WWDC 2011 Thread (Monday, June 6th @ 10AM PT)

[FanIn80]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/03/wwdc-2011-2011-03-28.jpg

CUPERTINO, California—May 31, 2011—Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software - Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/05/31wwdc.html


...and there's also an app for the event this year, although I'm not sure how much stuff is going to be included for non-attendees. Should still be able to get some videos, photos, and articles, I think.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/02/apple-releases-wwdc-app-for-ios-devices/

Edit: Incidentally, this is the first time I can remember Apple releasing the details of the keynote prior to the event.

[Russic]

It's also strange of them to essentially release a product (iCloud) via press release. Usually it's more of a laser/fog/turtleneck kind of thing.

For those into podcasts I thought the first half of this weeks macbreak weekly did a really good summary/wishlist of what could be coming.

[KTrain]

My MobileMe renewed yesterday so, if they make it free, hopefully there's some reprieve for people who have already purchased it.

One of the Own This World developers is heading down to WWDC and, from what he's been saying, there are lots of cool opportunities for developers to get one-on-one time with Apple developers. He's booking a session to get OTW's UI looked at by Apple's UI guys. That frightens me more than a little.

[kermitology]

KTrain, you're design is going to be ripped to shreds! Hahah.. We had someone at Apple look at AccuTerra a couple of years ago, and they were absolutely brutal in their analysis of our visual design.

[Russic]

It'll probably be one of those really uncomfortable and unpleasant tear-downs, but I bet there's a ton to learn from them. That or they won't offer constructive criticism and they'll just be straight-up cold and mean.

[kermitology]

It will be constructive, but the guy we had talk to us didn't really seem to understand the context of the app or the function of what he was looking at.

[FanIn80]

Another potential announcement?

In a separate report, Ars Technica briefly notes that it has received word that the new Time Capsule may actually follow the pattern of the Apple TV, taking on an A4 or A5 processor from Apple and running iOS to manage the more advanced functions that could appear in the device.

Harnessing the power of iOS directly within the Time Capsule device, even if on a scaled-down basis as in the Apple TV, naturally opens the door to further speculation of how Apple could tie together iCloud services with local storage on users' own networks, whether it be caching some iCloud content to the Time Capsule for faster access when on the local network or even pushing some of the Time Machine functions included on the current Time Capsule out to iCloud itself.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/03/new-time-capsules-to-run-ios-on-a4a5-processors/

[HotHotHeat]

This WWDC looks like it has more announcements than any in recent memory. Should be exciting. Is Apple streaming the Keynote?

Also, my expectations for iOS 5 are through the roof.

[FanIn80]

The update app screen in iTunes apparently had this line added to it yesterday... but it's since been removed.

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/06/appupdates1.jpg

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/03/itunes-leaks-automatic-download-over-the-air-updates-in-ios-5/

[QuadCityImages]

So currently any time an app comes out with an update you have to sync to get it? Or just system updates? If you can download an app over the air I don't know why you couldn't update it, but the same goes for system updates too really. This is LONG overdue.

[FanIn80]

So currently any time an app comes out with an update you have to sync to get it?

You can already update your apps directly on the phone, over 3G or WiFi. This is referring to an (optional) automated process that is rumoured to be coming.

[FanIn80]

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/06/wwdc1-500x373.jpg

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/06/wwdc21-500x373.jpg

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/06/wwdc_black_banner.jpg

Secret banner alert!

Edit: Looks like there are two hidden banners...

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/06/photo-500x373.jpg

New iOS notification system is rumored to be one of them. Not sure about the other though.

[Mazrim]

Did you take the morning off work for this FanIn80? ;)

[photon]

So is the probability of new phone hardware being announced basically zero?

[FanIn80]

So is the probability of new phone hardware being announced basically zero?

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I suppose that could still be a possibility, though it would be more of an iPhone 4S than an iPhone 5 (if it were to happen).

We'll find out shortly. It starts in ~10mins.

[photon]

Are they live streaming it on iOS devices like last time?

[FanIn80]

Live updates:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/06/wwdc-2011-liveblog-steve-jobs-talks-ios-5-os-x-lion-icloud-an/
http://www.macrumorslive.com/

[FanIn80]

Are they live streaming it on iOS devices like last time?

Doesn't look like it. This always irks me. As a paid member of ADC, you'd think there would be at least an internal developer's link to watch the keynote.

[KTrain]

Covert video stream on JustinTV

http://www.justin.tv/arix?utm_campaign=post_live&utm_source=live&utm_medium=url#/w/1300942784

[Mazrim]

Engadget sure seemed excited by some simple facial recognition software. Really? Same thing in the Nintendo DSi haha.

[photon]

Apparently WalMart is clearing out iPhone 4's for $147, OMG NEW IPHONE!!! :D

[Cheerio]

Apparently WalMart is clearing out iPhone 4's for $147, OMG NEW IPHONE!!! :D
I take it that is only if you get a 3 year contract with it?

[photon]

Yeah, well 2 year since I think that's in the US and I think they get their phones with 2 year contracts, but I could be misremembering.

[photon]

Wow, $29 for the Lion upgrade.

[FanIn80]

Mac OS X Lion: Only from App Store, buy once and install on all of your Macs, $29.

[MickMcGeough]

Love the new lock screen notifications.

[Mccree]

Mac OS X Lion: Only from App Store, buy once and install on all of your Macs, $29.

So I will have to upgrade to snow leopard first?

[fundmark19]

OH THANK GOD APPLE finally lock screen notifications you just signed me up for life!

[KTrain]

Faster camera app loading. It's stupid but it's awesome. I don't know how many "moments" I've missed capturing because I've been waiting for the camera app to load.

[Mazrim]

OH THANK GOD APPLE finally lock screen notifications you just signed me up for life!
You're that easy huh? ;)

I really like that you can use + volume button to take a picture now. Hitting the screen was awkward.

[Barnes]

Mark as read and flag in mail. Someone on here was complaining about that a little while ago.

[Mazrim]

OTA software updates...guess I don't have to connect to iTunes anymore, finally.

[Barnes]

You're that easy huh? ;)

I really like that you can use + volume button to take a picture now. Hitting the screen was awkward.

Why was it awkward? You should see how many awesome pictures I have of my thumb.:cool:

[FanIn80]

iMessage!

iOS gets its own Ping-like service.

[MickMcGeough]

iMessage. If I didn't already have a plan with 2500 text messages I'd care.

ETA: Actually I think I pay for MMS, I'm assuming you can send pics over iMessage?

ETA2: Yup. Yay.

[Mazrim]

Why was it awkward? You should see how many awesome pictures I have of my thumb.:cool:
I found myself getting blurry pictures. I'd set up the phone like I would a camera, then move of my fingers over to the screen to take a shot. My fingers were already resting on the volume buttons...might as well use em!

[Mazrim]

ETA: Actually I think I pay for MMS, I'm assuming you can send pics over iMessage?
Aren't the plans called "Text and Picture messaging"? If you're with the big 3 I don't think you should have to pay for MMS.

[FanIn80]

Holy crap. iPad mirroring to TV over AirPlay and WiFi iTunes sync!

Edit: Ooo... I get a developer seed today!
Edit: "Supports iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2, 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch."

[Barnes]

I found myself getting blurry pictures. I'd set up the phone like I would a camera, then move of my fingers over to the screen to take a shot. My fingers were already resting on the volume buttons...might as well use em!

I was sarcastically agreeing with you. I should have said pictures of my middle finger. By the time I look away from the screen to try and find the shutter button, my middle finger drifts in front of the lens.

[Barnes]

Aren't the plans called "Text and Picture messaging"? If you're with the big 3 I don't think you should have to pay for MMS.

I have an older plan and pay extra for mms.

[Mazrim]

I'm waiting for the day where Steve Jobs says "we have a new feature, and I'm mildly interested in it". When he is ever not excited about it?

[photon]

Blah blah I've been doing all this over the air sharing for years now, get to something interesting.

[photon]

They'll never do the feature I really want; profiles for the iPad, so I can have different contact/mailbox/calendar/etc for each person that uses it. They want me to buy an iPad for everyone.

[FanIn80]

iCloud storage APIs!

[photon]

Great, as a server side programmer I'm now obsolete!

iCloud for photos is great though, getting pictures onto the iPad to show them is always such a hassle.

[You Need a Thneed]

really looking forward to downloaded tunes being available on all other devices. Hopefully it's somewhat retroactive too.

[photon]

What are the chances of being able to import your own music through iCloud so it's handled the same way :(

[FanIn80]

iCloud is free!

[MarchHare]

What are the chances of being able to import your own music through iCloud so it's handled the same way :(

THIS.

If iCloud will only handle the ~10% of my music library purchased through the iTunes Store, it's useless to me. If I can upload my entire library, I'll gladly pay a monthly fee for the service.

[Red]

iCloud is free!

Free, awesome.

So is Mobile Me gone then?
Can iCloud do the email/contacts sync etc for free? Any storage included?

Just saw this:
5GB of free storage for mail, docs, backups. Purchased music, apps, and books don't count towards that.

[You Need a Thneed]

What are the chances of being able to import your own music through iCloud so it's handled the same way :(

every other app seems to do that through the cloud, but studios may not like it? People can do it manually now, so It's not making any more copying happen. Just makes it easier, instead of bunring CDs on your computer, then hooking up each deveice to it, then copying them that way.

[fundmark19]

I am assuming that developer apps are going to help with the problem of your own music and videos. Airvideo iCloud anyone?

[FanIn80]

One more thing!

[photon]

every other app seems to do that through the cloud, but studios may not like it? People can do it manually now, so It's not making any more copying happen. Just makes it easier, instead of bunring CDs on your computer, then hooking up each deveice to it, then copying them that way.

Yeah, I can see Apple not wanting to do it though because for their own music they don't have storage issues (only one copy of each song needs to be stored), while for people's own music libraries they'll have to have storage for each person (or fingerprint each one to deduplicate at least if they're smart).

[Barnes]

Holy Fata...

I never thought they would do this!

iTunes Match Software will scan your tunes and match it up with those songs in the store. "We give that music the same benefits as music purchased in iTunes."

[photon]

iTunes Match, well that answers that question lol.

[fredr123]

Answer to the above - iTunes Match - $24.99/year

edit: Waaaay too slow

[fundmark19]

I guess its time to put all of the music from my old ipod back onto the computer!

[Barnes]

So can I roll the $99 I just paid for mobileme into 4 years of iTunes Match?

[fredr123]

/scurries off to fine tune all the id3 tags for my library

[MarchHare]

/scurries off to fine tune all the id3 tags for my library

Anyone know of a reliable app to do this automatically?

[FanIn80]

Anyone know of a reliable app to do this automatically?

I use Media Rage, though there might be some simpler ones in the App Store.

http://www.chaoticsoftware.com/ProductPages/MediaRage.html

[photon]

/scurries off to fine tune all the id3 tags for my library

They'll probably be able to scan the song itself and identify it without having to have the tags accurate.

[fredr123]

Wait a sec... It's only going to take Apple a few minutes to scan your entire music library? How long before the RIAA/CRIA demand letters show up at your door? They'll probably just serve you by iMessage.

[MarchHare]

Wait a sec... It's only going to take Apple a few minutes to scan your entire music library? How long before the RIAA/CRIA demand letters show up at your door?

How would they be able to prove you've pirated a song versus ripping it from a legally-purchased CD?

[FanIn80]

Damn, I'm going to have a busy day ahead of me.

- New Lion developer preview.
- iOS 5 developer preview.
- iCloud developer preview.

:D

[photon]

Heh, well in theory how would Apple know if you downloaded that MP3 or if you ripped it from a CD?

Since there's usually only a limited # of rips that float around the web, they could also in theory match those mp3's with known torrented rips, but that seems awfully labour intensive to get that info, where it'd be much easier to just do what they do now; get your IP and go through your ISP to sue you.

[FanIn80]

How would they be able to prove you've pirated a song versus ripping it from a legally-purchased CD?

I think this is the reason for the $25/yr. I can't remember the exact split, but I think it was 45% to the labels, 30% to Apple and 15% to the publishers.

Before that, it was 0% to everyone for pirated stuff.

[You Need a Thneed]

So... someone explain this iTunes matching to me.

What does it do? What do you get for your 24.99 that you can't do for free manually now?

[MarchHare]

From another forum:

I bet you that a decent percentage of that 24 dollar fee goes directly to the RIAA. Think about it. Instead of lawyer fees, long, tiresome lawsuits, bad publicity, now they have a channel by which a stable third party (Apple) feeds them a steady, annual stream of "pirate music" revenue, more or less hassle free. Even if it's not all the money they think they deserve, it's got to be an incredibly cheap way to recover it, administratively speaking.

[HotHotHeat]

24.99 to download torrents and wireless sync them to any device made my Apple.

The music industry just surrendered.

[MarchHare]

So... someone explain this iTunes matching to me.

What does it do? What do you get for your 24.99 that you can't do for free manually now?

If you don't pay $25/year, only music you purchased through the iTunes store can be accessed through iCloud. If you pay the optional fee, then any music you've ripped (or pirated, apparently) can also be synched with iCloud, and it will up-convert all your low-quality mp3s to higher bitrates.

[photon]

So... someone explain this iTunes matching to me.

What does it do? What do you get for your 24.99 that you can't do for free manually now?

It doesn't do anything that you can't do for free manually now. It's just a convenience thing, having all your music synced across your iOS devices, all of the same quality, etc.

The quality thing might actually be the killer feature for some, sometimes rips can be poorly done.

[You Need a Thneed]

If you don't pay $25/year, only music you purchased through the iTunes store can be accessed through iCloud. If you pay the optional fee, then any music you've ripped (or pirated, apparently) can also be synched with iCloud, and it will up-convert all your low-quality mp3s to higher bitrates.

but I could still transfer songs to the music library on each device manually for free?

[HotHotHeat]

i just realized how clean my library is going to look come fall. And good point about the song quality too...

Man this is awesome.

[Devils'Advocate]

I'm still not getting this whole iCloud thing. My entire music collection is 22Gig, which more than fits on my 32GB iPhone. Why do I want them available on the iCloud? I don't see the benefit of paying this $25 a month.

[photon]

So overall thoughts?

Nothing earth shattering or unique, just an evolution of iOS. Responding to some long outstanding requests, etc.

The iCloud thing is well done, again nothing earth shattering, pretty much what you would expect of such a service, but it is surprising for it to be free.

Enough to keep them ahead of the competition?

[FanIn80]

iOS 5 Videos: http://www.apple.com/ios/ios5/gallery.html
Lion Video: http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/#video-lion
iCloud info: http://www.apple.com/icloud/what-is.html

[You Need a Thneed]

Man $25 a yr doesn't sound too bad to keep the same iTUnes library on every device. Between iTunes store purchases on my work computer, iTunes store purchases on my home computer, a few purchases on iPods, CDs ripped to my work computer, and CDs ripped to my home computer, it's a real pain to keep anything updated. All the iTunes libraries are vastly different.

$25 a year just so I don't have to rip CDs on both my home computer and my work computer might be worth it in and of itself.

[photon]

I'm still not getting this whole iCloud thing. My entire music collection is 22Gig, which more than fits on my 32GB iPhone. Why do I want them available on the iCloud? I don't see the benefit of paying this $25 a month.

If you had an iPad and a MacBook as well and constantly had to keep 3 devices in sync for your music this makes more sense than just for one device.

I don't listen to music from my iPad but the iCloud feature for photos is something I will very much like, rather than trying to anticipate when I need to sync the photos to show family they'll just be there.

ETA: Oh and it's $25 a year, and that's just for the match service (for non-iTunes purchased music).

[FanIn80]

I don't see the benefit of paying this $25 a month.

The iTunes benefit to you is another thing, but the price for that is $25 a year. That's only for the iTunes Match feature. Everything else about iCloud is completely free.

[You Need a Thneed]

I'm still not getting this whole iCloud thing. My entire music collection is 22Gig, which more than fits on my 32GB iPhone. Why do I want them available on the iCloud? I don't see the benefit of paying this $25 a month.

The iTuens Match service is $25/yr. iCloud is free. You do have to shar everything I wouldn't think. That wouldn't make much sense, obvously due to device storage capacity issues.

[FanIn80]

OK, off to class I go!

Good thing, too, since ADC is still down. :p

http://www3.telus.net/kblovett/adcDown.png

[fredr123]

The Engagdet live blog mentioned Lala, which I had completely forgotten about. They supposedly had deals worked out for unlimited live streaming of songs for $0.10 per song. Lala was acquired by Apple and this is probably what you're seeing now.

Of course, no one confirmed whether this will be available in Canada at all. My bet is that it will be US-only for the foreseeable future.

[You Need a Thneed]

Also, it sounds like the music that I have on my phone that doesn't exist on any of my computers any longer (because computers have crashed), could be matched up and restored to all of my devices.

[photon]

Good call on the $25 going towards the music industry.. it doesn't cost Apple anything more to store songs from iTunes match since they're already stored.

Good solution to the problem, and good to see a reasonable price. I know lots of people were wanting an iTunes "subscription" where you could basically stream the whole library at any time and were willing to pay $10-20 a month for it (like Rhapsody).

[HotHotHeat]

Wouldn't they have made mention if it was only available in the US?

[me_dennis]

so i recently bought a new macbook pro, but havent gotten around to transferring all the songs from my old macbook over to the MBP. so if i pay the $25/yr itunes match thing, will itunes sync all the music from my old macbook to my iphone and new macbook pro?

[kermitology]

Good call on the $25 going towards the music industry.. it doesn't cost Apple anything more to store songs from iTunes match since they're already stored.

Good solution to the problem, and good to see a reasonable price. I know lots of people were wanting an iTunes "subscription" where you could basically stream the whole library at any time and were willing to pay $10-20 a month for it (like Rhapsody).

That would have killed startups like Rdio/Spotify (Rdio being available in North America). I'm happily giving Rdio $10/month for subscription music service that I can download to my device if I want.

I'll get the iTunes match to supplement my Rdio subscription without hesitation.

[Red]

so i recently bought a new macbook pro, but havent gotten around to transferring all the songs from my old macbook over to the MBP. so if i pay the $25/yr itunes match thing, will itunes sync all the music from my old macbook to my iphone and new macbook pro?

Yes and any other idevice you own. And photos, emails, contacts etc.

[You Need a Thneed]

so i recently bought a new macbook pro, but havent gotten around to transferring all the songs from my old macbook over to the MBP. so if i pay the $25/yr itunes match thing, will itunes sync all the music from my old macbook to my iphone and new macbook pro?

Any songs you have downloaded from iTunes will be updated to all devices for free. The match things would add all non iTunes songs.

[Burninator]

Keep in mind that the iTunes matching only applies to music that is available in the iTunes store (I believe they said this). So I won't be able to wirelessly sync all my library because a lot of it isn't in the iTunes store.

Yup appears to be that way.

If that isn't enough, Apple has announced iTunes Match, a $25 per year service that scans your iTunes library library and populates your iTunes in the Cloud account with any of your previously bought and ripped music -- in handy 256Kbps AAC, DRM-free files (as long as the titles already appear in the iTunes store).
http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/06/icloud-unveiled-at-wwdc/

[photon]

Good point.

[You Need a Thneed]

Here’s how it works: iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to your iCloud library for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 18 million songs in the iTunes Store, most of your music is probably already in iCloud. All you have to upload is what iTunes can’t match. Which is much faster than starting from scratch. And all the music iTunes matches plays back at 256-Kbps iTunes Plus quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.

Looks like it uploads songs not in iTunes to the cloud. Songs not in iTunes won't be able to be upconverted to the higher quality (obviously).

[sclitheroe]

Keep in mind that the iTunes matching only applies to music that is available in the iTunes store (I believe they said this). So I won't be able to wirelessly sync all my library because a lot of it isn't in the iTunes store.

Yup appears to be that way.

If that isn't enough, Apple has announced iTunes Match, a $25 per year service that scans your iTunes library library and populates your iTunes in the Cloud account with any of your previously bought and ripped music -- in handy 256Kbps AAC, DRM-free files (as long as the titles already appear in the iTunes store).
http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/06/icloud-unveiled-at-wwdc/

You can upload up to 25,000 songs that weren't originally iTunes purchases. If iTunes Match can determine what the tune is, it doesn't have to be uploaded, but it would still count against the 25,000 song cap. If it was purchased via iTunes, it doesn't count against the 25,000 song cap at all.

In essence, $25 a year gets you up to 25,000 songs in the cloud that weren't iTunes purchases to begin with. If iTunes can't match a ripped/dl'ed tune to it's library, you have to upload it manually, and it won't get upgraded to 256kbps AAC

[HotHotHeat]

Yep.

Apple notes takes "minutes," not "weeks" -- although songs will be uploaded in cases where there is no match. It will run you $24.99 a year (for up to 25,000 songs, apparently), and promises to give you all of the "same benefits as music purchased from iTunes" when it launches sometime this fall.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/06/apple-announces-itunes-in-the-cloud/

The beta is apparently only US, but you can still download iTunes 10.3 beta right now.

[kermitology]

Yep.

Apple notes takes "minutes," not "weeks" -- although songs will be uploaded in cases where there is no match. It will run you $24.99 a year (for up to 25,000 songs, apparently), and promises to give you all of the "same benefits as music purchased from iTunes" when it launches sometime this fall.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/06/apple-announces-itunes-in-the-cloud/

The beta is apparently only US, but you can still download iTunes 10.3 beta right now.

I just tried to download it, but it redirects me to 10.2.2.

[sclitheroe]

The iTunes beta doesn't include the iTunes Match feature as far as I can tell - the only big advantage will be the ability to test the "buy once get everywhere" and re-download to multiple device capabilities.

[HotHotHeat]

I just tried to download it, but it redirects me to 10.2.2.

It did the same for me.

[HotHotHeat]

*Automatic downloads and downloading of purchase history available in beta now and require iOS 4.3.1 on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM model), iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation), iPad, or iPad 2, or a Mac or PC with iTunes 10.3. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer in the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBookstore. Music features are available only in the U.S. Download iTunes 10.3 free.

****.

Also... What if you were an International mobileme subscriber?

[You Need a Thneed]

Available in beta now in the U.S. only and requires iOS 4.3.1 on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM model), iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation), iPad, or iPad 2, or a Mac or PC with iTunes 10.3. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer in the iTunes Store. Download iTunes 10.3 free

That makes it sound like everything will be available in Canada, just not now in Beta form?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Intresting idea, but why do I have this lingering feeling the RIAA will find a way to pervert this into a means of determining "who's naughty or nice"?

[fredr123]

That makes it sound like everything will be available in Canada, just not now in Beta form?

Yah. Just like the Google Music beta is for US residents only.

It's probably a licensing thing so I am not holding my breath for it to be available in Canada: a) anytime soon; or
b) priced competitively with the US offering

[Mazrim]

When is someone going to make a cross platform messaging program like BBM? I'm talking one that I can use as an app on iOS/Android/BlackBerry and Desktop. I'm getting tired of these closed platform messaging systems. They're absolutely useless to me. Ah well, Beejive/text messages it is.

[Yeah_Baby]

LiveProfile is cross platform no?

[fundmark19]

Liveprofile is and is getting better everyday. It went through that rough patch which scared a lot of people off but is quick and they say group chat is coming soon

[I-Hate-Hulse]

When is someone going to make a cross platform messaging program like BBM? I'm talking one that I can use as an app on iOS/Android/BlackBerry and Desktop. I'm getting tired of these closed platform messaging systems. They're absolutely useless to me. Ah well, Beejive/text messages it is.

How about the terribly named, but decently executed WhatsApp?

[Red]

Ping Chat?

[QuadCityImages]

Another presentation full of things that already existed being sold as "brand new and amazing." I can't believe he said that there's never been a way to purchase music once and download on multiple devices, considering that Amazon does that now.

Other than that, just a bunch of catching up to Android, especially on the notifications. Nearly every new iOS5 feature already exists on "the other" platform.

Edit: Match is something that Android can't do, although it didn't take me weeks to upload all my music to Google Music. Google is too disruptive to get along well with the record companies.

[Mazrim]

How about the terribly named, but decently executed WhatsApp?
Works great, when everyone you know has it.

I'm talking about Apple, RIM, or Google making a cross platform app, and it hopefully getting big time notice so everyone has it. Tough to tell all my friends to spend money on WhatsApp when there's no guarantee it will end up getting all their friends on it.

I use Beejive because it lets me do Google Talk, AIM, and MSN, so I've gotten around it for the most part. It's more a general wish to stop seeing new closed platform messaging services.

[sclitheroe]

Other than that, just a bunch of catching up to Android, especially on the notifications. Nearly every new iOS5 feature already exists on "the other" platform.


Absolutely. The features trotted out today are of vital importance to the platform to keep it viable.

[MickMcGeough]

Another presentation full of things that already existed being sold as "brand new and amazing." I can't believe he said that there's never been a way to purchase music once and download on multiple devices, considering that Amazon does that now.

Other than that, just a bunch of catching up to Android, especially on the notifications. Nearly every new iOS5 feature already exists on "the other" platform.

Edit: Match is something that Android can't do, although it didn't take me weeks to upload all my music to Google Music. Google is too disruptive to get along well with the record companies.
Please (please) don't take this as an iOS vs. Android debate invitation - I'm genuinely interested in the answer.

What's the Android iCloud equivalent? I just picked up an Android tablet and I'm trying to get it as cloud-based as possible for everything - docs, photos, videos, music, etc.

[QuadCityImages]

Well, for Docs it would be Google Docs. Music for Canadians at this time would be nothing, or maybe Amazon's Cloud Player. Music for Americans is Google Music, but that does involve hours/days of uploading your music to their servers. For pictures Picasa is kind of Google's answer to Flickr/iPhoto. I'm not sure if Picasa does videos, so I don't really know what the answer is for that. I use a lot of Dropbox, but that's not as integrated as having something built into the OS.

Edit: Turns out that Amazon's Cloud Player isn't available in Canada either. Come on tech companies... you're willing to throw out all these international numbers when it suits you, but then not support other countries for your services?

[HotHotHeat]

Quadcity, iMatch is the first of it's kind. Especially at $25/year.

[Azure]

iMessage is going to change text messaging forever.

BBM already has, but Apple has a bigger reach.

[QuadCityImages]

Hopefully it is the final nail in the coffin. I've always hated texts and the carriers ability to charge what amounts to hundreds or thousands of dollars per megabyte. Every time someone I know gets a smartphone I show them how they can now "text" me for free on Google chat, and many of them have become big believers in messaging rather than texting.

I don't see iMessage revolutionizing anything unless people can use it on PCs, Android, or even Blackberry phones. I mean, there are almost as many Android users as iOS, GTalk has been available forever, AND its somewhat cross-platform, yet texting is still alive and well. iMessage is just FaceTime for typing.

[kermitology]

Loaded it up on my iPod Touch test device.. I don't have many apps on this thing, but it seems to work fairly well. A few minor things I need to get used to still I think.

[Barnes]

Hopefully it is the final nail in the coffin. I've always hated texts and the carriers ability to charge what amounts to hundreds or thousands of dollars per megabyte. Every time someone I know gets a smartphone I show them how they can now "text" me for free on Google chat, and many of them have become big believers in messaging rather than texting.

I don't see iMessage revolutionizing anything unless people can use it on PCs, Android, or even Blackberry phones. I mean, there are almost as many Android users as iOS, GTalk has been available forever, AND its somewhat cross-platform, yet texting is still alive and well. iMessage is just FaceTime for typing.

Don't forget that FaceTime is just a packaging a bunch of open source technology that Apple has/will be opening up to everyone. Hopefully it's the same with imessage.

[QuadCityImages]

Don't forget that FaceTime is just a packaging a bunch of open source technology that Apple has/will be opening up to everyone. Hopefully it's the same with imessage.

Its been out for a year, where is this promised cross-platforming?

[Devils'Advocate]

Welp, I just got the bad news I was expecting. MobileMe is dying. Which probably means that I'll have to tell everyone to change my username@me.com to some other address. And I can't find any details as to whether I can continue using my iCloud account to host my web site that I have under my mobileme account. Oi.

[Azure]

Hopefully it is the final nail in the coffin. I've always hated texts and the carriers ability to charge what amounts to hundreds or thousands of dollars per megabyte. Every time someone I know gets a smartphone I show them how they can now "text" me for free on Google chat, and many of them have become big believers in messaging rather than texting.

I don't see iMessage revolutionizing anything unless people can use it on PCs, Android, or even Blackberry phones. I mean, there are almost as many Android users as iOS, GTalk has been available forever, AND its somewhat cross-platform, yet texting is still alive and well. iMessage is just FaceTime for typing.

True.

But what iMessage will do is force Android to create something similar, and with time there will be a standard cross-platform application.

[sclitheroe]

Welp, I just got the bad news I was expecting. MobileMe is dying. Which probably means that I'll have to tell everyone to change my username@me.com to some other address. And I can't find any details as to whether I can continue using my iCloud account to host my web site that I have under my mobileme account. Oi.

Your @me email will almost certainly transfer across. It's trivially easy to support multiple email domains (which is why @mac.com still works too for those of use that have had iTools/.Mac/MobileMe for a while.

The web hosting is a good question, that's something I take advantage of too on occasion.

Did they make any mention of photo galleries? That's the other piece I use frequently

[FanIn80]

Welp, I just got the bad news I was expecting. MobileMe is dying. Which probably means that I'll have to tell everyone to change my username@me.com to some other address. And I can't find any details as to whether I can continue using my iCloud account to host my web site that I have under my mobileme account. Oi.

Email from Apple:

Dear MobileMe member,

We'd like to share some exciting news with you about iCloud — Apple’s upcoming cloud service, which stores your content and wirelessly pushes it to your devices. iCloud integrates seamlessly with your apps, so everything happens automatically. Available this fall, iCloud is free for iOS 5 and OS X Lion users.

What does this mean for you as a MobileMe member?

When you sign up for iCloud, you'll be able to keep your MobileMe email address and move your mail, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks to the new service.

Your MobileMe subscription will be automatically extended through June 30, 2012, at no additional charge. After that date, MobileMe will no longer be available.

When iCloud becomes available this fall, we will provide more details and instructions on how to make the move. In the meantime, we encourage you to learn more about iCloud.

Sincerely,

The MobileMe Team

[Devils'Advocate]

Yeah, I missed the part about being able to retain your username@me.com account. Still don't know about the web hosting.

[Art Vandelay]

So this iCloud thing....if I'm taking alot of pics on my iPhone and it automatically goes to the cloud, wont this eat up my data plan if I'm not in a WiFi area?

I suppose it would be able to be turned off or set to WiFi only ?

[Art Vandelay]

^ Reading the apple.com info, I believe it only copies photos to the cloud over WiFi

[HotHotHeat]

iCloud is live in Canada for Books and Apps.

Turn on auto downloads in settings and you're set.

There's an option to use 3G or just wifi.

Also cool... with iOS 5 the LED light will be used for notifications.

[QuadCityImages]

The iPhone has a notification light but didn't use it, or what LED are we talking about?

[KTrain]

Here's a list of everything that was announced yesterday.

http://thenextweb.com/wwdc/2011/06/06/everything-you-need-to-know-from-wwdc-2011-in-one-handy-list/

OS X Lion


There are now more than 54 million active Mac users.
OS X Lion has over 250 new features.
The new OS will only be available in the Mac App Store for $29 in July.
A new developer preview will be available today.
To update you will need about 4GB of storage, and since it’s part of the Mac App Store, you can use it on all of your authorized computers.
Lion features 3000 new APIs for developers.
Multitouch gestures: scrolling, tap to zoom, swipe, pinch motions.
The scrollbar disappears when you don’t need it and reappears when you do.
You can run a number of full-screen apps at the same time and switch easily between them using a three finger swipe.
Mission control gives you a birds eye view of everything going on in your system.
Expose and Spaces have been unified.
Pinch to zoom and double tap zoom in the browser now in Safari.
You can swipe through Safari’s history.
New effects in Photo Booth including a bird animation that tracks your movement.
Mission Control is accessed swiping three fingers down when in full-screen mode.
Launchpad With Versions, Lion automatically saves your documents in the background without having to manually save documents.
You can browse through different versions of your document in a Time Machine format, and copy and paste between them.
Resume is a new feature which works system wide to remember what app you were using and what you were doing with them.
You can also easily revert to earlier versions of a file.
AirDrop is a new way to share documents between Macs using a peer to peer WiFI network.
The AirDrop control panel will show you all of the people around you using AirDrop. You can drag and drop files into other people’s Lion machines running AirDrop.
Lion has a new version of Mail with a full message window, snippets and a favorites bar.
The Search function in Mail has been improved, with new search suggestions, which update live in Mail, and the ability to search for messages in a particular date range.
Mails shows your messages just as they were sent, complete with attachments, but is compatible with people who don’t have Lion.
Conversations hide the extra text received in CCs, but you can expand it if needed.
Mac App Store
The Mac App Store is now the number 1 source for buying PC software, surpassing Best Buy and Office Depot
Pixelmator made $1 million in their first 20 days.
Lion only available via App Store
It offers in-app purchases, push notifications, sand boxing and delta updates.
Mac App Store now shows all purchased apps in a list. You can re-download all of your apps.


iOS 5


To date over 200 million iOS devices have been sold
iOS is the number one mobile operating system with more than 44 per cent of the market.
In the first 14 months, 25 million iPads have been sold.
15 billion songs have been sold via iTunes.
130 million books have been downloaded from iBooks.
There are 425,000 apps in the app store, 90,000 specifically for the iPad.
14 billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store in less than 3 years.
$2.5 billion has been paid to developers building apps for the app store.
iOS 5 has over 1500 APIs and tools and users get more than 200 new features.
All notifications come through the Notification Centre and no longer with a pop up window. They sit unobtrusively in the menu and automatically disappear shortly after.
The Notification Centre is a single screen that contains missed calls, app alerts and updates etc.
The Notification Centre sits in the top menu bar of the phone, and can be accessed by swiping down, much like in Android.
You can tap directly from the notification to launch the app, while tapping again takes you back to the Notification Centre.
Newstand provides subscriptions to major publications such as Time and National Geographic.
Newstand is one-stop-shop for magazine and newspaper subscriptions on your iOS device.
Subscriptions are automatically downloaded and saved in the app.
iOS users send more than 1 billion Tweets a week.
New Twitter features include single sign-on and photo and camera integration.
Twitter has also been integrated with contacts as well as with Safari, YouTube, and Maps.
2/3 of all mobile web browsing is done on Mobile Safari
Safari has added Reader support, which reformats a page to make it more readable and gives you single-story scrolling to a post even if it consists of several pages.
Full tabbed browsing has been added to Safari
Safari Reading List allows you to save pages to read later, much like a native Instapaper.
Reading List syncs across iOS devices.
The Reminders App allows you to set up a reminder at a certain location and time.
Location-based reminders mean that if you leave a location, you can have the reminder trigger.
The iPhone 4 has one of the most popular cameras, and is almost as common on Flickr as the SLR camera, the Nikon D90.
You can launch the Camera app from your lock screen by double tapping the home button, then tapping the camera button, even if you have a passcode set.
You can take pictures using the Increase Volume button.
There are optional gridlines to help align your photo, and can now pinch to zoom.
Auto exposure and auto focus lock have been added to the camera app, just tap and hold to activate.
Photo editing is now available on the iPhone and iPad, with crop and rotate, red-eye removal and one-click enhancement.
iOS Mail is also getting an upgrade with rich text formatting, indentations, draggable addresses, message flagging, the ability to search the entire message and the new gesture, swipe to switch inboxes.
The iPad has a new keyboard layout, especially for people who type with their thumbs. The keyboard is split in two and separated by a space in the middle.
PC Free, or Wireless syncing has finally come to the iOS.
When you purchase a new iOS device, it doesn’t have to be activated using iTunes, but rather you can activate on the device itself.
iOS Software updates are over the air, and are now Delta updates, so you only update the parts of the OS that have changed, not the entire OS.
You can create and delete calendars and create Mail folders, making it even less necessary to go back to your computer.
In 9 months, 50 million users have signed up on the iOS Game Centre.
You can now get recommendations for friends and games, compare achievement points with friends, and add photos to your profile.
iOS 5 supports turn-based games out of the box.
iMessage is a new messaging service between all iOS users on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, a new feature much like the Blackberry Messaging service.
You can send text, photos, videos and contacts using iMessage.
iMessaging also features delivery receipts, and optional read receipts, typing notifications, so you can see if your friend is typing.
Messages are pushed to all of your devices simultaneously.
iMessage works over 3G and WiFi and all messages are encrypted.
Like with other notifications, iMessages are non-intrusive and do not interrupt a running app.
iOS 5 can sync wirelessly to iTunes, and your iOS device will automatically back itself up on a daily basis.
Multitasking gestures are built in to the OS, and you switch between apps with a swipe.
iOS 5 itself will support everything from the iPhone 3Gs and newer.

[KTrain]

Needed two posts since there is a 1000 character limit.

iCloud


iCloud stores all of your content in the cloud and automatically pushes it to your devices.
It’s completely integrated with your apps.
If you make changes to the contacts or calendar on your iPhone, the changes are automatically sent to the cloud, and then pushed down to your devices to sync, updating all iOS devices.
You’ll also get a mail account at me.com, and your inbox and folders are kept up to date on all your devices.
MobileMe has ceased to exist, and even better yet, iCloud is free for syncing contacts, calendars and your mail
Other features available in iCloud are syncing purchased apps and iBook downloads, at no additional charge.
A daily backup of iCloud is done automatically over Wi-Fi with camera roll, music, device settings and app data.
Any content created using Pages, Numbers and Keynote is also backed up to iCloud.
Apple are releasing iCloud storage APIs.
Photo Stream syncs photos in the camera roll, that you take or import, on each of your iOS devices to iCloud.
Photo Stream can be accessed at a click of a button in the Photos app and iPhoto. Windows users can access it directly within Windows Explorer.
Photo Stream will also be available on Apple TV.
iCloud will store the last 1000 photos on your device, all images on your Mac or PC, and they’ll be stored on the server, we’ll store them for 30 days.
With iCloud, you can see your entire iTunes purchase history on any device, and download any song to your device at the click of a button, at no additional charge.
A new feature, Automatic Downloading, is a simple switch that will automatically download all of your songs to your devices when purchased on any iTunes store, a first in the music industry.
You get iCloud when you buy a new iOS device or upgrade your current device.
You can sync up to 10 devices with iCloud.
iCloud comes with 5GB storage for Mail, Documents and Backup. The 5GB don’t include photos, books, music or apps.
All users can access iTunes cloud today for iOS 4.3 in beta form.
iTunes Match will match your existing music and allow you to download any of your music to iTunes, even if the songs were not purchased through the iTunes store.
iTunes Match will upgrade your music 256k AAC DRM free
iTunes Match costs $24.99 a year.

[Barnes]

A couple of iOS things that weren't shown:

Keyboard short cuts. You can associate a phrase with some letters and automagically replaces it with the phrase.

The iPod app has been split into two apps. Movies and Music.

[HotHotHeat]

The iPhone has a notification light but didn't use it, or what LED are we talking about?

A dimmed version of the flash

[Burninator]

That's really the ideal place for a notification light, on the back, where you won't see it...

[corporatejay]

Needed two post since there is a 1000 character limit.

iCloud


iCloud stores all of your content in the cloud and automatically pushes it to your devices.
It’s completely integrated with your apps.
If you make changes to the contacts or calendar on your iPhone, the changes are automatically sent to the cloud, and then pushed down to your devices to sync, updating all iOS devices.
You’ll also get a mail account at me.com, and your inbox and folders are kept up to date on all your devices.
MobileMe has ceased to exist, and even better yet, iCloud is free for syncing contacts, calendars and your mail
Other features available in iCloud are syncing purchased apps and iBook downloads, at no additional charge.
A daily backup of iCloud is done automatically over Wi-Fi with camera roll, music, device settings and app data.
Any content created using Pages, Numbers and Keynote is also backed up to iCloud.
Apple are releasing iCloud storage APIs.
Photo Stream syncs photos in the camera roll, that you take or import, on each of your iOS devices to iCloud.
Photo Stream can be accessed at a click of a button in the Photos app and iPhoto. Windows users can access it directly within Windows Explorer.
Photo Stream will also be available on Apple TV.
iCloud will store the last 1000 photos on your device, all images on your Mac or PC, and they’ll be stored on the server, we’ll store them for 30 days.
With iCloud, you can see your entire iTunes purchase history on any device, and download any song to your device at the click of a button, at no additional charge.
A new feature, Automatic Downloading, is a simple switch that will automatically download all of your songs to your devices when purchased on any iTunes store, a first in the music industry.
You get iCloud when you buy a new iOS device or upgrade your current device.
You can sync up to 10 devices with iCloud.
iCloud comes with 5GB storage for Mail, Documents and Backup. The 5GB don’t include photos, books, music or apps.
All users can access iTunes cloud today for iOS 4.3 in beta form.
iTunes Match will match your existing music and allow you to download any of your music to iTunes, even if the songs were not purchased through the iTunes store.
iTunes Match will upgrade your music 256k AAC DRM free
iTunes Match costs $24.99 a year.


This is going to ruin sexting.

[fredr123]

James Grimmelmann, an American law professor and author, lists a few copyright issues that may pop up as a result of the announcements at WWDC yesterday: http://laboratorium.net/archive/2011/06/06/worldwide_developer_copyright

[Barnes]

James Grimmelmann, an American law professor and author, lists a few copyright issues that may pop up as a result of the announcements at WWDC yesterday: http://laboratorium.net/archive/2011/06/06/worldwide_developer_copyright

Not terribly worried about Apple rating me out. After all, this flag flies at their campus.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6WGMtaevGZqEazJ-SJventM4axJ3_Gpj1g9t2_qNes4reBhW_

[Red]

James Grimmelmann, an American law professor and author, lists a few copyright issues that may pop up as a result of the announcements at WWDC yesterday: http://laboratorium.net/archive/2011/06/06/worldwide_developer_copyright

This lawyer is not very computer savvy.

Air Drop is not that much different than a chat program where you can send files. Nothing new here besides how you contact the other party.

Ad blockers have been around forever, plus you can block images, scripts etc in the browser. Why is he bringing this up now?

iTunes match is a paid service. You are buying the music you pirated. Labels get most of that money. How can they sue you for it then?

[Russic]

That's really the ideal place for a notification light, on the back, where you won't see it...

The LED is quite bright, I imagine it won't be that hard to see. I wonder if the next phone will have a tiny light on the front?

My favorite feature not mentioned yesterday? You can drop your electronic signature into a pdf by signing a piece of paper and holding it up to the iSight camera. It'll scan it for you and drop the image in for you to position.

[Ironhorse]

Heheh

http://i.imgur.com/KdC14.png

[fredr123]

This lawyer is not very computer savvy.

Air Drop is not that much different than a chat program where you can send files. Nothing new here besides how you contact the other party.

Not sure why I feel the need to defend the author but he didn't say Air Drop is any different from what is already available. He didn't even say this was likely to lead to liability on the part of Apple.

Ad blockers have been around forever, plus you can block images, scripts etc in the browser. Why is he bringing this up now?

My guess is that adblockers are not installed, by default, on any web browser to date. Now, Safari is basically building that feature in and making it available to presumably a wider number of people than those who had already installed an adblocker. Also, in the past browser producers would probably not be liable for the third-party add-on installed by the user. Now with that capability built right in, Apple is a potential defendant if a plaintiff brought a law suit of that nature.

iTunes match is a paid service. You are buying the music you pirated. Labels get most of that money. How can they sue you for it then?

The gist of the author's comments regarding iTunes Match was the program would have access to your iTunes library to scan its contents and would be identifying files that were not purchased through the ITMS (read: possibly "pirated"). Not a huge deal if Apple guards that data properly but there is always the possibility of Apple being forced by court order to disclose that information to a rights holder in aid of a copyright infringement lawsuit.

[FanIn80]

Apple Will Refund Some Money to MobileMe Users

All users who had active MobileMe accounts as of June 6, 2011 have had their accounts extended through June 30, 2012 -- that's next year, 12 months away -- for free. MobileMe will continue in its current form for that time. Nothing changes, if you don't want it to, for a year.

Apple will cancel (at your request) and refund your full $99 subscription payment if you renewed in the past 45 days. However, you will lose all your MobileMe services immediately, and have to sign up again with everyone else when iCloud comes out in the fall.

If your account was renewed 46 days or more in the past, you will receive a pro-rated refund, based on the date you submit your request. Again, you will lose access to all your MobileMe services.

Here's the best part, though: If you have an active MobileMe subscription and would like to cancel it for a refund, you may do so at any time.

This means you can cancel your MobileMe subscription in the fall when iCloud is released and get some of your money back. This seems pretty fair -- you'll get the full service that you paid for, and will get a little money back.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/07/apple-will-refund-some-money-to-mobileme-users/

For anyone who purchased/renewed recently, or was just curious.

[KTrain]

My MobileMe renewed on the 2nd so this is good news for me.

[Mazrim]

I'm looking at my iPhone sitting on my desk, and there is no way the flash on the back will make a visible light to notify me of anything. I'm not sure how effective that idea is...

[Burninator]

The LED is quite bright, I imagine it won't be that hard to see. I wonder if the next phone will have a tiny light on the front?It is quite bright, but I'm sure most people are like me and most of the time have their phones sitting flat on something, like a desk, completely obscuring the LED. But in all fairness it does seem like something they thought of after they designed the phone and are now shoe horning it in. I always thought the notification light on a Blackberry was a good idea (one of the few).

[fundmark19]

I hate notification lights. They make me a slave to my phone even more then I am. That stupid red blinking light on my berry would never stop so I bought an Iphone to get rid of the problem

[HotHotHeat]

I think the LED notification is just something to appease the jailbreak crowd. The practicality of it isn't really there, but some people love it and it's easy to implement.

[fredr123]

Has anyone found any reputable information about Apple's plans to launch iTunes Match outside the USA?

[Russic]

It is quite bright, but I'm sure most people are like me and most of the time have their phones sitting flat on something, like a desk, completely obscuring the LED. But in all fairness it does seem like something they thought of after they designed the phone and are now shoe horning it in. I always thought the notification light on a Blackberry was a good idea (one of the few).

Ya you're correct. I tried it with my wife's iPhone 4 and I forgot that it has no curve on the back thus blocking out the flash totally. It is totally shoe-horned in... they have no other option really. You're also correct that if there's one thing I'd steal from BB it's the notification light.

[fundmark19]

Russic do you really need to have a little blinking light saying I spammed you on twitter blinking at you constantly?

[Mazrim]

I hate notification lights. They make me a slave to my phone even more then I am. That stupid red blinking light on my berry would never stop so I bought an Iphone to get rid of the problem
You know...there's options to turn off the notification light if you don't like it. :confused:

[fundmark19]

You know...there's options to turn off the notification light if you don't like it. :confused:

Not when the stupid scroll ball wouldn't work either so I couldnt get into options menu. I am just really glad I am now with the Iphone! No notification lights or scroll balls to deal with

[sclitheroe]

Has anyone found any reputable information about Apple's plans to launch iTunes Match outside the USA?

According to Ars Technica this morning, nothing to announce at this time.

I don't know how easy or hard it would be to bring it to Canada. The Canadian iTunes music store launched about a year and half after the the US one, but that was way back when this was all new. One would think it would be easier now that Apple has established relationships with the record companies.

[ZedMan]

Ya you're correct. I tried it with my wife's iPhone 4 and I forgot that it has no curve on the back thus blocking out the flash totally. It is totally shoe-horned in... they have no other option really. You're also correct that if there's one thing I'd steal from BB it's the notification light.

Bet in the next iPhone to have a notification light of some kind.

[HotHotHeat]

Not when the stupid scroll ball wouldn't work either so I couldnt get into options menu. I am just really glad I am now with the Iphone! No notification lights or scroll balls to deal with

Haha ... You said balls.

I think those were the worst idea RIM has ever had, and they're still paying for it today.

[Russic]

Russic do you really need to have a little blinking light saying I spammed you on twitter blinking at you constantly?

Those spams are the highlights of my life.

[HotHotHeat]

Does this mean they'll come out with a pen to use with iPad?

http://www.9to5mac.com/71334/ios-5-has-assistivetouch-custom-gesture-support-for-adaptive-accessories/

Also, it looks like iOS 5 will finally get Facetime over 3G.

[Russic]

Does this mean they'll come out with a pen to use with iPad?

http://www.9to5mac.com/71334/ios-5-has-assistivetouch-custom-gesture-support-for-adaptive-accessories/

Also, it looks like iOS 5 will finally get Facetime over 3G.

This would be awesome. Skype is all well and good, but many people in my life that I talk to are non-computer people but they're all getting iOS devices. Skype isn't too hard for them, but it's a barrier. FaceTime over 3g coupled with iMessages would be fantastic.

[Titan]

Any news on the Time Capsule? I have not been able to find anything about whether they were updated as rumored. I am going to get one pretty soon and don't want the old one, unless it is way cheaper, which it won't be.

[Barnes]

The notification light thing is a little misleading.

It's part of universal access. The camera's LED will blink when the phone is ringing.

[You Need a Thneed]

iTunes 10.3.1 is now downloadable in Canada - looks like it still wont allow downloading previous music downloads, but apps and books show up.

[QuadCityImages]

I hate notification lights. They make me a slave to my phone even more then I am. That stupid red blinking light on my berry would never stop so I bought an Iphone to get rid of the problem

See, I won't ever buy a phone without a notification light because it keeps me from being a slave to checking it. I don't use any audible notifications (except for incoming phone call) so I'm not constantly hearing every blip and bloop of emails and IMs coming in. When I feel like checking my phone, I just pull it out and see if the light is blinking. If not, back in the pocket and on with my day. My biggest beef with the Galaxy S phones is that they don't have notification lights.

[FanIn80]

f2C7AHCFFjE

[MrMastodonFarm]

Stole features from RIM and Android and made a cool messaging system.

Don't know if I'll put this on my iPad, but interesting feature.

[silentsim]

Got iOS 5 Running on my iPad as well as the new beta for the AppleTV 2. Display mirroring is cool, wish it was the full widescreen though (black boxes on side due to resolution)

[fundmark19]

is the display mirroring work with original ipad? or only the ipad 2?

[Russic]

Got iOS 5 Running on my iPad as well as the new beta for the AppleTV 2. Display mirroring is cool, wish it was the full widescreen though (black boxes on side due to resolution)

How would it do full widescreen if the image wasn't widescreen to begin with?

[silentsim]

How would it do full widescreen if the image wasn't widescreen to begin with?

Yeah, I know. Sometimes I just think Apple will pull off unbelievable stuff :D

Display mirroring is ONLY for iPad 2.

[sclitheroe]

Is it just me, or does the App Store on iOS devices now get push notifications of app updates? I seriously don't remember my App Store icon badging with updates prior to manually checking for updates and then exiting the app store app, and I think I would since checking for updating apps is pretty much my hobby/compulsion.

[jar_e]

For iMessage, do you have a unique code like a "pin" for BBM? Or how does that work?

[silentsim]

Built into the SMS app, it detects who has iMessage and if a user does it defaults to iMessage. If they dont have iMessage it uses standard SMS.

Excellent Integration.

[QuadCityImages]

For someone without a texting plan that kind of seamless integration might not be as nice. There are still people out there that get dinged 20 cents or whatever per text. (At least one...)

[fundmark19]

I believe Imessage is a different color then regular texts so it should not be that difficult to use the appropriate ones and ignore the texts

[silentsim]

For someone without a texting plan that kind of seamless integration might not be as nice. There are still people out there that get dinged 20 cents or whatever per text. (At least one...)

As fundmark notes, it differentiates color and in the text says Text Message or iMessage. So if it's not an iMessage capable number, it says Text Message with a Green send button. If it is an iMessage capable number, it says iMessage and with a blue send message.

[OilKiller]

Would like to see something like this for Android. Currently use Google Talk, which is alright, but no delivered and or read notification. iMessage will certainly hurt BB's for sure. I know a lot of users who have stayed with their BB's just for BBM. Now, iPhones will have the same ability.

Quite the copy of Android for notifications there though...LOL.

[HotHotHeat]

Built into the SMS app, it detects who has iMessage and if a user does it defaults to iMessage. If they dont have iMessage it uses standard SMS.

Excellent Integration.

I'd still like to see a way of integrating SMS into other devices. If Jobs is talking about true synchronization between everything, why can't I see my text messages as part of the iPad iMessage app?

[FanIn80]

Some extensive lists of iOS 5 changes:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1165140
http://www.ieatapples.com/ios5/

Custom "vibe-tones" works great, btw.

[Russic]

Some extensive lists of iOS 5 changes:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1165140
http://www.ieatapples.com/ios5/

Custom "vibe-tones" works great, btw.

My favorites:

- alternate routes in Maps when using directions.
- weather forecast in hour increments
- Delete songs from the iPod app (welcome to the mother******* future gentlemen)
- You can now set the maximum messages downloaded through email to 1000 instead of 250
- iPod is now "music" and video" ... I was wondering when that was coming.
- More alert choices for emails, calendar, and the ability to buy more (that should go over great)
- You can make new albums right from the device itself in Photos
- When syncing with iTunes you can use the device normally ‚ no more syncing screen

[Yeah_Baby]

- When syncing with iTunes you can use the device normally ‚ no more syncing screen

If this is the future, I never want to go back.

[MrMastodonFarm]

This is just from a list on Wikipedia.. so don't know how accurate it is, but a couple of things I like.
Multitasking gestures
Pinch with 4 fingers to close app.
Swipe up to open multitasking bar.
Swipe left or right to move between open apps.
I wasn't a fan of more gestures previously, but I am now. Swipe up for the multitasking bar is a good one.

iTunes/USB no longer required to activate new devices: ability to start right over with no need to tether it to iTunes added. you can restore all your data on your device through a simple iCloud sign in.

Sync over Wi-Fi: ability added to sync wirelessly to iTunes.
I'm ashamed I am excited for this.

In the meantime my Blackberry has a cool back on it that prevents slipping...

[Roast Beef]

No more syncing screen? And you can sync wirelessly? I hope these iOS features will be available on the 3GS as well.

[Mazrim]

- More alert choices for emails, calendar, and the ability to buy more (that should go over great)
Aren't there ringtone apps you can use to load custom tones on your phone? I absolutely refuse to spend money on freaking tones. I really miss my BlackBerry for sounding different from everyone else.

[Russic]

Aren't there ringtone apps you can use to load custom tones on your phone? I absolutely refuse to spend money on freaking tones. I really miss my BlackBerry for sounding different from everyone else.

There are, but ringtones and alert tones are two different things. You can pretty much make your ringtone whatever you want for free. It isn't the most hassle-free system in the world, but it's not that bad.

Alert tones on the other hand are a giant pain in the ass. Text message tones are the worst. There's about 15 of them, 2 are acceptable and you can't add to their crappy list. It's a very peculiar set up. I get the Apple hate, but generally they have a method to their madness. Could be a money grab, but why just alert tones?

[Yeah_Baby]

I'd gladly pay for my text alert to sound to a Communicator sound effect from Star Trek.


/nerd

[KTrain]

I'd gladly pay for my text alert to sound to a Communicator sound effect from Star Trek.


/nerd

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/star-trek-sound-effects-from/id62794874

Whole album for $10 or the that effect for .99.

Edit: Sorry, you mean text tone, not ring tone...

[Yeah_Baby]

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/star-trek-sound-effects-from/id62794874

Whole album for $10 or the that effect for .99.

Edit: Sorry, you mean text tone, not ring tone...

Yeah, I can make my own ringtones. Not text tones.

[fredr123]

Michael Geist on why you won't see iCloud (http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5855/135/) (at least the music parts) in Canada any time soon:

While the licensing approaches differentiate Apple from its competitors, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version (http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1006529--geist-forecast-iffy-for-music-cloud-services-in-canada), homepage version) (http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5854/159/) argues all three cloud music services share a common characteristic when it comes to Canada - none are likely to be available here anytime soon.

The Canadian market features at least three legal issues - licensing, levies, and the lack of legal flexibility - each of which could create a significant entry barrier.

[sclitheroe]

Michael Geist on why you won't see iCloud (http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5855/135/) (at least the music parts) in Canada any time soon:

http://cantada.ca/

[Titan]

http://cantada.ca/

Might just be my POS work setup but that website did not display well at all. It was like grafiiti and it got bigger the farther I scrolled. Weird.

Anyways, if my in-laws in phoenix set up an American iTunes/iCloud account could I use it from here?

[Mazrim]

Might just be my POS work setup but that website did not display well at all. It was like grafiiti and it got bigger the farther I scrolled. Weird.
Sounds like something that I remember happening to me in Internet Explorer. I switched to Firefox (thankfully work allows me to install other programs) and never saw it again.

[fundmark19]

I also have a good question. I am sure USvideo user will chime in. I use USvideo so I trick the interwebs into thinking I am american can I use Icloud? Also would Icloud allow me to sync everything on just a regular wifi signal outside of my "american" house?

[MickMcGeough]

I also have a good question. I am sure USvideo user will chime in. I use USvideo so I trick the interwebs into thinking I am american can I use Icloud? Also would Icloud allow me to sync everything on just a regular wifi signal outside of my "american" house?
Nobody can answer that until it rolls out.

My guess is iCloud will do reverse DNS lookups while you're using the service, and *not just* when you signup, so you might be able to use it from a connection configured with USvideo but almost definitely not from anywhere else.

[fundmark19]

So does that mean american accounts will not be able to use Icloud anywhere else in the world? Doesn't that make the point of it obsolete. Go on vacation take pictures then show off those pictures on your ipad back home to family members who were not able to go on the trip. Maybe my view of the cloud is different then what will actually be done

[MickMcGeough]

So does that mean american accounts will not be able to use Icloud anywhere else in the world? Doesn't that make the point of it obsolete. Go on vacation take pictures then show off those pictures on your ipad back home to family members who were not able to go on the trip. Maybe my view of the cloud is different then what will actually be done
Hmm - that's a good point. I certainly hope all we need is a US iTunes account anyway.

[sclitheroe]

Nobody can answer that until it rolls out.

My guess is iCloud will do reverse DNS lookups while you're using the service, and *not just* when you signup, so you might be able to use it from a connection configured with USvideo but almost definitely not from anywhere else.

Nah, it'll be tied to your iTunes account as usual - if you have an American credit card, you'll be good to go.

[Barnes]

You guys are confusing things. iCloud =/= iTunes Match.

[fundmark19]

You guys are confusing things. iCloud =/= iTunes Match.


You are right. But without having Itunes match the cloud services that I imagine will come ie playlist streaming from the cloud and so on from apps Icloud is useless to me since I don't have any bought music from Itunes

[Russic]

You are right. But without having Itunes match the cloud services that I imagine will come ie playlist streaming from the cloud and so on from apps Icloud is useless to me since I don't have any bought music from Itunes

Has anybody actually seen anything that involves streaming at all? As far as I can tell you can download what you "own" on your home computer, but that's about it. Some people mention streaming yet I haven't seen anything conclusive that it's even available.

[fundmark19]

All you ever do is crush my dreams russic! Think big!

[sclitheroe]

iTunes Match as I understand it:

- if its in my library and bought on iTunes, instantly appears in iCloud @ 256kbps, download again to any devices you own

- if its in my library and not bought on iTunes, but recognized and exists in the iTunes store, instantly appears in iCloud @ 256kbps, download again to any devices you own

- if its in my library and not recognized/does not exist in iTunes store, must be manually uploaded to iCloud (may be a 25,000 song limit on this), no bitrate upgrade, can be downloaded again to any devices you own.

[Barnes]

iTunes Match as I understand it:

- if its in my library and bought on iTunes, instantly appears in iCloud @ 256kbps, download again to any devices you own

- if its in my library and not bought on iTunes, but recognized and exists in the iTunes store, instantly appears in iCloud @ 256kbps, download again to any devices you own

- if its in my library and not recognized/does not exist in iTunes store, must be manually uploaded to iCloud (may be a 25,000 song limit on this), no bitrate upgrade, can be downloaded again to any devices you own.

Your first point is part of the free iCloud subscription. Your second and third points are part of iTunes match. There is a 25,000 song limit for songs both ripped that are already in the store and uploaded.

[Russic]

All you ever do is crush my dreams russic! Think big!

Sorry about that. I hate seeing hopes get too high. Listening to Macbreak today leads me to believe I am right on this one. Sadness.

[fundmark19]

Sorry about that. I hate seeing hopes get too high. Listening to Macbreak today leads me to believe I am right on this one. Sadness.


If I can't stream then at the very least I want the ability to just download playlists from the cloud and not my entire library. I get into moods where I only seem to listen to one album or one playlist for weeks. For example last 2 months I have only listened to new Hollywood Undead Album

[sclitheroe]

Your first point is part of the free iCloud subscription. Your second and third points are part of iTunes match. There is a 25,000 song limit for songs both ripped that are already in the store and uploaded.

Oh right, good catch.

I tend to lump them all together mentally since we won't get #1 in Canada until #2 and #3 are available too, due to the crummy licensing situation.

[kermitology]

If I can't stream then at the very least I want the ability to just download playlists from the cloud and not my entire library. I get into moods where I only seem to listen to one album or one playlist for weeks. For example last 2 months I have only listened to new Hollywood Undead Album

Enter Rdio..

http://www.rdio.com/#/aboutus/

[fundmark19]

I know how much you and russic love Rdio but its another 5 dollar subscription each month. Maybe I will try the free trial and see if I like it

[kermitology]

I know how much you and russic love Rdio but its another 5 dollar subscription each month. Maybe I will try the free trial and see if I like it

$10/month to stream/download to my phone + listening to pretty much everything that comes out on new music tuesday or go through the rigor of buying an album at $10/pop to see if I like it, OR trying to find a torrent.

Rdio rules.

[Burninator]

Agreed. Cheaper than buying and easier than stealing.

[fundmark19]

Fine gosh when I am back from BC I will try it Stupid peer pressure

[kermitology]

It's like netflix for music. Except the catalog doesn't suck.

[Russic]

It's also a different experience. Yes it's great having everything 1 click away, but to me the value is in the sharing. If you find somebody you're musically in sync with, you can take a look at the people that person associates with and look at their playlists. I've found some gems by going through kermitology's friends.

The convenience factor is huge. If you hear a band you might like 1 click basically gives you their entire discography. It's tough to make something easier than torrents, but they've done it.

[fundmark19]

Is there a way to just shuffle everything I have synced to my phone or do I have to create a play list? There will no longer be any times where you hear a song on the radio and want to find out more about the artist and then you forget by the time you get home.

Also how do I search friends? I can't seem to find it on iphone app.

[Russic]

Is there a way to just shuffle everything I have synced to my phone or do I have to create a play list? There will no longer be any times where you hear a song on the radio and want to find out more about the artist and then you forget by the time you get home.

Also how do I search friends? I can't seem to find it on iphone app.

Search their name in the same bar you'd search for an artist or song (just scroll down).

[FanIn80]

iOS 5 Beta 2 is out. WiFi sync is pretty nice!

[MickMcGeough]

iOS 5 Beta 2 is out. WiFi sync is pretty nice!
How's stability/app compatibility?

[sclitheroe]

How's stability/app compatibility?

Where's my god given right to multitask gestures on an iPad 1. I really hope they give iPad1 users this functionality, since it was working well in dev mode on 4.3