While traditional print publishers are practically falling over themselves to get their product on Apple’s new iPad, the new media has taken the attitude of “Talk to the hand.” Cult of Mac is reporting on an Association of Online Publishers poll which hit up 1,500 members and asked their opinion about where the business is heading this year. The good news is, most of them were optimistic — just not about iPads or even e-readers in general. Half of the poll’s respondents predicted “strong growth” as high as 10 percent, “mainly from display ads and an uptick in video, with a number of smaller revenue streams adding to the bottom line.” But for whatever reason, when asked about tablets and e-readers this year, “that sunny outlook was a bit scarce.” Here’s a sampling of what the Association of Online Publishers had to say in video interviews, courtesy of Cult of Mac : “These are still really really embryonic devices that are great and fantastic, and I want to be at the top of the queue to buy one and play with it,” remarks Mail Online MD James Bromley. “But we’re talking about a very, very narrow subsection of society that will have these in 2010. This is the time that we learn about these devices — ‘11, ‘12, ‘13 is when these might become slightly more mainstream.” Conde Nast Digital UK manager Emanuela Pignataro was even more direct: “E-readers will be the novelty of 2010. I don’t think it is a short-term adoption — it will take years.” “I don’t think we’re quite there yet,” says Thomson Reuters consumer GM Tim Faircliff. Finally, Incisive Media digital manager John Barnes: “The issue with tablets is, they’re not really servicing the needs of color, with graphics and diagrams — it’s a bit like version one of the iPod.” Somebody should tell all of this to the rumored 150,000 people who preordered their iPad last Friday…

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iPad Will Have “Absolutely No” Impact in 2010, Says Online Publishers

A Google employee expressed his distaste for the way Apple does business in no uncertain terms in a recent blog post. Tim Bray, a co-inventor of XML and a well-known blogger in his own right, is also a Google employee on the Android team, having recently joined following his time at Sun Microsystems . The blog post at issue, which appeared on his personal blog , details his reasons behind joining Google, which include a passion for the rapid pace of development on the platform and the fact that it’s an open source system. Another reason is that he “hates” the iPhone. Or at least the context in which the iPhone operates. Bray doesn’t shy away from sharing his opinion of what Apple’s done wrong with the iPhone, in no uncertain terms: The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger. I hate it. I hate it even though the iPhone hardware and software are great, because freedom’s not just another word for anything, nor is it an optional ingredient. The big thing about the Web isn’t the technology, it’s that it’s the first-ever platform without a vendor (credit for first pointing this out goes to Dave Winer). From that follows almost everything that matters, and it matters a lot now, to a huge number of people. It’s the only kind of platform I want to help build. Apple apparently thinks you can have the benefits of the Internet while at the same time controlling what programs can be run and what parts of the stack can be accessed and what developers can say to each other. I think they’re wrong and see this job as a chance to help prove it

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Google/Apple Feud Gets More Impassioned, Personal

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 10, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh iWebThemesPark has launched ten new iWeb Themes for Apple’s iWeb. In addition, a free iWeb Theme has been released for all iWeb users. Brand new, amazing and supreme quality iWeb Themes from iWebThemesPark are the perfect way to create or update a website. Some iWeb Templates are recommended for building business websites, so everyone can find a perfect theme for any kind of website. The package of ten themes for an unbelievably low price is most likely to be the best offer ever. iUseMac has announced that it will be featuring the innovative image identification software PhotoBrain at 50% off on Wednedsay March 10th and Thursday March 11th. PhotoBrain is an advanced software for image identification and photo matching, it’s the first image search engine on the local drive to use image identification technology. iUseMac offers popular Mac applications at reduced prices for limited time periods. This offer will start on Wednedsay March 10th and will end 48 hours later. Intego has announced VirusBarrier X6 Dual Protection , featuring the latest version of its acclaimed anti-malware and network security software together with BitDefender Antivirus 2010 so Mac users can protect their Windows installations. The latest version of Intego’s anti-malware and network security program includes new threat-detection techniques, improved methods of detection, combined detection protocols, proactive behavioral analysis, and a full range of defensive functions. Bambooapps today announce Quiet Read Pro , an important update to their popular link management application for Macintosh. Quiet Read lets you save any link for later, and is an unobtrusive, easy to use application that features a clean interface. Quiet Read Pro features a comfortable and simple user interface, providing support for bookmarklets, syncing with MobileMe, short URLs, with list searching and filtering capabilities. Eltima Software has announced the release of Folx 1.0 , a free download manager for Mac OS X

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 10, 2010

When iTunes web preview pages first appeared for songs and albums the industry was abuzz with the possibility that iTunes could be migrating to the cloud. iTunes preview has so far had little impact on how we use purchased media content, but it has had a huge impact on how we find iTunes media content on the web, especially with iPhone apps. The iTunes web preview pages are an enormous draw for search engines and consistently rank high in the results when searching for the names of apps. A Quick History of iTunes Web Preview Previously, web links to iTunes content opened a redirect page (hosted on phobos.apple.com) that asked you to wait “One Moment Please” while the iTunes application was launched. This page only had a thumbnail of the cover and sparsely listed just the title and publisher. iTunes web preview first appeared on November 13, 2009 with full pages including descriptive text (hosted on itunes.apple.com). Audio clip previews were added on January 7, 2010. These pages still launch the iTunes application, but also include the full description, select customer reviews, and links to related content.

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App Store SEO: The Impact of iTunes Web Preview

Section: Mac Software , Home and Personal , Features , Opinions and Editorials Although I’m 100% pro technology, it sometimes takes me a while to embrace a new application. No matter how much buzz it is going on around it, no matter how much my friends tell me to try it, I just don’t feel the need to find out what it is, or how it works. It’s a weird inner process, but it happens. Even fewer times do I get to realize how wrong I was for not giving it a chance sooner, and how much I was missing.  Those are the times I kind of regret my lack of interest, and almost always I tend to compensate for lost time from that point forward. One of the biggest cases of that personal phenomenon is Dropbox, which I completely overlooked despite bloggers, press, friends, and Internet in general.  Nowadays, that’s an application I can’t afford to lose, and I’m willing to pay for it if I have to (I know maybe it’s not a big deal for most of you, but it’s a big thing where I come from). The most recent episode of “the phenomenon” (it’s merely an event, but since it’s my story I get to call it whatever I want) is the application that brings me to my word processor today. This application is called 1Password and, of course, you all know about it since I’m the one late to the party. This is the kind of software that somehow makes you dream about becoming a software developer—specifically a Mac developer, because, let’s face it, on the Mac, first-class applications like this one just shine on.  1Password (next to some of my other favorite apps) is the kind of software that makes me spend time making up things just to interact with it.  Six bank accounts are not enough, I wish I had more to put into it, I wish I had more software licenses, and I need to concentrate and think hard because I know I must have more log-ins in my history. If I just could remember all of them I will be able to continue adding inputs to this 1Password wonder. It was 1Password 3 that finally got my attention

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1Password 3 is “a greatly executed work of art”

Apple has a default set of apps that come with every iPhone and iPod touch that you can’t remove from the device, and that provide some basic features that are likely to appeal to a wide swath of users. The iPad will have a default set, too, but it won’t necessarily include all the familiar apps you know and possibly love. According to John Gruber of Daring Fireball , apps that Apple didn’t show off during its iPad unveiling event weren’t just left out because there weren’t many major changes made to them, they actually won’t appear on the platform at all. Or, if they do, they won’t ship with the product and instead will be downloadable after the fact via the App Store. The apps in question are Calculator, Stocks, Weather, Clock and Voice Memos. According to Gruber’s sources, the apps won’t be included not because Apple has deemed them any less useful or appealing to consumers in terms of function, but because Cupertino couldn’t come up with iPad-complementary large-format designs for their user interfaces. Personally, I’m not too upset about the omissions. I barely ever use Calculator and Voice Memos, and I’ve opened Stocks maybe once or twice.

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Not Every iPhone Apple App to Get the iPad Treatment

Filed under: Apple App Store clutter remains an ongoing issue. In addition to “business card” applications that offer little or no functionality beyond a simple web page [1] , there are lite editions, demo editions, full editions, and even in the case of Tweetie 2, completely new applications providing upgraded functionality . Each of those applications must be registered with a unique app identifier, each one takes up a separate slot when installed on your iPhone’s home screen, each application occupies a separate App Store listing, complete with its own screen shots, marketing material, reviews, and so forth. Each one must be managed by you in iTunes, where you must decide which to sync, which to keep, and so forth. Add to the mix, the possibility that we’re likely to see iPad- and iPhone-specific application releases in the near future in addition to the Universal Application solution that Apple has been heavily promoting. That’s because iPad applications offer developers the opportunity to re-imagine their interfaces, adding features without the constraints of the iPhone’s small screen and modal interaction limitations. An iPad app that adds significant new functionality may branch off and become yet another related app in a single application family. Continue reading iPhone devsugar: The need for multiple ipa delivery iPhone devsugar: The need for multiple ipa delivery originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

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iPhone devsugar: The need for multiple ipa delivery

It may be a little early to say this, but to me it seems like Microsoft took all the disappointment and fear resulting from Apple’s dominance of the mobile devices category over its own products through the years and used that energy to create the Courier . It’s the first time I’ve ever seen another company’s product and thought “That seems like something Apple would’ve made.” Engadget posted more details about the device late last week, including two lengthy HD interface videos. Microsoft isn’t yet officially saying anything about whether or not this will become a production device, but Engadget seems very confident in its sources, and I’d be inclined to believe them since it seems more than likely Redmond is taking a page out of Apple’s marketing playbook by keeping things somewhat hush-hush but using “leaks” to steal focus. Microsoft gets a lot of flak for doing a tablet the wrong way, as demonstrated by the HP model it unveiled ahead of the iPad to grab some of the attention away from that spotlight hog. But the Courier doesn’t have the same shortcomings. For one, it’s not based on Windows 7, but on a version of Windows CE 6, which also provides the basis for the Zune HD’s interface and the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 OS. It also runs on the Tegra 2, an impressive mobile processor. It also has some considerable advantages over its Apple rival, especially if the hype is actually representative of what a production version will look like. First, there’s the size. The clamshell design allows it to be smaller than the iPad, while providing more screen real estate.

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Microsoft Courier Shaping Up as a Truly Novel iPad Competitor

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPad , iPhone Carriers , Features , Opinions and Editorials , Originals When Apple announced the iPad at the end of January, it was met with both excitement and contempt. There had been so many rumors leading up to the announcement that it was guaranteed to leave somebody disappointed. One of the questions leading up to the event was “How would it connect to the internet?” WiFi seemed to be a given, but lots of people hoped there would be a 3G option as well. But along with the prediction of 3G was the hope of maybe Verizon or even Sprint as data providers this time instead of AT&T. But during the keynote Apple announced to a stunned audience that they would once again be working with AT&T . Why AT&T Again? Since that announcement, lots of people have asked “Why AT&T again?” This question is based on the fact that many people have been very disappointed—and even frustrated—by the performance of AT&T’s 3G network performance and coverage. There are states like North Dakota and South Dakota where AT&T has little or no coverage at all, and even the big cities like New York or Los Angeles have been plagued by very poor performance. My experience has not been so bad. I live in a rural area that also happens to be covered by AT&T’s 3G service, and it works very well. I know this has not been the case everywhere, and I can attest to that when I travel to places like San Francisco or Chicago. I also experienced the coverage issues as I traveled cross country this past summer. But I think the answer to why AT&T was chosen again is not as much an issue of network performance as it is network technology.

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The iPad and AT&T; here we go again

Section: Mac Software , Business / Office Suites , Home and Personal , Features , Opinions and Editorials Quicken Essentials for the Mac, or QEM, is finally out. After waiting three years or so to put my hands on it, I got it last week and I’ve been testing it since. This is not intended to be a review of the software (Ed McKell’s review is forthcoming), but instead, my take on this new version, with all its pros and cons, applied to a not very common use case. Since I’m Venezuelan, my native language is not English, my local currency is not the dollar, and my local banks don’t support online updates through Quicken.  This makes my relationship with Intuit’s software a very interesting one, and it’s a key factor in my overall opinion on this update. I’ve been a Quicken user for quite a while now, and I have always been using just the basics of the application.  Maybe I’m the only kind of user who benefited from this essential approach of the software update. If you have already read QEM reviews from the specialists out there, you already know this new version is as essential as it gets. You will actually have a hard time finding something simpler and more feature-lacking on the financial application’s field. If you’re planning on buying this product, I’d recommend at least you do two things first: 1.) read Walt Mossberg’s review of the software (nice video included), and 2.) read Amazon’s user reviews. That’s it; you don’t need anything else to make a decision. After I did those two wise things, I decided I wanted to give it a try anyway—yes, anyway—that’s how bad the things are for QEM out there on the public’s opinion. Since I’m not an advanced user and I’m a helpless enthusiast, hungry for new versions of anything, I knew I was going to do it anyway. I have to say that so far, with all the above clarifications in mind, I really like this software.  First, since I am a software developer myself, from the software developer’s point of view I have to admire the decision Intuit made when they decided to start from scratch. Let’s be realistic here, Mac users could be easily left out of Quicken’s picture. I don’t have any inside numbers, but counting on the crappy versions of Quicken for Mac we’ve seen over the time (crappy compared to Windows versions), I’m guessing we’re not the priority for Intuit’s financial goals. Instead of looking the other way, or just focusing on the Windows and web-based business, the company decided to work on bringing the first real Mac-like application, written entirely in Cocoa

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The new Quicken for Mac is as Essential as it gets