WWDC: Looking back at the past 10 years

Steve Jobs will kick off Apple’s WorldWide Developers’ Conference (WWDC) on Monday, and the world will be watching to see what Apple has in store for Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud. To help pass the time until Monday afternoon, we have compiled some memorable moments from the past ten years of WWDC.

WWDC was first held in Monterey, California in 1983. This small gathering of developers has blossomed into one of the major annual events for Apple’s extended community of vendors, engineers and enterprise/academic IT management.

In addition to the ‘meat’ of the event (technical sessions covering hundreds of topics for developers, code labs and face time with Apple engineering staff), WWDC has become an opportunity for Apple to announce new versions of Mac OS X, new hardware and new versions of iOS. The event has grown in importance as Apple has eliminated or scaled back its participation in trade shows like Macworld Expo.

Read on for the best of WWDC Past: a funeral for an operating system, a spoof of Steve Jobs and much applause.

Continue reading WWDC: Looking back at the past 10 years

WWDC: Looking back at the past 10 years originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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i-FlashDrive lets you quickly share files between PC and iPhone

Our sister site Engadget has discovered a must have accessory if you’re constantly finding yourself wanting to share files between your iPhone and PCs. PhotoFast’s i-FlashDrive features a USB 2.0 port on one end and an Apple 30-pin dock connector on the other. Plug the USB drive into your PC or Mac and drag any files onto it just as you would with a normal thumb drive. When you’re done, simply plug the drive into your iPhone’s dock connector and use the Apple-approved app to move copy the files to your iPhone.

I know, you can just use iTunes to sync files or drag and drop files to certain apps, right? What makes i-FlashDrive so handy is for those times when you want to copy files between a computer and iPhone and you don’t own one of those devices. For example, you might be in a business meeting and want a copy of a 100 MB Keynote presentation a colleague has on his MacBook, but all you’ve got on you is your iPhone. Simply use the i-FlashDrive to copy the file from the MacBook and then plug it into your iPhone and copy it from the drive.

i-FlashDrive won’t be available in the US until July and it will come in sizes ranging from 4 GB to 32 GB with prices from US$95 to $180.

[Via Engadget]

i-FlashDrive lets you quickly share files between PC and iPhone originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T also working with Apple on shrinking SIMs

Back in May, an Orange executive told Reuters that Apple had proposed a standardized SIM card that would be smaller than those currently found in the iPad and iPhone 4. Orange was apparently supportive of Apple’s efforts to create the smaller SIM and now it looks like AT&T also is throwing its support behind Apple.

According to an AllThingsD interview with Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets , AT&T is also “working with the industry” to develop a smaller SIM standard. While de la Vega didn’t mention Apple by name, it likely that Apple is one of the “industry” partners that wants one SIM standard for both Europe and America. Also, if AT&T is working with the “industry” to achieve a smaller SIM standardization, the wireless carrier wouldn’t be seeking to change a standardization without the blessing of one of its most important smartphone manufacturers.

AT&T also working with Apple on shrinking SIMs originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Crayola ColorStudio HD and Griffin iMarker pair up for coloring time

When Griffin and Crayola announced their collaboration back at CES in January, the idea of a combined stylus and drawing/painting iPad app for kids — with the power to distinguish between finger touches and the tip of the stylus — sounded fantastic. The flexibility of the iPad for keeping kids engaged and entertained, especially on long trips, is remarkable; something like the iMarker could supercharge it substantially.

We were curious, though: how (and how well) would it actually work? Now shipping in both the App Store and at Best Buy, the iMarker and ColorStudio HD combine a well-designed, kid-friendly app with an innovative stylus technology, but is the bundle US$30 worth of fun? And does it meet the demands of both parents and kids?

There are plenty of painting and coloring apps already out for iPad, so let’s talk about what sets this package apart: the hardware. Griffin’s iMarker stylus — a black and silver unit labeled as “Assembled in China; Designed in Nashville” — is different from other capacitive pen-like accessories, because it’s powered (by a single AA battery) and because the free ColorStudio HD app can differentiate between finger-touches and the stylus tip. The trick, apparently, is all about speed. A small electric motor in the iMarker ‘buzzes’ the electrostatic tip, making and breaking contact extremely rapidly; you can hear this vibration in action if you hold the stylus close to your ear, although it’s not particularly audible at arm’s length. There’s also a lighted oval on the side of the stylus to let you know it’s on.

Since the app is watching for a vibrating touch, it can tell when you’re using your finger to operate in-app controls like crayon color selection or brush size and when you’re using the pen to actually draw. It sounds technically complex, but like all good iPad-related products, in practice it “just works” — even for small kids. I found initially that it took a somewhat firm press of the stylus to get it to register on the screen, but a check of the Griffin FAQ for the product suggested that I’d get better results by removing my iPad from its case. That worked well, and the pen became somewhat more responsive when I was holding the back of my iPad in my hand. (Back-case skins or front screen protectors will also decrease the pen sensitivity.)

With the distinction between pentip and fingertip being handled in software, it feels very natural to switch back and forth from app controls (color/brush selection, undo, email/save, etc.) to drawing with the stylus. If you leave the stylus at home, however, the activated version of the app (you unlock the full feature set by drawing a pattern with the purchased stylus) lets you switch into fingers-only mode at will. Annoyingly, the iMarker comes with a protective cap that doesn’t fit on the back end of the stylus, so you have to tuck it away somewhere else or risk losing it.

Continue reading Review: Crayola ColorStudio HD and Griffin iMarker pair up for coloring time

Review: Crayola ColorStudio HD and Griffin iMarker pair up for coloring time originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lyon, France Apple Store is Apple’s 325th

As of today, Apple has 325 Apple Stores worldwide. The latest one to open is in Lyon, France. The Lyon store is Apple’s seventh store in France and located in the La Part-Dieu shopping mall. The store’s location has strategic significance not only because Lyon is the third largest metropolitan area in France, but also because the store is located right by the Lyon Part-Dieu railway station. This prime spot will guarantee a steady flow of potential customers.

Apple Retail recently hit its 10th anniversary and the company shows no plans of slowing down as it plans to open a total of 40-50 stores in fiscal year 2011, which ends in September. One of these new stores in Hamburg, Germany was the target of some tomfoolery this weekend. Several Windows fanbois pranked the store by putting a giant Microsoft logo on its construction blackings.

Lyon, France Apple Store is Apple’s 325th originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick Look: Ice Tales

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the polls below if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review!

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting Ice Tales. The developer describes Ice Tales as “Retro Gaming Redefined.” Help Pendleton Penguin rescue his friends while traversing complicated mazes across distant lands. Ice Tales is a retro arcade game where old meets new. Using full screen controls, it includes support for Game Center and Retina Display. With dozens of levels, achievements, an 8-bit soundtrack and retro graphics, addictive just got exciting.

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

screenshot

Ice Tales

About the App

Here are the top five features you can expect to see in the latest version:

  • Collect starfish, baskets of fish and other goodies to make it through the queen’s evil mazes, earn bonuses and achievements.
  • Chapter select feature allows you to skip chapters of the game you’ve already completed or play them again for a better score.
  • Old made new again game play: Full screen swipe to move and tap to jump mimic classic arcade games in a responsive, fun way.
  • Challenge your friends with Game Center integration, Twitter and Facebook Integration.
  • Take a trip back in time. Cute retro-cartoon graphics optimized for Retina Display and 8 bit soundtrack.

Requirements: iOS 4.0
Price: $0.99
Developer: Widget Revolt

Vote for a Review

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Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the poll if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review! If you’re a developer and would like to have your app profiled, you can submit it here.

Are iPhone Giveaways Illegal?

The web is buzzing with news that Apple is cracking down on companies that are giving away free iPhones and iPads on the ground that such practices are against their policies.

Can Apple really do anything about these giveaways? Can a company dictate what you do with their products after you purchase them? Let’s discuss.

The Rules

Apple has an official document outlining what you are and aren’t allowed to with their products as far as promotions go. In this document, it’s obvious that Apple is under the impression that you require their consent to give away their products and threaten to revoke this consent if you don’t play by their rules.

In this document, Apple states that “iPad, iPhone and the iPhone Gift Card” may not be used in third-party promotions. They also go on to prohibit the use of “free” in headlines about their products. So if we’re reading this right, the hundreds of “free iPad” giveaways that you see all over the web are actually in violation of Apple’s wishes.

Surely this isn’t something Apple is pursuing though right? The sheer number of violators is proof that you can get away with it without any negative results whatsoever.

A Warning from Fortune

Earlier this week, Fortune reported on this very subject. The author pointed out that the document containing these rules had been around since January with little to no action. However, Apple has apparently recently begun “reaching out to companies” to enforce the policy.

So what does this mean? How is Apple reaching out to companies and why do they want to prevent free hype over their products? Unfortunately, Fortune neglected to comment about how they found out about Apple’s actions or what action the company has been threatening violators with.

As far as why Apple wouldn’t want people to give away their products, it’s likely because this robs them of a chance to up-sell by talking customers into getting MobileMe, AppleCare, etc. Also, let’s face it, the words “Get a free iPad” have become fairly synonymous with Internet scams and Twitter spam.

Is it Illegal to Run an iPhone Giveaway?

I’m not a lawyer, and even if I were I’m sure the collective knowledge of Apple’s legal team would crush any opinions that I have about the matter. However, I can’t help but wonder how Apple could possibly enforce such a policy aside from levying empty threats.

The idea is simple and cuts at the very core of one of the principles that America was founded on: property rights. If I purchase an iPhone or an iPad, it is my property. Apple is not renting it to me but selling it to me. As long as I pay up, they retain zero rights to say what I can and can’t do with that product. If I want to throw it off the Empire State Building, they can’t stop me (though the police do in fact frown on killing pedestrians with flying phones).

By extension of this logic, if I want to host a giveaway of an iPhone duct-taped to an iPad, I have every right to do so. If you don’t agree, let’s take a look at another time when Apple tried to dictate what customers could and couldn’t do with their iPhones.

Apple Defeated on Jailbreaking Issue

Last year around this time Apple was issuing statements making the official claim that jailbreaking your iPhone was in fact illegal. According to Wired, Apple’s position was that “modifying the iPhone operating system leads to the creation of an infringing derivative work that is protected by copyright law.”

Regulators didn’t buy it and ruled that jailbreaking was protected under “fair use“, oddly enough the same principle that makes it acceptable for us to post commentaries and opinions about Apple and their products.

The point is, Apple was certain that jailbreaking was something that they needed to stomp out and legal action seemed like the strongest move they could make, but ultimately the law was on the side of consumers.

Not So Fast

To my knowledge, Apple has not in fact stated that running an iPhone promotion is illegal, just that they don’t consent to you doing so. According to Fortune, it’s more than an empty statement though as Apple is in fact trying to enforce it.

To me it would seem that there are in fact a few circumstances under which Apple would have power over you. For instance, if you are a certified retailer of Apple goods, your right to do so could conceivably be revoked upon violation of Apple’s terms.

This leaves Apple with a fairly small target, limited to the people that actually make them money regularly! However, there is one issue that Apple could possibly go after everyone for: they own the terms iPhone and iPad and therefore do in fact have the rights to police how others use those terms. So if you violate Apple’s policy against saying “Win a Free iPhone” in a headline, they might in fact be able to stop you.

I used to do a lot of promotional graphic design work and this very issue came up frequently. For instance, we would run a promotion to win two tickets to the Super Bowl, but our headlines always read “Win Two Tickets to the Big Game”. We were still free to run the giveaway, but didn’t possess the rights to use terms protected by the NFL. It’s conceivable that the same laws apply here, which would mean that you really can’t say “Win a free iPhone” without fear of legal retribution.

What Do You Think?

At this point I throw it back to you. Your opinions and experience are just as valid as mine and I’d love to hear what you think about Apple’s ability to dictate what people can and can’t do with their products.

Can Jobs and the gang successfully prohibit iPhone and iPad giveaways? Will they really even try? If so, what legal grounds do they have to stand on? Chime in below!

Which WWDC Announcement Are You Most Excited About?

Monday will bring about the opening of the always exciting Worldwide Developers Conference, an event hosted by Apple each year to show off the newest goodies that will keep our wallets empty for the next 365 days.

This year it would seem that Apple has quite a bit to be excited about. The topic that’s on the homepage of every tech blog is of course iCloud, which it would seem has gone far beyond myth and into certain reality. In fact, MacRumors is even reporting that the iCloud banners are already up in the WWDC venue!

Beyond that you can expect to see lots of talk about updates to both of Apple’s operating systems: OS X and iOS. The event is supposedly aimed primarily at software so we don’t expect to see anything iPhone 5 related, but anything could happen in those “one more thing” segments that Jobs is always sneaking in.

Today we want to know which announcement you’re most excited about. Are you ready to take your music to the cloud, finally see a decent notifications system in iOS or anxiously drooling over Lion?

Be sure to check back Monday for the scoop on everything new in the world of Mac, iPhone and iPad!

iPhone Game Friday: New Releases

Welcome to June and another installment of Game Friday, folks!

This is, believe it or not, our fiftieth episode, so before we jump into the list, I just want to thank everyone for their continuing suggestions, comments, and feedback on Game Friday. We love you too. Now that that’s out of the way, the best recent releases are waiting for you after the jump, so get clicking!

Mighty Fin

Mighty Fin

Mighty Fin

Mighty Fin is a mighty fine example of building on an existing mechanic in a respectful and effective way. As soon as you begin playing, you’ll notice the similarity to Tiny Wings, and this extends beyond the control scheme to the visuals as well.

Of course story-wise, things are rather reversed in that you spend your time swimming instead of flying, but otherwise you’ll probably find that gameplay is pretty familiar, with tapping making you sink and releasing your finger causing you to jump up. As you speed through levels, you collect items and costume bubbles in a way that makes it feel like a combination between Tiny Wings and LittleBigPlanet. The unlocked costumes can then be worn, so you can look stylish while chasing down achievements and highscores.

Whether or not you enjoyed Tiny Wings, you can rest assured that Mighty Fin is a charming and worthy addition to your game library.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Launching Pad Games
Download: App Store

Velocispider

Velocispider

Velocispider

Among the more popular games that came out recently, Velocispider continues on the retro trend and delivers another wholly successful fusion of oldschool gaming with modern polish.

Playing as a bizarre half-spider, half-velociraptor machine thing, you do your best to defend your eggs against an evil man who sends his “robot seafood” to try and steal them from you. It’s a vertical shooter through and through, and it features most of the things you’d expect (powerups, highscore leaderboards, etc.)

There are plenty of levels to keep you busy for now, and more are sure to come. This one is terrific for passing the time; highly recommended.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Retro Dreamer
Download: App Store

To-Fu: The Trials of Chi

To-Fu: The Trials of Chi

To-Fu: The Trials of Chi

As the name suggests, this tale of the “world’s most malleable martial artist” is a cheerful oriental-flavoured story of one tofu block’s struggles to complete the trials of Chi in an effort to become a master.

It’s a puzzle game, of course, but it’s based on the stretch-and-fling mechanic. The trials encourage you to collect relics and little chi blobs while using the minimum number of flings (they call them pings), so the challenge is not only in completing the levels, but in doing so within the given parameters.

Different types of surfaces, spikes, and other dangers will confront you as you progress through the 100 or so levels of the trial, and the game’s friendly and forgiving play style seems aimed at rewarding fresh and hardcore gamers alike. There’s something for everyone in here, so have a look!

Price: $0.99
Developer: HotGen Ltd.
Download: App Store

Panda Warrior: Zombie King's Treasure

Panda Warrior: Zombie King's Treasure

Panda Warrior: Zombie King’s Treasure

Panda Warrior: Zombie King’s Treasure is an amusing and colourful game from the creators of Devil Boy.

Playing as Bo, the hungry panda warrior, you must retrieve your food from the evil zombie king by fighting through legions of his undead horde. It’s a pretty straight-forward game, with simple controls and a pick-up-and-play attitude. What brings it all together is the wonderful visual style, which is overflowing with colours and quality artwork.

Be aware that it’s only available for iPhone 4 / iPod Touch 4th gen for now, so hold off for a while if you have an older device — an update will ensure compatibility.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Rhinobeetle
Download: App Store

Skyblox Full Version

Skyblox

Skyblox Full Version

Skyblox Full Version is a refinement of an older release by Advanced Mobile Applications. Instead of making more levels available for an in-game purchase as the frustrating original system had it, the full 80 levels are available from the get-go now, and (at least temporarily) for free!

The game itself is a puzzler wherein you must push a rectangular block through each level so that at the end you can slot it into a marker. It’s trickier than it seems, since you must position the block so that it lands vertically on the marker, just touching it won’t suffice. The block is moved via finger swipes, and there isn’t a whole lot else to it in terms of controls, making it a perfect game for those after uncomplicated control schemes.

The levels become appropriately challenging as you progress, but part of that challenge comes from the fact that there is no means of shifting the map around to view what’s coming up in the level, which makes it impossible to plan ahead and can sometimes mean a lot of idle backtracking. It’s a silly oversight that will hopefully be addressed in a future update, but besides that, Skyblox is a solid and

Price: Free
Developer: Advanced Mobile Applications Ltd.
Download: App Store

What Have You Been Playing?

Whether you’re enjoying these titles, still struggling with The Heist, or have other amazing games that have been taking up your time, we want to hear about it! Pop into the comments and share the fun.

Upcoming Apple Store in Hamburg, Germany pranked by Windows fanbois (Updated)

When new Apple Stores are under construction, it’s common for the front of the store to be hidden in a large black wooden structure. Yesterday morning, the black box at the new store in Hamburg, Germany was plastered with a nicely painted and quite artistic Windows logo, which was later painted over by a worker with a ladder and bucket of black paint. German Apple fan site iFun.de was sent some photos, allegedly by three different readers.

Being the skeptic that I am, I ran the photos through the Forensic Error Level Analysis tool to see if these were real photos or just nicely Photoshopped images. You can see the results here:

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

The results were inconclusive — while the Windows logo did show signs of being a pasted-on Photoshop artifact, the appearance of colors on a stark black background can also cause artifacts to show up in the analysis tool. Closer inspection under magnification showed reflections of the correct shades in the window to the right of the logo.

So, it’s up to TUAW readers to make the call. Are the photos real? Or did iFun.de get pranked instead of the Apple Store? Leave your comments below.

Update: Looks like the prank was real. The video below shows how the antic was pulled off.

Continue reading Upcoming Apple Store in Hamburg, Germany pranked by Windows fanbois (Updated)

Upcoming Apple Store in Hamburg, Germany pranked by Windows fanbois (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s market value is more than Microsoft and Intel combined

Apple’s market value is now greater than Microsoft and Intel combined. When the market closed on Friday, Microsoft had a market value of US$201.59 billion and Intel had a value of $115.21 billion. Combined, they have a market value of $316.8 billion which is just below the $317.60 billion of Apple. This may the first time Apple has exceeded the portmanteau.

As MacDailNews points out, no one can forget what Bill Gates said about Steve Jobs in an unpublished 1998 interview conducted by Robert X. Cringely for Vanity Fair. Then the CEO of Microsoft, Gates wondered, “What I can’t figure out is why he (Steve Jobs) is even trying (to be the CEO of Apple)? He knows he can’t win.”

At that point, Microsoft was trading at $29 and had a market cap of $250 billion. Apple was down to a lowly $7.25 and had a market cap of $6 billion. Steve Jobs had resumed the helm as CEO of Apple and was looking to turn things around. I’d say he has been successful, wouldn’t you?

Apple’s market value is more than Microsoft and Intel combined originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fox News releases iPad app

Fox News has released an iPad app that lets you read and view the latest news on your tablet. The iPad app is heavy on the multimedia with picture-rich links to the top news articles and videos. If you like a news story, it can be saved to your Favorites or shared on Twitter or Facebook. The app also includes a news ticker and weather conditions at the bottom.

One part of the app that is interesting is the live news feed. Foxnews.com Live is available in the app each weekday between 9am to 3pm ET. The iPad app is also useful for watching live coverage of major news events. The app supports push notifications to alert you when breaking news happens. Fox News for the iPad is available now for free from the App Store.

Fox News releases iPad app originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10 apps you should install FIRST on your iPhone

You’ve taken the plunge and bought your first iPhone. You’ve activated your service with your local wireless carrier, connected and synced it with your main computer for the first time, and brought over as much music, photos, and videos as you can squeeze onto it. Maybe you’ve even played around with Apple’s default apps a bit.

“Now what?” you may be asking yourself. “I’ve heard about all the great apps that are available for the iPhone, but where do I start?”

That’s a very good question, and it’s one that gets harder and harder to answer the more apps make their way into Apple’s App Store. With hundreds of thousands of apps now available for the iPhone, it may seem overwhelming trying to sift through them all if this is your first few hours with an iPhone.

Not to worry, because we’ve got you covered. We put our heads together and came up with a list of the apps you should install first on your brand-new, factory-fresh iPhone. Keeping in mind that people from all over the world use iPhones and read TUAW, we excluded from consideration any apps that don’t have full international functionality. This meant leaving a number of very cool and useful apps out of consideration, but we wanted to make sure this is a list that applies to everyone, not just US or UK readers. We also kept this list pretty simple; if you’re familiar with the way iTunes separates music collections into The Basics, Next Steps, and Deep Cuts, you’ll see that we very much went for The Basics for this go-around.

Click “Read More” to see the full list of recommended apps for first-time iPhone users and our rationale for choosing each one.

Continue reading 10 apps you should install FIRST on your iPhone

10 apps you should install FIRST on your iPhone originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Time Inc. exec makes the leap to iPad startup Flipboard

The New York Post is reporting that digital journalist Josh Quittner is leaving Time magazine to join startup Flipboard as its new editorial director. Flipboard is a personalized social magazine app for the iPad. You can enter your Facebook and Twitter accounts and follow any number of sites’ RSS feeds, and the app presents all the tweets, status updates and articles to you as a digital magazine.

The fact that Quittner, who covered the digital revolution for 15 years at Time Inc, is leaving underscores a tectonic shift happening in the traditional publishing industry. It seems that those in the know feel secure in their beliefs about the future of publishing enough to leave established outlets for what they think is the future of the industry. Like many, I’ve said it again and again, publishers need to embrace the future if they want to keep up with all the ways people consume media nowadays. When veterans like Quittner, who also worked at Fortune and the now defunct (best magazine ever) Business 2.0, start jumping ship, it seems apparent that a tipping point from print to digital is closer than one thinks.

[via iPodNN]

Time Inc. exec makes the leap to iPad startup Flipboard originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ONE: The app every American should own

My brother and I frequently discuss the fact that, though many Americans are passionate about a wide variety of issues affecting our country, few seem to actually take the time to do anything about it. And who can blame them? Many Americans are so overworked, underpaid, and in fear of how they’ll make their mortgage payment or health insurance premium next month that they may not have time to attend a political rally or contact their representative on a certain issue? Well, now there’s an app that makes it easier for the average Joe to take political action and promote change — all from his iPhone.

ONE Campaign is essentially a call-to-action app. It lists a number of political issues or advocacy movements and gives you instant access to proven projects that are working to combat the issues (like vaccines for children, for example). You can then enlist your Twitter or Facebook friends to help spread the word and join movements that are important to you. But the best thing about the app is that it gives you instant tools so you can actually take political action. With a few taps you can call your Congressman or sign a petition to support your cause. The app knows who your Congressional leaders are based on the zip code you enter. So many political action apps are solely news-focused. They tell us the bad things that are happening and leave us angry or distressed. The ONE app allows us to take productive action on an issue as easily as we download a song. ONE Campaign is a free download.

ONE: The app every American should own originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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