A great idea by reader Nicolas Hoibian, which uses BeautifulSoup to fetch the source code of Apple’s System Status page, parse it, and print it with custom fonts and colors in Pythonista’s console.
Here’s my modified version that uses Pythonista’s notification module to re-run the script every 6 hours by firing a local iOS notification on your iPhone or iPad (it assumes the script is named “DevCenter” in Pythonista).
MacRumors’ Erik Slivka:
Earlier today, labor rights group China Labor Watch issued a report making claims of poor working conditions at Apple’s assembly partner Pegatron.
The report, available as a PDF here, contains mentions of a new “low-priced” plastic iPhone that will “soon” released by Apple:
Pegatron (Shanghai) Ltd Co. is part of the Pegatron Group, which was a subsidiary of Pegatron Group until 2010. Pegatron primarily assembles cell phones and tablet PCs for Apple. Its assembled products include iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, and low-priced plastic iPhones. Some of Pegatron’s major equipment, such as micro-computer and detection hosts, is provided by Apple.
In the report, a worker details the actual process of pasting protective film on the back of this unreleased iPhone:
Today’s work is to paste protective film on the iPhone’s plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines. This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the market by Apple. The task is pretty easy, and I was able to work independently after a five-minute instruction from a veteran employee. It took around a minute to paste protective film on one rear cover. The new cell phone has not yet been put into mass production, so quantity is not as important. This makes our job more slow paced than in departments that have begun mass production schedules.
The report also contains photos and details of poor working conditions at Pegatron, to which Apple has responded with an official statement. We’ve already outlined why it’d make sense for Apple to release a low-priced iPhone, and, at this point, several signs seem to be pointing to such a device coming out later this year.
I don’t like it when third-party apps or services force me to share links to articles or webpages using their own custom shortened links. I understand the appeal of personalized short domains – after all, we tweet mcstr.net links with the @macstoriesnet account – as they can provide analytics to track clicks, can save characters, and, at least in theory, they “look cool”. However, I’ve been long considering the idea of dropping our mcstr.net links, but I think the issue is worse (and more annoying) for apps and services that don’t tweet links to their own content (like we do) but that override others’ links with different domains. An example is Pocket, which gives you the clean, original URL when you choose the “Copy Link” action from the sharing menu, but that instead returns pocket.co links when sending text to Drafts (which I do often). I’ve grown tired of this practice (in Pocket and other services), and I’ve put together a workflow based on a Python script that allows me to easily resolve short links without having to open the browser and tap on multiple menus. Read more
Husain Sumra:
Old Apple commercials from the 1980s have been resurfacing on YouTube channel EveryAppleAds over the past few days, offering an extensive look at vintage Apple advertising that is normally overshadowed by Apple’s famous Super Bowl commercial “1984”.
The channel’s Recent Uploads section is where you can easily to watch all the videos. Some of them are utterly “vintage” in the way they’re meant for an audience who couldn’t have decades of computer experience like we do today; others are still fascinatingly modern in how they imply the product’s superior functionality in a casual, familiar setting. A great find.
Interesting numbers from the developers of one of the most unique iOS games in recent years that was later ported to other platforms. The last chart, iOS revenue by region, shows the importance of Japan, as also outlined by Apple in the Q3 2013 earnings call. I would love to have more details on revenue over time though – such as the impact of making an iPhone version or sales in the first two weeks of Google Play compared to the same period on the App Store.
This week, everyone’s favorite international trio discuss a truckload of follow-up, then move on to talk about Apple’s developer site and quarterly results then Google’s new Nexus 7 and Chromecast TV dongle. Myke interrupts the show to find Federico’s alt rock band on MySpace. To wrap up, Chris Bowler files a report on Cloud.typography and Federico gives a tip about bookmarklets in Chrome for iOS.
Without a doubt, the episode recorded in the most original location to date. Get it here.
Jeffrey Grubb at VentureBeat:
The mobile-based future is here, and publisher Electronic Arts is reaping the rewards. EA reported today that it made more money through Apple’s App Store than any other retail distributor. That includes its own Origin digital-download service.
Here’s the thing: I don’t like EA’s shady practices (especially in Real Racing 3), I think that most In-App Purchase-based games should offer more value, but this is working for EA and others (see: Candy Crush Saga). And who’s to blame: consumers for being too credulous? EA and King? Apple? If anything, shouldn’t we be happy because Apple’s strategy is working out?
I, and thousands of old-school gamers like me, don’t like this modern idea of free-to-play games and nickel-and-diming players. I like to think that, eventually, Apple will start caring about quality games. But it’s when I read stories like EA’s that I conclude that, today, Apple doesn’t want to change In-App Purchases, at all.
Benedict Evans:
For the first two cycles Apple launched the new iPad in the June quarter and sales then rose in the September quarter (back to school?) and again in the Christmas quarter (presents) before falling in March (old product, new one coming). But then in 2012, iPad Mini rumours led to sales falling in September and then Apple launched the Mini and a 4th gen model in the December quarter. So sales shot up in the December quarter, held up well in March (newer product plus Chinese new year) and then slipped this quarter as it’s now a nine month old product.
Some solid analysis of yesterday’s Q3 results. The first chart really shows the seasonality of Apple products, and the inevitable decline of the iPod.
This is an amazing collection of workflows and tips by Patrick Welker, who explains how he automates list creation and management using AppleScript and Keyboard Maestro. The post also contains a modification of my recent Mail workflow to automate senders and signatures.
The hidden gem in the article, however, is the following sentence:
Since I’m deeply in love with Keyboard Maestro and want to preserve the just fallen in love kind of feeling in our relationship for as long as possible, I created a one-action macro to trigger the TextExpander snippet
The things you do for the apps you love.
