Marco Arment, maker of the wondeful Instapaper, has a neat litte experiment going on called Preview.fm. You type in a search for music on iTunes, and you get a fast & easy way to preview the whole album. This is much easier & faster than dealing with browsing the iTunes Store, and if you decide you want the songs or albums, there is an easy link that will drop you right into iTunes.
Bookmarked.
Apparently a Wi-Fi iPad is fed GPS data when tethered to an iPhone 4 using Personal Hotspot. Chalk that up as one more reason why I am never going to buy a 3G iPad.
[via Daring Fireball]
One of my favorite writers, Ben Brooks, nails it regarding how fragile the sustainability of free apps and services can be. I feel the same way as Ben — I'd rather pay up front for an app or service, rather than get attached to something free and have it go belly up (either through going out of business or becoming a shady business).
Sadly, this is how Twitter is starting to feel. I love the service, but I'm not liking some of the decisions over there. More on that later.
I've spent the weekend gathering my thoughts and impressions of the iPad 2 compared to the original iPad, and I have to say, I'm very impressed with the iPad 2.
The iPad 2 feels considerably faster than the original iPad. To me, this is most noticeable in iBooks. When opening a large, image-heavy eBook on the original iPad, it would take a while to load, and turning the pages would often be a bit choppy. On the iPad 2 loading is fast and page turning is super smooth and responsive.
Apps load much faster, and more apps stay in memory for multitasking. Also, Safari keeps all 9 tabs cached, whereas the original iPad kept 3-4 of the 9 tabs cached, needing a refresh of the page otherwise.
I don't have any games that would challenge the 9x faster graphics, so I can comment on that aspect.
The iPad 2 is incredibly thinner than the original iPad. It is also marginally thinner than an iPhone 4.
I find the iPad 2 to be much easier to hold than the original iPad. I attribute this mostly to the thinness rather than the iPad 2 being 0.2 lbs. lighter than the original iPad, even though I'm sure that helps. The original iPad had a curved back, which I always had a hard time finding the sweet spot for holding it in a balanced manner.
The iPad 2 curves only on the edges, and has a flat back. Combined with the thinness, holding the iPad 2 is akin to holding a notepad (though, obviously, heavier than a notepad). The iPad 2 also has two more advantages over the original iPad that I have noticed over the past couple days. The first is that the iPad 2 feels more balanced than the original. I suspect the internal components are arranged specifically for this (I haven't compared any teardowns between the two). Second, the aluminum back, although it looks like the exact same finish, feels different. The original iPad's finish felt almost slippery, and made the iPad hard to casually hold. The iPad 2 definitely feels slightly, and I mean slightly, rougher. But this slight difference makes all the difference. I find the iPad 2 to be a night and day difference of being able to hold the device comfortably.
It is exactly the same. I wasn't disappointed that the iPad 2 didn't have a retina display, as that seems impossible with current technology whilst keeping the price the same. I am, however, a little disappointed that the iPad 2 doesn't have the LCD bonded to the glass like the iPhone 4. Hence, in the right lighting, a little bit of shadowing can occur at the edge of the screen because the bezel sits a few millimeters above the screen.
I really would have loved having the screen bonded to the glass to give that effect of the pixels being painted on the glass like the iPhone 4.
The cameras are indeed sucky resolution, but perfectly fine for FaceTime, which is their intent. My kid absolutely loves Photo Booth.
The Smart Cover is probably one of my favorite things about the iPad 2. I abhorred the look and feel of Apple's case for the original iPad (but I loved its function for inclining the iPad for typing, and propping it up for viewing video). The Smart cover replicates the incline for typing and the propping for viewing video, all while dismissing the things I hated: added thickness & weight. The Smart Cover is barely there. And it is wonderful.
I also love how the Smart Cover locks the iPad 2's screen when closed, and instantly wakes the device when opened. It is also easy to remove, unlike the original iPad's case.
If you're buying an iPad without a Smart Cover (or a similar third party case, when those arrive), then you are doing it wrong.
The iPad 2, in my book, is a true second generation device. Not because of any one thing (except maybe the case), but a sum of all the little things. After only a couple days, I can say without a doubt, that I like the iPad 2 far more than the original iPad.
Square CEO Jack Dorsey responds clearly, concisely, and cogently to VeriFone's absurd claims.
Pretty much aligns with my thoughts on the matter.
Grab your sync cable and fire up iTunes, because iOS 4.3 is out.
Some of the update goodness for all devices includes a faster JavaScript engine in Safari, called Nitro; enhanced AirPlay features; iTunes Home Sharing; HD Video Out; Push Notifications for Ping; and bug fixes.
The iPhone 4 gets Personal Hotspot, which lets you turn your iPhone's 3G connection into a WiFi hotspot to connect your laptop, iPad, or any other WiFi device. This pretty much guarantees that I'll never buy a 3G-capable iPad.
And specifically for the iPad, 4.3 gives users the option of whether the side switch acts as a mute switch or orientation lock. The iPad initially shipped with the switch as an orientation lock, which Apple switched to being a mute switch in 4.2.1. I've missed the orientation lock and am resounding hallelujahs.
Safari does indeed seem snappier and iTunes Home Sharing works like a dream.
Overall, a fantastic update.
VeriFone, a payment processor that makes those credit card readers you see in virtually every store (the big gray ones with a number pad), has launched a smear campaign against my favorite payment processor, Square.
Here's the gist:
Today is a wake-up call to consumers and the payments industry. Last year, a start-up named Square introduced a credit card reader for smartphones with the goal of making it very easy for anyone to accept credit cards through a mobile device. Seems like a great idea, but there is a serious security flaw that Square has overlooked that places consumers in dire risk.
In less than an hour, any reasonably skilled programmer can write an application that will "skim" – or steal – a consumer's financial and personal information right off the card utilizing an easily obtained Square card reader. How do we know? We did it. Tested on sample Square card readers with our own personal credit cards, we wrote an application in less than an hour that did exactly this.
And:
A criminal signs up with Square, obtains the dongle for free and creates a fake Square app on his smartphone. Insert the dongle into the audio jack of a smartphone or iPad, and you've got a mobile skimming device that fits in your pocket and that can be used to illegally collect personal and financial data from the magnetic stripe of a payment card. It's shockingly simple.
You know what else is shockingly simple? Someone taking a picture of both sides of your credit card. Or writing down your name, card number, security code, and expiration date.
The key is the word criminal. If a nefarious person wants your credit card info, and they have access to the actual card, they're going to get it. And it is a lot easier to take pictures than code an app.
The moral of the story is "don't give your credit card to someone you don't trust."
Lastly, to cross the boundary from being a jerk to being a troll, VeriFone says:
Don't take our word for it. See for yourself by downloading the sample skimming application and viewing a video of this type of fraud in action.
Today we are handing a copy of the application over to Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and JP Morgan Chase (Square's credit card processor), and we invite their comments.
So not only is VeriFone handing this app they concocted to Square's business associates, they release it out there for anyone — including criminals — to download and use. I guess criminals don't have to devote an hour to writing an app, because VeriFone did it for them.
Here's my take on this whole thing: VeriFone is spreading a metric ton of FUD, because they are scared of Square. See, Square's reader is free, whereas VeriFone's PAYware Mobile requires a contract, or costs $149 without contract. Square's reader fits in the coin pocket of my jeans. PAYware Mobile is anything but comfortably pocketable. Also, VeriFone requires a merchant account, Square doesn't.
What VeriFone is really scared of is people like you and me being able to accept card payments on the cheap at our garage sales, then telling our friends and family who own businesses how they could be saving money. See, Square went after VeriFone's lunch (and they're eating it). So now VeriFone is playing dirty.
Do yourself a favor and go sign up for Square.
From John Gruber's take on this farce:
When you swipe a U.S. credit card, the magnetic strip only contains the information printed on the card itself: the card number, the expiration date, your name, etc. Nothing can be “stolen” using Square’s card readers that cannot be stolen by simply looking at the card with your eyes or a camera. Nothing.
Another from Craig Hockenberry on Twitter:
You'd think the CEO of a card security company would know this basic fact:
By now I'm sure you've heard a lot about the new iPad 2. I wanted to take a couple days to really get my thoughts in order on it. It's nice to see that the specs were bumped a bit, with the dual-core A5 processor and 9x faster graphics. I presume the RAM has been bumped from 256 MB to at least 512 MB, if not 1 GB. But are specs all that we care about?
Apple is labeling the iPad as a "Post-PC Device." With PCs (as a whole, Mac, Windows, etc) we have always focused on how fast the processor is, how much RAM, and countless other things to measure by. But I tell you what, the only people I know who care about those things are geeks like me. My wife, my parents, my sisters- and brothers-in-law, and a fair number of my friends don't care about those things because they don't even truly understand what all that stuff means.
What normal folks really care about are whether something is easy to use, reliable, and, most importantly, how fast it feels.
By all rights and means, the first iPad is a slouch compared to my MacBook Pro. Heck, you might even say it's a slouch compared to the iBook G4 that I used through most of college. But it feels faster. Everything is absolutely fine-tuned, and absolutely, utterly responsive. And the iPad 2 will take that even further.
Here is my big "the iPad is the future" story:
My grandmother is absolutely afraid of touching a computer. She will not touch my grandfather's Mac out of fear of breaking something. For someone who has lived since before computers were even invented, and has seen them evolve before her eyes, she is afraid of them. Only recently has she started to use an old iMac my grandpa picked up, but she really only uses it for little card games.
Shortly after I got my iPad, my grandparents visited, and I was excited to show off my new device. I handed it to Grandma first.
"What is this?" she asked?
"It's an iPad. I think this is the future of computers." I replied.
She tried to hand it back immediately. I assured her she couldn't mess it up. She stared at it a moment, then pressed the home button. The screen lit up, and prompted her to slide the unlock bar. She did so. I told her to open iBooks.
Then, all on her own, without me explaining anything, she tapped on Winnie-the-Pooh. She began reading, and instinctively dragged her finger on the edge of the "page" and "flipped" it. All this without me telling her how to use it. And then something interesting happened: after reading for a few moments, I observed my grandmother forget that she was holding a slab of aluminum and glass — because she lightly licked the tip of her finger before turning the page. The iPad became a book to her.
When she was finished, she inquired how to close iBooks, but before I could answer, she figured it out by pressing the home button. She said it just made sense since it was the only thing on the front.
People like my grandmother are who the iPad is really made for. The future of computing is dissolving the perception of hardware, and letting the software tell a story and establish a relationship with the user.
One of the best apps for that is FaceTime.
FaceTime has been on the iPhone 4, latest iPod touch, and Macs for the better part of a year now. I know a lot of folks who don't really get FaceTime. Granted, a lot of those people I know don't have kids, and kids make FaceTime invaluable.
My family uses FaceTime at least once a week. My wife, son, & I live quite a way everybody in our family. We use FaceTime to talk with our parents, with my sister-in-law, and each other when one of us has to be away. Now, I think we could get by with audio calls to the folks if we didn't have a son. FaceTime would be used less frequently. But kids grow up fast, and grandparents love to see their grandkids. And my wife's youngest sister is halfway across the country, we rarely see her. So FaceTime is great.
And hey, my mom is psyched to have an iPad with FaceTime.
The one thing that really captures my attention with the iPad 2 is the case. It attaches magnetically, and puts the iPad to sleep when the cover is closed, and wakes it when pulled away. It just seems like it was done right. I have Apple's case for the first iPad, and I mostly like it. That said, the reasons why I like it are the same reasons I'd like a Smart Cover for the iPad 2. I like that it can set the iPad at an incline for typing and that it can prop it up as a view screen.
But the parts I don't like are what a Smart Cover fixes. The first iPad case makes the iPad noticeably thicker, and it is difficult to remove or put on. The Smart Cover fixes those two gripes. See for yourself below.
Overall, the iPad 2 is a small update that means big things for the future. The goal for this iteration is focused on being thinner, lighter, faster, and connecting people. If you don't believe the kind of impact the iPad can have on people's lives, watch the video about the first year of the iPad. The last few moments will grab your heart.
So: new developer preview of Lion, new FaceTime app for Mac, and an all-new lineup of MacBook Pros — and none of these things warranted a spot in next week’s event.
Next week's iPad event should be pretty good.
Apple seeded developers with a preview of the next iteration of Mac OS X, dubbed Lion. They also put up a nice site for the rest of us to start drooling over.
Some of this we saw at Apple's media preview in October, and some of it is new. For instance, Launchpad, Mission Control, and full screen apps are things we knew about. Heck, the Mac App Store is listed as a feature, which is something we have now on Snow Leopard.
But the new stuff looks equally great.
Lion is bringing a system-wide ability to end manually saving a file. This is just one of those quality of life features. Here's how Apple describes it:
Say good-bye to manual saving. Auto Save in Mac OS X Lion automatically saves your work — while you work — so you don’t have to. Lion saves changes in the working document instead of creating additional copies, making the best use of available disk space. The lock feature prevents inadvertent changes from being saved and automatically locks documents after two weeks. And the revert feature returns you to the state the document was in when you last opened it, so you can feel free to experiment with confidence.
Tying into Auto Save is Versions, which records the evolution of document as you create it. It's kind of like Time Machine for an individual document. I like the idea of reverting to a previous state, but more so, being able to copy and paste from a past version. This would have been amazing to have in college for research papers.
You know when you install an update that requires a reboot, and you have to stop everything you are working on, save, quit apps, reboot, then reopen all those apps and documents back up? Yeah? Annoying, isn't it? Lion's Resume feature lets you restart your Mac to the state it was when you turned it off, with all your apps exactly where you left them.
In an even finer grain detail, Resume works for just closing an relaunching an app. Close Safari, reopen it, and it starts on the page you were on when you closed it, not back at Top Sites or your homepage. (I also noticed from the photos, the "active app" lights on the Dock are gone. It doesn't look like quitting an app will be a thing in Lion).
Can we say "hallelujah"? Mail is getting a major overhaul, losing a lot of visual bloat, and becoming a lot like the iPad Mail app. Looks absolutely stunning, especially in full screen mode.
I'm also digging the conversation view.
AirDrop lets you send files to anyone with Lion on your network. Click an AirDrop button in Finder, your Mac shows you who is around, then you drag a file onto their name. They are notified, and when they accept, the file zips to their computer wirelessly.
Typically, Mac OS X comes as either a client version (what most of us use) or a Server version. In Lion, Server is included, so anyone can set up a Mac as a server without anything extra.
I love gestures in Snow Leopard. The multitouch trackpad in my MacBook Pro is amazing. So amazing, that I immediately purchased the Magic Trackpad when it was released. Lion is what the Magic Trackpad was made for. Gestures are a huge focal point of Lion.
I am loving the idea of being able to tap or pinch to zoom content in my browser. Swiping between Spaces looks fantastic, and the animation of swiping back and forth between pages in Safari looks stellar. See for yourself. If you use a Magic Mouse now, I highly recommend moving to a Magic Trackpad for Lion.
All in all, Lion is shaping up to be amazing. I can hardly wait until summer.
