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Facebook iPad App “Feature Complete” Since May, Apple and Facebook Negotiating Over HTML5 Platform?

In a blog post published earlier today, former Facebook engineer Jeff Verkoeyen explained that among the reasons behind his decision to leave Facebook for Google there was some sort of frustration for the release of Facebook’s official iPad app. The app, leaked earlier this year as Facebook buried its code inside the iPhone app, has been apparently feature complete since May but, as Verkoeyen clarifies to The Next Web, there were still bugs and issues to iron out with the software. The app was pushed back several times, but Verkoeyen says that he enjoyed his time working at Facebook.

He says that there were definitely bugs and issues with the app that still needed working out. Although his post indicated that the development of the app slowed after his initial push in May, he says that it is still a ‘continually evolving’ app. Verkoeyen wanted to stress the fact that ‘feature complete’ and ‘complete’ are two very different concepts.

MG Siegler, who originally leaked the Facebook iPad app months ago, briefly chimes in to suggest that the app might have been delayed multiple times because of ongoing negotiations between Apple and Facebook. Such negotiations are said to include a deal for a collaboration between the two companies on Spartan, Facebook’s rumored new HTML5 platform that will allow developers to write Facebook apps and games that run in the browser.

There isn’t much to go on here just yet, but we’ve been hearing that Facebook and Apple may now be working together on the HTML5 project. Maybe it’s because Apple hates Google that much, or maybe it’s because they realize that HTML5 apps are still no real threat to the native app movement. Or maybe they want Facebook’s wildly popular social games to run inside of Facebook’s apps — including the iPad app. If this is indeed the case, negotiations may still be underway.

Project Spartan has been in the rumors for months now, and some initially believed it would be formally introduced – alongside the iPad app – at the f8 conference last week. Spartan, an HTML5-based development platform deeply tied into Facebook’s API and payment system, was also regarded as Facebook’s answer to Apple’s App Store’s dominance in the mobile space – by targeting iOS browsers in its initial release, Spartan could offer an interesting alternative for developers looking to write mobile apps integrated with Facebook.

A collaboration between Facebook and Apple would also result interesting, of course, considering Apple’s support for Twitter in its upcoming iOS 5. A video showing an internal iOS 4 build showed that Apple had at least internally tested direct integration of Facebook into its iPhone software, but the feature never made it to iOS 4’s public release. It’s been widely speculated that Apple and Facebook couldn’t come to an agreement because of Facebook’s terms – Apple was even forced to pull Facebook integration from its music-based social network, Ping, at the last minute.

One last piece of information comes from Robert Scoble, who suggested last week Facebook was saving its iPad app announcement for October 4th, the day Apple is expected to hold its iPhone 5 keynote in Cupertino.

Update: Ben Parr at Mashable reports the Facebook iPad app and a new version of the iPhone client will be unveiled at Apple’s next keynote, as Scoble suggested last week. Parr reports Apple and Facebook share a common “goal” (bring down Google, it seems) and he corroborates MG Siegler’s report earlier today – Facebook’s “Project Spartan” HTML5 platform may see Apple’s involvement to allow developers to create better apps for mobile browsers.

Facebook will launch its long-awaited iPad app at Apple’s iPhone 5 launch event on Oct. 4, Mashable has learned. In addition to the iPad app, Facebook is also expected to release a revamped version of its iPhone app and may unveil an HTML5-based mobile app marketplace.

If Parr’s sources are correct (he was given a preview of Facebook’s f8 announcements last week, and wrote that Facebook would “profoundly change” a day before the conference), we may see the long-awaited Facebook iPad app on Tuesday, October 4th.

RestoreMeNot Disables Lion’s Resume For Individual Apps

One of Lion’s biggest changes for geeks and average OS X users alike has been its Resume functionality, which combined with Auto-Save ensures your documents are always saved in the background, and their application windows restored after you reboot your Mac, or quit an app. Whilst Lion’s window restoration may come in handy if you don’t want to lose your Safari browsing session or writing point in TextEdit, the opposite can also be true: automatic window restoration can be annoying for scratch documents that you don’t want to see again, in apps that perhaps you think should always start up fresh and uncluttered.

In our OS X Lion review, we detailed how it’s possible to decide to “quit and discard windows” every time by pressing the Option key alongside the usual CMD+Q combination – but wouldn’t it be nice to automatically disable window restoration forever in a specific app? In the days following Lion’s release, a number of Terminal hacks surfaced indicating that it was indeed possible to disable window restoration on an app-by-app basis. RestoreMeNot, a free System Preferences panel covered by Lifehacker earlier today, gives these Terminal hacks a graphical user interface that lets you choose apps you don’t want to restore windows with.

The app is extremely simple. Once installed, it’ll ask you for apps from your Finder. In my workflow, I always find myself hitting Command+Option+Q to quit and discard windows in Preview and OmniOutliner, so I might as well add them and go back to my usual Command+Q shortcut. RestoreMeNot does exactly this – it basically overrides the standard “Quit” command with “Quit and Discard Windows” and it’ll make sure your selected apps will launch window-free when possible (TextEdit, for instance, will create an “Untitled” document every time). Don’t worry though – this won’t disable auto-save: I tried with TextEdit, and whilst its windows wouldn’t be restored, the contents of a modified document were still correctly saved by Lion.

If you’re looking for a more advanced way to tweak your OS X Lion’s behavior, TinkerTool recently added an option to individually control Resume for apps as well. You can download RestoreMeNot for free here.

iPhone 5 To Include New iOS 5 “Assistant” Voice Feature

In a new article published this morning, 9to5mac claims to have the details surrounding Assistant, a new software service that has been built on top of Apple’s acquisition of Siri last year, and which should be enabled on the next generation iPhone. According to the website, Assistant will run on next-gen hardware as it’ll require the iPhone 5’s purported A5 processor and 1 GB of RAM. These hardware upgrades have been rumored before, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Apple decided to bump the specs of the iPhone 4 to accomodate more RAM, which would allow for more tasks running in the background. Such tasks would include Assistant, which is described as a brand new way to have “an infinite amount of information” available at the sound of your voice.

9to5mac reports Assistant will work with your voice, and it’ll be activated similarly to how Voice Control can be opened on older versions of iOS. Unlike Voice Control, Assistant should take up a smaller section of the screen – like the multitasking tray – and it’ll be associated to the Home button. Assistant-related code has been found in the iOS 5 SDK before, and 9to5mac confirms the new service will be integrated with contacts, messages, Maps, email and pretty much any other feature that supports systemwide frameworks on iOS – like Calendar and the message sheet.

Some of the features mentioned in the article:

  • There’s an “info” button in the Assistant UI to “view some of the most commonly spoken commands”.
  • You can create calendar events, reminders, get directions, send text messages directly with a voice command.
  • Find My Friends will be integrated with Assistant, and there will be privacy settings to control how you “can be found” when you’re online with your iOS device.
  • There is a “conversation view” to speak back and forth with the Assistant to confirm voice commands, and give further instructions like “send email to Mark’s work address”.

More details are available in the original article – such as Wolfram Alpha integration and the user interface design of Assistant.

Back in March, it was reported Siri would be “a big part” of Apple’s announcements at WWDC, but the company didn’t showcase any voice-related functionalities at its developer conference. That move would make sense if Assistant has been made exclusive to the new iPhone, which obviously didn’t get an announcement at WWDC either, and is currently rumored to be unveiled at Apple’s headquarters on October 4th. The voice recognition features of Siri were based on Nuance’s technology, which is also rumored to be in an agreement with Apple for the upcoming iOS 5. Previous iOS 5 betas revealed hidden functionalities (not enabled on existing hardware) related to “dictation”, a feature that, supposedly, would let users “speak text” they want to write on screen.

YouTube Testing New Mobile Layout

Following the Cosmic Panda experimental design launched in July, it appears YouTube is now testing an updated mobile layout that borrows some of the color schemes and interface elements of this summer’s refresh for desktop web browsers. The new mobile layout can be enabled at m.youtube.com/new_visual_design, and I’ve noticed this by opening the YouTube website from my iPhone (running the latest iOS 5 beta, but it works on iOS 4 too) earlier today. A quick Google and Twitter search seems to confirm that the new mobile layout is a recent change that, similarly to Cosmic Panda, is opt-in and needs to be manually activated.

Once enabled, the new design brings a much darker color palette that presents videos against dark toolbars and buttons – I assume this should make videos a little easier on the eye, but the effect is sort of ruined by Safari’s blue address bar. Unlike the standard mobile layout, launched last year, when saving this new design to the iPhone’s Home screen you won’t get a Retina-ready icon or full-screen web app. This, again, should be related to the experimental nature of the design.

The new mobile layout brings updated buttons and a new toolbar to toggle HQ on videos, give them a thumbs up/down, and share them. The HQ toggle comes with a neat fading animation and the video thumbnail has new loading and Play controls, too. Read more

October 4th Event To Be Held On Apple Campus

Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium during the Back to the Mac event, October 2010

John Paczkowski at AllThingsD follows-up on his earlier report of Apple’s next media event scheduled for October 4th, claiming that the keynote will be held on Apple Campus in Cupertino, rather than the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, as usual with Apple’s fall event. Details aren’t clear, but it’s possible Apple didn’t want to book a full date for the Yerba Buena Center as the keynote was too much of a “moving target”.

Perhaps, the company felt a more intimate venue was best for newly installed CEO Tim Cook’s first media event. Perhaps YBCA was simply already booked. Whatever the reason, the world will get it’s first look at the next iPhone at Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium in early October.

Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium has been used on several occasions to preview upcoming versions of iOS to the press. Last October, Apple held its “Back to the Mac” media event at Town Hall to preview the new version of OS X, Lion, iLife ‘11 and announce updated MacBook Air models.

Rumors surrounding Apple’s next iPhone model have claimed the company has been working on either a completely redesigned device, or a minor update unofficially dubbed “iPhone 4S”. Several sources previously reported the next iPhone would ship in mid-October on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint in the United States; it is widely believed the new device will come with Apple’s upcoming iOS update, iOS 5, pre-installed and ready to be configured with iCloud. AllThingsD also reports Apple’s new CEO, Tim Cook, will preside over the event.

Google+ for iOS Update: Mobile Hangouts, New Notification Settings, And More

A major update to the official Google+ app for iOS has been released on the App Store, and it adds the features mentioned by Google earlier this week when the service hit official “beta” status (open to everyone) after a limited field-trial period. As previously announced by Google, the mobile app for iOS now comes with Hangouts support – meaning that you’ll be able to join a Hangout directly from your iPhone or iPod touch. I haven’t been able to test this yet as none of my friends is currently streaming a Hangout session, so I can’t comment on the app’s performances with video yet. When covering the functionality for the Android app, however, Google wrote:

In life we connect with others in all sorts of places, at all different times. And the connections you make unexpectedly are often the ones you remember the most. We think Hangouts should keep pace with how you socialize in the real-world, so today we’re launching it on the one device that’s always by your side: your mobile phone. To get started, simply find an active hangout in the Stream, and tap “Join”.

The most notable change as you fire up the updated app is Huddle, which has been renamed to Messenger and now supports photos. You can easily attach photos from your Library or snap new ones within a Messenger thread, and Google claims there have been some reliability improvements as well.

Throughout the app, I’ve spotted several optimizations that should make the mobile Google+ experience more enjoyable. For one, granular controls on notification settings now allow you to selectively receive push notifications for mentions, shares, comments, or comments on a post after you commented. You can also be notified about new people circling you, and new tags or comments on photos. Considering iOS 5’s upcoming Notification Center functionality, these changes should make for an optimal experience when dealing with the incoming stream of notifications from Google+.

Other improvements in Google+ for iOS include the possibility to +1 comments, a map view in the profile for places you’ve lived, and a new feature to share posts with individuals only, instead of circles. Furthermore, Google mentions improvements to search in the changelog, and better support for +mentions (in the compose view, you’ll get a popup dialog to pick users, similar to Twitter).

The new Google+ update for iPhone feels like an important step forward in bringing the app up to parity with the website, as well as the mobile Android client. You can get it here on the App Store.

Update: I’ve run some first mobile Hangout tests, and performances seemed pretty reliably on my home network. Video quality was slightly worse than Apple’s FaceTime on the same connection, but it was a very slightly difference. What matters is that you’re able to join a Hangout directly from your stream as one of your friend starts it, and as you click “Join” you’ll be brought to a new dark screen that will load your camera view (front-facing by default), as well as your friend’s. There are notifications for new people joining a Hangout, and as multiple members join you can open a new screen to instantly add them to a circle.  There are buttons in a bottom toolbar to mute audio, freeze the camera, switch between front and rear-facing cameras, and leave the Hangout.

Overall, the process of joining a Hangout from my iPhone was pretty smooth, though on my friend’s end, she told me she was logged out at some time, and had to re-enter the Hangout. During those few seconds, I was left alone with a black screen as you can see in an image below. Hangouts on desktop web browsers have been recently enhanced with new features as you can read in Google’s blog post.

MacPaw Giveaway: Ensoul and Hider Codes Up for Grabs

It’s time for a new MacStories giveaway and this time we’re featuring MacPaw. We’re giving away 5 copies of MacPaw’s great Mac software, Ensoul and Hider. Ensoul lets you make bigger, better and more beautiful contact photos, make custom iPhone wallpapers from your iPhoto library, Photo Booth, Apeture or any folder on your Mac. It’s non-destructive, easy, and editing takes seconds to do. Hider is the cutting edge solution for hiding your private data on your Mac. If you’re concerned about privacy, Hider provides a user-friendly application that password-protects and hides all your personal files and folders; Hider can also organize them to keep your desktop uncluttered. It’s plugged into your Mac’s Finder and allows you to quickly hides files simply by using a contextual menu.

Be sure to check out the full feature lists of Ensoul and Hider on the MacPaw site. Ensoul ($9.99) and Hider ($9.99) can both be purchased from the Mac App Store. However if you are interested in winning one of the 5 copies of MacPaw’s popular apps that we are giving away, be sure to jump the break for all the details. Read more

WordPress 2.9 for iOS Gets New Text Editor, Fixes

WordPress has released an update to their iOS client earlier today, adding a number of features that have been requested since the original release of the blogging client for iPhone and iPad. I’ve been trying the latest WordPress, and while it’s still far from being the perfect app to write long articles on the go, the new features introduced in the latest update surely contribute to enhancing the overall experience.

For one, WordPress 2.9 has a refreshed text editor. It’s not the same visual editor you’d get on a self-hosted WordPress blog – it still forces you to write with visible HTML, then hit a button to preview text – but it’s got an additional keyboard row both on the iPhone and iPad with buttons for bold and italic text, adding links, quotes and strikethroughs, bulleted lists, and more. The app is pretty smart in that text will be automatically wrapped between HTML tags both when you hit the buttons as you type, or manually select text afterwards. I’d like to see the possibility of manually arranging and customizing the extra keyboard row in a future update, but there’s no doubt the feature gets the job done for now.

Editing is done in a pop-up window on the iPad (my main writing machine when I’m on the go), with buttons along the bottom to switch between HTML, settings, preview, and attach media. Whereas the iPad app lets you switch between modes with the tap of a button, on the iPhone you’ll have to hit “Done” to go back to the previous view (with settings, title, categories, etc.).

WordPress mentions two more features in the iTunes changelog:

Full Screen Editing. No more teeny-weeny content editor — now you can view more text at a time while you post on the go.

Reading Made Easy. Keeping track of your favorite blogs has never been easier. Browse all the latest posts on blogs you follow in one place, right from your iPhone.

WordPress 2.9 comes with three minor fixes as well, which include posting pictures that you’ve already taken with Quick Photo (introduced in version 2.8), and stats/referrer links that can be opened in-app. In a post on the WordPress for iOS blog, the developers explain the new “Read” feature:

If you have one or more WordPress.com blogs in your WordPress for iOS app you’ll now see a Read button in the blogs list. This is the fastest way to keep up with posts from blogs you’re following on WordPress.com. Here’s how it works: if you go to any WordPress.com blog and click the Follow button, you’ll not only get email notifications about new posts from that blog, they’ll also show up right in the app!

WordPress 2.9 is an interesting update, one that I’m sure will get more writers to consider the iOS app as a feasible alternative when a laptop is not available. I’m definitely looking forward to version 3.0, which is going to be the “biggest update to the WordPress for iOS app since its birth”.

Download WordPress for iOS here.