The Verge
Latest
How the Instagram app straightens photos
Sometimes it's really an eye-opener when a developer opens the curtains just a little and lets those of us on the outside see what is going on behind the scenes. The Verge noted this morning that the Instagram engineering team had done exactly that, revealing how they went about designing and implementing the automatic image straightening that's available in Instagram for iPhone. The option is simple in operation; one simply taps the proper icon in a menu, and the app uses data from the iPhone's accelerometer and gyroscope to determine the proper correct angle for your image. It's then possible to tweak the image just a bit more with manual controls. When the image is rotated to create the appearance of a flat horizon, the application must zoom into the picture and do some cropping to avoid showing empty corners. The engineers note that the images would theoretically grow up to a maximum of 1.4142 times the original dimensions (that's the square root of two) if the image was rotated to 45 degrees. Since it's likely that anyone who actually tilted an image that much wanted it to be that way for aesthetic reasons, the app only auto-straightens for tilts up to a much more modest 25 degrees. The blog post is quite fascinating in how it reveals the choices that the team made while designing the feature. Now if they could only explain why anyone would want to use the 1977 filter to ruin a perfectly good photo...
Siri has snappy retorts for 'OK, Glass'
I've always been a fan of Siri's sarcastic wit, and now that Google Glass is on the verge of encroaching on its space as an intelligent assistant, it's ready to drop some snark on you if you so much as even hint that it is Glass. The Verge showed a bunch of the silly responses to "OK, Glass" this morning, ranging from "I'm not Glass. And I'm just fine with that" to "I think that Glass is half-empty." Contrary to The Verge's claim that iOS 7 adds more comments to the mix, exhaustive testing of Siri's wit was unable to prove that the upcoming mobile operating system adds anything. We can only hope that the personality engineers on the Siri staff are able to add another big dose of snark before Glass goes into general release.
Philips expands iOS-controlled Hue line
Still love it when the lights in your house flash a rainbow of colors every time you're mentioned in a tweet? According to The Verge, Philips has announced two new additions to the Hue line of internet-controlled lighting; the US$89.95 LightStrips and the $79.95 Bloom. LightStrips are flexible, sticky-backed two-meter lengths of small LEDs made for accent lighting and things like frames. The Bloom (seen below, from the German Philips website) is a portable lamp that can be used to highlight an entire wall with its 120-lumen LED bulb. Both lights require the Philips Hue wireless bridge, which is part of the $199.95 starter kit available at Apple Stores and other retail locations. That kit includes the bridge and three controllable LED bulbs. All of the Hue lighting products are energy-efficient and can be controlled through the Hue app or IFTTT recipes to display any of more than 16 million colors in a number of intensity levels. A source for The Verge explained that the new lights are supposed to appear in Apple Stores and on Apple's online store soon, although the publication was not able to get a response from either Apple or Philips.
iOS 7's game controller support could be a real game-changer
Of all of the features of iOS 7 that have been talked about since Monday's WWDC 2013 keynote, probably none has more potential impact than the item circled in blue on the image above -- MFi game controller support in the iOS 7 SDK. Jeff Blagdon at The Verge took a closer look at what this means for Apple fans, and possibly for the gaming world as a whole. MFi means "Made For iPhone/iPod/iPad," and refers to officially licensed add-ons that meet specifications set forth by Apple. The company is now adding support for controllers to the SDK, making it easy for third-party game controller manufacturers to create hardware that Apple can "bless." Developers benefit, since they know that their games will work with any of the approved game controllers. But Blagdon brings up a much bigger point in his post. Since Apple added AirPlay mirroring to iOS devices with iOS 5, anyone with a US$99 Apple TV can easily blast mobile gameplay to their HDTV. Blagdon says "with API-level support for third-party game controllers, who is going to stop Apple from waltzing into the home console market?" Apple already controls the handheld gaming market, and Blagdon notes that the new 16 GB iPod touch and Apple TV cost just US$328 -- less than the $399 Sony PS4 announced yesterday or the $499 Microsoft Xbox One. Apple could easily begin to make the dedicated home gaming console obsolete.
The Iconfactory's David Lanham on building homescreen-worthy icons
When you admire an app icon on your Mac or iOS device, chances are that it may have been designed by The Iconfactory's David Lanham. I had the unique experience of having him sketch me over FaceTime for a custom avatar portrait, and he's a talented and friendly artist. The Verge's Ellis Hamburger recently interviewed Lanham about his work, his training and the reason why eye-catching icons are so important. Lanham, who has created such classic and whimsical icons as Twitterific's "Ollie," Acorn's acorn, Coda's leaf and the gorgeous calendar for Fantastical, notes in the interview that "icons are the face and branding of an app, and they set the tone and give people an idea of what to expect for an app's purpose, quality and content. It's extremely important to really nail the message and content of the icon if you want the best chance of someone initially checking out your app as well as keeping it on their device (or at least out of a subfolder)." Personally, I was happy to hear that Space Doggy is one of Lanham's favorite drawings, since I've used that drawing (a small fragment of which is seen below) as my Mac desktop for two years. It's a great interview with one of the people who makes working with Apple products such a joy.
Interview with Paul Mayne, developer of Day One for iOS and Mac
For people who want to keep a journal of their everyday lives, Salt Lake City-based developer Paul Mayne's Day One app is a godsend. The app stores journal entries in the cloud, runs on iOS (US$4.99) and OS X ($9.99), and is highly regarded in the Apple universe. The Verge published an interview with Mayne today, accurately describing him as "one of the rare developers who can effortlessly create a powerful yet minimalist and refined user experience." In the interview, Mayne notes that the runaway success of the app may be primarily due to the minimalist design of the user interface. "It's capturing personal thoughts and ideas in a way people are already familiar with, without having to share these writings publicly. It's focused, it's designed in a way that's clean and not overwhelming, and it's easily accessible in a way that makes the idea and motivation of keeping a journal fun," says Mayne. Mayne points out, "People today are busier than ever and rarely take even a minute to stop and reflect on the day. Formalizing the direction in one's life is generally a trait of geniuses, and having a medium to do so is useful. Keeping these things private and expressing them without filters is liberating." The interview is a great read about the developer of an app that many of us here at TUAW use each and every day.
Samsung reportedly working on new anti-Apple TV ad
Samsung may have lost the first round of its US legal battle with Apple, but that loss is not holding the company back from attacking Apple with its marketing dollars. According to a report from The Verge, the Korean manufacturer is working on another advertisement that makes fun of Apple fans waiting in line for their next device. Previous commercials showed a Samsung Galaxy S II owner walking by Apple fans who are waiting for the next iPhone. The Samsung owner flashes his phone at the line-waiters, who are focused on blogs reports about the new iPhone. Once they realize it's a Samsung device, the iPhone owners shake their heads and proclaim they've been "Samsunged." The leaked information from The Verge claims Samsung's upcoming commercial will feature a fake Apple store, fake signage and fake employees. One thing that won't be faked is the response from Apple fans, who will likely too busy with their iPhone 5 to care. You can view photos and read more about the Samsung commercial at The Verge's website.
Side-by-side browsers on MacBook Pro with Retina display
The biggest selling feature of the next generation MacBook Pro is its Retina display. The notebook has an impressive 15.4-inch LED-backlit display with 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch. The specs look great on paper and according to a display-focused review by The Verge, the display looks amazing in person, too. This improvement is best seen in a side-by-side shot of Chrome on the non-Retina MacBook Pro and a Retina MacBook Pro. Text, which has blurry edges on the MacBook Pro, is crisp and defined on the Retina MacBook Pro. As noted, the Chrome team is already working on a Retina update; you can see the effect already if you want to run the Chrome Canary bleeding-edge nightly builds. You can check out the short review of the display and a full review of the Retina MacBook Pro on The Verge's website.
Tony Fadell: First iPhone almost had a clickwheel
Tony Fadell recently appeared on The Verge's On The Verge talk show/web series, and he shared a tidbit about early versions of the iPhone, which he worked on as Senior VP of the iPod division at Apple back in 2006. The Verge says that Apple "seriously considered" a hardware keyboard for the original iPhone, according to Fadell, but if you watch the clip itself, you can see that Fadell confirms Apple never made a keyboard for it. The issue was "definitely discussed," he says, but nothing was ever made into a prototype. Fadell also says there were three different "gestations" of the iPhone during development -- first an iPod plus phone, then an actual "i-Phone," and then "there was the next generation iPhone, and that's the one that shipped," he says. Fadell says they did work with the iPod's original clickwheel on iPhone hardware, which reminds me of those old fake mockups that designers put together before the iPhone was announced. At any rate, says Fadell, Apple was open to anything. "Sometimes you have to try things in order to throw it away," he says. Given Apple's history since the introduction of the iPhone, we'd say it was all worth it.
DevJuice: Apple begins unique identifier crackdown
The Verge writes that Apple has apparently begun to crack down on apps submitted using the now deprecated UDID (unique device identifier) APIs that allow developers to track individual devices. The programmer interface used to return an alphanumeric string unique to each deployed device. It was built out of a hash of the unit's serial number and other internal details. Apps that use the uniqueIdentifier API will automatically be rejected as this policy rolls out to its full complement of review teams. Instead, developers are directed to create unique identifiers specific to applications. Those identifiers can then be stored securely in the device keychain and retrieved regardless of application uninstalls/reinstalls. Although some developers have turned to using other approaches to track devices (for example, using the unit's MAC address), it's clear that Apple does not approve of any device-specific user tracking. For now, in-store apps that use UDIDs do not seem in danger of being yanked. The policy seems to apply to all new and updated apps, however. This may be the knell of doom for my Ad Hoc Helper app. Not sure where I'm going to go with that. If you have suggestions, drop a note or leave a comment.
Windows 8 tablet versus the iPad, side by side comparison
Yesterday, Microsoft held a press event at Mobile World Congress which showcased Windows 8. It's Microsoft's next generation operating system that'll run on both desktop machines and tablets. If you want to see what Microsoft is using to compete with OS X and the iPad, then you should check out this new video from The Verge which pits the iPad against a Windows 8 tablet.
Apple previews Mountain Lion, next version of Mac OS X
Apple on Thursday released an early preview of Mountain Lion, its next version of Mac OS X, to developers and select publications. The reviews are now hitting the Internet. The general consensus about Mountain Lion is that it will bring some of the best features of iOS (like Notification Center, AirPlay mirroring, GameCenter and Messages) into OS X. These features are not going to be tacked-on mobile versions, but fully integrated in a way that works on a desktop operating system. You can check out some of the early reviews at The Loop, Macworld, Engadget, The Verge, Laptop Magazine, CNET, and PC Magazine. Apple's preview page for Mountain Lion is also live. The next version of OS X is expected to ship this summer and will be available from the Mac App Store. Pricing is not available, but, based on Apple's history, it should be reasonably priced.
