Posts in Linked

iOS 7 and New Apps→

Gedeon Maheux:

I’m sure many users are expecting developers of popular applications to simply update interface elements, compile some code and easily drop a brand spanking new version of their app onto the App Store for free. There’s little doubt that the majority of iOS 7 updates to existing apps will be free (which will please Apple), but I suspect there will be a surprising number of developers who will use the launch of the new operating system to completely re-boot their app, and why not? The visual and interactive paradigms iOS 7 mark a natural breaking off point and a perfect opportunity to re-coup costs. Some existing paid apps might even adopt an iOS 7 only strategy which means they’ll have no choice but to charge again.

This makes sense. One more reason why Apple will need to clearly and strongly highlight iOS 7 apps on the App Store.

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Human Authenticity→

Great points by David Barnard:

There is nothing inherently authentic about anything created digitally. There’s nothing genuine about 0’s and 1’s and any particular sequence that describes pixels on a screen. Humans created the hardware and software that sequence those bits, and unless we’re talking about some sort of futuristic research project, everything created digitally is created for some ultimate form of human consumption.

Software doesn’t have to use realistic textures to be “physically authentic”.

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The Prompt: Casually Eating Pasta Alone→

This week, the boys discuss Nokia, Logic Pro X, tinkering, and re-evaluating workflows in light of new OS releases.

It was a fun episode and I liked the in-depth discussion on workflows and pasta-eating habits. I promise I will remember to properly record audio the next time (sorry for the poor quality on my end this week). You can get the episode here.

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Ohai for App.net→

A clever idea by Steve Streza: Ohai is a journal app that uses your App.net account to safely store photos and places you’ve checked in.

Ohai has a simple and delightful interface to flip through pages (days) of your journal with a timeline layout that makes it easy to add new places (with optional photos and personal comments). Ohai isn’t a full-featured diary app like Day One, but instead puts the focus on saving check-ins in a private journal that doesn’t force you to share where you’ve been.

Streza isn’t new to leveraging App.net’s service for building more than Twitter-like clients, and Ohai is another great example of the versatility of App.net’s APIs and file storage. Streza highlights one of the benefits of implementing the App.net API on his personal blog:

One other cool benefit of using App.net for the backend is that the data specification is publicly available. This means other developers could build apps that recognize your journal. So, if the developer of your favorite camera app adds support for Ohai journals, they could save those photos into your journal. Then, the next time you open Ohai, those photos are available. Other developers could build journaling apps for other platforms like Android, or even write competitive apps for iPhone. You as the user would not have to export your data and re-import it; it would just all appear when you logged in. It’s a wonderful deal for customers to have no lock-in at all, with open data standards for interoperability.

Ohai is $4.99 on the App Store.

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Apple’s Answer on Upgrade Pricing→

David Smith wonders whether today’s release of Logic Pro X as a new app sold at full price is the best explanation of Apple’s stance on upgrade pricing to date:

I’d say that this is the best indication of Apple’s intentions and expectations for the App Stores going forward. I wouldn’t expect anything like upgrade pricing to appear in the Stores. It seems like the message is to either give your upgrades to your customers as free updates or to launch a new app and charge everyone again. Neither approach is perfect but I am now very confident that this is the going to be the situation for the foreseeable future.

This is an issue that I’ve long debated with my teammates and developer friends. As someone who’s used to seeing upgrade pricing in Mac apps sold outside of the Mac App Store, I would welcome the addition of built-in upgrade pricing to the App Store. However, on the other end of the spectrum, our Gabe Glick neatly summed up Apple’s possible motivations last year:

Developers and longtime computer users may be used to the shareware, time trial, pay-full-price-once-upgrade-cheaply-forever model of buying and selling software, but regular people, the mass market that Apple continues to court first and foremost, aren’t. Adding demos (“I thought this app was free, but now it’s telling me I have to pay to keep using it? What a ripoff!”) and paid upgrades (“Wait, I bought this app last year and now I have to pay again to keep using it? Screw that!”) would introduce a layer of confusion and make buying an app a more arduous process, which would result in people buying fewer apps.

Today’s release of Logic Pro X is just another data point and it may not necessarily be conclusive, but I believe it further suggests how Apple sees the process of releasing major upgrades to Mac apps. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple will ever do the same for its (cheaper) iOS apps, though.

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OmniFocus for iPhone Gets Background Location Sync→

OmniFocus for iPhone was updated today to include a background location sync feature previously seen in apps like Downcast, Instapaper, and CameraSync.

Users can now leverage iOS’ geofencing to tell OmniFocus to sync its online database in the background and automatically whenever they enter or leave a specific location. There’s a new Background Sync screen in the settings where locations can be configured, which works similarly to Instapaper’s one. Unlike CameraSync, I wasn’t able to receive a local notification when I left or arrived at a location that triggered background sync.

The Omni Group is undoubtedly looking at iOS 7’s new background app refresh options, but, until then, this is a nice (and common) workaround.

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Editorial for iPad→

Ole Zorn is finally talking about his upcoming new app, Editorial, publicly on his website:

I tweeted earlier today that I’ve registered the name for a new app in iTunes Connect. It’s called Editorial, and I’ve actually been working on this for over a year now.

At its core, it’s a Markdown editor for iPad, but you can also think of it as a Pythonista spinoff, or a workflow automation tool, not unlike Automator.

I say “finally” because I have been testing Editorial since November 2012. All my reviews have been written and edited with Editorial; I have built workflows that, for me, make working with text on the iPad better than using Sublime Text 2 on my MacBook Air. When I’m on my Mac, I miss Editorial’s automation and editing features. And if I haven’t posted a screenshot of my iPad’s Home screen in a while, it’s because I had Editorial in my dock and I couldn’t share it.

Ole Zorn is the developer of Pythonista, which I have written extensively about. I can’t wait to share more about Editorial.

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WWDC 2013 Session Videos On YouTube→

Update: According to iMore’s Rene Ritchie, Apple confirmed that the videos are not official and, as suspected, in violation of the NDA.

After the release of the keynote’s video on its website, iTunes, and YouTube, WWDC 2013 session videos have surfaced on YouTube under the account WWDCVideos.

Originally tweeted by Safari and WebKit engineer Timothy Hatcher, the WWDCVideos channel has the following description:

Get an in-depth look at what’s next in iOS and OS X, and learn how to take your apps to the next level. With over 100 sessions, extensive hands–on labs, and engaging events, you’ll connect with Apple engineers and fellow developers for an incredible week of inspiration.

If confirmed official, this wouldn’t be Apple’s first YouTube channel, as the company has been uploading keynotes, promo videos, and TV commercials on the Apple channel for years now; it’s unclear, however, how such videos would be available publicly on YouTube considering Apple’s NDA, which prevents developers from discussing upcoming iOS and OS X features publicly.

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