iSpazz is:
…a plugin for iTunes on OS X, controlling the MacBook Pro/PowerBook backlight keyboard and optionally the display backlight.
Here’s a video of it in action.
In App Purchases Get a Makeover
Apple, in a mass-email to iPhone developers this afternoon:
In App Purchase is being rapidly adopted by developers in their paid apps. Now you can use In App Purchase in your free apps to sell content, subscriptions, and digital services.
You can also simplify your development by creating a single version of your app that uses In App Purchase to unlock additional functionality, eliminating the need to create Lite versions of your app. Using In App Purchase in your app can also help combat some of the problems of software piracy by allowing you to verify In App Purchases.
Visit the App Store Resource Center for more details about how you can add In App Purchases to your free apps.
This means you could — in theory — download the free version of Twitterrific then decide later to purchase the “premium” version’s functionality. This is great news, and a step in the right direction for the App Store.
Gruber, on Schiller on Windows 7
You might be tempted to argue, Well, of course Phil Schiller would say that, he’s Phil Schiller. That’s true, insofar as that even if Schiller believed that Windows 7 is going to adversely affect Mac sales, it’s not like he’d admit so in an interview. But the gist of his remarks isn’t that he expects the Mac to hold its own, but rather that he expects the Mac to continue to thrive. Why set such an expectation if he didn’t believe it?
This gets to the heart of the weird, orthogonal, indirect competition between Windows and Mac OS X. Yes, they compete. Yes, it is both fair and inevitable that Windows 7 will be compared against Snow Leopard in every review. But Microsoft is selling licenses to an OS, the majority of them for low-end PC hardware. Apple is selling computer hardware, none of which is in the low-end market.
So it’s entirely possible that Windows 7 will be good for both Microsoft and Apple. The Mac can continue to gain a few percentage points per year in the higher-profit premium range of the market, while at the same time Windows 7 could grab a majority share of the overall market, mainly at the low-cost high-unit-sale end of the market.
Bingo.
Book of Odds
Ever want to know the chance of a white male between 18 and 24 getting killed by a bus crach? You can go look it up here, on the Book of Odds website. Be warned — I spent a long time playing on it last night.
Schiller, on Windows 7
Schiller says the success of Apple’s operating system is indicative of the changing fortunes in the tech industry. While less than 20% of Windows users have moved to the three-year-old Vista, more than 70% of Mac users have upgraded to the Apple operating system introduced at about the same time. He has similar hopes for Apple’s four-month-old Snow Leopard OS. Says Schiller: “I expect Snow Leopard will have an amazing upgrade rate, and Windows 7 won’t.”
That’s Apple—calm, cool, and confident that the tech world is marching in its direction. “We’ve been through these transitions before, and no matter how you look at it—it’s still Windows,” says Schiller. “When all is said and done, the Mac picks up share a bit at a time.”
On Pay Walls and Micropayments
The American Journalism Review, on the gap between newspapers’ bills and income created from online ads:
Charging readers for access won’t really solve this problem, and in some respects it may make matters worse. Pay walls invariably reduce traffic. Whatever revenue a news-paper might gain by charging readers will likely come at the cost of ad revenue […] You think online ad rates are low now? Just wait until advertisers discover that the newspaper is delivering a much smaller audience after it starts charging for access.
[…]
Pay-per-article plans (micropayments) are no more promising. Asking readers to pay a few cents for a story they haven’t read sounds like a massive info-gambling scheme; why would anyone spend even a few cents on something that might turn out to be disappointing, infuriating or just plain unsatisfying? And what nightmares lurk for journalism in any scheme predicated on persuading people to hand over money on the basis of just a headline or story synopsis?
On Getting Uncomfortable
From a Q & A with Jim Brady and the Colombia Journalism Review:
The line I keep using is that in any newsroom structure, the Web has to be positioned in a way that it can do things that will make the print side uncomfortable. It’s got to have enough autonomy that it can push into technologies in new areas and make the newsroom go, ‘Do we really want to be on Twitter?’ You’ve got to take some risks, you’ve got to play on some new playgrounds. And when you have to run all those questions through a print structure, often the answer is no, or it takes a really long time to get to an answer.
As fancy as the web is, it can’t replace strong, old-fashioned journalism. The trick is getting that caliber of reporting to work for readers who are used to the Internet as their main source of information.
‘Beautiful Newton’
On Paying for iPhone Apps
Ever since Apple unveiled the App Store, I’ve heard this sentence more than I can tell you:
I’m not going to pay for an iPhone app.
First, Some Background
When Apple announced the App Store, they offered developers two pricing options: free apps, or paid apps (set at any price above $0.99, with Apple taking 30% to cover infrastructure costs). At first glance, 30% seemed high, but the App Store not only puts every single app in front of every single iPhone and iPod touch user, but Apple takes care of all of the backend to make it possible — hosting, billing, reviews, everything.
The App Store was a game-changer. Just 18 months later, almost every phone platform has an app store setup. The concept of having all available software in one place — on every single device — is ingenious. Never before — on any platform — has selecting, buying and installing an application been so easy.
Free Apps Aren’t Free
Many free apps in the App Store are supported by ads. This allows developers to offer their app for free, and receive payment on the back end.
Ads are a huge business, as Techcrunch pointed out back in May:
The AdWhirl report says that applications that crack the top 100 in the Free Apps list make $400-$5000 a day – a wide range to be sure, but even at the low end that works out to around $12,000 a month. Among these top apps, AdWhirl is reporting an impressive $1.90 eCPM and 2.6% CTR. And while applications that do reach the peak position in the App Store eventually lose steam, revenue tends to remain consistent over time after the initial dip. Of course, making it to the top of the Free Apps list is easier said than done, and most developers make far less than $400 a day. But the same is true of the vast majority of paid applications too – in fact, there’s actually less competition on the free side of the store.
With paid apps, developers make their money when you buy the app — regardless of if it’s ever opened again. With ad-driven revenue, developers are paid based on impressions and click-throughs, meaning that if the app is never opened, they aren’t going to make any money. As fickle as iPhone customers are, this is a huge risk for developers.
Money aside, ads can take away from an app’s experience. If an ad takes 3 seconds to read, that’s 3 seconds gone from your day. Additionally, ads — if not tastefully done within an app — are annoying. Twitterrific does it well — ads show up as tweets. Some developers just slap ads at the top or bottom of the display, which is distracting.
Developers Are People, Too
Loren Britcher recently announced he would be charging $2.99 for the new version of Tweetie for iPhone. Here’s how he tells his story:
About ten months ago I was a big shot with 20 Twitter followers. In my spare time I wrote this app called Tweetie because I wasn’t satisfied with the current state of Twitter clients. A few people bought it. Then a few more bought it. Then I realized this App Store thing was actually pretty popular, and ($2.99 – 30%) x enough people = a living. So I dropped everything and devoted every working minute since to Tweetie.
If Tweetie fails, Britcher will have to find something else to pay his bills. It’s that simple — for many developers, their apps are their livelihood. Any many developers are small (Britcher works alone, for example), and surviving on ad click-throughs alone may not be possible. Without income, they’ll won’t be any developers — without developers, they’re won’t be any apps. And if history teaches us anything, it’s that a platform without apps can’t survive.
Maybe It’s Mental
I think the biggest thing that keeps people from dropping a few bucks on a mobile app is that it doesn’t feel like a real app. iPhone apps are usually one trick ponies, while desktop apps are usually more complicated. That, paired with the fact that people don’t view their phones as computers, mean some people don’t view mobile apps as worth anything, while computer programs are worth some money.
It’s too bad, really. The iPhone is a very capable device. Not buying apps for it is like buying a computer and just using the built-in programs. On the Mac, that means I couldn’t use MarsEdit, TextWrangler, Aperture, Adium, Office or the Adobe Creative Suite. That doesn’t seem too great.
The programs on the App Store — for the most part — are great, thanks to the serious manpower behind them. To avoid paid-for apps is to miss out on some great things. Don’t be afraid to drop a couple bucks here and there. Everyone will be better off if you do.
10.6 Guest Accounts Murdering Other Users In Their Sleep?
A flurry of reports have surfaced around the web explaining that even an accidental login to one’s Guest account within Snow Leopard could lead to mass deletion of all user files on the primary account, and when we say “mass deletion,” we mean “mass deletion.” The problem goes something like this: if one clicks on the Guest account after upgrading their machine to OS X 10.6, and everything hangs, there’s at least a decent chance that all of your data will be evaporated whenever you surf back over to the main profile.
I’ve heard whispers about this for a week now — it’s a serious bug, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue on every system. Still, better safe than sorry — I just turned off the Guest account on my MacBook Pro.
Like Old Macs? Like Twitter?
Sidekick Users Left Without Data
Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger’s latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device – such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos – that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger. That said, our teams continue to work around-the-clock in hopes of discovering some way to recover this information. However, the likelihood of a successful outcome is extremely low.
This is one of the downsides of cloud computing.