Posts in Linked

Apple’s Support Document On How To Report iMessage Spam→

A support document by Apple (last modified today, July 30) that I’ve never seen before details how users can report iMessage spam (unwanted messages) directly to Apple (via Beau Giles):

If you’re seeing unwanted iMessages (spam) in Messages app, you can report those to Apple.

To report unwanted iMessage messages to Apple, please send an email with the following details to: [email protected]

I’ve never been the target of iMessage spam, but it’s good to know that Apple has a basic reporting tool in place. Some users experienced iMessage “denial of service” spam messages earlier this year; in the support document, Apple doesn’t explain how they will act against reported spam.

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Byword For iOS Gets Improved URL Scheme→

In a minor update released today, Byword developers Metaclassy have brought an improved URL scheme (based on x-callback-url) to the app, enabling actions for creating, opening documents, and manipulating text. Documentation is available here.

The actions supported by the URL scheme are:

  • new
  • open
  • append
  • prepend
  • replace

With these actions, you can now send text to a specific file in Byword, choosing to either create/open an existing document, insert text at the top (prepend) or bottom (append), or replace the entire contents of a document with new text. When using the Byword URL scheme, you’ll need to percent-encode text, which can be easily done using Launch Center Pro’s encode actions or Drafts’ double curly brackets.

This improved URL scheme creates some new interesting possibilities for iOS automation with Byword. I imagine many will experiment with workflows to append or create text from Mr. Reader’s Services menu, take notes with Drafts, or prepend text from Safari or Chrome using a browser bookmarklet. However, I still think that the URL scheme could be expanded to include support for triggering Publishing actions automatically, optionally supporting x-success to go back to another app after a post has been sent to a service integrated in Byword. With Poster no longer receiving updates, I believe the folks at Metaclassy have a great opportunity to keep Byword the simple and elegant iOS text editor that many love, while also adding advanced functionality that power users will come to rely upon in their daily workflows.

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Why Are Apps Putting You On A Wait List?→

A good piece by Ellis Hamburger at The Verge, who explains why some recent iOS apps have been putting new users on a “wait list” before they can actually start using an app. This is due to the increasingly cloud-based complex scaling challenges that apps (which are downloaded locally) face when trying to work with online components (remotely) for thousands of users.

I understand the difficulties mentioned by Ellis and the developers he interviewed, but I also see part of Ben’s point when he argues that several of these “wait list apps” are free and don’t seek immediate revenue. Mailbox removed the reservation system after it had been acquired by Dropbox, meaning that Dropbox – a larger company – had the human and financial resources to “throw” at Mailbox’s problem. However, I think that resources aren’t a panacea for new apps that rely heavily on server-side features: if anything, the App Store makes it hard to ship apps that are only available to a subset of users, which is forcing developers to implement ideas such as the aforementioned waiting lists.

A better testing process for App Store developers isn’t a new topic, and I wonder if app testing tools made by Apple with support for thousands (instead of hundreds) of “beta” users would alleviate the issues covered by Ellis.

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Markdown for Keyboard Maestro 2→

One of my favorite tools for more efficient writing was recently updated to version 2, which is available for download on GitHub. As Andreas Zeitler explains, the main focus for version 2 was “speed optimization, interaction, accessibility for non-English speakers, and usability”. There’s also a screencast on YouTube showing the new features.

I use Markdown for Keyboard Maestro on a daily basis to speed up my writing in Sublime Text. In fact, many of the workflows that I’ll share when Editorial for iPad will come out have been inspired by Andreas’ work.

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Check Dev Center Status From iOS with Pythonista→

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).

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China Labor Watch Publishes Report With Mention Of New “Plastic iPhone”→

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.

 

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Vintage Apple Ads On YouTube→

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.

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Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Sales→

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.

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The Relevancy of App Store Search Results→

Allen Pike looks at the relevancy of search results on the App Store and walks away concerned. For developers it’s frustrating — apps that legitimately belong under a search result or fall in the category of that keyword are overshadowed by unrelated apps with buzzwords in their titles.

In my echo chamber, Twitterrific and Tweetbot are used by many and praised by all. In the real world, most people are not looking for a paid Twitter app. The App Store is curated with this in mind, and I get that.

Still, it’s frustrating that the Store search algorithm cares almost exclusively about downloads, app title, and keywords. Paid apps get fewer downloads than free apps, so they’re lost in the noise. Instead of Twitterrific, we get Instagram at #2. This isn’t because Instagram is about “Twitter” at all, but because it’s insanely popular, and meets the minimum keyword relevance requirement to appear.

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