Tag Archives: WWDC

Jun 17 2011

iOS 5 – A Preview [Part 1]

I’m going to start dumping everything I know about iOS 5 here now. Over this weekend, I’ll share everything I’ve found with the iPhone’s latest software update beta.

I’ll start with the basics, the settings. The little tweaks you’ll find and the little changes which you’ll come to love.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The first is ‘Keyboard Shortcuts’ which is something like AutoCorrect but using your own commands or even sentences! The default pre-applied is ‘omw’ which instantly turns into ‘On my way!’ – It’s handy for quick replies or any frequently typed word or phrase.

I’ve found it best to put my usernames and email addresses in there, so filling in forms or logging into things is VERY quick and easy! Good little tip eh?

Next up, a handy little addition to the ‘General > Usage’ part of Settings. Previously, this section displayed your call time, data usage and little bits like that. Now, you get a breakdown of every app and the data that is being used by it. It’s a bit odd that it says ‘iPod’ even though the iPod app is missing (now being split into ‘Music’ and ‘Videos’ like the iPod Touch and iPad.)

General Usage

However, it is handy if you’re running out of space and you’re looking to delete some apps.

Finally, are the new options in ‘Sounds’ which allow you to change the ringtone, not only for calls and texts, but voicemails, sending and receiving emails, and calendar alerts! There are a few new choices and an option to ‘Buy more ringtones’ which takes you to the iTunes Store!

 

Sounds

Also, notice the new slider buttons. They’re a little different to what you’re used to in iOS but work exactly the same. Anyway, that’s enough for tonight, but more to come!

Jun 5 2011

Apple – WWDC Rumour Roundup

Well, here we go… It’s that time of year again and this year, Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference kicks off tomorrow with a keynote from Steve Jobs to talk about (at least) three special little things. Lion, iOS and iCloud.

WWDC 2011

As usual, there is a LOT of speculation around what’s gonna be discussed. So I thought I’d share my thoughts and the rumours I mostly agree with. Not to mention the things I’m hoping for…!

iOS5

iOS 5.0 is going to be the biggest change in the UI since 2.0 and the introduction of apps! (I remember being happy with iPhone 1.0 and thinking, this is it. My life is complete. How things change in just four years!)

Here are some of the new features which I’m sure will be announced.

  • Automatic App Updating – Apps will update in the background (if you so wish) and there’s a hint that Apple may ‘push’ updates for iOS itself.
  • iCloud App – Whatever it is, there’ll be an app for it.
  • Twitter Integration – Rumoured to be more than just sharing links and photos, there’s murmurs that twitter will be integrated into the core of iOS. Who knows what that could mean…
I honestly don’t think we’ll see anything about the iPhone, iPod or iPad  - Remember, this is a developer’s conference. It’s all about the platforms these guys in attendance are writing for.

OS X Lion

Which leads us nicely to the latest flavour of OS X, Lion. Now most of the features have already been announced as Apple previewed the OS in January and I’ve been using it ever since.

It’s got pretty stable so I’m certain the Gold Master will be announced tomorrow. Allowing developers to test the GM before the release date which will be the end of June. Apple may surprise us and release it on the day, but I doubt it.

The App Store will be used to deliver the OS, you can purchase your upgrade from your desk and Lion will install over your current Snow Leopard installation. It’s so easy to install and update, you’ll be rebooted into Lion in about 20 minutes!

App Store will now auto update your apps if you wish, as well as the main OS. Which means you don’t have to be bugged and that future MacDefender-style updates will be seamless. Apple want to look after you.

iCloud built in – Again, whatever that is – It will be built right into the system. Not like dropbox, but very much like MobileMe.

iCloud

iCloud

I’m just gonna throw everything I’ve got at you now, I haven’t chose a side as to what iCloud is going to be. Is it a music streaming service, a cache of your most important/used files, app updating system/cache… Who knows?!

Well, I guess we will in a number of hours. There’s one thing for certain… Apple has a HUGE-ASS data centre which is ready to be opened and petabytes and petabytes of server storage ready to be used and abused.

Word on the street is that iCloud is primarily going to be a ‘cloud’ storage system for your iTunes Music Library. Essentially allowing you to play your music from any device, wherever you are… (Providing you have an internet connection that is!) You may have to upload all your music to iCloud or Apple may scan your library and recognise the music you have. Everything purchased in iTunes will be there automatically, but what about those CD’s you ripped years and years ago? The jury is out on that one…

There could be more to iCloud, such as file syncing, Time Machine backups and the such but to be honest, I’m so happy with Dropbox and Google, I’ll be happy with iCloud either way.

Costs: Who knows how Apple is going to price this, it could be yearly subscriptions just like MobileMe is now; Or they could change things and go monthly. That would mean they have the option to tier tariff’s – $5 for basic, $10 for pro, £20 for fanboy – You get the idea.

So there you have it. Here be my predictions. Shame I won’t be in London as there’s a pub hosting a macparty streaming the keynote live! I’ll be doing my usual though, so find me on twitter during the keynote for the latest announcements and here later to either gloat or reflect on these predictions made here.

Jun 7 2010

WWDC 2010

There’s only hours to go until Steve Jobs takes to the stage at this year’s WWDC in San Francisco.

As usual, there are a lot of rumours and a lot of mystery about what is going to be announced. I’m only certain on a few things, and a lot I’m pretty sure about. The rest, well, the rest are things that ‘would be nice’.

iPhone

First up is what everyone’s been waiting for… A new iPhone. A lot of people have been calling this ‘iPhone 4G’ – Well that certainly isn’t going to happen. Firstly, all networks internationally are yet to agree on what ’4G’ actually is! Sprint (USA) currently have a partial 4G network, but AT&T don’t and the iPhone is still exclusive to AT&T in the US. There currently isn’t a 4G network provider in the UK!

You could call it the G4 as it’s the fourth generation of the iPhone, but I’m pretty certain it’s going to be named iPhone HD - It’s a hunch, but the spec of the screen and camera (for 720p HD recording) indicates this is the way Apple are going.

We’ve all seen the leaks from Gizmodo (who subsequently are actually banned from this year’s WWDC) so I’m not going to bore with repeating the spec but I’m excited about this! I’m certain they’re not gonna release the iPhone tomorrow. So certain that I haven’t started getting my iPhone ready to sell! I expect the iPhone HD to be released on June 22nd but any delays in manufacturing the thing could push it back to late July.

iPhone OS 4.0

Don’t expect to be getting a software update any time tomorrow. The Golden Master version of the beta hasn’t been released to developers (me) yet and this is what will be announced tomorrow. The fourth beta has come in leaps and bounds in stability, and I never have a crash on my iPhone. This final beta will be released to developers tomorrow (so everyone can get their apps ready) and then the 4.0 update will be released when the iPhone HD is out.

Safari 5

Safari 5 is going to be showing it’s face too. With fast loading times, pre-DNS fetching, smarter address bar, ‘private mode’ icon and a new ‘Reader’ mode which is kinda like Readability. I was hoping for the official release of ‘extensions’ as well, but apparantly that’s not gonna happen.

Apple TV

There’s also a fair bit of murmour surrounding Apple’s ‘hobby’ Apple TV. Now I’ve been an Apple TV user for a few years now and I still regularly use it. It’s a shame it can’t do more as I don’t buy that many Movies or TV Episodes from iTunes any more. It’s great as a remote speaker to my iTunes library on my MacBook and watching podcasts is great, but that’s about it.

There’s rumours that it’ll be a new device, running a similar getup as the iPhone OS. Or just an app on the iPhone HD and iPad. Who knows? I hope it’s not a new device, as I like the look of mine and don’t wanna see it go to waste.

MobileMe

Finally, there’s MobileMe. Apple’s premium service which gives you email, calendar, contacts, ‘Find My iPhone’ and a few other features that you can find elsewhere totally free. I let my membership expire a long time ago and the rumour is, it’s gonna be free. There could also be a tier-based membership system which gives more features or access if you pay a small fee.

Will Steve have ‘one more thing’ for us at this morning’s keynote? Or will we just get sales updates and iPhone talk? I’d be happy with just that, it seems that Apple are focusing on their biggest selling devices right now. Mac’s sales aren’t slumping, they just ain’t as high as iPhone OS devices.