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Tokens 1.2→

From the Tokens blog:

With Tokens 1.2 we’re introducing Campaigns. As well as the convenient URLs we’ve always had for sharing and tracking individual promo codes, you can now add multiple codes to a campaign and use a single URL to share them. When a user clicks redeem on a campaign page we vend them an individual token, prioritising ones that are closer to their expiration date, and use cookies to prevent refreshing from using up more codes.

Originally launched in 2012, Tokens lets developers generate promo codes from iTunes Connect easily, without logging into the website using a browser. The app can keep track of codes that have been redeemed by users, and, personally, I’m always happy to come across Tokens links as they instantly open iTunes’ redeem page and I don’t have to copy & paste anything.

The new Campaigns feature sounds interesting and easier for developers to keep track of, and I like the idea of Passbook support for WWDC. With the update, Tokens is also getting a new pricing model and different limitations in the trial version. You can read the details here.

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iOS 8 Banner Going Up at Moscone West

Click for full size.

Click for full size.

It’s been four days since Apple began decorating Moscone West with WWDC 2014 banners, and today the company has started hanging new signage hinting at the next major version of iOS, iOS 8.

Last year, Apple displayed banners suggesting a different look for iOS with a colorful and thin “7” logo on a minimalistic background. This year, Apple has taken a different approach with a water background (reminiscent of the iOS 6 banner in 2012) and a white “8” logo.

In a press release published in April, Apple said that WWDC 2014 would give developers from around the world a chance to “learn about the future of iOS and OS X”. Apple is expected to unveil iOS 8 and the next version of OS X during the WWDC keynote; OS X is expected to receive a complete redesign with a significant overhaul of the Aqua interface, while iOS 8 is rumored to be an iterative update focused on refinements and new featured based on last year’s bold new look.

Update: The banner for OS X went up as well.

You can follow @MacStoriesNet on Twitter or our WWDC 2014 hub for updates.

Our thanks goes to Steve Streza and Alex Novosad for providing the photos and helping us with coverage from San Francisco.

MindNode 3.1 Adds Redesigned Outline, Markdown Export

MindNode is an elegant and powerful mindmapping app that I use on all my devices to visualize thoughts and topics before writing an article or preparing research for a podcast episode. I’ve been a fan of MindNode for years, and I was particularly impressed with version 3.0, which brought a new iOS 7 design alongside more intuitive interactions, better iCloud sync, and keyboard shortcuts.

Today’s 3.1 update, available on the App Store, features an entirely new sidebar for your mindmap outline that replaces the app’s old popover. The advantage of the sidebar approach is immediately clear on the iPad, and especially in landscape mode: with the new version, you can keep the map and sidebar open at the same time, tapping on items in the outline to select the respective node on the map (and vice versa).

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Editorial 1.1: Another Step Forward for iOS Automation

Editorial, Ole Zorn’s text automation tool and Markdown editor for iOS, has changed the way I work on my iPad.

Combining an elegant text editing experience with a powerful workflow system based on actions and a built-in Python interpreter, Editorial reinvented iOS automation and explored new horizons of what could be achieved with inter-app comunication on an iPad. Editorial can be just a text editor, but its true potential and versatility are revealed by an Automator-inspired interface that is the foundation for workflows to automate text editing, web services, image manipulation, and more – all on an iPad, without needing a Mac. Editorial sits at the forefront of the post-PC era, and it’s become an indispensable tool for my professional life.

Editorial came out on August 15, 2013. Over the past nine months, I’ve seen Editorial go from a minor 1.0.1 release to a feature-packed, redesigned 1.1 that feels like a 2.0 update – the kind of deep, fundamentally different version of an app that several developers would charge for as a separate product on the App Store.

It’s undeniable that Zorn should have released an update with fixes and basic iOS 7 compatibility sooner, but it’s important to note that Editorial 1.0 (aside from minor issues) kept working well on iOS 7, and Zorn documented the development process with notes and screenshots on the app’s forums. As an Editorial user and reviewer, it’s been a long journey from version 1.0 in August 2013 to today’s 1.1 release, but it’s been worth it.

Editorial 1.1 brings a plethora of design changes, Markdown improvements, and automation breakthroughs that, just ahead of iOS 8, represent a major milestone for Markdown text editors and iOS automation. Editorial 1.1 may be a text editor on the surface, but, in reality, it’s a small revolution for iOS power users.

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Eddy Cue and Jimmy Iovine Speak at Code Conference, A Brief Recap

Eddy Cue and Jimmy Iovine. Photo via Re/code

Following the news that Apple was acquiring Beats yesterday, Eddy Cue from Apple and Jimmy Iovine from Beats spoke to Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the inaugural Code Conference. We’ve run through the liveblogs from Re/code and The Verge and highlighted some interesting moments of the discussion below. If you’re interested, I’d recommend reading the full liveblogs yourself and keep an eye out for the full video of the interview (which we’ll link to once posted by the Re/code team).

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Reeder 2 for Mac Review

Reeder 2 for Mac, available today on the Mac App Store at $9.99, isn’t the most full-featured RSS reader that ever graced the docks of OS X users. It doesn’t support all the services found in ReadKit, it doesn’t have any sort of smart folder functionality, and it doesn’t bring dozens of breakthrough features that are dramatically different from what Silvio Rizzi offered in version 1.0 of the app. But in spite of what it doesn’t do or what it doesn’t have, Reeder 2 is a superbly polished, fluid, and fast Mac app that lets me enjoy checking my RSS feeds, primarily because of its gesture controls.

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