Posts tagged tech
There has been a lot of talk about the weather app in iOS 7. People have been saying that the app looks “exactly like the Yahoo app” that was released a few months ago. I keep seeing photos of the Yahoo app next to the iOS 7 app. But no one is looking at the stock iOS app.
While there certainly are similarities, between the Yahoo and iOS 7 apps, they are mostly in the typeface. Looking at the Apple weather app in iOS 6 you can see the exact same information is displayed in the same places in the iOS 7 app. Daily high/low, hourly carousel, week view, is all the same, just updated with a new typeface and icons that is consistent with the new look of iOS 7.
Seeing them all together above I would actually argue that all three apps are similar. Displaying all the same information laid out in, more or less, the same places. It kind of looks like Yahoo just modernized the stock iOS 6 weather app (not a bad thing). What isn’t shown is that if you scroll the Yahoo app, you get even more, very useful, information. If Apple really was ripping off Yahoo, wouldn’t they have tried to be as robust?
The truth of the matter is this; the iOS 7 weather app is simply an updated version of the iOS 6 weather app. Yahoo, remarkably, was a head of the design curve and made their own app, that does more. Seeing screen shots of the new Apple app sitting next to the Yahoo app tells one story, sure. But one look at the iOS 6 app, and seeing it in context, tells another.
Lets focus on the rest of iOS 7, and improvements for 8.
The PS4! This is what it looks like.
I’ve got to say. It looks better than the Xbox One.
EDIT: Updated with official pics from the PlaystationEU Blog.
With the official pictures, I can’t help but think that the PS4 looks a lot like the PS2. I’m into it.
Microsoft Xbox Press Conference
Microsoft did what Microsoft does at E3. It brought games. The stand outs were:
- Halo
- Killer Instinct
- Dead Rising 3
- Sunset Overdrive (new IP from Insomniac!)
- Quantum Break (from Remedy Entertainment)
- Forza
And, most importantly the Xbox One will launch in 21 markets this year at $499 US 499€ in Europe and £429 for the U.K. Also, good news is that Microsoft has scrapped MS Points in favor of dollars and cents. Finally. Now I’m just going to try really hard to forget that 1600 MS Points is 20 dollars.
To counter Sony’s annoucement of UStream intergration, Microsoft has announced a partnership with Twitch.TV. Gold members can stream from their Xbox One directly to their channels.
The most interesting announcement was about Xbox Live Gold members. Starting July 1st Gold members can download 2 free games a month. This is kind of cool, I’m just not certain how it works. It’s been hard to find information about it. I can’t tell if there will be a back catalog or if you have to download and keep it yourself. I’ll update this when I find out more.
Curious to see what Sony brings tonight!
iOS 7
I made a list of my feature requests over the weekend. But my concern was that all iOS was going to get was a facelift, and no new features.
Well, my fears have subsided. They did both. iOS has been completely redesigned. There’s definitely influence from Windows Phone and from Android, but it’s done very much in an Apple way. They’ve made it their own. They’re playing with translucency, which is kind of cool. You can see through keyboards and notification sliders to a blur of colors. reminding you fo what’s behind.
But they’ve added a ton of background processes. Apps update automatically, and will pull information down as you need it. It’s almost like Apple’s version of Google Now. I imagine location data is going to be a huge focus of new apps.
They focussed on 10 features but there’s really a whole lot more in iOS 7. I feel like we’ve just scratched the surface. Here’s what I thought was important. Obviously, I’m going to have to use it to find out, but for now, my fears have been quelled. I’m excited.
![iOS 7 - Fears and Feature Requests
It’s been two years since I put my thoughts together about improvements for my mobile operating of choice. Apple’s WWDC keynote is Monday and we are going to get our first look at Jony Ive’s vision of iOS. But as I said a few weeks ago on Twitter, I am a little fearful that all we are going to get is a design overhaul.
Look we all know that Jony Ive is a very talented designer. He can keep himself laser focused on a vision and execute. Absolutely. But my fear is that all we’re going to get is a redesign. Yes, iOS does feel a little dated, especially compared to Windows Phone, but cleaning up some features and adding others is actually more important to me than a design overhaul.
My fear is that due to the limited time Ive has had with the OS (roughly 7 months) we’re just going to get something shiny that doesn’t increase functionality and productivity. And really, that’s what I need out of an OS and my applications. A smarter, faster OS that makes me more productive is where I’m going to be most happy.
I’m not saying that we aren’t going to get both. I’m just worried that there wasn’t enough time to have both. A pretty OS with the same features is kind of meh, to me.
Ok, all that said. I’ve got a list of 7 feature requests for iOS 7. Here goes:
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COPY, PASTE, UNDO - This is my only request left over from my iOS 5 list. Last time around I said copy and paste, “should work the same across all applications. In some applications you can only copy an entire field (SMS), and in others you can only copy in designated areas (Calendar). Let’s get unified copy and paste here.” This still stands. And I said that shake to undo is “not elegant. It shows up when I don’t want it to and it doesn’t show up when I need it to. There has to be a better way to make undo work.”
BETTER SPOTLIGHT SEARCH - I love Spotlight search. But it’s lacking HARD in some places. It seems almost siloed. If I sort my contacts First, Last then when I type “Will” into search don’t display Trevor Williams first, display William Savona. Also, any name marked as a favorite in my contacts should jump to the top of my list.
This should work across apps too. Like text messaging. Starting a new text, sending an email (regardless of email app…) etc.
DEFAULTS - This is an obvious one. Being able to choose your default browser, email client, camera etc. would be a dream and really propel iOS into more of a computing OS. Something I fully support. Also, this is something Android has had for quite some time. Let’s get with it.
CALENDAR EVENTS - The ability to quickly make calendar events should work everywhere. You can one click to make calendar events in Mail, but you can’t in text messages. Phone numbers show up as smart text in text messages, there’s no reason why “call today at 4pm” shouldn’t show up as smart text as well.
NOTIFICATIONS - Ok. This is a big one. The current state of notifications is nice, but I need more. We need smarter data, that disappears when the notifications are no longer relevant. We need a notification history so I can go back and check things. And most of all we need to be able to sync notifications across devices (iOS and OS X). Please. PLEASE. For the love of all things silicon we need to sync notifications across devices.
Another really nice addition would be to bundle the notification screen with a quick settings section. Integrating airplane mode, brightness, wifi, volume, do not disturb, and things like that into the notifications screen would be very nice.
STOP WITH THE ANNOYING ALERTS - I have an iPad, iPhone, and Mac. Even though I have turned off the ‘auto download’ feature if I buy music or apps on one device I still occasionally get a notification about it. Also, when I manaually turn my phone to Airplane Mode I don’t need a pop up notificaiton every time I open an app telling me to go to settings and turn off airplane mode and connect to the internet. I understand what I have done, and I did it for a reason.
BOOKMARKS IN PLAYLISTS AND ALBUMS - This one is probably just for me. I would love the ability to bookmark my place in an album or playlist. Sometimes I’m in the middle of listening to an album and my mind wanders and need to listen to something else for a second. I can never remember what track I was listening to. Yes this is a niche thing. But, if you can bookmark your place in things you read, why shouldn’t you be able to do the same thing for things you listen to?
[image via 9to5mac]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/93e322ebdcf5877b6f8b481eccd7cc8c/tumblr_mo367eFQ9e1qztitko1_500.jpg)
iOS 7 - Fears and Feature Requests
It’s been two years since I put my thoughts together about improvements for my mobile operating of choice. Apple’s WWDC keynote is Monday and we are going to get our first look at Jony Ive’s vision of iOS. But as I said a few weeks ago on Twitter, I am a little fearful that all we are going to get is a design overhaul.
Look we all know that Jony Ive is a very talented designer. He can keep himself laser focused on a vision and execute. Absolutely. But my fear is that all we’re going to get is a redesign. Yes, iOS does feel a little dated, especially compared to Windows Phone, but cleaning up some features and adding others is actually more important to me than a design overhaul.
My fear is that due to the limited time Ive has had with the OS (roughly 7 months) we’re just going to get something shiny that doesn’t increase functionality and productivity. And really, that’s what I need out of an OS and my applications. A smarter, faster OS that makes me more productive is where I’m going to be most happy.
I’m not saying that we aren’t going to get both. I’m just worried that there wasn’t enough time to have both. A pretty OS with the same features is kind of meh, to me.
Ok, all that said. I’ve got a list of 7 feature requests for iOS 7. Here goes:
The Xbox One will kill used games and control second-hand sales, and that’s great news (Really!)
Ben Kuchera talks Xbox One and used games. If what he’s saying is true (and we’re not really going to know for sure until E3) then I like how Microsoft is handling the GameStop delema and, hopefully, funneling more money into the gaming industry.
It needs to be made clear, if all the studio closings and constant lay-offs haven’t made this explicit: The current economics of game development and sales are unsustainable. Games cost more to make, piracy is an issue, used-games are pushed over new, and players say the $60 cost is too high. Microsoft’s initiatives with the Xbox One may solve many of these issues, even if we grumble about it. These changes ultimately make the industry healthier.
Tumblr Staff: News!
Everyone, I’m elated to tell you that Tumblr will be joining Yahoo.
Before touching on how awesome this is, let me try to allay any concerns: We’re not turning purple. Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing.
So what’s new? Simply, Tumblr gets better faster. The work ahead of us remains the same – and we still have a long way to go! – but with more resources to draw from.
Yahoo is the original Internet company, and Marissa and her team share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. I couldn’t be more excited to have her help. We also share a vision for Tumblr’s business that doesn’t compromise the community and product we love. Plus both our logos end with punctuation!
As always, everything that Tumblr is, we owe to this unbelievable community. We won’t let you down.
Fuck yeah,
David
I’ve been on tumblr for a long time. I’m kind of excited by this.
Pick your poison: mobile messaging will be fragmented, expensive, or locked-in
Dieter hits on everything I’ve been feeling about messaging as of late.
Once upon a time, we created interoperable communications standards like email, Internet Relay Chat, and hell, HTTP. Now, apparently, the only way to create a new way to talk to each other electronically is to wait for a big corporation to do it for us.
Between GroupMe, Hangouts, iMessage, Twitter DM, SMS… I’ve got a lot of chat conversations scattered throughout the Internet. Part of me just wants to ditch everything in favor of SMS. But those were simpler times.
YouTube Adds Paid Channel Subscriptions
Mark this date. I have a feeling this is going to be a huge disruption in the TV space. It’s limited to select partners for right now, but I’ll bet that anyone with a YouTube channel will get the opportunity eventually. And as Mat Honan says, this brings us “a small step closer to the dream of a la carte programming.”
YouTube will let you pay to subscribe to channels with a new pilot program that includes a limited number of channel partners for now. The company listed Jim Henson Family TV and Ultimate Fighting Championship as initial members.
Prices start at $.99 per month, paid via Google Wallet. Users get a 14 day free trial to channels, which are also discounted if you subscribe by the year. Once signed up for a paid channel, you can suck down as much video as it has to offer.
