wwdc09
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WWDC Live: Black Pixel demos 2 new games
The guys from Black Pixel stopped by to demo 2 upcoming games they're working on, both for kids: one for very young children, and one targeted at a slightly older set, which I assume ranges up to at least 30, given that it has me pretty excited. I'm neither young (by my standards), nor a gamer, but the game currently codenamed Tatooine has me ready to go running through the streets swinging my iPhone around and firing it like a phaser, baffling innocent onlookers. Check out the video after the jump, you'll get the idea.
WWDC Live: Serguei Beloussov, Parallels CEO
Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels, was gracious enough to sit down with us to talk about his take on the Keynote, WWDC in general and some enhancements which were announced at the Parallels shindig at Jillian's. The acoustics in the room were very echo-y and I picked up a lot of air noise and fire trucks. The rescued soundtrack has some spooky artifacts but is completely audible. The direct access we talk about is shown in detail in the Jillian's video linked above, and is a very impressive step forward for virtualization. Continue reading for the video.
WWDC Live: Adrian Kosmaczewski
We featured the work of Adrian Kosmaczewski last year, when he helped out WWDC '08 attendees with a script he whipped up to convert the AJAX-based schedule to an iCal .ics file. Now a full-time iPhone developer, we caught up with him at WWDC '09 to talk about iPhones and iPhone development from San Francisco to Switzerland.
WWDC Live: Parallels demo at Jillian's
We'll be posting an interview with Parallels CEO Serguei Beloussov shortly, but here's a peek at what Parallels can do on a Mac Pro. The video shows some impressive 3D rendering happening inside of two separate Vista virtual machines running simultaneously with OS X 10.5. The essence of the pitch is Parallels' ability to directly access hardware, in this case the video card, to improve performance within each virtual machine. Cool stuff.
WWDC Live: Jon Gotow of St. Clair Software
I was excited to speak with Jon Gotow of St. Clair Software, creator of Default Folder X, which is an invaluable tool to me. He is also an important voice in the OpenMeta debate and evolution happening right now, which will get its own article in the near future. He attended WWDC with his son, Ben Gotow, and had a lot to say about the state of Apple and looking forward. Continue reading for the video. Update: This video has been moved to YouTube and is now watchable.
WWDC Live: Andrew and Phil from Evernote
This video is from a chat I had with Phil and Andrew, CEO and Lead Mac Developer for Evernote, respectively. We covered Evernote when it first came out a while back, and it's been fun to watch it evolve since then. We talked about WWDC and recent Apple news, as well as some upcoming improvements in Evernote for both Mac and iPhone (searchable voice notes! UI improvements!). The interview ended up running quite long, and while it's still a bit lengthy, this version is cut to about 1/4 of the full video. I think I got all of the important bits in, though. Enjoy. Update: This video has been moved to YouTube and is now watchable. Due to YouTube's length limitations, the video has been split into two parts, both embedded here.
WWDC Live: ds MediaLabs at the iPhone Intelligence Party
Ben Stahlhood of ds MediaLabs presented 3 new iPhone games to TUAW when I met him at the iPhone Intelligence Party at WWDC. A 3-D version of LightRiders (think TRON), a carnival game and a role playing game designed to get role players out of the basement and into the world. Have fun watching! Update: This video has been moved to YouTube and is now watchable.
WWDC Live: AJ From Marketcircle
AJ, CEO of Marketcircle (Billings, Daylite, Daylite Touch) sat down with us to talk about WWDC, new iPhones, Snow Leopard and the upcoming Billings Touch, which I'm personally pretty excited about. Read the rest of the post for the video of our chat. I apologize to AJ and our readers for what is, by the sound of it, some iPhone interference on the soundtrack. Update: This video has been moved to YouTube and is now watchable.
Devs at WWDC: Show us your apps!
Are you attending WWDC? Do you have a Mac desktop or iPhone app you'd like to show the world? Well join TUAW on June 11 at the Metreon (the big silver building right next door to the Moscone, where Jillian's is housed), where we'll have a camera ready for your close-up. We'll have a small table near the movie theater, next to the sunglasses shop -- look for this guy (me). I'll be there from 10am to 2pm PST.So far we've seen some really good stuff here at WWDC, although we can't talk about some of it just yet. But if you show us your app, we'll put it on TUAW over the coming weeks.Don't forget to follow tuaw_wwdc on Twitter for the latest on where we'll be, just in case you miss us tomorrow.
WWDC Live: Dan Wood, Karelia Software
One of the first developers I got a chance to sit down with at WWDC was Dan Wood of Karelia Software, makers of the website-building app, Sandvox. I got his thoughts on the Keynote and the state of Mac software development. He's recently been blogging about marketing for developers and working to start a conversation about self-promotion in the Indy software community. Check out the interview after the jump, and be sure to check out the developer marketing tips offered at his blog.
OS 10.6: PowerPC officially left behind
It's not news. It was just less than a year ago that we initially announced that Snow Leopard would likely be Intel-only. Still, it was a report based off an initial developer's release of the software, and PowerPC users prayed that maybe it was a mistake. Maybe Apple would change its mind and toss a bone at these faithful users of Macs-gone-by. But, the emerging reality showed that Apple has left its PowerPC days behind. In February, we reported on how GarageBand's new Learn to Play feature was Intel-only. In addition to that, not every feature in iPhoto was available to PowerPC users. During that same month, we reported that even more G4 systems were being added to Apple's vintage and obsolete lists. Now the writing is fully on the wall for PowerPC users. The official release of tech specs for Snow Leopard indicates that it is an Intel-only release, meaning that if you do want to go past Leopard, you'll have to upgrade. There are still a lot of PowerPC users out there, and they're still very good machines... but are owners of older Macs going to be satisfied without the latest OS? Answer our poll or let us know in the comments: what does Snow Leopard mean to PPC owners? %Poll-31002%
Apple Design Award winners announced
It's a point of pride for the developers and a highlight of WWDC week -- tonight, courtesy of Jim Dalrymple at The Loop, we congratulate the winners of the Apple Design Awards for 2009. The list includes several TUAW favorites (Things, BoinxTV, Tweetie, Billings and MLB.com) along with some fantastic efforts from students. The full winner list thanks to The Loop and Apple's ADA listings: iPhone Developer Showcase Tweetie from atebits Topple from ng:moco MLB.com At Bat from MLB.com Postage from Rogue Sheep Mac OS Leopard Developer Showcase Billings from Marketcircle Versions by Sofa Things from Cultured Code BoinxTV from Boinx Best Mac OS X Student Product Fontcase by Pieter Omvlee Best iPhone Student App Wooden Labyrinth 3D by Elias Pietil Best iPhone OS 3.0 Beta App Accuterra by Intermap Technologies Congratulations to all the winners!
The dying goodwill toward AT&T
Congratulations! When Apple releases iPhone OS 3.0 next week, we'll finally be gaining the following features ...Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)! ... unless you're on AT&T.Tethering! ... unless you're on AT&TA brand new 16GB iPhone 3G S for only $199 with a two-year contract! ... unless you're on AT&T and already own an iPhone 3G.AT&T has long been the subject of grumbling from the community of US iPhone users who want to use their phones legitimately. Ever since the original release back in 2007, it feels like AT&T has been trying to play catch-up when it comes to service and tower availability. But, the release of the iPhone 3G S might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I can walk down to my local AT&T store and pick up a cheap handset for less than $100 that will have MMS. AT&T knew this day was coming. The company may wail and gnash its teeth, complaining that it aren't ready for this, but it should be, especially since Boy Genius Report tells us that all AT&T needs to do is manually remove the opt-out code!It was even apparent during the keynote yesterday that Apple sounds pretty disgusted with how far behind AT&T is dragging them. Notice the absence of any AT&T personnel on stage. Had AT&T been on the ball to begin with, it most likely would have taken center stage -- boasting about all the improvements that would garner shiny new services for iPhone users and more money for the corporate coffers. But it didn't, and the tension coming from Apple during the moments when MMS and Tethering were announced was pretty tangible. Apple had all of these features that people have been begging for ready to go, and now Cupertino is forced to wait for AT&T to finish twiddling its thumbs and do what it should have done two years ago. I wouldn't even be surprised if AT&T somehow found a way to block copy/paste!A small footnote on Apple's iPhone page indicates that MMS support from AT&T will be coming later this summer. Another note on the 3.0 software pages says that tethering isn't available in the U.S. and some other countries, although Engadget cites AT&T sources who say it's coming -- there just isn't anything to announce yet.Then there comes iPhone pricing. Those expecting a repeat of last summer's offer to replace their current iPhones with the latest model on the cheap are being sorely disappointed. You can read full details on that kerfuffle thanks to one of the recent additions to our team, Michael Jones. However, our commenters do have a point with that one -- those who bought the first generation iPhone paid the full price right off the bat, but later buyers were able to get the iPhone 3G at a subsidized price. Like with any other subsidized phone with any other carrier, you'll have to pay a pretty hefty price for the privilege to upgrade before you're eligible. For me, that'll be in October 2010. By then, the iPhone 3G s4π will most likely be out. Still, people aren't happy with this one either.The ramifications for AT&T will come when it sits down at the negotiation table with Apple to extend its current gig as exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the United States. Apple won't forget that AT&T didn't have key features in place when they needed to be there. If Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, or any other carrier can convince Apple that they would be ahead of the game while AT&T lags (and, believe me, it wouldn't be that hard of an argument to make), Apple will take its toys and go elsewhere. And loyal iPhone users would follow. I know I would.
Apple unveils Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, cuts price in half
If you have Mac servers in your business, you weren't left out of the Snow Leopard fun during the keynote earlier today. Apple also announced that Mac OS X Server 10.6, A.K.A. Snow Leopard Server, will be shipping in September. Like Snow Leopard, the server version of the OS provides 64-bit support, and many of the Apple applications have been updated to take advantage of that. For example, SMB file server performance is 2.3x faster than Leopard Server, and AFP file server performance is now 1.3x faster. New features include: iCal Server 2 -- This upgrade to Leopard's iCal Server now provides push notification, wireless accessibility to your calendar from any iPhone, a new web-based calendaring interface, and updates to CalDAV that now allow you to invite colleagues to meetings via email. Podcast Producer 2 -- Podcast Producer, which was added to the server mix in Leopard, is now improved with Podcast Composer. This new feature lets you create your own workflows for automating completion and publishing of podcasts. There's also a new Setup Assistant in Server Admin that can set up Podcast Producer 2 in a manner of minutes, even if you're setting up a cluster of servers. Wiki Server 2 -- Workgroups wishing to collaborate now have a little bit more to love from Wiki Server. The only real new feature is iPhone support; users can securely log into confidential wikis and content, and even review content and comments from the iPhone. Mobile Access Server -- The piece that I'm probably the most excited about as an Xserve admin is Mobile Access Server. This new feature is like a custom VPN for Mac and iPhone users. As long as they're set up in the server's directory service, users can get secure, encrypted access to the server and network with very little hassle. Mail Server -- The engine running Mail Server has been totally redesigned for much faster service, and now provides push email, vacation messages and server-side rules, and improvements to mail server clustering. Web Server -- The biggest change to Web Server is that it can now do HTTP live video streaming. Performance is about 1.3x faster than Leopard Server's web services as well. Client Management -- Organizations that are deploying many iPhones will love the new client management piece of Snow Leopard Server. It has an iPhone configuration utility for creating profiles that can be emailed to corporate users, thus setting up secure services in a few seconds. Administrators can now also use NetRestore to rebuild Macs over networks, based on either a custom build disk image or a standard OS X install disk. Best of all, Snow Leopard Server will cost $499 for unlimited users (a sharp reduction from Leopard Server's price of $999 unlimited, $499 for 10 users) and should be shipping at the same time OS X 10.6 is available to the rest of us. I'd just be happy if Apple has finally fixed a lot of the issues with backing up network users to Mac OS X Server using Time Machine.
Apple releases Safari 4
One of the early announcements in this morning's keynote was that Safari 4 is now out of beta! You can download Safari 4 for yourself (Mac or Windows) from Apple's site. Apple is touting Safari 4 as the fastest web browser around, besting IE 8, Firefox and Chrome in speed tests.As with the Safari 4 betas, Safari 4 passes Acid 3 tests with a 100/100 -- the first (and only cross-platform) browser to achieve this level of standards compliance.The big news for users of the Safari 4 betas is that the tab orientation has been changed. In the beta, tabs were on the top of the application window, now they are below the URL field, just like in previous versions of Safari. I'm a fan! I also like the snazzy updates to the "loading" notification and the RSS indicator.Safari 4 has way too many features for me to list, so I'll just point you to Apple's page that details everything. The HTML 5 media and offline support, CSS 3 web fonts and CSS animations are some of my favorites. Safari 4 is fast, thanks to the new JavaScript engine. It also integrates with both your Mac or with Windows, and the new Cover Flow History View for viewing your web history, or Top Sites for seeing what sites you visit most are totally, totally slick.Download Safari 4 here and then come back and tell us what you think! Remember, any third-party InputManagers like Saft will need to be updated if you want to use them with Safari 4.
Snow Leopard is out of the bag
For the ultra low price of $29 (for existing Leopard users), Apple gave a deeper look into the upcoming Snow Leopard release -- slated for some time in September."We've built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before."Here's more highlights of the Snow Leopard release...
Phil Schiller keynote live from WWDC 2009
It's happening, if you hadn't noticed. Read after the break for live updates of all the keynote mayhem! iPhone OS 3.0, Snow Leopard and MacBook refreshes, just for starters.
ScrollMotion's Iceberg in-app bookstore announced for iPhone, ready to take on the Kindle?
Over at WWDC (you may have heard about that event, right?), Apple's just announced ScrollMotion's Iceberg in-app bookstore for the iPhone. It's going to host more than 500 bestsellers, 50 major magazines and about 170 daily papers, with a total of over a million books at launch. Sounds like Apple's ready to take on the big boys at Amazon (who, at this writing, has about 250,000 books in its Kindle store)! More details as we get them.
Don't forget, Engadget is live at WWDC today!
Just a reminder to all you fine, fine folks out on the Interverse -- we're going to be live and direct from Apple's WWDC keynote in just a few hours. You should tune in, we hear there may be some kind of new phone announced.Plant yourselves at this page (feel free to bookmark). Here's what time you'll want to do said planting:07:00AM - Hawaii 10:00AM - Pacific 11:00AM - Mountain 12:00PM - Central 01:00PM - Eastern 06:00PM - London 07:00PM - Paris 02:00AM - Tokyo (June 9th)
iPhone 3GS: Apple's codename for tomorrow's unveiling?
It's pretty much the eve of Apple's big WWDC press conference, and Daring Fireball's John Gruber is back at the eleventh hour to chime in some more on his previous (and perhaps well-informed) iPhone predictions. He sticks to his previous wagers -- twice the CPU speed, twice the RAM, a heavy emphasis on a new video camera (no word on if there's an additional front-facing one), and $199 / $299 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively -- but additionally chimes in that the new device's codename is... drumroll, please... the iPhone 3GS, which he surmises is probably going to be the final product name, as well. Kind of a yawner, if you ask us, but it'd sell like gangbusters no matter what it was called. As for that lowered-tiered iPhone, he's expecting it to be the current 3G model with a price drop to $99. Also on the table is iPhone tethering, which we already know was built into OS 3.0, likely for a fee chosen by each carrier. Teasing farther into the future, he suggests "Marble," codename for an OS X visual overhaul, and the tablet are very much real projects but that there's little to no chance it'll be at WWDC. No clue what the "S" stands for (speed, perhaps?), but at this point we're pretty much counting the minutes to tomrorow's keynote, and our clocks can't tick much faster.
