I first reviewed Panic’s Status Board two years ago, noting how it was an “elegant, fun, and powerful dashboard for the iPad”. Today, Panic has released version 2.0 of the app, which features a redesigned UI to be in line with the latest iOS trends and conventions, a new font, more board features and types, and a new freemium model.
Status Board Goes 2.0 with New Panels, Multiple Boards, and More
The Ad Blocker Debate→
Jean-Louis Gassée, on ad-blocking tools coming with iOS 9 thanks to Safari Content Blockers:
Publishers who rise to condemn new (and still unproven) ad-blocking features on iOS and OS X ought to ask themselves one question: Who needs whom the most?
Apple’s move answers the question. No need to think it’s building ad-blocking technology to monopolize the field to the benefit of its iAd platform whose revenue can’t “move the needle” for a company where revenue and profits mostly come from hardware (see the last 10-Q report page 25). Apple’s “ulterior” motive is making everyday use of its products more pleasant, resulting in more sales: the usual ecosystem play.
With MacStories, we’re pretty fortunate to be in the position of running a publication that doesn’t depend on heavy user tracking and programmatic ads (we do native advertising with sponsors, affiliate links, and, soon, something else). The few JavaScript code that is left on our pages (Google Analytics) could go away if I find something that works better and is lighter than Google’s solution. As publishers, we won’t be particularly affected by Content Blockers. I relate to those who run sites based on a different model, but I’m not so shortsighted to blame Safari for the slow nature of a mobile web infested with ads and creepy trackers.
I also believe that a lot of this comes down to how much you respect your readers. This was our single most important goal with MacStories 4.0 last year. It won’t change anytime soon. It’s important for us that anyone – no matter their browser or Internet speed or data cap – can read our website comfortably and quickly.
As a user, I’m ecstatic about Content Blockers. Some might say it’s not morally acceptable to block ads, but when publishers reach the point where a single 80 KB article weighs 6 MB, maybe it is time for a wake up call.
My Favorite Mac: The New 12” Retina MacBook
After three weeks with the new MacBook, I can easily declare it as my favorite Mac, and none of the details that left some of the tech press wailing and gnashing their teeth have actually been a problem. Only one port? A minor annoyance at worst. Performance? It works great for everything that I need to do. Keyboard? I absolutely love it and can’t imagine switching back. In hindsight, the only regret I have is spending all that money on an iPad Air 2.
A Weekend at KansasFest→
Good story by Jason Koebler on KansasFest:
Every summer, about 70 people descend on Kansas City’s Rockhurst University for KansasFest, a conference that can best be described as a 5-day sleepaway camp exclusively for fans of the Apple II, one of the first commercially successful personal computers. KansasFest started in 1989 as an Apple II developer’s conference—26 years later, it’s still entirely dedicated to the Apple II.
Apple Music and DJ Apps→
Allen Pike, one of the developers behind WeddingDJ and the excellent Party Monster, has written on the new issues introduced with Apple Music for third-party media apps:
According to our latest stats, 17% of Party Monster users have been unable to play a song in their iTunes library, and 22% of WeddingDJ users have tried to cue a playlist that has so many unplayable tracks that we need to display a warning. While it’s a miracle that we’ve been able to maintain a 4 star rating through all of this, it’s not going to last if we stay the course.
Given all of this, we have a couple options. We could double down and go pro, catering to serious DJs who can load DRM-free music into our sandbox. Pro DJs who use our apps often have a large licensed library of songs, and won’t rely on iTunes Match or Apple Music.
Alternatively, we could steer towards the mass market, drop crossfading support, and regain full iTunes compatibility. We could also put in the work to add support for Spotify or other competing streaming services, and focus our apps less on playback features and more on having a great UI for queueing.
The standard iOS media player has never given a lot of freedom to third-party developers. I wonder if Apple Music with its “love” system could be even more of an excuse for Apple not to make the media player APIs more flexible. Not to mention, of course, DRM.
Virtual: Great Taste→
This week Federico and Myke discuss Nintendo’s Q1 results, Dragon Quest coming to the Nintendo NX, and why Angry Birds 2 makes them so mad about free-to-play games.
If you’ve been curious to know my take on Angry Birds 2 (released this week on the App Store), today’s episode of Virtual is for you. You can listen here.
Sponsored by:
- Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like, free for up to 10 people.
Connected: The Edition Episode→
On the golden anniversary of Connected, the crew sits down to talk about Apple Pay in the UK, Apple News and RSS before sharing a little about how they write articles and prepare for podcasts.
It seems crazy to me that we’ve already done 50 episodes of Connected. This week’s episode is a good one, as Stephen and I talk about our writing process and Myke takes us behind the scenes of Relay FM. You can listen here.
Sponsored by:
Reeder 3 for Mac Enters Public Beta→
Speaking of public betas, Silvio Rizzi launched a public beta of Reeder 3 for Mac earlier today. The updated app is built for Yosemite, has some new themes and a private browsing mode, and it’s also an Instapaper client. If you’re running El Capitan, the beta already supports San Francisco and Split View. Plus, it will be a free update when it launches.
Pocket Launches Public Beta with Recommendations
Pocket wants to build a save button for the Internet, and with over 2 billion items saved to the service the company is now turning to personalization as a way to entice users to save more to get more out of it.
Today, Pocket founder Nate Weiner has announced a public beta of Pocket for iOS, Android, and the web, featuring a new Recommendations feature to receive new items similar to what has been saved in the main list.