Federico Viticci

10804 posts on MacStories since April 2009

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, where he writes about Apple with a focus on apps, developers, iPad, and iOS productivity. He founded MacStories in April 2009 and has been writing about Apple since. Federico is also the co-host of AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps, Unwind, a fun exploration of media and more, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about portable gaming and the handheld revolution.
@viticci@macstories.net
@viticci.macstories.net
viticci@macstories.net

My Artists 1.1 - Still My Favorite iPod Alternative

In my review of My Artists for iPhone months ago, I wrote that the app was the ultimate iPod.app replacement for me. It still is, months after its release and with lots of alternative music players available in the App Store. I never deleted My Artists from my device, and I don’t see it going away from that Music folder on my homescreen anytime soon.

My Artists fetches artists and songs already synced to your device and sitting in the iPod app but provides a completely new layout that offers more information thanks to the magic of the Internet. Not only does the app provide better artist profile pics and cover albums, it also lets you check on detailed bios and related artists.

The latest 1.1 update brings several interface improvements, especially in the main list view where the app feels more solid and crisp than ever. You can also shuffle entire albums or artists now – heck, you can even shuffle your entire library from the main view. That’s quite handy. Last, the app’s engine has been update to be faster, and more stable.

My Artists 1.1 is a nice update to an app that is still one of my favorites on the iPhone. Highly recommended. Go download it here.

Apple Releases Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.5

Earlier today Apple released a new Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update (version 3.5) which brings compatibility for RAW formats in apps such as iPhoto or Aperture from six more cameras. The new supported models are:

  • Canon PowerShot G12
  • Leica D-Lux 5
  • Leica V-Lux 2
  • Nikon D7000
  • Nikon COOLPIX P7000
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2

More information about RAW formats are available here. The update is available now in Software update or on Apple’s website.

This Is The Ultimate App Store Infographic

Sure, we have seen infographics about the App Store before. But right ahead of the iTunes Connect holiday shut down and with more than 50,000 iPad apps out in the wild – this is the only one you need to look at now.

Created by the folks over at App of the Day and available in its full-size glory here, the infographic provides a lot of insight into the mechanics of Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPad. For instance, out of 300,000+ apps 67% are paid and 33% are free apps. Of all apps, 50% are between $0.99 and $2.99. A stunning 85% is made of iPhone apps (not a surprise, considering the iPhone has been around since 2008) and 8% are universal apps.

There are 62,126 unique developers selling software in the App Store, with apps that carry an average price of $2.43. Oh, and those reviews people seem to love so much? Three-stars is the average rating. The official Facebook app is the only one with more than 1,000,000 ratings.

Again, App of the Day’s infographic is full of numbers and interesting details. It also looks great. Check it out here.

Apple Offering Free iOS Development iBooks

If you’re a Mac or iOS developer and happen to have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad running the iBooks app, go open the iBookstore and search for “apple developer”. As you can see, Apple is offering iOS / Mac development iBooks completely for free.

The six books, published by Apple Developer Publications, include “iOS Technology Overview”, “Cocoa Fundamentals Guide” and the popular “iOS Human Interface Guidelines”. Some books report a release date of “November 2010”, but Apple is making sure you’re running the latest iBooks version by writing in each description “This book displays best with iBooks 1.2 or later”.

Indeed the books are elegant and come with a lot of detailed graphics and screenshots. Sure they’re not illustrated books (supported in iBooks 1.2), but I can see why Apple is recommending the latest version of their ebook reading software. Read more

Apple Tweaks Online Store With “Popular Configurations”

As noted by TUAW , Apple silently updated the online Store to introduce a neat little feature: popular configurations for Macs. Just right ahead of Christmas, Apple is now showcasing popular setups such as “MacBook with larger hard drive” or “MacBook with more RAM” to make it easy for people to get around specs and “build the system of their dreams” (actual words from the Apple Store).

I think this is a very welcome new feature in the Store which will surely help the less tech-savvy wanna-be Apple users get the most out of their computers, and wallets. Not everyone knows what HDD 320GB 5200 rpm means, MacBook “with larger hard drive” just sounds better. Typical Apple move to streamline the experience, if you ask me.

Check out the new Configure page here.

Verbs For IM Launches But It’s Not Quite There

It’s not every day that a beautiful, elegant, new app comes out on the iPhone and I’m willing to spend $2.99 to purchase it. When I saw Verbs available in iTunes a few minutes ago, though, I couldn’t help but play Apple’s game and hit the Buy button. I wanted Verbs, for a reason: I know the first version wouldn’t support AIM, the chat system I use on a daily basis in iChat, but I really wanted to see how a nice Google Talk client would fit in my workflow. After all, it’s not every day that a Google Talk client for the iPhone is released, and it’s even got a UI to lay your eyes on.

So I bought Verbs. Is it beautiful to look at? It sure is. Is the ultimate Google Talk experience? More on that below. Read more

Sony Announces Official PlayStation App Coming To The iPhone

Good news, PlayStation fans and Marcus aficionados: there’s an official PlayStation app coming soon to an iPhone near you. As Sony reveals on the official European PlayStation Blog, the app will be available soon for iPhones and iPod touches running iOS 4 and Android devices running 1.6 and above.

The app will let you check on the PSN for your trophies and friends’ status updates, read news about games and hardware for PS devices, get the latest updates from the official PlayStation Blog. It will also have Facebook and Twitter sharing built-in.

The first version of the app will be released in UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and The Netherlands. The next version, already in the works, will support more countries and languages.

If you’re looking for something more than a simple app to check on the PlayStation Network, the PlayStation Phone is still real.