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Gruber: iPad 3 coming this fall?
We don't have an official announcement of the iPad 2 yet, but Daring Fireball's John Gruber is already speculating that the iPad 3 -- what he says will be a competitor to the just-announced HP TouchPad -- will be ready by fall. "If my theory is right, they're [HP] not only going to be months behind the iPad 2, but if they slip until late summer, they might bump up against the release of the iPad 3," Gruber speculated on Wednesday. He quickly clarified, after sparking a flurry of rumors, that despite Apple's predictability when it comes to hardware releases, it does sometimes pull out surprises -- think the iPod mini. Gruber thinks that Apple will move the iPad's production schedule to match that of the iPod, a September release primed to take advantage of holiday sales. What would this entail? New hardware, the iPad 2, pretty soon. This would back up reports that the iPad 2 is already in production. An announcement of iOS 5 around the same time, ready for the annual iPhone release. The iPad 3 in September, which might actually be a tweaked version of the iPad 2, quite possibly with Retina Display. AppleInsider reported on this as well, adding in a TechCrunch report saying that Apple has a surprise planned for the fall regarding the iPad 3. What are your thoughts? Is Apple possibly moving to a fall schedule for the iPad?
My top 3 iPhone apps: John Gruber
Time for this week's "Three Apps" video! We caught up with the Daring Fireball himself, John Gruber, at Macworld and asked what his favorite or most-used iPhone apps were. As a highly productive and insightful writer, his answers weren't surprising. Apps discussed: Simplenote, Instagram and Boxcar. 3 apps interviews by Kelly Guimont
Nokia software engineer says 'hardware rules,' software follows
Care for a little more insight into Nokia's smartphone development habits? In an email to our pal John Gruber, a former Nokia software engineer has laid out his perspective on why the Finnish phone maker seems to be struggling in that lucrative high-end smartphone market: "Here's the problem: Hardware Rules at Nokia. The software is written by the software groups inside of Nokia, and it is then given to the hardware group, which gets to decide what software goes on the device, and the environment in which it runs. All schedules are driven by the hardware timelines. It was not uncommon for us to give them code that ran perfectly by their own test, only to have them do things like reduce the available memory for the software to 25% the specified allocation, and then point the finger back at software when things failed in the field." He goes on to say that Nokia's haughtiness extended to the point of turning an assessment of the iPhone's relative strengths into a list of reasons why it wouldn't succeed, which -- considering that the doc was compiled at around the 3GS' launch -- seems like a distinctly foolish thing to do. The really interesting bit here, though, is where that leaves Nokia today. As far as its Design chief Marko Ahtisaari is concerned, the future's MeeGo all the way, but that new platform was nowhere to be seen at Nokia World this year, and Gruber raises the question of whether Nokia shouldn't perhaps switch to the already ubiquitous Android or soon-to-be-everywhere Windows Phone 7. Neither makes a ton of sense on the surface, as Nokia's proud tradition doesn't exactly mesh with dancing to Microsoft's stringent spec tune or becoming yet another Android phone manufacturer. But in the current fast-moving market, a good smartphone software platform today might just be better than a great one tomorrow -- more to the point, we probably wouldn't be pondering this if Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was still in charge, but now that a software guy has finally taken the helm, maybe the winds of change might blow once more in Espoo?
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.
Apple tablet team in a "cone of silence", 10.7 to be previewed
Electronista summarizes John Gruber's report that a "cone of silence" exists surrounding those developing the tablet and virtually no information comes from those directly involved. Many of the tablet team are reportedly the same as those that developed the Calendar, Mail, and Safari iPhone apps – and those people are used to this. They underwent a similar radio-lockdown in late 2006. Gruber also maintains that Steve Jobs has given the tablet his "undivided attention" since returning to Apple in September. Apple's secrecy is legendary and Gruber's assertions seem to be more conjecture than insider knowledge. He does admit "I don't know anyone who works at Apple who doubts these things; nor do I know anyone at Apple who knows a whit more. I don't know anyone who's seen the hardware or the software, nor even anyone who knows someone else who has seen the hardware or software." Gruber does seem more confident that his sources say Mac OS X 10.7 is on track for a developer release at WWDC in June. Unfortunately they haven't mentioned any public-release time frame or a possible name – although I'm hoping for "10.7 Lynx."
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.
Palm and Verizon looking to take shine off Apple and AT&T
In a minefield of failed "iPhone killers" one is making some headway on fulfilling that murderous promise: the Palm Pre. Perhaps it's no surprise: the Palm Pre was conceived by a team that includes plenty of Apple alumni, including Jon Rubenstein, who was made Palm's CEO yesterday to replace Ed Colligan. (John Gruber reminds us of one of Colligan's more famous quotes.) Rubenstein used to be the general manager of Apple's iPod division. Not only that, but Fred Anderson, Lynn Fox, and Mike Bell are all connected (if not employed by) the re-energized Palm. Valleywag's Ryan Tate says it's no wonder, then, that the Pre syncs with iTunes right out of the box. Competition is good, though, right? We'll see improvements to both the iPhone and the Pre because of the products' competitive relationship with each other. Look at the rivalry between Canon and Nikon: The result? Awesome cameras both. In the end, the customer wins. This is true with carriers, too, as exclusivity agreements begin to expire. There were rumblings that the Pre would be released on the Verizon network around Christmas, but blowback from Sprint CEO Dan Hesse pushed the rumor mill's schedule back a month to January 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal. Watercooler talk suggests that the iPhone's exclusivity agreement with AT&T expires around the same time for U.S. customers, but the Magic 8 Ball says that we might not see an iPhone for Verizon until both they and AT&T finish their LTE networks. If you're using a Pre with your Mac, especially if you're taking advantage of the iTunes sync capability, let us know in the comments how it's going.
TUAW 2016
Good afternoon, and welcome to your daily brainload from TUAW, a division of Weblogs, Inc. owned by Comcast Online. Please make sure the neural connector is clicked in all the way, and then think "Start" when you are ready.Steve Jobs returns to Apple's Board of Directors after stint at GMSteve Jobs announced his return to Apple today after a government-mandated stint as CEO of General Motors. Obama White House spokesperson Ruth Christopher stated that since Jobs had saved the American auto company with the introduction of the extremely popular flyCar, he could return to his usual duties. Apple executives released a statement saying they were "overjoyed" to have Jobs back on the job.New MacBooks and Mac mini appear on Apple Store siteApple has quietly updated its legacy line of personal computers, adding exabyte molecular hard drives and gigacore nanoprocessors without raising the prices. Fans, unfortunately, were unimpressed with the updates -- "my implants can move faster than that," John Gruber transmitted to his brainload feed, along with a TwitFeeling of disappointment and anger. But Apple defended the updates, stating that the new computers were "perfect for the older member of your family who still need their hardware in the box, rather than out of it." Anyone who has purchased one of the older units in the past six months (if there are any of you out there still buying hardware) can be eligible for an exchange at any Apple center.MobileMe announces record number of subscribersOver three billion people have subscribed to Apple's MobileMe service since its reintroduction two years ago, according to a new study transmitted by analysts NPD. Apparently people love the fact that they no longer have to carry an iPhone, a laptop, or any hardware at all, as MobileMe now works directly with tiny processors implanted into your head to bring you brainloads, news, TwitFeelings, and the Webview over the cloud directly into your visual and memory cortexes."People really love not having to deal with devices or pesky buttons," said an NPD analyst. "MobileMe allows them to connect directly into the ethersphere, leaving them open to do or think or feel anything while anywhere." The price of the system was also lauded as one of the reasons it's so popular. Apparently after the big economic meltdown in 2010, Apple's customers are thrilled to get a full-service communication package for just over a billion dollars a year. "MobileMe has never been so worth it," said longtime user Dave Caolo.Apple announces event next Tuesday: "Go ahead. Take a guess, suckers."Press outlets around the brainsphere have recieved invites from Apple for an event next Tuesday in Chicago's Willis Tower (up until two years ago, events like this were held in San Franscisco at the Moscone Center, but of course the unfortunate earthquakes and flooding in 2014 mean that all of California is currently underwater). Rumors are flying about what might be announced at the event, but Apple hasn't given any indication of what there might be -- in fact, the invite itself features a question mark, and the text: "Take a guess, suckers. You still haven't gotten it right."Most brainloaders have speculated that the event may finally feature the debut of the long-awaited iTablet, or maybe, finally, the reveal of The Beatles unenhanced audio recordings into the iCollective. Either way, TUAW won't be there: we still haven't gotten an invite. But we will, as usual, be providing Mike Schramm's unfiltered thoughts on the event live as it happens. Remember to make sure your children are unplugged at the time.
Tabs in the title bar: a UI design trend that needs to go
Safari 4 Beta's new tab arrangement has me bothered. It seems to be largely lifted from Chrome's user interface that puts the tabs at the very top of the window. Not only is this a departure from Apple's typical UI choices, it presents problems for users with special needs. On your average Apple user interface, every object -- a title bar, menu, button, or handle -- has a single function. It can resize the window, move it, close it, or scroll it. Safari 4's tabs, however, have a dual purpose: They not only can be selected to move the entire Safari 4 window, but can be clicked individually to display their contents. In Safari 3, this was handled by two different objects -- the title bar to move the window, and tabs in the tab bar. Google chose to put tabs at the top of the window because it was an important part of the user metaphor for their web browser, Chrome. In Chrome, tabs are independent processes brought together in a kind of stack. This is all very well and good, but it poses the same problem of having the area at the top of the window do two things at once: move the window as a whole, and control each item in the stack.
'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.
Dell comments on Apple's green commitment, TUAW translates from PR-speak to English
Dell executive Bob Pearson decided to comment on Apple's "green" ad campaign. It was hard to understand. We were confused. Fortunately, Robert was nice enough to translate. The original post, on Dell's site, is here. "Several Dell folks were surprised and perplexed to see Apple's new 'green' MacBook ad since its release last month and we've been watching the discussions in the blogosphere. After chatting with our environmental teams about the topic, we realized that instead of ignoring it, we should have a conversation about the real meaning of being green from the viewpoint of a Fortune 500 company." In a desperate attempt to dredge up this environment issue from October, I bought lunch for a few of my subordinates, ordered them to be in the "Sunset Plains" conference room at noon, and told them we would be discussing this. "Our view is that companies who choose to lead have an obligation to be open and transparent. We have a responsibility to engage in dialogue about the environment, whether we agree or disagree with an individual person or group. It all contributes to the greater good." We like to sit around and shoot the breeze about stuff. When there isn't enough breeze-shooting, we shoot it ourselves, con-sarn it. "What is not good is to skip steps, avoid dialogue and pray that people aren't smart enough to figure it out. That doesn't help any of us and it certainly doesn't further the environmental cause for those of us who care deeply about it." Honestly, talking is the only thing we do well.
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.
'I Am Rich' makes author exactly that, does little else
Got a cool grand to burn? Before you think about buying the brand-new app I Am Rich, there are a few charities I'd hope you consider. But if you truly have that kind of money to spend, you can buy an app that touts itself as "a work of art with no hidden function at all." I Am Rich sells for $999.99 in the App Store. It also features a "secret mantra" that "may help you to to [sic] stay rich, healthy and successful." Uh huh. I've got a mantra for you: "Smile and be nice to people." There. That one's free. Hey, you can't blame the author, Armin Heinrich, because just a few sales would set him up quite nicely. What you can blame, however, is the asinine App Store vetting process, which let this dollop of poop into the system. What rocket surgeon thought this would be better than eWallet or ListPro? I fear John Gruber's prediction that the App Store wouldn't become the next VersionTracker or MacUpdate is proving exceptionally false. It's not only that I don't want to buy I Am Rich, it's that I don't accidentally want to buy it. It's ridiculously easy to buy apps for your device, and getting this one by accident would certainly ruin my day. Plus, I don't have the minimum system requirement of three popped collars to run the app. The Iconfactory's Craig Hockenberry notes, though, that he's willing to spend 99 cents on an app with graphics identical to I Am Rich, but only featuring the mantra "I'm not stupid." Judging from the App Store's app admission track record, though, that one should get approved in no time. Thanks, Mark, Oliver, Rubbinz, Sherman, William, and Gruber for the tip! Update: It appears I Am Rich has been removed from the U.S. App Store. For what reasons, exactly? We may never know. Thanks, Adam, for the update!
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%
MakeiPhoneRingtone hits 1.1, further obsoletes the ringtones racket
Rogue Amoeba has already updated their MakeiPhoneRingtone application to 1.1, in order to bring in the Cleverboy hack that was discovered the other day. If you missed it, they also posted a guide on how to turn any audio file into an AAC file with their product Fission (but don't forget that iTunes will also do it for you as well, it just won't cut your file for you). We're still waiting on someone to make a program that turns any file into a ringtone by itself (Rogue Amoeba is talking about adding the functionality straight to Fission), but all the tools are there.So Apple's whole ringtone system is completely, totally, and devastatingly broken. Why would anyone possibly pay money for ringtones from iTunes when it's so incredibly easy to make your own? As Gruber said in his great and very thorough commentary, the whole Ringtone racket is just that -- a racket. There's no such thing as a "ringtone" -- a ringtone is exactly the same as a song, in a different context. The idea that studios should charge more for you to choose which 30 seconds of a song you want to listen to is complete bunk.And if you think ringtones are a joke (and I do -- I've been rolling my own ever since my first cellphone), just wait until you hear about "ringles". Unbelievable.
The future of Fake Steve
Man, I head out for a few days (I've been away at BlizzCon, reporting for our online gaming cousin WoW Insider), and Fake Steve got burnt. Not by us, of course-- we made a promise to not care about the identity of Fake Steve, and we still don't. But we're not the only site on the Internet, and the real Fake Steve is out there. So the question then becomes: now what?FSJ himself claims it's not over, though he is taking a short break. Forbes is going to sponsor the blog, although it's not clear what "sponsoring" means in that context. All we care about is that we still get Fake Steve-- the wacky ramblings and sparkling insights of Steve Jobs. Is that what we'll get? As Gruber points out, it's probably not. FSJ's last post is not in the voice of Steve Jobs; it's in the voice of someone pretending to be him. The curtain is falling already.There's an interesting parallel to this, and it's newsworthy, too: Bree, as of last Friday, is dead. Lonelygirl15, the young woman who took over YouTube and then was discovered to be the product of an imagination, was killed in the final online episode of her story. When Lonelygirl15 was outed, I was just as intrigued as I was with the mystery of FSJ-- who is she and what is this really all about? But when the mystery was revealed, I grew bored with it, and a look at the last Lonelygirl video tells me that I didn't miss much-- the stuff that attracted me in the first place (an interesting form, a simple, mysterious conceit) has long since been abandoned for a huge, boring cast and a formulaic plot (a group called "The Order" features prominently). Once Lonelygirl admitted she was fake, she became so.So the worry with Fake Steve is that the same thing will happen. Gruber thinks we're in denial, but we're not-- when a newspaper editor told Virginia there was a Santa Claus, was he denying the truth? We want Fake Steve-- a witty, insightful blog from a Steve Jobs who pretends that he's real, sounds like he's real, and therefore is real. We just worry that now that the bubble's broken, Fake Steve won't stick to his guns and stay real.
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!
ThisService 1.0
John Gruber wanted an app that would allow one to turn any command line script that accepts input into a service (you remember services, don't you? They live in the Apple menu and don't really do to much). ThisService was born to fill this need.What the heck would you do with this free app (though donations are encouraged)? Well, you could write a script that, for example, takes the ISBN of a book and based on that returns a bunch of information from Amazon's webservice. This way you could be surfing along on a publisher's website, see a book, highlight the ISBN, hit the shortcut, and know what Amazon is selling it for. This is the first example that came to me, but the uses are pretty limitless.
