ios

Thoughts on ad blockers

Most of this article is an extensive discussion of my hunt for the best ad blocker on iOS. It isn’t exhaustive and, given the pace at which the App Store moves, probably won’t remain current for long. That’s why I want to open things with my own thoughts on ad blocking, because I …

iOS 9 Public Beta coming today?

iOS 9 Public Beta coming today? I rarely cross-post from my geekery-focused Tumblr, but I’m so excited about this I had to share it here, where I have literally thousands more followers. I’ll be writing a proper post about the public beta after I’ve used it for a few days. There are some interesting …

Update to iOS 8 even without enough free space

I’ve heard from many people who insist their iPhone or iPad “can’t handle” or “doesn’t fit” iOS 8. I read an article about a slow-down in updates to iOS 8. John Gruber of Daring Fireball first posited that some well-documented software bugs were making people reluctant to update. But his follow-up …

Teehan+Lax on redesigning Prismatic

Teehan+Lax on redesigning PrismaticIt’s a great post by great designers about the work and value that goes into and comes out of great design. It also happens to explain very clearly the concept behind my own website here at Constant & Endless. Geoff Teehan of Teehan+Lax writes: In the end, a …

Reuters nixes Next: Failed redesigns and the challenge of expanding a digital audience

Reuters nixes Next: Failed redesigns and the challenge of expanding a digital audienceThat’s a shame. This image alone illustrates the design strides made by the Next team (the cancelled redesign is on the right). The Reuters iOS app is better than that of Associated Press, for what it’s worth.

Apple removes app curation app from App Store

Apple removes app curation app from App Store"Yes, you can live here," Apple seems to say to developers, "but if you ever break one of our vague rules, or if we ever decide for any reason or even for no reason at all that you must go, you will be evicted. No appeal, no questions asked, no …

Nope, Flickr's hashtags aren't news either

Nope, Flickr’s hashtags aren’t news eitherWSJ was wrong to pretend potential Facebook hashtags are news, and everyone reporting about a similar move by Flickr is just as wrong. What makes this even less news is that Flickr has so far only started calling their longtime tags feature …

Google's answer to AirPlay comes to YouTube for iOS, sends video to consoles and TVs

Google’s answer to AirPlay comes to YouTube for iOS, sends video to consoles and TVsI’ve been doing this from my Galaxy Nexus for a while now. I paired my phone to my Xbox 360 so I can pull videos up on my phone’s YouTube app (which is much easier to use than the Xbox app) and then send to my …

Shawn Blanc explores Simplenote alternatives

Shawn Blanc explores Simplenote alternativesThe Simplenote/nvALT sync issues recently scared me away from Simplenote sync. I use Byword on the Mac and iPad, and Epistle on Android to sync notes with my Dropbox account. PlainText is also very good for this. I haven’t had any problems since going …

Apple Maps lead fired

Apple Maps lead firedRichard Williamson is his name, and shipping a less-than-perfect mapping application on the iPhone 5 was his game, until, as Bloomberg's Adam Satariano reports, Senior Vice President Eddy Cue fired him. As an aside, I really like that Bloomberg lists both the reporter’s and the …

Apathy and ecstasy for the iPhone 5

Mat Honan, writing at Wired’s Gadget Lab blog: It is an amazing triumph of technology that gets better and better, year after year, and yet somehow is every bit as exciting as a 25 mph drive through a sensible neighborhood at a reasonable time of day. I am still waiting for Verizon to push Jelly …

Apple's Comfortable Middle

Hamish McKenzie, writing at PandoDaily : With two product launches in a row that show Apple is merely keeping pace with innovation rather than leading it, the world’s most valuable company will start to seem mortal. I disagree. For the record, I’m usually on board with Mr. McKenzie’s analyses, and …

No Pressure

Analyst Brian Marshall, to SFGate’s Jun Yang: As the markets get more saturated, the pressure will be much stronger to add more screen sizes. "Today, the answer is no," he said. "Down the road, the answer is yes," he said. No way. The only source of pressure on Apple to do anything is the …