wwdc2012
Latest
Apple announces WWDC video feeds for developers
Although the social component and Apple-staffed labs are two important reasons for developers to attend WWDC, early access to tech briefings has long been a motivating force for buying that expensive ticket. Today, it looks like Apple introduced a major change into their oversubscribed WWDC demand by offering video session feeds for all registered devs -- that appear to be during the conference. On the "more" page, Apple writes: "Can't make it to WWDC? We'll be posting videos of all our sessions during the conference, so Registered Apple Developers can take advantage of great WWDC content." This is really great news, if I'm reading that right as "during the conference" referring to when they post versus "videos of all our sessions during the conference" referring to what they post. If so, what this does is ensure that devs, no matter what time zone and budget they're working with, will have quick access to the same conference material as attendees. Sure, WWDC is going to sell out quickly again this year, but at the same time, many people who might have been camping out overnight with a credit card and a phone -- especially those overseas -- will have a great alternative track option. Between the videos and the pre-announced registration time, it looks like Apple has made important and welcome changes that respond to the realities of their post-iPhone / iPad world. Hat tip fpillet
Dissecting an Apple keynote
Are you enthusiastic about Apple's Keynote app for the Mac and wonder what new features Apple may roll into a future version of the App? If you answered yes, then you need to check out this post from Les Posen that was noticed by MacSparky. The presentation expert examined Apple's recent WWDC 2012 keynote and teased it apart by looking closely at the different slides in the presentation. Specifically, he looked for new features that could make their way into an upcoming version of the Keynote software. While he didn't find anything radically new, he did find several examples of complex techniques like highlighting a portion of the slide that he hypothesized could be made easier by new Keynote tools. Even if you're not interested in the Keynote side of things, Posen's piece is an excellent look at the details that go into even the slides in an Apple presentation. You can read the full slide-by-slide analysis on Posen's Presentation Magic website. [Via MacSparky]
Apple's App Store hits 32 more countries, focuses on Africa and Asia
Given everything else that went on during Apple's WWDC keynote, Tim Cook barely had time to mention the continued global roll-out of the App Store. According to MacRumors, the store's world tour has added an additional 32 countries today, with the majority in either Africa or Asia, although parts of South America and Eastern Europe are also along for the ride. iOS users looking to Cut The Rope in Chad, or hurl Angry Birds in Albania can hit up their respective App Store now.
TUAW TV Live: The impact of WWDC 2012
Welcome back to TUAW TV Live, our weekly live streaming video chat about just anything dealing with the world of Apple. Today on the show, my guest will be TUAW and Joystiq editor Mike Schramm, fresh from the streets of San Francisco where he reported on this year's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference. Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. You can also choose to watch the show on Justin.tv if you wish, by visiting our portal at http://justin.tv/tuawtvlive. In either case, you'll be watching the show in glorious HD! If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat. We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
Daily Update for June 20, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: Talking WWDC with Mike Schramm
The 2012 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) may be over, but the event is still stirring up a lot of discussion on blogs and podcasts. Fellow TUAWer Mike Schramm was part of the TUAW contingent at the annual nerdfest in San Francisco, and today he'll be my guest on TUAW TV Live to discuss the impact of the announcements made at the event. Mike also interviewed scores of developers at WWDC, and we'll find out what's new and cool in the Apple development world. As usual, I'll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we'll take a few minutes to chat before the demos start. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you're unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video podcast and watch the show at your leisure in iTunes or any other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel. The chat is on IRC: join us on server chat1.ustream.tv, chat room #tuaw-tv.
Sword and Sworcery's Nathan Vella on returning to iOS: 'Absolutely'
Nathan Vella is the co-founder of Capybara Games, the company that worked with musician Jim Guthrie and the artist Superbrothers to put together the extremely popular and critically acclaimed Sword and Sworcery EP, originally released on iOS. Capy, as it's sometimes called, is a Toronto-based game developer that started out making puzzle games, including Critter Crunch and the Ubisoft-published Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. But Vella told me during a quick conversation at WWDC last week that Capy "had no plans whatsoever of being a puzzle game studio." Capy's developers followed their own interests into puzzle games early on. It was that interest that led to collaboration with Guthrie and Superbrothers and, ultimately, success on the App Store. Vella said that he and the S&S EP team didn't anticipate the success they'd eventually have on iOS, but as the development time went on, the team got more and more feedback from players and critics that showed them they had something good happening. The IGF Mobile Award for the game was a big bonus, says Vella. "That helped instill some confidence." In the end, however, the real reason Vella says Sword and Sworcery did so well was because the team decided to "make stupid decisions" during development, like add in crazy systems or try really wild approaches to storytelling. "Those were the decisions that made it a success," says Vella. In fact, his advice to any iOS developer out there would be to "make those dumb calls," he says. "If you're making safe, easy decisions on iOS, I give you a 50/50 chance of success," he told me. But for developers who break the rules and try something new on the App Store, "your chances will go up for success, and you'll at least have more interesting failures." These days, Capy is hard at work on Super Time Force, a console title that, because of the way it works, probably won't transition to iOS. But when asked if his company will return to iOS in the future, Vella says that "absolutely" will happen. The studio really just chases its passions. "If everybody really believes in [a game], we'll try to make it," says Vella. Capy routinely hosts internal game jams, and Super Time Force actually came from an event like that. "We will not be ignoring iOS" in the future, says Vella. Between Capy's earlier work on the platform, and its enormous success with Sword and Sworcery, we can't wait to see what they're going to do next on Apple's devices.
Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Wrap up edition!
Sunday again! This one happens to be Father's Day, so we'll have a bit of discussion about ties of course, and what sorts of things everyone did for Father's Day, and...well, that's about it really. I can't think of anything else in the last week we should talk about... Yes, I'm kidding. We have a couple of WWDC attendees scheduled to appear, and we'll talk about all the things Apple gave us to talk about this week. And, as always, aftershow. Since it's really all about you, the community, join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
Join TUAW Friday night for shawarma at WWDC
You've spent all week being a superhero, why not treat yourself to a meal fit for a demigod? Friday at 5 p.m., Mike Schramm, Brett Terpstra and myself will be at Oasis Grill to try out their chicken shawarma. If we didn't get a chance to say hello already, come by (after saving the world) and have a bite. There's vegetarian stuff on the menu as well, and all are invited. NOTE: We'll actually be at the conveniently-located Oasis Grill right in front of Moscone (200 4th St.). See you there!
NimbleBit talks about the release of Pocket Planes, and what's next
Brothers Ian and David Marsh's NimbleBit is finally releasing its latest freemium title today (following on the company's success with Pocket Frogs and then the hugely popular Tiny Tower) called Pocket Planes. The app borrows Tiny Tower's little pixelated denizens and moves them over into a growing worldwide airline, tasking the player with building airports and planes, guiding planes around from one real life city to the next, and ferrying cargo and passengers all of the world to earn in-game coins and "bux." Just like Tiny Tower, the title is free to download and depends on in-app purchases of bux for monetization, and just like Tiny Tower, it's completely addictive and super charming. And just like Tiny Tower, it's probably going to be a huge hit. Ian Marsh met up with TUAW here at WWDC in San Francisco today, and while he says he is a little nervous to be flying home to San Diego tomorrow as the game launches worldwide, you can tell he's not panicking too much. He's been through this process a few times already with his previous titles (though given how big Tiny Tower got, this game certainly has the highest expectations NimbleBit's ever faced), not to mention that he and his wife had a baby girl last December. In fact, NimbleBit's biggest issue with Pocket Planes, says Marsh, was that it took so long to make. Most traditional games can take years to put together, but NimbleBit is used to a much shorter production schedule, so Marsh says that Pocket Planes' development, at nearly a year, was a little too "stretched out" for the brothers. They've had to spend a lot of the last year dealing with Tiny Tower's success rather than making the game. And they have hired on a few more part-time people, but Marsh tells me that even with the success of Tiny Tower (and the presumably pending success of Pocket Planes), he still doesn't want to make NimbleBit bigger. "We like making cool games," he told me. "If we have a team of other people making cool games, I'll be jealous that I'm not making them." What would NimbleBit do if Pocket Planes fails, if the brothers start to face issues with their current Tiny company structure? Marsh grins at the thought of Pocket Planes failing. "Make the next game," he says. NimbleBit has done so well with its current titles, and has kept things so compact, that even if Pocket Planes falls out of the sky, they'll just make another game they like. Right now they're in the concept states of their next title, which will be a word game. Marsh says they're returning to an old NimbleBit title called Textropolis, from before the company's freemium days. That game requires you to make words from the names of places, and Marsh says the new game will play in a similar way ("We really enjoyed Textropolis," he says), but it will be very much influenced by Tiny Tower's aesthetic, presumably in the same way that Pocket Planes is. That's further down the line (the brothers' main task this week will probably just consist of getting feedback on Pocket Planes), but Marsh says that NimbleBit does want to make development a little quicker and simpler. "We like making relatively simple games," he says. In the future, he hopes to bring NimbleBit back to the point where it's releasing a few games a year, much like the company did when it first started on iOS. Other than that, Marsh is happy to just keep on making games that he and his brother love. "We always can," he says. "That's the great thing about not answering to anyone else." Pocket Planes should land on the App Store this evening -- we'll have more on the game itself later on this week after release.
iFixit tears the MacBook Pro with Retina Display to pieces, gets a few shocks on the way
Barely two full days have elapsed since Tim and the gang announced the gawkily-named MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and already the screwdriver-wielding mavens at iFixit have torn one apart. What did they find? The Samsung-made SSD and Hynix RAM are non-upgradeable, forcing you to decide how much of both you'll need now and in the future. Meanwhile, the battery is glued to the housing and that gorgeous display is fused into the assembly, so it'll be expensive to replace should the worst happen. Speaking of its power reserves, this laptop is packing 95 Wh of juice -- capable of seven hours of life and shocking the engineer silly when he tried to disassemble it. If you'd like to see the intermediate stages of this gadget-autopsy, head on via our source link.
iOS 6: On partners and partings, sources and sinks, and the dreaded word "open" [Updated]
At yesterday's keynote to the 2012 WWDC conference, Apple made a number of simultaneous moves in its global chess game with partners and rivals. Let's try and unpack what we can of Apple's overall strategy by analyzing the tactical choices it has made. The biggest loser from yesterday's announcement, clearly, was Google: the new Maps app will bite into Google's traffic and revenues. Mobile is a huge growth area for search, and "where am I and what is near me" is clearly a crucial part of that. Make no mistakes, though: this isn't a black-and-white win for users. Cartography is a complex area and the devil is in the details: the quality of realtime traffic monitoring (which Apple apparently intends to crowdsource), the up-to-dateness of road layouts, the speed of the pathfinding algorithm. Apple has much to prove here, even with the cooperation of license provider TomTom. The current beta of Maps in iOS 6 loses Street View as well as public transport and on-foot routing support, all of which Apple has presumably been unable to source alternative partners for (yet). Apple claims that public transport will be added later, according to Macworld editor Dan Frakes, although we don't know if "later" means before or after iOS 6 launches in the fall. Update: according to several commenters below, walking directions are indeed present in the beta iOS 6 Maps app. As I am not in the developer program (and hence not under NDA), I couldn't check that for myself. Street View could be more problematic for Apple, though, as Google clearly owns all the data outright. This is, of course, why Google spent so much money outfitting cars and even backpacks with expensive cameras. It remains to be seen how much users will care about this. I fully expect a Google Maps app to appear in the iOS App Store, too, so the users who do care will have something to fall back on; albeit something that isn't at such an advantageous position within the OS (more on that in a second). Moving away from Google as the sole provider of geocoding on iOS also means that developers won't be bound by the separate Google Maps API agreement when their apps use location services and display maps. Oh, and neither the 3D "Flyover" view or turn-by-turn directions will be available to iPhone 4 users (it's in the small print at the bottom), although users of the iPhone 4 and 3GS will maintain their free and paid options for TBT wayfinding. This is another part of the reason I expect Apple to approve any Google Maps app from Google directly -- to mollify any users who miss the old features. You'd be forgiven for thinking that makers of third-party satnav apps like Garmin were obvious losers too, particularly based on the chat I saw on Twitter during the event, but that remains to be seen (and Garmin gave TUAW a predictably bullish statement). As long as I'm driving places without 3G coverage -- quite common in rural Wales, which I drive through quite often -- or travel to countries where I cannot afford swingeing roaming data charges -- which is all of them! -- there'll be room on my iPhone for a satellite navigation system that stores maps offline and doesn't rely on a data connection. I suspect I am not alone in this (although Dave Chartier of AgileBits thinks I'm in a minority), which suggests satnav app makers like Garmin, Navigon and TomTom will still have a market, albeit perhaps a shrunken one. I've seen a few comments along the lines of "of course Apple cut Google out; Apple doesn't like to depend on others" but that line of reasoning ignores that there were also winners in the keynote. Siri has been upgraded, offering deeper integration with Yelp, as well as new links to display results from Rotten Tomatoes, OpenTable, and a whole heap of sports data from a currently undisclosed partner or partners. The new Maps app pulls in data from TomTom as well as, no doubt, other suppliers; world-wide coverage for maps, satellite views and traffic data would be logistically tough for even a company as rich as Apple to assemble alone. So what we see, then, is an Apple that is picking and choosing which companies it works with. It elevates some to premium positions within the OS, whilst demoting others to the comparative hinterlands of an unprivileged App Store app. Why does this matter? What is Google so scared of here that it invested heavily in an entire mobile OS and then (more or less) gave it away to counter? It's all about Siri, which is the pivot all this turns around, but not for the reasons you might think. It's nothing at all to do with the voice support. The importance of data sinks to iOS As a computer scientist, I was trained to think about data flow through systems in terms of sources and sinks. The source is where the actual search query comes from; in the case of a web search entered into the mobile or desktop version of Safari, for example, it's the search box the user types in. The sink is where the search query is consumed and processed; Google, say, or Bing. Then the search results reverse the flow: the search engine becomes the source, and the web browser's content pane becomes the sink. We're not concerned with this secondary step here, however. Traditionally, ever since web search boxes appeared in browsers, users have been able to select their own sinks. Safari bucks this trend a little by only offering a restricted selection of Google, Bing or Yahoo! on both mobile and desktop (although there are extensions for desktop Safari that address this). Chrome and Firefox, however, allow users to add any search engine they like. This is good for smaller search players like DuckDuckGo, as it elevates them onto a level playing field with the likes of Google. It also means users can write custom searches for, say, Amazon Kindle book titles in one step. There's a lot of flexibility here for users and site owners. I'd argue that this democracy, this absence of hierarchy, was an essential part of the early success story of the web, too -- that any blogger with a domain name was, in a sense, on a par with the largest media organisations in the world. iOS doesn't offer this flexibility. Mobile Safari has only the three options on offer, the user can't install any extensions to change that behaviour, and custom web browsers from the App Store are second-class citizens on iOS because all web links in other apps will always fall back to Safari. This makes a search engine's presence in that little list in the Settings app really important to its viability on iOS -- which, if we really are moving to a "post-PC world", is really important to its viability overall. Sources and sinks: beyond web search The obvious other source to consider in iOS today is Siri. The importance of Siri is that is aggregates multiple search engines together, but the user cannot choose which ones; Siri itself selects based on the type of query. So restaurant searches automatically go to Yelp, navigation requests to Maps, general factual lookup to Wolfram Alpha, and so on. TripAdvisor, Navigon, and DuckDuckGo are out in the cold because the list of possible sinks is baked into iOS. This makes Apple a kingmaker in terms of iOS user's web traffic; it can (and just did) cut off longstanding "obvious" choices like Google from vast chunks of traffic whenever it wants. Siri puts lower-rung options like Yelp on an equal or higher footing than Google's search. This is what Google is scared of. This is why Android exists -- it's an attempt to keep Apple honest. This is also why Google gives Android away -- it doesn't need to make money on Android itself, it only needs it to have a significant enough installed base to use as a lever against Apple. It's a moat, not a castle. We can only guess at the terms these partner firms agreed to to get a privileged place on the largest (by traffic) mobile platform. It seems safe to assume Apple secured a good deal for itself, though, and likely applied the same hardball bargaining to its software partners as it does in negotiations with hardware component suppliers. It reminds me of the famous adage that a deal with Walmart can be the best and worst thing a small farmer can do -- the farmer get exposure to a massive market, but at terms strictly dictated by a powerful entity that doesn't have the farm's best interests at heart. This is the commercial argument as to why we might never see the mooted Siri API. There are technical arguments, too; the level of integration Siri demands makes it hard for third parties to integrate to without risking the slickness of the end product. But technical difficulties are always resolved over time. My weak hunch is the commercial argument is strong within Apple, and it's unlikely that Apple will relinquish absolute control over Siri anytime soon; I certainly don't think we'll see it before iOS 7 at the earliest, now, and (I contest) we might never see it. Like the iron grip Apple has over the App Store, this control brings power of significant strategic value, and I imagine it's loath to give that up. That all sounds rather negative. I should note that this is, generally, what's best for iOS users. Arguably the single biggest factor in Apple's rise to strength over the last decade or so has been its impeccable taste -- its sense of what people want to see. Siri's deep integration into various search providers is key to it working as well as it does. Still, I find it hard not to be concerned about the distorting affects Apple's concentrated power might have on the online services market in all sorts of segments. So far, Apple has handed out competitive advantages to chosen partners in social (more on that in the next section), search, mapping, restaurants, and cinema bookings. Who knows which ones come next? Sources and sinks: the post-PC play Factory-standard iOS is strongly sandboxed, meaning that applications have very few opportunities to bridge data or settings between themselves. One app can't open a file saved from another; the only way to move data around is copy/paste (text and images) or the Camera Roll (images only). This makes the built-into-the-OS services even more important than they would be otherwise, because they are easily the smoothest path a user can choose to move data from source to sink. As with Siri, though, Apple has absolutely control over these. Tumblr, for instance, cannot offer the user a "post this link" option via the action button in Mobile Safari. Only services blessed by Apple get into the default sharing options, which is why Twitter and soon Facebook get a competitive advantage over other social networks. Users who prefer more obscure sites -- don't forget about the fans of Google+! -- are left out in the cold. Users can work around this, of course, but it inevitably feels clunky. To share a link on Twitter on my iPhone 4: tap Share, tap Tweet (slight pause, there, probably because of my older iPhone), and enter some optional commentary. To share on Tumblr (assuming I'm not posting by email): tap and hold Address Bar, pause for the menu to appear, tap "select all," pause for menu, tap "copy" and hit Home. Locate Tumblr app, load it up, select Post, select Link, tap and hold on URL field, pause for menu, select "paste" -- and now I can write some commentary if I want. Like I said, clunky, comparatively speaking. This isn't just for social network sharing, either. It's inherently easier to add a web page to Safari's built-in Reading List than it is to put it in competing apps like Instapaper or Pocket. Apps can work around the limitations, to some extent. For example, Tumblr offers a Javascript bookmarklet that accomplishes the same task, as does Instapaper -- although Tumblr's one uses popup windows so it doesn't work very well on iOS. One can also post to Tumblr by email, but that's neither as obvious nor as accessible; the process for adding tags to posts isn't very discoverable, for example. Apps can also pass data around via URL schemes but only if the data sending app is explicitly programmed to connect to a specific receiver app. Apple could, of course, release an API for this, and allow users to permit apps to add themselves to the Sharing menu. It could also add a "default app" bit in Settings to allow, say, all web links to be opened in iCab, or all mail links in Sparrow. Calls for these things to be added into iOS date all the way back to the birth of the App Store but we're yet to see it. It's perhaps something Apple simply hasn't gotten around to yet, or -- and this is just baseless speculation on my part -- maybe something it's not planning on doing. As with Siri, this is an aspect of iOS that puts Apple into an enviable kingmaker position, and maybe Apple wants to hang on to that control. (It's very possible Apple will make an announcement in the future that makes me look stupid for saying that, but hey: nothing ventured, nothing gained.) I'd argue this is somewhat more toxic to at least some users than the Siri thing, though. This lack of flexibility, of control, of (dare I say it...) openness feels significant to me when I ponder the idea of using an iPad for the majority of my computing tasks. I suppose, in a way, my iPad never really feels like mine. It's rather more like a games console for apps than a computer, which is (of course) a well-worn simile. This makes me feel uneasy. I must accept, however, that I am a curmudgeon in these regards -- I've been using computers for almost three decades and I came to OS X after a long spell of using Linux as my primary desktop OS. I like lots of control over my environment. I frequently feel like iOS's limitations get in my way. I miss Alfred and the Services menu and having lots of windows open at once. However, I don't think my feelings on this matter represent those of the majority, and therefore I don't think they spell any sort of doom for the idea that the iPad is the post-PC future of computing. (I do see problems that I believe stand in the way of the mainstream user moving to iPad, particularly for work rather than play; but that's a subject for another day and another overlong post.) Wrap up As our own Dave Caolo said, "Begun, these map wars have." Apple's announcements, in aggregate, speak to me of a company positioning itself strongly against Google -- and unafraid to align itself with numerous smaller partners to do so. I would prefer to see Apple to move to an iOS model that allows more user configuration of the wiring from source to sink, but that doesn't seem to be on the cards. It's possible that it may surprise us with some extra features when iOS 6 is formally released but that seems unlikely to me because such features would only work with developer support, so WWDC would have been the perfect time to announce them. As we're entering iOS's sixth major iteration without these customization options, I think there's some reason to believe that such openness is simply not part of Apple's plan for the platform. That weakens it a little bit, in my eyes; but many will disagree. Photo by Lori C. | flickr cc
TomTom, Apple sign global agreement for map data in iOS 6
During its WWDC keynote, Apple unveiled a new mapping solution for iOS 6 that'll replace the Google-backed Maps app. This new Maps app includes stunning 3D flyover maps and, for the iPhone 4S and iPads from the iPad 2 onward, turn-by-turn navigation -- a key feature of Google's mapping solution on Android that was not available in iOS's Maps app. Shortly after the new Maps app was described, digital maps provider TomTom confirmed that it signed a global agreement with Apple to provide maps and other related information, according to a Computerworld report. TomTom is a prominent name in the mapping and navigation business. The company has been producing digital map solutions for stand-alone GPS units and for other companies like Samsung, RIM and Google. TomTom's own line of iOS turn-by-turn apps sells for US$50 and up, but like GPS apps from Navigon and Garmin the apps include a full map cache that does not require a data connection. (Garmin also sells a maps-on-demand nav tool, and AOL's free Mapquest offers turn-by-turn navigation with map downloads on the fly.) On its website, TomTom says its has "up-to-date digital maps that cover over 200 countries and territories around the world." In its statement about Apple, the company said will provide some, but not all the mapping data needed for Apple's new iOS 6 Maps app.
Come see Jay Freeman (saurik) at IndieDevLab today
If you jailbreak you likely are familiar with Cydia, so come hear the man behind the alternative to the App Store, Saurik (aka Jay Freeman) today at IndieDevLab in San Francisco at 11:45am. Also a reminder: we'll be shooting videos about why you created an app (and yes, it can be a jailbreak app) starting tomorrow and going through Thursday. We've sent out the confirmations for Wednesday, but if you come by Thursday we might be able to slide you into the schedule -- although read this post first and understand the caveats. This week in San Francisco has thus far been a great one, even for those who didn't get tickets to WWDC. And don't forget Appsterdam, another alternative workspace for devs during the conference.
WWDC 2012 by the numbers
AllThingsD has a nice breakdown of the numbers presented at Monday's WWDC 2012 keynote. Besides the iTunes sales figures we covered yesterday, AllThingsD also parsed out the smaller figures that were weaved into the different sections of the keynote. This often-overlooked trivia includes tidbits like the fact that iOS users send around one billion iMessages per day and the revelation that Mac users now total 66 million -- a number that has tripled in the past five years. You can read the full list, which covers both OS X and iOS, on AllThingsD's website.
WWDC chatter focused on products, not Jobs or Cook
Did you notice something a bit different yesterday at the WWDC keynote? Nick Bilton of the New York Times did -- the focus of chatter during and after the keynote was all about the products, not about the present or past CEO. Of course, this wasn't Tim Cook's first shot at a major announcement. Cook took the stage for the rollout of the third-generation iPad a few months ago, but the big news at that point seemed to be the fact that Cook was wearing a black button-down shirt that wasn't tucked into his jeans. Everything yesterday was focused, as it should have been, on the products. Whether it was the announcement of the Retina display MacBook Pro, Siri's comedy routine and new features, the completely new Maps app, or the nuances of Mountain Lion, the presenters -- including Cook -- took a back seat to the products. In my opinion, that's the way it should be. While Steve Jobs was a charismatic presenter, Monday's keynote put the spotlight where it should be -- focused brightly on the shining results of Apple's hard work.
AnandTech takes a long hard look at the MacBook Pro Retina Display
Not quite fully sated with the latest Apple updates from this year's WWDC? Without doubt, one of the most anticipated goodies to come from the keynote yesterday was the introduction of the MacBook Pro into the Retina Display-fold. We'll, of course, be giving all the new hardware our own thorough shakedown, but in the meantime, AnandTech has given that new display a detailed dissection. In summary: excellent brightness and solid black-levels fend off the glare, apps look amazing, upscaling will cover you in the meantime. For the full nitty-gritty though, number by number, be sure to hit up the source.
2012 Apple Design Awards showcase standout apps on iOS, OS X
While we tend to get caught up in keynote hoopla, Apple's WWDC event is about connecting with the third party developers of software for its various platforms and it highlighted a few with its annual Design Awards yesterday. While 2011's winners included standouts like Infinity Blade, selections for 2012 included high profile pics like the Paper sketchbook app for iPad, the game Limbo on OS X, National Geographic's National Parks iOS app and several others. Hit the source link to see all the winners including student projects daWindci and Little Star, along with descriptions of why they were picked. Unsurprisingly, tight integration with the various APIs and services Apple is pushing (plus a polished and widely appreciated user experience, of course) is the way to its heart -- worth keeping in mind for those hoping to be in the winner's circle for 2013.
Apple releases Mountain Lion Preview 4 and iOS 6 for developers, iTunes 10.6.3 for everyone else
Looking to tame Apple's Mountain Lion? Step right up, Cupertino's latest build of OS X is ready for consumption -- assuming you're a registered developer, of course. Following WWDC's reveals and teases, Apple has released an updated preview of its desktop and mobile operating systems, serving up Mountain Lion Preview 4 and an iOS 6 beta to developers. The rest of us will have to console ourselves with iTunes 10.6.3, which adds support for the mobile and desktop OS' those fancy devs are getting their hands on. Don't worry, the updated music management software will be able to make full use of Mountain Lion next month, but you'll have to wait until this fall to sync with iOS 6. Hit the source link below to get your update.
Apple announces Apple Design Award winners at WWDC
Corrected to list Where's My Water as an iPhone winner and D1 Drum Machine as an iPad runner up. Apple has announced the winners of this year's Apple Design Awards at the WWDC conference, and 2012 is apparently the year of games on the Mac. Two games, Deus Ex and Limbo, have claimed both spots in the Mac ADAs this year, which is the first time in my memory that two games have done so. Games have won before but usually it's in specifically game-centered categories, and productivity apps are usually highlighted. This year it's two games that originally started out on Windows and Xbox, which is pretty crazy. Drawing app Sketch is also highlighted on the Mac. The iPhone winners are Where's My Water and the great game Jetpack Joyride, with the National Geographic's National Parks app as a runner up. D1 Drum Machine is a runner up on the iPad, where Bobo Explores Light and Paper took the win. And both of the student winners are on the iPad: Da Windci and Little Star. All of these are really great apps that highlight some fine examples of what Apple developers can do. Apple has picked this out of the bunch to represent their highest design values. Congrats to all of the winners on their great success!