The Winter Festival Of Artisanal Software
Apple is now accepting submissions for the Mac App Store. With an email sent to registered Mac developers earlier today, Apple confirmed that Mac apps can now be sent to Apple for approval.
We don’t know which developers are jumping on this today and whether Apple has refined its review guidelines following the many doubts arisen in the past weeks, but we know it’s going to be huge – right?
The Mac App Store is set to open in less than 90 days. We can’t wait.
Justin Williams:
That certainly makes more sense than a Dropbox-like solution which would require users to mess with files and folders. That’s why Apple didn’t buy Dropbox.
This is what happens when Apple legal forces you to take a genius commercial down and release a more “normal” one. In case you missed Newsday’s story, they once released a clever commercial in which a man killed a fly using an iPad instead of a regular newspaper. The iPad, of course, was shattered.
That ad was aimed at proving that tablets are anything like old media, and you shouldn’t think of them in that way. Like I said, a clever advertisement that went viral. But Apple didn’t like and Newsday was forced to take the ad down (copies can still be found on Youtube, though).
Now Newsday is coming back with a new ad, but it doesn’t really impress much. There are some trippy animations here and there, as RazorianFly also notices, but the style and cleverness of the first attempt is far, far away.
This is exactly what happens when Apple legal messes up with your stuff. We’ve embedded the old ad below. Read more
According to Symphonic Distribution (via MacRumors) Apple has sent notifications out to music labels to communicate that they’re getting ready to extend iTunes Music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds for songs that are at least 2 minutes and 30 seconds long.
We have just received the notification from Apple that this will be happening soon and are very excited to report the news as we firmly believe this is a decision that will show an increase of sales for our partners. Below is an excerpt from the email we have received.
As you can see in the screenshot above, by continuing to offer music on the iTunes Store labels agree to the new terms. Previews for songs shorter than 2 minutes and 30 seconds won’t change to the new 90 second clip format.
CNET posted a rumor claiming that iTunes previews were set to change to 90 seconds two days before Apple’s music event in September.
According to a rumor published by TechCrunch, Google and Apple are keeping an eye on mobile payments startup BOKU, which allows users to complete online transactions by simply entering their phone number and confirming the purchase with a text from their phone. A simple and unobtrusive system that could really eliminate the need of credit cards and banks online: charges will be added to your wireless monthly bill. Boku has closed deals with carriers worldwide, including AT&T in the U.S.
Apple seems to be really committed to turning the iPhone into a digital wallet-like device you can use to buy stuff on the go and / or online, as we speculated in rumors surfaced earlier this year. Yesterday, Cult of Mac reported Apple not only wants to develop an “iWallet” based on NFC technology – they’re aiming at remote Mac controlling as well. Read more
If you live in Europe or in any other market outside the United States, here’s a nice surprise for you: Apple cut €100 off of the price of the Mac Mini, which is now available at €699 in the standard configuration with 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB memory, 320GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics. The price cut is also available in the UK Store, where the Mac Mini is now priced at £599.
Prices in the US remain unchanged at the moment of writing this. I assume these prices cuts in Europe are likely connected to Dollar - Euro conversion rates, or maybe Apple just wants to sell more Minis in the holiday season in Europe.
According to the latest report by BGR, Apple changed its policy regarding AppleCare Protection Plans and transferability:
Starting immediately, an Apple customer will have the ability to transfer AppleCare Protection Plan coverage to a new device without having to cancel the current plan and purchase a new one. Though no formal announcement has been made to the public, Apple notified its employees of the new procedure on Monday.
This new system simplifies the purchase experience for customers and makes AppleCare even more relevant. Yeah, because in case you’re wondering – you need AppleCare.
When Steve Jobs announced the “iAd” program in April, a few people claimed they had seen that term somewhere else before. As CNET reports, Apple indeed settled a lawsuit in July over the “iAd” trademark with company innovate media, which had been using the “iAd” term since 2006 and was even granted two trademarks in 2008.
The interesting part is not the amount of the settlement (that we’ll likely never know), but rather the history behind the disclosure of this settlement. Consor, intellectual asset management company, posted a release on their website detailing how four of their clients managed to close favorable settlements over trademark lawsuits they had filed. In the release, they mentioned: “iAds, a 7-figure settlement from Apple Computer in a trademark infringement case.” Read more
And indeed, they’re committed to making a centralized integrated ecosystem the bet on their destiny.
