512 Pixels

For the iOS 7 launch, Realmac Software announced Clear for iOS 7, a new, universal, paid app that was to serve as an update to Clear for iPhone, the firm’s highly-praised to-do list app.

As the App Stores don’t have a paid update mechanism, many developers toil away, updating apps for free, forever. Many developers took iOS 7 as an opportunity to drop support for legacy versions of iOS 7, give their app a visual overhaul and charge again for it.

It didn’t go well for Realmac and Clear.

In a blog post today, Dan Counsell — the founder of Realmac Software — wrote:

After having chatted amongst the team at great length, and given the (shall we say) emotional response from the folks who use Clear for iPhone, we’re changing plan slightly.

The company is bringing back the original Clear and updating it for iOS 7. The new release — now dubbed Clear+ — is $4.99 and universal. In short, iPhone users who didn’t purchase the new app will be getting the features for free. Both iOS apps will receive updates in tandem, creating more work for Realmac.

Here’s Counsell again:

As a small team, the backlash to the disappearance of Clear for iPhone has been incredibly tough. We’ve been working incredibly hard on Clear for iPad, and simply wanted to offer it in a way that was both sustainable for the team that builds it, and desired by users.

While having a paid update option in the App Store may have allowed Realmac to avoid some of this trouble, I think there’s fault at the feet of iOS users, as well. Marco Arment said it well:

Upset about @realmacsoftware asking for another 3 dollars for a big update to Clear and going universal?

You should be ashamed of yourself.

I agree. While I’m not sure Realmac should have caved to user demands or not, dealing with a tanking App Store rating has to be hard. I don’t envy their position on this, but the fact that any developer could end up here is crazy.

The bottom line is this: developers should be able to work on their product in a sustainable way. Realmac are some of the good guys, and to have to backtrack on a business decision is a damn shame, especially in a world where people pour money into IAP-based games day and night.

Bob Crawford’s new PSA for the National Brain Tumor Society is a tear-jerker.

Stop waiting for your IT department to move off SharePoint and start using an intranet you’ll actually like. Igloo is free to use with your team, it’s built around easy to use apps like blogging and file sharing, and it has social tools built right in to help you get work done.

It works on your desktop, your tablet and your phone. Inside or outside of your office. With your team or with your customers. Igloo is 100% white label, so you can make it look like your brand (with your developers or our in-house design and services team).

And if you’re in San Francisco, come learn how a social intranet can help your business succeed. Hear real world examples from our customers, technologists, and writers from Forbes and The Huffington Post. Our Social Intranet Tour hits San Francisco on October 15. We hope to see you there.

Sponsorship by The Syndicate.

While I’m not surprised to see iMacs with better SSDs, Haswell chips and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, I’m a little surprised Apple didn’t hold these for the release of OS X Mavericks. Generally, Apple doesn’t release new hardware right before an OS X release.

October is going to be crazy. We still haven’t seen Mavericks released, let alone the new Mac Pro or the rumored updated MacBook Pros with Retina display and refreshed iPads.

An Android app that probably hijacks your messages, routes them through a Mac mini somewhere and spoofs your account to Apple’s iMessage service? Yeah, there are no problems with the Play Store.

Did you know that the USSR built a knock-off space shuttle in the 1980s? I didn’t.

While I’m not at XOXO this year, my Twitter stream blew up yesterday afternoon when Marco Arment took the stage to announce Overcast, his new podcast app and service.

In his presentation, Marco flashed this slide:

Photo via this turkey.

I couldn’t agree more. ¹ The Prompt is my third podcast endeavor, and I finally have a show that’s a success. While my co-hosts deserve more credit than I do, The Prompt is a huge success.

People say that success often has a cost associated with it, and for me, it’s the attention I can pay to 512. As the show and the site aren’t my full-time, job, I’m having to split the little time I have between the two.

I’m not complaining mind you; that’s the point. I signed up for this, and I love what I do.

More than the time, however, it’s subject matter that I consistently worry about splitting. Often, I’ll have a story idea, but will end up discussing it on The Prompt, and never write a word about it. As a writer, this bugs me, but as a lover of podcasts, I can live with it.

When done well, podcasts — including mine — offer something that no blog post can: conversation.

When I dialogue with Myke and Federico, I’m getting to bounce my ideas off two very smart guys. It makes my content better, and gives our listeners entertaining and insightful audio every week.

We’re in a golden era of podcasts. There are several great, strong podcast networks, with tons and tons of great, independent shows as well. While the original, popular podcasts may have centered around technology, there are countless shows about just about anything under the sun.

The excitement around the medium right now is well-earned, and is not something that will fade anytime soon.

I love showing up every Wednesday, opening Skype and getting down to business. ² Not only is it exciting to take a part of such an awesome project, but it makes me a better writer, and gives my thoughts room to grown and expand.

The Apple PR Machine:

Apple today announced it has sold a record-breaking nine million new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models, just three days after the launch of the new iPhones on September 20. In addition, more than 200 million iOS devices are now running the completely redesigned iOS 7, making it the fastest software upgrade in history.

Don’t miss Federico’s graph of all first-weekend iPhone sales. It’s crazy.

A friend of mine sent me this link last night and I stayed up way too late reading more on the topic.

Chili’s is proud to support the lifesaving work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® — finding cures and saving children with pediatric cancer and other deadly diseases. Our annual #MoreHope campaign invites guests to make a special donation to our friends at St. Jude.

As we work towards our goal of $50 million in donations to St. Jude, we’re reminded of the generous guests like you who make that goal possible. To show our appreciation we’re donating 100% of our net profits on September 23 to St. Jude. On The Big Day, all you have to do to help is come into Chili’s for a meal. It’s our way of saying thanks and supporting the brave kids of St. Jude.

President Obama:

Every September, America renews our commitment to curing childhood cancer and offers our support to the brave young people who are fighting this disease. Thousands are diagnosed with pediatric cancer each year, and it remains the leading cause of death by disease for American children under 15. For those children and their families, and in memory of every young person lost to cancer, we unite behind improved treatment, advanced research, and brighter futures for young people everywhere.

Over the past few decades, we have made great strides in the fight against pediatric cancer. Thanks to significant advances in treatment over the last 30 years, the combined 5-year survival rate for children with cancer increased by more than 20 percentage points. Today, a substantial proportion of children diagnosed with cancer can anticipate a time when their illness will be in long-term remission or cured altogether.

My Administration is dedicated to carrying this progress forward. We are funding extensive research into the causes of childhood cancer and its safest and most effective treatments. We also remain committed to easing financial burdens on families supporting a loved one with cancer. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions or set lifetime caps on essential health benefits. As of January 2014, insurers will be prohibited from dropping coverage for patients who choose to participate in a clinical trial, including clinical trials that treat childhood cancer.

All children deserve the chance to dream, discover, and realize their full potential. This month, we extend our support to young people fighting for that opportunity, and we recognize all who commit themselves to advancing the journey toward a cancer-free world.

Go give you kids a hug. I know way too many parents who can’t anymore.

Jonathan Weisman:

House Republicans muscled through a stopgap bill Friday that would fund the government only if all spending for President Obama’s health care law is eliminated. Senate Democrats and President Obama quickly made it clear they had no intention of going along, putting the government on a course toward a shutdown unless one side relents.

The 230-to-189 party-line vote in a bitterly divided House set in motion a fiscal confrontation with significant implications — politically and economically — but with an uncertain ending. Without a resolution, large parts of the government could shut down Oct. 1, and a first-ever default on federal debt could follow weeks later.

Filing this under my ever-growing “GTFO GOP” folder.