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Drafts 3 Review: Better iOS Automation and Workflows

Drafts3

Drafts3

In just a little more than a year, Agile Tortoise’s Drafts has gone from being a quick notepad for small bits of text to a full-featured solution for launching apps, using web services, and chaining multiple apps together – always with a focus on text. With version 2.5, released in January, developer Greg Pierce expanded upon Drafts’ existing support for URL schemes to let users build their own actions and share them with others; in the process, he also updated Drafts to handle advanced operations such as customizable Dropbox write access, strftime timestamps, and deeper x-callback-url support.

Drafts 3.0, released today, is a major update that refines several aspects of version 2.5 and brings powerful new features such as Evernote and Message actions, better action and draft management, tighter Reminders integration, and a way to backup and restore entire sets of actions.

I have been testing Drafts 3.0 for the past month, and, even more than Drafts 2.5, it has become an essential part of my daily workflow.

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Apple Posts “A Decade Of iTunes” Page With Interactive Timeline

Ahead of the 10th anniversary on April 28th, Apple has today posted a dedicated page on iTunes called “A Decade of iTunes”. Available here, the page consists of an interactive timeline with 10 tabs for 10 years, and two charts on the right side with top-selling songs and albums “based on worldwide data”.

As Apple writes:

Celebrate 10 years of iTunes – a decade marked by stunning musical and technological evolution. From historic iPod release to the debut of groundbreaking artists, our timeline captures key moments in our history. Plus, take a look back at the defining albums and songs that hit the top of the charts each year.

Key events are indeed listed in Apple’s timeline. From the introduction of the first iPod and the billionth song sold on February 23, 2006, to the iPad announcement in January 2010 and Justin Timberlake’s recent new worldwide record for album sales with The 20/20 Experience, it’s fun to click through the years and remember important events and releases of the iTunes Store’s first ten years.

The timeline can also be viewed from iOS devices (it’s currently featured on the iTunes Store’s front page), with a nice custom layout on the iPhone.

At its Q2 2013 earnings call yesterday, Apple said that iTunes’ solid media ecosystem helped them achieve more than $4 billion in revenue for iTunes, software, and services in the quarter.

 

Apple Announces WWDC 2013: Kicks Off June 10

Apple has announced the official dates for WWDC 2013. The developer event kicks off in San Francisco on June 10 and runs through June 14 . Tickets will be on sale tomorrow (April 25) at 10 AM Pacific Time.

Despite being an ever popular event that sells out quickly, WWDC 2013 still takes place at Moscone West. In the press release posted this morning, Apple confirmed there will be Apple Design Awards and previews of new versions of iOS and OS X that will be seeded to developers during the event.

We look forward to gathering at WWDC 2013 with the incredible community of iOS and OS X developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Our developers have had the most prolific and profitable year ever, and we’re excited to show them the latest advances in software technologies and developer tools to help them create innovative new apps. We can’t wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC

WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by over 1,000 Apple employees. As usual, there will be hands-on labs where developers will be able to seek advice from Apple engineers for “code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance”. Read more

Nintendo’s Plan For The 3DS→

Great piece by Kirk Hamilton at Kotaku:

On my 3DS, the little games fit between the bigger games. On my iPhone, the little games fit between all the non-game stuff the device does. Fire Emblem and a handful of other games feel essential to my 3DS in the same way that email and Twitter functionality feel essential on my iPhone. Without the best 3DS games, I’d be much less interested in owning a 3DS; without email or Twitter, I’d be much less interested in owning an iPhone. It’s something of a chicken and egg scenario: Because the 3DS is made primarily to play games, its games feel essential; because the iPhone is made to do so much else, it derives essentiality from other things.

I agree. People interested in gaming aren’t buying a 3DS for its camera software, just like they aren’t buying a PS Vita for the Internet browser. On the flip side, would they buy an iPod touch to get a mix of quick-fix and hardcore games? Would they buy a 3DS just for the non-Nintendo titles of the eShop?

I’m biased, obviously. I am a long-time Nintendo fan and I am enjoying my 3DS. I haven’t been able to deeply appreciate the mechanics of any original iOS game as much as I did for Super Mario 3D Land or Luigi’s Mansion 2. Maybe I did for Ridiculous Fishing, but it’d be like comparing a succulent Italian meal to a great snack. The Wii U is doing bad, but I still have faith in Nintendo’s ability to turn this around.

As Nintendo becomes more serious about its digital ecosystem (here’s my idea from last year), how will they keep differentiating themselves from mobile app stores?

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Resetting Launch Services On Mountain Lion→

Craig Hockenberry:

So, the next time you’re seeing general slowness on your Mac, don’t forget to give Launch Services a kick in the pants. Guaranteed to be more effective than zapping your PRAM.

My MacBook Air was feeling slow – especially when opening the Finder, clicking menubar items, and after waking up from sleep (at the login screen, I’d have to wait around 20 seconds for the keyboard to become responsive). It’s much better thanks to Craig’s tip.

You can find the Terminal command here.

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Apple Q2 2013 Results: $43.6 Billion Revenue, 37.4 Million iPhones, 19.5 Million iPads Sold

Apple has published their Q2 2013 financial results for the quarter that ended on March 31st, 2013. The company posted revenue of $43.6 billion. The company sold 19.5 million iPads, 37.4 million iPhones, and  ”just under” 4 million Macs, earning a quarterly net profit of $9.5 billion.

We are pleased to report record March quarter revenue thanks to continued strong performance of iPhone and iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software and services, and we are very excited about the products in our pipeline.

Apple added $12.5 billion in cash flow “from operations during the quarter”, ending the quarter with a cash balance of $145 billion.

Today, Apple has also announced they have doubled the capital return program:

 The Company expects to utilize a total of $100 billion of cash under the expanded program by the end of calendar 2015. This represents a $55 billion increase to the program announced last year and translates to an average rate of $30 billion per year from the time of the first dividend payment in August 2012 through December 2015.

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iAd Producer 4.0 Adds iBooks Author Widgets, iTunes Extras and LPs→

Interesting update to Apple’s often overlooked HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript authoring tool for iAds: you can now create iBooks Author widgets, iTunes Extras, and iTunes LPs, alongside regular iAds.

You can create an iBooks Author widget for use in your iBooks Author projects. For example, you can create a widget that allows users to stream video from the Internet, draw using their finger, or interact with a timeline.

More information about iBooks Author support in iAd Producer 4.0 is available here. You can also find documentation for all the new features on the app’s official support page.

iAd Producer was first released in December 2010.

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Pupil for Mac→

Pupil looks like a nice app to switch between multiple resolutions on a Retina MacBook Pro. The core feature of the app is a configurable menubar item that can list the resolutions you use the most, letting you instantly switch between them.

I can’t try Pupil because I don’t have a Retina MacBook Pro. However, Roman Loyola’s review at Macworld is positive. Pupil is $5 and there’s a free trial available.

I also like how you can “test” Pupil’s menu on the website.

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