The Apple Editor’s Choice Award App for Tracking Your Money. Start Your Free Trial Today
Today, App.net gets its best iOS third-party client to date, and, unsurprisingly, it comes from Tapbots. Netbot is now available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
What’s not surprising isn’t simply the fact that Tapbots released an app that sets the bar higher for the competition; at first, it’s the fact that Netbot is basically Tweetbot re-engineered to work for App.net. Read more
In the past months, a few ways to enable AppleScript to display user notifications in Mountain Lion have surfaced online. Our own Don Southard wrote a test app using AppleScriptObjC; Ben Waldie put together an Automator action for Notification Center; terminal-notifier lets you send user notifications from the command line.
Notifications Scripting (via MOSX Tumbelog) is a new entry in this scene, and it looks like a simple yet powerful addition that could be easily integrated into other AppleScripts.
Notifications Scripting is a GUI-less application that can be only used with AppleScript. This application allows AppleScript scripts to display user notifications in OS X Mountain Lion and handle the user interactions with these notifications.
The best part of Notifications Scripting is its dictionary. It contains definitions for the notification messages of course, but also for notifications that have been delivered and activated. In the code sample provided by the developers, a dialog is displayed in the Finder following a user notification. You can imagine how this tool could be integrated with scripts that prompt users for input or allow for multiple choices from a set of actions.
You can download Notifications Scripting here.
Lockitron has today announced a new product that promises to let you unlock and lock your house door using only an iPhone. The new Lockitron is available now for pre-order at $149, and the first batch will ship in March 2013.
The Lockitron is essentially an add-on for your door and an app for iOS and Android. The Lockitron device attaches (through a quick installation process) to most through-hole and cylindrical deadbolts, although the company also says it’ll be possible to install a Lockitron on interconnected deadbolts and mortise locks. Once installed, the Lockitron is able to communicate with your local WiFi network, allowing you to set up your account for remote control and wireless access. With your credentials up and running on the device, you’ll be able to lock or unlock your door using an app that talks to the Lockitron using WiFi. The Lockitron will simply unlock the door after you tap on the “unlock” icon in the app.
Because it transforms a deadbolt lock in an interconnected device, the Lockitron turns your door into a piece of software that has all the advantages that apps have to offer. For instance, you can “invite” friends to be able to unlock your door using the app; you can receive push notifications for door unlocks; and in a co-working space, you can assign colleagues to unlock the office’s door using the app and manage them from a web interface. If you don’t have a smartphone to run the Lockitron app, the company says the service will also work with SMS.
Lockitron runs on AA batteries that, according to its creators, last for one year; when they run low, Lockitron will send you a message. What happens when the Lockitron runs out of power (either because of batteries or for a power failure that cuts WiFi access) is interesting. If you can’t use the Lockitron, regular keys can still be used as the front part of the lock remains unaffected. However, if you have a device with Bluetooth 4.0 – such as the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 – you can unlock the Lockitron by simply walking next to it. Lockitron says they’re considering adding NFC support on Android as well for WiFi-free access.
If you lose your phone, you can prevent people from using the Lockitron app by disabling your account remotely.
Last, Lockitron features an Arduino-compatible controller that, with some programming skills, will allow you to build custom patterns to unlock your door. For instance, in the promo video embedded below you can see a guy unlocking the device by tapping on bananas connected to a controller to play a specific melody. That’s pretty cool.
Personally, I’m a big fan of home-automation and digital improvement systems that leverage software to make the places we live in more connected. However, like the Nest thermostat, I’m worried about compatibility. The Lockitron seems like a very US-oriented product, and I doubt I’ll be able to make it work with my door.
You can read more details about the Lockitron at the official website. Check out the promo videos below.
Read more
Matthew Panzarino has published a summary of a “lost” Steve Jobs speech from 1983 uncovered in its entirety by Marcel Brown. Brown was given a cassette tape with the full recording of a speech Steve gave at the International Design Conference in Aspen (IDCA) in 1983 (photo). During the speech, Steve shared some forward-looking ideas for the future of computing including what would become the App Store and, 27 years later, the iPad.
He says Apple’s strategy is to “put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you that you can learn how to use in 20 minutes”. Does that sound like anything we are familiar with today? And they wanted to do it with a “radio link” so that people wouldn’t need to hook it up to anything to communicate with “larger databases” and other computers.
And about the App Store:
He thought that the software industry needed something like a radio station so that people could sample software before they buy it. He believed that software distribution through traditional brick-and-mortar was archaic since software is digital and can be transferred electronically through phone lines. He foresees paying for software in an automated fashion over the phone lines with credit cards.
When these tapes and old video recordings surface, it’s easy to dismiss them as “inevitable”. It was “inevitable” for Apple to come out with a tablet that looked like an iPad, and it was “inevitable” for software to be distributed digitally in an App Store-like marketplace.
Of course, progress itself is inevitable. But I don’t think it’s that easy – I don’t think we can dismiss innovations as “inevitable” or “obvious”. What supporters of the “inevitable” theory are missing is the work and vision and effort of dozens of people that it took to get there. In hindsight, it’s easy to look at any product and think it had to be in that way.
The speech uncovered by Marcel Brown is the perfect example of how some people, in this case Steve Jobs, have a vision that is only constrained by technology. A vision that, after years of research and design iterations, will become real and, at that point, “inevitable”.
Speaking of good App Store practices for developers, Jen Gordon published (via Jeremy Olson) a nice overview detailing how users browse the App Store looking for screenshots and icons.
An app with a fantastic interface design will definitely increase sales. However, if all you publish are plain screenshots sans description of features and benefits – you’re missing a HUGE selling opportunity.
In the new iOS 6 App Store, icons and screenshots are more relevant than ever. Particularly with the new “cards” interface for search and genius, the application icon and first screenshot are what users immediately tend to look at, as titles get cut off after 12-15 characters and ratings have a smaller font than iOS 5.
On the other hand, because (on the iPhone) cards are displayed one after the other, developers have more chances to catch a user’s attention with good icons and screenshots. While swiping through search results, beautiful icons get immediately noticed, but the first screenshot has to instantly communicate the main purpose of the app, while showing some elements of its interface. It’s undoubtedly hard to find the right balance between communication and appearances (the coolest part of the UI might not be the most informative), but developers need to keep in mind that just like cards can get an app more visibility, it’s easy to swipe away to the next result.
Justine Pratt has published (via TUAW) a very thorough overview of the new App Store in iOS 6.
The new AppStore, especially the cards, was really designed for the iPad and the faster processor of the iPhone5. Finally the stores on both devices are common, which should help increase the familiarity when browsing both stores. On older devices, the icons and graphics are slow to load and the cards are slow to scroll on the iPhone. This situation is only temporary, as new devices are released and adopted.
In my iOS 6 review, I took an extensive look at the App Store, its new features, and its most apparent shortcomings; Justine does a much better job at carefully analyzing every single section and change in App Store layout and category organization. I also learned a few tidbits from her overview, such as the new positioning of the “App Support” button next to reviews.
Interestingly, we both came to the conclusion that the new App Store seems to really be optimized for the iPad in terms of layout. In the past few weeks, following the release of iOS 6, I’ve heard quite a few people saying that the opposite was true – that the cards layout was meant for the iPhone first, and eventually brought to the iPad with a larger UI design.
Overall, the App Store still has several visible and deeply annoying bugs that hinder the performance of search, Genius, and Purchased History. Apple still hasn’t fixed many of these, and the improved speed of the iPhone 5 only partially contributes to making the browsing experience slightly better.
As I wrote in my review, there are still some noteworthy additions and changes for developers in the new App Store, so make sure to check out Justine’s article for a detailed analysis.
Apple’s fourth quarter earnings report and conference call will take place on October 25th, 2012, according to an Investor Relations update on Apple’s website. At the time of the event, Apple will broadcast the call online.
Apple plans to conduct a conference call to discuss financial results of its fourth fiscal quarter on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET.
For the third quarter, ending on July 24th, Apple earned $35 billion in revenue, a net profit of $8.8 billion, with earnings of $9.32 per diluted share. Comparatively, the year ago quarter for Apple’s Q4 2011 conference call brought Apple revenue of $24.98 billion, a net profit of $6.62 million, and earnings of $7.02 per diluted share. For this fiscal quarter, Apple expects revenue of $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of $7.65.
The iPhone 5 was a significant launch this quarter, with over 5 million units sold during the first three days of sale, which does not include the iPhone 5’s launch in 22 additional countries a week later (and 100 more countries by the end of the year). As was the case with the iPhone 4S for Q1 2012, the iPhone 5’s complete sales numbers should be available at the end of the first fiscal quarter for 2013. While the iPhone 5 should prove to be immensely popular, iPod sales will be worth paying attention to as well thanks to refreshed iPod nanos and iPod touches.
We will provide live updates from the conference call on our site’s homepage on October 25th starting at 2 PM PT.
Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected
Earlier today, a number of people noticed a change in the App Store Review Guidelines that took place back on September 12. Specifically, Keith Andrew at PocketGamer noted how the new rule 2.25 could pose serious risks for any app that promotes other apps with direct linking.
The wording is typically vague, but clause 2.25 appears to give Apple carte blanche to put any app that promotes titles from a different developer out of action. At the moment, we understand Apple’s likely prime targets are pure app promotion services, such as (but not necessarily including) FreeAppADay, AppoDay, AppGratis, Daily App Dream and AppShopper, amongst others.
Matthew Panzarino at The Next Web and Darrell Etherington at TechCrunch followed up on the news of the late “discovery” with more details on possible implications and comments from developers of apps that might fall under rule 2.25.
There seems to be a lot of confusion on Twitter in regards to the exact scope of this new rule. In particular, due to some poor sensationalistic headlines that are unfortunately published on a regular basis, some are speculating Apple will start banning all apps that promote other apps or any kind of “aggregator” that collects links to multiple App Store apps. That’s just silly and simply not true. Read more
Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on hardware, iOS, and Mac apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!
Read more
