what’s the problem? Why isn’t Apple panicking? Because this is as far from a consumer application as you can get. A 30″ touchscreen display built on a coffee table in the living room is years away from being something people will buy.
Granted, Apple’s multi-touch product, the iPhone, is also very high-end, but a $600 phone is closer to reality than the Future Table 6000. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure that Microsoft will make money from this selling to stores and casinos. There are many people looking for an interactive table for what I would assume is at least $10,000, if not more. But this is like a new pinball machine, not a technology that will make an impact at home for years to come.
It is an amazing demo, but it’s far from ready for prime-time. This is for an exciting display in a store. The fact that MS isn’t talking about rolling this technology to other platforms yet indicates that they’re not playing for those markets. And I will pit the iPhone or a touch-enabled iPod against a to-be-announced Surface Zune any day. If anything, launching this way is a sign that Microsoft knows it doesn’t have a product to compete with the iPhone ready to go. So they brought out the circus edition of the technology.
I’m sure the clowns and the elephants are psyched. Microsoft Surface: multi-user touch table [MacNN]
Ever wondered what we’ve gained in 20 years of computing advancement? Other than better graphics, the answer is…not much, at least for basic office productivity tasks. Hal Licino at HubPages runs a vintage MacPlus from 1986 against a brand-new PC running on AMD dual-core hardware, and finds that the MacPlus is faster for virtually all comparable tasks, including booting and several ordinary MS Office tasks.
Just goes to show you — computing peaked in 1988 (the Mac SE/30 dominates the Plus still). 86 Mac Plus Vs. 07 AMD DualCore. You Won’t Believe Who Wins
It’s giant friendly green blob Haro from Gundam! And his back ate a Mac mini! Good thing he can dance or something. A very, very odd Japanese import. Check Ubergizmo for more.
Via GeekSugar.
Each Apple Store is intimate, friendly, educational and filled with new technologies to discover. They’re warm places, filled with helpful “geniuses,” great gift ideas and room to learn, fail and succeed. Each interaction is an opportunity for Apple to directly connect in an emotional way with its customers — a pure brand expression.
But as Apple’s influence and power as a company has grown, another electronics powerhouse, Sony, has headed straight downhill, with a mediocre retail presence reflecting its overall woes. The NY Times’s Randall Stross does an excellent job of chronicling the features that make Apple stand out and the symptoms of Sony’s disease in this feature from the Sunday Times. He does not, however, truly diagnose the patient or recommend a cure that people can actually use.
I’ll take that chance. Click through to hear what Apple is doing right, and why Sony Style stores feel so cold.
Ever since Apple and EMI shocked the world in April by announcing that they would sell music through the iTunes Store free from copy-protection constraints, the world has been waiting for the company’s to actually make that announcement a reality.
This might be the week, if the rumor mill has it pegged correctly. MacNN claims we’ve been going through a delay of these products, which I can’t say I noticed:
The seeming delay for introducing the new tier of content has been primarily attributed to a desire to offer the entire catalog at once in the unprotected format rather than a gradual rollout. The companies’ technicians are simply in the later stages of encoding and hosting the files before they go live, the contact says.
Not too surprising, here. After all, Apple said they would launch an offering in May — that means they’ll launch it on the last Tuesday of the month, right? Wake me up when Apple actually misses launching during the month.
The next four weeks are going to be crazy. Maybe, once the iPhone is truly released into the wild, hysteria over sightings will recede until that day, however, the Internet is wild with any news of an iPhone in public. I won’t even cover one of the big iPhone stories of the weekend here (a photo of a man who is either holding an iPhone or possibly any other object that fits in the hand is not news), but I am intrigued by this video find.
It purports to be an Apple Store employee sneaking an iPhone onto the floor of the shop, then shooting video of himself being shown on a store iMac’s iSight. It looks pretty real. It could be faked pretty easily, though it would basically have to b e done with another camera phone or pocket video recorder dressed in an iPhone costume. What do you think?
Fimoculous brought Microsoft’s iPod Amnesty Bin at the Zune Headquarters recently. Looks pretty empty to me — think team members are taking the discards home to use instead of their Zunes? Or is it a place for iPods to escape from Microsoft’s labs where they were getting dissected and copied? iPod Amnesty Bin on Flickr Via TUAW.
