Joe Wilcox, on the Verizon iPhone announcement:
Verizon isn’t AT&T. The United States’ largest cellular carrier isn’t accustomed to taking crap from handset manufacturers. Verizon controls everything on its network and is quick to customize handsets with its software and services. AT&T is different, or was when Apple launched the original iPhone in June 2007. AT&T made lots of concessions to get iPhone, such as granting Apple control over the software and updates.
Richard Gaywood over at TUAW has posted a great, in-depth look at the issues surrounding VLC and the App Store. Be sure to check it out when you get a few minutes.
When you purchase a Mac at an Apple Retail store an employee will help you setup your e-mail accounts, walk you through the Mac App Store, setup an iTunes account for you, and show you the basic pointers of owning a Mac. Some stores will even have dedicated Mac setup stations. This is minor news for Mac aficionados but will be very helpful for people new to the Mac and for the wider range of consumers. The service will go live in some stores as soon as Tuesday but we’ve heard that other stores will be launching the service in the next few weeks. The new service is very similar to the “setup room” that is currently featured at Apple’s Covent Garden store in London.
Sometimes, I miss the brushed metal.
From my latest commentary at Macgasm:
If Verizon offers a sweet deal for existing customers to switch to the iPhone, it will be a goldmine for everyone — except for RIM and Android manufacturers. I think there are a lot of customers on Verizon who are just there because they have to be, not because the carrier has the handset they really want.
The team behind the image editor Pixelmator has gained some press this week by moving 100% to the Mac App Store:
The recently launched Mac App Store makes it easy to explore, purchase, and download apps directly on our Macs. We, the Pixelmator Team, believe that the Mac App Store is going to be an absolute hit and are very excited to be part of it.
And, because it offers so many benefits to our customers, we are fully committed to supporting the Mac App Store by completely moving Pixelmator sales and distribution to the Mac App Store in the upcoming months.
The Wall Street Journal’s Shayndi Raice:
The iPhone is finally coming to Verizon Wireless.
The largest U.S. wireless carrier will say Tuesday that Apple Inc.’s iPhone will be available to its subscribers, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The company is making the announcement at an event at New York’s Lincoln Center.
Verizon sent invitations to journalists Friday asking them to “Join us as we share the latest news,” but didn’t specify the subject matter.
Shawn Blanc, in what has to be the best article I’ve read about the Mac App Store:
The problem had nothing to do with availability or quality of 3rd-party Mac software. To the contrary, OS X has an outstanding community of 3rd-party developers. You and I have no problem finding and using new tools to make our day-to-day computing experience better, but the average consumer does.
And so Apple wants to introduce the non-nerdy to all the fantastic software that is available for OS X. Which is precisely the goal of Mac App Store.
Ben Brooks had a hell of a week, but AppleCare finally got his Mac App Store issue resolved.
But the HIG is dead. It died long ago. And it was Apple that killed it. In Mac OS 9 (and prior), no one’s apps were more uniformly consistent to the HIG standards than Apple’s own. In Mac OS X, Apple began experimenting — especially in their flagship apps. Whether this change has been for better or for worse is certainly debatable, but there can be no debate that the mores of Mac UI designers have changed. Apple sets the tone, for better or for worse. Always has, always will.
Impressive. Most impressive.
From my new favorite tumblelog:
Shit from the fucking Mac App Store, ‘designed’ by people who think they get interface design.
[via @Cocoia]