Brett Terpstra:
It’s designed to add auto-pairing for bracket and quote characters to MarsEdit, and it’s based on a bit of information that I hadn’t been aware of before.
Smart people doing smart things.
AppleInsider has the video and a rundown of the events leading up to the kerfuffle.
Shadoe Huard talking about Windows 8 Developer Preview:
I could waste a few thousand words describing every bewildering detail of this clusterfuck but I can talk about one thing that will sum it all up for you: The Windows logo.
Flavorwire:
We’ve taken a look at gorgeous bookstores and amazing college libraries, so we thought it was time to bring you a little inspiration for the home library — though we admit, not too many of these designs would fit in our own NYC apartments. Click through to check out our collection of beautiful private and personal libraries from all over the world
It’s hard to believe some of these beautiful libraries are found in someone’s home. Then again, some of these homes are probably as big as your high school.
Serious Eats:
Consumers and even some bartenders have a misconception that single-malt Scotch is not a blended whisky, but this is a myth. Single-malt scotch is a blend, but it’s a very specific type of blend. In fact, nearly all whiskies on the market today are blends—bourbons, ryes, Tennessees, scotches, etc.—although in this article I’ll focus on Scotch.
This article and its follow up, “The Serious Eats Guide to Single Malt Scotch”, are well written and really interesting examinations and explanations of what Scotch is. It’s an acquired taste but once you acquire it, you’ll enjoy it!
Eli Hodapp for TouchArcade:
Unsurprisingly, so far the game has been met with overwhelmingly negative iTunes reviews as users who are wise to this whole fiasco post their feelings on the game. Not everyone hates the game though. Zynga Senior User Experience Designer John Lerma mentions in his iTunes review:
Well, I guess they have to push the review averages up somehow…
ABC News:
Apple has given “Nightline” anchor Bill Weir exclusive access to their suppliers’ factories in China, amid reports of safety problems, hazardous conditions and underage workers. Weir is the first journalist go inside the factories to see these life changing gadgets get made. He traveled to Shenzhen China to see firsthand what life is like for factory workers, most of whom have never used an iPod, iPhone or Apple computer.Weir’s report airs on a special edition of “Nightline” Tuesday, February 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET on the ABC television network.
Apple settled a class-action lawsuit brought by users of the iPhone 4 that contended antenna issues caused some them to lose their wireless connection.
“This settlement relates to a small number of customers who indicated that they experienced antenna or reception issues with their iPhone 4 and didn’t want to take advantage of a free case from Apple while it was being offered in 2010,” Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison told me on Saturday.
The settlement gives users a free iPhone Bumper case or $15.
Matt Gemmell:
Let me make this perfectly clear: piracy is your own fault.You’ve got the whole situation almost exactly backwards.
There’s so many great quotes that I could have used from Matt’s story, but this sums it up nicely for me.
Cool Material:
We’ll try any beer we can get our greedy hands on. If a friend says he just picked up a sixer of something crazy, we’d expect some craft brew that’s hopped out of its mind or an imported stout that tastes like biting into chocolate cake, and we’d gladly partake.
We’re all big fans of beer here but most of these brews would make us think twice about reaching for the bottle opener.
Macworld put together a great list of questions and answers about Mountain Lion.
BoingBoing:
The Blast Lab at Imperial College, London, is a place where scientists study how explosions affect the human skeleton, and try to find ways to mitigate some of those effects. As you can imagine, this involves blowing stuff up fairly regularly and The Blast Lab is a pretty loud place.But the team of students behind PLoS’ Inside Knowledge blog noticed something cool about that. The sounds in The Blast Lab weren’t just loud noises, they were loud notes. Edit them together, and you could reproduce a whole song, using nothing but sounds recorded in a working scientific laboratory.
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 Calendars to iOS to make it look and feel like the Mac.
iTunes: There’s this little Mac app that is on iOS called iTunes where you can buy music.
Mail: You may be surprised to learn that you can send and receive email on iOS. Guess what? OS X first.
Safari: Did you know you can surf the Web on iOS? Yep, Mac first.
iPhoto: Photos are huge on iOS devices, but they were huge first on OS X.
You see my point? Apple added these apps to iOS because they made sense for those users. That’s exactly what Apple did with Mountain Lion — added apps and features that made sense for that OS.
I have two border collies and had one previously. These are smart dogs, as the video shows.
The Next Web:
If there is one aspect of Apple’s iDevice ecosystem that deserves a ton of credit for both growing and cementing its user base, it has to be the way developers flock to it. Apple wants developers on that line, Apple needs developers on that line.That’s why it’s not surprising, but still pleasant, to see Apple making an effort to onboard new developers with a beautiful and simple new introductory document called “Start Developing iOS Apps Today“.
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.
Matt Alexander is the owner and editor of ONE37.net, a writer, a technology enthusiast and a contributing writer for The Loop.
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.
As with real life, change is often difficult to comprehend. Particularly when it’s coming from an old friend.
And then yesterday, OS X and iOS announced an impromptu decision. Many had already (reluctantly) seen it coming but most chose to ignore the possibility, hurt that OS X might do that to them (to them!). But now it’s real, the two are moving in together, and that means a lot of things for the end-user.
Of the utmost importance is the fact that such a step does not suggest that the two entities are merging. Separate identities remain, but assets and possessions are shared. The decision comes when two individuals decide that, as a couple, they are better together than they are on their own. Moving in together, the couple is free to communicate more clearly with each other, to really learn about themselves, and to face complex life decisions together. The two are not somehow merging into the same entity, they’re merely moving under one roof, sharing some belongings, and generally learning how to co-exist in a new contextual environment.
While the two might be more closely aligned in such an environment, such a state of affairs does not preclude independent development. Life goes on for them both – it does not simply come to an abrupt and screeching halt.
Despite an evident alarmist response in the press, Mountain Lion makes an enormous amount of sense. Pooling efforts, fostering a simplified environment for the end-user, and ensuring a balanced ecosystem for the future are each affable and logical endeavors. Apple has acknowledged discrepancies in its own ecosystem – arguably its greatest asset – and has taken steps to solidify and smooth the experience for all.
Own a Mac but have no interest in an iPad? Well, lucky for you, you’ll be able to benefit from the same features that make the iPad fantastic on your Mac. Own an iPad and want to stay in tune with your Mac? Fantastic news for you too.
The list of benefits is obvious and it is all possible without any semblance of “convergence.” No matter what the press might have you believe, Macs are not becoming iPhones. Sharing aesthetic leanings and an iCloud backbone does not muddy the definition of OS X, it simply adds to its versatility.
Computing is no longer defined by the complexity you elicit from your machine, it is defined by the degree this complexity is successfully shrouded by simplicity. Looking at Apple’s iLife suite, it’s clear that apps are becoming increasingly easy to use but, for the most part, the complex inner workings remain in tact. Such is the goal of the modern consumer-level software developer, and such is the goal of Mountain Lion.
With a new upgrade cycle and increasingly unified assets, Apple has blurred the developmental lines between two fundamentally different entities. For the consumer, such simplicity is of extraordinary value. It is also a direct shot across Microsoft’s bow.
Considering all of the blustering chatter about the construction of a no-compromise OS in Windows 8, Microsoft has suffered a withering number of attacks on its apparent indecisiveness over its operating system’s aesthetics. Apple, on the other hand, has built two separate operating systems that now communicate seamlessly, appear aesthetically similar, and work in concordance with one another without as much as a second thought.
Whether you’re using an iOS or Mountain Lion device, there are quite literally no practical compromises. Far fewer, in my eyes, than there are with Windows 8.
iCloud facilitates a versatile backbone – one that casts aside the previous bounds of one operating system or another. By focusing on this and encouraging the adoption of its potential benefits, Apple is undercutting Microsoft’s heavy-handed approach with a simple, seamless vision – one that benefits all Apple device users, regardless of their chosen hardware.
As with any relationship, however, there is potential for negativity. Most obvious to me is the evident lack of aesthetic change planned for iOS in the coming months. Considering Mountain Lion is due for a Summer release – around the same time as iOS is traditionally updated – the inclusion of largely unchanged versions of Reminders and Notes betrays an apparent lack of UI change for iOS. While it is certainly not outside the realm of possibility that I’m wrong, I tend to think LaunchPad, Reminders and Notes all provide evidence of few significant UI changes awaiting us in iOS 6. Corinthian leather is not going away this year, at least.
For the sake of parity and consistency, Apple must now make aesthetic decisions with a view to both OS X and iOS. Ridding iOS of the traditional homescreen interface, for instance, would presumably prompt significant changes to LaunchPad in OS X. Apps, now mostly sharing names, also share aesthetic dependencies. Although this certainly does not hint at the stifling or stagnation of innovative UI design, it provides a definite moment of pause when considering the future of each platform.
Aside from this potential stumbling block, OS X may be edging closer to iOS in a cosmetic sense, but that is not to say the two are becoming one. Furthermore, OS X is most certainly not becoming “like” iOS. Features remain wholly exclusive to each platform dependent upon the various benefits of the hardware and the interactive paradigms. Gatekeeper, for instance, makes perfect sense for OS X but, for iOS, I doubt we’ll see its implementation any time soon. Ultimately, the enormous discrepancy between the two operating systems – touch and cursor – remains constant, and it’s unlikely that will change any time soon.
Despite any hesitance in the press, the alignment of iOS and OS X is a wonderful thing. Although some advances might offend a handful of power users, the changes on display in Mountain Lion are of the utmost service to the average consumer. Simplifying, unifying, and stabilizing a broad ecosystem is an admirable thing – something that we will all inevitably regard with fond reminiscence over the course of the next few years. Together, iOS and OS X present a formidable computing environment – a relationship that, built upon iCloud, is likely to bring a whole lot of innovation to the marketplace.
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.
AllThingsD:
Proview, the foundering Chinese company battling with Apple over the iPad trademark, originally wanted millions of dollars for the rights to the mark in China. Now it wants billions.As for allegations that Proview is breaching its iPad trademark deal to squeeze Apple for more money, Proview CEO Yang Rongshan says that’s not the case at all. “We own the iPad trademark in China,” Yang said. “If you were in my position … you would try to protect your rights.”Apple, however, argues that it’s not Proview’s rights that need to be protected.
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 want to say thanks. Download the 25 billionth app, and you could win a US$10,000 App Store Gift Card. Just visit the App Store and download your best app yet.
That’s a lot of apps.
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.
“The objective has to be learning, not just getting the technology out there,” said Muir. “We are paying attention to app selection and focused on continuous improvement — we aren’t just handing equipment to teachers.”
The study, conducted in Auburn, Maine, randomly assigned half of the districts 16 kindergarten classes to use iPads for nine weeks. In all, 129 students used an iPad, while 137 students were taught without an iPad. Each of the 266 students were tested before and after the iPads were introduced into the classroom.
“Too many innovative programs don’t prioritize their own research, and even if they collect observations and stories later, they don’t make the effort to do a randomized control trial, like we did,” said Muir. “We wanted to make sure we could objectively examine the contribution of the iPads.”
According to the literacy test results classes using the iPads outperformed the non-iPad students in every literacy measure they were test on.
It’s not just about the test scores, but about the way the kids interact with the iPad and apps that make this program unique.
“We are seeing high levels of student motivation, engagement and learning in the iPad classrooms,” said Sue Dorris, principal at East Auburn Community School. “The apps, which teach and reinforce fundamental literacy concepts and skills, are engaging, interactive and provide children with immediate feedback. What’s more, teachers can customize apps to match the instructional needs of each child, so students are able to learn successfully at their own level and pace.”
I said on Twitter this morning:
I’m amazed with all of the writers who claim Apple is making Mountain Lion more like iOS.Clearly, you don’t get it.
Really, I was shocked to see how many tech writers that don’t get what Mountain Lion is all about. I’ll tell you what it’s not — it’s not about making the Mac OS more like iOS.
Mountain Lion added the Notes and Reminders apps — that doesn’t make Mac OS more like iOS, it means that Apple added a couple of apps to the desktop. That means that millions of iOS users can open their Mountain Lion computers and have a higher level of familiarity with the apps on their Mac.
Not only that, Apple syncs the changes from the apps using iCloud. That’s about greater integration between the devices we use, not about iOS.
If Apple were trying to make Mountain Lion more like iOS we would be touching the screen of our computers to interact with out apps instead of using the keyboard and mouse.
Mountain Lion is about familiarity and integration. The new features and apps in Mountain Lion make sense for a desktop operating system.
These claims of Mountain Lion being more like iOS are just shit.
Jeff Somogyi at DealMac has posted an absolutely hilarious chart comparing Apple’s newest operating system to the animal for which it’s named. This is not to be missed. I’m not going to be a traffic-stealing jerk and repost the chart here, so go give DealMac some love.
Apple posted an article today giving troubleshooting tips if you have problems using Messages beta.
CNET’s MacFixIt:
If you’ve taken a look at Apple’s sneak peek of its upcoming revision to OS X, you might wonder if your system will be able to run the operating system. In recent versions of OS X, some requirements have resulted in older hardware no longer working properly, including the drop of PowerPC support in Snow Leopard, and Lion not installing on some of the earliest Intel-based Mac systems.Unfortunately Apple has not yet officially released the system requirements for the new OS, but the developer release that is being issued to members of its Mac development community does contain a list of supported devices.
Diesel Sweeties:
You remember the dark times. Back when having to learn 90s Linux or Windows 95 was a very scary possibility. When it was possible to sit in a Starbucks for twenty whole minutes and not see an Apple logo. If you told me Apple would get this huge back in the beleaguered era, I’d ask if you were a time traveler from an alternate future.Image is about nine inches wide and professionally silk screened in white ink on 100% cotton black shirts.
You know you want one.
PC Mag:
The Department of Transportation has proposed guidelines that would block all in-vehicle communications by a driver, including texting, dialing, Internet browsing, and even entering a GPS address by hand.The regulations, if imposed and enforced, could dramatically alter the future of connected vehicles within the United States, as well as how U.S. drivers use devices like GPS navigation systems and cell phones.
As a motorcyclist, I’m all for anything that forces drivers to focus and pay attention to actually driving and eliminating as many distractions as possible.
Asymco:
Here is a plot of each major computing product Apple sold throughout its history shown as a cumulative total since product launch.
The Next Web:
Ken Segall served as Apple’s agency creative director under Steve Jobs from the NeXT years on through, including some years under John Sculley’s disastrous reign. Now he’s written a book, called Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success.If you’re unfamiliar with Segall, he runs an excellent personal blog Observatory, the parody site Scoopertino and was the guy who came up with the name iMac. He was also involved in the seminal Think Different ad campaign. So yeah, he knows a few things about Apple and the way that Steve Jobs worked.
“Insanely Simple” will be available April 26th and you can pre-order at iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others.
Panic Software:
As Mac users, we’ve mostly enjoyed a life free of the worry that has followed Windows users for years. Mac OS X is pretty damn secure. But it could be more secure. As Macs enjoy increased popularity, they become a more attractive target to identity thieves and other criminals. Sooner or later, bad people ruin every nice thing. It’s an immutable law of humanity.So, what to do about this? Code-signing, although it can’t single-handedly fix the problem forever, is a vital weapon in the fight against malware. But many folks are unclear on how it works, or how it helps. Let me try to explain in as close to plain English as I can.
You can read and get more details on Gatekeeper from security expert Rich Mogull on TidBITS and Securosis.