Alex Hardy

… that many features that I previously described the iPhone as lacking are present on the rather nicely designed Nokia N95:

• 5 megapixel camera
• Upload to Flickr
• Video recording
• GPS
• RSS (though Apple seems to be building a web based RSS reader for iPhone)

The Nokia isn’t perfect. 2Gb storage (via microSD memory card) is pretty miserable. You have to use RealPlayer *spit*. I can only wonder how syncing all your different assets (contacts, email, music, pictures etc) works.

Apple are going to have to be more aggressive with incremental upgrades to iPhone than they have traditionally been. Reviews are appearing and it looks like the hype is (pretty much) justified – it could raise the bar for design and usability across the whole market. Once the interface is taken for granted however, these technological shortcomings will become more urgent.

“I pity da fool who doesn’t use Hitachi Data System Virtualisation.”

I’m in awe. That’s the wierdest thing I’ve seen in ages.

The launch of Apple’s hyped iPhone is mere days away. Many questions remain unanswered: How practical is the touchscreen? When will developers get a proper SDK? Who will buy it?

I’m going to sit this one out. I didn’t buy an iPod until the third generation model. Ultimately the user interface is what will win customers over, but there are a few things it must have before I consider one:

5 megapixel camera

My Sony Ericsson K800i has a 3.2 megapixel camera. It’s the first time I’ve felt that my phone was a worthy substitute for my 4mp Sony Cybershot. The iPhone’s 2mp camera is simply not good enough.

30Gb storage and disk mode

I don’t think my music collection is unusually large, but 8Gb is nowhere near enough to hold it. My iPod’s place in my pocket is unchallenged until the iPhone can store at least 30Gb. Don’t even get me started on how absurd it would be to try watching Pirates of the Caribbean on it. That alone would practically fill it!

I also want to be able to mount it as a disk (like I can with my iPod) and use it for file storage, or data backup with Time Machine.

GPS

That bright, wide screen is begging to be used as a satellite navigation system like a TomTom. The hidden iPhoto Google Maps geotagging feature suggests that it’s only a matter of time before GPS is added.

The day it has these features is the day I’ll eBay my iPod, camera and phone and buy an iPhone. Any of the next few would just sweeten the deal

Big screen presentations

Everyone who’s had to run a presentation from a computer knows what a fuss it can be. If iPhone could play PowerPoint, Keynote and Flash presentations, all you would need is a cable (similar to which the iPod has now) to hook it up to a screen or projector and you’d be in business.

Easy transfer of pictures to a website

My preferred photo site is Flickr, but given Apple’s cozy relationship with Google that might be a bit unlikely. If I could take a picture, comment on it, then send it to Picasa in a couple of taps I would switch.

Flash SWF

Flash player would open up a whole world of rich media and present some exciting opportunities to web designers. To play games like those on Orisinal while waiting for a bus would make the trip to work much more pleasant.

iChat

SMS is so last century… Not to mention a rip-off. I want an instant messaging solution, and iChat is the obvious choice. I’ll eat my hat if it doesn’t get Google Talk support, although support for the MSN Messenger network is what’s really needed.

iTunes Music Store

An obvious one: I want to be able to browse and buy on the iTunes Music Store while I’m out and about, and sync it back to my computer.

Apple are apparently planning to sell ringtones (the iTunes ringtones tab didn’t go unnoticed by the web rumour mill). PDF books would also be a logical move.

RSS Reader

RSS is a killer app for a mobile device. Phone makers seem to be waking up to this, but the reader on mine is pitiful. Surely a reader is already in development…

Touchscreen Tetris

The game that sold the Gameboy. If Tetris DS is any indication, a touchscreen Tetris could work beautifully on iPhone.

Video recording

The obvious next step from incorporating a decent camera is to enable recording. It would be brilliant to be able to film a clip, then upload it to YouTube. Between these features and the browser you’d have a easy way to capture a holiday in blogged words, pictures and videos.

Wireless sync and device recognition

It would be cool to be able to sync iPhone with my computer wirelessly, and use the cable only for recharging. If Bonjour was available you could browse iTunes libraries, share files and even print without any mucking around with settings.

When all is said and done, this is just a version 1.0 product. Considering how far the iPod has come, iPhone has the makings of an powerful new mobile platform. Many of the suggestions on this wish list can be delivered with a software update rather than a new model, and that is where the iPhone’s power and potential really lies.

I’m pleased to see two great web development applications get the recognition they deserve at this year’s Apple Design Awards.

Coda 1.0

Coda by Panic takes the award for Best Mac OS X User Experience:

Coda is a unique web development environment that offers a complete file browser (both locally and remotely), publishing, full-featured text editor, WebKit-based preview, CSS editor with visual tools, full-featured terminal, built-in reference material, and much more. Coda is the Mac’s first one-window Web development application that integrates numerous modules into one cohesive user experience.

CSSEdit 2.5

CSSEdit by MacRabbit wins Best Mac OS X Developer Tool:

CSSEdit has a polished and focused Aqua interface that sports flexible tabs, intuitive visual editors, and exhibits extreme attention to detail. CSSEdit offers real-time styling for absolutely any web page using technologies in a variety of ways.

If you are a Mac user and you make websites, I highly recommend that you check both of these out.

Meanwhile the runner-up award for best game goes to Wacky Mini Golf, reminding us that the Mac games market is still very dry. The EA and Id announcements haven’t come a moment too soon. Maybe the Mac will get Crysis. Fingers crossed…

Apple have released a public beta of Safari 3 for Mac and Windows. It will be released as part of Mac OS X Leopard in October, and for Windows XP and Vista presumably around that time.

Their main reasons for doing this appear to be:

1. Provide Windows-based developers with a browser that they can use to effectively test their web apps designed for iPhone
2. Continue to infiltrate the Windows operating system with Apple software, in the hope that more Windows users will consider “switching” to the Mac
3. Increase their revenue from Safari’s integrated search

As for the rest of us, “Oh good one more browser to test in…” we all sigh. In fact that is the least controversial aspect of this release:

Naughty

Safari for Windows brazenly forces a Mac OS X style window and preference pane onto its users. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but there are many (especially Mac developers) who feel this is very shabby. It’s precisely the kind of activity that causes loud criticism when done in reverse. Firefox for Mac is often criticised for looking like a Windows app, a fact that Camino has cleverly exploited.

Media apps such as RealPlayer and iTunes usually have a non-standard interface so you accept it. Web browsers by and large do not. For Apple to show such disregard for design conventions is a disgrace. It’s especially poor when you consider the excellent job that Microsoft have done of making Office, Messenger and the late (but fondly remembered) Internet Explorer 5 feel right at home on the Mac.

I think this kind of behaviour is liable to put Windows users off Safari.

Not only this, but the Mac beta is a right old mess. It requires a install/restart, and overwrites the webkit framework so that some Dashboard widgets break! D’oh! Good luck removing it…

It’s not all doom and gloom though:

Nice

It claims to be the fastest browser available today, and while I can’t confirm that it does run very snappily on my Boot Camp XP Pro installation.

Truth be told, the improvements over Safari 2 are very modest. Autofill, inline find, pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing etc are all features that we take for granted nowadays whether we use Safari or not. I’ve never been interested by its RSS support, having recently moved from NetNewsWire to Google Reader.

Mercifully it renders consistently with the Mac version. Text quality is nice and even form elements are the same (whether that’s a good thing is your call). I’ve also noticed some minor rendering improvements – labels are now clickable for instance.

Time will tell whether Safari manages to take some of Firefox’s market share. I think the proportion of people who consider their web browser enough to download another is much smaller than the market itself. I still choose Firefox because of Google Browser Sync and Chris Pederick’s Web Developer Toolbar, but there may be some for whom it fits the bill nicely.

I designed simpleContact to be easy to install, but there are still times when you just want something done for you.

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Branded

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Installed For You

I’ll create a database and install the current version of simpleContact. You must have PHP and MySQL on your website as part of your hosting package. If you are unsure whether you have this facility, contact me with the name of your host and service package and I can investigate for you.

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If you have downloaded simpleContact, please take a moment to give your opinion:

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On a fairly quiet Friday afternoon, I took a little time out. I rummaged around and found an XP disc and serial and installed it on my work laptop with Boot Camp.

The installation went very smoothly:

1. Download Boot Camp
2. Run assistant
3. Burn Apple drivers CD
4. Partition hard drive
5. Restart and go through usual Windows install
6. Install Apple drivers

No problem with the display, nuthin. It even recognises the iSight camera. I’ve had a harder time setting up “normal” PCs… Sony I’m looking at you.

So the Mac Vs. Windows debate is Officially Over. For me at least. PC peeps, I’m having my apple flavoured cake and eating yours too.

Now I have it though, what do I do? I installed it for three work reasons: browser testing, Sage Job Costing and Zinc. Obviously Half Life 2 is as-good-as-bought, but what else? Anyone?

Aidas and Saulius Dailide have announced a consumer level image editing application for Mac OS X Tiger called Pixelmator. It is expected to ship in late July for $59.

It’s built on an array of Tiger technologies including Core Image, Spotlight and Automator. It should provide a convincing demonstration of the power of these technologies. Core Image in particular seems to be quite untapped, except to add occasional bells and whistles.

Although the application has been referred to as vaporware (due to it’s unreleased status) it’s worth bearing in mind that the Dailide brothers are founders of Jumsoft, another mac shareware company that has delivered some pretty nice apps. Money in particular springs to mind.

I think their credentials are strong enough not only to believe that the application is real, but that it will be worth a download.

In fact, you can find a video of Pixelmator on The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

I find it encouraging to see that there are still developers who have the courage to try and carve a niche for themselves, in the face of intimidating competition. Pixelmator may find a loyal following among people who would love to dabble in image editing, but can’t justify the expense of larger apps.

With its ability to import Photoshop documents, it could even present a viable option for web designers on a tight budget. Team it up with Coda, and you have a decent web development toolbox for about £80. That’s a bit of a bargain.