28

Apr

Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup – April 28, 2009

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Section: Software + Apps , Miscellaneous , Third-Party , iPod + iTunes , iPod touch , iPhone , Email/IM , iPhone SDK & Apps , Mac + Computers , Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for April 28, 2009: Macintosh Toon Boom Animation, Inc. has announced the release of Service Pack 1 (SP1) for both Storyboard 1.5 and Storyboard Pro 1.5. In addition to several product enhancements and performance improvements, this Service Pack includes numerous new features. Current Toon Boom Storyboard 1.5 and Storyboard Pro 1.5 customers can download SP1 for free from toonboom.com, from their My Products page. Elixir has announced Heat Wave , their latest new theme for RapidWeaver. Heat Wave is simple, yet flexible. Its clean look is great for designing a portfolio, blog, small business site and much more. This theme makes it easy to create a simply brilliant looking site in a short period of time. Heat Wave also makes use of the RapidWeaver color picker. With it you can change the colors for all of the following areas of your site design. IGG Software has announced the release of iBank 3.4.2 , the latest version of its flagship application for personal and small business finance management. This version comes just four weeks after the release of iBank 3.4.1, making iBank an even better choice for Mac users seeking a full-featured alternative to Quicken. The update is free to existing iBank 3 users and available for immediate download.

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Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup – April 28, 2009

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26

Mar

Variable iTunes Pricing to Take Effect On April 7

Posted by   Published in 20, 2008, 21, 99-cents, MIT, Macworld, Music, News, Object, Software, ad, app, apple, apple mac, art, cat, ces, cost, db, deal, drm, ds, ea, feed, free, god, iTunes, image, logo, mac, macworld 2009, mod, old, piracy, post, pre, price, prices, pricing, release, report, tea, time, true, updates, what the

Way back in January, at Macworld 2009 (the last Apple Macworld , remember?), Apple announced a change in the pricing structure for iTunes songs. The new model, which basically seems to have been a concession to music publishers in order to secure DRM-free tracks, prices individual songs at 69 cents, 99 cents, and $1.29. Currently, all iTunes tracks cost 99 cents. No specific implementation date was cited at the time, but a new report from the L.A. Times indicates that the changes will come April 7. Not everyone in the industry is thrilled with the new pricing scheme. According to the L.A. Times article, former EMI Executive Tim Cohen is quoted as saying that, “This will be a PR nightmare. It is for the music industry what the AIG bonuses are for the insurance industry.” Charging those who don’t pirate music more, when piracy is more widespread then ever, admittedly doesn’t seem like the way to go about curbing the trend. Details of how songs would be priced also emerged in the report. It will not be determined based on the age of releases, as some had previously suggested. Instead, price will be determined based on artist popularity. That means that Flo Rida fans will have to shell out more, while people like me who listen to music no one else has ever heard of or cares about might wind up actually benefiting from the deal. If I was a diehard Ciara or All-American Rejects fan, I’d think about getting my download on now while the old pricing structure is still intact.

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6

Mar

Would Blackberry’s price minimum ensure a quality App Store?

Posted by   Published in 20, 2008, 299, 99-cents, Apps, Media, Object, Software, Web, ad, analysis, app, app store, app world, app-store-pricing, apple, art, blackberry, book, buy, case, cat, ces, ds, fart, feed, free, ftw, gizmodo, iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, ifart, mini, mod, old, opinion, post, pre, price, prices, pricing, store, tuaw

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion , Software , Apple , iPhone , App Store , iPod touch Here’s an interesting idea for the App Store. Gizmodo posts that the new Blackberry “App World” has set a minimum price on its apps, asking no less than $2.99 for whatever you buy in there. At first glance, that’s pretty rough — there are a lot of free apps on the App Store right now that we wouldn’t pay 99 cents for, much less $2.99. But then again, Gizmodo is willing to at least suggest the benefit of the doubt: maybe it’s done on purpose, to get us past the scourge of the many fart and other useless apps populating the App Store. Maybe if every app is sold for $3 or more, they’ll end up all being worth that much, too. But we have to agree with Gizmodo’s conclusion, too: while it would be nice if every app on the store was worth more than $3, there are definitely a few apps out there that are worth having the lower (and free) prices for. And to add to that, it’s hard to believe that, even at $3, every app would strive to live up to that price — most likely what will happen is that you’ll end up with just as much crap on the Blackberry’s store , except that you’ll be paying $2 more for it. Still, it’s an idea

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Would Blackberry’s price minimum ensure a quality App Store?

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8

Feb

App Store: "Demo" no, "Lite" yes

Posted by   Published in 2008, 99-cents, Apps, Media, News, Software, Web, ad, analysis, app, app store, apple, apple.com, beta, book, buy, buy-it, cat, demo, developers, ds, features, feed, ftw, fully-featured, functional, iPhone, iTunes, lite, opinion, policy, pre, stand, standalone, store, tech, time, try-it, tuaw, versions, wrong

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion , Software , Apple , iPhone , App Store Our dear friend Erica Sadun has outlined one of Apple’s more sticky App Store policies over at Ars Technica. There’s been a lot of customer pressure , as we’ve said before, to put “try it” versions of apps on the App Store, and quite a few developers have done exactly that, by releasing a “Free” or “Lite” version of the paid app along with the real thing. But Apple has some pretty strict rules about doing so: every app on the store needs to be fully functional and stand on its own. You can leave out some levels of your game, for example, but you can’t put a timed limit on it or remove features that are central to the app itself. Of course, there’s a grey area there — what features are central to the app, exactly? But Erica boils it down to words: putting “Lite” or “Free” in the title are fine, but releasing “Demo” or “Beta” versions are not. It’s too bad Apple hasn’t fleshed this out more — everything we’ve heard about how people are buying these apps shows that if customers have a chance to try the app, they’re much more likely to spend money on it later on. But right now, developers have to keep up two different versions, and they have to dodge the pitfalls of deciding what goes in each one, while keeping them both “fully functional.” App Store: “Demo” no, “Lite” yes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

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4

Feb

Test your hearing with Audiometry for the iPhone

Posted by   Published in 99-cents, Media, Music, News, Opinions, Software, Support, Web, ad, analysis, app, app store, apple, apple.com, art, audio, audiometry, book, cat, damage, db, ds, ears, feed, frequencies, ftw, hearing, hearing-damage, hearing-test, iPhone, iPod, iPod family, iTunes, listening, opinion, podcast, review, sound-opinions, store, testing, time, tuaw

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion , iPod Family , Software , Odds and ends , Apple , iPhone , App Store I was just listening to the great Sound Opinions music podcast the other day, and they had a woman on who was campaigning against hearing damage. In fact, she actually called out iPod headphones (as I was listening to the show on my iPhone) as one of today’s leading causes of hearing damage — too many people are listening to music through those headphones way too loud. Unfortunately, the iPhone can’t fix your ears (yet), but it can help you figure out if there’s a problem: Audiometry is a 99 cent app that will test your hearing for you through a range of frequencies, and let you know whether your ears are blown out or whether you’ve still got some good vibrations left. The app plays a tone at each frequency, asks you whether or not you heard it (though you’ve got to be honest — there were a few times I could hear the tone stopping and starting but not the tone itself), and then gives you a results list on how you did. Future versions of the app will include a dB test (for loudness rather than just frequency), and the ability to save and share tests with others. It’s hardly a substitute for going to a real ear doctor (if you have serious issues, you should definitely do that), but considering all the damage your iPhone may have done to your ears, the least it could do is help you figure out how much. While you’re at it, review this article from Apple on setting the maximum volume limit on an iPod. [via textually.org ] Test your hearing with Audiometry for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:00:00 EST

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