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Tablet rumors du jour: FT says 1/26 announcement, NYT says Jobs "extremely happy," MacRumors finds iSlate.com registration
Needless to say, if Apple does indeed deliver a standalone launch event for the tablet during the last week of January, it's a gigantic poke in the eye for IDG and Macworld Expo -- the show gave up its traditional slot for January and moved to February after Apple's announcement that the company would no longer exhibit or keynote the tradeshow. Ouch. [hat tip to MacRumors] Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyonflickr/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
WSJ: Apple likely to push TV subscription option in 2010
The WSJ and the New York Times, among other outlets, are reporting that Apple is in preliminary discussions with ABC and CBS (at a minimum) about a possible subscription plan arrangement for broadcast and cable TV channels. This idea was noted by All Things D in November, which cited a target price of $30 a month for subscription access via iTunes. If the company can get content providers signed up, the service would be likely to launch next year, say both papers. It's also possible that Apple's Lala purchase could play into this new model, with 'shows in the cloud' and micropayment options that would improve the user experience for TV-watching. Meanwhile, the NBC-Comcast deal might throw a wrench into the works for Apple, and it's not clear that the other broadcast and cable networks are inclined to make a deal at this point; while CBS has few cable assets to protect, and ABC/Disney have a powerful vote in favor of collaboration with Apple, the other companies may have more to lose by throwing in their lot with the iTunes juggernaut. NBC, in particular, has a hit on its hands with the ad-supported Hulu site, now the second-biggest programming provider according to comScore. If only there were some kind of portable viewing device that could play back your videos...
NYT: GAPP and Ministry of Culture clashing over Chinese WoW regulation
The New York Times has brought its journalistic bear to the story earlier this week about China deciding not to approve WoW's release over there under new service provider Netease, and it seems what we thought was confusion between two agencies has turned into a war. On one side, you have the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), who earlier this week said that Netease (WoW's local provider of Blizzard's game in China) could not legally be collecting subscriptions on a game that GAPP hadn't yet approved. But on the other side is the Ministry of Culture, who did approve WoW's content when it was run by The9, and are now saying that GAPP "overstepped its authority" by thinking it could "penalize online gaming" at all. Which means that the silly game of World of Warcraft has fallen smack dab in between two government agencies lobbying for power. In the past, says the NYT, GAPP has approved games pre-release, and the Ministry of Culture has overseen games once they've started running online. But WoW is a weird exception (it has been online for a few years already, and only went offline when Blizzard switched providers), and it looks like both agencies are grabbing for power and the sizable fees that come along with regulation. If they continue to clash, it'll be up to the State Council, China's cabinet, to determine who's in charge. And the NYT says if that happens, the Ministry of Culture has the edge, with lots of friends in the cabinet already. Meanwhile, Netease hasn't taken the game offline yet, apparently -- they still haven't been given official notice to do so. There's no word on how long this will take to shake out, but even China's players are tired of the fighting; they just want to get back into Azeroth and play. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Did an NYT editor let the 'Slate' slip?
There's a loud buzzing this morning, and it's not just the hangover from late-night celebrations of the Yankees' pennant win; quite a few tech and Mac sites (we heard it first from Edible Apple, although it's really everywhere now) are reporting on week-old remarks from the New York Times executive editor, Bill Keller, that were supposed to remain off-the record -- and of course are now playing on video all across the web. If you look at the transcript of his chat, or the 8:20 mark in the video, you'll see him refer to delivery of journalism to mobile platforms, and then he mentions the "impending Apple slate." Is this a simple moment of wishful thinking for Keller, or is it linked to the presumptive starring role that daily newspapers would play on the hypothetical Apple wundergadget? I can't wait to find out. Read on to see the video.
NY Times asks, Steve answers: Why no camera on the iPod touch and no stills on the nano?
Well, looks like we weren't the only ones wondering about the two big questions of the day -- the New York Times sat down briefly with Steve Jobs post-event this morning and found out the whys and wherefores on the following: Why doesn't the iPod nano take still pictures? Jobs says that the tiny teensy CMOS sensor in the nano isn't up to the quality standards needed for stills; it's too thin. "The sensors for doing a still camera... they are just way too thick to ever fit inside the Nano." What about a camera for the iPod touch? The product path for the touch, apparently, is that it's a great gaming device and it's the lowest investment option for getting access to the App Store; given that, the push was to get it down to a price point everyone could afford instead of adding new features like a camera. "So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don't need to add new stuff - we need to get the price down where everyone can afford it." Not to say it won't ever happen. So much for my idea of a firmware update to the nano enabling still images down the road.
Apple: Paranoid
Do you remember the teaser ads for the iPhone 3G? Two uniformed guards carried a locked metal crate through a labyrinth of secure tunnels, keycard points at every door, and monitored by security cameras? Turns out the real Apple isn't too far from that, according to Brad Stone and Ashlee Vance at the New York Times. They cite former employees and analysts who all agree that Apple, as Gene Munster put it, "a total black box." Apple, in an effort to guard their company's secrets until the day they're launched have instituted a culture of fear among employees: Loose lips sink ships. Apple's campus is, according to the article, "a maze of security doors" where employees must swipe their badges and enter codes on numeric keypads -- presumably not only to restrict access, but to serve as a record of who was where if any information does leak out. Many work areas are monitored by closed-circuit TV. According to one unnamed employee, "workers in the most critical product-testing rooms must cover up devices with black cloaks when they are working on them, and turn on a red warning light when devices are unmasked so that everyone knows to be extra-careful." I've worked in high-security areas before for the U.S. military, and the big difference between the military and Apple is fear. Lots of fear. A secure military workspace is comfortable, but formal: If you catch a glimpse of something you shouldn't, it's not a big deal, just forget what you saw. Apple employees on the other hand, according to the article, are petrified of losing their job, being sued, or both. In Apple's quiver is another piercing arrow: Misinformation. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster relates a story of how a high-ranking Apple executive lied to his face about having "no interest in developing a cheap iPod with no screen." Cut to a few weeks later, and Apple releases the iPod shuffle. Lying business executives are nothing new, and shouldn't be surprising in the least. But while many companies cultivate productive relationships with the media, Apple's is mostly antagonistic. "They don't communicate," Munster said. Why bother? The thrill. Sure, they're protecting their intellectual property, but it's all about the thrill. They can create these spectacles where they literally unveil a new product in front of a salivating audience -- including Apple employees -- who have never seen anything like it before. It's thrilling. Apple's business hinges on creating products that excite and creating that excitement surrounding them. They've found a secret formula that works. In the words of Steve Jobs, "there is no theory of protecting content other than keeping secrets." "The problem, of course, is that there are many smart people in the world, some with a lot of time on their hands, who love to discover such secrets."
New York Times: Palm Pre to launch in the first week of June
Guys, guess what? The Palm Pre is really, seriously, totally coming out, like, super soon. How soon? Well the New York Times, one of the most respected newspapers of our age, claims The Smartphone That Saved Palm (despite their denials) is due in the first week of June, which means the countdown to destruction just got a little shorter. Unless the Times is making stuff up. And let's be honest -- at this point, maybe they are. We can say this, however, the Pre is due, and it's due soon, and if we don't see it before WWDC, we'll be pretty surprised. Our call? We've got a sneaking suspicion that all this speculation will be over before you know it. Like, tomorrow.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Live from Amazon's Kindle event in NYC!
We're on the ground for Amazon's latest, crazy shindig at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University in NYC. We're expecting nothing short of a large (and in charge) Kindle today, but you never know what kind of surprises we might run into. Stay tuned here for the events as they unfold!
News apps for the iPhone span the political spectrum
Building a native app that aggregates and spruces up the content of a single news organ's website is all the rage, although it seems like overkill in some cases -- personally, I enjoy curating my own reading list with good old Instapaper, which also offers the advantage of clearing out most of the graphical cruft and leaving nothing but yummy text. Still, if you like having all the news that's fit to print in the palm of your hand (yes, the 2.0 version of the NY Times app is quite nice), there are two new choices of single-site apps (SSA) for your reading pleasure. In the right corner, weighing in at four sections, it's the Wall Street Journal! Yes, the official newspaper of American business (whatever's left of it) has an iPhone app, and according to Silicon Alley Insider it's pretty good; the app lets you cache content for offline reading (similar to the NYT app), and offers audio and video content from the paper, along with stories and rich media from sister sites like Uncle Walt's hangout AllThingsD. Most notably, using the iPhone version of the WSJ -- which is free -- you can read most or all the content from the daily paper... which, via the WSJ.com website, is not free (most full stories require a subscription). There's no way to know how long this workaround will be in place, but for now it's a great way to get access to the paper's stories. And, in the opposite corner, weighing in at one home page and sporting a killer left hook, it's the Huffington Post! The HuffPo iPhone app has been in soft-launch mode for the past month and was just updated to version 1.1, quashing bugs and improving performance. It's not as polished as some of the other SSAs yet, but it gets the job done. The app is free. If you have a preferred single-site app for news, let us know below.
NYT: T-Mobile to release Android-powered home phone, tablet PC next year
According to documents obtained by the New York Times, T-Mobile's set to release a home phone early next year, and a tablet PC after that, both of which are said to be powered by Android. We're a bit light on details, but we do know the phone itself has a docking station and will come with another device for synchronization. That device's supposed resemble a small, keyboard-less laptop with a 7-inch touchscreen and could check the mail and manage data for devices across the house. Here's hoping T-Mo's been taking notes watching its AT&T HomeManager / Verizon Hub predecessors.
NY Times op-ed on the hate that dare not text its name: iPhone rejection
Considering that it's turned out to be one of the most successful products in consumer electronics history, the volume of nay-saying on the iPhone has been constant and ongoing -- many dismissed the phone when it came out, when it was announced, and even when it was just a glimmer of a hint of a rumor. Now the New York Times Sunday Magazine (and the accompanying blog The Medium) is featuring Virginia Heffernan's tale of hesitancy, anomie and frustration under the surely-not-meant to-draw-online-traffic headline "I Hate My iPhone." Interestingly, just pages away, the paper profiles several successful iPhone developers in a story about the App Store gold rush. Heffernan's criticisms of the iPhone swing between the rational (the challenge of adapting to the on-screen keyboard, AT&T's mediocre coverage) and the surreal (dislike of the device's "tarty little face" and how it "kept aloof from the animal warmth of my leather wallet"). In fairness, she does admit that she's not thinking particularly clearly. In the end, she returns to the AT&T store where the sales rep seemed to know that she was a troublesome case, and swapped out her iPhone for a Blackberry. It may be heretical to admit it here, but it's true: the iPhone is not for everyone... excuse me, they've come to take away my fanboy badge, this will take just a second. There, all done; I'm back. Yes, if you're looking for a high-speed texting and email platform because you live your life in text messaging, the iPhone's keyboard will frustrate you; if you don't care about the incredible universe of apps, the first-rate media player and the best mobile browser, you'd be better off with a Blackberry and a permanent keyboard. Yes, the iPhone's phone is probably its weakest offering, and the AT&T network has bigger dead zones than Anthony Michael Hall; if you can't tolerate the intermittent dropped call or fuzzy audio (or my personal top annoyance, the "I'm on 3G and my phone just doesn't ring" issue), and you want to focus on the phone, get a free RAZR or shiny Samsung. In my personal transition from the Blackberry to the iPhone, I found plenty of gotchas and things that took adjustment (#1 is not being able to keep an IM application running in the background, #2 is having to cycle through the home screen to switch apps, and #3 is not being able to easily copy URLs or phone numbers for use elsewhere), but I'm still finding new and enjoyable things about the iPhone every day; my Blackberry was staid and predictable, a useful tool but not a spark of innovation or a way for me to accomplish things I never could do before. I know there are thousands of unhappy iPhone users, and thousands more who haven't upgraded to the 2.x firmware, visited the App Store or explored one-tenth of the capabilities of their mobile computing platforms. When I saw a family friend a few weeks ago, a lady of a certain age, she was surprised and puzzled when I asked her where she synced her not-that-new iPhone ("I don't understand. If I want to put music or apps on it, I have to connect it to a computer? I have my grandchildren put photos on the phone for me!"). The iPhone isn't for everyone, and there's no judgement in that; you aren't obligated to love it, want it or find it useful. Forgive us, still, if we think that many of you (NY Times columnists excepted) will love it once you try it. [Hat tip to Apple 2.0]
Opera: Apple won't let us in the App Store
Opera Software CEO Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner said in a New York Times interview yesterday that its engineers have developed a version of the Opera web browser that works on the iPhone, but Apple has rejected it for the App Store because it competes with Safari. This isn't unprecedented: Apple rejected an app called Podcaster possibly because it duplicates functionality in an upcoming version of the iPhone software. Podcaster was (for a time) available via ad-hoc distribution before that, too, was shut down. Daring Fireball's John Gruber suggests that Apple rejected Opera because the browser included its own JavaScript interpreter, something forbidden by the iPhone SDK developer agreement. Opera makes two flavors of its mobile web browser: Opera Mini for most mobile phones, BlackBerry, Palm, or Windows Mobile; and Opera Mobile, a more featured version for Symbian and Windows Mobile. A beta version of Opera Mini for Android is also in development. Update: Gruber used his massive Rolodex over the weekend to determine through an unnamed source that the app may not have even been submitted to the App Store. Huh.
MMO / movie mashup wins award, opens in New York
Some of you may already be aware than an MMO is playing a major part in a motion picture currently seeing release in the New York city indie film scene. The film, entitled Ben X, follows the exploits of a young man dealing with the pressures of ... being a young man. He struggles with bullying and self esteem issues, but does so in a somewhat filmicly-novel way: by playing an MMO. It got a mention at GamePolitics, pointing at a New York Times review of the Flemish movie.Despite winning an award at a Montreal film festival, the NYT reviewer doesn't seem to think the film is all that great: "However representative of the chaos in his head, the film's relentlessly paranoid aesthetics come off more as a formal exercise in social dissonance than an empathetic study of human suffering." From this bloggers perspective the MMO in question - Archlord - just isn't that great either. So ... good to see an MMO get bigtime recognition on the silver screen, but we'll wait for the World of Warcraft movie.
10.5.5 update fixes DNS vulnerability
Apple's Mac OS X 10.5.5 update (and Security Update 2008-006) fixes a critical DNS vulnerability that could allow attackers to trick victims into visiting malicious Web sites using what's known as a "cache poisoning attack." We wrote about the vulnerability in August. Although Apple's release notes say BIND was updated "to address performance issues," the update also delivers the promised address port randomization that protects users from such cache poisoning attacks. The original patch offered protection for Apple's servers but did not completely protect client systems. Apple's updates fixed flaws in several applications and system components, including some that attackers could use to run unauthorized software on a user's computer. [Via IDG.]
PA Semi team creating new ARM-based iPhone CPU
Apple Senior Manager Wei-han Lien let slip that teams acquired with the purchase of PA Semi are working on an ARM-based processor for the iPhone, and possibly other devices, according to The New York Times. While not a huge surprise, as Steve himself said that's what the former PA Semi staff was working on, the question was still "what kind of processor?" ARM variants can be customized to meet the needs of very specific devices, including supporting the multi-touch screen, or QuickTime playback. Electronista suggests that this supports earlier hints that Apple licensed the architecture from ARM under a secretive arrangement in late June. Lien updated a section of his LinkedIn profile to describe what he was working on. (The NYT has a screenshot.) Oops. The profile, as you might expect, has been changed.
The bright side of gold farming?
Let's face it. Gold farming and RMT are the bane of many players' experiences in MMOs. Bots spam poorly-spelled gold ads in every MMO title with anything even resembling an in-game economy. From a player's perspective, it's a huge problem, and not surprisingly leads many to dislike the idea of RMT. But aside from the occasional media coverage of 'digital sweatshops,' most of us know relatively little about how gold farming operations are actually run, or what effects they have on real world society. Professor Richard Heeks from the University of Manchester has put together a substantial piece of work on gold farming. The Working Paper's abstract states Heeks' intention "to provide the first systematic analysis of the sub-sector." The paper is titled "Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on 'Gold Farming': Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games." (Say that three times fast.) It provides an overview of gold farming followed by an in-depth analysis of its economics, sociology, enterprise, and development. In terms of development, the paper considers the benefits gold farming may create, particularly for workers in Asia. While there is a wealth of information in Heeks' work, one aspect that stands out is a question it raises: Which is more important in the grand scheme of things, socioeconomic progress for people in real life, or the enjoyment of a game?[Via Virtual-Economy]
Leadership in EVE Online applicable to real-world ventures
EVE Online has been getting increased mainstream media coverage. Recently the New York Times covered EVE's Council of Stellar Management (CSM) summit in Reykjavik, as well as the self-styled 'bad guy' alliance Band of Brother's initiative to annihilate their rivals in New Eden, wiping them from New Eden's star maps. A new MMO article at Forbes takes a close look at the corporate paradigm of EVE Online, both in-game and out. The piece touches on the views of Goonswarm alliance leader and CSM delegate Sean Conover (aka Darius Johnson, CEO of Goonfleet) and the real-world CEO of CCP Games, Hilmar Veigar Petursson. The Icelandic CEO states: "There isn't a lot of difference between what you can apply within the game and out of it... It's more about social skills than gaming skills. It's very hard to stay on top."
New York Times review thinks Metal Gear Solid 4 isn't a game
Seth Schiesel of the New York Times declared twice in his review of Metal Gear Solid 4 that it "isn't really my kind of game." He started off by stating his prejudices early; blatantly telling the reader that his "favorite games provide a sort of social framework within which the players set their own storylines" and that he favors one-player games like SimCity that deliver open-ended gameplay. Surprisingly though, he still claimed MGS4 is very much enjoyable.Schiesel saw MGS4's production values and attention to detail as quasi-negatives, which lead him to "pretty much stopped caring about playing the game." He then gave a backhanded compliment to the game by saying the "combat scenes ... are just as good, if not better in their intensity, than anything I have ever seen in a film. No lie." Because ultimately, Schiesel thought it is too much like watching an interactive film. According to him, the player lacked control over the storyline. He though it's "Mr. Kojima's world, and you are just passing through for the moment." He ended the review on fully negative note, with an implication that MGS4 isn't even game: "By the time those credits did roll, I was ready for the MGS4 experience to be over ... I was ready to play a game."Schiesel also thought MGS4 as-it-is would not be possible on the Xbox 360 and that "the PS3 has more pure silicon horsepower under the hood" which will eventually result in "Microsoft ... playing catch-up." Perhaps by lavishing praise on the hardware, Schiesel thinks he will sound neutral. We can't help but think his view on MGS4 is from a guy who walked into a restaurant ordering Omakase from a world-renowned chef whose specialty is an ingredient he is mildly allergic to.
Complete My Album is selling music
I was just as much a naysayer as Dave was when the service first came out (and for the record, I haven't used it all either), but apparently there are lots of people who do use Apple's "Complete My Album" service in iTunes -- the NYT says that it has become a prime selling tool, especially for bands and labels that pre-release singles from their album in a digital format. A whopping 52% of Lil Wayne's latest album sales on iTunes were sold through the "Complete My Album" feature. That means half the people who bought the album on iTunes had previously purchased one of the singles, and clicked through that way to buy the rest of their music.And though neither Dave or I use "Complete My Album," that's a good sign for consumers, and a nice wake up call for the record industry -- the days of playing a song on the radio to up album sales are over. Digital releases are what sells music, and though "Complete My Album" currently only works on music previously purchased in the iTunes store, Apple could very easily extend that to all music in iTunes -- if you like a song that you've downloaded as a free single from the artist's website, it's just as easy to find music of theirs to buy in iTunes the same way.We're done with a world where radio airplay determines what sells at the record store. These days, consumers are the ones who tell record makers what they want to buy -- it's already in their iTunes playlists.
New York Times looks under cardboard box over MGS storyline
A New York Times article in the Week in Review section published today discusses the latent meanings within the Metal Gear series' epic storyline and attempts to answer the bigger question of whether video games can be a capable medium, on par with films and literature, in conveying a narrative. NYT's Dave Itzkoff delves into the world of MGS by exploring the hidden messages from every MGS game; for example, MGS is a statement about atomic weapons, the Patriots of MGS2 portrayed as an Illuminati-like secret society suggests a worldwide conspiracy, MGS3 hints at how a "military-industrial complex" changed the world and MGS4 has Itzkoff describing Solid Snake as a "James Bond meets Rambo" who blur the line between hero and villain. Finally, Snake's endless mission is seen a parable of modern war and invokes the philosophical debate of "determinism and free will." The article also debates the validity and effectiveness of the cinematic cut scenes -- according to Itzkoff's interviews, 1UP's Shawn Elliott equates this methodology as "kind of cheating" and accuses the game of using "a language that isn't native to its own medium." On the other hand, Leigh Alexander of Kotaku argues the cut scenes are embedded into the game and essential. She even takes a jab at Halo, describing the Xbox series as mindless action that is only popular because "you shoot people." Just as films have evolved into an acceptable means of telling a full, gratifying story, it won't be long before video games achieve the same distinction.
