Gruber, on Sarah Palin and crosshairs:
She’s not responsible for what happened. Jared Loughner is. But she is responsible for her own words and campaign material.
Of the 20 congresspeople Palin targeted with those ads, 18 of them lost their seats (including three who retired and were succeeded by Palin’s endorsed candidate). Only two of Palin’s 20 “targets” were reelected, and one of them was shot through the brain at point-blank range yesterday.
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.
I think this is a great move. In my days behind the Genius Bar, I saw many customers frustrated at the lack of support when they first got their Macs home. Those customers usually had to wait to be seen by a Genius1 or Creative, which could take days. This program should help with that, freeing up appointment slots for other customers.
I bet the return rate on Macs drops a bit, too.
When I was at Apple Retail, the Genius team was responsible for all data transfers to new computers — either from a Mac or a PC. I wonder if that’s changing. ↩︎
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.
Terrible, horrific news, but this is just as horrific.
Update 1: This.
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.
Other software developers have done the same thing, but it isn’t without hassle.1
Not all developers are moving 100% to the App Store, though. Here’s Ken Case from the Omni Group:
I’m very pleased to announce that all of our paid apps are now available through Apple’s new Mac App Store! The Mac App Store is the most convenient way to buy our software, letting you purchase, download, and install our apps with just one step, and easily update our apps at the same time as you update other apps you’ve purchased from the the store.
But to be clear, the Mac App Store is not the only way to buy our software: we’ll continue to offer direct sales and updates through our own website as well. Through our website, we can offer much more flexible terms and options: trial and beta downloads, upgrade pricing, and discounts for volume, bundle, and educational purchases.
I think the Omni Group is doing it right. The App Store doesn’t feel quite done yet, and opens the door to all sorts of customer service issues with upgrading and other issues.
I’m not saying developers or users should avoid the App Store — it’s a great place to find programs, and consolidates the entire experience of downloading, upgrading and more in a nice, neat package.
Sadly’s its just not and nice and neat as it should be.
[via TBR]
Just go read about CoverSutra if you want to see what I mean. ↩︎
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.
Boom.
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.
Seriously, go read the whole thing.
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.
He’s right. Just look at this screenshot by Shawn Blanc to see how even the little (and previously holy) things have changed.
Interestingly, the launch of the Mac App Store shows that third-party developers are more willing than ever to step outside the chalk outline on the pavement where the HIG used to be.
That said, not all third-party developers are good designers. Some should stay within the bounds of the HIG. That tumblelog I linked to yesterday is proof that while the HIG may be dead, it shouldn’t be forgotten by all quite yet.
Impressive. Most impressive.