November 2007
22 posts
4 tags
Someone Please Save Universal Music From Itself!
Seth Mnookin (who also wrote an excellent book on the Red Sox) has an interview in Wired with Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music. The interview is a must read. Its clear that Morris absolutely hates his customers: Morris goes on to rail against criminal-minded college students and low-life punks who steal the music that his artists work so hard to create. He admits to being fairly ignorant...
3 tags
The Big List of iPhone Tips and Tricks
I’ve been collecting iPhone Tips and Tricks for some time now. The list has gotten large enough that I thought I’d publish it. Some of these are pretty good, some may not be - YMMV. For ease of use, I’ve also published this list as a standalone web page. If you have any not listed here, please post them below and I’ll add them to the iPhone Tips web page. So, in no...
4 tags
iPhone Development
The iPhone is running a streamlined version of Mac OS X. It uses a Mach kernel, BSD Unix, Cocoa frameworks, Mac OS X application bundles, and other portions of the Mac operating system. The iPhone has 8192 MB (8 GB) of Flash RAM installed. OS X and the iPhone default applications take up about 700 MB . The iPhone also has 128 MB of system RAM used by the running applications....
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The iPhone Killer
It seems every day there is talk of “the iPhone killer” coming soon. Today’s entry in the iPhone Killer sweepstakes is the Verizon Voyager. The Voyager, made by LG, sells for $299 and has a touch screen and a flip open keyboard and tries to copy the iPhone’s UI. Here’s a review (conclusion: not an iPhone Killer), and another (conclusion: best Verizon phone). ...
2 tags
Can Amazon Fire Up eBooks by Kindling?
Amazon debuted the kindle on Monday. Engadget has a good photo gallery of the device. The kindle will let users read books ($9.99), Magazines ($1.99/month), Newspapers (varies from $5.99-$14.99/month), Blogs ($0.99-$1.99), your own files ($0.10 each), RSS feeds ($1 per feed). Not withstanding the potential monthly fee nightmare, The Kindle is a tempting little device. But how tempting can it be...
1 tag
Digital TV Shorts
NYT
4 tags
Are First Run Films iTunes Next Act?
If you’ve been reading this blog with any regularity, you know that I am a major advocate of iTunes movie rentals. While we’ll have to wait for movie rentals, there is an interesting experiment going on in the movie section of the iTunes Store. Apple has started to go after the short films market and, beginning tomorrow, will offer the first-run full-length feature film, Purple...
4 tags
2008: iTunes Movie Rentals?
I’ve been saying for some time that Apple needs to offer iTunes Movie Rentals. I am not the only one. Recently, a college student noticed that with the release of iTunes 7.5, there are clues burried in the code that movie rentals may be coming soon. Related to this is the ongoing struggle with TV content and digital distribution. Yet, despite the fears of the TV networks, viewing TV...
5 tags
iPhone and iPod Touch Enhance Video Podcasts
If you are looking for new and interesting content for your iPhone or iPod Touch, then let me recommend that you check out the Podcast section of the iTunes Store. I had dabbled in audio podcasts in the past with my iPod. Unfortunately, I found that I had neither the time nor the inclination to keep up with many of the podcasts I was interested in. As a result, I had not checked out the...
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iPhone vs. Android: The New Platform Wars?
Paul Murphy over at ZDnet has an interesting take on the Mac OS X Leopard reviews making the rounds on the web. Murphy (rightly I think) points out some inconsistencies of the reviewers in failing to note certain aspects of Leopard but, more importantly, he says: But if you ignore the partisan reviewers and ask what the real bottom line on “Leopard” is, the answer turns out to be the iPhone -...
4 tags
Google's Android: Java and a lot of Money
As promiosed, Google released the Android SDK today. The big news - Android is Java based. The really, really big news - Google is offering up a ton of money ($10 Million) to developers to program applications for Android. First, a run down (and don’t take this as definitive, I’m still slogging through the documentation) Android will run on windows, linux and mac Develop in Java on...
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iPhone Due for more features
Apple has some more features for the iPhone on tap. According to the website Pocket-lint, a spokesman for Apple stated that: All the complaints and feature requests we’ve had can be fixed and added by software upgrades Features referenced in the article include recording video and streaming data and music via Bluetooth 2.0. Now, given Apple’s tight lipped policy regarding...
1 tag
iPhone Java: Not Gonna Happen
There’s been some speculation that the Open-Sourcing of Java might eventually lead to Java coming to the iPhone. I’ll be blunt: I don’t see it happening. Despite the hopes and wishes of the Java community, Java on the iPhone is a pipe dream.
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Essential iPhone Apps
Welcome new iPhoners! After you are done playing with the iPhone’s installed applications, you may be want to expand your horizons with new iPhone Applications. You may be tempted to Jailbreak the iPhone to install applications. Just hold that thought for a moment. You may have heard that Apple really really does not like you to do this. But there is a way to expand your iPhone...
5 tags
iPhone/iPod Update Out (kind of)
Late Night quick post: Looks like Apple has posted the iPhone/iPod Touch Software update 1.1.2 to its download url. iTunes doesn’t seem to know about it yet though. While its probably best to wait until iTunes prompts you, Engadget has the details and direct download link here: iPod TouchiPhone No big surprises - iPhone hacks are broke again (and apparently quickly on the way to being...
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Eisner says Blame Apple. He's Wrong.
Leave it to Michael Eisner to prove exactly what’s wrong with the studio mindset regarding video digital distribution: The studios “make deals with Steve Jobs, who takes them to the cleaners. They make all these kinds of things, and who’s making money? Apple! They should get a piece of Apple. If I was a union, I’d be striking up wherever he is.” Ugh. As I have noted...
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Waiting for iPhone...
It’s two days until the UK and German iPhone launch which means that its time for some more iPhone Reviews. The Guardian publishes the Part III of its iPhone review (Part I, Part II, Part III). The BBC takes a different approach discussing how competitors have responded to the iPhone with the now typical comments from phone makers that they are not too worried about the iPhone (and I have...
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iPhone Version 2 and Apple Tablet
CNet UK is reporting that the much rumored Apple Tablet is a real product and Apple is working with Asus to manufacture it. Not too surprising as many people have been predicting/hoping that Apple would develop such a product. However, if the Apple Tablet (iTablet) is real, how does that affect the iPhone? There has been an assumption that Apple will release an updated version of iPhone next...
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Google Phone no iPhone Killer (yet)
Google announced the Open Handset Alliance today: “Building a better mobile phone would enrich the lives of countless people across the globe. The Open Handset Alliance™ is a group of mobile and technology leaders who share this vision for changing the mobile experience for consumers.” The Alliance is a collection of Mobile Operators, Handset makers, Semiconductor Companies and...
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iPhone Software Update Imminent (and Beyond...)
T3 magazine has gotten a look at the uk edition of the iPhone and there are a couple of interesting items as a result. The big news out of the UK preview is that we can expect an iPhone firmware update on November 9 to support the launch. U.S. iPhone users will probably not see anything more than some security and minor bug fixes. One thing not yet known is whether Apple will brick iPhones that...
7 tags
Music Subscriptions...DOA (Again)
Well, Well, Well. Seems that Napster has figured out that there is no business in music subscriptions. Might want to let Rick Rubin know about that: “You would subscribe to music,” Rubin explained, as he settled on the velvet couch in his library. “You’d pay, say, $19.95 a month, and the music will come anywhere you’d like. In this new world, there will be a...
5 tags
The Java Controversy - Much Ado About Nothing
It seems like every day there’s a new controversy on the Mac web. Today its Java (well, to be fair this controversy has been brewing for some time as we shall see). Specifically, Apple’s support (or lack there of) for Java 6. Now, in order to understand this controversy, you have to know a little bit about Java. Java 6 is Sun’s (the creators of Java) most recent release of the...