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Adobe: Apple Incites Negative Campaign Against Us (Yet We Followed Steve’s Advice)

We thought those days were over. Remember back in April, right after the iPad came out, the Apple / Adobe controversy about Flash somehow came back to where it started, The Internet. Hundreds of blog posts and pundits’ rants later, Steve Jobs managed to end the argument with his Thoughts On Flash. If you think about it, the whole Flash story kind of died after Steve Jobs’ “open letter”. Or maybe we just focused on the true meaning of “openness” more.

Anyway, Adobe is bringing the old debate back. Again, yes. Here’s Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch talking to FastCompany:

I just think there’s this negative campaigning going on, and, for whatever reason, Apple is really choosing to incite it, and condone it,” Lynch says. “I think that’s unfortunate. We don’t think it’s good for the web to have aspects closed off–a blockade of certain types of expression. There’s a decade of content out there that you just can’t view on Apple’s device, and I think that’s not only hurtful to Adobe, but hurtful to everyone that created that content.

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ZTE Peel Launching On Sprint November 14th, Doesn’t Support The New iPod Touch

As BGR reported last week, the ZTE Peel 3G case for iPod Touch will indeed be available on Sprint starting November 14th at $29.99 per month with 1GB of included data usage. As you can see in a photo just posted by BGR:

The ZTE Peel will be available in retail stores at $79.99. In case you don’t know what this accessory does, it’s basically a case that comes with a built-in SIM which allows you to turn an iPod Touch into some sort of iPhone with 24/7 mobile internet connectivity. You’ll be able to make calls using services like Fring or Skype from anywhere.

The bad news? It doesn’t support the latest iPod Touch models, the 4th generation ones. The photo clearly shows “supports 2 & 3 generation”, and we can only assume the problem was with the camera on the latest iPod Touch. Or maybe they thought the installed user base of 4th gen iPod Touches was too small to ensure compatibility.

Did they think about the upcoming holiday season, though?

Apple Considering Scrollable Menus and Toolbars For Lion and iOS 5?

A new European patent filing discovered by Patently Apple details how Apple might implement different interaction methods for menus and toolbars in the next version of OS X, Lion, and in the future iteration of their mobile operating system, iOS. The patent, filed in Q2 1010 and published last week, shows two specific models: scrollable menus and toolbars.

The main concept behind the patent is that menus and toolbars take too much space on screen, and the large majority of users don’t need to look at these elements all the time. To save space and implement multitouch gesture-based navigation in menus, there could be a way to scroll through toolbar icons and dropdown menus both on the desktop and iPhone / iPad. Read more

Reminder: .Mac HomePage Shutting Down Today

As reported in early October, Apple is shutting down the .Mac HomePage service today. The .Mac HomePage service was a feature that allowed users to publish webpages using their .mac account. The feature was first discontinued in July 2009 (users were unable to create new content); today Apple is pulling the plug on the service by disabling viewing of already-published content.

The files won’t be permanently deleted, though. As Apple explains in a support document:

Can friends and family still view my published pages?

After November 8, 2010, all photos, movies, and files shared using .Mac HomePage will be unavailable for viewing on the web. Web Pages published using iWeb or Aperture will not be affected.

Will my content be deleted after November 8, 2010?

No. All of your content is still on your iDisk and can be accessed by going to me.com/idisk and clicking Home in the sidebar. The HTML files that make up your site can be found in the Sites folder, and any pictures or movies you have used for your pages can be found in the Pictures and Movies folders respectively. You must remain an active MobileMe member to access your iDisk.

Apple’s current sync and web publishing solution, MobileMe, retails at $99 per year and comes with a 60-day free trial. We highly recommend it as a way to sync information across devices (bookmarks, settings, email accounts, calendar), although we’re huge fans of Dropbox when it comes to file storage.

“Hardly Anyone” Was Buying Xserves According to Steve Jobs

French website MacGeneration got a screenshot from a reader of an email he received from Steve Jobs. We’re used to this stuff, right? People sending el Jobso angry emails and complaints, getting “yep” and “nope” as response, leaving us to do the hard job to figure out what the chief really meant.

So this time, it’s all about Xserve. Apple announced last week they would discontinue it, but it’ll be available until January 2011 nevertheless. According to this latest email from Steve Jobs, Apple made this decision as “hardly anyone” was buying Xserves.

The “premature death” of Xserve left many IT guys with doubts and skepticism in regards to Apple’s plans for large and small businesses.

Angry Birds. Stop Motion. Massive Hit. [Video]

First came the iPhone game. Then the iPad version. Worldwide success. Then more levels. A Halloween edition. Even more success. Repeat.

Some people made costumes.

Then they announced the plush toys.

Now, there’s a video of Angry Birds in stop motion. Hours of work put into recreating a 30 seconds battle with paper and a camera. Realized by photographer and filmmaker @gregorycortez, this guy took the effort to snap a photo of every single frame you see on the video so that everything looks like it’s moving. You can say he’s a nerd and should find something better to do in his life, I think this is totally awesome. Three stars for the video in 5, 4, 3, 2… [iSpazio via TechCrunch] Read more

The New iPod Nano Watches

Right after Apple announced the new iPod Nanos in September with their new form factor, some people immediately started wondering whether someone had in mind to ship some kind of watch band for them. The new Nanos looked perfect for a watch. When the first silicone bands came out, though, it turned out the iPod didn’t look that great as a watch. A friend of mine bought a similar band, a leather one, and things got slightly better.

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Sprint To Launch ZTE Peel 3G Case for iPod Touch On November 14th?

Boy Genius Report claims it has obtained information from a reliable source that Sprint is looking to launch the ZTE Peel, a case for the iPod Touch that turns the device into a 3G-capable unit, on November 14th. BGR also claims 29 bucks per month will grant you 1GB of data:

We don’t have any details on how much the actual device will sell for, but we do know Sprint plans on charging $29.99 per month for 1GB of data usage with no contract.

The ZTE Peel, approved by the FCC earlier this year, is basically a mobile hotspot that brings mobile cellular data to the iPod Touch, otherwise capable of working on Wifi-only.

iTunes Movies Now Available in Italy and Switzerland, We Want An Apple TV Now

Good news, fellow Italian and Swiss MacStories readers: we haz iTunes Movies. Earlier today Apple indeed silently launched the new iTunes section in both countries, you too can check it out by following this link. Both normal purchases and rentals are available.

We say “silently” because no press release went out nor did Apple put any banners and / or links in the iTunes Store homepage to promote the new Movies (or, in Italian, “Film”) – it’s pretty much a hidden section with a rather straightforward interface. Read more