Nov 02

Browser App to Deliver Flash to iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Posted in: adobe, Apple, apps, flash, Phones, steve jobs, Today's Chili

Steve Jobs has successfully prevented Adobe Flash from getting on the iPhone for years, but a new iOS app promises to bring Flash video to the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch without upsetting the CEO.

Demonstrated below, Skyfire is a web browser that automatically transcodes Flash video into HTML5 so it can display on your iDevice (instead of the blue Lego block symbolizing a lack of Flash support). 

To our knowledge, Skyfire will be the first app of its kind to offer a roundabout method for watching Flash videos, when it goes live in the App Store this week.

Apple has prohibited Flash from running on iOS devices ever since the original iPhone launched in 2007. In an open letter published in April, Jobs said Flash was the No. 1 reason Macs crash, and he didn’t wish to “reduce reliability” on iOS products. In the same letter, Jobs vocalized his support for HTML5, a new web standard that does not rely on plug-ins.

“New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too),” Jobs said.

The Skyfire app only transcodes Flash videos into HTML5 — not games. A Skyfire representative said the Skyfire app was developed with oversight and feedback from Apple.

“It adheres to every guideline put forth by Apple regarding HTML5 video playback for iOS,” the rep said. “Skyfire will allow consumers to play millions of Flash videos on Apple devices without the technical problems for which Jobs banned Flash.”

The app was submitted late August, and it will go live in the App Store on Thursday.

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Oct 26

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuberberg “Most Influential Men”

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, steve jobs, Today's Chili

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Who’s more influential than Barack Obama? Lots of people, apparently. According to a new survey by the slightly less than scientific research firm/dudes interest Website, Ask.men, there are roughly 20 men who who wield more influence than the President.

The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart took the top spot for 2010. He’s joined in the top ten by a few tech luminaries. Bill Gates scored surprisingly high at number two on the list–interesting given the fact that he is no longer in charge of the software empire he helped build, instead turning his full-time attention to the charitable works of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg came in at number three. The combination of a wildly popular social network and a successful–if unflattering–hit movie based on your life is pretty hard to beat.

Steve Jobs came in at number four–a fact that he’s most likely rubbing in the face of RIM and Google’s Android team, as we speak.

Rapper Kayne West rounded out the top five, which surely means that’ll we’ll be seeing a lot more dudes running our with their bottom teeth replaced with diamonds.

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Oct 26

Video: Adobe Air, Flash Demonstrated on RIM PlayBook Tablet

Posted in: adobe, Apple, flash, playbook, RIM, steve jobs, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili

Maybe Flash on a tablet isn’t as bad as Steve Jobs says it is. That’s what Adobe and Research In Motion want you to think after watching the video below.

Taped at Adobe’s MAX conference this week, the segment shows the BlackBerry PlayBook running media apps coded in Adobe Air, which is based partly on Flash. The video also shows YouTube.com playing a video with Flash 10.1 player.

“We’re not trying to dumb down the internet for a small mobile device,” says Mike Lazaridis, RIM’S CEO, during the PlayBook demonstration. “What we’re trying to do is bring up the performance and capability of the mobile device to the internet.”

Though there is no mention of Apple in the video, the comments about dumbing down the internet appear to target the iPad, which does not support Flash. In a famous blog post published April, Apple CEO Jobs explained why Apple was leaving Flash out of its mobile operating system, citing issues such as application crashes and battery drain. Later, when Flash debuted on the Android OS, some independent tests found that Flash was causing crashes on Android devices and that performance was sluggish, but battery drain was not significant.

The BlackBerry PlayBook will ship early next year. RIM has not announced a price.

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Oct 21

Obama Meeting With Steve Jobs Today

Posted in: Apple, steve jobs, Today's Chili

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This is probably what it was like the first time the Avengers hung out. World on the street (and by “the street,” I mean Business Insider) is that none other than President Barack Obama is set to meet with Apple chief Steve Jobs this afternoon.

Obama is already on the West Coast, giving a talk at the home of Google executive Marissa Mayer in Palo Alto (for a $30,000 a head fundraiser). Since he’s already hobnobbing with tech execs in the Silicon Valley, why not swing around to Steve Jobs’s place to talk about Flash and turtlenecks and, I don’t know, more presidential type stuff, too?

According to Business Insider, a White House official confirmed the one-on-one meeting. No specifics on what they’ll be talking about–or whether a game of basketball will be involved.

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Oct 21

New MacBook Air Disses Adobe Flash

Posted in: adobe, Apple, flash, ipad, iPhone, macbook air, Notebooks, steve jobs, Today's Chili

Steve Jobs wasn’t kidding when he said Apple was borrowing philosophies from the iPad to implant into the new MacBook Air. Like the iPad, Apple’s brand new MacBook Air is missing a software plug-in that shipped with previous Macs: Adobe Flash.

I noticed this upon booting up and attempting to watch a Hulu video for the first time on an 11-inch MacBook Air that Apple loaned to Wired.com on Wednesday. Instead of a video, the message “Missing Plug-in” popped up in an empty window.

The lack of Flash on the new MacBook Air is not a big deal, considering you can simply head to Adobe’s website, download the plug-in and install it on the computer within a few minutes — unlike the iPad or iPhone, which doesn’t support the plug-in at all. But the omission of Flash is both interesting and amusing.

Apple’s grudge against Flash is thoroughly explained in a web post written by Jobs in April. There, he explained that Flash wasn’t technically up to par to perform well on mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad, and supporting Flash would stifle Apple’s ability to innovate. He added that Flash was the No. 1 reason that Macs crash, and Adobe still hasn’t made any major improvements.

“We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash,” Jobs wrote. “We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.”

However, Apple failed to completely block Flash from the iOS platform. In September, Apple revised its developer guidelines to allow third-party programming tools to be used to develop iOS apps. That effectively opened doors to Adobe’s Packager for iPhone, a tool in Creative Suite 5 that enables Flash to be easily converted into native iPhone app language. So Flash has made it to the iOS platform in a roundabout way.

Jobs can’t be happy about that: An iOS developer told Wired.com it was likely that the FTC forced Apple to allow third-party programming languages because the restriction reeked of anti-competition. The ineffective exclusion of Flash on the MacBook Air, and presumably on future Macs,  serves as a statement more than anything else: Apple really doesn’t want to endorse Flash anymore.

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Photo: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com


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Oct 20

Mobile-Inspired Upgrades Define Apple’s PC Strategy

Posted in: Apple, Mac, Notebooks, os x, Software, steve jobs, Today's Chili


CUPERTINO, California — Apple on Wednesday showed a series of mobile-inspired upgrades to its software lineup.

Coupled with the company’s netbook-inspired and Flash memory-based ultralight MacBook Airs, the newly unveiled plans suggest the company is readying a new approach to PC sales that’s modeled on its successful reinventions of the tablet and smartphone markets.

“Apple is taking some of the things that have worked well for it in the mobile space and applying it back to the Mac,” said Avi Greengart, an analyst with research firm Current Analysis. “Where that is most obvious is the software — with the app store and gestures.”

Apple previewed Mac OS X Lion, which blends elements of Apple’s mobile operating system iOS into the Mac. Lion is scheduled for release in early 2011.

Like the iOS-powered iPhone and iPad, Macs running Lion will gain access to an app store for third-party Mac software and new multitouch gestures.

That marks a significant shift in the way PC software is sold, said Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

“Software doesn’t come in boxes anymore,” Rotman Epps said.

Citing the company’s years of multitouch research, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that the desktop multitouch gestures will center on the trackpad, not the display screen.

“Touch surfaces want to be horizontal, hence pads,” said Jobs.

The Mac App Store, which will incorporate automatic installs and updates like those in iOS, will be getting a head start: The store will open on the current Mac OS (Snow Leopard) in 90 days.

Citing the company’s success in selling mobile apps (over 7 billion downloads to date, including both free and paid apps), Jobs said the same basic guidelines would apply to its Mac App Store. Customers will be able to buy and download apps with a single click, installation will happen automatically, and upgrades will be made available regularly just as they are in the iTunes App Store.

The company will also split revenues with developers the same way it currently does, taking a 30 percent commission and paying the remaining 70 percent to the apps’ publishers.

“It’s going to be the best place to discover apps,” Jobs said.

Greengart suspects the move could lead to downward price pressures for new software — a good thing for consumers, but maybe not so much for developers.

“Consumers who buy packaged goods expect to pay a certain price for it,” he said. “With virtual goods sold through an app store that price may be a lot lower.”

The new App Store, which is being separated from iTunes for the first time, won’t exclude the possibility of installing other software, either from shrinkwrapped DVDs or through traditional downloads. But it will give developers an attractive new channel for distributing their work — one that potentially has far fewer headaches.

Lion will also include a feature Apple is calling Launchpad, which is essentially a homescreen for your apps, much like what currently appears on the iPad.

Apple also introduced a Mac version of FaceTime, a videoconferencing app that debuted on the fourth-generation iPhone. That means iPhone 4 owners and Mac users will be able to video chat with each other, whereas before the feature was limited to only iPhone 4 users. A beta release of FaceTime for Mac will be available today.

Apple also released an upgrade for its Mac software suite, iLife 2011, which includes new versions of iPhoto, Garage Band, iMovie and other apps. The iPhoto app now includes features such as Facebook integration and new slideshow modes; iMovie gains new audio-editing features and themes to automatically create movie trailers, among other tools; and Garage Band includes a new feature called Groove Matching that automatically adjusts different instrument tracks to be in perfect rhythm.

Additional reporting by Priya Ganapati.

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Photo credit: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com


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Oct 20

Apple Unleashes New MacBook Airs

Posted in: Apple, macbook, macbook air, Notebooks, os x, steve jobs, Today's Chili


CUPERTINO, California — Apple on Wednesday released a major upgrade for its mini notebook, the MacBook Air, splitting it into two sizes.

The MacBook Air will come in two flavors: a 13.3-inch model and an 11.6-incher. They both will come thinner and lighter than their predecessor, with improved battery life that’s similar to the iPad’s, the company said.

“We asked ourselves what would happen if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up?” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said. “It’s one of the most amazing things we’ve ever created: It is our new MacBook Air, and we think it’s the future of notebooks.”

Hands-On With the New MacBook Airs

“The Airs are mighty light,” Wired’s Brian X. Chen notes in his initial report. “Immediately you’ll notice that launching an app is extremely fast on both of these notebooks, thanks to the usage of flash storage.”

Read more…

Coupled with mobile-inspired enhancements to the computers’ operating systems, such as a planned Mac App Store (due to launch in 90 days) and multitouch enhancements for the next version of Mac OS X, aka “Lion,” the new MacBook Air models show that Apple is trying to redefine the PC market the same way it has tackled the tablet and smartphone markets.

Instead of merely selling hardware, the company seems to be positioning itself as a vertically integrated vendor of mobile devices, selling hardware and software, as well as controlling the marketplace through which customers purchase software.

“We think all notebooks are going to be like this one day,” Jobs said.

Despite its position as an underdog in the PC industry, the Mac has shown rapid growth relative to Windows-powered machines in recent years. According to an NPD Group retail sales report cited by Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook, Apple dominates the premium end of the PC market: For instance, 91 percent of $1,000+ computers sold in June 2009 were Macs. And in Apple’s latest Q4 earnings call, the company reported record-breaking sales of Macs and iPhones, resulting in its most successful quarter ever.

It also suggests that Apple is far from ready to cede the PC market to the likes of HP, Dell and Acer.

“Although the bulk of its revenues come from mobile products Apple still considers Mac a critical business,” said Avi Greengart, an analyst with research firm Current Analysis.

Cook claimed that one in five PCs sold in the United States are now made by Apple — a claim sure to be contested by other PC makers. Recent reports by IDC and Gartner show that Apple’s U.S. market share is slightly above 10 percent. That is higher than it’s been in years, but just half of what Apple is claiming.

NPD confirmed the 20 percent figure to Wired, which comes from its retail tracking service, but noted that it applied only to a single month: August, 2010.

The MacBook Airs will include flash storage, 802.11-N Wi-Fi and a Core 2 Duo processor. Apple increased the size of the battery to provide five to seven hours of battery life when surfing the web over Wi-Fi, and 30 days on standby time like the iPad.

The models start at $1,000 and begin shipping today.

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Photo: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com


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Oct 20

FaceTime coming to OS X, beta available today

Posted in: Apple, application, live, steve jobs, SteveJobs, Today's Chili

We just spotted the FaceTime logo, or a version of it, lurking in the OS X dock during Apple’s iMovie 11 demo. New version of iChat with FaceTime compatibility? We’d put money on it.

Update: It’s real! It appears to be an all-new app, instead of a version of iChat AV. You use your Mac’s Address Book and make calls right from the app. If your chat counterpart is in portrait or landscape the display automatically adjusts, and you can also go to full screen. Better yet? It’s out today, in a beta form. Find out more in our hands-on.

Gallery: FaceTime for OS X

FaceTime coming to OS X, beta available today originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 19

Apple’s ‘Back to the Mac’ event is tomorrow at 1PM ET / 10AM PT — we’ll be there live!

Posted in: Apple, live, LiveBlog, macbook air, macbook pro, MacbookAir, MacbookPro, os x, OsX, steve jobs, SteveJobs, Today's Chili

What will happen tomorrow? A new version of OS X? Tiny MacBook Airs? Verizon iPhone announcements? Tomorrow never knows… but Steve Jobs probably does. Even if we can’t predict the future, we can at least follow along with the present, right? That’s exactly what we’ll be doing tomorrow at Engadget, as we bring you the best liveblog in the business! Tune in at the URL and times below for the full scoop on just what Apple is getting up to. You won’t want to miss this!

Here’s the liveblog post you’ll want to plant yourself at, and here are the start times around the globe:

07:00AM – Hawaii
10:00AM – Pacific
11:00AM – Mountain
12:00PM – Central
01:00PM – Eastern
06:00PM – London
07:00PM – Paris
09:00PM – Moscow
02:00AM – Tokyo (October 21st)

Apple’s ‘Back to the Mac’ event is tomorrow at 1PM ET / 10AM PT — we’ll be there live! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 19

RIM’s Jim Balsillie hits back at the Steve Jobs rant, Apple’s ‘distortion field’

Posted in: Apple, BlackBerry, blackberry playbook, BlackberryPlaybook, flash, playbook, RIM, steve jobs, SteveJobs, Today's Chili

You had to know that Steve wouldn’t get away with putting his five minute, competition-slamming manifesto out into the ether without some snap back from the competition. We’ve already heard responses from TweetDeck and Andy Rubin, and now RIM’s co-CEO Jim Balsillie has issued a statement in response to Jobs. Here it is:

“For those of us who live outside of Apple’s distortion field, we know that 7-inch tablets will actually be a big portion of the market and we know that Adobe Flash support actually matters to customers who want a real web experience. We also know that while Apple’s attempt to control the ecosystem and maintain a closed platform may be good for Apple, developers want more options and customers want to fully access the overwhelming majority of web sites that use Flash. We think many customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple. And by the way, RIM has achieved record shipments for five consecutive quarters and recently shared guidance of 13.8 – 14.4 million BlackBerry smartphones for the current quarter. Apple’s preference to compare its September-ending quarter with RIM’s August-ending quarter doesn’t tell the whole story because it doesn’t take into account that industry demand in September is typically stronger than summer months, nor does it explain why Apple only shipped 8.4 million devices in its prior quarter and whether Apple’s Q4 results were padded by unfulfilled Q3 customer demand and channel orders. As usual, whether the subject is antennas, Flash or shipments, there is more to the story and sooner or later, even people inside the distortion field will begin to resent being told half a story.”

Sort of a big one, but we figure RIM at least deserves some equal time. Interesting that RIM is fighting Apple’s assertion of surpassing their handset shipments, we’ll have to see how that one settles once we get some “official” numbers from an unbiased third party. Meanwhile, let the mudslinging continue!

RIM’s Jim Balsillie hits back at the Steve Jobs rant, Apple’s ‘distortion field’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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