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How Flipboard Was Created→

How Flipboard Was Created

When I traveled, I would buy magazines before I got on an airplane. I love magazines, I read them all the time. As I was reading them, I’d ask myself: “Why is it that the Web isn’t as beautiful as these magazines? What could we do to make the web a more beautiful place?” And of course, along with that line of thinking, I was saying to myself: “If this Apple tablet that is rumored ever happens, it would be the perfect form factor for doing exactly that - for making websites as beautiful as magazines.

Flipboard is currently featured in the App Store homepage, Apple’s iPad commercial and it’s sitting at #7 of the Free Apps for iPad chart.

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Ten Dollars And The App Store→

Ten Dollars And The App Store

What did $10 get you 15 years ago? All the games that would fit on a disk. A 5-inch floppy disk. Considering the massive improvements to the user experience, and the amount of utility that an app like Tweet Library offers, that copy of Duke Nukem 3D isn’t looking as expensive anymore. Toss in inflation, and your getting a Rolls Royce for the price of a VW Bug. Or, in more reasonable terms, two of those caramel soy moccachino things you drink every day.

The same happened when OmniFocus for iPad came out. And that app is priced at $40. What is the problem with these people that can’t do anything besides complaining and asking for discounts in forum posts? Why do they keep on criticizing developers when they price professional software (yes, Tweet Library and OmniFocus for iPad are professional apps. That’s it) at anything more than .99 cents?

These hypocrites pay $500 for an iPad an they expect every kind of app to be free / priced at less than a dollar. The real problem is the App Store gives too much visibility to games, and less importance to niche, more focused applications. It’s like go looking for a great bottle of red in a candy shop.

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Do We Need an iTunes Server Version?→

Do We Need an iTunes Server Version?

iTunes Server would allow each user to set up an account and build a personal library. These accounts would ensure that the server program knows exactly which files each user wants to access. Users’ library files would remain on their individual computers, and they would be able to create their own playlists, add ratings, and keep track of their play counts and last played dates.

When the server is first set up, users would be able to choose which files they see in their copies of iTunes; this would also affect what they can sync to their iOS devices.

Sounds interesting, but my money is on iTunes in the cloud making the whole process easier, faster and, overall, better.

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iPad in the Dark→

iPad in the Dark

Then I discovered a feature of the Kindle app that the Apple iBook app lacks: reversed fonts – white type on black pages. This is a silly idea for paper books: hard to read and a colossal waste of ink. It is also a silly idea for ordinary Kindles that, like paper books, are read by reflected light. But with a self-lit, back-lit device like an iPad, it becomes a new way to experience books. Even with very low light levels, the contrast of the white letters against the black page is outstanding. In a dark room, it is very readable.

Funny how with all the advanced technology, all it takes is one tiny feature to change the experience: there is practically no excess light to bother other people.

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Shawn Blanc on OmniFocus→

Shawn Blanc on OmniFocus

Getting actions in is easy. It’s in the processing of those actions where the most friction exists. However, that’s because the organization and output is what makes OmniFocus so mind-blowingly powerful. I’m not exaggerating when I say that OmniFocus pretty much organizes your lists for you. It will take your relevant tasks and intelligently order them for you so you only see what you need to see without worrying about other stuff. After years of keeping a to-do list, I just may now be finally understanding what people mean by a “trusted system”.

That’s exactly what OmniFocus is all about: giving you powerful (yet unobtrusive) tools to help you sort your tasks and projects. Integration with other applications is the next logical step.

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Why Apple Doesn’t Talk→

Why Apple Doesn’t Talk

The problem with talking smack is you immediately put yourself on the clock. You almost guarantee public disappointment when the product does not ship as (or when) promised. If you just shut your mouth and let the product speak for itself—once you actually have a product—then there’s a much better chance for people to be pleasantly surprised. Some companies understand this. Others clearly do not.

When I say I mark someone’s words, I mean it.

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Interview With Weet App Designer, Marcelo Marfil→

Interview With Weet App Designer, Marcelo Marfil

I assume that I had never done an app looking for sales. Honestly, I’m one on the dreamers kind. I believe when we do things with love and looking for something that’s always focused to be smart and simple they have a good chance to do well.

I’ve been using Weet for a month now and haven’t looked back.

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“Curated” Doesn’t Necessarily Mean “Secure”→

“Curated” Doesn’t Necessarily Mean “Secure”

With absolutely no slight intended towards Apple or its App Store Reviewers, it is, in practice, impossible for Apple to guarantee that a user’s data won’t get sent from any application that Apple has approved. In fact, the curated nature of the iOS App Store makes Apple’s approach less secure in many ways, as the tools used to detect the breaches in security on Android would not be approved on the iOD App Store currently, so iPhone users don’t have as simple a way to detect if their phones are sharing their personal information.

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The Potential of MobileMe→

The Potential of MobileMe

I am grateful for what MobileMe offers — I use iCal every day and would be pulling my hair out if it weren’t always in sync between my iPhone, iPad, Mac — but I could just as easily get my contacts and calendars synced for free via Google. And that is precisely my point. Apple is letting other cloud services define and strengthen the relationship between our desktops, laptops, and mobiles more than Apple is.

In many ways Dropbox and Google are driving the iOS / OS X relationship more than MobileMe is. While MobileMe is syncing my contacts and calendars, Dropbox is syncing my most-dear files: the projects, articles, and notes I’m interacting with every day. What are iWork.com and MobileMe for if not for the sharing and syncing of everything between our Macintoshes, iPhones, and iPads in sync?

MobileMe works great as a contacts / calendar / bookmarks syncing solution, but Google is catching up. Not to mention Dropbox: what’s going to happen when everyone’s most loved San Francisco-based startup announces a system to automatically sync preferences between multiple devices? Apple needs to change and improve MobileMe. With faster and multitasking-enabled iOS devices, it’s in their best interest.

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