Archive for March, 2010

TED launches Flash-free site for iPad, iPhone

// March 31st, 2010 // No Comments » // Mac OS

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TED is one of my favorite sites on the net. For those of you who don’t know about it, TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an conference given in Long Beach and Oxford each year that brings some of the greatest minds on the planet together to “give the talk of their lives” in a limited time of 18 minutes. The talks are recorded and put on the TED website for all the world to see — for free (living up to its slogan “Ideas worth spreading”). Speakers include everyone from J.J. Abrams to Al Gore. If you’re ever bored and need something to watch, a TED video will be eighteen of some of your most informative, entertaining minutes ever spent.

I’m happy to report that TED, following in the footsteps of so many others, has now created a Flash-free version of its website for the iPad and iPhone. The new site automatically detects your browser and OS and shows the video in either Flash or HTML5. TED curator Chris Anderson first announced a Flash-free version of TED on his Twitter account on March 28: “Excited about this. Non-flash version of http://ted.com is now live for iPhone. Videos, comments, ratings. Hurrah!”

No Flash? That is an idea worth spreading.

[via Obama Pacman]

TUAWTED launches Flash-free site for iPad, iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW TV Live, the pre-iPad edition: live at 5pm ET

// March 31st, 2010 // No Comments » // Apps, Mac OS

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For any of you who were hoping to get through the rest of the day without hearing the word iPad again, it ain’t gonna happen. Today’s TUAW TV Live, starting in just a few minutes, is going to be all iPad, all the time.

I’ve got a lot of iPad videos queued up and ready to roll, so if you want to see some of what’s going to be available for your newest Apple toy on Saturday morning, join us for this live event.

During the livestream, you’ll have an opportunity to vote on topics of discussion using a new tool we’re testing (Voices Heard) — just log in with your Facebook account or create a Voices Heard account, and you’ll be voting in seconds. I may also ask you do to a Voices Heard “thumbs-up or thumbs-down” for the iPad apps that we’ll see today so I can give some of the developers feedback.

And of course, we also have the regular chat open for discussion and would love to hear from you. Click that Read More link below to get to the video, my friends.

TUAWTUAW TV Live, the pre-iPad edition: live at 5pm ET originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s growing pains, culture of secrecy and the iPad

// March 31st, 2010 // No Comments » // Apps, Mac OS

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On Saturday, when you plug in your shiny new iPad and peruse the App Store for apps, you’ll see ‘HD’ or ‘XL’ designations for iPad-specific apps. You may wonder what that’s all about.

It’s about a lack of solid information, driven by a top-down policy of secrecy. When a company like Apple fosters a culture of anxiety amongst third-party associates and low-level employees, you’re going to wind up with some bad decisions being made in the absence of clear policies.

True, the iPad offers more pixels than the iPhone, but it is hardly “HD” (whatever that means to begin with). Clearly, these suffixes are designed to let you know that they are “jumbo” versions of apps with more features than their iPhone companions, right? That may not be the case. While they might be bigger, they may not be badder. In fact, they may be more stripped down than their developers intended.

Why would these apps be less feature-filled than devs would want? It comes down to this: Apple’s rush to innovation has caused a vacuum of information for developers. Around this vacuum lies fear. It is a fear generated by Apple as a byproduct of the company’s own paranoia, favoritism, and lack of empowerment for middle managers unable to “think different” and use common sense. Apple is a powerhouse of innovation because it can control things completely, but the other edge on that sword is its own fear of losing control. The machine lurches forward, but is it sustainable?

TUAWApple’s growing pains, culture of secrecy and the iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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