On Rules and Android “Openness”

Short version: every ecosystem needs rules. Otherwise, it’s a mess.

Long version: I wanted to briefly inform you about my take on Android’s purported “openness” and the need of rules and control on a mobile platform. Openness is good: everyone wants to be able to have a choice, choices make us feel in control of almost every situation. With computers, choices mean we can decide how to operate a machine. With mobile devices, choices have (sadly) come down to choosing whether or not you want to browse with Flash or find any kind of application in a marketplace. Read more

Apple Now Showcasing Augmented Reality Apps In The App Store

There was a time when getting an AR (Augmented Reality) app approved by Apple was practically impossible. They didn’t want the iPhone camera to be used for other purposes than, well, taking pictures, and developers couldn’t display additional information on the camera screen. Eventually the App Review Team revised its rules and now, especially after Apple’s outing with the App Store Guidelines, Augmented Reality apps are featured in the App Store. Read more

Amazing iPad Optical Illusions Bring Images to Life

We have seen examples of art applied to the iPad before: remember the iPad light paintings ? I’m not afraid to call that “art”: with the technology of today and the creativity of real artists, it is possible to come up with modern implementations of old art forms.

Today’s video shows what it’s possible to do with static images on an iPad and a transparent overlay sheet. The result is mind-blowing, especially the last animation. Check out the video below, then share. It’s incredible.

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Apple Allegedly Fighting Against A Music Service They Should Learn From

The latest rumor making the rounds of the internet is the same one we’ve been hearing about for years: an iTunes subscription-based music service. Both the New York Post and CNET are reporting that Apple is considering a subscription music service; the New York Post also reports (be careful, they have a history with rumors) that the latest plan hatched in Cupertino’s black labs wants music execs to agree on a monthly service that could have a tiered pricing model ranging from $10 to $15. The report doesn’t tell us how much music would be included in each tier, and whether this subscription is meant for local content or cloud access. Read more

.Mac HomePage Shutting Down on Nov. 8th, iLife ‘11 To Drop on Nov. 9th?

The Loop is reporting that earlier this morning Apple sent an email to MobileMe members announcing that web content published via the old .Mac service will no longer be available starting November 8th. The email:

Dear MobileMe member,

Over a year ago, we retired the .Mac HomePage application for publishing new pages, but allowed previously published pages to remain viewable on the web. On November 8, 2010, we will discontinue online viewing of photos, movies, and files shared using .Mac HomePage.Please note that your content will not be deleted. Any photos, movies, or files you have published using HomePage will continue to remain on your MobileMe iDisk in the Movies, Pictures, or Public folders.

We recommend MobileMe Gallery as a great way to share photos and movies on the web. Please read these instructions on how to move your HomePage photos and movies to MobileMe Gallery.MobileMe members who have published web pages using iWeb will not be affected by this change. If you have used other software to publish web content to MobileMe or .Mac, or have questions about this change, please read this FAQ.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for being a MobileMe member.

Sincerely,

The MobileMe Team

Now, Nov. 8th is a Monday. Web content is published through iWeb, which is part of the iLife suite. Shall we expect iLife ‘11 to drop on Nov. 9th, a Tuesday? That’d be likely (and definitely welcome). Previous rumors about iLife ‘11 included iDVD, iOS integration and 64-bit speculations.

iPolitics: German Parliament Replacing Paper with iPads

The iPad is a mainstream success that keeps on giving. With almost 10 millions units already sold (or so they say) and more than 30.000 apps in the iPad App Store, people are sure loving the tablet. We also heard it’s pretty successful in enterprise and business: large corporations are already deploying iPads, which makes me wonder about what’s going to happen with the new enterprise features that’ll come with iOS 4.2 in November.

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So Steve Ballmer Walks Into Adobe’s Offices…

…and spends an hour or so discussing a possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft to fight Apple. That’s what The New York Times is reporting today:

Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, recently showed up with a small entourage of deputies at Adobe’s corporate offices in San Francisco to hold a secret meeting with Adobe’s chief executive, Shantanu Narayen.

The meeting, which lasted over an hour, covered a number of topics, but one of the main thrusts of the discussion was Apple and its control of the mobile phone market and how the two companies could partner in the battle against Apple. A possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft were among the options.

Steve Ballmer is the same guy who laughed at the iPhone in 2007. I’m sure “business users” would love a Microsoft Slate running Flash.

My Adventure With A Mysterious Instapaper Clone

This is an interesting story about an app I found in the App Store two days ago. Just like every night before I go to sleep, I opened AppShopper to take a quick look at new apps that could be worth a mention on MacStories. I’ve been looking for new great iPad apps recently, but universal ones are, of course, more than welcome.

So I stumbled upon this new application with a nice looking icon called “Reader Mode” which, supposedly, enabled you to browse the web and switch to a text-only view (for long articles with the tap of a button). It was universal and priced at $0.99. I bought it. Read more

How Flipboard Was Created→

How Flipboard Was Created

When I traveled, I would buy magazines before I got on an airplane. I love magazines, I read them all the time. As I was reading them, I’d ask myself: “Why is it that the Web isn’t as beautiful as these magazines? What could we do to make the web a more beautiful place?” And of course, along with that line of thinking, I was saying to myself: “If this Apple tablet that is rumored ever happens, it would be the perfect form factor for doing exactly that - for making websites as beautiful as magazines.

Flipboard is currently featured in the App Store homepage, Apple’s iPad commercial and it’s sitting at #7 of the Free Apps for iPad chart.

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