On the Behavior of the iPhone Mute Switch

post from Daring Fireball on 13 January 2012 10:04:55 PM. © Daring Fireball

The unmistakably jarring sound of an iPhone marimba ringinterrupted the soft and spiritual final measures of Mahler?sSymphony No. 9 at the New York Philharmonic on Tuesday night. Theconductor, Alan Gilbert, did something almost unheard-of in aconcert hall: He stopped the performance. But the ringing kept ongoing, prompting increasingly angry shouts in the audiencedirected at the malefactor.

Ends up there’s an interesting design problem at the root of the incident:

Actually, Patron X said he had no idea he was the culprit. He saidhis company replaced his BlackBerry with an iPhone the day beforethe concert. He said he made sure to turn it off before theconcert, not realizing that the alarm clock had accidentally beenset and would sound even if the phone was in silent mode.
?I didn?t even know phones came with alarms,? the man said.

As Jim Biancolo notes:

Ouch! I certainly understand the design tradeoff: would you ratherput people at risk of public humiliation when their silent phonesmakes noise, or would you rather have somebody sleep through animportant meeting because they silenced their phone, forgettingabout their alarm clock?
I?d vote for silencing everything when you mute the phone, butpop a warning if you mute the phone with alarms pending. Or maybea warning that lets you choose whether you want to also silencealarms or not?

I agree with Biancolo that this is a tricky trade-off, but I disagree with his suggestions. Adding alerts and confirmation prompts is seldom a good idea, and would not help at all when you toggle the mute switch without even looking at the iPhone. (I frequently toggle that switch without taking the phone out of my pocket.)

I think the current behavior of the iPhone mute switch is correct. You can’t design around every single edge case, and a new iPhone user who makes the reasonable but mistaken assumption that the mute switch silences everything, with an alarm set that he wasn’t aware of, and who is sitting in the front row of New York Philharmonic when the accidental alarm goes off, is a pretty good example of an edge case.

Whereas if the mute switch silenced everything, there’d be thousands of people oversleeping every single day because they went to bed the night before unaware that the phone was still in silent mode.

Read The Full Article:
http://daringfireball.net/2012/01/iphone_mute_switch_design

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Games for the weekend: Trenches II

post from Apple on 13 January 2012 08:03:37 PM. © Apple

Games for the Weekend is a weekly feature aimed at helping you avoid doing something constructive with your downtime. Each Friday we?ll be recommending a game for Mac, iPhone or iPad that we think is awesome enough to keep you busy until Monday, at least.

Trenches II ($1.99 iPhone, $2.99 iPad) is the latest in a lineup of World War I-themed games from Thunder Game Works. Falling somewhere between Plants vs. Zombies and Flight Control, Trenches II offers slightly more advanced, compelling gameplay, so much so that it approaches the realm of real-time strategy gaming.

Trenches II

The game’s training mode leaves a lot to be desired, with constant, annoying pop-ups, but you can get the hang of things without the tutorial. The basics are as follows: As time passes, you earn money to buy more troops. Troops advance from left to right with the swipe of a finger or two. You do need to be careful though, as your troops will need to be directed to bunkers and other objects on the battlefield to take cover.

You can lead British, French or German troops into battle. Game strategy comes in the form of which type of troops you buy when. There are sharpshooters, engineers, medics, spies, and flamethrower units to name a few. Along the way, you earn Perk points, which can be used to unlock new troop types and upgrade existing ones. For the impatient, there are in-app purchases to accelerate the earning of Perks.

Trenches II

The more rewarding part of the game, and what makes it a great game for a weekend, is definitely the Skirmish play mode. In it, you need to scope out a battlefield with airships, and then decide how to deploy your troops. The challenge comes from knowing when to invest in an engineer, and when to invest in a rifleman. The resemblance to Flight Control comes in directing different groups of troops to different points on the battlefield. This adds a lot to the overall feeling you get of being a real-time field commander.

The iPhone can seem a little tight in terms of available screen real estate with Trenches II, so if you have an iPad, that’s the way to play.

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Read The Full Article:
http://gigaom.com/apple/games-for-the-weekend-trenches-ii/

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Steve Ballmer Reboots

post from Daring Fireball on 13 January 2012 08:03:35 PM. © Daring Fireball

Nice profile of Steve Ballmer by Ashlee Vance for BusinessWeek:

At present, Microsoft has 14 retail stores and plans to open up to 75 more over the next three years, usually placing them as close as possible to Apple outlets. ?Well, the traffic is going to be there, and we?ve got to beat them anyway,? Ballmer says with a shrug.

Not a bad attitude. This attitude exemplifies the best of Ballmer: he’s not afraid to try.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.businessweek.com/printer/magazine/steve-ballmer-reboots-01122012.html

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Bloomberg on iPad 3 Details

post from Daring Fireball on 13 January 2012 06:03:32 PM. © Daring Fireball

Tim Culpan, Peter Burrows, and Adam Satariano, reporting for Bloomberg:

Apple Inc.?s next iPad, expected to go sale in March, will sport ahigh-definition screen, run a faster processor and work withnext-generation wireless networks, according to three peoplefamiliar with the product.

Assuming this is right, it doesn’t guarantee the next iPhone will support LTE too, but it sure does make it more likely.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-13/apple-said-to-prepare-march-ipad-3-debut
-with-sharper-screen-faster-chip.html

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New report claims high-res, quad-core LTE iPad 3
production underway

post from Apple on 13 January 2012 05:03:27 PM. © Apple

A new report from Bloomberg says that Apple’s next iPad has indeed begun production, as was reported by supply chain news source Digitimes earlier this week. The new iPad will have a sharper screen, according to the new report, but also “LTE access,” something we’ve yet to hear much about in early iPad rumors.

Bloomberg says that its info comes from three people “familiar with the product,” and assured its Twitter followers that “its [sic] more than just a rumor.” In addition to LTE capabilities and an improved display, Bloomberg’s report also claims that the new tablet will sport a quad-core processor. But the claim is still likely the most reliable one put forward to date regarding the iPad 3′s abilities and potential release date, which Bloomberg pegs for sometime in March.

Putting LTE in the iPad 3 is a bit of a surprise, but it could be a key factor in making the iPad 3 an attractive upgrade for existing iPad 2 owners. Apple is deploying LTE tech in the iPad ahead of the iPhone because of the tablet’s larger battery, according to one of Bloomberg’s sources, which makes it better equipped to handle the power requirements of current LTE radios.

Another source also noted that the iPad’s display will make images “look like printed material,” which sounds a lot like what the iPhone’s current Retina display tech provides. Video performance is also apparently greatly improved thanks to additional graphics processing, the same source added.

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http://gigaom.com/apple/new-report-claims-high-res-quad-core-lte-ipad-3-productio
n-underway/

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Todays Edition of Dont Be Evil

post from Daring Fireball on 13 January 2012 05:03:25 PM. © Daring Fireball

Stefan Magdalinski, CEO of Mocality, a sort-of crowd-sourced Yellow Pages directory in Kenya:

Since October, Google?s GKBO appears to have been systematicallyaccessing Mocality?s database and attempting to sell theircompeting product to our business owners. They have been tellinguntruths about their relationship with us, and about our businesspractices, in order to do so. As of January 11th, nearly 30% ofour database has apparently been contacted.
Furthermore, they now seem to have outsourced this operation fromKenya to India.

Copiously documented and recorded. Just jaw-dropping. Boing Boing has a brief statement from Google. My question: Is Mocality the only company Google has done this to?

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Read The Full Article:
http://blog.mocality.co.ke/2012/01/13/google-what-were-you-thinking/

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Snapshot of the Computer Market, When You Include
the iPad

post from Daring Fireball on 13 January 2012 05:03:25 PM. © Daring Fireball

Speaking of market share, this graph from Deutsche Bank’s Chris Whitmore is a real eye-opener. Correlation is not causation, but if you look at this and don’t see that the iPad is disrupting the entire computer industry, you’ve got your head in the sand (or some other hole).

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Read The Full Article:
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/13/snapshot-of-computer-market-with-and-witho
ut-the-ipad/

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Customers Lining Up in China for the iPhone 4S

Good thing the iPhone 4S is such a disappointment. Imagine how long the lines would’ve been (and how much worse the egg-throwing and rioting) otherwise.

Update: Samsung responds.

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Read The Full Article:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizphung/

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Horseback Riding: Intermediate special price cut
January 14 and 15

California-based developer Selectsoft is offering the educational iOS app Horseback Riding: Intermediate is on sale this weekend only. Riders at all skill levels can benefit from the experience of expert trainer and instructor Leonie Baker as she shows you how to safely take your horse through a complete workout. Follow along with step-by-step personal lessons to learn the right way to make your horse stronger and more responsive, as well as how to keep your horse relaxed and happy.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-36894.htm

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Learn Fashion Photography Now! special price cut
January 14 and 15

California-based developer Selectsoft is offering the educational iOS app Learn Fashion Photography Now! is on sale this weekend only. Learn Fashion Photography Now! is a simple and fun way to learn the difference between taking an ordinary snapshot and capturing an incredible commercial photo! Follow along with the instructional video as an experienced pro photographer shows you how to greatly improve the quality of your photography using simple materials and straightforward techniques.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-36893.htm

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