John Gruber: No secret widget mode, Jobs scrapped default apps (9to5mac)
Mar 9th
* Quote from a 9to5mac post*
In a post today, John Gruber says that the little iPhone widget-type apps that shipped on the original iPhone; Stocks, Calculator, Clock, Weather and Voice Memos — won’t ship on the iPad. And that blank key on the iPad keyboard? It ain’t gonna bring up no widget mode either.
So they were scrapped by you-know-who[Jobs]. Perhaps they’ll appear on the iPad in some re-imagined form this summer with OS 4.0, but when the iPad ships next month, there won’t be versions of these apps. At least that’s the story I’ve heard from a few well-informed little birdies. (There is, alas, no secret “widget” mode for iPad in OS 3.2, either.)
While this would be a bit of a bummer, it does give developers some freedom to build better apps for the iPad’s screen without worrying about Apple coming in and destroying their market.
*End of qouted post*
So what is that blank key on the external keyboard for the iPad? will it just be a useless key? that would be very unlike apple.
Apple releases iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 4 to developers
Mar 9th
*Quote from Engadget*
Suspense! Drama! Surprises! Unrealistic expectations! It’s always a veritable roller coaster of emotions whenever Apple gets around to cutting a new SDK build — and without a doubt,iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 4 is no exception. We don’t yet have a good read on what’s new here, so if you’re a member of Apple’s $99 dev program and happen to get it downloaded and installed, let us know if you find anything awesome, like an iPhone 4 or iPad 2. Or, you know, anything else. Have fun!
*End of quote*
Mac heist nano bundle 2
Mar 9th
So macheist have released a new bundle with 8 great apps, originally it was 7 apps but since a few days ago when the twitter client for mac tweetie was added it has become 8. So what apps are included in this nano bundle?:
- Mac journal
- Ripit
- Rapidweaver (locked)
- Coverscout
- Clips
- Flows
- Tales of monkey island
- And now tweetie (locked)
You can also tweet to get 3 free apps more once you have brought the bundle which are:
- Airburst Extreme
- Tracks
- Burning Monkey Solitaire
You can get all these apps for $19.95 when all together they should be over $280 , I highly recommend getting this bundle purely because of the amount of apps you get for such a cheap price.
The new iPad advert
Mar 8th
So i was looking around you-tube today and i am subscribed to the apple you-tube channel and i saw this ipad advet and i thought i had to share it on here.
Here is the description and the video,
Meet Apple’s magical and revolutionary new iPad — the best way to experience the web, email, photos, books, video, and more. Go to apple.com/ipad to learn more.
A catch up on this weeks news (1-6/3/10)
Mar 6th
Some of this will be in this weeks podcast: I will out the link here when the podcast is up
Apple shipping times for 27? imac return to normal (link)
So after weeks of apple saying that 27″ imac shipping dates have been in the weeks they have finally returned to normal, back to “Ships within 24 hours”
Macheist nanoBundle2 Released, Not too exciting? (Link)
So another one of those famous mac bundles has arrived, but only in a mini verison.
Nokia adds Skype to Ovi Store, foreshadows death of regular phone calls (link)
Finally nokia have added skype to there ovi store. will this be the end of making real phone calls via your voice network on your nokia phone?
Apple specifically going after Android in HTC lawsuit (link)
Apple sues HTC for infringing 20 iPhone patents (link)
Oh dear apple, your suing again?
Facebook app now available for Zune HD (update: it’s also broken) (link)
So with microsoft slowly trickling into there very small app store, Facebook have put an app in the store but according to endgadget this app is broken.
Windows 7 Release Candidate starts bi-hourly hiccups today, seemingly affects nobody (link)
heres some news about windows 7 release candidates supposed every 2 hour auto shut down, well today (march 1st) this should have been brought into effect but according to engadget no one has reported that this has come into effect, has microsoft flipped the switch yet?
Will the iPad make emergency calls? Regular calls? (link)
So will the iPad make emergency calls? will it make regular calls? well it looks like it will be able to make emergency calls at least from what we see from the iPad SDK
Apple Stores will get iPads on March 10th, customers on the 26th? (link)
According to a tech sites sources, the iPad will reach Apple Stores for employee training on March 10th. On March 15th, the television commercials (remember the one filmed in a diner in California?) will air. Then on March 26th, iPad sales will open to the public of the Wifi version. 3G versions will follow in late April or May
Apple Asks Court to Ban Google Phones (Link)
Once again another “oh dear” aimed at apple from me, Apple let me tell you this it will be really hard to ‘ban’ google phones and how many customers will you gain by it? 1..2?
iPad Pre-Orders begin March 12, Release in USA April 3rd. (Link) & (Link)
So apple will begin to allow pre-orders for there apple iPad and will release it in the USA on April 3rd. Will you be lining up to get one? will you be pre-ordering one?
Windows 7 Browser Ballot Screen (Link)
So microsoft said they will be releasing the ballot screen across europe on March 1st, Well its past march 1st and alot of users have started to see it but some xp users are also seeing it.
MeeGo repository going public later this month, coming to Nokia N900 (link)
Meego is the collaboration mobile operating system by intel and nokia, This was announced a little while ago but this time they are announcing that the repository will go public later this month.
Mac Developer license falls to $99/year, Mac App Store coming? (link)
So the mac developer license price has fallen to just $99 a year, does this mean apple are planning an app store for the mac? We will have to just wait and see.
(more may be added) (podcast link will be added when podcast is in itunes)
Apple shipping times for 27″ imac return to normal
Mar 2nd
*Quote form mac rumors post*
Several MacRumors readers have reported that shipping lead times for Apple’s 27-inch iMac models have returned to “Within 24hrs” in Apple’s online stores in the U.S. and Canada, the minimum possible shipping window in Apple’s stores. Shipping times had ballooned to as much as three weeks in the U.S. and Canada in January as the company struggled to deal with high demand and several issues related to flickering and yellow-tinting of the machines’ displays, issues the company claimedlast week to have been addressed.
Not all locations around the world are seeing such prompt shipment of 27-inch iMac models, however, as Apple’s online stores in Australia and New Zealand are seeing 5-7 business day windows and European stores are showing as much as two-week delays in availability. Apple’s 21.5-inch iMac models and other machines are shipping within 24 hours in those countries, and availability of the 27-inch iMac should continue to improve as Apple is able to push more machines into its international sales channels.
*End of quote*
U.S Troops to be allowed to use sites like twitter and facebook
Feb 28th
*quoted from a BBC article*
US troops are to be allowed to use social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook following a review of internet use and security.
Defence department officials say the benefits of using social media now outweigh the risks to security. The ruling means that a number of sites blocked by the Pentagon in 2007 – including YouTube – will be unblocked. However, commanders will be able to temporarily block access to safeguard missions or save bandwidth. Correspondents say social media and the internet are becoming increasingly important for the US military. The web is used for recruitment, public relations and for communications between troops and their families, among other things. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that social networking can help the Pentagon interact with US military employees, many of whom are in their early 20s and regular users of online services.
*End of quote*
So this good news for the people who are fighting for your country. Maybe the troops will be able to communicate with family and friends back home?
Apple supplier audit reveals sub-minimum wage pay and records of underage labor
Feb 28th
*Quoted from an engadget post*
Apple’s famous desire for total control over its operations seems to have extended to its manufacturing facilities as we’ve come across Cupertino’s Supplier Responsibility 2010 Progress Report, which details audits the American company has done of its overseas suppliers and the failures identified therein. The findings are pretty damning on the whole, with more than half (54 percent) of all factories failing to meet Apple’s already inflated maximum 60-hour work week, 24 percent paying less than the minimum wage, 37 percent failing to respect anti-discrimination rules, and three facilities holding records of employing a total of eleven 15-year olds (who were over the legal age of 16 or had left by the time of the audit). Apple is, predictably, not jazzed about the situation, and has taken action through train-the-trainer schemes, threats of business termination with recidivist plants, and — most notably — the recovery of $2.2 million in recruitment fees that international contract workers should not have had to pay.
It should come as no shock to learn that cheaper overseas factories are cutting illegal corners, but it’s disappointing to hear Apple’s note that most of the 102 audited manufacturers said Cupertino was theonly vendor to perform such rigorous compliance checks. Still, we’ll take what we can get and the very existence of this report — which can be savagely skewed to defame Apple’s efforts (as demonstrated expertly by The Daily Telegraph below) — is an encouraging sign that corporate responsibility is being taken seriously. We hope, wherever your geek loyalties and fervor may lie, that you’ll agree Apple’s leading in the right direction and that its competitors should at the very least have matching monitoring schemes. They may have to swallow some bad PR at first, but sweeping up the dirty details of where gadgets come from is juvenile and has no place in a civilized world.
*End of engadget post*
Full report: Apple (PDF)
[via engadget]
Mac heist nano bundle march 2nd
Feb 27th
Just a short post here just saying that mac heist have a new bundle coming soon which will be a nano bundle over at http://www.macheist.com/ at the moment you can go grab a free copy of squeeze for the mac. I will keep you posted with further news, the bundle will be available on march 2nd.
