WWDC 2014
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WWDC Finds: Slopes
I was at WWDC last week, talking to developers about what they've done and what they're working on. Almost all of the apps I saw were impressive, but I can't write about most of them yet. One that stuck out for me that I can write about is Slopes for iPhone. Slopes is all about gathering data while skiing and snowboarding. I know it's summer, but this was too good not to write about. There will be an update coming this winter and I'll be sure to post again when it's more weather appropriate. There's still snow on some hills, though, so those in areas where the season hasn't ended yet, heads up! I'll be honest: I don't get along well with skis and snowboards. Tow ropes and chair lifts hate me. As a Minnesotan, I don't mind snow, but hiking through the forest looking for a ski that ejected while I was tumbling down a steep hill is not high on my list of things to do in the winter. That being said, I have the utmost admiration for people that can carve a slope with ease and really enjoy their days in the powder. This app is for them. When you start your day, you start Slopes, put your phone in your pocket, and hit the hills. Do your thing all day long, and when you're done, Slopes will have some really cool data for you. It starts with activity maps showing all of the runs you did. It's well designed, and even puts South at the top of the map, given that most ski hills are North-facing and a standard map configuration is technically upside down to a snowsport viewer. It detects lifts and even figures out when you're taking a lunch or dinner break, tailoring the data presentation to the schedule you kept. It will give you stats for each run, including time elapsed, top speed, and distance. The coolest part, though, is the interactive three-dimensional model it creates for your run. It's a cutaway showing the hill, with a heatmap to show you your speed. You can flip it around, rotate it, and gain a full appreciation for your activities. Slopes even creates a recap image for easily sharing with (or bragging to) your friends. It can also export in GPX and KMZ formats, which makes it interoperable with other apps on both desktop and mobile devices. Slopes has been out since September of 2013, but it's one of the amazing apps that got mostly overlooked in the App Store machine. As I said before, I'll probably never be able to use it in all its glory myself, but for those who ski/snowboard, this a really great tool you should have!
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for June 9, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Dev Interview: Larry O'Connor, Other World Computing
TUAW and MacTech are once again teaming up to interview developers surrounding Apple's announcements at WWDC. Hear what they have to say. Introduction We'd like to welcome our guest, Larry O'Connor, Founder & CEO at Other World Computing. Other World Computing develops products for Mac, iOS, and Larry took some time to tell us about WWDC and how it impacts the company. What were you most excited about hearing in Apple's recent announcements? The new iOS development environment is very exciting to us as is what Yosemite brings next to the Mac platform. In terms of the iOS side - it's perfect timing with respect to entries we have planned to enhance the customer experience with our product. With respect to 10.10 [aka Yosemite] - the new OS offers a lot of user benefit without, so far, the kind of drastic changes that 10.9 introduced on the developer impact side. The open, public beta aspect also should mean far less being addressed pre release - wider range of scenarios addressed - vs. surprises post release. What does your company do? OWC Designs, Manufacturers, and Distributes the solutions that enable greater use from our customer's technology investments. Whether it's a brand new Mac or one from years ago, we're about providing the right solution that meet the needs of our customers and best enable them to maximize that technology to the requirements they require. What is the coolest thing you can tell us about what you do? Our team - great solutions are by no means easy, but providing exceptionally great support is what makes the solutions we provide truly another step above. We work to understand, educate, and truly enable our customers by having a team that cares and is truly driven to provide not just the best solution possible, but the solution that is the best possible for the different customer use scenarios it can be applied to. The best product is of little benefit if it is not the right solution. Our team is here to see that all customers of OWC and NewerTech brand solutions are enabled thereby. Did Apple make any announcements that will impact your direction? The new development tools on both the Mac OS and iOS side will definitely enhance our ability to produce the tools we have in the pipeline as well as advance their production. What's coming from you and your team? Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt, more Thunderbolt, supercharged SSD 2.5" & PCIe, high-level storage ... and keyboards. We are customer driven both from a practical standpoint and a solutions standpoint. Both the physical solutions we have in our pipe as well as technology we will be deploying to further enhance our Thunderbolt and storage in general, we believe, meet very critical needs very effectively. SSD technology is by no means standing still here... and the occasional segue such as our soon-to-be-introduced Bluetooth keypad all continue to fit to a profile of the needs expressed. Anything more you can tell us? OWC is often misunderstood as a simple etailer. For over two decades we have been designing and manufacturing/assembling the products that bear our brand name. OWC products are currently available in hundreds of retail and etail outlets with more resellers and distributors being added as work to see our market leading solutions available when and where our customers need in addition to direct availability via Macsales.com. Today we have distribution facilities in Illinos, Nevada, and Texas with Creative Design now based in Austin, TX. All of our final testing, final assembly, and and a growing portion of our core manufacturing (which includes OWC Memory and Solid State Drives) are physically manufactured right here in the USA - mainly in a joint facility just outside of Austin, TX. We have a passion for quality, performance, and for Apple and we are here for our customers and only because of our customers. Find out more For more information on Other World Computing, see www.macsales.com This developer interview was put together by the staff of TUAW and MacTech Magazine about how Apple's new technologies will impact them and you, their customers. What to know more about MacTech? See the web site, or check out one of the many live events MacTech puts on each. If you're a developer, consultant, or IT Pro, come join TUAW and media throughout the industry at MacTech Conference 2014.
WWDC 2014 session videos available online
Apple's WWDC event has exploded in popularity in recent years, making it extremely difficult for most interested developers to secure tickets. Not to worry, though, because session videos from WWDC 2014 are available for your viewing enjoyment via Apple's developer website. Per usual, the videos are free to download, a welcome change from years past when purchasing access to iPhone and Mac sessions would set you back as much as $499. You can check out a listing of all the available session videos over here. There are about 107 in total and they cover any and everything iOS and OS X related. Naturally, there are a few session videos devoted exclusively to Swift, Apple's new programming language. The videos can be downloaded or streamed via Safari running on OS X Lion or later. Interested users can also watch WWDC session videos via Apple's WWDC app.
"Apple is looking old and stale"
In my post-Apple-WWDC-keynote haze, I did what I usually do after a big Apple event: I read anything and everything I could regarding the event. Analysis, rundowns, roundups, and galleries are all fair game, and to my surprise the general consensus -- even from the notoriously pessimistic Wall Street crowd -- was extremely positive. This was surprising to me not because I think the announcements were disappointing, but simply because without a handful of new physical products to show off, Apple's events are usually met with plenty of ignorant eye-rolling. I went from glowing analysis to glowing analysis thinking somehow things had changed... and then I stumbled upon this piece by Computerworld's Preston Gralla, and I knew everything was once again in balance. The following are quotes from Gralla's "WWDC shows it's Microsoft, not Apple, who's got the mojo": And [sic] has been usual in recent years, Apple's announcements were not particularly ground-breaking. It's just one more example of why Microsoft -- yes Microsoft -- has got the mojo these days, and Apple is looking old and stale. There's certainly nothing earth-shattering. Without Steve Jobs, Apple is turning into just another technology company. If you want to look for startling moves these days, you have to look to Microsoft. Well, beyond today's garden-variety announcements, it's buying Beats Music for $3 billion. Analysts are mixed whether the move is a good one, but that's almost beside the point. It should have owned streaming music, and not be playing catch-up. Instead, it's spending $3 billion to buy its way in. Will the trend of a resurgent Microsoft and a static Apple continue? There's no way to know. But right now, Microsoft's got the mojo, and Apple doesn't.
TUAW TV Live: More revelations from WWDC 2014 (Updated)
This week, Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I will be talking about the news coming out of San Franciso at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference. Sure, we all know about iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, but what about some of the details that are starting to emerge? It certainly appears that Apple has really decided that this WWDC is all about fine-tuning the user experience for Apple customers. To watch the show and take part in the chat, just scroll down a tiny bit, log into the chat room, and be sure to press the "play" button on the video window around 5 PM to watch the stream. If you don't have time to watch the complete show today, come back to this post later when we'll have the recording available for your viewing pleasure. Update: This post has been updated with an embed of the local recording of the show that we make for backup. Due to bandwidth issues that occurred during the show, many viewers were unable to see the show in its entirety. We apologize for the inconvenience. Contact the podcast Follow the hosts on Twitter: @stevensande, @docrock, @TUAW Send your questions to @stevensande E-mail us: tvlive at tuaw [dot] com
Apple's WWDC 2014 keynote was the most exciting in years
Just a few minutes into Apple's recent WWDC keynote, it was apparent that things were going to be a little bit different, a little bit more soulful if you will. After all, it's not too often that one sees a top Apple executive casually joke about calling the next iteration of OS X "OS X Weed." For a number of reasons, I found this year's keynote to be the most interesting and exciting in recent memory. Specifically, there seemed to be an infectious air of excitement at Moscone West this past Monday; Tim Cook seemed looser than usual and Craig Federighi absolutely killed it with an engaging balance of humor, information, and enthusiasm. All in all, Apple executives appeared at ease, confident, and all too eager to show thousands of developers what the company had been working on over the past many months. Federighi's penchant jokes aside, I found Apple's 2014 WWDC keynote to be incredibly engaging for the simple fact that it was actually full of surprises. Go figure. In recent years, the Apple rumor mill has gotten so damn good at snuffing out Apple's software and hardware plans that Apple media events have served to merely confirm what many in the blogosphere already knew weeks earlier. But this year was different. If you go back and look at any of the "What to expect at WWDC" articles, one would have assumed that the most important feature in iOS 8 was going to be an app called Healthbook. As it turns out, Healthbook is actually called HealthKit and the feature-set was hardly a focal point of the keynote presentation. Apple on Monday made a number big announcements that will discernibly improve the iOS and OS X user experience. And best of all, none of the tech sites that typically break Apple rumors anticipated even 5% of what Apple had in store. Indeed, there were so many new compelling features to introduce that WWDC maestro Craig Federighi was quickly zooming from feature to feature in an effort to cover as much ground as possible. Even features that would ordinarily occupy a few minutes of stage time (Siri enhancements in iOS 8, for example) were relegated to just a single slide. Apple's recent $3 billion acquisition of Beats? Nary a mention. By the time the keynote ended after nearly 2 hours, there was no shortage of information to digest; iOS extensions, iCloud Drive, iOS/OS X continuity features, support for third party keyboards, phone calls on OS X, Quick Type, a new programming language!, revamped spotlight functionality, App Store enhancements, and the list truly goes on and on. Last year, the main focus of WWDC was the new design aesthetic of iOS 7 spearheaded by Jony Ive. OS X Mavericks was a respectable upgrade in its own right, but it didn't really blow anybody away. But this year, iOS 8 is less about how the system looks and more about the cool new things you can do with it. As for OS X Yosemite, I personally think it's the most exciting and intriguing OS X update in years. Looking back, Apple's WWDC keynote this week taught us a few things. First and foremost, it demonstrated that the innovative spirit at Apple continues to thrive despite assertions to the contrary. Second, it reminded us that Apple media events can be downright exciting when we don't have a checklist of every new feature on the agenda. And third, it's never been more apparent that one of Steve Jobs' most significant contributions to Apple was putting in place a top notch executive team more than capable of taking Apple to new heights in his absence.
Apple announces 2014 Apple Design Award winners
Apple just delivered a fantastic WWDC keynote and is following up all this developer goodness with its annual Apple Design Award, which recognizes the best apps in the iOS and OS X App Store. The initial winner's list for 2014, as reported by the official App Store twitter account, is presented below. Congratulations to all the winners! Leo's Fortune [iOS Universal; $4.99] Leo's Fortune is a platform adventure game where you hunt down the cunning and mysterious thief that stole your gold. Beautifully hand-crafted levels bring the story of Leo to life in this epic adventure. Read our review. Blek [iOS Universal; $2.99] The goal is simple: shape a line that collects all colored circles avoiding black holes on its route. There are no specific moves that you need to master. To every level countless solutions exist, from delightfully simple to exceptionally deep and complex, yet always elegant. Read our review. PanoPerfect [iPhone; Free] PanoPerfect is a fun, free and simple way to share beautiful panoramic photos on your iPhone. Teachley: Addimal Adventure [iPad; Free] Developed by former teachers and experts in children's cognition and learning, Addimal Adventure is an engaging game that teaches single-digit addition. Monument Valley [iOS Universal; $3.99] In Monument Valley you will manipulate impossible architecture and guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world. Read our review. Sky Guide [iOS Universal; $1.99] A star and constellation guide has never been more beautiful and easy to use. Just hold it to the sky to automatically find stars, constellations, planets, satellites and more. It's stargazing fun for all ages and experience levels! Read our review. Storehouse - Visual Storytelling [iPad; Free] Share your world through Storehouse. It's the easiest way to create and discover beautiful stories. Read our review. Device 6 [iOS Universal; $3.99] A surreal thriller in which the written word is your map, as well as your narrator. Read our review. Threes! [iOS Universal; $1.99] Explore our little game's deep challenge and grow your mind beyond imagination. Read our review. Yahoo News Digest [iPhone; Free] Yahoo News Digest provides a definitive summary of all the important, need-to-know news. Read our review. DayOne for Mac [OS X; $9.99] Record life as you live it. From once-in-a-lifetime events to everyday moments, Day One's elegant interface makes journaling your life a simple pleasure. Read our review Cinemagraph Pro [OS X; $24.99] Mesmerize your audience by creating flixels with Cinemagraph Pro.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for June 2, 2014
It's a special WWDC Keynote edition of the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
iOS 8 details battery usage by app
Today's WWDC keynote was so chock full of new information that even Apple's own executives seemed to be rushing from new feature to new feature. Invariably, now that the dust has settled and people are getting their hands on iOS 8, new and intriguing tidbits that Apple didn't have time to touch on are coming to light. One feature in particular that's worth highlighting is iOS' new found ability to provide battery usage information on an app by app basis. The news comes to us courtesy of Evan Coleman (via MacRumors) who uploaded this iOS 8 screenshot to Twitter earlier today. This will undoubtedly be a useful tool for any user who has been frustrated by unexpected and mysterious battery drain. Hopefully, the battery woes that plagued users upgrading to iOS 7 won't be as prevalent with iOS 8. The Italian-language site Ispazio has another screenshot of the feature which provides a more informed portrait of the UI.
Watch Apple's WWDC 2014 keynote in full
For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past few hours, Apple had a number of things to announce on the first day of WWDC 2014. And in case you weren't paying attention to our liveblog from Moscone West, or able to keep up with the livestream, there's now archived footage of the event for you to watch (update: also posted to YouTube, and embedded after the break). The presentation was kicked off by CEO Tim Cook, though it was Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, who led the charge most of the way -- so much so that his boss referred to him as "Superman" during the keynote. Once you press play on the 118-minute video, expect to see anything from the unveiling of OS X Yosemite to the revelation of iOS 8 -- plus a lot, a lot more.
Apple posts WWDC 2014 keynote online
Apple a short while ago posted its entire keynote online for your viewing pleasure where you can relive all of the event's greatest moments; from Craig Federighi talking about OS X Weed to a nice Photoshop mashup of Jony Ive with Federighi's hair. Relive the highs, the lows, and all the hearty laughs over here via Apple's website. The technical requirements to view the video are as follows: Streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later; or QuickTime 7 on Windows. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later. Don't have two hours to watch the keynote? We've condensed it down to 90 seconds.
Apple expands Touch ID functionality in iOS 8
When Apple first introduced Touch ID last year, its functionality was somewhat limited to the extent that it only allowed users to unlock their device and authorize App Store purchases. With iOS 8, Apple is taking Touch ID functionality just a tad further. During today's WWDC keynote, Apple's Craig Federighi announced that iOS 8 will enable third-party apps to use Touch ID for authentication purposes. This should be a welcome feature for users keen on keeping certain apps free from prying eyes, whether it be Tinder, Mint, or Facebook. Apple's iOS 8 website reads in part: For the first time, you'll have the option of using Touch ID to sign in to third-party apps - there's no need to enter a password. Your fingerprint data is protected and is never accessed by iOS or other apps.
WWDC '14 keynote in 90 seconds
Don't have the time to watch the entire two hour keynote video? Alrighty, then:
Apple's awesome iOS Camera feature they didn't mention on stage
Apple spent a whole lot of time talking about photos today during its WWDC 2014 keynote address. From iCloud Photo Library to smart image adjustments, there is clearly a lot to be excited about for iOS shutterbugs. But there is one feature that wasn't mentioned on-stage, yet it has appeared on Apple's iOS 8 teaser page: time-lapse videos. According to Apple's website: Capture the experience of the sun setting, a city street bustling, or a flower blooming with the new Time-lapse mode in Camera. iOS 8 does all the work, snapping photos at dynamically selected intervals. The result is a video showing an accelerated sequence of the photos over time. Just set up your device to shoot what you want. Swipe to select Time-lapse mode, tap the Record button, and let Camera record as long as you choose." That sounds pretty nifty, and while that functionality has already been done in third-party apps, getting it for free right in iOS is always a welcome addition.
WWDC 2014: HomeKit brings smart home services under one app
You can already use your iOS device to control compatible devices in your home such as the garage door, thermostat and lighting. Currently each of these services are controlled by their own app, each with its own way of doing things from networking to security. Apple thought it could make things a little easier and is bringing more of these services under one umbrella they call HomeKit. Working with leaders in home automation like Philips, Skybell, and Honeywell among others, Apple is introducing a common network protocol that will cover these services. With HomeKit users will be able to control their smart locks, lights, cameras, doors, thermostats, plugs, and switches from one app with secure pairing to ensure only your iOS device works. Services can be controlled individually or grouped together as "scenes." Thanks to Siri integration users will be able to speak a command like "get ready for bed" and have their garage door automatically close, their doors lock, and the thermostat lowered to a nice cool sleeping temperature. As smart home devices become more common HomeKit is a wonderful step towards a future where your home is controlled from the palm of your hand.
WWDC 2014: Siri's upcoming update means she's always listening
Siri wasn't a huge part of today's WWDC 2014 keynote, but Craig Federighi did take some time to mention what's in store for Apple's beloved virtual assistant. With the upcoming iOS 8 update, Siri will gain the ability to identify songs via Shazam functionality, purchase content from iTunes via voice commands, and can now dictate in 22 new languages. But the most interesting feature is the ability to wake Siri without actually touching your device at all. Siri will now be listening at all times and can be activated by simply saying "Hey, Siri." The feature wasn't demoed live, but it seems like a fairly straightforward idea, so we'll have to wait and see how well it works in practice.
WWDC 2014: HealthKit unveiled as a major part of iOS 8
Apple introduced its much anticipated health app service today at WWDC. The service, named HealthKit, creates a single place on your device where apps can send your health information. Rather than have each app collect these details on your own they can now all draw from one well. You'll be able to read your health statistics via the new Health app. With Health you can monitor all of your health metrics from your weight to blood pressure to calories burned per-day. You can also use 3rd party apps like Nike+. Thanks to privacy controls you can choose to give as much or as little information from HealthKit to the apps you use. Apple is also working with the Mayo Clinic to create a ground breaking patient/doctor information service. With the HealthKit when something like a patient's blood pressure is taken the reading can be sent directly to your HealthKit app. Your device will then tell the doctor if your reading is inline with your normal blood pressure. Of all the HealthKit news we've heard about at WWDC this is potentially the most exciting. The Mayo Clinic's CEO Dr. John H. Noseworthy provided the following comment for the WWDC presentation. "We believe Apple's HealthKit will revolutionize how the health industry interacts with people. We are proud to be a the forefront of this innovative technology with the Mayo Clinic app." Beyond their collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, Apple is also working with leaders in health care apps like Epic Systems to allow similar integration with major hospitals. This will make it easier for users to share important information with their doctors seamlessly. The demonstration didn't go into how exactly Apple is planning on getting all of these readings and statistics, but we will update you as soon as that information becomes available.
Apple's iOS 8 supports widgets in Notification Center
It's been a long time coming, but Apple is finally adding support for widgets to iOS. On stage at its Worldwide Developers Conference, the company's Senior VP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, revealed that devs can now start building widgets within the Notification Center on iOS 8. Unlike Google's take on widgets with Android, Apple's equivalent won't have them living on the home screen of your smartphone or tablet. Instead, iOS widgets will share the drop-down hub with app notifications. Still, there's a lot of potential here, as it's going to let those of you with an iOS device have more interactivity and quick access to your favorite applications. iOS 8 will be available this fall.
WWDC 2014: Apple announces iOS 8
Tim Cook announced iOS 8 at WWDC 2014, and Craig Federighi demonstrated some of the features. Those include: Refined notification center with interactive notifications, including the ability to respond from the app you're in without hopping out. Quick access to favorite and recent contacts via double-tapping. Bird's-eye tabbed view and the sidebar that will be in OS X Yosemite in Safari on iPad. Improved mail gestures for flagging and delete, and swiping away an in-progress message to access the rest of your inbox. Improved Spotlight, which adds the extended search that will be on OS X Yosemite. Quick Type, predictive typing for iOS. The same "Handoff" features that were announced as part of OS X Yosemite. Improved Messages that includes better functionality for group messages and the ability to share location. You can also use tap to talk in Messages and view audio and video messages in the thread. The addition of the previously announced iCloud Drive. It will include the heavily rumored HealthKit It will include Family Sharing of Apple IDs Photos will be updated with additional in-app editing features. Expanded functionality of Siri including hands-free use and Shazam integration We will update this post with availability and additional features when they're available.
