I’ll be honest with you, I pre-ordered Anna’s and my iPhones first thing yesterday morning because I wanted to make sure I got the models we wanted (16 GB black for me, white for her), and that we would get them this coming Friday.
I was planning to reserved our iPhones for pick up at the local Apple retail store, but that wasn’t an option this time around. And so this is the first year I won’t be waiting in line to pick up a new iPhone.
App Cubby’s brand new Twitter app, Tweet Speaker, is just great. It’s not a full-fledged Twitter client, but rather it’s a single-purpose app. Tweet Speaker reads your tweets, and it’s quite impressive.
I’ve been beta testing it since June and I very much like this app. My favorite use for Tweet Speaker is when I’m in the car. It’s like having my own NPR headlines read to me. Very cool.
And be sure to check out the video, demoing the app.
Handy chart.
Smart piece by Shadoe Huard about the potentially awkward social situations that may surround Siri. It’s one thing to talk to your iPhone in your car or while out on a jog. It’s another thing to talk to your iPhone while in a public setting, even around friends.
I guess we won’t know until we actually begin to use Siri, but I have a hard time imagining any times that I will genuinely use it other than to send and reply to text messages when in my car.
Periodicity is a new reminder app for the iPhone. With Periodicity you can easily configure any periodical event you want to be reminded of, whether it is an anniversary, a weekly appointment, your workout every third day or a daily meditation session.
What’s even better, you can accept, dismiss or postpone every single reminder and Periodicity keeps track. So you still know at the and of the day if you’ve taken the memory pills in the morning.
And please tell your parents. They might love it, too!
Bill Eccles on the fine details found in iPod nano’s home page:
Worth noting is that the second hand is swept (i.e., it moves in less-than-one-second increments—5Hz, I think—just like a real mechanical movement watch) and that the minute and hour hands’ motions emulate that of a geartrain. That is, they, too, move with each tiny tick of the second hand, just as a real watch does. The motion is beautifully imperceptible, just like a real watch. It’s stunning.
Assuming you’re eligible for an upgrade straight away, it looks like you can only order an iPhone 4S for delivery on October 14 — you can’t reserve one for pickup at your local store. So if you (like me) enjoy standing in line and hanging out with your other nerd pals, it’ll mean (a) you have to get there sooner than normal; and (b) if you aren’t towards the front of the line you may end up getting a size or color you didn’t exactly want. Or: (c) you can decide this’ll be a year you don’t stand in line for an iPhone.
It’s interesting (and slightly annoying?) the way Apple is always fiddling with different launch-day ordering tactics.
Yesterday, as the news of Steve Jobs’ death began to break, my RSS feeds and Twitter stream grew full with links to stories, photos, and videos.
All these Steve Jobs articles, stories, photos, and tributes which are surfacing right now are not in the slightest way redundant. I am reading and enjoying so many of them. They are our way of saying thank you to Steve Jobs. We, the Mac nerds, are thankful for the careers and hobbies he gave us.
It’s amazing to me how so many in this community — the indie devs, designers, writers, et al. — have a story about our first Mac or about a nervous encounter we had with Steve Jobs. We love what we do, we’re proud to use Apple products, and we’re thankful for the careers and hobbies that we have been able to build up thanks to Steve’s Apple.
I met developers such as Marco Arment, Brent Simmons, Craig Hockenberry, and Daniel Jalkut. Former Apple employees like Matt Drance, and current ones like Scott Simpson. CEOs like AJ, David Barnard, and Cabel Sasser. Designers such as Chris Clark, Neven Mrgan, and Tim Van Damme. Consultants like Michael Lopp and Ken Yarmosh. And writers like John Gruber, Rene Ritchie, and Jim Dalrymple.
Such a colorful array of the 3rd-party Apple family; so many Mac nerds. So many pals.
There is one Mac nerd I did not get to meet or even see. And that was Steve Jobs. Without a conference badge my only hope to get in for the WWDC Keynote was with a press pass. Alas, all the emails I sent to Apple PR went unanswered. And so, with an americano and borrowed wi-fi, I watched Steve’s final keynote from a coffee shop in Roseville.
During the next few days, as I walked the streets of downtown San Francisco, everyone I met — from designers, to developers, CEOs, marketers, writers, and other nerds — was pleased to meet me, and I them. Everyone was kind and friendly. It didn’t matter that I had no conference badge, and that I had flown to San Francisco on my own dime simply to hang out with a bunch of other Mac nerds and not attend any of the WWDC sessions. I was there to meet some my peers, my pals, and there was respect in that.
You and I are on the same team. We all are. We may link to the same articles, review the same products, develop apps for the same market, and design with the same intense perfectionism, but we are a community. Let’s continue to fight for each other, encourage each other, and work together to make amazing things.
We are the 3rd-party family of Apple nerds. Let’s make a dent.
What can you say about a man whom you never knew but who’s life and work had such a significant impact on your own?
Steve Jobs changed the way we see the world. He changed the way we communicate with one another. He changed the way we work and learn. He changed the way we share information and the way we view design and creativity. He created jobs and industries and markets for millions of people.
Steve inspired us to go for it.
So many of us have careers, businesses, and hobbies that we love thanks to the company Steve Jobs co-founded in his parent’s garage. I think this quote from President Barack Obama is so fitting:
There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.
I am thankful for Steve’s life and what he accomplished. But I also remember that he was still just a man, like all of us. We continue by seeking to live with intention, by loving those around us, pursuing our dreams, trusting our gut, and remembering that life is fragile.
Seth Godin:
Steve devoted his professional life to giving us (you, me and a billion other people) the most powerful device ever available to an ordinary person. Everything in our world is different because of the device you’re reading this on.
What are we going to do with it?
A very nice, personal tribute to Steve Jobs by Walt Mossberg.
President Barack Obama:
The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.
So sad. We all hoped he would beat his illness, but alas. Steve made an impact on so many, and for that we are thankful. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
Intelligent (as always) answer from Horace Dediu. In short, the market has less want of an “iPhone 5” this year than it will next year.