Apple Patent Describes Smart Remote Technology

post from TheAppleBlog on 20 November 2009 10:57:00 AM. © TheAppleBlog

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office yesterday published a patent application Apple made way back in 2008 for ?Pushing a User Interface to a Remote Device.? So, then…Smart Remotes. Cool!

MacRumor?s Eric Slivka reports that the patent?s lead inventor is William Bull, now Yahoo?s Senior Director of Mobile User Experience, but once upon a time Apple?s iPod User Interface Manager. The so-called ?father of the iPod,? Tony Fadell, is also credited.

The idea is simple; portable media devices — such as iPods and iPhones, for example — have their own on-board Graphical User Interface (GUI) and, usually, a built-in screen. Thing is, we don?t always want to take our iPhone out of our pocket when we?re listening to music (or, if you?re me, catching up on podcasts while washing the dishes).

Enter remote controls (referred to in this patent as ?accessories?). Often they?re dumb little inline sticks with a few fiddly (not to mention tiny) buttons. They’re useful, but basic, offering perhaps only a half dozen simple controls. Some of the more elaborate remotes have their own little displays, which is all very well and good, except that they also employ their own little GUIs which not only fail to resemble the one on the device you?re trying to control, but often don?t provide full access to all the device?s functions. From the patent application:

?existing remote GUIs are defined and controlled by the remote control device, and consequently, they may bear little resemblance to a GUI supplied by the portable media device itself Certain functions available on the portable media device (such as browsing or searching a database, adjusting playback settings, etc.) may be unavailable or difficult to find.

Apple?s solution is to ?push? the device?s GUI to a remote an accessory with a built-in display. Here’s the description from the patent application (I’ve shortened it to just the main points);

The portable media device can provide the accessory with an image to be displayed on the video screen? [and] include various user interface elements that can resemble or replicate a “native” GUI provided directly on the portable media device. The accessory can send information to the portable media device indicative of a user action [?] for example, that a particular button was pressed or that a particular portion of a touch-sensitive display screen was touched by the user. The portable media device can process this input to identify the action requested by the user and take the appropriate action. The action may include providing to the accessory an updated GUI image to be displayed, where the updated GUI image reflects the user action.

Essentially this describes a touch-enabled screen, small enough (and dumb enough) to still be called an accessory, which effectively acts as a small auxiliary display/input panel for the device.

I can?t see this making its way into an inline remote (it?s just not Apple?s style to make a wearable remote that?s big) but I can see a future revision of Apple?s current Remote that entirely does away with the buttons, replacing them with a capacitive touch screen.

Future software updates would enable one to connect the remote to a nearby Mac mini, Apple TV, even an iPod touch, and switch between those devices the same way the iPhone Remote app does today. The GUI would change, depending on the selected device.

The only drawback I can see to such a device (and remember, I?m just extrapolating here and imagining a potential future gadget — Apple?s patent application only describes a possible method and not an actual product) is that a remote with a capacitive touch screen will chew through its battery in next to no time. Is it conceivable we?ll be buying a charging dock for a future Apple MultiRemote?

More compelling is the notion that Apple could build this technology into an entire ecosystem, licensing third-party developers to create compatible hardware; imagine a house where a smart display on the door of your refrigerator not only tells you when the milk needs replacing but also allows you to skip tracks on the album you?re playing over AirTunes?

But am I thinking too small? Is this yet another patent application that will, ultimately, come to nothing, or could this be an early clue to a new Apple-tastic revolution?

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Early details of Intel's 2011 Atom surface

post from Macnn | The Macintosh News Network on 20 November 2009 10:50:00 AM. © Macnn | The Macintosh News Network

Initial information has surfaced of Intel's sequel to its imminent Pine Trail platform for the Atom ...

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Jobs’ Personal, Terse Reply to Developer

post from TheAppleBlog on 20 November 2009 10:39:00 AM. © TheAppleBlog

Gotta love that Steve Jobs. He never was one to hold back, and even now, when he?s the CEO of the Universe (or something like that), he won?t be found spouting corporate speak.

CrunchGear tells the story of a small software development company called The Little App Factory. It made an app for the Mac called iPodRip, one of those tools for transferring music from an iPod to a computer. A law firm representing Apple sent The Little App Factory a letter, informing the company it had violated some of Apple?s trademarks, and instructed it to stop using the ?iPod? bit in the app?s name.

iPodRip has been around for nearly seven years and CrunchGear?s Daniel Brusilovsky says it has been downloaded more than five million times. You?d think Apple?s legal sniffer hounds, Baker & McKenzie, might have acted a tad sooner?

Anyway, iPodRip developer and The Little App Factory CEO John Devor felt this was all rather unfair, so he wrote directly to El Jobso himself. Here?s a little excerpt from his impassioned plea for special treatment sanity (edited by me for brevity, but you can read the whole thing here);

Dear Mr. Jobs,
I doubt you?re aware but we recently received a letter from a law firm working on Apple?s behalf instructing us that we had violated several of Apple?s trademarks in our application iPodRip and asking us to cease using the name and Apple trademarks in our icons.
It is quite obvious that we mean Apple no harm with the use of the name iPodRip, or of the inclusion of trademarked items in our icons? ?we are quite aware that Apple support and store staff have recommended our software on numerous occasions as far back as 2004 so we have felt that we were doing something right!
With this in mind, we are in desperate need of some assistance and we beseech you to help us to protect our product and our shareware company, I myself dropped out of school recently to pursue a path in the Mac software industry, and you yourself have been a consistent inspiration for me.
If there is anything at all you can do with regards to this matter, we would be most grateful.
Best,
John Devor

Poor fellow. Obviously he has poured his heart and soul into his company, and he has worked hard this last half-decade building a strong brand and large customer base. He wants to protect his investment, and why not? Apple has, it seems, been aware of the product, to some degree, for an awfully long time, so why slap him with a C&D letter now?

So Steve Jobs gets the email and thinks about this, right? He considers the years of service this guy and his company have provided for iTunes users around the world. He considers carefully the late-in-the-game complaint from Baker & McKenzie. He feels a swell of pride at the obvious passion of those in the Mac development community who so loyally support his products and strive to make the Mac ecosystem a bigger, brighter and more worthwhile place to be. Right?

Of course not. He?s Steve Jobs, people! This is his reply:

Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal.
Steve
Sent from my iPhone

I nearly fell off my chair in laughter when I saw that. I?m not sure I agree with him that?s it?s ?not that big of a deal? (after all, this company has invested many years in their brand and built a considerable customer base) but I admire Steve?s no-nonsense attitude. He says exactly what?s on his mind, no PR-spin, and sends it straight from his iPhone, typos-and-all.

The Little App Factory acquiesced (what else could it do?) and renamed the app iRip. It also changed the app’s icon. Perhaps this whole affair was a thorn in the side, but I don?t feel too sorry for them, the tech press is giving them a lot of attention right now, and that?s gotta be good for business, right?

Read The Full Article:
http://theappleblog.com/2009/11/20/jobs-personal-terse-reply-to-developer/

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Mac OS X 10.6.2 hacked to allow Atom processors

post from Macnn | The Macintosh News Network on 20 November 2009 10:25:00 AM. © Macnn | The Macintosh News Network

A workaround has been developed to restore Atom processor support in Mac OS X 10.6.2, a Russian hack...

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Nokia to cut an extra 330 jobs in R&D

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

Nokia on Friday said it would cut 330 jobs in its research and development group. The reductions ar...

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Maintain releases Cocktail 4.5 (Leopard Edition)

post from prMac on 20 November 2009 09:56:00 AM. © prMac

Maintain today announced Cocktail 4.5 (Leopard Edition), the latest maintenance update of Cocktail for users running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. This version adds ability to clear data detectors and QuickLook caches as well as contains many other important improvements and bug fixes. The update is highly recommended for all users of Cocktail (Leopard Edition). Cocktail is an award winning general purpose utility for Mac OS X.

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Autodesk's Smoke 2010 to come to Macs

post from Macnn | The Macintosh News Network on 20 November 2009 09:15:00 AM. © Macnn | The Macintosh News Network

Autodesk will soon launch a Mac version of Smoke, a demonstration at Japan's InterBEE expo confirms....

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Coladia releases Secret of the Lost Cavern
Episode 1 for iPhone

Paris based Coladia today announces Secret of the Lost Cavern Episode 1 for iPhone and iPod touch. Secret of the Lost Cavern is an episodic adventure game that plunges the player into an inspiring journey that takes place during the Paleolithic period in prehistoric time, 15,000 years B.C. The gameplay and each puzzle were redesigned to take unique advantage of the touch capabilities of the iPhone. 3D graphics and videos were also optimized for an unparalleled visual quality on mobile devices.

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Pogoplug updated with 4 USB ports, automatic
media sync

Cloud Engines on Friday introduced the second-generation Pogoplug, along with a variety of new featu...

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Marware announces Free Custom iPhone & iPod Case
Engraving is available

Marware today is pleased to announce free, personalized engraving is now available for the iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 2G, iPod nano 5G, and other Apple accessories purchased from the Marware Website. Marware is now offering customized case options on select products and free shipping. Custom engraving is perfect for personalizing a gift, recognizing the value of an important business relationship, or as a great corporate promotional giveaway.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-8741.htm

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