Feb 21
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After threatening to sue Apple, Proview is now preparing to talk with the American company about its iPad trademark. It hopes to reach a settlement before an upcoming trial on its trademark begins. Proview’s lawyer Xie Xianghui says it is approaching Apple with “peaceful intentions” according to a report in AppleInsider and The Times of India. This renewed effort at negotiation comes on the eve of a big court hearing on Wednesday in Shanghai.
The Shanghai court will discuss the validity of Proview’s claim against Apple and its decision will have a major impact on either company. A win for Proview could potentially ban sales of the iPad in China’s wealthiest city and slow Apple’s expansion into the Asian country. A win for Apple would hurt the struggling Proview, which is facing mounting pressure from creditors and an impending removal from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Lawyers expect a decision in this case within the next few months.
Proview ready to negotiate on eve of court hearing originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Feb 21
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Apple issued a three month extension on application sandboxing today, giving devs a little more breathing room before new rules take over. June 1 2012 is now the enforcement date. We’ve been having many discussions about Mac development in the TUAW backchannel over the last week.
The introduction of GateKeeper and the notion of signed apps, sandboxing, and developer IDs have us talking about where Apple is taking the Mac, and will be moving Mac development in general. Overall, we think things are moving towards a win for consumers and better opportunities for devs. Read on to learn more about these technologies, and how they affect developers and App Store.
GateKeeper is Apple’s new approach to making your Mac safer by giving you control over which applications may download and run on your computer. With GateKeeper, developers sign apps to authenticate them with the OS — both apps that you purchase from the Mac App Store and, at the developer’s option, also apps you purchase elsewhere.
With Mountain Lion, you choose which apps are allowed to run. You’ll be able to disable GateKeeper and run apps from anywhere if you like, although this is not the default setting.
The thing is this: Apple continues moving towards a more controlled, less open, more appliance-like concept of what a Mac means. That redefinition is causing ripples, affecting app development more and more. Applications can do fewer things, access fewer system resources, and control other apps less than they did in the past.
Developers who choose to enroll in the Mac development program pay a $99/year fee just as those who enroll in the iOS development program do. Once enrolled, they can sign their apps as identified developers — as well as gain access to early beta versions of unreleased operating systems.
When the iPhone SDK first debuted, many people including yours truly complained about what couldn’t be done with the APIs: what files could be accessed, what routines could be called, and so forth. Coming from a general computing background, one learns to expect to build whatever one can imagine. If the building blocks are there, then why not build whatever tools you need? That all ties into a background of fully open computing.
Apple’s policy split the dev community into the jailbreak world and the App Store world, with many people crossing over depending on what they were building. Under jailbreak, developers gain full access to the entire iOS file system and run apps in a fully privileged mode. This gives devs a much broader development vocabulary to work with. The jailbreak world became known for its innovation, with Apple mining those forward-looking ideas and free R&D and bringing them into successive iterations of their operating system.
At the same time, developers had to change. If they wanted to market through App Store, they had to relinquish product ideas that wouldn’t work within the more closed-off system that App Store submission required and look instead for opportunities of development that were allowed.
No one can look at App Store today, with its countless apps, and say that Apple denied developers opportunity. It’s just a somewhat different opportunity than many developers expected. It’s an opportunity that restricted certain kinds of applications, most typically OS enhancements and utilities (which have flourished on other mobile platforms with less oversight of developer access). Overall, Apple has provided better tools, better marketing, and better sales avenues than had existed before. The end result has been apps that are significantly better than previous generations.
And now, Apple is doing the same thing for the Mac.
This is emotionally hard for some long-term devs like me. We want Linux-y freedom for whatever we want to build and distribute. Now, with sandboxing (a technique that restricts application access to full system files; all apps that are not sandboxed will be removed from the Mac App Store starting June 1st) and GateKeeper (limiting apps to those that are signed and authenticated), Apple is setting a new default: software consumers will expect to be protected, and will expect that any item being delivered to them will comply with Apple policies.
We developers have two choices: either opt in to Apple’s signing (developer IS) and/or distribution system (App Store), or limit ourselves to only those customers savvy enough to opt out to the “all’s fair” system. It’s essentially a Mac jailbreak–just without all the pain of waiting for the next untethered release. (Speaking of which, yes, it would be lovely if this idea goes exactly back to the iPhone, so we don’t have to wait on those exploits and releases.)
Apple’s brave new world for the Mac gets that there are “power” users and “consumers.” And it also gets that the latter category vastly outnumbers the former. As it builds new and better operating systems that retain desktop functionality, it is shaping computing to match consumer needs and wants, not developers.
Not everything is roses. Some devs are complaining–with good reason–that Apple’s approach to proprietary technologies will prevent them from selling off the App Store for iCloud features, for example. If you want to tie into those APIs, you won’t be able to go to third party merchandising storefronts to sell your software. App Store-exclusive features will tie developers further into Mac App Store and to Apple’s 30% cut. Those Apple-specific technologies will continue to grow over time.
What’s more, developers must continue putting pressure on Apple to extend entitlements, allowing apps to grow the kinds of resource access they are allowed under Apple’s sandbox system. The current set of entitlement restrictions seems unnaturally limited.
Just as iOS’s App Store has responded to developer requests, the Mac environment will have to soften restrictive rough edges over time. A passionate and involved developer community will help those changes happen. Community-sourced advocacy such as Tim Burks‘ Open Radar project allow developers to cooperatively brainstorm and strategize about which access issues are the most important to them.
In the end, this is going to be an amazing end-point for consumers. You can talk about “what has existed for a generation,” but that means things like Microsoft Word. There is no way anyone can argue that MS Word was an amazing end-point for general consumers.
It’s a wake-up call for devs who have stuck with Apple through the dark years. Apple is changing up the game. Devs have to change it up too. And if Apple’s success with iOS App Store is any indication there will be more opportunity and better chances at creating a living than ever before.
Thanks, Remy “Psy” Demerest, Kyle Kinkade, |Agent
App-ocalypse soon: Apple extends sandboxing deadlines, but restrictions loom originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Feb 21
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Just yesterday, we reported on Apple’s move to renewable energy at the Maiden, North Carolina data center and other facilities. Now USA Today is reporting that Apple has given the green light to begin independent environmental audits of the companies that make up the Apple supply chain.
Apple apparently decided to allow the audits after environmental groups including the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) documented several hazardous material leaks and the use of toxic chemicals at supplier facilities. According to Ma Jun, the founder of the IPE, Apple’s decision came in January as a response to the reports.
Ma, who is one of China’s leading environmentalists, noted that the audits may begin as early as March and will initially focus on two suppliers although the scope could expand to as many as 14 suppliers.
Apple wants to publicize the results of the independent review as soon as the suppliers have been given an opportunity to resolve issues, so the company is expected to disclose the names of those suppliers. Apple has already confirmed that it has contracts with seven suppliers named in IPE reports in 2011: Foxconn Technology, Meiko Electronics, Ibiden Electronics, Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board, Compeq Manufacturing, Wintek, and Unimicron.
Gary Liu, the deputy director of the China Europe International Business School’s Lujiazui International Finance Research Center, said that Apple’s audits are a step in the right direction for Chinese workers and the public. Liu was quoted as saying that “Apple now realizes that its brand name will suffer if it continues to be blind to the misbehaviors” of suppliers.
Apple OKs independent environmental audits of suppliers originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Feb 21
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It’s the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You’ll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what’s happening in the Apple world.
You can listen to today’s Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.
No Flash? Click here to listen.
Daily Update for February 21, 2012 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Feb 21
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Image: Shutterstock
According to De Telegraaf, a 49 year-old Rotterdam contractor was shot at and an iPhone in his pocket may have helped stop the bullet from hitting his heart. According to my limited Dutch language skills and Google’s translation, “The bullet went straight through my phone back and then only in my chest. My cell phone worked as a brake job and probably was adjusted so that no serious damage was done.” In the picture shown attached to the story, it appears the bullet had to travel through the glass of his van as well, which certainly also helped slow the velocity of the bullet before it hit the iPhone.
Back in 2007 we wrote up a story about a soldier in Iraq who had a bullet hit his iPod, saving his life. Oh, his body armor helped as well. Remember, it’s important to slow the velocity of a bullet down when protecting the body, so anything between you and a high velocity slug of lead is a good thing. And although body armor is pricey, it’s still cheaper per square inch than covering yourself in iPhones.
Thanks to Ronald Detiger for sending this in!
iPhone stops a bullet, saves the life of a Rotterdam contractor originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Feb 21
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There are several recent examples of unsavory titles slipping through the cracks of Apple’s approval process. Apps like counterfeit Pokemon apps and a cloned beer timer app have made it into the walled garden of the iOS App Store.
Instead of relying on Apple to be a safety gate, iOS owners need to be more vigilant when purchasing apps. Before you hit that “Buy App” button, you should follow these handy tips to help you steer clear of counterfeit and knockoff apps. If you have any tips of your own, please share them in the comments.
Read the description
The quality of the description is one sign that an iOS app is counterfeit. If the description reads like it’s written by a six-year-old, then you should probably walk away from the app. Either the developer doesn’t care enough to write a decent description or the description is a mass-produced, poorly-translated piece of prose from an overseas scam factory.
Look at the comments on an app
Customers who buy an app and then discover it’s a scam are vocal. They will leave scathing comments that make it clear the app is a fraud. This will work to your benefit as you can learn a lot about the developer and the app from even as little as five to ten comments. If there are no comments, then you’ll need to use some of our other tips to dig a little deeper into the developer’s history and the reputation of the app.
Scan the App Store
Be sure to search the App Store before you buy an app to make sure it is the correct one. As we pointed out last week, some copycat apps are so brazen they will steal the underlying code, the name and the icon of the original app with minimal changes. Misspellings of popular titles or closely worded app titles like “Angry Birdy” are also red flags. Spend a few minutes comparing the app icons, looking at the product images, and carefully reading the description. If you’re not sure which version is the right one, then you’ll have to do some detective work to identify the legitimate developer.
Does the developer have a history?
If you find an app you want to buy, then look at the developer’s history to make sure he or she is legitimate. Experienced developers will have multiple apps in the app store and each will have comments. You can see a list of the developer’s apps on the left hand side of the iTunes window underneath the app requirements.
Some scammers will release one app they hope will fly under Apple’s radar and grab a thousand downloads before it disappears. At 99 cents a pop, all it takes is a couple hundred downloads for the developer to make his or her money back on the developer’s fee. If someone can easily recoup the developer’s fee, there’s not much stopping them from signing up for another account and doing it all again when their app gets the boot.
Another warning sign is a developer who has dozens and dozens of apps. Quality apps take a long time to write, and an indie developer with many apps could be a scam factory producing garbage or counterfeit apps.
This isn’t a hard and fast rule as some apps, like wallpaper collections or simple games, lend itself to multiple versions. Likewise, there are new developers who only have one app. Because this tip may penalize reputable developers, you should use it along with the other tips. If the developer has a poorly written description, a title whose name is a misspelling of a popular title and 175 published apps, then you may want to think twice about your purchase.
When was the app updated?
Once an app is approved, most scammers won’t take the time to update a title. They are in the App Store only to make money and aren’t interested in the process of developing and improving their title. You can find the date of the last update and the app version number underneath the “Buy App” button. You can also search a site like App Shopper which will list all the version and price changes made to the app.
Is there a face behind the name?
If a developer has a support link in iTunes, then click on it and see if they have a website. A serious developer will have a support page to connect with their users and make it easy for people to contact them. They will also likely be on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook. If there’s no contact information or a broken link, then you should think hard about clicking that purchase button.
Crowdsource and search, search, search
If you’re still not sure, then search the Internet, ask on forums and send out a call on Twitter or Facebook. Find out if anyone has experience with the app or the developer. Chances are someone, somewhere will have an opinion about either the app of the person behind it.
Seven tips to help you avoid counterfeit apps in the App Store originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Feb 21
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ShipIt!, currently on sale for $0.99 at the Mac App Store, offers a simple utility for resizing multiresolution images. Its suite of standardized image formats (such as 512×512 iTunes artwork, 57×57 iPhone icons, and 72×72 iPad ones) ensure that you can create consistent elements from your core art.
Drag your art onto the app window, choose a destination and the formats you wish to export to and the app creates the resized elements.
As utilities for a buck go, ShipIt may save you a bit of time if it fits into your development flow.
I found its user interface to be a bit crude, with the step-by-step process at the bottom of the window not really working for me.
I would have preferred to see more state information onscreen. When you pick the default output folder in “step 1″, that directory is not visible anywhere onscreen.
I also wish the export file types were integrated into the main window instead of floating. As the floating window is, it cannot be resized. This means you can’t just have all the elements visible on-screen at once.
What’s more, the checkboxes didn’t act in a standard OS X way — they sometimes resisted attempts to uncheck them if they were the sole item selected.
In the end, ShipIt! seems to have the right idea but could use work on how it gets you to that place.
DevJuice: ShipIt! provides customizable image resizing for multiresolution development originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Feb 21
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With Lent peeking around the corner, there’s still time to get down, celebrate, and indulge before fasting, abstinence, and penitence. In that spirit, here are a bunch of last minute apps to help you seize the day…and the pancakes.
If you’re lucky enough to be around New Orleans, follow your favorite Mardi Gras parades with the WWL-TV Experience Mardi Gras app (Free). This handy mobile app offers schedules, routes, events and more for the Mardi Gras partier. It uses integrated GPS coordinates to let you know what’s happening right around you.
Can’t get down to New Orleans? You can try out a virtual Mardi Gras! ($0.99) experience instead. This game allows you to “hop on your float, wear a purple crown, and be the King of Mardi Gras!!” The goal is to “keep the crowd happy” by throwing cheap trinkets at them. The game is rated 4+, so TUAW rather suspects that the traditional method of asking for trinkets will not be shown in-app.
Brush up your Hip Hop skills with Dance Video: Hip Hop Dancing ($2.99). On sale this week for 50% off its normal price, this app helps teach the basic hip hop steps, “wave”, “crip step”, and “old skool” moves like the “running man”. Of course, TUAW staffers admonish you not to try dancing with a gut full of pancakes.
Looking for a few last minute recipes? You might want to check out Gourmet Live (Free). This lifestyle apps includes new and classic recipes, interviews with celebrity chefs, and more. It may be your best chance to indulge in high-caloric yumminess for a while.
Finally, in the sincere spirit of Shrove Tuesday, we bring you Pancakes (Free). We were totally won over by the beautiful app description: “Pancake is a game of how you can cook delicious pancakes. We cook a lot of delicious pancakes. How to Play: Within the time limit, or compete for a delicious pancake how many burn.” We think you’ll like the app description too.
5 Apps for Mardi Gras originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Feb 21
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Engadget is reporting Korea’s ETNews’ claim that Samsung’s S-Cloud is delayed because Samsung decided to change the way the cloud infrastructure works. Samsung is hoping that S-Cloud will rival Apple’s iCloud and is now looking at Korea’s KT public cloud service to use as a backbone for its system.
However, Samsung will have to muscle its way into an already crowded cloud-storage neighborhood, with iCloud, Amazon, Dropbox, and others already hosting a lot of people’s data. Another issue is Samsung’s use of Android and its large variety of mobile products. ETNews’ source says that Samsung needs “highly sophisticated technology” to make sure all of those devices can work together in the cloud.
Samsung’s iCloud rival delayed originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source – http://www.tuaw.com/2012/02/21/samsungs-icloud-rival-delayed/
Feb 21
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If you want to get up and move while you game with your iPhone, you should check out TheO ball. Created by Physical Apps, LLC, TheO is a soft foam ball that serves as a cradle for your iPhone or iPod touch. It was introduced at the 2012 Toy Fair in New York where it won the Popular Science Best of Toy Fair 2012 award.
The iPhone or iPod sits in the center of the foam ball and the system lets you toss or roll your iPhone across the floor as part of a game. Currently, Physical Apps has three free games including a bowling app, Hot Potato and Interrogo, a social game you play with friends.
The company is wisely releasing an API so other developers can take advantage of this motion-based system. It’s very Wii-like in it’s approach to mobile gaming and may catch on if developers can convince people it’s OK to toss their US$600 iPhone across the room.
TheO is expected to debut in May with a street price of $24.95. Games will likely be priced from $1.99 to $4.99. You can watch a promotional video of the system below.
[Via AppAdvice]
TheO is a ball that lets you toss your iPhone for fun originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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