Posts in Linked

Hatch Brings Virtual Pets to the iPhone→

Suzanne LaBarre for Co.Design on Hatch, the latest app from Impending dream team Phill Ryu, David Lanham, and friends.

The average app is a money making proposition first, and artistic statement or utility second. That’s why the App Store is loaded with clunky Angry Birds clones and pandering zombie shooters. But Hatch, a tamagotchi app by the two-man, part-time team at Impending, is a rarely polished labor of love.

It’s worth $2 alone to see David’s creatures come to life. Download it from the App Store.

Permalink

Podcasting On iOS→

When I told some friends that I was “podcasting” on iOS, they assumed that all I was doing was recording myself on iOS and doing the post-production later on a Mac. Not so! In fact, we actually do the entire end-to-end audio production purely on iOS.

Fraser Speirs details his workflow for producing episodes of Out of School without a Mac. The fact that several episodes have been created using an iPhone and iPad with a portable podcasting setup is pretty incredible.

Also of note (towards the end): one of the benefits of the A7 processor.

Permalink

App Stagnation→

Michael Lopp decided to move away from Things:

How can I trust that I’m using the state of the art in productivity systems when I’m using an application that took over two years to land sync I could easily use? What other innovations are they struggling to land in the application? Why hasn’t the artwork changed in forever? What is that smell? That smell is stagnation.

Daniel Jalkut responds:

He applauds the app for allowing him to do his work “frictionlessly.” How does a software developer achieve this level of performance? By first building a quality product and then working deliberately over months and years to address the minor issues that remain. Woodworking makes a reasonable analogy: after a chair has been carved and assembled the job is functionally complete. It’s a chair, you can sit in it. It’s done. But customers will gripe with good cause about its crudeness unless the hard work of detailing, sanding, and lacquering are carried out. Only then will it be considered finely crafted.

I’ve gone through a similar process several times in the past few years. Why change something that works? But, on the other hand, why avoid trying something that could be better?

Permalink

Apple Adds Yahoo Screen and PBS to Apple TV→

Apple’s small set-top box has received two new apps this morning according to Peter Kafka of All Things Digital. Yahoo Screen delivers programs such as The Daily Show and channels from partners such as ABC News, while PBS’ app will have a back catalog of shows that can be watched after they air on television.

The PBS app offers popular programs like “Frontline”, but it only appears to offer old episodes, and not live streams. […]

Yahoo’s screen app offers a mix of clips, ranging from a recent Saturday Night Live performance by Lady gaga to movie trailers to game reviews; it also offers channels from Yahoo partners including Conde Nast magazines, ABC News and The Onion.

When it debuted, the Apple TV was really only appealing to iTunes customers who primarily wanted to stream downloaded TV Shows or Movies to their televisions over AirPlay, but this is becoming a legitimate competitive alternative to things like Roku’s streaming players. Between Hulu, Netflix, sports broadcasting, recently added apps like the Weather Channel and the Disney Channel, Crunchyroll, and now these extras, it’s a competitively priced product that’s starting to become an actual alternative for cable cutters and anyone who subscribes to digital programming. There are some apps like HBO GO that require a cable subscription, but we’re getting there.

Permalink

The Sweet Setup→

When my friend Shawn told me about the project he was working on a few months ago, I was immediately excited by its potential and premise. The Sweet Setup, launched today, wants to recommend the best apps for iOS and OS X. Not the newest ones – the best ones.

Here’s how Shawn describes The Sweet Setup:

The Sweet Setup exists because I wanted a site that highlights the software that has proven to be the best, not necessarily the newest.

Here we will be recommending only the apps which are proven to be the best rather than new (I already write plenty about what’s new and cool over at shawnblanc.net and Tools & Toys). Additionally, by focusing on only the best, it means all the content on our site is relevant all the time. I didn’t want to post our articles in a reverse-chronological order that, by nature, would cause still-helpful reviews to be pushed out of view once new reviews get published.

I think that Shawn had the perfect idea at the right time. With over a million apps now available on the App Store, people need a “Wirecutter for apps” with recommendations thoroughly researched and written by people who test and use apps every day.

The Sweet Setup looks great, the initial line-up of recommendations is solid, and more will come in the next few weeks.

I’m honored to be part of Shawn’s new project from the start, too: what’s the best Markdown writing app for the iPhone? Here’s my answer.

Permalink

Convertrain: Model Railroad Converter→

Before I started MacStories, I used to work at an eBay drop-off store where people could come to sell and buy things on eBay if they didn’t have the time or knowledge to do it on their own. There was this guy who came to visit twice a week to buy and sell railroad and train models – they were rare and expensive, and they required a lot of talking to potential bidders and sellers to ensure the quality of the model. I had heard of that hobby (known as model railroading), but the firsthand experience of selling and buying models allowed me to know more about the fervent community of rail transport modellers (and railfans in general, which include Pixar’s John Lasseter).

All of this to say that when I got an email from the developer of Convertrain, I knew what he was talking about. I remembered the days when I used to look up prices and photographs for my old customer and the time spent tracking down rarities on eBay. Convertrain is a handy converter for scale models that lets you set up notebooks for your models, add your own scale units, and export items to a variety of apps and services. It’s designed for iOS 7 and it integrates with the iPhone’s camera to add photos of your model railroads.

$1.99 on the App Store.

Permalink

Quick Math+→

Last year, I reviewed Quick Math, a game that let you solve quick arithmetic tests using your handwriting on the iPhone’s screen. This year, developers Shiny Things have released Quick Math+, an expansion of the original concept that includes new game modes and avatars to unlock as you play the game.

The Quick Math series is a great example of education and fun combined on iOS, and the new game is every bit as challenging as the old one (the Memorize mode is especially tricky at Advanced, but you should try Extreme). Quick Math+ is a new (Universal) app available at $1.99 on the App Store.

Permalink

Anand Lal Shimpi On The iPad Air vs. iPad mini→

The biggest in my eyes is the iPad Air’s wider gamut display with full sRGB coverage. The mini’s Retina Display is good, the Air’s is just better. There’s also more thermal headroom on the iPad Air, which can come in handy if you’re doing compute intensive work on it. If neither of those things matters to you, then the decision becomes one of usage model and portability. I believe the iPad Air does a better job of approximating a primary computing device, particularly in its ability to give you a reasonable sized virtual keyboard to work on. The iPad mini on the other hand is substantially more portable. Although the iPad Air is light enough to come along with me more than any prior iPad, the mini’s form factor makes it even more likely that’ll I’ll bring it with me (the best tablet is the one you have with you?).

In spite of my snark, I do agree with readers who pointed out that, for professionals who rely on the iPad and demand color accuracy, having the best display is important. I don’t think that average users will notice any issues with the mini’s (amazing) Retina display, but if you’re looking for hard facts and numbers, AnandTech’s review is the one to read.

Permalink

Jason Snell On The iPad Air As A Work Device→

From Jason Snell’s review of the iPad Air:

But make no mistake, we’re still in the early days, and if you rely on a certain kind of workflow that the iPad just can’t perform, then it can’t be your main system. As a writer, I’m set on the iPad (though I would lean on a Bluetooth keyboard for day-to-day use). As someone who edits a podcast every week, I’m on the fence. There are a few multitrack audio editors out there for the iPad, but how long would it take me to use my fingers to edit a podcast compared to the speed I’ve got using Logic Pro X on my MacBook Air? When my fingers and an iPad can do the job as well as a keyboard, trackpad, and Mac, then I can make the switch.

But if the iPad Air isn’t suitable as a work device, it won’t be because of its lack of computing power. It’ll be because the software just isn’t there yet, or because fundamentally a tablet and touch interface aren’t appropriate for that kind of job. Steve Jobs famously once likened iOS devices to cars and PCs to trucks. Note that he said trucks, not horse-drawn carriages: Some jobs still require trucks. But the iPad Air makes it clear that it’s a car, and a powerful one at that.

My hope is that, following the new foundation of iOS 7, next year’s iOS 8 will include serious improvements for people who use the iPad as a work device (both in terms of user features and developer APIs).

Permalink