Covering OS X & iOS.
Twitter will soon be adding paid results to your Twitter stream. First in search results, and later, in everyone’s Twitter feed. Seems to me that this effectively reduces the ability for Twitter client developers to make money by inserting their own ads in the Twitter feed. Couple this with Twitter’s recent purchases of desktop and mobile client Twitter clients, and it is suddenly not a great time to be depending upon Twitter clients for revenue.
Category: Links
Stuff like this scares me in general. I mean, serving up a different version of your site for 3.5″ mobile device makes sense. But the iPad is designed to be a great web device, and shouldn’t dictate a separate web site, optimized for the iPad be served up. There are exceptions of course, but the last thing we need is a more fragmented web.
Category: Links
Brent Simmons:
We’re not giving out the actual numbers, but I will tell you this, and I think this is very cool. The iPad app, within five days, made us more money than the iPhone app has in its existence over the last six months or something.
Category: Links
Looks like a great way to manage your MailChimp campaigns on the go. MailChimp’s web interface is stellar, and the iPhone app looks equally impressive.
Category: Links
Apple has released the long expected updates to their Macbook Pro line. All models – 13 inch, 15 inch, and 17 inch received upgrades, although the 15 inch and 17 inch models were the only ones to receive the newer core i5 (15 inch models) and core i7 chips. The 13 inch model does receive a speed bump (to 2.4 and 2.66ghz).
Other improvements include newer graphics chips. In the 13 inch models, the graphic system is revved to the nVidia GeFore 320M chip. In the 15 and 17 inch models, the dual graphics system remains. The onboard graphics is Intels HD graphics chip, and the dedicated graphics system is nVidia GeForce GT 330M (with 256 or 512MB of RAM, depending upon the model you select).
Other improvements include 4GB of RAM standard on all models, and slight hard drive bumps across the line.
Battery life specs seem to be slightly higher across the board as well (10 hours for the 13 inch model, 8-9 for 15 and 17 inch models).
One new option for the 15 inch model is a Hi-Res display, which brings the resolution up from 1440×900 to 1680×1050 with an options for both glossy and anti-glare ($100 for the glossy, $150 for the anti-glare (matte)).
Price points remain the same as before.
Category: Hardware
So, the world is awash in iPad fever. A little over 24 hours from now, the first real people in the world will get their hands on the new device, and the web will be flooded with those users impressions. Being the rabid early adopter that I am, you are probably expecting me to be one of those users. This time out, I will not.
The iPad looks amazing. Apple took what everyone thought the OS on a device like this would look like, and proceeded to raise the bar. More importantly, judging from the first batch of early iPad apps, iPhone OS Developers raised the bar as well. Most of the apps I’ve seen that started as iPhone apps have had completely revamped interfaces for their iPad versions. I believe a large part of the iPad’s success hinges on developers treating the iPad as a seperate device, and not just as a large iPod Touch.
I am going to get an iPad, but I’m waiting.
Waiting for what, you ask?
Well, first off, the 3G version. $130 extra is nothing for the added convenience of getting data when there is no WiFi available. The fact that Apple negotiated such a great deal with AT&T on both rates and contract terms (there aren’t any), means I can enable, use, and cancel the service at will. The cherry on top is that Apple made it painless to perform all of those steps, as they can be done straight from the iPad. Bravo!
The other thing I am waiting for is iPhone OS 4.0. We all know it’s close (unless of course, Apple delays it from the usual summer time launch coinciding with their next gen iPhone).
The one feature I feel I need that is missing from an iPad is multitasking. On the iPhone, I can forgive it’s absence most of the time. But on a device like the iPad, I can’t justify it’s use if it is going to lock me down to a single task at once (or more aptly, a single 3rd party task at one – Mail, iPod all run in the background). If I’m spending $830 on a computing device, I damned well better be able to stream audio from Pandora or the MLB app in the background while I surf the web or work in Pages. Multitasking is the missing feature I just can’t brush aside on an iPad.
So, assuming Apple realizes this and has multitasking slated for iPhone OS 4.0 and a summer release, that puts me in to the wait and see camp. For once, I’ll let everyone else work out the bugs while I wait (im)patiently on the sidelines.
Category: Opinion
Verizon took aim at AT&T earlier this week by offering an unlimited calling plan for $69.99. Today, AT&T responded in kind, matching Verizon’s unlimited calling plan feature for feature. Additionally, iPhone users (and other smartphone users with unlimited data plans) can get an unlimited voice and data plan for $99.99. The only thing that is an extra there is text messages, which AT&T still thinks is worth an extra $20.
AT&T says these plans will be available Monday in stores, online, or by calling AT&T directly.
Party hardy heavy talkers.
Category: Cellphones
Clickable Bliss have offered a public beta of their new app, ProfitTrain, to users.
ProfitTrain is the successor to Billable, a invoicing/accounting application.
A screencast is available that shows the app in action. Additionally, you can download the betas and help out with testing.
Category: Software
The web is awash in Apple Tablet fever. The world now expects Apple to release a Tablet device at the January 27th Press event. And since Apple hasn’t issued any statement to dispell that notion, I’d tend to agree that some sort of Tablet device will be announced (I don’t think Apple would want to spoil this event with a huge let down, even if it meant they had to issue a statement beforehand).
Here’s a round up of Tablet musings:
Mac Rumors says that no one can get a hold of 10.1 LCD screens, because Apple has effectively bought them all up.
Tim, over at Made By Elephant, speculates on what an Apple tablet might mean asthetically, and functionally.
AppleInsider muses that the Tablet might ship with a touch version of iWork. Really? OK.
Category: Rumor
Use SimpleNote on your iPhone? Want a free, easy way to review and update notes on your Mac? Resen answers the call with DashNote, a free Dashboard widget that connects to your SimpleNote account, and allows you to edit and create new notes.
Category: Software
A user of Macs since they had silly names like Performa and Centris, Theodore Lee is a techie who prides himself on his vast knowledge of all things Apple. OS X Factor was started in 2001 (originally as macosxcentric), and continues to churn out tips, tutorials, reviews and commentary on the tech sector.
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