The Talk Show: Live From WWDC
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Linked List: January 18, 2007

Thursday, 18 January 2007

Mac utilities, including a Services menu item (created with ThisService), designed to make it even easier to create new items in Stikkit.

Codepoetry on Embedded OS X ★

I too suspect the new AirPort Extreme Base Stations are running a version of OS X.

The overarching theme of Macworld Expo 2007: OS X isn’t just for Macs any more.

Macworld First Look: Up Close With AirPort Extreme ★

Dan Frakes reviews Apple’s new 802.11n-capable AirPort Extreme Base Station.

iPhone Ringer as a MIDI File ★

Did you notice the nice ring tone Steve Jobs demoed on the iPhone during the keynote? DF reader Andrew Neesley transcribed it and made it into a MIDI file. I dig it.

Jackasses of the Week: Washington Post Reporters Mike Musgrove and Alan Sipress ★

Reporting for The Washington Post on Apple’s Q1 2007 financial results, they quote, of all people, Rob Enderle, who offers this golden nugget:

Analyst Rob Enderle said Apple might soon start to feel more pressure from its longtime rival Microsoft, which is about to launch a big marketing splash for Windows Vista, the biggest upgrade of its operating system since the arrival of Windows XP in 2001. That “will probably keep people out of Apple stores for a while,” Enderle said.

Please, Mr. Enderle, offer me a wager as to whether Apple Stores will suffer a downturn in either foot traffic or sales upon the release of Vista.

Screen Mimic 2.0.1 ★

$65 screencast recorder for Mac OS X, saves movies in QuickTime and Flash formats.

Apple Confirms $1.99 Price for 802.11n Updater ★

Glenn Fleishman:

A spokesperson with Apple provided me with a response that explains that the updater will be available for purchase from their online store at a “nominal fee” in order “to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for revenue recognition, which generally require that we charge for significant feature enhancements, such as 802.11n, when added to previously purchased products.”

Ripcord Canopy ★

Some sort of video conferencing VOIP phone, apparently. They’re billing it as “The iPhone for grownups”, which seems really weird given that the product shown in the photo is not a mobile phone. What makes this antagonism interesting, though, is a look at the company’s board of directors, which includes: Gil Amelio, Steve Wozniak, and Ellen Hancock.

Update: Maybe they’re talking about the Linksys iPhone?

Thomas Fitzgerald on How the Electronics Industry Still Fails to Get the iPod ★

Thomas Fitzgerald:

Electronics firms are not going to respond to the iPhone, because in their eyes, the iPhone couldn’t possibly be a success. Just like when the iPod was released, they will sit back absolutely convinced that device will to fail to capture the market.

He makes some good points here. Rather than try to compete with the iPod in terms of experience, consumer electronics companies have stuck to their traditional “feature count matters more than experience” design model. (Microsoft’s Zune may be the only exception.) The iPhone doesn’t do more than other phones; it just does the same things way, way better.

Toronto Sun: Deal for Beatles on iTunes in Works ★

According to The Sun, the announcement might come in a Super Bowl commercial. The numerous Beatles appearances during last week’s Macworld keynote suggest that something is afoot. (My thought during the keynote was that it might be the “One More Thing”.)

Khoi Vinh on the iPhone: ‘Bad for Palm, Good for Typography’ ★

Khoi Vinh:

What sealed the deal, though, was a quiet milestone that the iPhone hits in design sophistication: it’s the first mobile device that I know of — and certainly the most elegant — to use the typeface Helvetica throughout its interface.

Regarding the Use of Java for iPhone App Development ★

Robert Scoble suspects Steve Jobs of “sandbagging” with regarding to allowing third-party software developers to write apps for the iPhone. Scoble writes:

I think Steve is trying to get a better deal from Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems. After all, Java already is running on a billion phones.

Jobs may well be spinning with his statements regarding third-party iPhone apps in general (and I hope he is), but his disdain for Java is completely straightforward. Java is no more relevant to iPhone app development than it is to Mac app development. iPhone apps are written in Cocoa and are designed specifically for the iPhone user interface. Cross-platform crippity-crap Java apps would stick out just as sorely on the iPhone as they do on the Mac.

Paul Kafasis on the Cost of Exhibiting at Macworld Expo ★

Nice breakdown of the costs, and sound advice overall.