Apple

• Apps for Apple TV: sign me up 3 hours ago The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
  

  Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple, Apple TV

  Saul Hansell, over at the New York Times Bits blog, takes Microsoft's recent announcement about Xbox LIVE Community Games as a jumping off point to some speculation about Apple TV (and who doesn't like speculation?). Hansell wonders what would happen if Apple were to open up an App Store for the Apple TV, and I have to admit that I think that's a brilliant idea.
  
  I've always thought that the Apple TV would greatly benefit from third party plugins (official ones, I mean, not hacks), if not full blown apps. Take, for example, the YouTube functionality. Wouldn't it be cool if you could watch videos from Viddler, Vimeo, or any of the other countless video sharing sites, in addition to those on YouTube? And let's not forget Netflix. Microsoft and Netflix have teamed up to offer the 'Watch it now' library of videos to XBox Live Gold members. Being able to watch those videos from Netflix on my Apple TV would make me one happy panda.
  
  Hansell notes that to make apps on the Apple TV viable something has to be done about that horrible onscreen keyboard. He thinks that Apple might tie the iPhone into the Apple TV as a way to control it. Luckily, Apple has already done this. As John Gruber points out, when you have Apple's Remote app on your iPhone you are able to use the iPhone to enter text into your Apple TV.
  
  Let's hope Apple stops thinking about Apple TV as a hobby and starts making an aggressive push for the living room. I like my Apple TV, but my XBox 360 offers up more functionality (and more heat!).
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• Mossberg/Boehret ?very impressed? with new App Store 4 hours ago Apple Hot News
  Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret (allthingsd.com) consider the new App Store ?the single best feature in Apple?s second generation iPhone 3G.? The ?easy availability of so many programs,? they say, ?makes the iPhone a true computing platform, like a pocket-sized Windows or Macintosh PC,? one that allows iPhone owners to ?have a device with fresh, different capabilities every day.?
• iPhone 3G ?a superb piece of multipurpose technology? 4 hours ago Apple Hot News
  ?Better than the original in almost every way,? iPhone 3G ?is an endless source of entertainment ? as well as a platform for useful business applications that transform it from a cute gadget into a true hand-held computer,? suggests Mike Himowitz (baltimoresun.com).
• Aperture 2 captures five-star rating 5 hours ago Apple Hot News
  Thanks to a ?dramatic overhaul,? Aperture 2, ?Apple?s all-in-one photography tool, overtakes Adobe?s Lightroom,? reports Alex Singleton (macworld.co.uk). ?Much faster than its predecessor,? Aperture 2 has ?a new user interface [that] makes it more appealing to first-time users, and over 100 new features means it significantly leapfrogs Lightroom in functionality.?
• Pogue and Macworld chime in on MobileMe 5 hours ago The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
  

  Filed under: MobileMe

  
  
  
  David Pogue, the New York Times tech columnist, posted his review of MobileMe last week and despite its problems he thought the service itself showed promise. It looks like a little of that promise is wearing off. The latest post to David's New York Times blog, titled 'MobileMess,' isn't exactly the kind of press coverage Apple is used to as of late. In his post Pogue dings Apple for marketing MobileMe in the wrong way, and for failing to be up front with MobileMe users during all the 'rough patches.' Apple declined to comment for the story.
  
  Macworld has also taken MobileMe for a spin, and they give it 3.5 mice out of 5. The good include push to the iPhone, the web interface, and lots of storage. The bad points should look familiar by now: push doesn't work for everything and the service isn't reliable.
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• If wishes were horses. 6 hours ago The Macalope: An Apple blog
  

  It's shoot for the moon daze, people! Following up on Al Gore's challenge to convert all electricity production to wind, solar and recumbent bike power in the next 10 years, two other probably even less likely to be accomplished challenges were raised.

  First, TechCrunch wants users to build them a dead-simple web tablet for $200. There's that can-get-other-people-to-do-it spirit that made this country great! Make sure you get a tetanus shot before taking those test models for a spin! Some of those edges might be sharp.

  Now one of the founders of Ubuntu maker Canonical, Mark Shuttleworth, says he wants the operating system that's fun to say to "blow right past Apple" in terms of an artful desktop experience. Right. Look, the Macalope has some really nice things to say about Linux and Tux himself, who he frequently plays against in the Mythical Creatures Intramural Softball League. But artful experiences are rarely, if ever, created by committee. Also, it's not just the presentation layer that separates Ubuntu from OS X. It's also this. It's not enough to look good, it has to just work, too.

  Well, you know, MobileMe notwithstanding.

  Cough.

• Flickr Find: Pinewood derby iPhone 7 hours ago The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
  

  Filed under: Odds and ends, Flickr Find

  

  The words pinewood derby may be meaningless to you, that is unless you were a boy scout. Then, no doubt, the pinewood derby will conjure up many happy memories (I lost miserably at my boy scout troop's pinewood derby, though I only worked on my car for 15 minutes). Now, imagine if a bunch of talented grownups got together and had a pinewood derby. You would get something like the event that the Columbus Society of Communication Professionals just held. Above you see one participant's pinewood derby car all decked out as an iPhone. I hope it is an iPhone 3G, since those are twice as fast (see what I did there?).

  Check out the full Flickr set that Jaime Santillan posted, or see the iPhone car here, here and here. And I think you'll recognize some Apple products in this picture as well.
  

  [via MAKE]

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• App Store ?puts iPhone above all others? 8 hours ago Apple Hot News
  What makes the App Store ?a win for the user?? Andy Ihnatko (suntimes.com) ticks off the reasons: ?The entire universe of iPhone software is in one central location.? ?Prices start at free.? ?Buying and installing an app is dead simple and reliable.? And thanks to the App Store, iPhone and iPod touch now ?represent a formidable and legitimate new computing platform.?
• WordPress for iPhone source now available 8 hours ago The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
  

  Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone

  
  
  
  When I first heard that the iPhone WordPress app was open source I thought that was cool, but what about the SDK NDA (that's nondisclosure agreement, which means you won't share any information you're told with anyone)? It would seem that the fine folks at WordPress aren't too worried about that bothersome NDA because they are now sharing the source code of the app via their SVN server. It'll be interesting to see if Apple releases the legal hounds upon WordPress or not. If they do it means that Apple is still considering the iPhone SDK NDA serious business, but if they just let WordPress distribute the code I wage we'll see plenty of other devs posting iPhone code of their own.
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• AT&T and O2 have few iPhone 3Gs 9 hours ago The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
  

  Filed under: iPhone

  The iPhone 3G is a hot commodity, as you may have noticed by reading every other post here at TUAW. These things are selling like hot cakes, which I assume sell very well, and are hard to keep in stock. AT&T has posted a note letting people know that they are plum out of iPhones at their retail stores. You can snag one from AT&T by using their 'direct fulfilment' option which means you order the iPhone and AT&T will ship it to the store when it is ready (and then you can just stroll in to pay for it). If you go that route be prepared to wait 14 days or so, depending on the model, to get your iPhone. At least you don't have to stand in line!
  
  O2 has all been moving iPhones like nobody's business. The iPhone is in short supply in the O2 shops, though this website will be updated with stores that have them in stock. If you like to shop online, you're out of luck as the O2 online store is out of iPhones. O2 expects a shipment of iPhones on Friday, so if you're in the UK you just have to hold out a little longer.
  
  [via Engadget]
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