Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1502

"Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview" is Heading to a Theater Near You

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Steve Jobs will be making an appearance on the sliver screen, and we're not talking about the biopic that Sony is backing.

Missing footage from the 1995 PBS documentary Triumph of the Nerds features an interview with Steve Jobs during a pivotal time in Silicon Valley's history. The interview was apparently lost for many years, and it has now resurfaced to be shown in Landmark theaters around the nation beginning November 16th.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The movie, "Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview," is from a conversation Jobs conducted with Robert Cringely for the author and producer's 1996 miniseries "Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires" about the origins of the personal computer industry and the emergence of Silicon Valley as a technology hub.

Although Jobs gave a 70-minute interview to Cringely, only 10 minutes of it were used in the finished product. When Cringely was making the sequel "Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet," he went looking for the rest of the Jobs interview, but the footage had vanished.

"We lost all the raw footage completely," Cringely said in an interview.

The missing footage has been found on a VHS copy of the interview that was stored in the documentary director's garage. It had been sitting there collecting dust for years.

The guys behind the documentary contacted Landmark about getting the interview into theaters, and the chain agreed to give it distribution in 19 US cities, including Palo Alto, for a limited time.

Here's a famous clip of the interview:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdrKWArr3XY

Will you be seeing Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview when it hits theaters in two weeks?

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The Guy That Made Tweetie and the Twitter iOS App Has Left Twitter

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Loren Brichter is the man behind Twitter's official app for the iPhone and iPad. Many will recognize Bichter as the creator of the beloved Tweetie app prior to his work at Twitter itself.

Yesterday, Britcher announced via a tweet (aptly sent from the Twitter for iPhone app) that he has left his position at Twitter to "figure out what's next."

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Before joining to help lead the Twitter Mobile team, Britcher founded his own development company called Atebits. It was during that time that he developed a catalog of "suspiciously simple software," including the popular Twitter client, called Tweetie, for the iPhone and Mac. Twitter purchased his work back in 2010. In April of 2010, Britcher joined Twitter as the "mobile guy" and worked there for 20 months, according to his LinkedIn profile.

While working at Twitter, Britcher helped lead the development of the official Twitter for iPhone app (which is essentially the evolution of Tweetie) and the Twitter for iPad app. The Twitter for Mac app borrows many UI and graphical elements from Britcher's work as well.

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If you've ever 'pulled to refresh' in an iOS app, you've used a navigation element that Britcher created. Considered to be one of the most influential success stories from the iOS development community, Britcher's work has had a huge impact on the App Store ecosystem over the last couple of years.

We wish Britcher the best on his upcoming ventures, and we look forward to what he creates next!

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Here Comes Apple's Real Thermonuclear War Against Google

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A few years ago, everything was peaceful in the Valley of Silicon. The relationship between Apple and Google was cozy and friendly. The two rising and dominant superpowers pursued compatible, non-overlapping businesses, for the most part, and helped each other fight mutual competitors like Microsoft, Amazon and others. Google's founders worshiped Steve Jobs. Eric Schmidt was on the Apple board.

But then Google recklessly chose to attack Apple head-on with Android.

The future of Apple's most profitable businesses will run iOS, including iPods, iPhones, iPads and probably laptop and desktop systems of the future — not to mention TV. Google's decision to compete head-on with Apple for multi-touch platforms ended the alliance.

Steve Jobs took it personally, and told biographer Walter Isaacson that he was "willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

But what did he mean by that?

Everyone assumes he meant lawsuits, which in fact Jobs mentioned in the context of this conflict. But that was merely the part already publicly disclosed. What Jobs did not reveal was the secret thermonuclear war to come.

I believe Apple is waging two wars against Google: One is a cold-war style proxy campaign via patent lawsuits.

But the other employs the nuclear option: The scorched-earth elimination of Google across all Apple platforms.

The Proxy Wars

In the context of Jobs' thermonuclear war, he mentioned lawsuits. But you'll notice that Apple isn't suing Google itself.

Such a lawsuit would have little impact. Because Apple and Google are both American companies, a patent lawsuit against Google would mean the two companies would go to court in the US. This single case would drag on for years, while handset makers happily continued making Android devices knowing that deep-pocketed Google would, in a worst-case scenario, pay money or tweak Android in future versions to avoid specific infringements found by the courts.

Instead, Apple chose to fight via an endless series of proxy wars. So far, the company has gone after Android device makers Samsung, Motorola and HTC. Expect many more.

The message to Google's hardware partners is: Go ahead and invest in the development of Android phones and tablets. But your investment may be squandered when we surprise you with lawsuits and other court actions in random countries at unpredictable times.

It's called FUD, for "fear, uncertainty and doubt." The calculation to make Android devices now includes the risk of lawsuits, injunctions, extra licensing fees to Apple and possible court orders to stop using Android.

So far, the proxy war hasn't made a dent in the Android universe. But this is a long war, and the strategy could erode enthusiasm for Android by hardware makers in the long run.

The proxy war is Apple's strategy for poisoning Google's Android well. It's war, but not thermonuclear war.

I believe the real thermonuclear option will be the near-total elimination of Google services on Apple platforms.

The Real Thermonuclear War

The real thermonuclear war will take place on the iOS platform itself, where I believe Apple will seek to replace the widespread use of Google services and apps with Apple ones.

Here are the bombs Apple has dropped or will drop in the near future:

Nuke #1: Siri to replace Google Search. Even Google's Eric Schmidt has admitted recently that Siri is a threat to Google Search. And he's right. In fact the ingrained habit of Googling things is already being replaced among some iPhone 4s users of just asking Siri for answers.

By default, some of those requests are handled by Wolfram-Alpha, and others by Google, the current default search engine for Siri. (You can request other search engines, and Siri will happily comply.)

Three things will turn the Siri hand-grenade into an atomic bomb: First, the use of Siri will become universal among iPhone users (right now, it's just a fast-growing app for the minority of users with iPhone 4s phones).

Second, Apple will almost certainly roll Siri out to all platforms, enabling people with Macs and iPads to have their questions answered by Siri as an alternative to browser-based Google searches.

And third — and this is the big one — Apple will throw a switch, I believe, and make another search engine the default for Siri (and Safari).

Boom! No more Google Search.

Nuke #2: Find My Friends to replace Google Latitude

Location-based services like Latitude are pretty insignificant now, but important for the future of mobile social networking and location-based advertising and marketing. Apple has its Find My Friends app available as an option, but in the future I believe will bake it right into all platforms, and provide a strong disincentive to use Latitude.

Nuke #3: Yelp to replace Google Places

When Siri ranks restaurants for you, it uses Yelp, not Google Places. Had Apple's and Google's relationship remained strong, this probably wouldn't have been the case.

Nuke #4: Apple's maps to replace Google Maps

Apple recently bought a mapping company called C3. Apple had previously acquired mapping companies Placebase and Poly9. It seems pretty obvious that Apple intends to launch its own mapping service so it doesn't have to keep using Google Maps, which is currently bundled on all iPhones and iPads.

Once Apple is ready to launch its own Maps-like service and application based on these three acquisitions, you can be sure they'll drop Maps from iOS devices, and flip the switch on Siri's default mapping service as well.

Nuke #5: iCloud to replace Google's cloud

With iCloud so fully integrated with all of Apple's devices and platforms, Apple users will be unlikely to have much need for Google's many cloud services.

Nuke #6: iMessage to replace Google Gmail and Talk

iCloud integration on iOS devices will compel many current Gmail users to use Apple services for email. The same goes for Calendar and Contacts. The introduction of iCloud in iOS 5 makes synching with Gmail harder, and replacing Gmail easier.

After the bombs have been dropped and the dust has cleared, Google will find itself will barely any presence at all on Apple devices like Macs, iPads and iPhones. This represents literally hundreds of millions of users.

While Google will still have lots of users worldwide, they will suffer greatly from this because Apple users tend to be on the high end of the spectrum for ad targeting.

Steve Jobs threatened thermonuclear war. And I think Apple will deliver. But it will come not in the form of lawsuits, but on the near-total elimination of Google from Apple platforms.

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Orb Audio Mini-T Amp and Speakers: Like Trying to Pull an Ox Cart With a Cat [Review]

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Our story so far: For the better part of a decade, Orb Audio proceeds to build a stellar reputation for high-end home audio with their award-winning, modular systems based around the iconic spherical speaker for which the outfit is named.

But then the iPod and its iDevice cousins sneak into a rapidly-growing number of pockets, creating a massive, swollen market that's eager to be introduced to high-end audio, yet yearns for a more compact, less complex setup than the traditional high-end home audio layout. And what about all those computer users stuck with tinny PC speakers? Surely they deserve siren-like audio too.

So the company comes up with a solution: Take a pair of the celebrated spheres, marry them to a tiny amplifier and call it the Orb Audio Mini-T Amplifier and Speaker Package ($299): bam, instant Orb Audio experience for your iDevice or Mac!

No, not quite.

The Good:

There's certainly no problem with the way the speakers sound.  The little burnished balls sing like canaries, with crisp, beautiful, room-filling high-end — everything sounds bright and clear. The Orbs also do an excellent job of imparting depth and dimensionality. There's almost zip from the bass department though, and you'll understand why later.

As expected from high-end audio stuff, proper speaker cable is the connector of choice, and connects the Mini-T amp to the speakers; hooking the speakers up is pretty easy, as the cable slots through two sprung terminals at the back of each speaker. The only 3.5-inch cable you'll have to mess with is the connection between your iDevice or Mac and the Mini-T.

Because the orbs are, well, little balls, they're pretty easy to set up anywhere on the supplied bases. And because of their modular nature, there are a bunch of configuration options should you decide to add more balls, including stand options that allow multiple Orbs to be mounted on a single stand. They're also fairly attractive, and available in different finishes — like  black, white or silver — to complement practically any decor.

This modular, custom approach is really a big facet of the system. Users can mix-and-match from the tightly integrated pool of components to create the perfect system. But this approach isn't exactly the best approach for a small desktop system.

 

The Bad:

Let's begin with build quality and design of the Mini-T Amp, which fell far short of what's expected of a $300 audio system. The amp housing and single volume/power knob feels very plastic-y, and the whole unit  is completely devoid of charm; it's like something fished out of the bargain bin at the local Radio Shack (no offense, Lance). The disappointment is especially noticeable considering how much effort Orb Audio puts into making their speakers look so appealing.

Which brings me to another issue: the bass-colored pair of speakers given to us for review were mismatched, and one was noticeable lighter than the other. It was probably an unusual error, but it just added to the impression that the set was unpolished.

But here's the meat of the problem: The set has a gaping hole. The speakers do a great job at what they were designed to do, but they just don't have any low-end punch. There's simply no bass. Of course, that's because they were probably designed to be used with a subwoofer — at least, they sure sound like they were. So it seems like what we have here is half of a great, high-quality (we'll call the speaker color mismatch an aberration) system that's been hastily pressed into service as computer or MP3-player speakers. And considering there are some great systems out there that either, for the same price, come with a subwoofer, or don't and are designed to be used without one, and still sound great (and usually cost less), the Orbs are a tough sell.

 

Verdict:

A perfect example of a great product shoehorned into a product category it wasn't designed for. If you're looking for computer or iPod speakers, there're better choices.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

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Apple Awards Its Top Execs With $60 Million Stock Bonuses

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The holiday season came a little early this year for Apple's top executive team. According to CNET, Apple has given 7 of its execs stock bonuses that could mean huge payouts in the years to come.

Many Senior Vice Presidents at Apple have been given 150,000 shares, while the newly-added SVP Eddy Cue has been given 100,000 shares. For the majority of the exec team, this 150,000 shares bonus will equal a $60+ million payout in 2016.

"This past Wednesday the company doled out 150,000 shares each to most of its Senior Vice Presidents, short of recently-minted SVP Eddy Cue, who received a slightly smaller 100,000 share bonus, and design guru Jonathan Ive who was not listed in the filings. That works out to just over a $60 million pay day to those who got the 150,000 shares, with Cue's cut coming out to a little more than $40 million, all based off today's closing price.

Those who got the 150,000 shares will reach 50 percent vesting come June 21, 2013, with the other 50 percent fully vesting on March 21, 2016. 25,000 of Cue's shares vest on September 21, 2014, with the rest vesting two years later. With all of these, the bonus is contingent on the executives continuing to work at the company."

Not too shabby.

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Apple Introduces Solution for "Cleaned" App Data in iOS 5.0.1

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Apple added a subtle solution for developers in iOS 5.0.1 that addresses the issue of purged app data. In iOS 5.0, apps were suddenly restricted from caching large amounts of data in-app for offline access. Apps were effectively "cleaned" of temporary data when iOS 5 determined that the app was taking up too much space.

Previously, iOS would allow an app to store needed information, such as saved web articles for a news app, in a temporary cache that wouldn't slow down iTunes backups, restores, and syncs. When Apple introduced iCloud, the company became more aggressive about not allowing apps to temporarily store too much information in-app.

In the recently released iOS 5.0.1 beta 1 and beta 2, Apple has provided developers with a new way to "specify files that should remain on device, even in low storage situations."

Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, explains the situation prior to iOS 5.0.1:

"Instapaper has stored its downloaded articles in Caches for years, since I didn't want to slow down iTunes syncing for my customers or enlarge their backups unnecessarily, and full restores don't happen often enough for it to be a problem for most people. This new policy now locks me into using Caches: I no longer have a choice.

But in iOS 5, there's an important change: Caches and tmp — the only two directories that aren't backed up — are "cleaned" out when the device is low on space."

A real world example of the policy:

"A common scenario: an Instapaper customer is stocking up an iPad for a long flight. She syncs a bunch of movies and podcasts, downloads some magazines, and buys a few new games, leaving very little free space. Right before boarding, she remembers to download the newest issue of The Economist. (I think highly of my customers.) This causes free space to fall below the threshold that triggers the cleaner, which — in the background, unbeknownst to her — deletes everything that was saved in Instapaper. Later in the flight, with no internet connectivity, she goes to launch Instapaper and finds it completely empty."

While we'll have to wait to see how the new method Apple implemented in 5.0.1 plays out for developers, we can only hope that Apple has indeed remedied the issue entirely. No one wants their app data mysteriously disappearing.

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Fun Game: Digging in the Dirt for Kidnapped Kids

Every week Mac Games and More features a fun, casual game you can play into the weekend. This week's selection features an adventure game that you will bury yourself in. It may be the first time you won't want to leave a cemetery!

Redemption Cemetery: Children's Plight (adventure/puzzles) – If Halloween didn't offer enough scary characters and deep, dark, damp places for you, today I'd like to feature an excellent adventure game that places you in a spooky cemetery. You've been beckoned to help find a missing little girl who has been kidnapped by an evil warlock. Not only that, he's caputured a number of other children after having murdered their parents! Sneaky. The artwork in Redemption Cemetery is absolutely wonderful and you'll find the whole game experience perfectly paced, nice to watch and highly entertaining. There's a variety of puzzles you might not have seen before and a few hidden objects challenges within. This is a special collector's edition featuring an extra chapter as well as exclusive goodies! Download it now Similar Posts:Fun Game: Wandering Around a Museum During Off Hours 5 Fun Games: Tiny Planet, The Big Day, Gigantic Curses and More Fun Game: Curse of the Pharaoh: Napoleon's Secret Fun Game: A Prematurely Pre-empted Reality Show 5 Fun Games: Tweaking Teddy Bears, Universes Inside Cream Jars, Spooky Hospital Experiments and More

So an Astronaut Walks Into the Apple Store…

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Over the years we've seen lots of crazy things happen in the Apple Store, but we have yet to see an astronaut.

Until now.

The above photo, spotted by OS X Daily, was taken at the 14th St Apple Store in New York City. Apparently this moon man is part of an upcoming promotion for the Mini Cooper car. Very weird.

Update: Reader Brandon sent us this pic:

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There was a big rocket with a new Mini Cooper strapped to it by the 14th St. Apple Store.

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An Apple-Branded TV? Why Bother, Asks Analyst

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Photo: Terretta (Flickr)

The idea of Apple entering the fractious and shark-infested waters of the television set industry has always made us scratch our heads. We were almost convinced the fever had passed when Steve Jobs biography was released, quoting the Apple co-founder that he'd "finally cracked" the problem of integrating home computers with television. Now comes an analyst suggesting the whole idea is bonkers and why even bother?

"We wonder if Apple's aspiration to revolutionize television might be better served by selling a consumer-electronics box — i.e. Apple TV 3.0 — instead of a full-fledged integrated television," Sanford Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi suggests. Why indeed?

Although the flat-panel TV set market might be worth $112 billion in 2012, sales are expected to decline and eek out only small profits for manufacturers. Additionally, prices of luxury TV sets are falling, only increasing doubts about why a profit-centered company such as Apple would want to get into the business now.

Think of when Apple entered past markets. The personal computer was in diapers when the Apple I was unveiled. Mobile phone usage was climbing when the iPhone was introduced, revamping the industry and accelerating smartphones. The iPad virtually created a market that PC makers had largely abandoned. So why television sets, now — at a time when TV viewership is declining in favor of the Internet and video-streaming services such as Neflix?

Sacconaghi said even after Apple dragged licensing rights out of Hollywood studios, the Cupertino, Calif. company would be hard-pressed to capture 3 percent of the flat-panel TV market. The company could sell three times as many Apple TV setboxes for a sixth the price, he argues. So, why bother?

With luck, those expecting Apple to get into the TV set business will just lie down for a minute until it passes.

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Apple Releases iOS 5.0.1 Beta 2 to Developers

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After only two days, Apple has released iOS 5.0.1 beta 2 to developers following the release of the iOS 5.0.1 beta.

The iOS 5.0.1 beta addressed battery life issues, patched the Smart Cover security flaw, and added enhanced multitasking gestures to the original iPad. iOS 5.0.1 beta 2 seems to be a minor update.

Developers can check for 5.0.1 beta 2 in the iOS Dev Center and also check for an over-the-air update on devices running iOS 5.0.1 beta 1.

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