Federico Viticci has a long list of features and improvements that he would like to see in the next version of iOS. Some will never make to the operating system, but there are others that I would never of even thought of, like separate language support for Maps.
David Ellefson and Chris Broderick give you some tips on playing guitar and bass. Ellefson is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
At the keynote to open its Max conference in Los Angeles today, Adobe announced that it is discontinuing development of its Creative Suite software in favor of working on Creative Cloud products exclusively. The company is readying a new release of “CC” branded apps for release on June 17th.
In making the decision to stop developing Creative Suite apps, Adobe said it wanted to focus efforts specifically on Creative Cloud apps. So while users will still be able to buy Creative Suite 6 and be supported, Adobe won’t do any further development except for bug fixes and compatibility upgrades.
“Hundreds” of new features are rolling out with the new release, in each of the major apps. Adobe showed off new versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and other tools coming next month.
Creative Cloud launched in April 2012, at the same time Adobe released Creative Suite 6. Creative Cloud offers users all of the same software included with Creative Suite 6, but Adobe charges a $50 monthly subscription fee for access. Users upgrading from CS3-CS5 are eligible for a discount to $30 per month; CS6 users who want to switch will pay $20 per month. Adobe also allows users to buy access to just one app if they need to.
Adobe showed off new iOS apps in development including a version of its Kuler color palette app running on the iPhone, and a Creative Cloud app that enables users to share files and folders and look at content stored in the cloud. Cloud integration is key from here on out, and Adobe emphasized collaboration at every turn, including deep integration with Behance, the professional portfolio sharing service Adobe acquired in 2012.
Adobe also gave a peek at some hardware projects it has underway, including a Bluetooth stylus working on an iPad that’s able to import content and settings from Creative Cloud, and a ruler that helps iPad users draw straight lines, arcs and angles, like a drafting tool. The company has also collaborated with Condé Nast’s Wired magazine on an ambitious project to rework the way that magazines layout their pages, making the entire process virtual using sophisticated touch-screen walls and tables. All of the hardware efforts are works in progress; Adobe offered no timetable or price estimate for any of the new technology.
This sure does take me back.
At the end of 2012, 2bn adults had yet to buy a mobile connection of any kind, and another 1.6bn were on prepay and not eligible to get subsidies. It doesn’t matter how many operators Apple or Samsung puts on distribution: those people are not going to buy a $600 phone.
However, that leaves about 1.6bn who might.
Ben Evans has some interesting analysis to back up his conclusions.
Best of luck to MG.
Great song by James Dempsey. It’s funny, but also great music and vocals, just the way a song should be.
Many thanks to StackSocial for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed this week. StackSocial proudly presents the Name Your Own Price Mac Bundle 2.0. Get 10 essential Mac Apps. Donate to charity. Name Your Own Price. Take the top spot on the Leaderboard and automatically get entered to win a FREE Macbook Air!
Bill Gates is a crazy man. It starts at 7:05.
Zakk is the man!
Seth Godin:
If you use a typeface that reminds me of the script on the menu of a French restaurant, then no, I’m not going to instinctively believe that you’re a good doctor. If you use a thin, elegant wedding invitation font in your Powerpoint presentation, you haven’t been clever, you’ve merely confused me.
So true. I see people do crazy things like this all the time and it just makes me angry.
Bloomberg:
“The narrative has been focused on the consumer demand, and the narrative needs to shift to the operator,” said Dediu, a former in-house analyst for Nokia Oyj. “Apple has run out of the kinds of operators that will say yes to them.”
The article mentions China Mobile as a prominent holdout. The latest grist in the rumor mill is that the next revision of the iPhone will work on China Mobile’s network.
Regardless, Apple has huge market opportunities if it can better cater to local markets, which may require engineering a less expensive device or working differently with carriers than it has been. The question is, will Apple take that opportunity?
James is looking good.
Keith Speights, Motley Fool:
A study by Manhattan Research in 2011 found that 75% of physicians owned at least one Apple product. Vitera Healthcare’s 2012 survey of health-care professionals backed up this high number. The company’s study found that 60% of respondents used an iPhone and 45% owned an iPad.
The real revolution, though, has come from how physicians and other health-care professionals are using Apple’s devices. Mobile applications opened the door for clinicians to instantly access a world of medical information at the point of care.
It’s not just healthcare professionals, either – patients are able to get information faster thanks to iOS devices, too.
Many thanks to CleanMyMac 2 for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed on The Loop.
CleanMyMac 2 is an ingeniously simple and powerful system maintenance solution to get extra space and keep your Mac clean and well-organized.
Besides cleaning your hard drive of outdated cache files, system logs, language files and other unneeded data, CleanMyMac 2 also reduces the size of iPhoto libraries, helps find and delete large files and folders which haven’t been used for an extended period of time, correctly uninstalls applications, and so much more — reclaiming your Mac’s valuable hard drive space and keeping it running at peak efficiency.
CleanMyMac 2 is the simplest, safest, and most effective way to clean your Mac. Try it today for free.
Market research firm comScore on Friday released a new study that shows Apple is leading the smartphone market in the U.S. The study focused on a three month average ending March 2013.
According to comScore, Apple has 39% of the smartphone market, up 2.7% from the 36.3% share it had when the last study was released. Apple’s closest competitor is Samsung, which only accounted for 21.7% of the market, up a mere 0.7% from the last report.
HTC (9%), Motorola (8.5%) and LG (6.8%) round out the top five.
While Google’s Android leads the mobile platform race with 52% of the share, Android’s share dropped 1.4% during this study period. Apple’s iOS rose 2.7% from 36.3% to 39% during the same period.
Harry Marks’ “My Valiant Return to Reading” is hilarious. Clearly making fun of some people that quit the Internet.
You would almost think people were excited.
You have to see this video.
Geri Reid brings up a good question. Skeuomorphic design took the world on quite a ride, but it seems to be out now. While I don’t agree with her that Microsoft “struck a winning blow with the flat interface of Windows 8,” there is no doubt a change is coming.
I would like to see Apple update their interfaces, but not eschew Skeuomorphic elements altogether.
Remember Apple’s previous keynotes. The crowd didn’t roar and applaud for the flat design elements, they cheered when the Passbook app shredded a card with a realistic shredder that popped up on the screen.
Apple needs to refine that design, not replace it.
YouTube vs. TV? YouTube says the battle — if there ever was one — is over.
In a flashy presentation to advertisers Wednesday night, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt declined to forecast that Internet video will displace television watching. Instead he declared: “That’s already happened.”
I agree that habits are changing and there is a huge shift coming, but I don’t believe YouTube has won.
Shawn Blanc takes a look at Backblaze’s new iPhone app for managing the off-site backup of your desktop computer.
Triage is for people who struggle to stay on top of their inbox. It doesn’t try to replace your desktop mail client, but lets you use your downtime to quickly remove the noise and stress.
I tested Triage and loved it. It was released while I was traveling, so I didn’t get a chance to post about it. It’s a brilliant idea to help you keep on top of your email quickly and easily.
This article was posted last November, but there are some great lessons to be learned for anyone that is building a product or company.
Federico Viticci has a list of the top apps from the past few years. I found the “interesting facts about the new charts” section to be great.
Just over two years after contracting a rare skin tissue disease, Slayer guitarist and songwriter Jeff Hanneman died on Thursday from liver failure at a hospital near his home in Southern California’s Inland Empire area.
RIP
There’s a story on The Street today titled, “Lookout Apple, Here Comes Microsoft: Surface Tablets Break Into Top 5.” Sounds impressive, right?
Sounds even more impressive when the writer, Gary Krakow, follows up with:
According to IDC’s first quarter numbers, Microsoft’s tablet shipments increased 142% to 49.2 million units compared to the same period a year ago.
Wait, what?
I checked IDC’s press release and this is what it actually says:
Worldwide tablet shipments continue to surge, growing 142.4% year over year in the first quarter of 2013 […] Tablet shipments totaled 49.2 million units in 1Q13…
That’s for all tablet makers, not just Microsoft.
According to IDC, Microsoft shipped about 900,000 for 1.8% share of the market. Apple shipped 19.5 million iPads or 39.6% of the market.
Even if The Street read their own story, they would see it makes no sense.
That’s just an incredible amount of apps. You can enter to win a $10,000 App Store Gift Card.
Funny because a lot of people said that once they deleted the app, the battery returned to normal functionality.
Horace Dediu talking about analysts:
So paradoxically, the opinion of those who are highly paid should be treated with suspicion while the opinion of those subject to peer review should be treated with respect. It brings to mind the difference between highly paid fortune tellers and pundits whose methods are obscure vs. poorly paid graduate students whose methods are open to all. Whose opinion is worth more?”
I have a great deal of respect for Horace.