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When I look at websites like TUAW, The Apple Blog, Macgasm, or a site such as ourselves that talks about the well being of the developer community, I expect all of us to be role models for others to follow and an avenue for developer success.
Which leads me to Cult of Mac. By now all of us are aware of Sayam Aggarwal’s brazen tutorial on how to install pirated software with the intent of, “Try before you buy.” It’s a shallow cause.
Occasionally there’s an article that’s just… weird. You know, the kind of stuff that’s instantly able to turn a sour day into something incredibly awesome. Leave it to the Japanese to provide me with the one iPad article that beats them all. In fact, I don’t think anything will be able to top this for a long time. If you’ve read the headline, I think you know where this is going.
I’ve been playing around with my iPad for three months now, and it has definitely changed many things in the way I approach my job, Twitter, news and the web in general. Is it magical? Yes, it is. Is it magical enough to completely reinvent the way people think of mobile devices? Maybe, but it’s personal.
The iPad is a highly personal device. Even more than the iPhone, which is and always will ultimately be a phone, the iPad has no defined purpose. Sure, Apple says that it’s the best way to read emails, surf the web and watch movies, but it’s up to you to turn the tablet into your machine. A productivity machine, an entertainment one or a gaming device? Your call.
For as much as I enjoy using my iPad, there are some things I’m missing. Features, let’s just say. Whether it’s about hardware adjustments I’d like to see, or software updates coming in the next months, I’ve put together a list of “stuff I want on the iPad”.
Maybe you’ll find something that you want in there, too.
I’ve just finished watching today’s Apple press conference about the iPhone 4, and I can’t help but being totally surprised about the mess we created about this antenna issue.
After watching the cellphone videos Apple posted on the antenna page, I think we should all shut up for a second and think about the material we post on our blogs.
Two days ago I tried to use my girlfriend’s iPhone 3GS running iPhone OS 3.1.3 and I couldn’t believe it was the same device - running the same operating system - I had two weeks ago. iOS 4 is a huge step forward for Apple (iAds), developers (new APIs) and users (multitasking, folders). Now that we have iOS 4, it’s hard to look back and be unbiased about iPhone OS 3.
There’s something that deeply concerns me though, and it’s about the way people think about folders.
I’m reading many comments these days of people frustrated because Apple hasn’t announced further plans for iOS 4 on the iPad. We know it’s going to ship this fall, but we don’t know anything more than that. So people seem to think that Apple doesn’t care about the iPad, now that the iPhone 4 is available and they’re having some hard times convincing customers that it works just fine and all the issues will be fixed with a software update.
I’ll tell you what, you’re wrong.
I bought a French iPhone 4 on eBay, 16GB model. I paid a lot for it, but I’m not complaining - I needed one. Waiting for Italian providers to comfortably announce their plans wasn’t a viable option. I’ve received the device on Wednesday and had some problems cutting my SIM to fit the new Mini-SIM tray; my first day with the iPhone 4 felt pretty much like using a Retina iPod Touch. Yesterday I managed to buy another SIM, make it mini and finally start using the iPhone 4 - well - as an iPhone.
A few days ago an Italian blog posted leaked screenshots of internal slides Microsoft used in April to define their future strategy for Windows 8 and mobile products. The slides clearly show that the guys over at Redmond have been keeping an eye on Apple, especially in regards to the user interface, interactions in the operating system and - yes - the App Store.
iOS 4 brought multitasking, folders, unified inbox, threaded email conversations and note syncing to the iPhone. For these reasons, some people think that jailbreaking a device running iOS 4 is now pointless, considering that two of the biggest features of jailbreak (multitasking and folders) are now developed by Apple itself.
Did I jailbreak my iOS 4 iPhone 3GS? Yes. Do I think is still worth it? Yes.
