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Poll: Tim Cook promises new product categories
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed Tim Cook, who revealed "that Apple plans to enter a new category this year." "There will be new categories. We're not ready to talk about it, but we're working on some really great stuff," Mr. Cook said. When asked whether a new product category could mean an improvement on an existing product like an iPad Air, a lighter version of its tablet computer, or new services such as mobile payments, Mr. Cook declined to comment. He said that anyone "reasonable" would consider what Apple is working on as new categories. Cook has promised new categories in the past, making us wonder have we seen these new categories already (like the iPad Retina mini) or is he talking about new new categories rather than referring to old new categories that have been under development since at least last year but are yet to appear. What do you think? Vote in our poll. %Poll-87348%
All I want for WWDC is...nothing
February may seem early to you to be strategizing about Apple WWDC announcements. For tech writers, it's crunch time. To plan books, posts, and other coverage, you try to anticipate how big a change is coming up and what areas will be affected. For example, Victor was asking me the other day what I'd like to see in the next installments of iOS and OS X. My answer is the same as it's been for years: "Bug fixes and security enhancements." I'm a bit over the yearly update cycle. I think iOS 7 needed more time to simmer before its debut and I'd rather see more mature products instead of constantly living in an alpha test. I'd love for Apple to spend time fine-tuning its codebase rather than pushing new features. It's awesome to innovate but I'm not sure that innovation really needs to come in 12-month waves. If I had to dream about this summer's announcements, I think I'd want to see an Apple/Tesla iCar that doesn't catch on fire when you plug in its magsafe connector, a super fitbit-like iWatch, or even "Apple and Samsung finally settle all legal disputes." We're probably going to get iOS 8 and OS X Malibu Barbie. There's plenty of room for growth and new features, of course. Each year's API change list includes logical progressions to existing classes as well as keynote-worthy game-changers. I'd just like to see those emerge as slower dot releases than full OS revolutions. It may already be happening. We're now about six months or so in from the 7.0 release. Apple is still evolving 7.1, now in its 5th beta. That's a trend I want to encourage -- slow, deliberate, and careful where the end-user benefits from the extra time. All told, I have no idea what Apple is going to announce this summer but it would be great if the company took a bit of space to breathe.
Another Xbox Live sale: Ryse, Persona 4 Arena and more for cheap
We think Microsoft may have an addiction. On top of the Ultimate discounts on offer this week, Microsoft has announced an entirely different crop of cheap games, available through February 24. Two sales at the same time? Madness! If you want to take advantage of Microsoft's lapse in judgment, you can grab Ryse: Son of Rome for $40. We may even see more of this in the future, as Microsoft toys around with discount digital pricing on Xbox One. Ridge Racer Unbounded is on sale for $5 and all of its DLC can be acquired for pennies on the dollar. Persona 4 Arena, Angry Birds: Star Wars and more on Xbox 360 are cheap too so, if you're interested, pop on over to Major Nelson's website for the full list of markdowns. [Image: Microsoft Studios]
Talking to Siri: The conversationalist
Siri can do many things but unlike ELIZA it's not built for general conversation. Make sure you ask Siri, "Tell me about ELIZA" to learn more. Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Talking to Siri: Can you sing a few bars?
From now on Siri, I'll call you "a taxi." OK? Needless to say, Siri recognizes that a balanced diet does not consist of a Budweiser in each hand. Friends don't let friends drive drunk -- and Siri is the best virtual friend you'll ever have in your pocket. Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Talking to Siri: If my head weren't attached, I'd forget that too
A drunk man is intently searching the ground beneath a brightly glowing lamp post when an officer approaches him and asks, "Sir, what are you trying to find?" "I lost my keys," he replies. "Did you lose them near here?" the officer asks. "I lost them somewhere across the street," he says, "but the light is so much better here." Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
This is how in-app purchases should be handled
Ever since the ability to include in-app purchases was added to the App Store, the idea has divided gamers. On one side you have customers who prefer the traditional manner of purchasing a game -- pay upfront, and you have access to whatever the game has to offer -- while others see no problem in getting a game for free and then paying for perks, in-game currency or additional game modes. There are arguments to be made for either sale method, but we've not seen anything in the way of a quality compromise between the two, until now. Developer Strange Flavour has introduced a new in-app purchase model in its new game Any Landing, and it's designed to please both camps. Strange Flavour calls it the "Play Nice" model, and here's how it works: The core game can be either free or paid, it doesn't really matter. Any Landing is indeed free. Like most in-app purchase games, there are several tiers of goods available (in Any Landing the purchasable currency is called "Wings"). Along with the incremental boosts, there is an "All You Can Eat" option that unlocks everything, and locks the ability to make any in-app purchases, even accidentally. Each time you purchase one of the smaller boosts, the amount you paid is deducted from the All You Can Eat price. This system is superior to what we are currently used to from IAP games for a couple of reasons, but most important is the fact that when you make a purchase, you're always working toward an end, rather than simply stuffing your digital wallet for a day or a week. One of the main arguments against games that rely on in-game transactions is that they're never-ending, and feel more like you're throwing money into a void than actually paying for the game. With Play Nice, every cent you put in rewards you in the same way as it would in your average game, but it also brings you a step closer to owning everything the game has to offer. Play Nice also solves the problem of parents who find unexpectedly massive App Store bills after letting their kids have a go at some in-game boosts with their credit card. No matter what, only a set amount can be spent on a game that uses the Play Nice model. Even if you delete the game or re-download it on another device, you can restore your previous purchases for free, ensuring you never double pay. Now, I understand that some games -- Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans come to mind -- benefit from players paying massive amounts of money to keep their in-game performance at a peak, but these are extremely rare and special cases. Your average developer never sees the type of rabid fanbase that warrants in-app purchase options of US$59.99 or $99.99, and a payment system like Play Nice gives would-be players an incentive to spend a few bucks now, and then maybe a few more bucks later, as opposed to trying out a game, seeing how much it costs to "win" and then never bothering to try.
Talking to Siri: Drill bits and bobs
How can you tell if your love is true? A plumb line, of course! Speaking of which, two antennae got married. The wedding was boring, but the reception was outstanding. And did you hear about the atom who lost an electron? When asked, "Are you sure?" it replied, "I'm positive!" Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Windows Phone 8.1 leak reveals new messaging and storage settings, and more
Up until now, the most we'd heard about the next rumored update to Microsoft's Windows Phone OS centered on two features: Cortana, the company's Siri-like digital assistant, and Action Center, its native notification center. Today, however, we have a clearer idea of where Windows Phone 8.1 could be headed thanks to a Reddit user who's allegedly gained access to the new SDK as part of Microsoft's developer preview program.
Here's a quick way to send a file to a screen-shared desktop
I've been doing a lot of Mac development recently. This means I often need to screen share to my headless OS X Mountain Lion system for testing. This morning, I was updating my folderol app to add features for folder tagging. I had to make sure that those Mavericks-only features wouldn't show up when the app was run on 10.8. Normally, I mount the headless system as a foreign disk drive and then copy/drag to the drive using finder. But for whatever reason today, I thoughtlessly dragged the app directly to the shared desktop. And I'll be gobsmacked, but it worked. The file just transferred, and a new File Transfer window opened to show me that the process was successful: I honestly have no idea how long this feature has been around. For all I know it goes back to the OS X stone ages. [It does go back quite a ways... drag and drop file transfers using Apple Remote Desktop were introduced in v3 back in late 2006. –Ed.] But I also know that if it was a pleasant surprise to me, some of you out there will appreciate knowing about it too.
Talking to Siri: You won't believe this story Siri told me
It was a dark and stormy night... No, that's not it! Hat tip, Randall Evans Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Talking to Siri: Loneliness
Siri is always there to listen. Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Talking to Siri: Joking around
I don't know what one iPhone said to the other, but that has a nice ring to it! Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Apple needs to fix this incredibly annoying Siri feature ASAP
Siri's phone integration is top-notch. I use it on a daily basis to place calls. So why after placing my call do I have to look at my screen and tap to place my call into speaker mode? If I'm using hands-free to place the call, you'd think the phone would continue in a hands-free mode after the Phone app takes over. Yes, of course, many people use Siri with "Raise to Speak." When this feature is enabled, users trigger Siri by bringing the phone to their ear and waiting for the Siri chimes. But for those of us at stoplights or sitting at our computer, it's often a lot easier to reach to the side and press the Home button instead. iOS does offer a speakerphone accessibility feature. But it is for incoming calls only. Outgoing calls, such as those placed by Siri, require taps on the speaker button. That same proximity sensor that detects "Raise to Speak" triggers should be able to sense that my phone, my cheek and, basically, my entire body are nowhere near the screen and automatically start the speaker. Me? I've filed an enhancement request at Apple's iPhone feedback page. I encourage you to do the same.
Talking to Siri: No solicitors please
I'm sorry, Dave. I was hoping for a delivery from UPS. Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Talking to Siri: Fun chicken tricks (aka the politics of poultry peregrinations)
I dream of a day when a bird can cross the road without everyone questioning her motivations. Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
Talking to Siri: Who's your daddy?
Everyone keeps asking Siri this. To be fair, Alan Turing is the honorary father of all virtual agents like Siri. Steven Sande and Erica Sadun have been working on the third edition of Talking to Siri, the book that covers all the ins and outs of everyone's favorite digital assistant.
TextEdit smart links for fun and profit
I regularly create and update documents in TextEdit using both plain and rich text (RTF) formats. One of my favorite features enables me to use built-in data detectors to automatically convert URLs to clickable links in RTF documents. Data detectors work by constantly scanning the material you're typing. When it sees something it recognizes, like phone numbers and addresses in the Mail app, it provides a way to act on these detected items. In Preview, the "smart links" detector adds a working, clickable link to recognized URLs. To enable this feature, open TextEdit's preferences (Command-comma) and select the New Document tab. In the bottom-right corner, check Smart links. When you next create an RTF document, TextEdit will scan your entered text and automatically convert URLs to links on your behalf. Your RTF document updates with the link (unlike when you use the feature with plain text documents). The embedded link field "{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://tuaw.com"}}" enables the document to carry that URL with it, even when the file is opened in other apps.
These five surprisingly pointless OS X mods may amuse you
I recently went hunting for interesting OS X mods. For every useful item that turned up, I found lots of dead ends. Many items read by the OS X preferences system (through, for example, calls to CFPreferencesCopyAppValue) have little or no application to end-user needs. They're there primarily for the app's internal state or as remnants of Apple's development process. I've curated a bit of a slush pile for items that are interesting enough to take note of, but haven't quite made the grade when it comes to utility. Here are five of my favorite "interesting, but not very handy" tweaks that I've encountered while scanning for defaults or, in the case of the System Preferences one, that I've stumbled over while using an app. 1. Reset the Dock The OS X installer regularly leaves debris in your Dock. OS-promoted apps include such items as Mission Control, Safari, Photo Booth, iLife apps and so forth. Now, with a simple system command, you can restore all those apps in the Dock that you laboriously removed at least once before. Tip to the wise: Make sure you back up com.apple.dock.plist in ~/Library/Preferences before applying this one so you have a reference guide of your prefs to help you move back to. In the Terminal app, enter the following. defaults write com.apple.dock version -int 0 ; killall Dock Once the Dock restarts, it returns itself to its newly installed default glory. Admire the jam-packed contents before spending the next 10 minutes editing it back to the way it's supposed to look. 2. Prevent edits to the Dock If you're in a particularly evil mood and this is not your Dock, you might want to add this little default tweak. It prevents users from further editing the Dock contents. defaults write com.apple.dock contents-immutable -bool yes ; killall Dock To restore end-user editing, switch off the immutability: defaults write com.apple.dock contents-immutable -bool no ; killall Dock 3. Reveal desktop background paths This next tweak shows the paths for your desktop backgrounds on each of your screens. Why would you want to do this? One of my testers suggested it might help when you have a regularly rotating desktop background. For most people, it's not very handy at all. defaults write com.apple.dock desktop-picture-show-debug-text -bool yes ; killall Dock and going back: defaults write com.apple.dock desktop-picture-show-debug-text -bool no ; killall Dock 4. Remove pane icons from the main System Preferences window The System Preferences app consists of rows and rows of icons, which you tap to access individual settings panes. Did you know that you could tweak this presentation and remove items? I have no idea why anyone would ever want to use this feature, but it's a standard part of the app. To choose which panes to view, select View > Customize. Uncheck any item to hide it. You can still access all the panes from the View menu. Another option, View > Organize Alphabetically, replaces the category grouping with a large mash of alphabetically presented icons. 5. Add a useless debugging menu to iBooks for OS X This tweak does just what it says on the wrapper. If you've ever dreamed of a special secret app menu, then this is the system mod for you. (Similar mods exist for several other apps, so Google around to find some other exciting suggestions.) At the terminal, enter: defaults write com.apple.iBooksX BKShowDebugMenu -boolean yes And then launch iBooks. The new Debug menu appears to the right of other options. And there you have it. Five obscure and not-very-handy tweaks. Got any more tweaks you've stumbled across and want to share? Drop us a note in our tips line. We may cover your OS X mod in a future write-up.
I tried this one crazy trick for a translucent Mavericks dock and it worked
I love OS customization. Don't you? Ever since OS X Mavericks debuted, I've been complaining about the nearly solid dock. Finally, I stumbled across a system setting that enabled me to restore my dock to its pre-Mavericks more-translucent look. As with many tweaks, the solution depended on a Unix command-line directive to the defaults (that's Mac for "settings") system. You enter this at the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal), specifically: defaults write com.apple.dock hide-mirror -bool true After updating the defaults database, you need to restart the Dock: killall Dock The screenshots on the right of this post show the results. Using the normal settings, you can barely see through the dock at all. Once you apply the mirror hiding override, the dock becomes far more translucent, enabling you to see more of the desktop below it.
