YoureThePundit
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You're the Pundit: What will we get with the mini?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the (presumed) iPad mini. In order to compete in the 8-inch tablet market, most rumors have hinted that the iPad mini has been designed for compromise. Some sources say no cellular data. Others say no Retina. Still others say the price has to be compromised to accommodate the iPod touch. To ship a consumer-friendly device, what special sauce can Apple cook into the iPad mini product? Should we expect a FaceTime-capable camera? Or could Apple partner with telecoms for inexpensive restricted data for shopping? What are some ways that Apple can expand the mini beyond a repackaged iPad 1 in a smaller frame? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-78237%
You're the Pundit: Is the iPhone 5 a must buy for you?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is new devices and purchasing plans. On Wednesday, Tim Cook and friends introduced the new and delicious iPhone 5. With a speedy new processor and a camera system to die for -- to say nothing of that expanded screen and gloriously fast LTE wireless -- is this the gadget that makes you open your wallet? Or will you choose the new iPod touch instead? Same great screen, same great Siri, but no cellular contract (saving you money in the long run). Or how about those sweet new iPod nanos? Did they catch your heart? Which new Apple gadget (if any) did you decide to order? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your thoughts about this launch. %Poll-77701%
You're the Pundit: What would make the new iPhone a "must buy" for you?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the new iPhone. Last year, I was looking forward to delaying my iPhone 4S purchase (or the "iPhone 5" as we were guessing) until November, when I would have received a huge price break. Then Siri came along, not to mention that amazing camera, and I was hooked. I bought my 4S the first day it was available. I spent hours attempting to place my order, and then went and wrote an entire book about Siri with Steve Sande. Today, I was talking to the TUAW gang in our back channel, discussing what features would make us reach for the "buy immediately" button on our Macs rather than delay our purchase for a better price For me, it's haptics, similar to the ones used on the Wii. If Apple were to introduce a haptic-enabled system, I'd be there like *snap* that. No one at TUAW expects this to happen soon, primarily due to the battery-consuming nature of the beast but a lot of us would love it. Imagine if Apple could push touch feedback into the user experience! Haptics solves a real problem -- the lack of physical response on the otherwise featureless glass interface between the user and the device Other TUAW-ians are hoping for (but again not expecting) NFC, aka near field communications. This tech uses radio communications to communicate with objects within a few inches of each other. There's a lot of cool applications for this from shopping to contact-sharing to public art installations. Speaking of near-object-communication, that Samsung phone tap-to-transfer trick would be really cool to have, especially if it's realized as "AirDrop for iOS". Right now, you can beam your photos from one iOS iPhoto install to another. Why not push that to the next level? We figure it will never happen but light field photography is now out there in the market place. So why not bring it to the new iPhone? Just point-and-shoot and you can focus after the fact. That would be an amazing must-buy feature for many of us. Or, how about stereoscopic photography? Much easier than light field to implement, what if Apple simply added another camera to back of the the phone to enable 3D image capture? Tie that in to some funky software and you'd have a feature that wouldn't cost to much to ship, but add a great fun touch to the new iPhone. We already know that some level of glasses-free 3D is already possible on iOS. Which of these new features would kick you out of your contract-lethargy and into paying the early-upgrade penalty? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-77325%
You're the Pundit: Identify the Icons
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the iPhone prototype icons. We were having a look through the prototype gallery over on our sister site Engadget, and a shot of some early icons caught our eye. Some icons seem to have persisted almost unchanged to modern iOS (Safari, Weather, Stocks), others underwent major redesign (Phone and Mail). Looking back at these prototypes, do you think Apple was really going to give us a 4-by-4 puzzle game (shades of OS 9!) and what was up with some of those icons like the lightning bolt, the yellow bar, and the airplane? The blue icon on the bottom bar was the contacts app, right? If anything, it's surprising how close, at least in terms of general functionality, this icon set was to the final version: from SMS to Mail, Photos to iTunes. And that doesn't even mention the dock at the bottom. What do you think of these early icon designs, and what are your thoughts about how their design has evolved in the last 5 years? You tell us. Join in the comments with all your analysis. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Tim Cook promises "amazing new products." What are they?
In today's financial press release, Tim Cook states, "We are also really looking forward to the amazing new products we've got in the pipeline." We assume there's a new iPhone refresh on the horizon, likely around this Fall. But what else might we see soon? Could Cook be referring to the mythical miniPad? Or might there be other products ready to launch. You tell us. Join in the comments and give us your best guesses.
You're the Pundit: Buy now or wait?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is purchase timing. WWDC has come and gone, and no one doubts that this is an excellent time to stock up on refreshed MacBooks, but what about iPhones? It may be as long as 3-4 months before a new iPhone appears. Is this the worst time in the world to pick up an iPhone, or is it a great opportunity to jump onto the bandwagon with new prepaid plans like the one offered by Virgin Mobile? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis.%Poll-76178%
You're the Pundit: What hardware upgrades will WWDC give us?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is hardware. WWDC's icumin' in -- and rumors are high and thick on the ground. Hardware upgrade speculation is rampant. Are we about to see a full Mac line refresh? Or will Apple deliver a more modest set of changes? While most people seem to feel that now is the right time for new laptops, others are pointing to mini, iMac, and Pro models waiting for their day in the sun. And what about that rumored Apple HDTV? Or iPhone 5? Nonsense? Or is there a grain of truth hidden among that no-way-in-hellity? Will Tim Cook & co. provide a hardware-heavy WWDC keynote? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-75660%
You're the Pundit: Are we going to see form factor changes?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is form factors. Recently, rumors have been swirling about possible iOS device form updates. You may have read about 7" iPads (or, possibly, a 7" relaunched iPod touch) and iPhones with mighty 4" screens, both of which would certainly throw monkey wrenches into the world of app development. That's because each time Apple adds a new form factor into the mix, apps need to update to restyle their designs. They must meet both the physical form factor and the intrinsic aspect ratio. Each time this happens, universal apps grow bigger and space on your device grows smaller. So do you think you see Apple moving forward on either one? Are these, as often, simply groundless speculation and spitballing? Or do you think either rumor has legs? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. Full disclosure: Certain TUAW staffers have ongoing bets with certain MacObserver staffers about a possible miniPad, with lunch riding on the outcome. %Poll-75332%
You're the Pundit: When will Mountain Lion launch?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Mountain Lion. During the Q2 financials, Apple told us it would debut "late summer," but some sites insist we may see it earlier. Sure, everyone wants to get started using OS X 10.8 as soon as possible, but when do you really see it launching? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-75282%
You're Our Editor: iBooks Author or ePub for the iBooks store?
Normally we turn to the TUAW Brain Trust for your opinions about hot topics in the news and your predictions about the future of tech. Today, we're switching things up. Instead of asking about where things are going, we're asking you about strategy. Here's the situation: Like many authors, TUAW blogger Steve Sande and I have fallen in love with Apple's iBooks Author page layout tool. When writing our book about preparing your computer for the upcoming 10.8 OS X upgrade, we decided to create an iBA version for iBooks and a standard Kindle edition for Amazon. Although frustrating to use at times (it's still early days in iBooks-ville, such as where's the "Split into new chapter at this point" option?), we loved the look and feel of what iBooks Author produced. It's slick, it's hot, it's yummy. We uploaded our product last week using the nifty in-app "Publish to iBooks" feature. Then people started asking us: "What about us iPhone users? Don't we get to read the book too?" You see, here's the problem: iBooks Author doesn't do iPhone. It's an iPad-only product. And there is the heart of our dilemma. Should we invest the time, the extra ISBN, and the extremely high annoyance overhead to convert our Kindle version to an iBooks-compliant ePUB via our old creaky copies of Pages? (We mean it about the annoyance. It's a huge pain.) You tell us. We're going to go with your advice. We're giving you a poll and the comments are open for your opinion. Should ebook authors make an end-run around iBooks Author to create iPhone-compatible ePUBs that reach a wider audience or are we wasting time and effort on a format that can never really compare to the iPad experience? %Poll-75089%
You're the Pundit: 50 Shades of AppleScript
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is AppleScript. "AppleScript is a bit like Office Space's Milton Wadams. It's put upon and underappreciated, but then again probably going to be moved to the basement soon." -- Victor Agreda Ah AppleScript. What a curious artifact it is, lingering on as it does into the Mountain Lion age, long after its inception as a natural-language inspired developer automation language. First debuting in System 7, AppleScript allows apps to control one another to script repetitive tasks. Apps declare scriptable actions that they support (for example, you can tell iTunes to create playlists, to rename tracks, and so forth) and AppleScript lets you build short programs to perform these actions as if a user were interacting directly. In today's Sandboxed world, where apps need to schedule playdates, carry ID cards, pass Gatekeepers, and request privileges, AppleScript is something of a living fossil. It harkens back to the Wild West days of "anyone can do anything, so long as it's between consenting apps." It seems to me that AppleScript is due to meet a natural end. It's not as if the language were a joy to use. At best, it was painful. "Nothing exemplifies self-hatred better than AppleScript!" "Beat me, whip me, make me write AppleScript" and so on. There are dozens of ways to do any task in AppleScript and nearly all of them are just a quick typo away from being wrong. It offers a very frustrating development environment. "AppleScript is one of the most interesting word puzzles ever. Nothing like trying to guess the right verbs and nouns each time" -- Richard Goodwin At the same time, it is deeply convenient -- a way to add extra functionality to your Mac and perform complex tasks with a simple entry point. I still have dozens of scripts on my Lion Mac that I use on a near daily basis -- from resizing images for TUAW posts to signing apps for iOS testing. As useful as AppleScript is, I cannot see it moving forward much further. Already, the Mac App Store has ruled out most AppleScript based submissions that control one app from another (Incidentally, this killed my QTSkipper utility, which allows you to perform 30-second TiVo-like jumps in QuickTime). So does AppleScript-based automation continue to have a future on the Mac? Lex Friedman of Macworld wrote up a pretty good summary of the situation a couple of months ago. He discusses the various ways scripts operate and how Mountain Lion will treat each scenario. But this doesn't address the bigger question: in a post-PC world, does AppleScript-style automation really deserve a place on our computers? That's much harder to answer, especially as Apple moves away from scripting, the command line, and other relics of hard core nerdism to a consumer-centric focus that places its emphasis on seamess computing. I'm not sure tomorrow's Macs will have room for that kind or level of customization, and if so, then we're looking at one of the longest lived, powerful, and most convenient aspects of the Apple world reaching a natural end. For all that AppleScript drives me crazy, I would greatly miss it if it were to have to go away. Is AppleScript at its end? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74952%
You're the Pundit: Are iOS and OS X headed on a collision course?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Apple operating systems. In Steve Jobs' road map when Lion was first presented, he discussed what would later be known as the "Post PC" world. He talked about including lessons from iOS in the new operating system, and highlighted how consumer-centered products were the future. Now, with Mountain Lion, that convergence grows stronger. With OS X 10.8, many iOS core features like Game Center, Notifications, and Reminders, have made the jump over to OS X, joining the Mac App Store and natural touch scrolling as mobile-inspired developments. Are the two operating systems set to merge even more? Most minds think yes. But how close will they go? Is a single OS on the horizon? Or will the fear of toasterfridges keep them distinct? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74871%
You're the Pundit: What are you looking forward to at the WWDC keynote?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is WWDC. When Tim Cook takes the stage and introduces new products and roadmaps, what announcements are you looking forward to most? Are you a hardware person? Or is the software what you're waiting to hear about? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74861%
You're the Pundit: Are the MacBooks about to merge?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the MacBook. Rumors have abounded recently suggesting that Apple will merge its MacBook Pro and Air lines into a single laptop continuum. Although many people protest to the contrary, we at TUAW are convinced that optical is dead. So what now? What are you expecting to see in the MacBook arena as Apple announces its refreshed hardware over the next few months? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74565%
You're the Pundit: Redesign Apple's High End Mac
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the Mac Pro. Recently we wondered whether Apple would gracefully retire its high end workhorse or if the old gal was good for at least one more refresh. In response, many of our readers wondered whether Apple could change the Pro instead of just burying it in history. So today, we are asking you this: if Apple does take the Mac Pro away, what is your dream high-end Mac product? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your suggestions. %Poll-74558%
You're the Pundit: What's your MacBook timing strategy?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is buying Apple portables just as the speculation is warming up for model refreshes, new processors and all that goodness. April, as some say, is the cruelest month. Here at TUAW, we regularly get calls and emails from friends and colleagues asking us "is this the right time to buy a MacBook?" When it comes to portables and to April, this is when we usually say, "If you can wait it out, try to wait it out." That answer works fine if people can wait until Apple and Intel get their ducks in a row, but less well when they can't. Sometimes computers die, and they don't care a whit for your purchasing preferences. So what advice would you give someone needing to purchase a new laptop during April or May? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74512%
Re-envisioning iTunes: How Mountain Lion portends the future
Victor has been promising to write a post about iTunes and how it fails to live up to OS X's potential for over a year. Fortunately, the guys over at Macworld sprang to the rescue, discussing how Apple might want to save their syncing ship. Since I can't rebut Victor's non-existent post, as I had originally planned to, I'm going to take Jason as my muse and start rambling about iTunes, its future direction, and how I'd redesign it all. Here are facts that almost everyone at TUAW can agree on: iTunes is an unwieldy behemoth, slowly suffocating from its own size and age. Music on iPad is less bad than it used to be, but it's still far from ideal. Breaking out the Mac App Store from iTunes hasn't been a huge success in terms of serving discoverability of new and hot apps. Unfortunately, too many users have no idea that MAS even exists. Further decomposition gets more and more cluttered and confusing, whether in iOS (Apple Store, iTunes Music, App Store, Music Player, Built-in Music Controls, etc.) or OS X (Safari Apple Store, iTunes, Mac App Store). Instead of iOS moving more and more towards general computing, Mountain Lion shows that Apple is moving OS X more and more towards consumer-friendly appliance computing. iTunes is really awful And that's the starting point for the big question: How should Apple redesign it all from the ground up to make it less awful without losing all the good stuff that iTunes can and does deliver. So here's my first take on the situation. Mind you, I tend to see the world through big general-computing glasses, so I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of "moving to Mountain Lion simplicity" key points here. What follows is a baseline. I'm then going to throw the keys over to you, our readers, so you can drive the discussion further. Tell me what points you think are reasonable and which of them are so deluded as to be incomprehensible. Tell us how you would revamp iTunes? Kill the entire app? Redesign it? Or strategically break out functionality? Here's my go at it. Playback needs to be part of the OS, not part of iTunes. Just as iOS lets you double-click the home button and access its playback controls, OS X needs to incorporate immediate gratification and playback directly from its home field: the OS X desktop. Forget about launching iTunes: music browsing and playlist selection (not to mention creation) needs to migrate into Spotlight (or some similar always-on feature). Tunes should be part of the computing experience, not a separate app. Folders. Want to organize your music, audio books, videos, and apps? There are folders for that. Real folders, in a real file system. Want OS X to manage those folders for you? It already does. The iTunes library folder is the right idea, but it's missing a simple "move to my media library" Finder option. The store should be completely integrated -- hardware, software, music, etc -- and ubiquitous. Just as Mountain Lion offers a built-in notification center, available at the swipe of a mouse, there's no reason the OS shouldn't provide a similar shopping option. Basically, the iTunes store is nothing more than e-commerce web pages. Instead of pretending people don't have to shop, I propose that Apple goes full-Monty. Add the store to its own swipe-down icon, complete with full OS integration. Make it simpler for people to see specials, find media, buy it, and enjoy it. Forget about separate apps, just build the thing into the menu bar and get on with the selling already. Device management should be transparent. Want to backup, upgrade, or even look at the device Document folders on an app-by-app basis? Do it from the Finder. There's no reason any of this stuff should be taking place in iTunes. Right-click > Check for Firmware Update, or Upgrade all Apps. Bingo. Need to set up email accounts or sync bookmarks? Preferences panes. Move library management functions outside of the device-by-device screens. Sure, add an app for this. I want to be able to disable certain items from syncing to all devices without losing sight of them forever. Make it simple to create global choices ("don't sync this", and "always sync this") and add some advanced user features hidden from the norms ("sync this to all iPads and iPod touches" and "only sync this to Bologna"). Think beyond "playlists" to "synclists". And for heaven's sake, make the sync options work consistently, especially in the age of iCloud. Add an iCloud manager. A standalone iCloud manager should allow you to review all the stuff you've sent into the aether, and help you manage your storage as well as access data from devices. It should, on demand and with sufficient warnings and administrator privileges, let you review your files on your entire device whether connected or not, with the option to move data to the cloud, and from the cloud to any device or computer you own. Okay, that's our take on this. Now it's your turn. How would you redesign iTunes and ancillary services? Join in the discussion and design away.
You're the Pundit: Do smartphone owners really want a bigger display?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is smartphones. When it comes to display size, is bigger really better? Recently, a number of manufacturers have produced touch-based smart phones roughly the size of baby dolphins. At 5.3" the Galaxy note makes the iPhone look like a wee little girly man in comparison. Is the iPhone a sad shrunken remnant of outdated smartphones? Or are the new jumbo-sized units on the market our new pumped-up smartphone overlords? Sure, size matters -- but in which direction? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74429%
You're the Pundit: Will a Siri update introduce frequent user reward points?
When it comes to discussing the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Siri. Launched last Autumn, Siri has yet to offer any really major enhancements beyond a few extra quips here and there. What is Apple holding back on? What kinds of features do you want to see in the next big Siri iteration? Do you think we'll be seeing better ties into sports scores? Or integration with top news feeds? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74291%
You're the Pundit: What's up with Thunderbolt?
When it comes to discussing the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Thunderbolt, Apple and Intel's next-generation device interconnection standard. Introduced with great fanfare, Thunderbolt devices are still thin on the ground. There are storage devices and ExpressCard cages, but the real promise of the speedy hybrid copper/optical interface has yet to show up on shelves. This despite the fact that Apple has integrated Thunderbolt support into its latest iMacs, MacBooks, and minis. So what's going on with Thunderbolt? Are we too early to the party, as Chris Foresman writes, or is Thunderbolt just a big name for what beloved TUAW blogger Rich Gaywood calls a "damp fart" of technology. You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74276%
