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A celebration of Steve’s life.→

A celebration of Steve’s life.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

Watch the special event, filmed live at the Apple campus in Cupertino, California.

On October 19th, Apple celebrated the life of Steve Jobs in Cupertino as retail stores closed, giving employees around the world the opportunity to partake in the event. Now, everyone can share in the celebration as well. Apple has published a recording of the event that you can watch online.

Airing earlier this evening, CBS News have made available their interview with Walter Isaacson, publishing a written transcript and additional online-only content which you can find on 60 Minutes.

At midnight tonight, Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs will be available for download in the iBookstore. You can preorder the book for $16.99 to have it downloaded on your iPhone and iPad when available.

 

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App Journal, Episode 6: NotifyMe, Whale Trail, Twittelator Neue, BBC iPlayer

App Journal is a new series aimed at showcasing apps we have enjoyed using on our iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but decided not to feature in a standalone, lengthy review here on MacStories. App Journal is a mix of classic reviews, weekly app recommendations, and a diary of our experiences with apps that still deserve a proper mention.

With iOS 5, iCloud and the iPhone 4S now out in the wild and available for all users, App Journal gets back to its regular programming schedule and we couldn’t be more excited to start trying new apps that fully take advantage of the new features offered by iOS 5 and iCloud services. This week, Graham takes a look at the global version of iPlayer, while I try to set a personal record in Whale Trail (thanks to our friends at The Next Web for writing about this gem), experiment with a new Twitter client for iPhone, and enjoy the comfort of a quick-entry panel in a Mac app that creates reminders, but it’s not Apple’s Reminders.

We think this week’s selection is pretty great. Stay tuned for more App Journals in the next weeks.

NotifyMe

With iOS 5, Apple introduced Reminders, and as I wrote in my overview of the app, I’m glad they did. Reminders makes iOS as a platform more efficient and productive, allowing users to forget about having to purchase a standalone to-do app because now the functionality is integrated right into the system. But as I also wrote, it’s not like Reminders aims to replace more complex solutions like OmniFocus, Todo or Things: Reminders is very simple and aimed at people who don’t need advanced personalization of their to-do lists or project management features. Reminders targets the average iOS user that has always wished his iPhone would let him create reminders for when he gets home or needs to take out the trash. With Siri integration, Reminders gets even more accessible thanks to voice-based input.

There will always be room for third-party apps in the iOS ecosystem, and even if Apple “borrows” basic functionalities from third-party software every once in a while, developers always find a way to give their apps a reason to exist and prosper. Just take a look at Instapaper, Grazing, or Fantastical.

NotifyMe, a set of apps by PoweryBase, is an interesting and powerful alternative to Reminders for those who wish they could do a bit more with their to-dos and, more importantly, have them synced back to a native Mac app. NotifyMe is very similar to Reminders in its underlying concept: you create to-dos and they’re synced to the cloud. Unlike Reminders, NotifyMe doesn’t use iCloud – instead the developers have built an infrastructure called the NotifyMe Cloud that keeps iPhone, iPad and Mac clients always up-to-date with a free account you can create at notifymecloud.com. Syncing is free, with no subscriptions – but you’ll have to buy the iOS apps separately on the App Store (no universal version yet) and if you want to have to-dos on your desktop as well, NotifyMe for OS X on the Mac App Store.

Where NotifyMe really stands out is customization. You can assign reminders to specific categories and create new ones from scratch choosing a custom icon. On iOS, you can pick a melody for NotifyMe alerts, set a [Category] prefix in the notifications that you’ll get from the app, and choose whether or not you want the app to default an “auto-done” state for non-repeating reminders. Furthermore, you can set auto-snooze, customize the app’s badge type to overdue+today or overdue+all upcoming, and select a category for shared reminders added by your friends. NotifyMe makes it easy to curate a personal list of friends and family members that you want to share reminders with – just head over the Sharing & Friends tab in the iOS app, and send a request via email to another NotifyMe user. Friends can create shared reminders, but they can’t browse your whole account and see the reminders you’ve chosen not to share.

Both on the Mac and iOS, the app’s interface is easy to use and focused on lists and the “New reminder” button. Lists include your upcoming reminders, completed and recent ones, as well as your categories and Sharing. On the iPad and Mac you’ll see categories (and to-dos assigned to them) right in the left sidebar, whereas on the iPhone you’ll have to tap on Categories first to navigate to another view. NotifyMe also comes with a web app for those who don’t own a Mac, which you can find at webapp.notifymecloud.com.

NotifyMe’s reminders don’t have location features, but they have some other options worth mentioning. You can set repeating reminders and pre-alerts; pick a category, set auto-snooze, sharing and melody on a reminder basis and attach notes. The biggest advantage of NotifyMe over similar to-do software for iOS is that its Mac app enables you to create reminders with an OmniFocus-like quick entry panel, which can be assigned a systemwide keyboard shortcut and optionally expanded to reveal more settings as you write. The quick entry panel is possibly the single best feature of the Mac app that justifies the (steep) price if you’re going to create many reminders on your desktop, and have them always available through the cloud.

NotifyMe works reliably, and in some areas it offers more customization options than Apple’s Reminders for iOS 5. The full set of apps (iPhone, iPad, Mac) doesn’t exactly come cheap, so consider the purchase if you’re really going to use the Mac’s quick entry functionality and iPad client a lot. Read more

iPhone 4S Pre-Orders Go Live For October 28th Launch Countries

As the iPhone 4S nears its international rollout in 22 more countries on October 28th, it appears Apple has opened up online pre-orders, allowing customers to buy an iPhone 4S one week ahead of its scheduled launch next week.

In the 22 countries that will get the iPhone 4S on Friday, October 28th (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), the Apple Online Store has been updated with a new ordering page to buy an iPhone 4S today, and get estimated delivery dates when the item “is added to your cart”. This morning, all the international Apple Stores report shipments of 1-2 weeks, and we’re hearing customers who pre-ordered an unlocked iPhone 4S in Italy are already receiving emails with estimated delivery between November 3-November 9. We have checked in Netherlands, Luxembourg, Mexico, Singapore, Spain and Czech Republic, and iPhone 4S shipping times are currently set to 1-2 weeks (not a surprise, considering Apple will have to save some stock for its Apple retail stores).

Landing pages on the Italian Apple Store

Singapore

Czech Republic

In spite of October 28th being exactly one week away, it seems Apple isn’t currently guaranteeing an October 28th delivery date for online pre-orders.

Italian website Meladvice [Google Translation] notes that pre-orders came as a surprise, as Apple’s customers support allegedly told them earlier this week pre-orders wouldn’t be launched in Italy. Unlocked iPhone 4S pricing in Italy is set at €659 for the 16 GB model, €779 for 32 GB and €899 for thr 64 GB iPhone 4S. Also in Italy, iPhone 4 carriers Tre, Tim and Vodafone have confirmed that they will sell the iPhone 4S once it’s available.

Apple launched iPhone 4S pre-orders in the initial 7 launch countries on October 7th, one week ahead of the October 14th launch. The company then reported 1 million pre-orders in 24 hours, and over 4 million sales in the first weekend.

Apple Showcases the Possibilities of Siri with a New iPhone 4S Ad

iPhone 4S Siri

iPhone 4S Siri

The defining feature of the iPhone 4S would certainly find its way to an Apple advertisement soon enough. Siri has captivated the Internet with its human-like attitude, vast knowledge of cultural geek references, and its continued refusal for your hand in marriage. However, our fun in outsmarting the voice assistant is trumped by actual real life use cases. Flat tires, bowties, meetings, and locking yourself out of your home? All are subjects of Apple’s debut ad for the iPhone 4S (catch it after the break).

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Media Organizations Reveal More Excerpts From The Steve Jobs Biography

In just a few days time, on Monday next week, the much anticipated biography of Steve Jobs will be released - today a number of media organisations were given advance copies of the book and have now shared some details about the book and what Jobs reveals about himself. Both The New York Times and the Associated Press start off their articles by discussing an excerpt from the book in which Jobs reveals that he delayed surgery for nine months after discovering he had a neurendocrine tumour. It’s a relatively rare form of pancreatic cancer that typically grows more slowly and is generally more treatable. Jobs delayed the treatment in favour of alternative methods from a vegan diet to acupuncture and even visited a psychic before deciding to have surgery in July 2004.

Isaacson, quoting Jobs, writes in the book: “`I really didn’t want them to open up my body, so I tried to see if a few other things would work,’ he told me years later with a hint of regret.

The book covers a wide variety of topics from Jobs’ life from his personal relationships, work at Apple, relationships with competitors such as Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt amongst many other topics. In its article, the AP reveals details about a section of the book which describes “the unravelling of Jobs’ relationship with Eric Schmidt”. Jobs was apparently furious when HTC released a phone in January 2010 that contained many of the popular features of the iPhone. He believed that Google’s actions amounted to “grand theft” and as a result Apple sued.

I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.

The New York Times also includes a more interesting detail about how Jobs’ attention to detail extended to nearly everything, from planning and approving every detail in his medical treatment to a luxury yacht he began designing in 2009. The boat isn’t yet finished but in a style reminiscent of Apple Stores across the world, its sleek and minimalist and features 40-foot-long glass walls.

Fascinatingly the Huffington Post writes that in the biography, Jobs reveals that he had offered to design political ads for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign - despite being “highly critical” of the administration’s policies. In a meeting with Obama in the fall of 2010, Jobs told him that “you’re headed for a one-term presidency”, insisting the president be more business friendly. Jobs gave the example of high regulations and unnecessary costs of opening up a factory in the US compared to China.

Jobs later told the author that he wanted to do for Obama what the legendary “morning in America” ads did for Ronald Reagan.

You can read more about the biography from the full New York Times or Associated Press articles and you can pre-order the book from Amazon, iBookstore and many other places. The full biography is released on Monday next week.

[Via The New York Times, Associated Press, Huffington Post]

Kickstarter Project: MobileMount - Mount & Kickstand for iPhone and iPad

There’s a new iPhone mount making some headlines today called the MobileMount. It’s a suction cup mount and kickstand for phones and tablets. JR Sanchez of J & M Company has produced a universal mount/kickstand, called the MobileMount, for most handheld devices with a flat surface such as iPhones and iPads.

The MobileMount is made of two twist-to-lock suction cups and a ball joint making it durable and safe. The twist-to-lock suction method can “hold devices for weeks at a time rather than simply a few hours like other competing mounts.” So why is this “twist-to-lock” method so much better? J & M says that the suction cups squeeze out most of the air when they are in the locked position creating a much stronger vacuum. Videos after the break. Read more

#MacStoriesDeals - Thursday

If you have a new iPhone 4S (or any model), why not buy some great apps at great prices? Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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Apple Announces iOS 5 Tech Talk World Tour 2011

Earlier this year, Apple was rumored to be considering a new edition of the Tech Talk World Tour, a series of developer-focused events in different cities to provide developers with additional sessions, trainings and answers to common questions outside of the typical WWDC environment. Apple has just announced the new iOS 5 Tech Talk World Tour, which will take place in nine cities this year:

We’re taking iOS 5 on a world tour and we want you to come along for the ride. Learn from Apple experts as you take your apps to the next level with the exciting new technologies in iOS. Space is limited, so register today.

The Tech Talk World Tour will start in November, and run through the end of January. The nine cities that will host the event are:

  • Berlin - November 2
  • London - November 7
  • Rome - November 9
  • Beijing - December 5
  • Seoul - December 8
  • Sao Paolo - January 9
  • New York City - January 13
  • Seattle - January 18
  • Austin - January 23

As Apple notes, all iOS Developer Program members are eligible to attend, however priority will be given to developers with at least an app available on the App Store. Tech Talk World Tour sessions are “highly technical”, Apple explains, as a team of expert will travel around the world covering advanced coding and design techniques that developers can implement in their apps.

Tech Talk is free and developers can register with their existing Dev account, however they can’t bring guests as registration is limited to those who got a confirmation email from Apple. Each Tech Talk will share the same agenda and sessions listed on Apple’s website, and developers can’t register for more than one city as Apple wants “to give as many developers as possible the opportunity to attend a Tech Talk”. Apple also states that pre-release software may be covered at Tech Talk, so developers will have to follow the iOS Developer Program License Agreement and Registered Apple Developer Agreement to not share confidential information.

Topics that will be covered in each Tech Talk session include iPhone and iPad User Interface Design, AirPlay, UIKit, Turn-Based Gaming with Game Center, AV Foundation, Core Image and Newsstand apps. Developers can register for Tech Talk World Tour 2011 on Apple’s official page for the event.

AT&T Activates More Than 1 Million iPhone 4S’ And Saw Strong Sales Of The iPhone In Q3

AT&T’s earnings call for the last quarter is on today and they’ve revealed that last quarter they sold 2.7 million iPhones out of a total share of 17.07 million iPhones that Apple sold over the same period. Unsurprisingly however, other non-iPhone, smartphones have become increasingly popular for AT&T with activation of 2.1 million such devices. iPhone activations were down significantly from the previous quarter in which they activated 3.6 million iPhones - although keep in mind that Apple also saw a decline in iPhone sales this quarter.

At the earnings call AT&T also noted that they had activated more than 1 million iPhone 4S’ as of Tuesday this week, making it AT&T’s most successful launch. For comparison, Sprint saw 200,000 pre-orders on the iPhone 4S launch day. Verizon has yet to reveal specific numbers for iPhone 4S sales, but have said they were very pleased with the reception.

[Via ZDNet, BGR]