Blast Off to Fun with Astronut!

The Iconfactory today released their long-awaited hyperjump back into iPhone gaming Astronut! You play Jacques the Astronut, leaping planet to planet through 24 levels across 6 sectors. Astronut is also Game Center compatible, sporting 40 achievements and leaderboards.

Needless to say, The Iconfactory has boldly gone into the super high resolution territory of the Retina Display, bringing graphics so sharp it’d make Buzz Lightyear jealous.

You get the first 4 levels for the steep price of free, and then an in-app purchase of $1.99 gets you the rest of the game. This is a great compromise for a sort of demo try-before-you-buy. If you like the first 4 levels, you’ll really love the rest.

I’ve had a hard time putting Astronut down today, and my twitter followers are probably tired of hearing about my achievements. I can’t recommend this game enough. Go get it.

P.S. Don’t forget to grab the gorgeous free wallpaper pack for Astronut.

P.P.S. Astronut’s arrival totally makes up for Apple’s yawn of an announcement regarding The Beatles earlier.

iTunes Undergoes British Invasion

If you mosey on over to the iTunes Store or Apple’s homepage you’ll notice there are now more bugs in iTunes. Specifically, those bugs are The Beatles.

Apple said we’d never forget this day, and they’re right. I’ll remember this always as the day Apple overhyped something to a ridiculous degree.

I’m surprised Apple didn’t really take the bull by the horns like they did with U2 a few years ago. They could have spun the delay of the white iPhone 4 as the “iPhone 4 – White Album Edition.” Or, how about an iPod touch with a yellow face, for a Yellow Submarine iPod touch?

Okay, I’m done. Where’s my iOS 4.2?

iTunes is Plotting Something for Tomorrow

Apple changed its homepage today to tease an announcement set for 9:00 a.m. CST tomorrow. Apparently, there will be “an exciting announcement from iTunes” tomorrow.

I have spent the last 15 minutes racking my brain about what this may be. Whatever it is, it will need to be extremely significant, as it has to be something that a regular consumer will “never forget.”

My first thought was perhaps the release of iOS 4.2, but that hardly seems worthy of this much fanfare. Some people I follow on the twitter think The Beatles is finally coming to iTunes (meh). Lastly, the other big rumor circulating is that Apple will be utilizing that big data center they’ve built in North Carolina, allowing users to stream their purchased libraries to their devices, versus having to download everything to their Mac or PC.

I’m not even going to bother offering an educated guess, as this is so out of the blue, I’d likely be wrong.

What do you think?

Instapaper Updated with Even More Awesome

Yesterday, Marco Arment’s excellent Instapaper app for iOS was updated with some thoughtful new features. Among these are combined length/progress indicators for saved articles à la Kindle, new sharing options, and a Light/Dark theme toggle within articles on the iPhone or iPod touch (this has been present on the iPad for a while).

Naturally, there’s one more thing.

Not only can small-screened iOS devices now toggle Light/Dark mode within an article, but Marco built an amazing location-aware feature that checks the sunset times for your locale and automatically switches to Dark mode at night and Light mode during the day. Marco describes this feature as “ridiculous.” I describe it as wonderful.

Instapaper is a great free service on the web, but I have found the iOS app well worth the $5 several times over. And each free update makes it even better. Needless to say, I love how many apps, including Twitterrific, have Instapaper support for sending links to read later.

If you aren’t using Instapaper, shame on you.

The Changing Tide of App Distribution

It won’t be long before the Mac App Store goes live on Snow Leopard Macs everywhere. For something that is arriving so quickly, we still know very little. We know there is an approval process, rules [PDF from Engadget], and a 70/30 split for developers (devs get the larger piece of the pie). Basically, it’s the same song and dance we’ve seen in the iOS App Store.

Inherent Growing Pains

Upgrades

Over the past couple years, we’ve become accustomed to app stores on our mobile devices. But on desktop class computers this is new territory. Many users expect if they buy version 1.0 of an app, they’ll get a discounted upgrade cost when version 2.0 is released. Not so in the current operation of the iOS App Store, and it looks bleak for the Mac App Store. Apple’s App Stores assume one of two scenarios: free upgrades for life; or release a completely new app for each major release (think Tweetie 2 or Twitterrific 3), charging all previous customers the full amount.

I don’t like that idea. It is inflexible because currently developers don’t have a way to notify customers of a separate app release except through word of mouth. I honestly don’t see why upgrades for major releases aren’t possible. Apple knows who has bought what apps. Also, when you update apps via iTunes, there is a price listing of Free and a dedicated button to Download All Free Updates. Also, if you recall when Apple released iTunes Plus songs, where DRM was finally stripped from the iTunes Music Store and song encoding quality was doubled, there was an upgrade fee. Obviously there is already a pillar of the iTunes Store architecture that can handle upgrading certain file types. Why not allow developers to give previous owners of one version of an app the ability to upgrade at a discounted price, while charging new customers the full price? This would alleviate what is likely the single greatest hesitation among developers.

Updates

Other roadblocks are the lengthy approval process. Right now, if a Mac app comes out and a major bug is discovered, developers can issue a patch as soon as it is ready. On the iOS App Store, and presumably the Mac App Store, review processes can take weeks — even for a small bug fix.

Version numbering for apps generally follows a certain hierarchy. For example, assume an app version number of 1.2.3. The 1 represents a major release — your 1.0 or 2.0 major milestone releases. The 2 represents minor feature releases throughout the journey between major releases. Finally, the 3 represents the level known as bug fixes.

I propose both of Apple’s App Stores adopt a policy of varying levels of approval scrutiny for the varying levels of version numbering. Major releases are looked over thoroughly. Minor releases are checked moderately, but would be generally acceptable as the app has obviously been approved before. And bug fix releases would be fast tracked to customers with the trust that a developer is indeed using the release as a bug or usability fix.

Now, what if a developer abuses any of these levels, trying to sneak major changes in a bug fix level update? Well, let there be repercussions. We saw something similar with the whole Camera+ fiasco. My point is that there should be a level of trust between Apple and Developers. I can speak as a customer that this would be beneficial, as it sucks waiting two to three weeks for a bug fix release to repair a crippling bug in an app.

Crossgrades

I have to wonder, and I’m sure many developers are wondering, if current customers on the “old model of business” will be able to transition to an App Store version of the same app. I hope so. I’d actually like to get most of my apps under the App Store roof to allow for easy updating.

Other Avenues

Now, the Mac App Store won’t be the only avenue for developers, as it is on iOS. Developers can continue to sell their apps the way the always have. However, it is my belief that the Mac App Store will soon suck the air out of the market. It will be highly visible, on every recent and new Mac, and easy. It won’t take long for the Mac App Store to be the preferred avenue for purchasing apps among users — especially new users.

Why the Mac App Store Will Be Great

Easy

I am the tech guy for the family. I don’t mean just my wife and son, I mean the whole family — grandparents, parents, in-laws, aunts & uncles, etc. I’m the guy they call. Granted, many are still trapped with Windows, but one by one, I’ve been working Macs into the family.

Most recently, my mother-in-law switched to the Mac, and it has been up to me and my wife to help show her the ropes. Want to know the single most difficult thing to explain? Installing an app.

Seriously, think about explaining a disk image to a person that is unfamiliar with the way computers generally work.

Now, imagine telling that person that they need to go to a website and figure out the checkout process, then download the app, properly install it, then input the registration details. And then you need to ensure they archive the registration details in case they ever need them again.

The Mac App Store will simplify and streamline the entire process. Tell a new user, “This is where you get apps.” Then, all they have to do is click buy and confirm their Apple ID and Password. Bam! The app begins downloading and installing, automatically being put in the Applications folder, ready to go.

Also, the Mac App Store will notify when there is an update available. Right now, a user can go months without knowing there is an update available for an app if they haven’t opened it.

Experience

I have long held to the notion that Apple’s focus is selling an experience. Think about how they package a MacBook. You lift the lid off the box and the first thing you are presented with is your new Mac on a tray. Key word: presented. Same goes for how the iPhone is packaged. And the iPods.

Imagine a new Mac user, just converting from Windows, and how they’ll ask about how they get apps on their new Mac. You just go to the App Store. (Another reason the Mac App Store will suck the air out of the market: new users won’t know any different).

Overall, the Mac App Store will provide a streamlined experience with easy purchasing and updating (and, let’s hope, upgrading to new versions).

Apple Seeds Mac OS X 10.6.6 Prior to 10.6.5 Release

In a rather odd move, Apple this evening seeded Mac OS X 10.6.6 to developers, before 10.6.5 has even been released. 10.6.5 has been in testing for a while now, with one of the main additions being support for iOS 4.2 to print wirelessly via any printer attached to your Mac or the network your Mac is connected to.

Apparently, 10.6.6 includes initial support for the installation and update mechanism for the Mac App Store.

This is pure speculation, but I believe 10.6.5 will be hitting Software Update very soon. As in Friday, 5 November soon. With iOS 4.2 going Gold Master on Monday for developers, iOS 4.2 compatible iPad apps hitting the iOS App Store on Wednesday, and a nasty Daylight Savings bug residing in iOS 4.1, with the United States ending Daylight Savings on Sunday, 7 November.

Let’s face it, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Friday, 5 November were the day we see Mac OS X 10.6.5, iTunes 10.1, and iOS 4.2.

Genius Sidebar Returns to iTunes

Apple quietly changed the Ping sidebar back into the Genius sidebar this morning in iTunes, no software update necessary. I am extremely grateful for this, as the Genius algorithm really “gets me.” Turns out Ping isn’t really interesting to me, as I’ve found my musical tastes differ wildly from my friends and acquaintances.

If you actually do like Ping, don’t worry, it can still be accessed from its dedicated section in the navigation sidebar.

I sure am glad to see Genius recommendations again.

One

When you launch an app on the iPhone or iPad, there is a transformative effect of the device becoming what the app is. Fraser Speirs sums it up best:

The thing is that, when you use an app on an iPad, the iPad becomes that thing. Maps makes the iPad a map. iBooks turns it into a book. Brushes turns it into a sketch pad.

The general gist of Apple’s “Back to the Mac” event was that the great ideas of iOS are coming back to the Mac. One of the major ideas discussed was full-screen apps.

In my opinion, the best way for an app on Mac OS X to scale to full screen is if it is designed to be a one-window app in the first place. In turn, Bjango states it best in their argument for a one-window iChat:

I’m finding more and more that the best way to design desktop apps is to imagine you’re building them for iOS.

I imagine Apple will refine their multi-window apps into one-window and encourage developers to do likewise. The iLife suite has long focused on using one window, and the new iPhoto ‘11 demonstrates a graceful move to a full-screen app.

Another example of consolidating apps with cluttered UI is the developer preview of Xcode 4. If you’ve ever used Xcode, you know that things can get carried away with multiple windows and palettes. Xcode 4 aims to reign that in with a single window interface. Imagine this (pay attention, developers): I bet Xcode 4 will ship its final version with Mac OS X Lion, and that one of the surprise kicks will be a full-screen coding environment.

Maybe this reduction to one-window apps is why we haven’t seen an update to the iWork suite alongside the new iLife. Perhaps this is also holding up development of a new Final Cut Studio?

The fact of the matter is that Mac apps should start preparing for one-window and full-screen interfaces, especially since Lion is going to train users that the green zoom button is meant for full-screen.

Twitterrific 4 for Mac is On Approach

The Iconfactory just dropped some knowledge on us mere mortals by teasing a screenshot of the upcoming Twitterrific 4 for Mac. Feast your eyes upon it:

Hardly any details have emerged other than Ollie’s triumphant return to the Mac will require Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. No word on price or release date.

Part of me is wondering if The Iconfactory might be holding off for the Mac App Store at this point. That would be understandable, but I want this app now.

The Future of MacBooks

When the new MacBook Air was introduced the other day, Steve Jobs stated “we see these as really the next generation of MacBooks. We think all notebooks are going to be like this one day.”

This statement had me pondering yesterday about what I’d like to see in the next MacBook Pro. Some achievable near-term, and some arriving at a little longer outlook.

The things that really distinguish the MacBook Air from the MacBook Pro line, as far as hardware is concerned, are the absence of a hard drive and an optical drive. In substitution, the MacBook Air utilizes a solid-state drive for storage, and forgoes the optical drive entirely, unless you care to purchase a USB-based external optical drive. Apple reduced the price of their external optical drive from $99 to $79 the other day. Also, the MacBook Air (or any recent Mac, for that matter) can also borrow the optical drive from another Mac or PC on the same wireless network, which is pretty neat.

Now, I use a 15-inch MacBook Pro as my computer. It does everything for me. And when I think about it, I rarely use the optical drive. Maybe once or twice every six months. Most software I buy/use is downloadable. Soon that will be the status quo, with the Mac App Store coming soon.

I would gladly give up a built-in optical drive in my MacBook Pro in favor of occasionally needing to plug in an external one. That space in my MacBook Pro could be used for more battery, or even making the entire computer a little thinner and lighter. For the frequency I use it, the optical drive is dead weight.

As for reinstall media, or even new versions of Mac OS X, we’re already seeing the future with the MacBook Air’s USB reinstall drive.

As for the hard drive…that’ll be around a while for MacBook Pros, I imagine. High-capacity SSDs are still too expensive to hedge out a 500 GB hard drive any time soon. But I bet as soon as SSDs are cost-effective at high capacities, the hard drive will get nixed from MacBooks in general.

In the interim, it wouldn’t surprise me if Apple took a “best of both worlds” approach to storage by offering a small SSD on the logic board, along with a hard drive. The idea being that Mac OS X and its bundled apps are stored on the SSD, while user data and other apps are stored on the traditional hard drive. This hybrid drive system would allow for the instant-on advantage for the system, while not sacrificing storage for those that need it. Heck, Seagate already sells a hybrid drive that aims to do such a thing.

The times are changing. I won’t be surprised if Apple retires built-in optical drives from its entire portable line soon. And once SSDs are cost-effective, say farewell to them as well.

I, for one, can’t wait for this future of MacBooks.