Tim Cook:
In terms of new product categories, specifically, if you look at the skills that Apple has from hardware, software, and services, and an incredible app ecosystem, these set of things is very, very unique, I think no one has a set of skills like this, and we obviously believe that we can use our skills in building other great products that are in categories that represent areas where we do not participate today. So we’re pretty confident about that.
But where Apple has disappointed recently is in novelty, or surprise. Perhaps this is unfair, but it’s real. Apple became the company that delivered “new”. People got used to hearing about new stuff all the time — iPod nanos, iPhones, MacBook Airs, iPads — and now it seems like it’s been a while. The more people got, the more they wanted. And then you have to work even faster.
What really happened? Steve Jobs spoiled us with two mind-altering substances in quick succession — the iPhone and iPad. Meanwhile, the majority of people who have ever owned Apple products likely bought their first (and second…) during this period. So all of a sudden, a bunch of people who didn’t really pay attention to Apple before — people who never had to boot up a Performa with Extensions off, or upgrade RAM in a Power Mac 8500 — are now expecting some crazy new toy to appear every few years, whether it’s realistic or not.
This is certainly an honest perspective by Dan Frommer. Being the “Apple guy” among my friends, I get regular questions about “what’s really next for Apple” or “when is the watch coming out”. There is a natural tendency for humans to want “new” – imagine by customers who got the iPhone and iPad in the past five years alone.
The software and products Apple released this year are great, but many of them (game controller API, Touch ID, and even iOS 7 itself) seem to suggest Apple is laying the foundation for interesting new things to come.
Judging by the marketing copy, Apple seems pretty excited about the new Mac Pro. Jeff Carlson posted more photos at TidBITS.
From the Evernote blog:
We believe that the best technology experiences happen when software and hardware are built together to achieve a shared goal. Penultimate was already a great handwriting app, but it needed a hardware complement that didn’t exist. In working closely with Adonit for the last 18 months, we’ve co-created the stylus we always wanted: the Jot Script Evernote Edition, the first true precision-point stylus on the market. Together, we’ve developed the first app and stylus combination that finally makes digital handwriting the experience it should be.
Does that sound familiar?
I wish that I was enough of an artist to truly appreciate apps like Penultimate and Paper and use them on a daily basis. The Adonit Jot Script seems like an interesting device, and the new features that have been added to Penultimate (zoom and drift) should make for a more natural handwriting experience. Maybe I should use Penultimate to create sketches site redesign ideas (I already keep website screenshots in Evernote).
From the Logitech blog:
The three keyboard products each feature a built-in Bluetooth keyboard with maximized key size for a fast and fluid typing experience. The Logitech Folio Protective Case offers tablet protection without a keyboard, and is Logitech’s thinnest and lightest folio for the iPad Air. It has a water-repellent skin for two-sided protection against bumps, scratches sand spills, and doubles as a stand, adapting to hold your tablet at the right angle for reading, viewing or playing games.
The FabricSkin Keyboard Folio looks nice. Personally, I’d just love if the old special keys started working again on iOS 7 with my Logitech tablet keyboard.
Our thanks to Agile Tortoise for sponsoring MacStories this week with Terminology.
Terminology is an app for anyone who loves words. A Universal app for iPad and iPhone, Terminology is part dictionary, part thesaurus and part research tool. Terminology starts with a great offline dictionary with concise definitions, and extends the dictionary with deep word relations. Find the right word by browsing more and less specific words, and more. If what you need is not in the dictionary, Terminology offers customizable actions to integrate with other reference website and apps.
Get Terminology today for $2.99 on the App Store, or find out more at agiletortoise.com.
Federico’s note: I use Terminology on my iPhone and iPad, and I’m a fan of the design changes and actions that were introduced with version 3.0, which I reviewed here. Gabe Weatherhead has some great examples of how you can make Terminology work for you with custom actions.
Apple’s new version of iMovie is sleek and sophisticated both on the Mac and on iOS devices. It retains a lot of advanced features from prior versions, but keeps its interface clutter- and confusion-free for newer users. And it’s added a new avenue for easily sharing movies to your computer and Apple TV. I could go on like this for awhile, but instead of writing a whole review here, I’m going to cut to the juicy parts and focus on twenty new and improved features in iMovie for the Mac and on iOS.
If you’re looking for an article that covers all the changes and new features in iMovie, Serenity has a great overview. I can’t wait to get an iPhone 5s to try the slow-motion editing.
Peter Cohen:
But this whole issue unveils a more fundamental problem: by neglecting AppleScript support in iWork apps, Apple underserves customers who would otherwise use their products - not just big companies with IT departments, but freelance workers who want to save time, small and medium-sized businesses that benefit from workflow automation tools, and others. AppleScript may be techy, but it’s pretty democratic - anyone who wants to use it should be able to use it.
I don’t buy the idea that, because they are a “rewrite”, the new iWork apps can’t have AppleScript. As Peter says, an automation tool that freelancers and small businesses relied upon is gone, and Apple isn’t providing an alternative. Unless you keep the old iWork apps installed.
“Selected and customised” by Jony Ive and Marc Newson (the duo also behind the special edition Leica M camera).
From the description:
The new Mac Pro is the most powerful, yet radical Mac that Apple has ever designed. Architected around an innovative, unified thermal core, the new Mac Pro features dual workstation graphics cards, the latest Xeon processors, ultra-fast flash storage, and incredibly high performance I/O. A precisely machined and polished enclosure houses this advanced technology in an extraordinary design that stands just 9.9 inches tall and 6.6 inches in diameter. This one-of-a-kind model, made with red anodised aluminium, has been crafted exclusively for the (RED) Auction.
