wwdc2013
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DevJuice: asciiwwdc is best thing since sliced bread
If you have not yet visited asciiwwdc, you are missing out on one of the best dev things of the year. Brought to you courtesy of the brilliant Mattt Thompson (aka Mr. NSHipster), the site offers searchable full-text transcripts of WWDC sessions. Hop on over and try out a search or two. It's terrific. Asciiwwdc will be a valuable discovery for any developer, and one I hope will stay up and available. In fact, the only thing I could think of to embetter this already cromulent service would be to integrate inline screen caps from the presentation slides.
Apple posts Mac Pro intro video to YouTube
Apple has released a short promo video of the soon-to-be-released Mac Pro up on YouTube. The clip is similar to what was shown at the June Developers Conference in San Francisco. The new model, with a unique and fetching form factor, is much smaller than the current Mac Pro, but also will need to have most peripherals external rather than built in. It promises to be extremely powerful. There's no specific release date yet, but Apple says it is "coming this fall." Apple has also been promoting the Mac Pro in theaters this month. The new workstation class machine is expected to have dual gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 1.4, Thunderbolt 2.0 with DisplayPort 1.2 and support for up to three 4K displays.
WWDC Redux: Don't Worry, Be Happy
Let's say you go to a restaurant almost every day for years. It's your favorite restaurant, and you've practically memorized the menu. The staff knows you, your favorite dishes and you know a little about the chef. Then one day you walk in and everything has changed. The menu looks weird, there's a bunch of new dishes and the staff is a little distracted-- but the food is amazing. Everything else is throwing you off but you cannot deny that the food is better. It's as if the chef changed out the kitchen entirely and got 10 times better overnight. After over a week of hearing pundits work their magic, I keep returning to my notes from chats with developers who were at WWDC and AltWWDC. For anyone who is worried about iOS 7 or Mavericks let me tell you right now: breathe, relax, things are going to be great. Beauty is skin deep Yes, iOS 7 looks really different. As one writer said, it will be polarizing. Consumers as a blob of people are scared of changes in technology. Forcing users to grok some new interactions, no matter how much more sense they make, will prove a little problematic for Apple. I anticipate slower uptake from existing users at first. But as word spreads about how much better iOS 7 is, I think those people will jump on board. If you're only looking at stills of iOS 7 you really aren't seeing the full picture. Parallax is a subtle thing, maybe the new active desktops are useless, but the zooming hints of depth. There are so many cognitive touches that will make iOS "just work" better that it's hard to delineate them all (never mind that I'm going to try to avoid chatting too much about things that are covered in Apple's non-disclosure agreement with developers -- although I am not a developer and have signed no such agreement). Suffice it to say that what you'll see when you start using iOS 7 is a better sense of where you are in the OS at any given moment. By zooming in and out, by seeing what pages are open as you multi-task, you'll feel like you have more context at any given point. This intriguing method for using 3D spatial cues has prompted some interesting thoughts, like this great opinion piece by Jeff Rock. When you get designers thinking about this stuff, great things happen. Something that is impossible to understand when simply looking at frozen pixels on a screen is the interaction when using the OS. iOS has relied on buttons for many interactions, and iOS 7 does away with a good bit of this. Last week I kept joking with developers about the "Oregon Trail" your thumb takes as it traverses down, left, up, right, etc. just to do a simple thing. In iOS 7's Settings, however, if you want to go "back" you no longer have to reach way up to the left corner to tap a little button -- you just swipe to bring the previous screen back, much as you do on the iPod nano today. All of those little interactions add up to a significantly enhanced experience in iOS 7. Anyone who has been fixated on the pixels they see within a tiny rounded square is missing the forest of UX for the trees of UI. New kitchen, new rules Folks, there are 1,500 new frameworks. More importantly, those frameworks are all coming together to enhance the user experience and build better apps. Some of those frameworks may even hint at future Apple products. Every single developer I spoke to was excited about what they saw at WWDC sessions. iOS 7 isn't just "flat" design and a few new interactions, it's a significant boost to an already powerful mobile operating platform. There are new tools and toys that developers are still wrapping their minds around. In the end, you're going to see another app Renaissance. I don't think I'm overstating it -- users have no idea how much better apps about about to become. As one example, I was told by a source that at some point Eddy Cue corralled more engineers to fix the iCloud Core Data sync issues. Apple finally woke up and realized it had a serious problem on this one, and dedicated the resources to fix it. If anyone wonders whether Apple listens to developers or users, there's your answer. Apple listens. But as the WWDC keynote hammered home, Apple does its best not to ship features until they are ready. When something breaks, it works to fix it, but not in a haphazard way, because we've all seen how "quick fixes" can sometimes make things worse. The biggest disappointment among developers: A continuing lack of inter-app communication. Yes, there's a way to do it with URLs, like LaunchCenter Pro and other apps have utilitized, but that's not a round-trip solution and it's often confusing to your average user. We're talking about true connections between apps that allow real-time data sharing and cross-talk. My theory is this is still on a whiteboard at Apple, but the intricacies of doing it "just right" will mean a wait for at least another year. Developers tended to agree with this theory -- or maybe they're just being hopeful. Don't Worry, Be Happy There are some incredible things coming in Mavericks and iOS 7. Macworld has a nice rundown of some features you might have missed in Mavericks. How about this for you power users: I heard AppleScript has been seriously beefed up and it can now dip into Cocoa. If tagging didn't float your boat, maybe that will. Every single thing I heard at WWDC and AltWWDC indicated that Apple continues to relentlessly perfect its product. For someone like myself who has followed the company his entire life, this is not a surprise. For those who are younger and maybe grew up in an era where Windows NT was a common fixture and Apple was relegated to the design department, this might be a revelation. Apple's "Designed in California" and other propaganda videos shown at and after WWDC point to its core values of making the best products it can, and helping people do more with those tools. And if it's any indication of progress, I took a hands-up poll at AltWWDC's panel on the keynote. About half of the people who had jailbroken their iPhones said they wouldn't continue to do so after they saw what they wanted in iOS 7. "Can't innovate, my ass." -- Phil Schiller It should go without saying that iTunes Radio will be a hit and likely introduce people to streaming radio who, until now, have resisted Spotify, Rdio or Pandora (there's a good opinion piece on this over at Engadget). It should also go without saying that the new Mac Pro will be a hit. The folks at Aerohive were impressed with the new Airport and Time Capsule hardware, and who isn't loving more battery life on the new MacBook Airs? In-between the propaganda films and dizzying array of new stuff, there was a steady drumbeat last week of Apple messaging to its core constituents: We are here, we are still innovating, we are still kicking ass. If you don't believe this, prepare for some tasty claim chowder in 300 days after sales and update numbers come out. I'm happy to report that Apple is still unafraid to tear down its own creations to build something new. While Mavericks is getting a good overhaul, iOS 7 fully embraces the ethos of radical change for the better. Those who don't get this don't really get Apple's core values. Developers are on notice to update their apps. iOS 7 will be radically different, and it should be. And that's a very good thing for everyone. I can't wait to see what's next.
Talkcast 10 pm ET/7 pm PT: Looking back on WWDC
All-new dial-in experience! See below -- do not call into Talkshoe, we won't be there. So far, using Fuze Meeting for our call-in process is going mostly OK -- but this will be Kelly's first week in the hot seat, so be kind! Just as before, the text chat will be in this very post when the show begins, back at our usual bat time of 10 pm ET. Tonight we're going to look back at the week that was: every crazy product announcement, OS preview and Mac Pro video; every Craig Federighi dig at leather-wrapped calendars and shortages of green felt. It's the WWDC wrap show, featuring our special guest Ross Rubin of Reticle Research (and, you know, our own humble pages)! Plus, since Kelly is hosting, there is bound to be some unique content from the House of Crackpot Theories. Do join in. To review: we're trying a new way to connect on the Talkcast. With some help from the fine folks at Fuze, we're leveraging a Fuze meeting room to record the show. This should let everyone listen in live -- and, if you want, raise your hand as you would in the Talkshoe room to get unmuted and chime in. Here's how it goes: You can join the call in progress (meeting # is 20099010) at 10 pm ET from any computer via this link; if you download the Mac or Windows Fuze clients ahead of time, you'll get better audio and a slicker experience, but browser-only will work fine. Using an iPhone or iPad? Grab the native clients from the App Store and get busy. (Even Android users can join the party.) Still feel like using the conventional phone dial-in? Just call 775-996-3562 and enter the meeting number 20099010, then press #. While the Fuze web and native clients have a chat channel, we'd like to reserve that for host participants, requests to talk and other real-time alerts... so the full-on chat for the show will appear in this very post at 10 pm tonight. You'll need Twitter, Facebook or Chatroll credentials to participate in the chat. We'll remind everyone to check back in at that time. This is an experiment, of course, so your patience and forbearance is appreciated in advance. For the time being, the podcast feed of the show will continue to originate from Talkshoe and should be there within 24-36 hours. See you tonight!
Apple opens iWork for iCloud beta to registered developers
One part of Monday's WWDC 2013 keynote that seems to have received short shrift in the discussions of updated products is iWork. During the keynote, iWork for iCloud -- a browser-based version of Apple's office suite -- was discussed along with comments about the iOS versions of the suite. Now Apple has followed up the announcement by opening a beta of iWork for iCloud to registered developers. While the browser-based iWork for iCloud is meant to work on Mac or PC in just about any browser, developers opening the beta web apps in Chrome are greeted with a message saying "Your browser isn't fully supported. For the best Pages/Keynote/Numbers for iCloud experience, use the latest version of Safari." For those who have been using the current version of iWork and saving documents to iCloud, all of the saved documents are immediately available for test. The web suite will be released to the world later this year; at the present time, developers can try out the apps by logging in at beta.icloud.com.
The Wall Street Journal on Apple's Craig Federighi
While watching Apple's keynote earlier this week, I was particularly struck by Craig Federighi's presentation. He was affable, felt comfortable on stage, was informative, interacted with the audience and even had a few zingers to boot. That said, it's likely no coincidence that Federighi received the most stage time on Monday, handling presentation duties both for OS X Mavericks and iOS 7. The Wall Street Journal today has an interesting profile on Federighi, an important member of Apple's executive team that many people may not know much about. The lanky, 44-year-old engineer has a long Apple pedigree. He worked at Next, the other computer company founded by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and joined Apple when it acquired the company in 1997. But despite earning the respect of colleagues for his focus and affability, he has remained behind the scenes for years. Mr. Federighi spent much of his career working on enterprise software, which has never been Apple's focus. Interestingly enough, the Journal notes that Federighi's career began alongside Scott Forstall when the two worked at NeXT together back in the early '90s. While Forstall quickly rose through the ranks after Apple acquired NeXT, Federighi's enterprise-centric expertise eventually prompted him to leave Apple for Ariba where he would ultimately become the company's CTO. In 2009, Federighi returned to Apple to head up OS X engineering. While Scott Forstall was reportedly a divisive figure within Apple, Federighi appears to be more of a team player who operates by consensus. Consequently, the Journal notes that some decisions regarding Apple's software direction have taken longer to implement. All in all, it might be too early to call Federighi the new face of Apple, but I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing a lot more of him at Apple special events in the future. The Journal has a lot more on Federighi that's definitely worth a read. Incidentally, my favorite Federighi quip during the keynote was when he announced that OS X Mavericks would finally offer support for multiple displays. The crowd began applauding wildly, whereupon Federighi jokingly clarified that Apple's wasn't actually giving away new displays to users, remarking that it's "just software." Good stuff.
iOS 7's game controller support could be a real game-changer
Of all of the features of iOS 7 that have been talked about since Monday's WWDC 2013 keynote, probably none has more potential impact than the item circled in blue on the image above -- MFi game controller support in the iOS 7 SDK. Jeff Blagdon at The Verge took a closer look at what this means for Apple fans, and possibly for the gaming world as a whole. MFi means "Made For iPhone/iPod/iPad," and refers to officially licensed add-ons that meet specifications set forth by Apple. The company is now adding support for controllers to the SDK, making it easy for third-party game controller manufacturers to create hardware that Apple can "bless." Developers benefit, since they know that their games will work with any of the approved game controllers. But Blagdon brings up a much bigger point in his post. Since Apple added AirPlay mirroring to iOS devices with iOS 5, anyone with a US$99 Apple TV can easily blast mobile gameplay to their HDTV. Blagdon says "with API-level support for third-party game controllers, who is going to stop Apple from waltzing into the home console market?" Apple already controls the handheld gaming market, and Blagdon notes that the new 16 GB iPod touch and Apple TV cost just US$328 -- less than the $399 Sony PS4 announced yesterday or the $499 Microsoft Xbox One. Apple could easily begin to make the dedicated home gaming console obsolete.
Editorial: The subtexts of Apple's WWDC keynote
Monday's much-anticipated WWDC keynote was Apple's most crucial presentation in years. AAPL stock has fallen 37 percent over nine months. Android has grown into a monstrous competing platform, differentiating along the lines of lower cost, variety of devices and appealing operating-system features. In this sharp-elbowed environment, Apple has been widely accused of losing its innovation mojo, and of over-reaching with premium product concepts and prices, in what is increasingly viewed as a commodity tech category. Facing an audience of developers whose businesses depend on Apple's continued success, especially in the mobile realm, the company's keynote mission was not only to excite buzz around new products, but to establish clarity around the company's mission, values and key competitive advantages. Did it succeed?
First MacBook Air 2013 benchmarks
Apple refreshed its MacBook Air line yesterday at WWDC, and Engadget got some hands-on time with the sleek and slim notebook. Besides taking some photos of Apple's ultraportable, they also put the hardware through its paces. Early results from the benchmark testing suggest the new MacBook Air has a nice bump in performance over other Mac notebooks, especially in the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. Engadget recorded read speeds of 725.4 MB/s and write speeds of 433.4 MB/s, which is almost twice the speed of the current 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. That is surprisingly good for such a tiny machine. Head over to Engadget's website to check out photos and additional comments on Apple's new MacBook Air.
iTunes Connect now allows developers to transfer apps to another developer
We've heard about all the new elements in iOS and OS X today at WWDC, and how they will change the way we use our iOS devices. There are some new features on the back side of iOS, including a major change in policy that'll let developers easily transfer an app from over developer to another via iTunes Connect. The new transfer app feature will let you transfer the ownership of an app to another developer as part of an acquisition or a distribution deal, for example. The new owner will receive all the ratings and reviews of the app they just acquired. During this process, the app will remain in the App Store and users will be able to download all available app updates. It's a seamless transfer tool that'll make selling your business or your apps easy on you and easy on your customers.
iOS 7 phases out the iPhone 3GS and the original iPad; some features will be iPhone 5 only
Apple on Monday took the wraps off of iOS 7, its highly anticipated next-gen mobile OS for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Apple said that iOS 7 will be available as a free download this fall and will run on the following devices: iPhone 4 and above iPad 2 and above iPad mini iPod touch, fifth generation So with iOS 7, Apple is phasing out the iPhone 3GS. The original iPad was phased out with iOS 6 (thanks, Ben!) I'd be surprised, though, if there are a significant percentage of iOS users using the aforementioned device. All in all, Apple does do a decent job of keeping iOS users running years-old hardware in the mix. Aside from which devices will run iOS 7, it's equally important to consider which features from iOS 7 will run on which device. To that end, here's how some of the device-specific iOS 7 features break down. Panorama -- The photo feature Apple introduced last year will be available on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and fifth-gen iPod touch. iPad users are out of luck here. Square/Video formats and swipe to capture -- These features will be available on the iPhone 4 and above, the third-generation iPad and above, the iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch. Filters in Camera - This Instagram-inspired feature will only be available for the iPhone 5 and the fifth-generation iPod touch. Filters in Photos - This will be available on the iPhone 4 and above, the third-generation iPad and above, the iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch. AirDrop - AirDrop in iOS 7 will only work on the iPhone 5, the fourth-generation iPad, the iPad mini and the iPod touch. Siri - Siri in iOS 7 has new voices, a new interface and a whole lot more functionality. Users trying to take advantage of the latest and greatest from Siri can run it on the iPhone 4S and above, the iPad with Retina display, the iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch. iTunes Radio - Apple's long-rumored music streaming and recommendation service will run on any iOS 7-compatible device.
Apple announces Apple Design Award winners at WWDC 2013
The WWDC keynote may be over, but the developer's conference is just getting underway. First on tap is the Apple Design Awards, which recognize the best of the best in the iOS and OS X App Store. The initial list, as reported by the official App Store twitter account, is presented below. Congratulations to all the winners! Student Developers: Finish. By high schoolers Ryan Orbuch and Michael Hansen Mosaic.io. By Ishaan Gulrajani, Alex List & Zain Shah. iOS and OS X Apps Coda 2 Ridiculous Fishing WWF Together Evernote 5 Badland Yahoo! Weather Letterpress Procreate SkyGamblers Other student winners, including Louis Harboe, Bryan Keller and Puck Meerburg, were recognized for their work on the apps they submitted to earn their scholarship to attend WWDC.
Music app gets a new design in iOS 7
Apple updated the big things as well as the little things in iOS 7. One of the smaller features is a fresh new look that'll grace the Music app. Cover flow is phased out and replaced with a new album art-driven UI. You'll be able to tap on an artist and view all their songs from your library, whether they are saved to your device or stored in the cloud. The Music app also features a new iTunes Radio feature that's similar to Pandora. You can read more about iTunes Radio in our WWDC coverage and browse the changes in iOS 7 on Apple's website.
Apple unveils new and interactive Mac Pro site
During today's WWDC keynote, Phil Schiller gave us a rare, if not unprecedented, look at an upcoming product that won't be shipping for a while. If you saw today's keynote, you likely caught Apple's eye-catching 30-second teaser video for the next-gen Mac Pro. We reported earlier today: The Mac Pro will have Dual Workstation CPU FirePro processors, up to two times faster than the current Mac Pro. There is built-in support for up to three 4K displays, HDMI out, GB Ethernet and internal storage with 1.25 GB/s reads and 1 GB/s writes. The new Mac Pro features Thunderbolt 2, and it's backwards-compatible with the current-generation Thunderbolt accessories. And did we mention that the new Mac Pro is only 9.9 inches tall? Shortly after the keynote finished, Apple updated its website with a new, very cool, informative and interactive page for the Mac Pro. Head on over here to check this puppy out in great detail. As Phil Schiller said, "Can't innovate anymore, my ass!" We'll keep you posted as to when shipping and pricing information on this beauty become available.
Apple MacBook Air hands-on and first I/O benchmarks (13-inch, mid-2013)
As expected, this year's WWDC was all about the software, and certainly there was plenty to talk about on that front, what with the unveiling of of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks. We did get a little bit to whet the appetite of hardware lovers, however -- mainly a sneak peak of the cool new cylindrical Mac Pro and a refresh to Apple's popular MacBook Air line. We managed to snag a few pictures of the forthcoming tiny desktop workstation, and now we've got our hot little hands on the new ultraportable. From an aesthetic standpoint, there's not too much to write home about -- nothing, really. This is the same Air you know and, possibly, love. It's tapered thin, brushed aluminum shell, with all those standard ports (original Thunderbolt, included). And the display, while sharp, is no Retina -- you'll have to keep waiting on that front. Odds are Apple opted not to swap in the higher-res screen in order to not sacrifice the laptop's battery life -- and certainly the company's got some bragging rights on that front, with a reported bump from five to nine hours on the 11-inch and from seven to 12 on the 13-inch. We'll be reporting back on that fact in the near future -- once we have a good half a day to try it out. That bump comes thanks to new innards -- specifically the inclusion of those new Haswell chips. Apple has also promised that the new CPU has given the systems a nice pep in their performance step, as well. We ran the Air through some benchmarks to see if it's all it's cracked up to be. Check those out after the break.%Gallery-190948%
TUAW TV Live Special Edition: WWDC 2013
Thanks for joining us today here on TUAW for our continuing coverage of WWDC 2013. I am joined this afternoon by renowned author, developer and TUAW buddy Erica Sadun on a special edition of TUAW TV Live. Here's the archived video for your viewing pleasure!
WWDC 2013 keynote roundup: OS X Mavericks, iOS 7, new Mac Pro, refreshed Airs and iTunes Radio
We know, oh boy do we know. With E3 and WWDC happening at the same time, it's easy to get lost in all the news -- we've got you covered for all the delicious Apple bites right here, though. Today the team from Cupertino delighted its keynote crowd with the official announcements of iOS 7, refreshed MacBook Airs and iTunes Radio. Even more exciting, however, was the sneak peak at the much-anticipated -- and cylindrical -- next-gen Mac Pro and the introduction of OS X Sea Lion Mavericks. Whether you're just trying to recap all the announcements or find what you missed, our full roundup is up after the break.
Engadget's post-WWDC 2013 live broadcast from San Francisco!
Phew! Wasn't that fun? After months and months of abundant speculations, the opening keynote at WWDC 2013 finally allowed us to see some of the things Apple's been working on since its last major event. Still, we can only imagine how keeping track of today's announcements can become a slightly complicated task -- especially with E3 happening as we speak. The good news for you is that, as they did earlier in the day, Tim Stevens and Darren Murph will be hosting a live video broadcast right across the street from where the conference is taking place. So, head on past the jump, where you'll be able to watch along as the Engadget duo goes over the new stuff Apple just unveiled.
Apple's WWDC 2013 keynote video now available for replay
Mac OS X Mavericks. iOS 7. Haswell-equipped MacBook Airs. Mac Pro sneak peeks. Videos of retail store openings. Yes, all of the above were showcased in this year's Apple WWDC keynote, but what if you weren't able to get online in time to see it live? While our liveblog and events hub are both great opportunities to get caught up, it's hard to say no to a live and professionally made video. Point your Safari browser (no other browser will work, as far as we can tell) to Apple's events page and you'll be treated to a visual smorgasbord of new firmware and hardware, if you so desire. Update: If you have a penchant for consuming your media through iTunes, you might be glad to hear that the keynote has made it to the service as a podcast. Jab the second source link below to snag it. Follow all of our WWDC 2013 coverage at our event hub.
Apple updates the App Store app with a new look, features
In addition to all the other changes in iOS 7, Apple updated the App Store with a fresh look and feel. The App Store has a new kids category that sorts apps by age, which is great for parents. There's also a new feature that'll let you find apps that are popular near you. One other time-saving improvement is the addition of auto-update for all iOS apps. You'll never have to be nagged by that badge with your app updates, nor hit that "update all" button again.