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Talking Points Memo sees Windows visitors decline, Mac and iOS users soar
The progressive left-leaning political news site Talking Points Memo issued an interesting set of (non-partisan) statistics that shows just how much the share of total devices running Microsoft Windows has declined in the last five years. As you can see from the chart above, in 2006 78% of visitors to TPM were using devices running some flavor of Windows (blue line). Total share of Windows devices started a rapid decline in the years that followed, thanks mostly in part to the increasing popularity of Macs (red line). By 2009, Windows devices had fallen 13% while Mac devices rose by 10%. But what's really interesting is what started to happen in 2009. With the rise of mobile devices like the iPhone 3G, mobile visits (green line) to the site skyrocketed from 3% in 2009 to 14% in 2011. More interesting is that mobile devices continued to take a huge chunk away from Windows devices. While Mac usage on the site only declined 2% between 2009-2011, Windows usage took a big dip, going from 65% to 57%. TPM does note that the sites visitors tend to slant towards the Mac-favoring side anyway, but still founder Josh Marshall rightly points out that that the decline of visitors running a Microsoft OS from 78% in 2006 to only 57% is huge. TPM further notes that the breakdown of mobile OS traffic is about 77% iOS and 23% all other mobile OSs. When you combine the 28% OS X traffic with the iOS traffic, devices that use an Apple OS account for a whopping 40% of the site's traffic. Not bad for a company that only had a 20% share of the traffic just five years ago. [via Daring Fireball]
Apple Store outage related to larger 'net issues?
As tweeted by TUAW earlier this morning, the online Apple Store was down for hours and finally came back up a few minutes ago. Although we'd love to be able to announce a new Mac Pro, the iPhone 5, and an iPad 3, it appears that nothing has changed in the store, and the outage might have been due to a larger problem with the Interwebs. Apple was not the only company getting hit with large issues today. VoIP carrier Ooma is reporting a nationwide outage although some California customers are reporting that things are beginning to get back to normal. John Gruber's Daring Fireball blog was down part of the morning, and readers and bloggers have been reporting that Twitter was visited by the Fail Whale, Facebook was temporarily faceless, and various ISPs are having issues. We haven't heard what exactly is causing these issues and if they're related, but it seems odd that so many services would be experiencing issues at the same time. Keep an eye on TUAW and we'll update this post when we find out if what or who is causing the problems.
Gruber ruminates on Apple's cloud
Recently, Amazon introduced a new cloud-based file storage and media playback system aptly named Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. The debut of this system, which is compatible with Android handsets, kicked off a debate on cloud storage and Apple's lack of a similar mechanisms for its iOS devices. In a lengthy post, John Gruber of Daring Fireball discusses this deficiency and points to four areas that Apple should move to the cloud. These cloud features include the transfer of media to an iOS device, the ability to backup and restore an iOS device to the cloud, a mechanism to deliver iOS updates wirelessly and a way to activate your device without connecting it to iTunes on your computer. Gruber points to the Apple TV 2 as a preview of this cable-free future as the device streams its content. There is no need to transfer and backup up content as its media is stored in the cloud. Unlike other iOS devices, the ATV 2 also updates itself independently of iTunes. If Apple can develop such a system for the Apple TV, it could do the same for other iOS devices. This system, though, is difficult to put into place with the large number of devices Apple has in the wild. Apple will also have to accommodate a wide range of user scenarios, including those who have never synced their device to those who synced but ran out of space on their device. In these two example cases, Apple must have a method to resolve these customers' issues before a sync can be performed. You only need to look at Microsoft's botched Windows Phone update to see how difficult this can be. Gruber asserts Apple is interested in the cloud, but the company is taking an incremental approach. Rather than sever the tie in one major update to iOS, Apple will slowly cut the cord one piece at a time starting with the Apple TV 2. Eventually, the Cupertino company may move to an over-the-air update system and iTunes-free activation system for iOS. Later, Apple may introduce streaming but still require users with large media libraries to sync via a Mac or a PC. Apple may never completely cut the cord as it is not feasible for someone with a 10 GB library to backup and restore their media over a cellular or even a Wi-Fi connection. Google, Gruber points out, has a cloud syncing system that performs better than Apple's MobileMe service, but it lacks the slick UI and ease of use associated with Apple's products. Apple is admittedly behind, but it still has a chance to catch up if all these rumors of free MobileMe and a cloud-based media storage and streaming service come to fruition.
Gruber just got the fakest phone ever: a white iPhone 4 toy
John Gruber, who writes the popular Daring Fireball blog just sent out a Tweet saying "Look what a little birdie sent me" and then linked to an image of a boy (I'm assuming his son), playing with a white iPhone 4. I've been reading Gruber's blog for some time and he isn't the kind of guy who seems to play practical jokes. So there's two options here: either someone just gave Gruber a white iPhone 4, or someone gave Gruber a picture of a boy playing with a white iPhone 4. The only question is, how did either of them get it? You can see the full picture here. Update: Gruber just Tweeted this: "Just to be clear: it's some kind of toy. The display is paper (under glossy plastic). Bizarre!" Lame, John.
iPod touch coming in a 'few weeks' with dual cameras and Retina Display, suggests John Gruber
The sun will rise, pigeons will annoy, and Daring Fireball's John Gruber will get inside scoops on Apple product releases. So it goes. This time he's touching on, erm, the iPod touch, making an offhand (though firmly declarative) comment on a post about the Dell Streak: "if you wait a few weeks to buy the Touch, you'll get one with a Retina Display and dual cameras." The man's not one to fool around with such matters, so we tend to believe him here. It also helps that nothing he's saying would be really surprising -- a new iPod in September? With features trickled down from the most recent iPhone? Then again, that camera has proved elusive before.
More concerns over suicides at Foxconn
There was more bad news out of China this week -- manufacturer Foxconn (who makes quite a few parts for Apple devices) has been dealing with a rash of employee suicides, as low pay and long hours on the workers seems to be taking their toll. Yesterday, another worker reportedly tried to take his own life [Ed. note: original 9to5Mac link broken], and there are reports of more than 15 other attempts within the plant. Apple has responded, saying that they're working closely with the company to try and solve the issue. In order to do that, the company claims it's going to raise wages by 20%, although it's not clear yet when or how that plan will be implemented. It also says that some employees will be relocated closer to their homes -- about a fifth of the workforce will be moved to plants closer to their families. Apple isn't alone in helping Foxconn deal with the problem, either -- Sony, Nokia, Nintendo, Dell, and HP all get parts from these factories and are pressuring the company to do better. Finally, John Gruber points out that as bad as this Foxconn story is, it might not be all that remarkable, unfortunately. Even with the reported 13 suicides, Foxconn has over 800,000 workers, which means the company's suicide rate is below the national average in China, and China is number 26 on the worldwide list. But numbers and averages aside, a death is a death, and everything Foxconn can do to help their employees lead better lives should be worth it.
Rumors and speculation: No Intel in the tablet, no Flash either
(TUAW Tablet concept, designed by reader Juan Secin) Scott Moritz over at The Street has new rumors about the tablet today (though be warned, Moritz isn't first in the hearts of Apple crystal-ball gazers): he says that the tablet does not include any Intel chips inside, and that Apple has instead elected to go with another provider for the little pieces of metal, silicon and plastic that will power what many expect to be the new revolution in portable computing. He cites Apple's "design manufacturing partners" as sources, although of course neither Intel nor Apple have anything to say about the subject. And elsewhere in the tablet rumorscape, John Gruber has a followup to his big tablet speculation post that's worth a read. He says that yes, of course, the App Store will deliver apps to the platform, that yes, there may be an SDK delay (although don't forget, we've already heard about a possible new SDK going around), that yes, the new tablet may offer up non-app iTunes content from indie providers, and finally that no, the tablet probably won't have Flash, for the same reasons that the iPhone doesn't. Which all sounds legit, though even Gruber admitted in his other post that his theories were based on reasoning more than any secrets he'd heard. We're getting a pretty good picture of the tablet as we go along here -- odds are it'll get even clearer before we see the thing on stage.
John versus Joe: iPhone earnings smackdown edition
Apple naysayers are a dime a dozen these days. I keep a few in my garage just so I can laugh at them when I wave my iPhone in their general direction and they all cry in unison, "The Zune phone is so totally going to be an iPhone killer. You know, if and when it comes out. Just wait and see." Rarely do Apple naysayers come with more unintentional hilarity than Joe Wilcox from Betanews, who, alone among reporters everywhere, uncovered a media conspiracy on a scale not seen in recent memory. Namely, contrary to what literally everyone else has reported, Apple was in fact NOT more profitable with the iPhone compared to all of Nokia's cellphone business during the recent financial quarter. John Gruber from Daring Fireball saw Joe's post, and with his response laid the smackdown on Joe's analysis. Gruber's post boils down to castigating Wilcox for ignoring Apple's statement of non-GAAP earnings. Basically, Apple's subscription-based accounting for the iPhone spreads its revenues out over several quarters, which it expresses in GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) earnings. These are the earnings Wilcox looked at and said, "Wait a minute! Apple didn't make that much money at all! Murder most foul!" If you want a real idea of what Apple actually made with the iPhone over the quarter, you have to look at the non-GAAP earnings. This is something I figured out back when I edited earnings press releases for PR Newswire, and something anyone who reports on financial matters really ought to double-check before protesting to one and all that something foul is afoot. Wilcox updated his post after Gruber's response, but his rationale is almost as funny as his initial post: I chose to use the GAAP figures because a) Again, that's what Apple is supposed to report; b) It made for a simpler analysis; c) Apple recognizes previously deferred revenue with the quarterly results; d) According to Apple SEC filings, deferred revenue is for more than just iPhone and Apple TV. The last two points are paramount. In other words, a) It's the SEC's fault, not mine; b) like Gruber said, I didn't bother reading past the first paragraph of the press release; c) I also didn't bother parsing through the reams of financial tables that come with every quarterly financial press release; d) Gruber is wrong and Apple TV is totally selling like hotcakes. I showed Wilcox's post to the Apple naysayers I keep chained up in my garage, and they just kind of turned away scratching their heads awkwardly. I don't think that's a good sign for the supposed "misreporting" of Apple's iPhone profits that Wilcox thinks he's uncovered.
New Macs, something else tomorrow?
Engadget is the latest to report a rumor that's been circulating for months: tomorrow may be the day that we finally see those new Macs we've been waiting on. John Gruber claims we're going to see new MacBooks and iMacs (which we'll rate as "expected"), updated Mac minis (wouldn't be a huge surprise, though we haven't heard that so much about that one, particularly not a mini bundled with Mac OS X Server -- a very nice idea, though), and something called a "Magic Mouse," as well as a multitouch trackpad accessory. I have to admit: those last two sound less likely than the iPod touch camera -- while the new MacBooks and iMacs definitely wouldn't be out of place before a holiday season, breaking out brand new accessories without an event to back them up isn't really Apple's style. But then again, ours is not to judge: the rumors say new mice and some sort of multitouch trackpad, so that's what we're passing on to you. Believe it or not, as you will. We'll of course be up and refreshing Apple's store constantly here at TUAW -- if anything new shows up there, you'll see it here ASAP.
'Marble' to be the next look-and-feel for Mac OS X?
Snow Leopard, the next major version of Mac OS X, will include minor tweaks to the user interface, according to MacRumors' Arnold Kim. "The new theme will likely involve tweaks to the existing design and perhaps a 'flattening' of Aqua in-line with Apple's iTunes and iPhoto interface elements," Kim writes. AppleInsider's Kate Marsal posted a screenshot of some controls purported to be part of the new interface, dubbed "Marble." It's unclear where the screenshot came from, as Kim writes that development builds have so far used Leopard's version of the Aqua theme. They could easily be Photoshopped screenshots of iPhoto or iTunes, so take that with a grain of salt. Daring Fireball's John Gruber wrote that Marble was the codename for the new interface scheme in his Macworld predictions roundup, but said later he was wrong when it was not announced during the keynote. He wagered that the look would feature "iTunes-style scrollbars everywhere, darker window chrome, and a light-text-on-dark-background menu bar." Snow Leopard is rumored to be released before the end of March.
Could Apple be eyeballing CES? Probably not
After news of Apple's decision to pull out of Macworld, many tech writers are wondering if Apple isn't considering participation in the Consumer Electronics Show, typically held around the same time as Macworld, in Las Vegas. Most seem to be asking vague questions about what would happen if Apple decided to attend. Even so, most of the pundit crowd seems to be leaning toward it probably won't happen, but it might. Maybe. Someday. Kind of. If it does happen, they'll claim they called it; If it doesn't they're still right. As Apple produces more consumer electronics devices (like the iPhone, iPod, and Apple TV), BusinessWeek's Arik Hesseldahl sees a place for Apple at CES. "Could a new re-imagined Stevenote at CES in Las Vegas starting in 2010, become the de-facto headline event at CES and thus push Microsoft's presence out of the limelight? It certainly could." "It probably won't happen, but it certainly could," he writes. The heat death of the universe probably won't happen tomorrow, too, but it certainly could.
Your iPhone probably isn't calling home, just might not want you up in its Core Location
It appears we can all breathe a big sigh of relief when it comes to our iPhone apps. According to John Gruber (Daring Fireball), that suspicious looking URL discovered in firmware 2.x which appeared to be set to deactivate applications may be something slightly more innocuous. According to Gruber -- via "an informed source at Apple" -- the "clbl" in the aforementioned URL stands for "Core Location Blacklist" and is actually used to stipulate that specific pieces of software don't have access to... you guessed it... Core Location. Gruber argues that this makes sense, as the API is covered by fairly strict rules in Apple's SDK. So it looks like (at a glance) this was much ado about nothing -- thanks to a little misinterpretation by Jonathan Zdziarski -- though we are considering getting hot under the collar that Apple reserves the right to deny Core Location access. How dare they?[Thanks, Paul]
Blanc interviews Gruber
Shawn Blanc has wrapped up his series of great software reviews, and now dives into the scariest of waters: those of the major minds in Mac journalism. And he goes first after the biggest shark in the ocean (or at least the one with the sharpest teeth), everyone's favorite Daring Fireball, John Gruber.The interview is first about interviews, and then goes on to cover Gruber's past (he worked with Bare Bones and Joyent before going on to write the blog full time). Gruber also gives out some great tips for writers, from things as practical as setting a goal the night before to guide your workday and always drinking coffee black, to ephemeral tips like how to become a better writer without actually writing anything (save about a dozen books' worth of message boards and blog posts).Gruber also talks specifically about Daring Fireball, his favorite stuff on the site, and where he wants to take it, and how far. Definitely a great read -- as always, Shawn makes sure to hit on all the important notes and leave no stone unturned, and Gruber reveals lots of insight on what it's like to put his posts and the Linked List together every day.
iphonelogd logs your calls in iCal
If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm one of those people who loves it when my computer grabs stats on what I'm up to (though I'm not so much on the whole reporting to other companies thing-- I'd prefer to keep my activities to myself). That's why I love the idea of iphonelogd, a little Ruby script that grabs your call history off of your iPhone, and loads it right into iCal as a calendar with a listing of events.Pretty sweet. And while it's great that the iPhone's call history already goes way, way back-- no more getting angry that my phone didn't save the number of the girl that called me last Tuesday-- it's even better to have every call logged in iCal with zero effort. You do have to actually run the script, but with a little launchd tweaking, that is easily accomplished as regularly as you restart your Mac. This is exactly what the iPhone promised-- a cell phone that works as well with your Mac as the iPod does.[ via df ]
Poll: iPhone SDK nomenclature
Gruber's got a good post up on the topic du jour for most Mac blogs-- the iPhone's newly announced SDK and how its release will affect already created (and to-be-created, for that matter) web apps. I'm not sure I agree with him that web development for devices like the iPhone will be bigger than native app development after February (assuming Steve gives us a full SDK, and not a widget maker), but I do agree that web apps for the iPhone need more-- either Flash, Silverlight (shudder), or some other quality runtime.However, I think the most interesting part of Gruber's article is in the note at the end. When we say iPhone (as I've done throughout this post), we really mean "iPhone and iPod touch." While lots of people have picked up touches, I tend to still consider the iPhone the vanguard of this situation. And so, while the SDK will also be able to create applications for the iPod touch (even Steve himself relegated it to a PS in his big announcement), the iPhone tends to get all the press.But I'd like to know what you think, readers. Is it OK for us to say "iPhone" and mean both devices? Should we spend the extra time typing to point out that everything that runs on iPhone runs on the iPod touch? Or should we use them interchangeably-- make "iPod touch" mean both the iPhone and the iPod/iPhone Frankenstein monster that is the touch? What do you think? It's a small issue, sure, but little things can mean a lot.%Poll-4527%
DragThing 5.9 with Leopard support and full dragabilty
DragThing, which could have my favorite Mac app name ever, is a launcher that will open up anything you (surprise!) drag to it, and can also work as a Dock alternative and a visual clipboard. The idea is that everything you need is just a click (or a hotkey press) away.And now, this thing has hit version 5.9, with full support for Leopard (an entire week early!), and a host of other updates. Actually I'm not sure how much a "host" is, but there's a lot-- a new look, icon reflections (optional, in case you don't want things too shiny), new themes, live previews, and the ability to insert and rearrange items in the Dock using just the eponymous dragging action. Very slick.DragThing is available over on the website-- a single license is $29, and you can get five and ten packs of licenses for $99 and $149. Trust me-- it's a real drag.[via DF]
Gruber begins dissection of Google Desktop
In our sneak peak at the new Google Desktop for Mac, Scott wondered at Google's use of a proprietary installer. Like many Mac users, I get annoyed at installers, though I understand that sometimes they are necessary. Similarly concerned, John Gruber at Daring Fireball performed a test install and then did a file level comparison of his system before and after. As Gruber notes: "This matters with Google Desktop, because there are a lot of files, and they're installed into some interesting - if not suspicious - locations." This includes an Input Manager and some possibly questionable kernel extensions (which are likely necessary to make the full system-wide search possible). I should be clear: nobody is accusing Google of doing anything underhanded, but if you like to know exactly what's going on with your system, John's article is worth a read before installing Google Desktop.
Last post EVER about creating new files from Finder
OK, OK! We clearly have a wide range of opinions on this whole "How can I get my Mac to right-click-create new files, like Windows does?" thing. Some folks like the QuickSilver approach, some think QuickSilver is an anti-Mac-way abomination. Some like NuFile, and some like FinderPop (Update: and some, like Wired's writer, and me too now that I've tried it, like DocumentPalette.)Some think the whole idea is plain goofy and there's nothing wrong with going into an application to create a file; others think the previous people are missing the point, because sometimes you need an starter file right here right now, and this is faster than opening the parent program and navigating to the folder you want, or using a stationery file or template.As usual, if you want something stripped to the essentials that works really gracefully and cleanly, call John Gruber. In response to yesterday's NuFile post, John knocked off a quick AppleScript which, in combination with the Big Cat Scripts plugin and the text editor of your choice, creates a nice little text file wherever you right-click.We're through talking about this now; does that work for everyone? Good. Enjoy your Wednesday!
Interarchy 8.5 & Interview
I'm a Transmit fan myself, but we seem to have a house policy of noting updates of the old-school (if you will) Mac FTP client Interarchy. Well it has been bumped to version 8.5, and has a new owner: Nolobe. In addition, TUAW favorite John Gruber has an interview up with Interarchy's original author Peter N Lewis and the new one Matthew Drayton. Perhaps the most interesting revelation is that the app is still mostly written in that bane of my middle school years: Pascal!Version 8.5 has some interesting new features like integration with the Terminal, AppleScript support, and a new Dock Menu. Check it out at Nolobe.[Via Daring Fireball]
Daring Fireball Live at Macworld with Panic's Sasser
Like many on the Mac web, we at TUAW are fans of John Gruber's Daring Fireball. Now, thanks to Macworld Magazine, we can all hear Gruber at a session he ran at Macworld, together with his guest Cabel Sasser of Panic. As nearly always with Gruber, it's an interesting session with on the fly commentary about the iPhone (which is perforce a little underinformed), discussion about Panic and independent Mac development: definitely worth a listen (caution: the language is a little rough some times).[Edit: Fixed Sasser's name]
