WWDC 2012: The News

in , , ,

WWDC 2012
Watch the video from the keynote. Well, that was exciting. Now that the WWDC Keynote has concluded, Apple has now revealed what they've been working on lately and was ready to release to consumers (or at least developers). Here is a rundown of the basics. I'm sure you can get much more detailed coverage from your normal sources:

The Hardware

MacBook Air:

  • New Ivy Bridge Intel-based CPUs up to 2Ghz, dual-core i5. Turbo boosts to 3.2Ghz
  • Up to 8GB RAM
  • 60% faster graphics
  • Up to 512GB SSDs
  • USB 3.0
  • Factime Camera now 720p

  • Prices have decreased - 11" $999 & $1099, 13" $1199 & $1499

    MacBook Pros:

  • New Ivy Bridge Intel-based CPUs up to 2,7Ghz quad-core i7. Turbo boost to 3.7Ghz

  • Up to 8GB RAM
  • 60% faster graphics - GeForce GT 650M, Kepler architecture. Up to 1GB video RAM.
  • USB 3.0

  • Prices the same - 13" is $1199 & $1499, 15" is 1799 & $2199

    Next Generation MacBook Pro:

  • Ridiculously thin (.71 inches thin) - 25% thinner.

  • Retina display - 2880 x 1800, 220 ppi. 15.4 inches. (5,184,000 pixels)
  • 4.46 pounds - lightest MBP ever - lighter than a 13" MBP
  • Glare/reflection reduced by 75%
  • Battery life - up to 7 hours, 30 days of standby.
  • HDMI port
  • Up to 768GB SSD flash storage
  • Up to 16GB RAM
  • Using the new nVidia Keplet GPUs
  • Quad-core i7 Ivy Bridge Intel CPUs
  • Ports - SD Card, HDMI, two USB3, Magsafe 2, two Thunderbolt ports, headphone jack.
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • BlueTooth 4.0
  • FaceTime HD Camera
  • 802.11 N
  • Dual microphones (uses beam-forming to enable a new generation of voice applications)
  • No built-in Ethernet (see adapters below)
  • No built-in optical drive (why need it?)
  • Price is $2199 for the base model. Two new Thunderbolt Adapters:
  • Thunderbolt to FireWire 800

  • Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet

    Mountain Lion

  • Over 200 new feartures

  • Highlighted in the keynote: iCloud, Messages, Reminders, Notes, Documents in the Cloud, Dictation, Notifcation Center, Sharing Services, new Safari (synced tabs, unified address/search bar, tab view gestures, fastest javascript engine, share sheets), Power Nap (fetches email, reminders, calendar updates, photostream...in the background while asleep, Time Machine backups, auto Software Update), AirPlay, and Game Center.
  • Ships in July for $19.99

  • Developers get the Gold Master release today (Apple called it "near final" on stage).

    iOS 6

  • Lots of new Siri improvements: Sports info, Restaurants (Yelp & Open Table), now launches apps, "Eyes Free" (working with various car manufacturers to have built-in Siri integration with their cars), lots of new international languages (including local search for these countries).

  • Siri coming to the iPad
  • Facebook Integration - just like Twitter in iOS 5. Photos app, Safari, Maps, Came Center, iTunes Store, App Store (you can like apps or see what people have liked), Notifcation Center posting (Twitter also gets notification center posting), Contacts (Contacts data within Facebook will show up in Contacts app).
  • Phone app (messaging/reminders options to incoming calls).
  • Notification center: Do not disturb feature
  • FaceTime over 3G/4G
  • Unify Apple IDs with your phone #.
  • Safari: iCloud Tabs, photo uploads, smart app banners
  • Shared Photo Streams: Easy way to share photos with other people.
  • Mail: VIPs, add photos & video from compose window, pull to refresh.
  • Passbook: OS integration of movie ticket, starbucks card, plane ticket type apps. Makes it easy to find your tickets for various things within apps.
  • Accessibility: enhanced features to benefit autistic kids (kickass Apple), single app-mode (allows teachers, for instance, to lock an app preventing the home buttom from being used).
  • Maps: Local Search(Yelp integration), Traffic Service (pools data from other iOS users), Turn-by-turn navigation (routes you around traffic, can display on lock screen for mountin in a car while driving), Siri integration, Flyover (3D views).
  • Beta 1 released to developers today.

    Post-keynote Update: Mac Pros

Not that big of an update. Disappointing. No USB 3, no Thunderbolt. Mac Stories has a good rundown of new vs old.

WWDC 2012 Rumor Roundup: iOS 6, Mountain Lion, iCloud and Macs

in , , , ,

Arnold Kim, at Macrumors:

With Apple appearing to have a full slate of announcements lined up for its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote on Monday, we're offering this roundup to summarize a number of the high-profile rumors that have been circulating ahead of the event. Arnold has done an excellent job of compiling together all of the rumors that have been floating around over the last several months. He does a good job laying out the more or less credible ones too. I for one am hoping for new Mac Pros, and an iOS 6 Beta… Happy Keynote Day everyone.

Shawn Blanc Reviews Coda 2 and Diet Coda

in ,

Shawn Blanc, at his blog:

To say I’m impressed and pleased with Coda 2 and Diet Coda would be an understatement. My initial impression of Diet Coda is that it is the Tweetie 2 of iPad text-editing apps. As many people have proclaimed, Tweetie 2 was not just one of the best Twitter apps for iPhone, it was also one of the best apps for the iPhone, period. Although Diet Coda is still brand-new, it strikes me being a best-in-class code-editing app as well as a great iPad app, period. Excellent review of two great new software releases by Panic.

Tweetbot 2.3 Released

in , ,

Tweetbot is out and contains a ton of new features and improvements. Federico Viticci over at Mac Stories has a fantastic comprehensive review of the new version, but this particular feature caught my attention as I've wanted it for a long time:

Last, some minor touches in version 2.3 will contribute to improving usability and to allowing users customize their timelines to their needs and tastes: retweets from specific users can now be disabled at any time, and it’s possible to quickly open the last saved draft by holding down the tweet compose button. The timeline sync bookmark icon is now an optional setting, and Tweetbot is capable of uploading high-res images when on WiFi. So now those brief acquaintances of mine who I work with or are a friend of a friend who retweet Spa deals or topics I don't care about, I can block without having to go to Twitter.com to toggle that setting.

How To Install Instagram On Your Android Phone In 23 Easy Steps

in , , ,

Sarah Pavis, at Buzzfeed:

Step 3. Try to download Instagram from the Google Play app. Find that it is compatible with anything at or above 2.2 (Froyo, 2 major releases behind current). If you have an older Android phone like the HTC Nexus One (not to be confused with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus or the HTC One) that has limited internal memory then odds are you many not have enough internal storage space available because the Instagram app is 16MB (which is large for an Android app). Comically sad.

Technology & Related Concepts That Need To Die

in , ,

Joel's Technology Hit List

Monday Morning Rant, 26 March, 2012
  1. Skeumorphism in design
  2. Adobe Flash
  3. Adobe Air
  4. The concept of "write once, deploy everywhere" code (web standards being the exception, of course)
  5. QR codes
  6. Comic Sans and Marker Felt
  7. WPTouch WordPress plugin. Just don't.
  8. Websites serving up a "get our app!" splash page to iOS users prior to serving the requested page
  9. Websites refusing to serve page requests and insisting you get their app
  10. Websites who serve up a mobile version, but when you switch to the "full version" it forwards you to the homepage
  11. Websites serving up mobile versions only to iPads
  12. Using Powerpoint to make documents that should have been made in Word/Pages/Plain Text.
  13. Using Powerpoint to send images as if it were a zip file.
  14. Having www. in front of your domain name. I will add to this list over time. If you have any further suggestions, please let me know.

Mozilla: Firefox Needs H.264 Support To Survive Shift To Mobile

in , , ,

Ryan Paul, at Ars Technica:

One year later, Google still hasn't followed through with that commitment. Mozilla says that it can no longer afford to wait for Google to do what it has promised. In his blog post, Eich explained that H.264 has become too deeply entrenched in the mobile space to be easily displaced and that browsers that don't support it are jeopardizing their own future relevance. "H.264 is absolutely required right now to compete on mobile. I do not believe that we can reject H.264 content in Firefox on Android or in B2G and survive the shift to mobile," he wrote. "Losing a battle is a bitter experience. I won't sugar-coat this pill. But we must swallow it if we are to succeed in our mobile initiatives." Someone over at Mozilla finally wised up. ∗