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The iPhone: Tricorder Version 1.0?
By James TurnerNovember 17, 2009
The iPhone, in addition to revolutionizing how people thought about mobile phone user interfaces, also was one of the first devices to offer a suite of sensors measuring everything from the visual environment to position to acceleration, all in a package that could fit in your shirt pocket. On December 3rd, O'Reilly will be offering a one-day online edition of the Where 2.0 conference, focusing on the iPhone sensors, and what you can do with them. Alasdair Allan (the University of Exeter and Babilim Light Industries) and Jeffrey Powers (Occipital) will be among the speakers, and I recently spoke with each of them about how the iPhone has evolved as a sensing platform and the new and interesting things being done with the device.
The War For the Web
By Tim O'ReillyNovember 16, 2009
On Friday, my latest tweet was automatically posted to my Facebook news feed, as always. But this time, Tom Scoville noticed a difference: the link in the posting was no longer active. It turns out that a lot of other people had noticed this too. Mashable wrote about the problem on Saturday morning: Facebook Unlinks Your Twitter Links. if you’re...
It's in the Bag! The Apple Tablet Computing Device
By Mark SigalNovember 13, 2009
In the past 25 years, the 'personal' computing revolution has evolved from tethered (desktop) to luggable (portable) to joined-at-the-hip (mobile). The author argues that the next wave of computing will extend this level of personal attachment to the bag-carrying consumer (think: purses, backpacks and briefcases) when Apple releases it’s much rumored Tablet Computing Device. Read more
The Minds Behind Some of the Most Addictive Games Around
By James TurnerNovember 6, 2009
The gaming industry tends to focus on the high end products, first person shooters that crank out a bazillion polygons a seconds and RPGs with spend more time developing the plot in cut scenes than in actual gameplay. But for every person playing Borderlands, there are scores playing casual games like Bejeweled and Zuma. PopCap Games has been at the forefront of casual game development, with a catalog that includes bestselling titles like Peggle and Plants vs Zombies, in addition to the two previously mentioned. I recently had a chance to talk to Jason Kapalka, one of the founders and the creative director of PopCap. We discussed the evolution of PopCap, how the casual gaming industry differs from mainstream gaming, and the challenges of creating games that can be engaging, without being frustrating.
Announcing O'Reilly Answers - Clever Hacks. Creative Ideas. Innovative Solutions.
By Allen NorenNovember 4, 2009
We're launching the beta of O'Reilly Answers, and I'm inviting you to be part of it. In brief, O'Reilly Answers is a community site for sharing knowledge, asking questions, and providing answers that brings together our customers, authors, editors, conference speakers, and Foo (Friends of O'Reilly). O'Reilly is at the center of an amazing exchange of knowledge sharing and idea generation, and we want you to join us in changing the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators.
Despite recent gains for books, Games still dominate in the App Store (via @dliman)
By Andrew SavikasNovember 3, 2009
O'Reilly's Ben Lorica slices and dices current app trends for iPhone and Android (nice data points on price stabilization too): "While it might be true that the number of Book...
Games Top the Charts in the iPhone and Android App Markets
By Ben LoricaNovember 3, 2009
While it might be true that the number of Book apps is growing at a faster rate, Games continue to dominate the list of popular U.S. iTunes Apps. Games accounted for about a fifth of all iTunes apps over the past week†, but the category continued to have a disproportionate share of the Top 100 charts, accounting for 52% of...
O'Reilly Ebooks Now in Aldiko Online Catalog for Android
By Andrew SavikasOctober 30, 2009
The iPhone gets a lot of the attention when it comes to smartphones, but signs point to Android playing a huge role in the growing smartphone market, with 20+...
iPhone Killers, Blackberries and Chicken Parts
By Mark SigalOctober 28, 2009
While a steady stream of so-called iPhone Killers are filtering into the market, Apple's momentum continues unabated. Inspired by his own experiences upgrading to the Blackberry Tour, the author ponders why so many solution provides confuse delivering a bunch of 'chicken parts' with producing an actual, living, breathing chicken.
The Right Stuff: Apple's Q4 Earnings Call
By Mark SigalOctober 20, 2009
The Fourth Quarter was Apple's most profitable quarter ever. Yesterday's earnings call was about two things. One, the iPhone Platform continues to deliver the goods. Two, the continued impressive growth of the Mac, especially MacBooks. As such, it was about the power of the platform as much as it was about the device itself. Read more...
Land and Expand: Why Apple Allowing In-App Purchases in Free Apps is a Big Deal
By Mark SigalOctober 16, 2009
Yesterday, Apple announced that they are now allowing In-App Purchasing within free apps. I think that this is a big deal, an entree into what I refer to as 'land and expand,' and yet another reason that Apple remains the gold standard of mobile computing.
Flash to iPhone
By Veronique BrossierOctober 15, 2009
Adobe, a long time player in rich internet applications, wanted to, once again, be an active participant. As part of the Open Screen Project, it collaborated with multiple partners and will soon release Flash Player 10.1 to run on a large selection of mobile devices' browser. You can watch the related announcement made at the MAX 2009 keynote or read the article on Adobe Labs.
Could Adobe potentially harm the iPhone AppStore
By Scott BarnesOctober 15, 2009
Adobe have spent a lot of cycles / years nudging Apple that Flash should be on the iPhone. Apple have firmly just said no, and despite the answer, Adobe keep expecting them to cave due to public demand. The problem with this logic is that Apple wont' give in.
Has your strategy changed on mobile (now that Flash Player mobile has been announced)?
By Rich TretolaOctober 12, 2009
Adobe has announced that the browser based Flash player 10.1 will soon be running on every major mobile platform (Windows Mobile, Android, Blackberry, Symbian, WebOS) except Apple's iPhone. (See my opinion on Apple here). They also announced that although Apple...
The iPhone as a Gaming Platform: Share of Top Apps By Category
By Ben LoricaOctober 8, 2009
As a follow-up to my recent post on the Top Grossing Apps list on iTunes, I examined three lists highlighted in the app store: the Top Paid, Top Free, and Top Grossing Apps. Believing that many users scan these lists, developers covet a spot on any of these Top 100 charts. In my previous posts, I've highlighted that Games is...
Should Apple Give a Rat's Ass that Developers Aren't Getting Rich off of the iPhone Platform?
By Mark SigalOctober 7, 2009
Apple's iPhone Platform is a runaway success relative to just about any metric that you can throw at it, save for one. Where are the breakout successful developers for whom the platform is a 'True Wealth' inducing moment? Read on...
Developing iPhone Apps Requires Xcode on the Mac
By Elisabeth RobsonOctober 7, 2009
I've had a few questions about the software I used in my previous screencasts. I created the app using Xcode for the Mac. Xcode is a developer tool, and if you want to develop iPhone apps, you'll need to download both Xcode and the iPhone SDK.
Customer Loyalty for Mobile Devices
By Andrew SavikasOctober 6, 2009
Some of the most interesting data on trends in mobile development has been coming from Flurry, an app analytics company (developers insert little snippets of Flurry code in their...
Review: Kerchoonz K-box Portable Speaker
By David BattinoOctober 6, 2009
Does this iPod-size, battery-powered vibration speaker with the gooey bottom really deliver amazing bass? Gel, yes!
Flash for iPhone, WebOS and Windows Mobile
By Alessandro PaceOctober 6, 2009
Adobe MAX 2009 is underway and yesterday during the keynote Adobe announced Flash 10.1 for mobile phones. It's a new runtime with improved performances and memory usage with support for new mobile platforms such as the Palm Web OS and...
The Price of The Top Grossing iTunes Apps
By Ben LoricaOctober 6, 2009
In response to developer complaints that more expensive apps were getting buried at the bottom of popularity rankings, Apple recently introduced a separate ranking based on revenue. (The Top 100 Paid apps ranks apps are based on number of downloads.) In this post, I'll validate that compared to downloads, the Top 100 ranking based on revenues does contain pricier apps....
Four short links: 6 October 2009
By Nat TorkingtonOctober 6, 2009
Bird-watching Turns To Technology (BBC) -- CCTV-esque automated bird watching. Sensor networks + computer vision for an ecological purpose. In a bid to track the guillemots behaviour, Dr Dickinson is refining established work that involves modelling the visual structure of an area around a nest. The computer system will be able to use this model to identify changing elements...
Flash on Devices
By Rich TretolaOctober 6, 2009
Flash on Iphone: Flash Professional CS5 will enable you to build applications for iPhone and iPod touch using ActionScript 3. These applications can be delivered to iPhone and iPod touch users through the Apple App Store.* http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashcs5/appsfor_iphone/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kusXgPAmMLw Flash10 on...
Review: LRKeys
By Gene McCullaghOctober 4, 2009
Lightroom has its first iPhone application! LRKeys from Baum Computer and Graphics helps you learn the many keyboard shortcuts Lightroom provides in order to make your workflow more efficient.
Collaborative Publishing: One Brand New Title, One Success
By Keith FahlgrenSeptember 29, 2009
Another site focused on collaborative publishing, Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, launches while we look back on the first attempt to improve manuscripts by engaging the community in an open and collaborative dialog with the authors, Programming Scala.
Rebooting the Book (One Apple iPad Tablet at a Time)
By Mark SigalSeptember 23, 2009
The book business is under assault. Book sales have been stagnating for some time, Amazon is the industry's boogeyman, and more terrifying, book publishers have no idea how to market books in a world (largely) devoid of bookstores. Moreover, in the age of the always on, it's fair to ask, do people even still read anymore? Just as it re-envisioned the Media Player, the Mobile Phone and Mobile Computing, Apple is well positioned to reboot the Book with its forthcoming iPad Tablet. Read on...
iPhone, the 'Personal' Computer - Future of the Mobile Web
By Mark SigalSeptember 15, 2009
The iPhone is the first truly 'personal' computer; more personal to its owners than the PC ever was. Talk to iPhone owners (not to mention, the 20M iPod Touch owners), and this truth bubbles to the top again and again. Read on...
Analysis of Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" iPod event
By Mark SigalSeptember 10, 2009
Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" iPod event yesterday had the feel of a paint-by-the numbers session. All tactics and little magic. Here's why...
O'Reilly iPhone App Tips and Tricks
By Adam WitwerSeptember 4, 2009
As Andrew has discussed in some detail recently on this blog, O'Reilly has started publishing many books as iPhone/iPod Touch apps. Over the past couple of months, we've received a...
Augmenting Reality with the iPhone - Acrossair's Nearest Tube will be one of the first "Terminator Vision" applications
By James TurnerAugust 27, 2009
With the release of the 3.1 iPhone OS, application developers will finally be able to develop augmented reality (AR) apps. In other words, Terminator Vision is right around the corner. I recently talked to Chetan Damani, one of the founders of Acrossair, about their new AR applications, Nearest Tube, and what's involved in developing AR applications for the iPhone.
The Most Popular iTunes Apps Aren't Always The Cheapest
By Ben LoricaAugust 27, 2009
While the most popular aren't always the cheapest, on average, the Top 10 Paid apps† tend to be cheaper than less popular ones (those ranked 45 to 55 or 91 to 100): The situation varies across categories and in this post I'll briefly examine a few of the larger ones. In both the Books and Games categories, the mean price...
Why is HTML Suddenly Interesting?
By Simon St. LaurentAugust 26, 2009
After a decade of quiet, HTML is a hot topic once again. While there is pent-up demand for new features, the conversation reflects a more basic change in the Web's landscape.
Burning Man Gets an API (and a Whole Lot More)
By Brady ForrestAugust 26, 2009
An API! SMS! Foursquare! An iPhone app! They are all coming to Burning Man this year. Will the festival be the same? The annual tech-art festival in the Nevada desert, starts on Sunday. Normally the attendees leave their phones and laptop behind, but this year that may not be the case. As I ride from Seattle to Black Rock...
Who's Winning the Smartphone Wars?
By Raven ZacharyAugust 24, 2009
The short answer - Microsoft and Nokia are slipping, RIM and Apple are gaining. It's too early to tell with Google. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
Touch Traveler: London, Paris and only an iPod Touch
By Mark SigalAugust 21, 2009
Recently, I spent two weeks vacationing in London and Paris with only an iPod Touch for communications and connectivity. Mind you, I am not suggesting that this was a wise thing to do, but it's what I did, and this post captures the good, bad and ugly of the experience.
APPLE is EVIL, You’re All Fanboys and other half-truths
By Mark SigalAugust 19, 2009
There is a meme afoot. Apple is evil. Its arrogant ways and dependence on the cult of personality are to be its demise. Developers are said to be unhappy. And, Apple Secrecy Doesn’t Scale. Google-ification is the way, the RIGHT way. The Apple Way can’t possibly persist ad infinitum. You Apple fanboys; you just don’t get it. Ol’ Steve (Jobs)...
The iTunes App Store Rolls with the Travel Season
By Ben LoricaAugust 10, 2009
Sometime last week, the iTunes app store passed 70,000 unique apps (70K apps have appeared in the app store since it launched). One of the fastest-growing categories in the U.S. iTunes app store has been Travel, displacing Education to move into the top 5 largest categories. Welcome to summer vacation! Next to the Book category, Travel is the most competitive...
The App Store and the Long Tail Part 2: The Real "DRM" At Stake
By Andrew SavikasAugust 9, 2009
Note there's a lot of images in this post, so if you're reading it via RSS, you may want to click through to the original post if you can't see...
iTunes App Store Incubation Period Increases In Most Categories
By Ben LoricaJuly 31, 2009
Over the last few weeks, media coverage of the iTunes app store often touches on concerns about Apple's approval process. Some apps drew enough complaints that Apple pulled them off the app store. With thousands of developers wanting to launch apps and Apple unable to come up with a more efficient vetting process, I'm revisiting an earlier post on the...
David Pogue's Top 10 Tips for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3.0 Software - The Latest Edition of iPhone: The Missing Manual Is Here
By Sara PeytonJuly 29, 2009
The new iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3.0 software have arrived, and New York Times tech columnist David Pogue is on top of it with a thoroughly updated edition of iPhone: The Missing Manual. The latest edition covers all models with 3.0 Software--including the iPhone 3GS. And here are David's top tips for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3.0 software.
Would an Apple Tablet be an Ereader? Yes and No.
By Andrew SavikasJuly 28, 2009
Last Friday the latest round of rumors of an Apple Tablet swelled considerably after a piece from Apple Insider asserted the device is now on the 2010 product roadmap:...
Seeing Our Culture With Fresh Eyes
By Tim O'ReillyJuly 23, 2009
The other day, I read a novel called Prester John, by John Buchan, published in 1910. This story about a Zulu uprising in South Africa as experienced by a young Scottish immigrant is an entertaining read in the spirit of Rudyard Kipling or H. Rider Haggard: adventure in the furthest outposts of the British Empire. But what makes this book...
Can't Get Approval for your App? Sell the Source Code
By Andrew SavikasJuly 21, 2009
We just released 17 O'Reilly books as standalone iPhone Apps (The Twitter Book looks fantastic -- and as a bonus #hashtags in the text are clickable), and so I've been looking at various options for monitoring sales and popularity (AppViz, AppFigures, and MajicRank have proven quite useful), and was eager to find something I could use right from my iPhone....
The Mobile Broadband Era: It's About Messages, Mobility and The Cloud
By Mark SigalJuly 20, 2009
“Listen to the technology; find out what it is telling you.” – Carver Mead The DOS-era was marked by a certain style of computing. It was primitive, largely devoid of graphics, and for developers, an exercise in scarcity management. In fact, the scarcity mindset was so endemic to the time that it prompted Microsoft’s Bill Gates to sagely note that...
Long Tail Evidence from The App Store
By Andrew SavikasJuly 20, 2009
Last week we released 16 of our books as iPhone Apps (and on Saturday added The Twitter Book), and there's some interesting Long Tail data coming in. We've seen Long...
Four short links: 20 July 2009
By Nat TorkingtonJuly 18, 2009
Apple's iPhone Wrecking the Cell Industry -- bleat bleat. Andy Oram's comment hits the mark: The music companies and AT&T were like travelers who refused to believe they were taking a long trip. They didn't pack warm clothing, and therefore had to buy it at disadvantageous terms when they came to need it. Apple was more sophisticated about where...
A Crowd-Sourced National Communications Census
By Carl MalamudJuly 18, 2009
The FCC is charged with creating a National Broadband Plan in 2010. But how can we plan for the future is we don't know where we are? Here, we propose a crowd-sourced National Communications Census.
News Providers are Embracing the iPhone
By Ben LoricaJuly 16, 2009
To mark another iPhone milestone (1.5 billion app downloads in a year), I checked our iTunes app store data warehouse†. I was expecting the Books category to continue to register the fastest-growth but was instead greeted by an explosion in News (and to a lesser extent, Navigation) apps: On any given week, about 22% of all apps in the U.S....
Apple has secretly released a Tablet Computer: It's called iPod touch
By Mark SigalJuly 14, 2009
Because the iPod touch is often overshadowed by its noisier sibling, the iPhone, we sometimes forget that Apple's first REAL foray into tablet computing, has already sold 15M+ units.
O'Reilly Books Example updated: Show a different image for each book
By Elisabeth RobsonJuly 12, 2009
I got some great feedback on my first screencast - thank you! A few of you asked: how can you show a different view for each of the rows in the table view, instead of just showing the same view...
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