The Third Advent by Gregoire de Kalbermatten -
New iPhone ebook

post from prMac on 19 November 2009 11:13:00 AM. © prMac

daisyamerica LLC and Adelante Consulting Inc. today announce The Third Advent 1.0, an ebook application by Gregoire de Kalbermatten for iPhone and iPod touch. The Third Advent takes the reader on a journey through 6000 years of politics, economics, philosophy and religion, to bring forth a message of hope for the future that is as practical as it is profound. The author contends that we are on the threshold of a complete transformation.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-8740.htm

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MacBook, iPod touch make Time list of top travel
gadgets

post from Macnn | The Macintosh News Network on 19 November 2009 11:10:00 AM. © Macnn | The Macintosh News Network

The MacBook and the iPod touch have both taken positions on a Time list of the top 25 travel gadgets...

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http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=80eb5e84ff1dc47bfe1dcee0d2726e37

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Elixir introduces new RapidWeaver theme - Dashing

post from prMac on 19 November 2009 11:08:00 AM. © prMac

Orlando based Elixir is proud to announce Dashing, a highly polished RapidWeaver theme. Dashing provides a stylish site design with many great theme variations and stunning graphics. In a relatively short period of time, Dashing makes it easy to build a website, for business or fun. It is a great choice for creating a business site, small or large, portfolio, blog, personal site and much more.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-8739.htm

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Cut the Drama: Private APIs, the App Store &
You

post from TheAppleBlog on 19 November 2009 11:00:00 AM. © TheAppleBlog

I’ve had a rant building up for a few weeks. A rant about developer’s treatment at the hands of the App Store submission procedure. However unlike many rants on the topic, mine is not directed towards Apple. It is directed towards the iPhone developers who complain about the poor, unfair treatment they get, carrying their bleeding hearts in their palms while claiming Apple is bludgeoning the life out of them.

Two recent news headlines, seemingly separate, are intrinsically tied together and the synergy of them have made my eyes dislocated from the continued rolling they involuntarily perform.

The first headline, Facebook Developer Turns Back on iPhone relates how another high-profile developer has thrown their hands up in disgust over how Apple’s closed system runs against their principles. A direct quote from Joe Hewitt, developer of the popular Facebook application can be found on TechCrunch, and is most relevant. I will come back to this later:

I respect their right to manage their platform however they want, however I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process.

The second headline is Apple?s App Store Approval Process Now Includes an Automated Layer. The quick version is that Apple is now using an automated tool to determine if the Apps that developers submit to the App Store are using any Private API calls.

These two headlines are actually the same story, a fact that was made quite apparent by a popular direct iPhone-to-iPhone messaging App called Ping!. On Ping!’s Facebook Page, the developer announced that the much-anticipated version 1.2 of Ping! has been rejected by Apple:

Bad news is Ping! 1.2 has been rejected by Apple on Nov 14 due to a software library we used, developed by the Facebook company. This library is used by many apps including Ping! and the iPhone Facebook app itself. Unfortunately the most recent version of this library has violated some of Apple’s guidelines and has caused hundreds of apps to get rejected including Ping! 1.2.

So let’s get this straight. Ping! and hundreds of apps have been rejected because they used a popular development framework, a framework which used Private APIs. A framework, which was created by Joe Hewitt initially for use with the Facebook application and then made available to third-party developers.

Lets be clear about this; Joe Hewitt used Private APIs in his public framework, well-known to be against the rules of the App Store, and then acts all indigent when Apple slaps his framework down. Rather than disclosing his error, rather than saying “oops sorry about that,” he would rather ride the trendy wave of ‘blame Apple control policy’ and cite ‘philosophical differences.’ I rather wonder if these philosophical differences would still be present if his framework hadn’t been caught in this automated tool. If it were just other people’s frameworks that were caught, would he still have quit for ideological reasons?

Now I don’t mean to pick solely on Mr Hewitt, and maybe I’m being too harsh. But he is just the latest example in a blogosphere that increasingly seems to love taking the loud minority and say “Look! Here’s proof that the end is nigh!” Come on, the end isn’t nigh, it’s not even on the horizon. Out of the thousands of App Developers that exist, we’ve had a dozen, maybe two dozen make a public fuss and quit. Big deal! This is the real world; businesses start, some succeed and some can’t hack the brutal reality. Those just make excuses and quit. Just like everywhere else in the business world.

To summarize the full story that I see, it goes something like this:

Apple publishes the rules for making iPhone Apps, including publishing and documenting the specific APIs which developers are allowed to use.
Some developers ignore these rules and make use of Private APIs. Some Apps get through the cracks in the newly functioning App Store review procedures.
Apple starts to crack down on private API usage. Developers who get rejected due to Private API use cry foul “Why are WE rejected but THOSE apps are allowed?” This was a fair question.
In response Apple says “They shouldn’t have been allowed, we are working on a way to fill up the cracks in the system”
Apple then goes ahead and fill the cracks with an automated (and thus unbiased) system to test of private API usage.
Developers then cry foul, “It’s not fair, you’re a bully, it’s too hard.”

Cry me a river?.

Before I get off my soap box, I’d like to add that there are times and places for Private API use. As a professional software developer working on proprietary custom embedded solutions on Windows Mobile devices for specific customers, I freely admit to using Private API calls at times. Sometimes its necessary to get a specific job done. The difference is scope and control. Our clients deploy the software under our care and guidance, with specific OS and hardware requirements. If they change devices or operating systems, we know about it well in advance and can prepare for it accordingly. Our clients don’t just upgrade the OS and expect everything to work.

The consumer market is a completely different kettle of fish, customers upgrade willy-nilly and expect things to just work, especially things related to Apple products. Private APIs are private for a reason, because they can not be relied upon to behave from one OS release to the next. This means that applications will break and the consumers, you and me, lose out.

In the brutal competition of any market place, and indeed the world in general, the strong will survive and the weak will perish. The App Store is no different and I’m constantly dumb-founded as to why some people expect it to be so.

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http://theappleblog.com/2009/11/19/cut-the-drama-people-private-apis-the-app-stor
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Electron Zen Introduces New Artifacts in Quantum
1.3

post from prMac on 19 November 2009 10:42:00 AM. © prMac

Sarasota based Electron Zen today released Quantum 1.3, a free update to its space arcade game. Quantum is a fresh new take on the classic game of Asteroids, with a black hole relentlessly pulling everything into its inky maw. The player must account for the black hole's gravity when moving and shooting. Version 1.3 adds two new artifacts to pick up, slower ship rotation for easier aiming, and a number of gameplay tweaks. It is a free update for registered users.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-8738.htm

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Imation ships Wireless USB hard drive, new SSD
kit

post from Macnn | The Macintosh News Network on 19 November 2009 10:20:00 AM. © Macnn | The Macintosh News Network

Imation this morning made further inroads into hard drives by shipping two new designs. The Imation...

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1Password 3 adds remote access, custom iPhone
sync

post from Macnn | The Macintosh News Network on 19 November 2009 10:15:00 AM. © Macnn | The Macintosh News Network

Agile Web Solutions has released the completed version of 1Password 3, its web login utility. The s...

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Rumored Apple Tablet Now Rumored to Be Delayed

Ever entertaining?if unreliable?DigiTimes has not one, but two big tablet rumors today. The mythical device has been delayed from early 2010 to the second half of next year, and there will an OLED model. Seriously.

According to anonymous sources inside that the electronics supply chain, Apple changed the launch from March?as opposed to January?to “switch some components” and to add a model with a 9.7″ OLED screen. The OLED model will be manufactured with a display from LG Electronics, as part of a $500 million dollar contract with Apple. That model would be in addition to an LCD tablet with a 10.6″ display.

If making two tablets with different size screens seems a curious decision, the price of the OLED tablet is extreme. According to DigiTimes, a 9.7″ OLED display would cost about $500, and display price is typically a third of total cost, so $1,500 would be the price to manufacture the tablet. Even accounting for cost reductions by next year, the retail price could be as high as $2,000.

That’s probably about right (the price, not the rumor). The Sony XEL-1 TV has an 11″ OLED screen and retails for $2,500, but can be found for as “little” as $1,800. However, even with a subsidy from a wireless provider, there is no way Apple is going to recreate the Cube failure in two-dimensions by selling a tablet in the range of $2,000. Look for an LCD tablet for around $800 early next year.

Read The Full Article:
http://theappleblog.com/2009/11/19/rumored-apple-tablet-now-rumored-to-be-delayed
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Derek Clark releases Swipe Ruler 1.2 for the
iPhone

Derek Clark today is pleased to announce Swipe Ruler 1.2 for iPhone and iPod Touch. Swipe Ruler introduces a fast and convenient way to measure items for a close estimation of length. Perfect for window shoppers and garage sale browsers, Swipe Ruler uses the accelerometers in your phone to measure flat surfaces from a few inches up to several feet. Click the ruler, touch the screen to begin, and slide the app along the surface to measure. Then touch the screen to stop measuring.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-8737.htm

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MultiEducator releases Builder Pro 1.0 for
iPhone/iPod Touch

New York based MultiEducator today introduces Builder Pro 1.0, their new builder's calculation, formulation and reference tool for iPhone and iPod Touch. Builder Pro includes parts of the International Building Code, Mechanical Code, Electrical Code, and the ADA code. It combines all of the formulas of MultiEducator's Carpentry, Electrical, Plumbing and HVAC professional programs and adds specific calculations used by builders and developers.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-8711.htm

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