So, for the last few days, I’ve been running with no Flash plug-in at all, and honestly not really missing it very much.
His post outlines how to setup Safari 5 to run without Flash and without those annoying “Missing Plug-in” alerts.
Ars Reviews Windows Phone 7
The platform will not do well in checklist feature comparisons, but when it comes down to human interaction and using the thing, this software is a winner.
Microsoft doesn’t often get version one releases right, but this time, it has got the release very right indeed. Windows Phone 7 looks great, works well, and is a treat to use. Market success isn’t assured, but judged on its merits alone, this is a platform that absolutely deserves to succeed, and I really, really hope it does.
WP7 represents what I think is the biggest shift we’ve seen in mobile smartphone software in a while. Android and iOS operate basically in the same way, and even WebOS isn’t too dissimilar. WP7’s Metro UI, however is a big change. One that I too hope will succeed.
Apple Stops Bundling Flash with OS X
To be clear, this is a significantly different situation than with iOS. With iOS, Flash not only isn’t preinstalled, it can’t be installed, period. With Mac OS X, users are free to download Flash Player from Adobe and install it themselves.
Apple spokesperson Bill Evans told me: “We’re happy to continue to support Flash on the Mac, and the best way for users to always have the most up to date and secure version is to download it directly from Adobe.”
That’s a big change. I’m not sure exactly when Apple began bundling Flash Player as a standard component in Mac OS, but it was long enough ago that it was not a mistake that I didn’t include the “X” in the name of the OS. If I had to guess, I’d say Mac OS 8.6 — around the time of the deal to bundle IE as the default Mac OS browser, or maybe even earlier. We’re talking ancient history.
Wow. Either Flash penetration on the Mac is about to tank, or Adobe will ship a better way to install Flash than the current method.
Either way… wow.
A National Nightmare
Federico Viticci at Mac Stories:
As Steve Jobs confirmed at the “Back to the Mac” event, the Mac App Store will be the best way to discover and install apps, but not the only one. You’ll still be able to purchase apps directly from developers’ websites and run installers or .DMG files just fine. Can you imagine what could ever happen if Apple turned the Mac into an App Store-only “closed” system with no possibility to download software from other sources? After 20 years of regular installations?
This, without a doubt, is the scariest thing about the Mac App Store. But I really don’t see Apple pulling the trigger on closing app installation on the Mac. The outcry from developers like Microsoft and Adobe would be deafening. These companies are not going to use an App Store to publish their major software titles. Without Office and Creative Suite, the Mac would be dead in the water to a lot of people.
‘The Lion in Waiting’
If you have a free hour this weekend, be sure to listen to Episode 26 of the DadCast, a popular Canadian[1. Between this and writing for Macgasm, I’m freaking huge in Canada.] podcast that covers the tech world around and beyond Apple.
I joined the regular crew to talk about this week’s announcements, make some bad jokes and derail the conversation with observations about living in the South. It really was a lot of fun, and you’ll have fun listening to it.
On Clean Water
Update: I’m donating my 25th birthday to charity: water. See the details here.
I’ve added a banner for charity: water on my sidebar, and I’d like to explain why. Here are some facts that I bet you didn’t know:
- Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80 percent of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren’t strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.
- In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking for water. Women and children usually bear the burden of water collection, walking miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely to make them sick. Along their long walk, they’re subjected to a greater risk of harassment and sexual assault.
- In areas where gathering water is impossible, small-scale private water distributors charge full market prices, forcing the poorest households to spend up to 11% of their income on life’s most basic need. Even this water is most likely contaminated if it has been collected from unprotected rivers or ponds.
Charity: water is a non-profit group dedicated to bringing water to the most desperate people on the planet.
So here are some things you can do:
- Get informed. Check out this page on the charity: water website to learn more about why water is such a big deal. To see how the World Water Crisis affects other tragedies — including genocide, visit Operation Broken Silence’s[1. OBS is currently in its final phase of a year-long fundraiser for charity: water. You can donate via its page by clicking here.] report on the World Water Crisis.
- Raise awareness. Tell people what the World Water Crisis is all about.
- Do something to help. You can donate directly to charity: water, purchase some kick-ass merchandise or even donate your birthday to help those in need.
Charity: water’s administrative expenses are privately covered, so 100% of public donations to directly fund sustainable water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person clean water for 20 years.
After charity: water installs a well in a village or area, 6–10 community members are appointed to the Water Committee and are responsible for overseeing the functionality of the water point. Water Committees are often the first chance for women to step into elected leadership roles. This new responsibility can restore dignity, initiative and equality to community members.
A lack of clean water kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
It doesn’t have to.
On the Touchy Subject of Future Macs
At yesterday’s event, Steve Jobs said this about touchscreen Macs:
It gives great demo, but after a while your arm feels like it’s going to fall off. Touch surfaces want to be horizontal.
I think most people assume that the future of the desktop computer is touch.
I got this email from ForkBombr reader Paul S.:
So I’ve been thinking, do you envision a fully touch-based Mac? Imagine two iPads clamshelled together like an 11-inch Air. Top mainly for display, bottom mainly for input.
As an editor, I can imagine a 24-inch (x2) version of this, using FCP full-screen: timeline, bins, controls on a large control surface in front of me, video displays up top.
The design would be clunky though, I think. and an Apple all-in-one in this manner is hard to imagine. I don’t much like the patent leaks for touch-based iMac that have been floating around (with the adjustable stand).
Paul is referring to this image, from an Apple patent outlining how an iMac could swivel down and become a touch-based computer.
This plan outlines a computer that is used like a “normal” desktop, with a keyboard and mouse, but that can also act as a single Multi-Touch device when lowered to a horizontal position. I don’t think Paul’s double-iPad-clamshell device would work, especially since there’d still be a disconnect between the input and what’s actually happening. The only thing more disjointed than the current keyboard and mouse would be touch a surface to have something move or happen on another surface.
I think that while this patent solves the “touch wants to be hardware” issue, it doesn’t solve the software issue.
Even with Lion’s new features,[1. Of course, Mission Control and Launchpad in and of themselves are ready for touch, but the rest of the GUI isn’t close to being touch-friendly.] Mac OS X is simply not ready for touch. Menus, window controls, lists[2. Like mailboxes in Mail or media sources in iTunes.] and complicated toolbars are too small of targets to be usable with a finger. The remarks Jobs made about 7-inch tablets and small targets can be applied to the desktop, too.
On Software Trials and the Mac App Store
Software trials are loved by customers and developers alike. It’s easy to see why: customers get to try out first hand how an app works risk-free. Developers make their customers happier and reduce refunds. Yet, inexplicably, Apple doesn’t offer trials of any sort. In fact, their developer agreement forbids it. This is questionable policy for a $2.99 game, but inexcusable for a $60 Mac app.
Mac App Store Rules Posted
See the entire PDF here, or just hit the high points courtesy of Nilay Patel.
The Magic Touch of Lion
One thing that I noticed when Mac OS X Lion was being demoed yesterday was how difficult of a time the demo person was having utilizing the multi-touch gestures on the Magic Mouse. Take a look at the video from yesterday, you can clearly see that when he is trying to perform the swipe to the side to change to and from a fullscreen app he has to do it a couple of times to get that gesture to take. Not every time, just some times.
It is also important to note that this is a guy who has theoretically spent a lot of time practicing this very gesture.
Ben’s right — this was an awkward moment during the keynote. Without a doubt, the Magic Trackpad was invented with Lion in mind. Apple is the most methodical company on the planet — there’s nothing done without a reason. I’d bet that by the time Lion rolls around, iMacs will ship with the Magic Trackpad — not a mouse — by default.
Mac App Store Means More Mac Gaming
With the announcement of the upcoming Mac App Store just a few hours old, Australian game studio Firemint has already announced that they will be delivering their award-winning game Flight Control to the Mac. They released the above screenshot which is said to be an actual screenshot of Flight Control HD running on a Mac.
While gaming has never been a strongpoint for OS X, some of the best games around exists for iOS. If converting iOS apps to run on the Mac is simple, the Mac App Store may be a huge deal — far beyond just gaming.
iMovie 11 Includes Old-School Timeline
When Apple radically changed iMovie between the ‘06 and ‘08 releases, one of the biggest criticisms was the abandonment of the traditional editing timeline. Instead of one horizontal succession of clips at the bottom of the screen, iMovie ’08 introduced an editing area at the top-left of the screen where the movie wrapped like a paragraph.
Well, if you’ve been pining for a “real” timeline, it’s time to re-evaluate iMovie ’11. With a couple of clicks, you can have it back.
This is awesome, since I still use iMovie HD for this very feature.