Federico Viticci

10781 posts on MacStories since April 2009

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, where he writes about Apple with a focus on apps, developers, iPad, and iOS productivity. He founded MacStories in April 2009 and has been writing about Apple since. Federico is also the co-host of AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps, Unwind, a fun exploration of media and more, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about portable gaming and the handheld revolution.

iPod: Rise & Fall

Remember when the iPod used to be the most important product for Apple? Now it’s all about the iPhone and iPad. The Mac’s coming back (and frankly, with Lion and the Mac App Store what a comeback), and the iPod sales are slowing down.

The chart below, Sonic-style, gives you an idea of how times change. [via Fortune] Read more


FullScreen for Safari Update Will Introduce Action Popup | Cydia Store

FullScreen for Safari is a great tweak available in Cydia at $1.49 which I previously reviewed here, that brings a lot more features to Apple’s default browser. Fullscreen navigation mode, gestures, customizable activation methods for almost anything you can do with Safari but Apple doesn’t let you act on.

FullScreen for Safari is undoubtedly the best way to make the best mobile browser out there even better. Read more




iPad Vs. Mac - Le Graphique

So how well is the iPad doing, exactly? Apple sold 7.46 million units since the release date through September 25th; analysts regard the iPad as the fastest selling consumer electronic device in history. How about the Mac? It outsold Apple’s computers too, in just two quarters.

Take a look at the chart below, courtesy of Horace Dediu. The iPad has been around for 6 months; Macs have been on the market for 322 months. Oh, and it’s not that Macs have slowed down: they’ve grown faster than the overall PC industry.


Middle East Countries Not Officially Supported In FaceTime for Mac

I don’t know what to think anymore, but to me it seems like this is just a big and confused mess over some carrier restrictions. Oh, and lots of PR gone wrong. Anyway, FaceTime in the Middle East countries: does it work? Yes and no. Yes, you can find a way to make it work, like buying a European iPhone unit. No, Apple doesn’t support it and it’s doing everything they can to remove FaceTime mentions and features from certain countries. Why? “Carrier issues”, or so they say.

How about FaceTime for Mac? You guess: Apple didn’t include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Egypt in the preferences, SaudiMac reports. What’s interesting is that Jordan and Qatar made the list, even though they don’t support FaceTime on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Heh. Still, if you change your country to United States you’ll be able to use FaceTime for mac even from one of the countries not officially supported.

What a mess.


“Mac Developers Are Laughing at the Mac App Store Guidelines”

“Mac Developers Are Laughing at the Mac App Store Guidelines”

Jonathan Rentzsch:

Studying the details of Apple’s current implementation, it becomes clear Apple crafted the Mac App Store policies primarily with its own interests in mind, not of its customers and certainly not its developers.

My fellow Mac developers are laughing at the Mac App Store guidelines. They’re reporting that apps they’ve been shipping for years — a number of them Apple Design Award-winning — would be rejected from the Mac App Store. These are proven apps, beloved by their users. The current guidelines are clearly out-of-touch.

Maybe not just its own interests in mind, but there’s no doubt Apple has something to fix here. Does the 90-day timeframe sound like a “let’s gather feedback before the thing goes live” strategy to anyone else? How long before revised guidelines?

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The History of Trainyard

The History of Trainyard

I tried a variety of mini-marketing escapades, including spending $50 on AdMob, $50 on Project Wonderful (Axe Cop, specifically), and $50 on Google Adwords. None of that worked. $50 is almost too tiny an amount to spend, but it became immediately obvious that any ad campaign within my budget would have no effect on sales whatsoever.

I should add that I definitely wasn’t disheartened. I knew it would take time, and that I had a great game that would eventually be successful. I just really wasn’t sure how to get there, but that was part of the adventure.

Great story, and congrats.

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Apple Showcasing “Special Education” Apps In The App Store

Every week Apple launches a new custom section in the App Store for iPhone and iPad. This week Apple is featuring “Special Education” apps, and more than 60 different applications are listed in the section. Apps such as Things from Cultured Code, Sign 4 Me, Dragon Dictation and Color Identifier are included. It’s surely one of the most populated app sections Apple launched to date.

Special Education is available here. Read more