512 Pixels

It seems the new in-app EasyPay is as simple as it seems.

What is wrong with HP?

These photos are amazing. This really makes you realize just how crappy all the CGI in the trilogy really is.

via @mhedge

Koombea is a full service design and development shop that specializes in making web and mobile apps. For the past 4 years, we’ve been using agile methodologies to build lean startups. Recently, we’ve taken our same process to public companies to keep them fast and efficient. We’re on the hunt for great new clients looking to build amazing products.

Over the past 18 months we’ve seen our clients raise a combined $50M+ in early stage funding. We’ve seen an even larger figure in acquisitions. Right now, we’re working with some amazing companies in elite tech incubators such as Y Combinator, TechStars and AngelPad, just to name a few.

We’re Data Driven, Transparent and we have serious Experience building companies and shipping products. We’ve been reading Stephen here at 512 Pixels for a while and getting to know his audience. If we don’t know you yet, reach out and let’s talk!

The guys who made this video were rumored to have been canned for it.

Woot?

Vlad Savov at the Verge, on the new Apple Store iPhone App:

It allows you to scan the barcode on “select accessories” into your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and then pay right inside the app, walking out of the physical Store without having to ever trouble a sales assistant. The Personal Pickup option is rather more self-explanatory, as it allows you to order up an item via the app and pick it up at your designated Apple Store, typically within an hour of placing the order.

Starting several years ago, as they were remodeled, Apple removed the cash registers from the fronts of the stores. The thought was that the stores would look less cluttered, and feel more open and inviting.

Of course, what really happened was confusion. Even though Apple’s hand-held “EasyPay” system had in place for years, customers still expected to see a place to stand in line and hand a hipster some money for a new iPod.

Over time, customers have gotten more use to Apple’s “wild west” approach to checking out at its retail stores. While they still set the standard for looks, quality of service and more, as the company has grown, nothing has felt the strain like Apple’s retail stores. Many are crowded and under-staffed at times, just adding to the confusion.

I hope this new app alleviates some of the stress on Apple’s stores.

I can see how this self-checkout feature — dubbed “EasyPay” within the app — will do just that. It is clear that with this new app, Apple is wanting tech-savvy customers — who don’t need help from a salesperson in skinny jeans — to be able to come in, pay and leave without being bothered.

Hopefully, it also means that the customers that need help can actually get it.

However, it can lead to issues — mainly making it possibly easier to steal from an Apple Store. I bet the inventory control guys are sweating this big time. Loss is frowned upon in all of retail, obviously, but Apple takes it very seriously. Back-of-house guys get judged on how accurate their inventories are, and loss screws with that pretty badly. Granted, Apple is only allowing customer to use the app to purchase “select accessories” at this time.

The “Personal Pickup” option may add stress to Apple Stores, though. Here’s Apple’s description of the new feature:

Buy in the app and choose to pick up your order at any Apple Retail Store. Most in-stock orders are available for pickup within an hour. (U.S. only)

When a purchase is made, the local store is made aware, and has to set aside the product. My understanding is that if something isn’t picked up within 24 hours,¹ a refund is issued, and the product goes back on the shelf.

Update: Several tips have said the timeline is “up to 14 days.”

Even if the transactions are automatic, the moving of product — both physically around in the inventory buckets² — involves humans. It seems like Personal Pickup may add stress to the stores.

Apple has always tested ideas in its retail stores. While sometimes, new initiatives are great, other times, they flop fairly badly. Time will tell where this new iPhone app falls on the spectrum.

I joined the guys from the FatDads podcast for episode 42, in which we discussed the iPhone 4S, cell phone carriers in Canada and my new house.

New in the knowledge base:

Apple may provide customers a replacement adapter if the power adapter shows signs of strain relief.

Ben Brooks:

The MacBook Air and the Mac Pro are polar opposites: one a marvel of engineering — the other a marvel of brute strength.

I don’t think the Mac Pro is going anywhere, but I also don’t think it is something that Jony Ive’s team has spent much time thinking about.

While I agree that the Air and Pro are opposites in many ways, I think that they are both marvels of engineering.

The Mac Pro’s internal layout got a massive update back in 2009, putting the CPU¹ and RAM on a removable tray and re-jiggering the air flow within the chassis.

Clearly, as interchangeable components are in the Mac Pro, and as expandable as they are, it will be a very different experience with the MacBook Air. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, nor do I think it’s been ignored by Apple as much as some think.

By the way, Ben is totally right about this:

As I think about everything that Apple stands for with its design and goals, I can’t help but suspect that the MacBook Air is the epitome of the Mac experience as Apple sees it. Small, quick, sleek, low-price, sealed.

The Air is the future, but that doesn’t mean the Mac Pro is the past. Don’t get me wrong — I wouldn’t be surprised if it went away in the future. But I also think it’s an experience that a lot of people still need and desire.

I got bored this afternoon, so I made this:

Click on the image for the full-resolution version. It’s Retina Display-ready.

Update: Here’s an iPad version and one for use “inside” your iPhone, which works way better if you don’t fill up the bottom row.

Editor’s Note: This post is written by my buddy Myke Hurley.

Oh, Hello there! Yeah, I’m over here on this tiny island that’s considered a world superpower, with a pretty big economy and trade presence. Yep, that’s the UK, baby! But for some reason we quite frequently get ignored.

My current state of annoyance stems from the fact that I am unable to submit a project to Kickstarter for funding, as I am not a US resident and nor do I have a US bank account.

On the Kickstarter Help page the following question is met with the following answer:

I’m not in the US. Can I start a project on Kickstarter?

You don’t have to physically be in the US, but there are some US requirements to be eligible. Please read: “Am I eligible to start a Kickstarter project?”

When you click that link you are met with this answer from the friendly FAQ:

Am I eligible to start a Kickstarter project?

To be eligible to start a Kickstarter project, you need to satisfy the requirements of Amazon Payments:

Be a permanent US resident and at least 18 years of age with a Social Security Number (or EIN), a US bank account, US address, US state-issued ID (driver’s license), and major US credit or debit card.

So in essence I don’t have to be in the US, I just have to hold everything a US citizen does and be a “permanent resident.” Well that’s easy then…

I do struggle at times to understand why companies make these decisions. I feel even worse for Canadians, who actually share a land-mass but will sometimes have to wait even longer than us for some things (pure madness!). I know that, as a company, you have to battle with additional legislation and consider teams in other countries, etc. But using Kickstarter as the operative example, if they used Paypal for payments (as the restrictions they have to impose come from Amazon’s payment system), even though the fees would be higher, they would be able to give access of the site to the entire world, therefore opening up a much larger revenue stream. Profitability in volume, and all that..

My anger stems from the fact that I have been waiting close to a year to submit a project to Kickstarter, with the goal to be starting a brand new Podcast, something that I can’t currently do on my current budget (zero) which will have high production values and make the return of my time much greater. Additionally it will allow me to build a group of people who can be seen as ‘contributors’ or ‘donators’, without having to rely on a Donations page on my website which struggles to really offer anything ‘tangible’. I know that I could start something myself, but then I am unable to tap in to the community of people on Kickstarter, therefore limiting myself greatly.

So here I am, stuck between a rock and US citizenship. I love the US and would love to move there one day (a dream for a lot of people, I know), but right now this isn’t really something that works financially. If I could do that, I wouldn’t need funding.

So Kickstarter, sort it out! Us in Blighty have ideas for projects too y’know..