We’re hearing interesting rumors about Apple’s plans with the new Apple TV (or iTV) these days. Engadget was the first to speculate about the upcoming new device, suggesting a new name and its complete redesign - both in terms of hardware (a very small set-top box) and software (it should run a modified version of iOS).
Steve Jobs “Not Convinced” New Apple TV Will Be a Hit
Malaysian Company Sues Apple Over Ad Patent Violation
Here comes a new unknown company suing Apple (Nokia andGoogle, too) over some patent violation. Macgasm reports of Malaysian company StreetSpace suing Steve Jobs & Co. over some violations in a patent which details a “Method and System for Providing Personalized Online Services and Advertisements in Public Places.”
Apple Will Dominate The Tablet Market with iPad
Well, that’s pretty much stating the obvious, right? Not quite. iPad competitors (like the “inspired” Galaxy Tab) are coming out fast, some of them will be out by the holiday season and we all know that manufacturers can’t wait to start releasing hundreds of these products in the market. So one may think Apple will have to face some hard times going forward.
Market research firm iSuppli doesn’t think so.
Squirrel 2: Elegant Financial Management App. Reviewed.
I have a problem with financial apps for iPhone, and it’s not just that I can’t stick with one. It’s that none of them has managed over time to support my needs and change its core structure according to them. See, it’s easy to keep track of expenses: I can either create a text file or a spreadsheet and start putting data in. But when it comes to an application, I want more. Ok, there are developers who clearly state they’ve built a lightweight tool to keep track of your finances. But when you advertise your new app with the “manage your finances on the go” catchy line, I expect more than a simple list packed inside a nice UI.
Sadly, that’s what seems to happen every time. The iPhone 4 came out and I thought, hey - maybe this is the right time for developers to focus on creating a full-featured and flexible financial app for iPhone. New iPhone, new creativity - right? Not so fast. Remember the word flexible, because more on this later.
Two weeks ago I bought Squirrel 2, a new and beautiful app for iPhone which aims at becoming your weapon of choice for “managing your finances”. I gave it a try. It also comes with a Mac companion to sync with, but when I say I want to manage my finances on the go (out of the computer I use to write stuff), I don’t want sync or backups or companions or whatever. So, these are just my impressions of Squirrel 2 for iPhone.
Apple Releases 2010-005 Security Update For Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6
A few minues ago Apple issued a new security update for Mac OS X 10.6 and 10.5, aimed at fixing PDF vulnerabilities (the same of iOS?), network interceptions and PHP vulnerabilities.
Check out the full changelog after the break. Security update is available now in Software Update.
Simplenote: Still The Best Note Taking App
A few apps changed my workflow the way Simplenote did. Soon after John Gruber’s public endorsement of Simplenote for iPhone, I decided to give the app a try, as I needed a fast and reliable solution to organize my notes.
I remember those days. In the early days of MacStories there was no team behind the website you see now, and I didn’t know back then I would need a cloud solution for my posts someday. Heck, I used to write posts in Pages.
Eventually I realized I needed to be able to start a writing session on my Mac, and finish it at my girlfriend’s place if I had time. Or, I could just jot down a few ideas while on the go and turn them into posts later. As I realized that, I tried Simplenote.
See, I try many new apps every week. Sometimes I think that it’d be interesting to keep on refining my worfklow (thus changing my app setup) and see what happens. You know my problem with financial apps, right? I can’t stick with one. I used to have the same problem with Twitter clients, but after many reinstalls and downloads (“I’m gonna delete it from iTunes, so I won’t be tempted to install it again.” Sure.) I found my way with Twitterrific on the iPhone and Osfoora on the iPad. Like I said, sometimes I think that this is just an interesting experiment a blogger can keep on doing just for the sake of it. If the results are good, even better.
I never switched from Simplenote to another note taking app. I never, never thought of deleting it and trying something else. Some applications are developed with the precise intent of letting them evolve over time. Despite the updates released in the past months, Simplenote was a complete app from the start.
Some apps are made to stay. And last night, Simplenote for iPhone and iPad got a lot better.
Businesses Are Jumping on the iPad
So much for the iPad being a consumption-only device. We got it month ago, when we realized that Apple’s latest creation wasn’t meant for consuming content (though it’s great at it) but for creating, too. 11.000 approved apps in 4 months must mean something.
Still, with the iPhone things weren’t that great in 2007, when the device was just released and Apple wanted to persuade businesses and large IT corporations to adopt the device and massively deploy it to their employees. It didn’t happen: there weren’t apps tailored to IT users, there was no Exchange support, no encryption (a strong selling point of BlackBerry devices, or so they say), no possibility to deploy apps developed in house (actually, there was no App Store, either).
Not with the iPad. Businesses are loving it.
Mozilla Releases Firefox 4 Beta 4 - Tab Candy Renamed to “Panorama” and Built-In
Firefox 4 is coming up great, and a huge Safari 5 fan is telling you this. Mozilla has just uploaded Firefox 4 Beta 4 to their servers (although the official Beta page hasn’t been updated yet) and you can go download it here. Update: official beta page now lets you download Beta 4.
The big news is, Tab Candy (or Tab Sets, or Firefox Uberview) has been renamed to Firefox Panorama (I love it) and it’s now built in Firefox 4, starting from this beta.
Sumo Wrestlers Getting iPads, Too
Of all the sports associations getting iPads and deploying them for better communication between managers and athletes, I thought Japan’s Sumo Association would have been the last. I mean, sumo wrestlers aren’t exactly “techy” people. Sumo is a pretty traditional sport, bounded to old rules - can you imagine these oversized wrestlers sitting down and enjoying Robert Scoble’s tweets on Flipboard?