Ping, Apple’s social networking service, allows artists to create a page on iTunes that their fans can follow. Artists are allowed to post more information than regular users, like pictures, videos and information about shows and tour dates.
However, the record label has to setup the page for you. That means that if you’re an independent artist on iTunes, you’re out of luck, because you don’t have a record label.
Category: Apple
iOS 4.1 Betas Faster on iPhone 3G
While the speed advantages ranged from marginal to significant, iOS 4.1 clearly outperformed iOS 4.0. It’s still significantly slower performance than you’ll get from a 3GS or iPhone 4, and we’re still not sure it’s a big enough improvement that 3G owners will want to ditch iOS 3. The most obvious difference was UI responsiveness. The UI didn’t get stuck nearly as much on an interface element or when trying to enter text. If you are set on using iOS 4, the upgrade is worthwhile for that alone.
‘The Incident Nano’
Neven Mrgan, joking about developing for the new iPod nano:
We were super excited, and I made some mockups to show how this would work. Sadly, what Apple announced was a great new product which, despite its obvious similarities to the iPhone and iPad, lacks the App Store. So I’m sorry to say we won’t be able to bring you The Incident for iPod Nano.
Codenamed The Subatomic Incident, this is a wrist-sized bomb of pure multitouch microfun. As really tiny pixel-images of really big things fall, you climb your way to safety using a simple swipe-to-jump gesture.
One Million Ping Users
Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services, via Apple PR:
One-third of the people who have downloaded iTunes 10 have joined Ping. As many more people download iTunes 10 in the coming weeks, we expect the Ping community to continue growing
Damn.
On iPod Touch Competitors
The iPod touch has been around about as long as the iPhone. It was launched three months after the first iPhone 2G, almost exactly three years ago. While the iPad has been in the market less than six months, a large number of potential competitors have been launched running Android and there seems to be a real rush to market. Six months is about as quickly as any hardware product can be reasonably engineered.
On the Mac Pro
Based on performance alone, it seems like the Mac Pro addresses a smaller market each time a new iMac appears. But there remains a need for a highly configurable and fast performing Mac. The new Mac Pros may be little more than speed bumps from the systems they replace, but they do offer better performance at the same price, while offering even more options for customization. Whether your type of work requires a certain kind of display, add in card, or tons of internal storage, the Mac Pro offers power users the flexibility to create a system custom fit to fill their needs.
More on the new iPod nano
For the same price as last year’s iPod nano, you get a much smaller device with a new multitouch-based UI, but you also lose many of the features the old model had. That’s form over function all the way, and it’s just as bad, in its way, as Apple getting rid of FireWire on its MacBooks. It’s the same principle at work: once you intro a feature, you’d better have a very good reason for taking that feature away in a subsequent model, … and “Gee, look how small it is now!” doesn’t cut it every time.
‘Activate Jiggle Mode’
Apple Outlines iOS 4.2 iPad Update
Apple’s New Nano Doesn’t Make Sense
At its annual music-based event, Apple today announced an all-new iPod nano.
The new player is small — 1.48 inches tall and 1.61 inches wide. Gone is the click wheel that for so long defined the iPod. Instead, the iPod nano’s face is defined by a 1.54-inch color, Multi-Touch display. The OS is still in question, even though it sure looks like iOS, and Jobs alluded to it running iOS while describing how to move icons around on the screen.
Apple’s Sept 1 Announcements
Hardware
The iPod Shuffle has buttons again, while the iPod nano is tiny and touch-based. With a clip. It’s really weird.
The iPod touch got a Retina Display, A4 and loads of other goodies. Make no mistake — this is Apple’s gaming platform. They company claims the Touch outsells Nintendo and Sony’s mobile game systems combined.
The iPod Classic wasn’t mentioned, but still appears on Apple’s site, so I’m assuming it is just the same as it has been for the last year — forgettable.