jueves, 6 de junio de 2013

iPad By Davis: “MacBreak Weekly 353: He Smells of Win” plus 19 more

iPad By Davis: “MacBreak Weekly 353: He Smells of Win” plus 19 more

MacBreak Weekly 353: He Smells of Win

Posted: 06 Jun 2013 01:02 AM PDT

Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Alex Lindsey and I make our WWDC 2013 predictions, talk Mac Pro and Haswell, and suffer the wrath of Skype gone bad... (Before switching to Hangouts!)

Subscribe and download: TWiT.tv

    

Looking back: The 2007 WWDC Keynote - Leopard, Safari for Windows and iPhone web apps!

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 03:31 PM PDT

In case you'd forgotten, WWDC 2013 kicks off this coming Monday, June 10 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. WWDC is a developer conference by nature, but it's also now the only scheduled Apple keynote of the year. So, while we're all eagerly awaiting Tim Cook hitting the stage on Monday, what better time than to look back over some of the WWDC presentations of yesteryear.

We'll start with the first WWDC of the iPhone era, back in 2007. The keynote's main focus was Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Leopard was a big step forward in a number of ways from OS X 10.4 Tiger, with the keynote focusing on ten of the tentpole features. Leopard brought with it a redesigned dock and translucent menu bar, a new finder window incorporating the cover flow interface, stacks, Time Machine backups, Boot Camp and much, much more. Hundreds of new features in fact. Following the keynote, Leopard launched in late 2007, then selling for $129.

The 2007 keynote also dropped in a "one more thing," that wasn't for the Mac, or the iPhone, or any of Apple's products. At the event Apple launched Safari for Windows. The same Safari experience from the Mac, but for use on Microsoft's OS, with a beta launching that very same day.

Then came "one final thing." The 2007 keynote was just 18 days prior to the launch of the iPhone. Since WWDC is an event for developers, Apple wanted to tell them how they could be a part of the iPhone experience. This being before any App Store existed, it was all about web apps. And for some time it continued to be about web apps. How times have changed.

Kick back and enjoy the video, and let us know your favorite bits from WWDC 2007 in the comments below.

    

New MacBook Airs seem certain for WWDC debut

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 02:49 PM PDT

New MacBook Airs seem certain for WWDC debut

Intel rolled out its fourth generation of Intel Core processors this week (the chips formerly known as Haswell), and vendors have wasted no time getting word out about their plans - Sony, for example, has already introduced new ultrabooks with the new chips inside, though they're not expected to ship quite yet. We won't know for sure what Apple has up its sleeve until next Monday, when Tim Cook takes the stage, but MacBook Airs seem certain for a Haswell refresh, according to Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac.

The new silicon from Intel offers dramatically improved power consumption than its predecessor, which now powers Apple laptops: Intel says up to 50 percent better, with up to three times the standby battery life. Other enhancements Gurman predicts in the new MacBook Airs include faster Wi-Fi supporting the 802.11ac standard, which offers the potential for gigabit transfer speeds; a higher-resolution FaceTime HD camera and improved audio input.

Apple introduced the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display at last year's WWDC, refreshing the MacBook Air and regular MacBook Pro line at the same time. It's made regular tweaks and enhancements to its portable laptop line since then: the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display was introduced in October, and Apple faster laptop processors and a price reduction in February 2013.

    

What is your primary iOS gaming device? [Poll]

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 02:12 PM PDT

There has been a bit of talk about mobile gaming in these parts this week, and while the Talk Mobile discussions are incredible -- really, they are so check them out if you haven't already -- we wanted to bring it back to iOS a little. Unlike our Windows or Android loving friends, our device choices for mobile gaming are pretty limited; one line of phone, two different tablets, the iPod touch and the Apple TV. But, that doesn't mean we don't target one of these specifically for getting our game on.

Each device has their own unique points that may assist someone choosing to use them as a gaming device. The iPod touch, for example, runs the same games as the iPhone while being just as portable, but it doesn't make calls so you can keep your iPhone free for communicating with the world. Whereas the iPad has that big, beautiful display, and the iPad mini offers a large display in a more portable form factor.

Personally, I like to get my gaming fix on my iPad. I like having the large screen to play on -- Real Racing 3 just doesn't feel the same on the iPhone. I also rely on my iPhone heavily to keep me connected with the world, the iMore team, my friends and family, so I don't really want to destroy the battery by playing endless sessions of Crazy Taxi. I do however love to use my Apple TV to mirror my games to my big screen TV. I like the feeling that I'm actually using a controller, and playing the game on the big screen in front of me just adds an extra dimension.

But, that's me, we want to hear about you! Drop us your vote in the poll up top, and drop into the comments below and let us know why you chose what you chose!

    

Madfinger Games talks more about Dead Trigger 2, on demo at E3

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 01:27 PM PDT

The fact that Madfinger Games is talking up Dead Trigger 2 is no surprise, we've known of it's existence for some time now. But, without specifically revealing a release date for the hotly anticipated title, they have announced they'll be showing it off once more at E3 where of course Mobile Nations will have a team on the ground all week.

The original Dead Trigger is a pretty impressive FPS, but the aspirations for the new title go even further. Instead of playing as a single player playing through the game, you're one of a number of survivors in a parallel universe fighting to take back control of the Earth.

And of course, we should take note of the astonishingly good looking graphics. Our buddies over at Android Central have already played Dead Trigger 2 on the new NVIDIA Shield, and assure us it's a whole lot of fun. Originally the title was slated for a June launch, but this has been put back until such a time the developers are 100% satisfied. It will be coming to iOS as a free-to-play title with in-app purchases, but the developers haven't yet ruled out an appearance on the Mac either. It's tough waiting, but it's sure to be worth it. Check out the full details below, and be sure to drop into the comments and let us know; Who's excited for this one?

Brno – June 5, 2013 – Madfinger Games, responsible for the successful mobile games: Shadowgun and Dead Trigger, with the latter having been downloaded from AppStore and Google Play by more than 18M players, has broken the news today on their long awaited follow-up game, Dead Trigger 2. At the E3 – Electronic Entertainment Expo, which will take place next week in Los Angeles, Madfinger Games in joint participation with NVIDIA, will present demo versions of their new release that will be available to play for all visitors.

While the original Dead Trigger was a simple single-player game, the sequel, Dead Trigger 2 aspires to much larger ambitions. Players will be delivered to a parallel world, where humanity is engaged in a battle for control of the Earth. What was once a game with a simple theme has been parlayed into a far greater project. "The first time you play Dead Trigger 2, you become part of a global conflict. You are not alone and you are not playing only for yourself. You are one of many survivors across continents and from different parts of the world," Marek Rabas explains the central concept of the game. "While there are individual objectives within the context of the game, you must align your efforts together with other players to fulfill a joint global objective."

The reality of this worldwide apocalyptic conflict is underlined by the fact that the game will play out in real time. "On the day of release, we will unveil a world that has battled the ravages of a zombie plague for the past two years. The first players of Dead Trigger 2 will enter into the conflict at this precise moment, while additional players will essentially be stepping aboard a moving train. New players, who download the game a year from now, will find themselves joining in at the third year of the apocalypse," clarifies Marek Rabas with regard to the development of the game. With each update, the action will shift to varying locations and continents with the concrete development influenced directly by the participation of players.

The developers emphasized core features in order to bring more emotional intensity into core gameplay. Aspects of the game that have undergone significant improvement include: zombie characters are more varied, dramatic game pacing has been completely re-worked so that the game will be more responsive to players' actions, combat intensity features improve the player experience and enable more thorough enjoyment in gameplay. "We placed tremendous focus on making a game that people would find entertaining," says Marek Rabas. In the following updates, the game will deliver more content - new weapons, gadgets, and zombies. "We worked hard to bring those features to the game that were absent in the first title. Players can look forward to additions such as using static weapons for heavy fights or shooting from helicopters, etc."

Players are again awaited by above-standard graphics, which remains a given at Madfinger Games. The developers of Dead Trigger 2 have introduced new graphic effects which will again push forward the boundaries of graphics. "Real time reflections in water, dynamic vegetation, cloth simulation and even, enhanced ragdolls, these are all things that are available in Dead Trigger 2, which you will see for the first time within a mobile game," reveals Project Leader, Pavel Cizek.

"We had hoped to release Dead Trigger 2 in June but when we put into perspective all the ideas that arose in the course of development, we decided that we did not want to deprive players of a better experience and so the decision was made to move back the release date," states Madfinger Games CEO, Marek Rabas. "We wanted to release the game only when we were at a level of 100% satisfaction."

The game will be released in Free-to-play format for both iOS and Android devices. Additionally, developers have not ruled out the possibility that Dead Trigger 2 will appear simultaneously on MacStore, Steam, and Facebook. The first game in the Dead Trigger series was released in summer 2012 and has since become a massive favorite within the gaming community. It has been met with significant acclaim, among other awards, it was selected for inclusion in the App Store Best of 2012, featured in the Apple "Hall Of Fame" and won Best Technical Achievement and Community Choice at the Unite 2012: Unity Awards

    

Fines for using the phone behind the wheel set to rise to £100 in the UK

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:41 AM PDT

You shouldn't be using a phone while behind the wheel of a car, and in the UK the fine for doing such a thing is set to increase. Currently, getting caught nets you a fine of £60, and the possibility of penalty points on your license. New Government plans are looking to increase the on-the-spot fine up to £100. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph on the matter, President of the AA, Edmund King said:

"An increase in the standard motoring fixed penalty fine will help deter those who commit motoring offences including mobile phone use. We are also pleased to see that at long last new powers and fines will be given to the police to tackle the top three pet hates of drivers – tailgaters, mobile phone abusers and middle lane hogs."

There's little else that needs to be said on the matter. As a driver myself, I sure hope these increased powers and fines will help to curb the issue, hopefully you agree with me?

Source: Daily Telegraph

    

How to disable website tracking in Safari for Mac

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:34 AM PDT

How to disable website tracking in Safari for Mac

There are lots of reasons browsers use website tracking. There are also lots of reasons you would want to turn it off.

If you use Safari for Mac, you can do just that with just a few simple clicks.

  1. Launch Safari on your Mac.
  2. In the top navigation, click on Safari and then Preferences.
  3. Now click on the Privacy tab in the Preferences window.
  4. Here you'll see an option for website tracking. Check the box next to Ask websites not to track me.

That's all there is to it. While Safari can't completely prevent websites from tracking you and your data, using this feature should prevent sites that actually obey the rules from doing so.

    

Kurabi for iPhone review: A refreshing twist on classic matching games, complete with ninja abilities!

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:13 AM PDT

Kurabi for iPhone review: A refreshing twist on classic matching games, complete with ninja abilities!

Kurabi for iPhone is a new puzzler for iPhone that pits you up against your friends to see who can make more matches and accumulate the most points in under a minute. Match pieces to clear the board and create exploding combos. Best two out of three rounds will win. The more you play, the more power ups you can unlock to use against your opponents.

If you aren't into heavy games but appreciate light puzzlers that you can quickly pick up and play whenever you have a few spare minutes, Kurabi is a perfect option. Each round is only a minute long before it switches to your opponent's turn. The object of Kurabi is to clear as many gold pieces from the board as you can. These are the pieces you get points for. You'll need to match at least 3 pieces to clear any but matching more than 3 will give you combos that you can tap in order to use.

Kurabi also allows you to use ninja abilities in order to help you clear levels. You'll start off each round of matches with 200 zen and each time you use an ability, your zen will drain, which means you'll have to be careful how you choose to use it. When starting Kurabi, you'll have three abilities to choose from but the more you play and the more gold pieces you accumulate, the more abilities you'll unlock.

As far as multiplayer support, Kurabi uses Game Center which means you can either play a friend you already have in Game Center that's also playing Kurabi, or you can let it find you a random opponent. With the free version of Kurabi, you'll be able to play 3 games at once. You can opt to pay $1.99 as an in-app purchase which will remove the three game limit as well as remove all ads permanently.

The good

  • Super easy to play and will appeal to anyone who likes Candy Crush or Bejeweled
  • Intriguing spin on matching games that makes things a little more interesting
  • Great interface that flows smoothly and doesn't seem to ever hang up

The bad

  • Game Center is the only multiplayer option available, which may limit who you can play
  • Three games at a time max, unless you opt for the premium version

The bottom line

There are lots of matching games in the App Store but Kurabi is probably one of the best ones I've played. Not only is the interface clean and light, it provides an interesting twist on a classic style game. It's great when you only have a few minutes to kill and don't want to get pulled into playing a game for hours on end.

    

iTunes updated to v11.0.4, promises fix for syncing issues

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:59 AM PDT

iTunes 11.0.4 released

Apple has released a small update to iTunes, bumping it to version 11.0.4, and includes a fix for an issue that caused iTunes to quit if the user switched between wired and wireless syncing. The release notes say:

This update fixes a problem that may that my cause iTunes to quit if you switch between wired and wireless syncing and addresses an issue that may require you to log into the iTunes Store repeatedly.

The update is currently available through the Mac App Store, so go ahead and grab yourselves a copy, and let us know in the comments if it fixes your issues or if you happen to notice anything new.

Thanks to Keith for the tip!

    

Thetrainline updated for iPhone 5 support, tickets on your phone coming soon

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:34 AM PDT

For UK commuters who use the train a lot, thetrainline for iPhone is one of those must have apps, and today it has been updated to finally support the 4-inch display on the iPhone 5. Better still, we're told that the ability to have your tickets sent straight to your phone is coming soon.

Finally fitting the iPhone 5 display properly is pleasing, but it's what's to come that's really interesting. There's no mention of how the tickets will be sent to your iPhone, though we can only hope that it happens through Passbook integration. But, for regular train users this is sure to be of interest, though it means an end to inserting your ticket in the barriers to exit the station.

The last time this app was updated was way back in November 2012, so we're certainly overdue. Also included in todays update are improved station lists, and an improved journey search that lets you use trains that have already departed -- perhaps even with you on it. It's also been given a little bit of spit and polish, and refreshed the design a little. I buy all my train tickets through thetrainline, so I'm really excited about getting my tickets sent to my iPhone down the line. How about you?

    

Square Enix announces Deus Ex: The Fall, coming soon to iPhone and iPad

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 09:42 AM PDT

Square Enix has announced Deus Ex: The Fall for iPhone and iPad. Set in the same time period as their console and PC game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, The Fall combines a first-person shooter with third-person, cover-based mechanics. Players take on the role of Ben Saxon, a man who was betrayed by his employers, trying to find out what happened to him. Ben can make use of a host of augmentations that allow him to do things like see through obstructions, become invisible, and punch through walls to attack enemies.

The announcement video shows off some of the gameplay, including the touch controls. These controls include multiple movement options, either using virtual thumbsticks or tapping on your destination, which the developers say is easier for some gameplay on the iPad. Square Enix hasn't announced an exact release date for the game yet, but promises that it will be released "soon".

Source: Deus Ex YouTube channel

    

British Airways finally adds Passbook integration to their iPhone app!

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 09:32 AM PDT

I know there's a few of my British friends who've been waiting on this one; British Airways has finally added Passbook support to their iPhone app! The update is pushing out through the App Store as we speak, and going forward all boarding passes will be presented in Passbook. There is however an issue with the app for anyone on iOS 5, and BA is advising users on this software version not to update at this time.

The Passbook integration isn't quite finished yet, though, as BA is announcing today as part of the update that they're going to make it even better later on in the month. Passbook boarding passes will be enhanced so that they're presented to you on your lockscreen as you're ready to fly. When this is ready to go, customers will be notified by an in-app message. So, it took a while to arrive, but when it did, it's done right. Good job British Airways!

    

Latest Enterprise Mobile Device Activations Report: Who Cares about a Powerpoint App?

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 09:00 AM PDT

Device Activations by Platform

The latest report on enterprise activations of mobile devices from Good Technology has very good news for Apple, the iPad and iPhone, and Android. And some very grim news for Microsoft and their Windows Phone and Surface tablet lines. See the teeny, tiny sliver of red in the chart above? That's the Windows Phone share of device activations in the report. The Surface tablet line doesn't even manage a sliver of the chart for tablet activations.

Here's a little background on the Good Technology Mobility Index Report for Q1 of 2013:

With a diverse global customer base that includes FORTUNE 100™ leaders in commercial banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, government, and aerospace and defense, Good is uniquely positioned to provide insight into the adoption of new mobile platforms and devices. Good Technology analyzed the mobile devices activated by its customers over the first...

Read the whole entry... »

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WordPress iPad App Gets Another Minor Update

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 08:17 AM PDT

Wordpress iPad app

The WordPress app for iPad and iOS has been updated again this week, to Version 3.6. Top of the list of changes in this update is 'a completely redesigned new user experience'. At first I misread this as being a revamp to the app's UI, but I think this means the initial sign-in process in the app has been refreshed. I deleted it and reinstalled and the interface does look new to me.

Here's the full change list for this latest update to the WordPress iOS app:

• A completely redesigned new user experience
• A faster way to post: added a shortcut on the sidebar
- Fixed a problem with Tumblr imported blogs
- Emoticons now appear correctly on notifications
- Performance improvements for notifications
- Updated translations: now also in Russian, Danish, and Korean

Far from a major update here, and it feels to me like this app is still overdue for a more...

Read the whole entry... »

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How can mobile get its multiplayer game on?

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 08:49 AM PDT

The first mobile games in their time were great. Just like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong at the arcades, or Pitfall or Super Mario on the early consoles, BrickBreaker on BlackBerry, Bejeweled on Palm OS, or Tap Tap Revenge on iOS. But, like any early game, we played the first mobile games alone, or perhaps with a few friends.

Over time, however, the PC went online, and so did consoles. From Ultima to EverQuest to World of Warcraft, from Halo to Call of Duty to Battlefield 4, PC and console games have become increasingly social and increasingly multiplayer. Massively so.

Now, with ubiquitous Wi-Fi and persistent cellular connections, so has mobile and so has mobile gaming. And since mobile isn't constrained to an arcade or living room, mobile players can join in the action anytime, and anywhere, and bring with them additional technology and features like GPS and social networks beyond the games.

That's led to new innovations like push notifications for challenges, video and audio streaming to TV sets, and asynchronous play. And it's only just the beginning. Real Racing 3 and Ingress are only the beginning when it comes to multiplayer and MMO gaming on mobile.

How far have we come, how well does it work now, and how much farther can multiplayer scale on mobile?

    

WWDC 2013 wish-list: iMore's top iCloud wants!

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 08:14 AM PDT

WWDC 2013 preview: iCloud wish list!

To the internet! That's what everyone is doing these days, and for Apple, that means iCloud. The rebirth of MobileMe, which was the rebirth of .Mac, iCloud has been praised for its effortless backup and restore, easy app and media re-downloads, and it's $0 price tag for the basic level. But it's also caught flack for outages, for iMessage, and for Core Data sync, which has bedeviled developers. So what do the staff and friends of iMore most want to see in iCloud next?

Let's see!

Peter Cohen, managing editor of iMore

iCloud needs better reliability. I frequently have problems with services going down (even though Apple says they're online on its iCloud status page), and even momentary outages are nervewracking. I also have issues with getting calendars, contact lists and other content synchronized through iCloud, so I strongly suspect Apple's got some work to do there.

Ally Kazmucha, how-to editor of iMore

From iCloud, I want a better way to manage files and documents. Whether that's a document browser available across Mac and iOS or another way, I don't know. It just needs to happen.

I'd also like to see more settings when it comes to managing iCloud backups. More specifically, I'd like the ability to delete things from backups and to manage device backups without actually being on that device.

Oh yeah, a much more reliable iMessage. It's a bag of hurt half the time, and that makes it a not so reliable option.

Richard Devine, senior editor of iMore

Some form of file browser for iCloud, even better a web portal and a way to split iCloud files away from being exclusive to the apps you use them with. I appreciate the 'invisible' nature of iCloud syncing, but the thing that stops me using it more is that I can't just go and get the files as I can on Dropbox.

Marc Edwards, co-host of Iterate

What I want from iCloud this year is predictability and stability. Nothing more.

Seth Clifford, co-host of Iterate

What do I want to see from iCloud? I want to see it work.

I don't mean to be so glib, but I can't trust it. And lots of people (both nerds and non-nerds alike) can't either. Apple's own integrations are actually very good (Photo Stream, calendar/contact sync, iCloud backup/restore, etc.) but what's provided to developers for their own integration points is laughable at best. Apple's never been exemplary at web services, but to continue delivering on its own promises - and to compete in the market as things move the way that they are - they've got to stop waving their hands and using hyperbole and actually deliver bulletproof APIs for that stuff.

iCloud has got such potential, but it's so far from being realized in its current state.

Chris Parsons, editor-at-large of Mobile Nations

I'm quite pleased with iCloud as is, it's just a shame it always seem to go down. Improved reliability there would be great.

Anthony, videographer

I want to see device granularity in terms of being able to control what kind/size/age of thing to sync.

Nick Arnott, security columnist

iCloud is an interesting feature in that it improves lives by staying out of the way. Whether it's restoring a new iPhone to a backup of your old iPhone after dropping it in a river, or making sure that when your iPad dies you can keep playing Real Racing HD on your iPhone, iCloud has done wonders for user experience, while requiring very little adjustment by users.

The problem is that developers have not been able to enjoy the same painless integration as users on their side of things. Despite a number of prominent developers becoming vocal of a broken iCloud, no news has come from Apple about fixing the system. As a user this means there are not as many developers writing apps that make use of iCloud as there could be. Even those that are using iCloud have come to rely on hacky implementations that are potentially unreliable and could easily break. Before Apple goes looking to expand upon iCloud, they need to fix it. Once they do, developers and users alike should be able to enjoy the results.

Rene Ritchie, editor-in-chief of iMore

iCloud was meant to be ubiquitous. All our stuff, on all our devices, where ever we are, when ever we want it. For the most part, for many things, iCloud now does just that. Sure, Core Data sync probably has to be ripped out and replaced with something less impossible, but for mail, backups, and re-downloads, it works.

What I'd really like to see is for iCloud to become even more ubiquitous and for more things. I'd like to become aware of and to preserve state. From notifications to game levels, when I leave one device I want my state stored up on the iCloud and pushed down to all the rest. If I'm using one device, send all my notifications there, and nowhere else. If I'm not using any particular device, blast them everywhere to find me, until I dismiss them somewhere, then kill them everywhere.

If I exit an app, save its current state to iCloud, so if I go back to the same app on another device, I'm in exactly the same spot, Angry Birds or Fantastical, Elements or Infinity Blade.

Sure, it'll be slow at first. And the potential for collisions will be huge. This is a wish list, though, not a reality list, and if you shoot for the moon, sometimes you can still leap mountains.

What's your number one iCloud wish?

So that's what everyone here at iMore wants to see! Well, almost everyone. You're the most important part of the site, so your opinion matters to us the most! Tell me, what's your number one wish come iCloud and WWDC?

    

Deal of the Day: 54% off the Qmadix Crave for iPhone 5

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 07:26 AM PDT

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The evolutionary design of the Qmadix Crave case combines tri-fused shock-absorbent material with a sophisticated outer shell that provides maximum protection for your iPhone 5. The Crave case helps to absorb impact against drops and shields your iPhone 5 from scratches. Available in black, red, white, lime and pink.

List Price: $34.99     Today Only: $16.00

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Hall of fame: Loren Brichter and Tweetie

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 07:15 AM PDT

Hall of fame: Loren Brichter and Tweetie

Tweetie for iPhone launched in 2008 and from the very beginning was described as the Twitter app Apple themselves would have made. While that was certainly meant to compliment Tweetie's native look and feel, and its incredible performance, it falls short of capturing the skill and vision of Loren Brichter, the man behind the app.

At the time, Brichter and Tweetie seemly came out of nowhere. Brichter, however, had been working at Apple as member of the original iPhone's OpenGL team, off the public -- and developer community -- radar. After leaving Apple and returning to the east coast, Brichter began his own indie development company, atebits. His first app was Scribbles for Mac. In a blog post [via the Internet Archive, Brichter described Scribbles like this:

Lately there has been a barrage of image editors for Mac OS X. No doubt, a few of them are pretty great, but Scribbles is unique. First of all, it's designed to do one thing insanely well: drawing. It's not an image-editor, or a photoshop-killer, or an excuse for cluttering your screen with two dozen translucent HUD's... it's a drawing app plain and simple. [...] The Mac needs a drawing tool that everyone can use. One of the primary design goals of Scribbles was to make the interface accessible to every potential user, from kids to pros. The hope is that this is evident as soon as you start it up. The entire interface (sans the menu bar) is entirely text-less. The interface is contained in a single window, and morphs between modes. Buttons that you don't need stay out of your way until you need them. The interface for dealing with layers is my personal favorite. For people not familiar with the concept, Scribbles makes layers intuitive.

Scribbles picture, color, and layer interfaces

On Debug 1, Brichter added:

MacPaint was my inspiration for Scribbles. It was also my first attempt at my own custom UI framework.

Custom UI frameworks is a theme Brichter would revisit again and again. After Scribbles, Brichter switched to iOS (then iPhone OS). And on November 19, 2008, he launched Tweetie.

The original release was functional and conventional, very much that Apple-style Twitter app. It earned Brichter considerable praise, including John Gruber's on Daring Fireball:

Tweetie, a brand-new $3 iPhone Twitter client by Loren Brichter, is now available from the App Store. I've been using beta versions for a few weeks, and it is currently my favorite iPhone Twitter client by far.

In April of 2009, Brichter also released Tweetie for Mac, which used his new Bigbird engine, and for which he created twui, a "hardware accelerated UI framework for Mac, inspired by UIKit [for iOS]". Brichter kept iterating on the iPhone version as well. He added features like Quick Actions, which let you swipe a Tweet to reveal reply, user info, and favorite options. And Brichter showed he had a sense of humor, and a willingness to troll the App Store, by adding flashlight functionality and fast noises.

Tweetie 1.2 timeline, bubble theme, direct messages

Tweetie wasn't immune to controversy, however, and not just for its use of the above-mentioned "Popularity Enhancers", or the chat bubbles. Tweetie 1.3 was initially rejected by the App Store because "#FuckItList" appeared in the trending topics list on the day it went up for review. It was one of the highest profile examples of an area where Apple and developers still sometimes struggle to find common ground, and sense.

At WWDC 2009 in June Brichter and Tweetie won an Apple Design Award (ADA). Brichter wrote about the experience, and his experience with Tweetie's success in general, on the atebits blog (via the Internet Archive):

I had no idea it would become so successful. I think it had something to do with the fact that it embraced the iPhone interface philosophy. Many other apps "invented their own wheel", Tweetie did it the Apple way. I gave a talk at Stanford about it. And I won something that I had dreamed about since the day I learned Cocoa so many years ago (thanks James). I'm beyond honored.

In September of 2009 Brichter also caused consumers and developers alike to pay attention when he famously released Tweetie 2.0 as a new app, rather than an update to the existing Tweetie binary. Because Apple does not allow for paid upgrades in the App Store, some developers had resigned themselves to giving away all new versions of their app for free. Brichter bucked that trend, which meant he would get paid for re-writing most of the code from scratch, but customers of the original Tweetie would have to pay full price for the new version. It may have only been a few dollars, but it was, and remains for other developers who've since followed in his footsteps, a controversial choice. Yet it showed Brichter understood more than development and design, and more than marketing. It showed he understood the business and the importance of sustainable products. From the same blog post (via the Internet Archive):

Tweetie 2 for Mac will be a completely free upgrade. (So if you haven't already grabbed a license, feel free to do so). On the other hand, Tweetie 2 for iPhone will be a whole new app. And while it's arguably worth a lot more, I'm keeping the price exactly the same: $2.99.

Tweetie 2 was a phenomenal upgrade, with a set of new features that catered to casual users and power users alike. It had persistence (before Apple added it in iOS 4), drafts, threaded conversations, @people picker, peak gestures for replies and other gesture shortcuts, integration with a lot of other nerdy apps, API proxy, and all of it simple and relatively easy to use. And it introduced the now ubiquitous pull-to-refresh gesture. ("Pull to refresh" image via Tai Shimizu):

Tweetie 2.0 timeline, pull to refresh in mentions, shortcuts in replies

Quantifying Brichter's success with Tweetie a recent Wall Street Journal profile said:

The son of a contractor and a restaurant owner, Mr. Brichter graduated from Tufts University with a degree in electrical engineering in 2006. He lives with his wife and two dogs, working from a small, tidy home office with a large Mac monitor and a framed chart of Tweetie's second version topping the app store revenue chart, a Christmas gift from his father. (The $2.99 app achieved the status in 2009 while making about $50,000 a day.)

Loren Brichter talks Apple, OpenGL, Tweetie, Letterpress, and the future of interface

On April 9, 2010, Twitter bought atebits' iOS products and Brichter's services. Twitter for iPad launched under their, first party, brand. Along with the re-named Twitter for iPhone, their prices all went to free, and they became the official Twitter clients for iOS. Twitter for Mac launched later, in 2011. From the Twitter blog:

We're thrilled to announce that we've entered into an agreement with atebits (aka Loren Brichter) to acquire Tweetie, a leading iPhone Twitter client. Tweetie will be renamed Twitter for iPhone and made free (currently $2.99) in the iTunes AppStore in the coming weeks. Loren will become a key member of our mobile team that is already having huge impact with device makers and service providers around the world. Loren's work won the 2009 Apple Design Award and we will eventually launch Twitter for iPad with his help.

With Twitter for iPad, released on September 2, 2010, Brichter took it a step further. You could slide panels of data across the screen, layering your way through levels of tweets, people, and information, getting more each time while never losing your last state or path back. It was won of the first true next-generation tablet interfaces and while it was divisive, with defenders and detractors alike, it was undeniably audacious and forward-thinking. Arguably, it was part of the trend that eventually settled into the hamburger and basement interface metaphor. And Brichter had only just gotten started.

From Debug 1

Twitter for iPad was a ton of fun to make. I think if it had another two or three months in the oven, it would have stood the test of time. But it wasn't quite finished, it was never quite finished.

Twitter for iPad

Unfortunately, Twitter changed business priorities and design direction before Brichter could finish his work or achieve his vision for the apps born as Tweetie. On November 5, 2011 Brichter and Twitter parted ways.

Back at atebits and back as an indie developer, Brichter's next and current project is Letterpress. Inspired by his desire to play a turn-based word game with his wife, Brichter being Brichter spent some time re-writing UIKit in OpenGL first, then released the clean, solid, whimsically animated, whose instant and immense popularity more than pushed Apple's Game Center to its limits. Dave Wiskus wrote in his iMore review:

It seems weird to relaunch atebits with a word game. Back in May, I asked Loren what he was working on next, and he said he wanted to start off small in order to "reset expectations". This turns out to be a brilliant move: more work on a social network of any kind would seem obvious and risk painting the man as a one-trick pony. However, a game helps to shift the focus back to the product.

Brichter has also recently been helping out his friend, Mike Matas, at Facebook. And it's still just as possible that's he's still only getting started.

"Loren Brichter was a pioneer in the iPhone's early days, and has remained at the forefront throughout iOS' fast-paced six year history. The inventor of pull-to-refresh and the creator of Letterpress, Loren has planted his place atop the new mobile landscape and is worthy of induction to the iMore Hall Of Fame."
Marc Edwards, Bjango

Tweetie was more than just a great Twitter app. It embraced the conventions of the platform at the time, making people feel instantly at home, and yet extended them in ingenious ways, making people feel even more empowered. The most famous example of this type of innovation from Brichter is "pull-to-refresh", but it was only one of several. Apple created the elastic band effect so that hitting the end of a scroll view would be delightful. Brichter thought of a way to make it trigger and action as well. He added functionality to the delight. That describes his career perfectly. An OpenGL coder who can not only make incredible Cocoa apps, but impeccably designed ones, that are as efficient to use as they are enjoyable, and as influential as they are successful. A quadrupal threat, Loren Brichter can code, he can craft, he can market, and he can sell.

That's why, as part of the 2013 iMore hall of fame, we're honoring Loren Brichter and one of the most influential mobile apps of all time, Tweetie.

    

Starbucks the king of the mobile wallet apps in the U.S, accounts for most transactions

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 06:53 AM PDT

Mobile wallet apps are still taking off, but one company has soared to the top of the spend list; Starbucks. Reports suggest that U.S. customers spent $500 million using such apps during 2012, and that 'most' of that was spent in Starbucks using their own app.

The likes of Google Wallet and Square garner much more media attention, but the Starbucks Card within their mobile app has succeeded in ways those have not. Mobile wallet solutions have been slow to gain support from retailers, and indeed spread themselves globally. Here in the UK, for example, Google Wallet doesn't exist, but Starbucks does. Pretty much any main branch of Starbucks will accept payment via the app, and this sort of in-house management of the solution says a lot for its success. On the iPhone the Starbucks Card is also Passbook enabled, keeping it close at hand.

There's no doubt we'll see such methods of payment begin to grow over the next few years, but the Starbucks success does at least show there is a willingness to pay for things this way. I'd love to leave my wallet at home, and just carry my iPhone 5 with Passbook loaded up with all the payment methods I'll need that day. How much do you guys use mobile wallet apps for payments? For more than just coffee? Let us know!

Source: Gigaom

    

Time Warner Cable talking to Apple over streaming video deals for the Apple TV

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:33 AM PDT

Time Warner Cable is in discussions with Apple over deals for streaming video deals according to the company's CEO Glenn Britt. TWC already has an application on the Roku box, but speaking at an investor conference in London, Britt outlined who else exactly TWC is talking to:

"You should assume we're talking to everyone who makes devices like this, whether it's Samsung smart TVs, Apple, Microsoft"

A bold statement, and will pique hopes that a TWC streaming application may be headed to the Apple TV sometime in the not-so-distant future. It also shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, since TWC already has apps for the iPhone and iPad, as well as a desktop player compatible with OS X.

Cable companies aren't exactly all in on Internet powered TV viewing, and Britt is something of an exception. And of course, we'd love to see more content available via the Apple TV. TWC customers; is this what you're looking for?

Source: Fiercecable

    
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