iPad

PlayBook gets email, but it’s still a piece of shit

Written by

Roger Cheng: While RIM touts the ability to get e-mail, it’s actually using Exchange ActiveSync, and not the company’s own secure BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Without RIM’s secure network, the PlayBook’s e-mail access isn’t any better than what can already be … Continued

Microsoft Office for iPad

Written by

Matt Hickey for The Daily:

Word, Excel and PowerPoint files can be created and edited locally and online. But it’s unclear if Microsoft will support other Office apps at launch or at all.

Nook Tablet goes on a diet, loses $50

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Barnes & Noble is bolstering its Nook Tablet line by introducing a lower-priced version with less storage – more competition for the Kindle.

More crap from RIM

Written by

Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for RIM:

PlayBook OS 2.0 benchmarks better than any other mobile implementation (just point your PlayBook at HTML5Test.com), and better than every desktop browser, except Chrome 16. It also includes WebGL for accelerated 3D graphics, and with WebWorks, we can free HTML5 code from the browser, let you upload it to AppWorld, and turn that HTML5 website into a revenue generating HTML5 application. How ‘bout them apples?

Two things:

  1. Make sure you’re near a Wi-Fi connection before pointing your PlayBook at any site because it doesn’t have 3G.

  2. You think it’s a good idea to allow developers to sell an app based on an HTML5 Web site? That’s not a plus. People want real apps, not fake shit.

The new Microsoft, Apple OS war

Written by

Tim Bajarin:

From Microsoft and their partners point of view, they are really hoping that history literally repeats itself. Just as Windows was used to bypass Apple in the past, they are “praying” that Windows 8, with its ability to deliver a similar OS and touch UI experience across multiple devices can revive their fortunes and make them relevant again.

I don’t believe it’ll happen this time. Apple is different than the company that fought with Microsoft in 1984 for desktop operating system supremacy. In a way you could say that Microsoft has been trying to build a tablet OS for years and failed. Apple reinvented the way people think about tablets and mobile operating systems and in the process they have won the mindshare and market share of consumers. It seems clear from Windows 8 that Microsoft doesn’t even understand the war they are fighting.

OMG iOS is being OS X-ified

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I’m going to use the same faulty logic that some people have used to claim that OS X Mountain Lion is being iOS-ified to show how iOS is being Mac-ified. Calendars: On the Mac first as iCal, clearly Apple added … Continued

Mac Rumors says it confirmed the iPad 3 display

Written by

Eric Slivka at Mac Rumors:

MacRumors has now been able to obtain one of these iPad 3 displays and examine it under a microscope in an effort to determine whether it is indeed an ultra-high resolution Retina display. Physically, the purported iPad 3 display is the same size as the current iPad 1 and iPad 2 display at 9.7″ in diagonal, and looks quite similar to the naked eye.

Moving in together

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For many, the announcement of OS X Lion was viewed with a great deal of negativity. Perceived as subverting the complexity of OS X, Lion was painted by many as an unwelcome agent of change – an entity seeking to castrate the strength of the Mac. Boasting nascent implementations of iOS features, many were quick to point accusatory fingers at the budding mobile operating system. OS X was courting a younger, sleeker companion, and its personality was starting to change – starting to dress a little better and clean up its act. Many felt betrayed. […]

‘Item is currently being modified’

Written by

Tyler Tschida:

If you’re not up to speed on this issue, let me explain. About two weeks ago something terrible happened in the App Store, and we’re still not sure what. Apps that received any type of price change, whether it was a small discount or a short term free period, started randomly displaying this absolutely maddening message: “This item is currently being modified. Please try again later.”

I’ve never seen this error.

Apple launches 25 billion app download promotion

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Apple launched a new promotion on Friday as it nears 25 billion app downloads on its App Store. As of today, nearly 25 billion apps have been downloaded worldwide. Which is almost as amazing as the apps themselves. So we … Continued

iPad improves Kindergartners literacy scores

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Apple has been involved in the education market for decades, but the release of the iPad could be the most significant contribution the company has ever made. A new research study shows that Kindergartner students using iPads scored better on literacy tests than students that didn’t use the device.

I spoke with Mike Muir, Auburn School Department’s Multiple Pathways Leader, about the program and specifically about the focus on the iPad initiative. […]

iPad: 15.4M sold vs Kindle Fire: 3.9M

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Philip Elmer-DeWitt at CNN Money: By the time Christmas sales were over, Apple had shipped more than 15.4 million iPads and Amazon nearly 3.9 million Kindle Fires, passing the Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Barnes & Noble’s (BKS) Nook to take … Continued

Apple responds to contact data controversy

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“Apps that collect or transmit a user’s contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines,” Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told AllThingsD. “We’re working to make this even better for our customers, and as we have done … Continued

iOS apps and the address book: who has your data, and how they’re getting it

Written by

The Verge:

Over the course of the past week, a firestorm has erupted in the world of iOS apps, thanks to the discovery that Path was uploading data from your iPhone’s address book without asking for explicit permission.Stated simply: any iOS app has complete access to a large amount of data stored on your iPhone, including your address book and calendar.Over the course of the past day, we have been using the method explained by Arun Thampi (who discovered Path’s privacy violation) to investigate several dozen popular iOS apps. Our findings should bring both comfort and concern to any iPhone user.

This is not the iPad 3

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John Gruber talking about 8-inch iPad reported by WSJ: This is not the iPad 3, which I believe will have a same-sized (9.7 inches) double resolution display. This is a different iPad, which, last I heard, Apple was only considering, … Continued

Apple’s purchase of Nortel, Novell patents approved

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Josh Ong: The U.S. Department of Justice approved on Monday several patent purchases and acquisitions, including a collection of Nortel’s intellectual property to be acquired by Apple, Microsoft, Research in Motion and others and Novell patents that Apple has purchased. … Continued

iPad 3 event pegged for March 7

Written by

Rene Ritchie:

According to sources who have been reliable in the past, Apple currently plans to hold their iPad 3 announcement on Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Yep.

The American Experience – Bill Clinton

Written by

PBS:

Premiering February 20th and 21st, a biography of a president who rose from a broken childhood in Arkansas to become one of the most successful politicians in modern American history, and one of the most complex and conflicted characters to ever stride across the public stage.

PBS announced it was offering the first hour of the four hour documentary exclusively through its PBS iOS app – a full week before it airs on television.

RIM director scoffs at BlackBerry critics

Written by

RIM director Roger Martin speaking to the Globe and Mail:

I laugh at the vast majority of critics when they say ‘Oh, you should have made this CEO transition, like, four years ago.’ Yeah, right – like, to who?

I guess the co-CEOs aren’t the only ones that need to go.

Trust

Written by

Ben Brooks talking about the Path/Address Book kerfuffle:

If you live and play in the Apple world, you need only trust Apple. This is what Apple tells us — it’s a ‘feature’ of the Apple ecosystem.The fact is, that in this instance, Apple broke that trust.

I read that a couple of times and thought about what my reaction was to this whole mess. I don’t think Apple broke my trust though. If Apple told me my Address Book data was safe and this happened, then yeah, they would have broken my trust.

However, my reaction to this was that there’s obviously something that needs to be fixed.

iPad is a nuisance for many Chinese parents

Written by

TUAW:

A report from the Beijing Evening News suggests Chinese parents are scuffling with their kids over iPads. It seems the iPad was the gift of choice for many children this past Chinese New Year, and now those youngsters are having a hard time putting their tablets aside.Exasperated parents don’t know what to do when their tots refuse to hand over the iPad, and they’re afraid iPad use may impede their children’s education.

Interesting problem. They could use the solution my mom used in these situations. She said, “No.”

Greed and Entitlements

Written by

Federico Viticci, MacStories:

Today’s Tweetbot releases are just another example of a subset of users that think developers should keep on updating their apps, even adding completely new iPad versions, for free, forever. This kind of controversy seems to take place every time a major iPhone app is released as standalone on the iPad, or vice versa. So I’d like to formulate a quick thought on the subject.

As I said on Twitter when the tempest in a teapot over the $3 cost of TweetBot for the iPad started – it’s three dollars…you have an iPad. See the disconnect?

Apple to announce iPad 3 first week of March

Written by

John Paczkowski:

Sources say the company has chosen the first week in March to debut the successor to the iPad 2, and will do so at one of its trademark special events. The event will be held in San Francisco, presumably at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple’s preferred location for big announcements like these.

Yep.