Microsoft targets iTunes Store for being expensive

If you’ve been watching commercials lately, you’ll notice that Microsoft and Apple are not trying to prove that their products do more or that their products have better features. Instead, they’re trying to show that their products do the same things for less money. Enter the music market. Apple and Microsoft both have their own music players, and they both run their own music stores.

For their latest commercials, Microsoft has hired “Certified Financial Planner” Wes Moss to show how, at $1 per song, buying from the iTunes Store really adds up. Then, Moss mentions how Zune Pass will let you get unlimited music downloads for $15 per month. You can view these commercials online at zunepass.net.

What this means is big companies are really feeling the crunch as consumers cut back on spending. In the end, more competition will always be better for us end users. Will this business model change when the economy recovers? Only time will tell.

iPhone OS 3.0: The lesser-known changes

We all know about iPhone OS 3.0’s flashy new features like cut, copy, and paste, landscape view, and peer-to-peer gaming and file sharing. But what about the lesser-known features? Well, we have them for you today.

Faster Performance
With my first generation iPod touch and the 2.2.1 software, everything was slow. The animation was jerky, there was a half second delay between tapping an app and the app actually opening, and scrolling was nowhere near smooth. I’m happy to report that with the 3.0 software, opening and closing apps is now as fast as the 1.0 release, and scrolling is very smooth and responsive. However, if I go to my sixth home screen and press the home button to go back to the first, the animation is slightly smoother but still pretty terrible. That’s one thing I’m hoping Apple will improve with the next release.

Auto-Identification of Information
This is one I’ve been hoping for. When the iPhone detects phone numbers, street addresses, and other information in Mail, Notes, and other apps, it will automatically highlight it. Clicking on the information will give you a list of actions such as calling the number or saving it to your contacts. This feature is extremely useful when trying to store a bunch of numbers into your contacts or when finding directions to an address a friend emailed you.

The Notes application identified a phone number. Tapping on it brings up a page with options.

Opening/Closing Apps Animation
When you open or close an app on the iPhone, it animates the action by growing or shrinking the app. In the 2.2.1 software, the animation pushed the home screen icons out of the way and faded them out. In the 3.0 software, the animation also fades the app’s screen in or out depending on whether you’re opening or closing the app. This is pure eye candy; it has no real purpose except to add to the effect that you’re opening an app.

Walking and Public Transportation Directions for iPod touch
Finally! What was included in the 2.2.1 software update for iPhone users has finally become available for iPod touch users.

Street View for iPod touch
If you tap a location, a bubble will pop up. Tap the icon in the bubble and you get Google Street View! Yay! But us iPod touch users had to pay $10 for it, so that kinda dampens the mood.

Google Street View on the iPod touch. This is stitching fail of Steve Jobs’ car.

Current Location to Address
Your current location in Maps can now be displayed as an address. This is a minor improvement, but it’s nice to be able to call someone and say “I’m at 2101 Waverley Place, Palo Alto, CA.”

More Descriptive “Slide to Unlock” Screen
When you play music in iPhone OS 2.2.1, it showed the name of the song instead of the date on the “Slide to Unlock” screen. Now, it shows the album and the artist, too. However, the text size is slightly smaller.

The new "Slide to Unlock" screen while playing music in iPhone OS 3.0 shows the album along with the artist.

Audio Output Display
In iPhone OS 3.0, any screen with the music controls (play, pause, etc.) will also show where the audio is going. However, this may confuse some first-time users and users upgrading from a previous version.

Anywhere there are playback controls, iPhone OS 3.0 shows where the audio is going.

An idea for a seamless software updater

You know, one annoying thing about technology is updates. Because, you see, you have to download them, install them, reboot your device, sometimes even pay for them. What a pain!

So here’s an idea: wouldn’t it be great if software just updated themselves? Automatically downloaded updates while your computer was idle, installed them silently without rebooting, and were completely free? Of course it would be great! So why haven’t we seen this in a major product yet?

We’ve seen some half baked attempts at this. The Palm Pre utilizes automatic updating (almost). Updates are downloaded in the background over Wi-Fi or EvDO but require reboot to install. Microsoft Update will update your computer, but still require you to restart. iPhones must be connected to iTunes to download and install updates. Apple Software Update also requires a reboot. And then every other piece of software you install also comes with their own updater: Firefox, Google Chrome, iTunes, Microsoft Office, etc. All these updaters inevitably slow your device down because each one takes up memory and CPU cycles and don’t coordinate with each other. By far the best updater I’ve seen is the App Store updater. It’s a single, unified updater for all apps on iPhones. Why can’t every device work like that?

It turns out that Apple filed for a patent that does exactly this in 1995. An application would

automatically replace itself with a newer version in a completely automated fashion, without interruption of its primary function, and in a manner that is completely transparent to the user of the computer. This is achieved by means of a logic module that is incorporated into programs. The logic module performs the functions of locating and identifying other versions of its associated program, determining whether the other versions are older or newer than the currently running version, and replacing older versions of itself with a newer version. As part of this operation, the logic module can copy the newer version to its current location, move the older version to a secondary location, and remove older versions of itself that have been replaced by a newer version. The new version that is to replace an older version can reside on an individual computer, or can be present on a server to which a number of computers are connected via a network. With this arrangement, software upgrades can be effected in an efficient and automatic manner, without resort to any external resources.

Sounds promising, right? How does Apple implement it? Apple has a Software Update application for both the Mac and PC, as well as an App Store and the iPhone. Yet all of these apps don’t offer the type of seamless download and install that I described. Oh well. If this technology ever becomes widespread, then my wish is granted.

Snow Leopard = Apple Tablet

Snow Leopard, Apple’s “under-the-hood” update to Mac OS X, actually has plenty of over-the-hood enhancements, most of which are suspiciously finger-friendly. I think you can guess where this is going.

Almost every cosmetic and UI change in Snow Leopard is a move towards touch (and by extension, tablet) friendliness: the new Expose removes the keyboard and mouse from the equation, and empowers the big-buttoned dock; Stacks are now much more useful, negating the need to dive into Finder for many tasks; the Finder’s new preview functions reduce clicks; Quicktime controls (and editing) are poke-able; the tech behind the new (and oddly touted) Asian character input support could be extended to more drawing capabilities; and Safari 4′s new Cover Flow integration is more useful as a touch interface than a traditional one.

Also, Snow Leopard’s general speediness and space-savings would suit the presumably scaled-back hardware of a tablet.

It’s miles from conclusive, but I like this. Apple’s tablet could be a bigger, more powerful iPod Touch, running some variant of iPhone OS — an solid theory, since you could argue that iPhone OS is Apple’s touch version of OS X. But OS X is already a decent touch OS — Cover Flow is everywhere, and the dock is, well, big.

[via Gizmodo]

iDisk for iPhone

In addition to the new Find My iPhone feature that Apple announced with iPhone OS 3.0, Apple quietly announced their new free iDisk for iPhone application. The new app, which Apple says is “coming soon” to the App Store, allows you to view and share files stored in the MobileMe cloud on your phone. Supported file types include Microsoft Office and iWork ’09 documents and presentations, PDFs, and more. The app is viewable in landscape or portrait and supports multi-touch zoom gestures. iDisk for iPhone caches recently viewed files so that they don’t have to be downloaded again.

The sharing feature allows you to send an email with a link to download the file on MobileMe. You can limit the number of days a shared file is available and set a password to protect it. You can also view other users’ MobileMe public folders.

The iPhone has been missing local file storage from the start. Will this iDisk app fix this problem? I don’t think so. For one thing, you have to have an active MobileMe subscription for this to work at all. MobileMe is $100 per year. Nobody wants to pay $100 per year just for file storage. Every current iPhone comes with at least 8 GB of local storage. Why not use it? Apple really has to build in some sort of ability to use the iPhone through disk mode. This way, you could hit a “download” button next to attachments in Mail, sync files from your computer, and view them all inside a file browser. Oh, and while they’re at it, they should add the ability to edit Microsoft Office documents, iWork documents, and photos. But if Apple isn’t willing to do that, they should make MobileMe a free service. Do you see Google charging $100 for Gmail? Or Yahoo charging $100 for their search engine? No. Web 2.0 services are supposed to be free.

Apple, come on. Bring file storage to the iPhone!

A look at QuickTime X

One of the best improvements to Mac OS X Snow Leopard is QuickTime X. The entire application has been completely rewritten and introduces new features, a new interface, and new technologies.

The interface in QuickTime X is completely overhauled. Similar to Safari, the playback window is very minimalist, with only a title bar and transparent controls. The title bar and controls fade away as the video you’re watching starts playing. QuickTime X also allows you to quickly trim your videos in an iMovie-like thumbnail skimming view, upload them to YouTube or MobileMe, convert your videos for playback on different devices, or capture audio or video from the built-in iSight camera and microphone. But the feature that I’m psyched about is its native screen recording. Start recording your screen, and QuickTime X produces a tidy movie file. Plus, it’s native, so there won’t be jittering or other types of problems one frequently experiences with other screen recording apps.

But QuickTime X isn’t all about interface tweaks. QuickTime X now supports Core Audio, Core Video, and Core Animation. It also supports GPU acceleration, which takes load off the CPU when playing videos. QuickTime X also supports HTTP streaming, so content can be streamed off any HTTP server, not just streaming servers. It’s also faster because it has been reprogrammed with Cocoa, Grand Central Dispatch, and 64-bit technologies.

So what happened with QuickTime Pro? Well, Apple is not releasing a Pro version of QuickTime anymore. Instead, all QuickTime Pro features will be offered for free in QuickTime X, which is a welcome addition. For example, the current version of QuickTime 7 Pro allows for simple editing and converting, which are already included for free in QuickTime X.

QuickTime X ships with OS X Snow Leopard this September. What about Windows users? Apple has kept silent about their port of QuickTime to Windows. I would assume that it would be harder to build the same features into Windows. For example, Windows lacks Cocoa or Grand Central Dispatch APIs. But since I’m already on the Mac platform, I could care less.

Will Project Natal kill Nintendo?

A few weeks ago, Microsoft announced Project Natal at E3. Natal is supposed to do away with the classic controller and instead make the user the controller. Nintendo, however, has had the Wii for some time. The motion-sensing Wiimote has become very successful, selling just as many units as PlayStations and Xboxes. Will Project Natal revolutionize the gaming industry and cause the downfall of Nintendo? Or will it become a failed experiment, like the Sony EyeToy?

Download this video (720p HD, MP4, 56 MB)

When Microsoft revealed Natal, they demoed three simple applications: Ricochet, which involved hitting a ball across a room to destroy bricks; Paint Party, a painting program; and Milo, a virtual avatar who interacted with the player, responded to conversation, and even accepted hand-drawn messages, scanned into the game and “transferred” in real time across the virtual looking glass. Microsoft also invited select press members to a closed-door private demo of Natal. While most of the reviews are very positive, Project Natal has no official name, price, or release date; instead, it is referred to as a “concept.” For all we know, it could come out in 5 years. Our verdict? If Microsoft comes out with Project Natal in a reasonable period of time (within 1 to 2 years), it will change the gaming industry and reduce Nintendo’s power to shreds. After all, the technology is pretty compelling.

Something’s wrong with the MacBook lineup

You probably all know that Apple introduced a brand new MacBook line on Monday. Apple moved the 13″ aluminum MacBook to the MacBook Pro line, dropped all the prices, and bumped up the specs. But something strange is happening. Apple basically left the MacBook name to wither and instead pounced on the word “Pro.” But with all 3 aluminum MacBooks all of a sudden becoming Pro, isn’t the pool getting diluted? ”Pro” machines were designed and built for working professionals. They had more power, better build quality and “top 10 percent” features for the users who needed it—or at least wanted to pay a lot more for it. Now, it’s just a brand. Just to prove my point, the MacBook Pros used to have really great graphics cards. But as of Monday, both the 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pros don’t have the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M graphics card—they’ve got an integrated chip.

The new products also don’t show how special you are for paying the most to buy the best. The cheap models and the pricey ones are identical! Every unibody MacBook is now a Pro—whether you spend $1200 or twice as much. The old distinctions have been erased, and it’s going to sting people who once valued the elitism that came with using Apple’s top-of-the-line products. Even subtle differences—like the expensive matte black MacBook over the otherwise identical shiny white one, were signals, beamed out to the others in the coffee shop, declaring who was “da boss.” You know, the guys who wore the white earbuds with pride five years ago. Admittedly, sometimes those guys need a left hook to the kidneys (and sometimes, we are those guys).

Maybe it’s good to make the best technology accessible to everybody, with no indicators of who paid more for what. Maybe Apple is trying to create good design that works for anyone and everyone. But does this make rich people look like poor people, or poor people look like rich people?

Plus, what’s with the MacBook? Think about it: Right now a single, lonely model bears the name MacBook. A model that’s been around forever, too. On the other hand, there are three sizes of MacBook Pros in six flavors. Lopsided? The poor thing gets no promotion, either. It was quietly updated to be as fast as the aluminium MacBook last week, warranting just a one-line mention during the WWDC Keynote. And where’s the splash pic for Apple’s “most affordable Mac” on the Mac page? Why is Apple wasting one of their most powerful brands?

Because they’re about to call something else MacBook.

It’s the only logical explanation for the muddled, complicated and totally un-Apple product line. Why all of their core notebooks are now called MacBook Pros. Why MacBook denotes a single notebook, one that perpetually seems like it’s on its way out—because it very likely is on its way out.

There are two possibilities that stand for the MacBook: a new, cheap netbook or a tablet. Of course, this is just speculative fantasy land. But what better way to use one of their most iconic brands than to signify a complete shift in mainstream computers? Calling a netbook or tablet a MacBook would be an incredibly powerful signal. We’re pretty sure Apple isn’t just going to let the MacBook wither and die—something new has to be coming that’s gonna be called MacBook, and we’d say relatively soon, too. Or maybe Apple’s just becoming a little bit more like every other PC maker and doesn’t know what they’re doing with their brands anymore. But I somehow doubt that.

[via Gizmodo: “Why MacBook Is About to Mean Something Else Entirely” and “When Pro Doesn't Mean Pro Anymore”]

WWDC 2009 Roundup

On Monday, June 8, Apple held their annual WWDC Keynote. Phil Schiller, Bertrand Serlet, and Scott Forstall talked about what was new with Apple. In a nutshell, Apple released new MacBook Pros, previewed Mac OS X Snow Leopard, showed off some new iPhone OS 3.0 features, and released the new iPhone 3G S. But of course, you don’t want just the summary. You want all details. That’s why we’ve put together a WWDC roundup edition. You’ll find everything you need to know about WWDC 2009.

The Most Important Announcement

By far the most important announcement was the iPhone 3G S. The 3G S now is 2x faster than its predecessor, has a 3 megapixel camera with VGA video capture, voice control for calling and controlling the iPod, and comes with the latest iPhone 3.0 software. You can watch the ad now!

Download this video (720p, MP4, 8 MB)

The Liveblogs

Liveblogs basically record word-for-word what the person on stage says. It’s like a written video. If you don’t have time to watch the 2 hour keynote, then you can just skim through these liveblogs.

• CNET’s Live Blog
• Engadget’s Live Blog
• Gizmodo’s Live Blog
• Macworld’s Live Blog
• Technologizer’s Live Blog

The Keynote

If you do have 2 hours to burn, then why not watch the entire keynote? It’s available for streaming at Apple.com and also in iTunes.

The Super-Short Video

But what if you hate reading liveblogs and you don’t have two hours to burn? Count yourself lucky! I’ve compiled the most important stuff from WWDC 2009 into a short 3 minute video.

The Articles

Our friend at TechnoSource has an excellent article about the major announcements at WWDC 2009. It’s a good read, so check it out! If you prefer short and snappy, check out my brief review.

Update: Since Google had to remove the iPhone 3GS ad per a copyright claim by Apple, the video above has been updated to a different one that has not been removed (yet).

Why the flight recorder needs a revamp

In light of the recent Air France Flight 447 plane crash, I have come to realize: the black box sucks. I mean, a sinking little flight recorder than can only send signals for 30 days is no use when searching the vast ocean. Instead, consider this revamp!

So the number one thing that officials have to do is make it float. You see, the current black box sends out a signal that reaches about 4 miles. But if it’s buried 3 miles beneath the surface, that means that there is only 1 mile of range above water. However, if this thing floated, there would be a larger chance of finding the box.

The second thing that needs to happen is to add solar panels. Why that would be useful is obvious. One month is simply not enough time to find a black box sitting in an ocean. The last time I checked, 75% of the world is covered with water. That’s a large area to cover when searching. With solar panels, a black box would generate unlimited power, so there would always be a chance of finding the box.

The third thing that we need is a better transmitter. The current design sends out a radio pulse every one second. What use is that? The transmissions should carry real data. For example, with a built in GPS locater, it could send the exact coordinates of the black box. Or send the most crucial information stored on the SSD drive. And I should also mention that it needs a longer range than four miles.

There are lots of other things that black boxes should have. Maybe the next design will have a built in motor to steer it towards shore. Or even built in wings for levitation. In any case, the current flight recorder needs a revamp.