Someone should probably create a statistic (I’m surprised there isn’t one, yet) that shows how lawsuits grow in number when company earnings grow.
I don’t agree with all Apple’s policies, but it’s a pity that many people try to make money out of them (and other big companies every day) with lawsuits.
See here new lawsuits against Apple.
When I moved from Windows (2000 at the time) to OS X I had quite a few problems, initially with Finder (the counter part of Windows Explorer). I simply felt it did not have all the features I needed and that I was used to on Windows.
I tried PathFinder a really nice alternative Finder developed by CocoaTech. I think it’s a cool tool and shows many of the little things that could be added to the native Finder. After the 2 weeks of free test I decided that it actually had too many features for me. I went back to the default Finder and over the years I found my way with it and using xterm when needed (opening a file with vi or less is SO easy, fast and comfortable).
A new Finder is going to be introduced in Leopard. An overview of the evolution of Finder over the years and what is coming is available on AppleInsider. I think it’s an interesting reading.
I was reading this article @AppleInsider and thought that if Apple is thinking about extending Javascript to allow applications to access more of the features of the device and is going to provide more visibility for Web-apps, then maybe they think that the iPhone is a Web-appliance. This means that the iPhone is a pocket-web browser. It’s not a device to build applications for.
There are so many services that have moved from their original interface to a web interface. If you can use Javascript to access information on the device and you can store data on the filesystem (like Google Gears already offers) then why do you need to build your own UI?
See this older post I made on a similar topic and I think this rumor, if true, would confirm.
Apple computers and all the accessories have always been more expensive in Europe than in the US. Once Apple computers were way more expensive than an unbranded PC, but they used different technologies and it was hard to make a real comparison. Today Apple computers are running Intel chips, IDE hard drives, have USB ports and most of the hardware is the same. Prices in the US have dropped and are not aligned with Dell and HP.
In Italy and in Europe they are still way more expensive. Prices are the apparently the same, what in the US costs 1199 USD, will cost you 1199 Euro in Europe (see the iMac’s). What strikes me is that today, 1 Euro is worth almost 1.4 US Dollars, so something that costs 1000 Dollars in the US should cost less than 750 Euro here!
The latest example of this is the iPhone that was just launched in the UK, it costs 269 Pounds that are about 390 Euro and also about 545 USD! Once again, the price in USD and Euro is the same it’s just that they are not the same currency.
Reporting from Surfin’ Safari Blog:
[W]e have a WebKit detection script that properly checks for the WebKit engine (not just Safari) and properly detects versions.
This script has now been updated to support iPhone and the new iPod touch. You can try a live version to see what kinds of results you’ll get on different browsers and devices.
For all those that believed that mobile devices are the same as desktop PC’s.
Read the full article here: WebKit Detect script updated for iPhone and iPod touch.
Apple has posted the developers’ guidelines for content aimed to the iPhone.
It is good to see that they are telling developers to pay a lot of attention to the fact that the device is not a desktop PC and despite the fact that it supports web standards such as HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0, it still has some constraints like missing a mouse and a small screen.
I also appreciate very much the strong suggestion of sticking to the standards, you really want to keep things simple for the iPhone to process and using weird tags or strange constructs in your markup is not a good way to make the browser’s life easy.
Go ahead, get started with the development, as soon as you’re done reading Optimizing Web Applications and Content for iPhone.
Apple has hired some IM specialists (such as Justin Wood of Proteus) over the years and Jabber has been part of iChat for a long time now, but the support of Google Talk in the next release is actually not simply a Jabber-news, but another sign of the on-going cooperation between Google and Apple.
I wonder how much cooperation exists or WILL exist between Mozilla, Firefox, Camino and the Wekkit and Safari.
Read the full article at Appleinsider, Apple places full-screen QT, ZFS, more hidden features in Leopard.
At Appleinsider they have a new article entitled Apple says iPhone can be activated by users at home that says:
“Activating iPhone takes only minutes as iTunes guides the user through simple steps to choose their service plan, authorize their credit and activate their iPhone, Apple said. Once iPhone is activated, users can then easily sync all of their phone numbers and other contact information, calendars, email accounts, web browser bookmarks, music, photos, podcasts, TV shows and movies just like they do when they sync their iPods with iTunes.”
Wait a minute! I buy the phone in an Apple store, I walk home, plug the phone in the USB port, start up iTunes and… subscribe to AT&T? Select my preferred plan? You know what? This sounds a lot like I’m buying a mobile phone plan from iTunes. Sounds like I’m giving some money to Apple for this. Sounds like I will be able to buy more content and services from AT&T (or another operator) from the familiar interface of iTunes. Sounds like iTunes is turning into the centerpiece for buying media and services. Well THIS is an interesting new approach from Apple. This sounds innovative. This sounds like building more and more services around their iTunes platform.
Via Fabrizio Capobianco:
“June 29th is the turning point for the mobile market, the one we have waited for years. The fun starts now.”
A very good press release, as always, from M:Metrics. This month it’s focused around the iPhone and how Americans and British have perceived the phone, features and how they are considering to buy it and maybe switch to AT&T.
Read the full article here, M:Metrics: high awareness, strong demand for iPhone among British and American mobile phone users.
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