Tweeted by @Musclenerd this morning, it seems like we have an official list of iPad-compatible Cydia apps now. It’s a Google spreadsheet you can contribute to, and it’s available here.
Opera: “Flash as a Video Container Makes Very Little Sense”
Flash is under fire again, and this time the attack comes from Opera Software. In an interview with Techradar, Opera’s product analyst Phillip Grønvold said that the future of the web is made of open standards, and that Flash is not open. If Opera wants to stay in the market, they need to support them and Flash for video really doesn’t make sense.
“Today’s internet content is dependant on Flash,” said Grønvold. “If you remove Flash you do not have today’s internet. We are trying to give the best internet experience for our users therefore we need Flash - there is no way to beat around that bush.”
But at Opera we say that the future of the web is open web standards and Flash is not an open web standards technology. Flash does have its purposes and will have its purposes, the same as [Microsoft’s] Silverlight and others, especially for dynamic content. But flash as a video container makes very little sense for CPU, WiFi battery usage etcetera – you can cook an egg on [devices] once you start running Flash on them and there’s a reason for that.”
So there you have it, Opera joins the debate as well. I think they’re making the right move.
Apple Adds a “Get Stuff Done” Section to the App Store
Apple is constantly refining the App Store experience, in order to showcase the best apps (App of the Week) or just show off the capabilities of a device by grouping the most interesting apps into a specific section.
It seems like Apple has just launched a new one, called “Get Stuff Done”, which groups the best productivity / business apps to get things done on the iPad. Lots of good apps are in there, and I think this is an interesting move from Apple to tell people that the iPad isn’t just meant for consuming media - but for producing content as well.
Check out the new section here.
Steam for Mac Redesign
Steam for Mac is coming in a week, and we can’t wait to try it out. But, I think it’s a given that the app doesn’t look very Mac-like and that Valve simply went for a unified interface design across all the platforms Steam will be available on.
Can Steam for Mac look better on OS X? Sure, and Sebastian de With (@cocoia) gives us a peek of what he’d like it to be.
ReaddleDocs: It Could Have Been Good, But…
If you read my Good Reader review last week, you should have noticed that I’m pretty satisfied with the app, even though it has some UI quirks and it surely can get a lot better. I know that the developers are working hard on improving the app, and I guess that an update addressed to fix the aforementioned problems is already on its way to the App Store.
Are there any alternatives to Good Reader though? Not so many, and most of them are very poorly executed applications that let you import documents and, in the best case, upload them somewhere on the internet. Can ReaddleDocs for iPad be any better than the others?
Adobe Promises “The Best Tools In The World” for HTML5
So you were scared Adobe was that ugly best dominating the internet world from their Flash-based throne. Perhaps you even thought that they called the Feds to start an investigation against Apple, the rebel who fights for a HTML5 world made of standard compliant houses and javascript flowers.
The iPad, A Story [Part II] - Details
As I held the iPad in my hands for the first time I knew that it was going to change something about the way I consume the internet and produce content for MacStories. I mean, I had no justified reason to believe the iPad was going to change anything, at least not after holding it for a few seconds and simply staring at its screen. But just like every revolution in our fast running technology world, it’s about the details, even those that you don’t see but perceive after a few seconds. My first encounter with the iPad was an impression, more than an approach.
Apple Updates the Downloads Page Again
As TUAW reports, it seems like Apple has updated the downloads page on Apple.com again. You know, the page that lists all the best softwares for Mac OS X and that used to be one of the best traffic sources for developers. Used to be, because some weeks ago it turned out that Apple wasn’t updating the page anymore, and developers freaked out.
Relax guys, Downloads are back.
Things for Mac, Built With HTML5
You know, awesome stuff can be developed using modern technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3. We’ve seen excellent examples before, like the Opera icon in CSS3 or Safari running inside Safari. What about a Mac application ported to HTML5 and running within your browser?
That’s what Bastian Allgeier of Zootool has managed to do by converting Cultured Code’s Things to a HTML5 / CSS3 “webapp”.