Category: I-phone

Hearing the news that Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO took me back to the mid-nineties, when I was managing a large software project in London. Our company was a pretty big Apple customer, and it was decided that the newly installed CEO Gil Amelio would drop by, shake some hands and discuss Apple’s future at our conference table.

Amelio is a smart and impressive man, and he’s known for leading the team that developed the first commercial CCD sensors while working for Fairchild Semiconductor. He later became CEO of another chip manufacturer, National Semiconductor, where he was instrumental in restructuring the company and helping it to regain profitability. Amelio was there to give us confidence after Apple had been pretty bruised under John Sculley and Michael Spindler.

It wasn’t an encouraging visit.

I remember Amelio going on and on about the past problems at Apple, and how he was going to fix them. Click here for an Apple video of ‘the speech.’ He had a long list of fixes, but what was lacking was a coherent, compelling vision. He was going to do ‘something’ about the clones, finally replace System 7, and settle down all the politics and warfare between Apple divisions.

I had some specific questions, but he dodged them. It wasn’t convincing, and I wondered if Apple was going to pull itself out of what seemed a certain death spiral. After killing Copland and failing to make a deal for the BeOS, Amelio invested in NeXT and brought Steve Jobs back to Apple. At the end, Amelio got Apple back to making a small profit, after years of losing millions. It was a tiny victory, but certainly not a turn-around.

Amelio was finally ousted from Apple in July 1997 via a boardroom coup engineered by Jobs. The rest is history.

I never met Steve Jobs. But every day he has touched my life. When I check my mail, prepare a presentation, edit a photo, or answer my iPhone, it all happens because Steve had an idea of how I wanted to work. I don’t know of any single company or products that have had an equal impact.

Gil Amelio had lots of plans, but plans are not a vision. Jobs laughs at market research, avoids focus groups, and trusts his gut when designing what customers want. That is, what they will want. Other companies try and copy Apple features and designs but usually come up short, because, like Amelio, they had lists instead of a dream.

Jobs is now on the next part of his journey through life, a journey we will all take, sooner or later. It’s hard to define exactly the magic that Steve brings to Apple, but it is unique and it is successful. Smart as he was, Gil Amelio could not summon the magic, or as it turned out, much lasting enthusiasm.

Thank you to Gil Amelio for bringing Steve Jobs back. Thanks to Steve for bringing Apple back.

Steve Jobs and the quality of leadership originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The official Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson is reportedly being updated to include details on Steve’s resignation. According to Simon & Schuster, the update will not affect publication deadlines, and the book is still scheduled to hit shelves on November 21.

A Simon & Schuster spokeswoman told PCMag that Isaacson speaks with Jobs regularly, and the two are currently collaborating on the final chapter. This will be the first authorized biography of Jobs to be published. Its title and release date have changed several times. Most recently, the release was moved from March 6, 2012 to the current November 21.

Pre-orders have begun on Amazon. I’ve placed mine.

Steve Jobs biography updated to included resignation details originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung just got some more bad news. A German court has upheld an earlier preliminary injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Now Germany joins most of the rest of the EU on the list of countries that ban Samsung from selling its tablet. The injunction came as a result of Apple’s legal moves to stop sales of the device, citing its similarities with the iPad.

This isn’t the worst news of the month for Samsung, however. Last week a Dutch court ordered EU-wide preliminary injunctions against all Samsung Galaxy smartphones. That ban goes into effect on October 13, 2011 and will arguably hurt much more than the Galaxy Tab ban. After all, smartphones are a much larger piece of Samsung’s revenue than the Tab.

A final ruling on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 injunction will happen on September 9th.

German court upholds injunction against Samsung tablets originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m almost afraid to write about TimePlus because it is such an accurate simulation of the LCARS interface from Star Trek: The Next Generation (complete with sound effects) I worry that the lawyers will descend upon the developer and force him to remove all traces of familiarity in the app.

Still, TimePlus is too fun not to write about. If you’re a Star Trek nerd like me, TimePlus gives you not just a big clock as you see above, but also timers, a stopwatch, two alarms and a world clock. Plus, you can use it as a sort of screensaver, or reduce it to a “nano” clock, or access world times in your menu bar. All of this is super handy if you manage people around the world (as I do), or use time management like the Pomodoro technique, or just want to geek out with something Trek-y in your daily life.

TimePlus is free on the Mac App Store, although you may need to install the LCARS font first to get it looking just right. There’s an iPad app as well called Clock Tacular which costs a reasonable $.99. If you want a fun clock on your Mac, download TimePlus and make it so Number One!

Daily Mac App: TimePlus originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone is reflecting upon Steve Jobs’ times at Apple, and Walt Mossberg is no exception. In this Wall Street Journal News Hub video, Walt reiterates his assertion that Steve Jobs’ departure is “…the end of an era,” but he’s quick to add, “I don’t mean by that that this is the end of Apple’s success.” You can read more of Walt’s thoughts about Steve’s resignation in his post on AllThingsD.

Mossberg believes Jobs will be considered a historical figure due to his business success and his role as an iconic inventor. He also teases the future, saying that products “Apple doesn’t currently make” are being worked on now.

It’s not clear from the video if that’s just conjecture on Mossberg’s part, or if he has knowledge about what those future products may be. The entire video is interesting, as it features a prolific tech journalist speaking about one of the most prolific inventors of our time. Check it out below.

Walt Mossberg reflects on Steve Jobs’ legacy originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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7notes is a note-taking/handwriting recognition app for the iPad. It costs US$8.99; there is also a $4.99 iPhone version, along with feature-limited free versions. I spent several hours using the iPad paid version (7notes Premium) and found it did an excellent job of recognizing both my cursive words and individual letters, all done with my finger on the iPad screen. Handwriting recognition is not a trivial task, and 7notes has a very smart recognition engine.

The app also has a predictive engine which worked quite well, figuring out my scrawl and giving me some words that matched the context of what I was writing. When there is more than one guess, you just tap the word you want. As you write, you can also add freehand graphics, with some choice of color and thickness of the stroke. I was able to easily add arrows and other simple symbols or diagrams.

You can convert your words to recognized text at any time, on a word by word basis, or full sentences or an entire document at one time. The app allows you to write in 2 or 3 column format. You can save your document or send to email, or export to Evernote or Dropbox; you can save as a PDF, or if you are equipped, you can print directly to a local printer. When I tried printing everything worked as expected, and the graphics appeared within my text just where I wanted them.

The app allows you to bring up an on-screen keyboard at any time if your words aren’t being recognized, but in point of fact, I did not have to use it.

In a way, 7note fulfills the promise of the Newton from back in the 1990s, only 7note works better and has a lot of formatting options the Newton never had.

When I first started to use the app, nothing worked, but I pretty quickly learned to adjust my fingers to the screen and then recognition got very good. The app has a lot of icons on screen that aren’t always readily obvious in purpose, but I quickly learned them; built-in help is available at any time.

You can try a free version of the app to get an idea if it will work for you. It won’t convert your handwriting to text, but it will give you a good introduction. I did not try the iPhone version, and the smaller screen might be more of a challenge. 7note works with a stylus, and that might be a preferred method of input.

7note provides a support page where you can get questions answered, and read what other users are saying about the app.

If you are a note-taker and just can’t get excited about the software keyboard on iOS devices, 7note may be for you. Remember that it will take some time to get used to writing with it, and you’ll need to learn the purpose of the on-screen icons. You can see some screen shots in the gallery below.

Daily iPad App: 7notes handwriting recognizer lets you take notes with one finger originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You’ll get all the top stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what’s happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today’s Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here.

Daily Update for August 25, 2011 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The New York Times reports today on the 313 patents that include Steve’s name. Many are no surprise, like the G4 iMac’s articulated arm and the divisive “hockey puck” mouse. Others are lesser well known or even unexpected. Here’s a list of a few lesser-known patents that Steve Jobs holds.

1. The lanyard used for the iPod and iPhone headphones. You’ll remember this clever device that allowed those old iPods to hang around your neck while incorporating the headphones. Impressive cord management for sure.
2. Stairs! If you’ve visited a large Apple Store, you’ve probably seen the impressive glass staircase inside. Steve’s name is on the patent for those, too.
3. A disc cartridge developed while Steve was at NeXT. Described as “The ornamental design for a computer disk cartridge, as shown and described,” this patent was granted on November 13, 1990.

Finally, here’s one that never went into production. The “Telephone interface for a portable communication device” combined the rotary dial and an old-style iPod (above). It’s probably best that one stayed on the design floor.

Steve Jobs has 313 patents to his name, including some unexpected originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Mac 101, tips and tricks for novice Mac users.

Those of you who’ve explored your Finder a little bit in OS X 10.6 or prior might have noticed a folder in your user folder called “Library.” The Library folder houses all sorts of files needed to keep your user account running smoothly. Many of these files are created automatically by apps on your Mac — like preferences and settings on how you want a certain app to look or run. Other files inside the Library folder include screen savers and widgets and, well, a ton of things you’ll never need to worry about but are pretty much essential to having a healthy Mac.

In OS X 10.7 Lion Apple decided to hide the user’s Library folder (although not the root Library folder on the top level of the hard drive). The primary reason Apple did this is so users couldn’t easily go into the folder and delete important files needed by apps or OS X itself. This became all the more important after Apple introduced the Mac App Store. Files inside the Library folder allow you to delete an app, then re-download it at a later date while retaining all the settings it had the last time it was on your Mac.

If you want to see the contents of the Library folder, there are actually several ways to do it; for simplicity’s sake, we’re going to show you the easiest, non-techie way, courtesy of the folks at CreativeBits:

1. In the Finder, select the Go menu from the menu bar at the top of your screen. You’ll notice a list of folders across your system such as Desktop, Downloads, Home, etc.
2. While the Go menu is displayed, hold down the option key on your keyboard. Like magic, the Library folder will appear between the Home and Computer folders. Click on it to open a Finder window displaying all of the files inside your Library folder.

Again, if you’re not too familiar with the contents of the Library folder it’s best to leave what’s in there alone. However, it doesn’t hurt to explore the folder and see how some essential files are arranged and stored on your system.

Mac 101: Easily show the user Library folder in Lion originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When is a football playbook not a PlayBook? When it’s an iPad! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now equipping all of the players on the team with iPads, and both players and management seem to love the idea. According to the St. Petersburg Times, the Tampa Bay players now just turn on their iPads to get up to speed rather than leafing through a phone directory-sized printed book to memorize plays.

The team started its love affair with iPads when coach Raheem Morris apparently used one to watch video of team prospects with GM Mark Dominik and player personnel director Dennis Hickey. Buccaneer players used to need to request a copy of a DVD if they wanted to watch film of past games, and then they were constantly using the fast-forward button on the remote to view plays that were applicable to their position. Now, the players simply flick through plays to watch those that are important to them.

Morris said that it took about two minutes for Buccaneer co-chairman Bryan Glazer to approve the purchase of 90 iPad 2s. Many of the players listen to their own personal soundtracks while watching past game footage and studying plays that are downloaded to the devices automatically. Should a player lose one of the iPads on the road — while visiting the New England Patriots, for example — the team can wipe all of the plays from the device remotely.

The Bucs are the first NFL team to embrace the iPad, but certainly won’t be the last. As a baseball fan, I won’t be happy until MLB players are using their iPads in the dugouts.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers give each player an iPad as a playbook originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For many of us who were surprised by yesterday’s announcement that Steve Jobs was resigning as CEO of Apple, our immediate thought was that his health might have deteriorated to the point that he was no longer able to work on the Apple campus in Cupertino, CA. However, a source reported to Bloomberg Businessweek that Jobs spent the entire day on the Apple campus before attending the board meeting where he tendered his resignation as CEO and accepted his post as Apple chairman.

The source, who Bloomberg Businessweek reported as “not authorized to speak about his health,” said that Jobs was “weak” but that the resignation was “not indicative of a sudden downturn.” Jobs has apparently been housebound recently, but his work yesterday and his declaration that he plans on being an active board chairman seem to point to a future where Steve Jobs still has his eyes on the fortunes of Apple.

Steve Jobs reportedly worked on campus for his final day as CEO originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The name Steve Jobs is synonymous with Apple, the company the man co-founded with Steve Wozniak and the relatively unknown Ronald Wayne. Fewer people remember that Jobs also has ties with Disney and has been on the board of directors of the entertainment giant for the past five years. Bloomberg.com reported last night that Jobs is expected to stay on the Disney board for the foreseeable future.

In 1986, during his exile from Apple, Jobs purchased Pixar Animation Studios from Lucasfilm and with his support as CEO, helped the studio begin making its string of highly successful animated feature films. Jobs sold Pixar to Disney in 2006 for $7.4 billion, which made him the largest single stockholder in Disney. His stake in the company is still huge — Jobs owns a 7.4% stake in the Disney empire (about 138 million shares of stock).

Bloomberg also noted that Jobs was the only Disney board member who was unable to attend 75 percent of board meetings due to health considerations. At his own request, Jobs does not receive compensation in his role as a Disney board member.

Steve Jobs expected to remain on Disney board originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Wall Street Journal’s Jennifer Valentino-DeVries has published a list of Steve Jobs’s great quotes. Steve’s intelligence, salesmanship and significant public speaking skills have produced several gems, and Jennifer has listed some of our favorites. Highlights from her list include:

“It will go down in history as a turning point for the music industry. This is landmark stuff. I can’t overestimate it!” [On the iTunes Music Store, Fortune, May 12, 2003]

“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.” [NBC Nightly News, May 2006]

There are so many wonderful quotes in the WSJ article, and we suggest you read them all. One of my favorites is the line which, according to lore, Steve used to lure John Sculley away from Pepsi Co.:

“Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?”

What are your favorites?

A list of Steve Jobs’s best quotes originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When I heard that Steve Jobs had stepped down as CEO of Apple, I was on a remote section of U.S. Highway 15 in northern Pennsylvania on my way to Toronto. I found out via the device that Jobs put into my hand, even though he didn’t sell it directly to me — the iPhone.

Some might be loathe to admit it, but Jobs has had an impact on all of us — from the most loyal Apple fan to people such as my husband, who is the love of my life and a diehard Linux user. When he showed me the latest version of Ubuntu in July, the first thing I thought was of all the Apple influences I could see in the program.

We knew the era would end, and really, 14 years is forever in an age where information and technology are developed nearly as fast as the speed of light. But, it felt like Steve Jobs would always be there, emerging into the public a few times a year in his black turtleneck, jeans and New Balance sneakers. The tech version of Santa Claus, his keynotes were the new Sears Wish Book.

Over the past few years, the tech community held its breath as it realized that Jobs, like all of us, is mortal. Its chief speculation? What would a post-Jobs world be like for Apple? For us? Apple’s rise to tech dominance and financial stardom appeared to lay on the shoulders of a single man. It can be argued the company suffered greatly without him the first time around, falling to the brink of irrelevance before Jobs stepped back in the driver’s seat, swung the company on a huge U-turn and brought it back.

Apple will be fine. Why? Steve Jobs made sure it would be so.

Like weaning a baby on to solid foods, Steve gradually has been letting other people take over during Apple keynotes. Instead of standing there telling us himself about the life-changing device in his hand, he’s letting other people do the talking for him. It’s no accident that he did this.

When the iPod came out, or heck, even the iPhone, did anyone other than the most diehard Apple fans know who Tim Cook was? Would we, in the post-iMac world, ever dream of anyone other than Jobs unveiling an Apple product? It has happened, but Steve has gradually stepped back to where he’s more a bookend than the meat of the program. It’s as if he’s saying, “I trust these people to develop the product you have in your hands. You can trust them too. Don’t focus on the person giving the lecture, focus on the product.” Cook’s learned at the knee of Jobs. He won’t change what works.

Jobs surrounded himself with the people that shared his vision. This is not 1984, not by a long shot. Jobs didn’t leave over a corporate struggle this time. Apple isn’t suddenly going to start putting Flash on iDevices or make a last-ditch effort to save HP computers or anything like that. The company is going to keep going in the same way Jobs ran it, though Tim Cook will add his own style. Jobs knew, more than any of us, that this day was coming. He probably thought at one point he wouldn’t make it to see the conception of the iPhone or iPad.

Jobs is still chairman of the board and an Apple employee. He’s still on the Disney/Pixar board — another company that survived the loss of its titular head and not only survive, but produced some of its greatest works in the decades after Walt Disney died.

This is just another step in the weaning process. When the formal announcement of the iPhone 5 and fall iPod products comes in a few weeks, I think Jobs will be there in person, but he won’t do the talking. Like any good parent, he’s letting those he nurture start out on their own. He’ll watch, he’ll guide, but it’s their turn now.

Apple will be OK. So, will we.

In a post Steve Jobs world, we’ll be OK originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Apple opens the new Hong Kong Apple Store in late September or early October, it will be cause for a huge celebration. The store will be the 100th overseas store for the highly profitable chain, and apparently Apple is planning to pull out all the stops for a flashy opening.

M.I.C. Gadget is reporting that the huge, glass-encased flagship store in the IFC Mall is moving closer to completion every day, and had pictures (since removed) of Apple’s marketing director for mainland China standing outside of the construction location with other employees. The site also reports that the opening will be a three-day-long party, fitting for the debut of the huge facility.

The store was originally scheduled to open on September 24th, and as recently as the 3Q earnings call it was mentioned that the store would open during Apple’s 2011 fourth quarter (ending September 30). However, construction delays have apparently pushed that date back into early October.

We’re hoping to get live reports from readers who are lucky enough to visit the IFC Mall Store during the opening, so stay tuned to TUAW for future news about the Hong Kong flagship store.

Apple planning a big party to open 100th overseas store in Hong Kong originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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