Apple picker An expectedly large amount of software news appeared at this year's WWDC. A survey among our editors revealed to us what is the most important news for them. And what do you like?
Tom Balev
Certainly, like every Apple fan, I was also interested in everything that was presented. But I will comment on iTunes Match. It is interesting to see how Apple tries to "modify" its customers. It started long ago with Flash. Apple said no Flash and we have the decline of Flash. Of course, Apple is not the only one to blame for this, but it largely deserved it. Now there's iTunes Match. On the surface, an innocent song comparison feature for $25 a year. It is definitely not possible to check whether all the songs that will be compared will be from the original discs. Who will prevent us from borrowing a CD from a friend or downloading it from the Internet and then using iTunes Match to "legalize" these discs? Well, probably no one, and Apple is aware of it. That's why the fee is there. It's not just for the service itself, it's mostly for the copyright. Like CD and DVD producers, they have to pay copyright fees because there is a high probability that they will be used for piracy purposes. Of course, this will eventually be reflected in the final price of the disc. Personally, I am very curious how Apple plans to solve this, if at all. In my opinion, this is a smart move, as it will "force" people who have only illegally downloaded their music from the Internet to pay...
PS: We could also expect full support for SK/CZ, including music from iTunes and Gift Cards.
Matej Čabala
Well, I was most interested in iOS 5 and iCloud, because I don't have a Mac at the moment. And of course the fact that the services offered by MobileMe are now free and even the 25 USD per year is not much. Another thing that probably pleased the most people are the notifications, which I've been waiting for for some time :).
Of course, I was interested in almost everything, even if I was a little disappointed, as I was hoping for some things that did not come true, for example, a similar connection with FB as with Twitter, FaceTime via 3G, the ability to set the quality of the video played via YouTube, etc. Well, at the moment I'm sorry mostly because I'm not a developer and I can't use iOS 5 right now :D
PS: Only one thing is not clear to me at the moment. If it is not possible to buy music in SK/CZ, but I will have purchased the music scan, then will the scan and subsequent download from the iTunes Store also work for me here?
Jakub Czech
iTunes match - will tidy up the library, everything will be in excellent quality and finished. Apple uses its potential in music distribution, which Google is currently not able to implement comfortably enough. Basically, Apple offers perfect sharing that would be the envy of any P2P enthusiast, and all legally.
The second thing is Lion because of the price, the redesigned Aqua environment and the incredible comfort and speed of the system.
Tomas Chlebek
Before the opening keynote, I was most curious about iOS 5 and the supposed new notification system. I was also hoping that the new version of the mobile OS would also be available for my iPhone 3GS, so I was pleased to hear that it would be.
In the end, however, I see iCloud (and wireless synchronization of the iTunes library) as the most interesting new feature introduced. Because I would like to buy an iPad for college, which is probably (from my point of view and with my needs) better than a laptop. So I take it with me in the morning, I take notes during lectures at school, or start creating a document or presentation. When I get home, everything I've created on the iPad is already accessible on the Mac for further processing and use. And it works that way for all data. The best part is that I don't have to worry about any uploading (I don't like that about dropbox, I end up sending it by email anyway), everything happens automatically in the background.
Daniel Hruska
I was intrigued by the OS X Lion feature - Mission Control. Quite often I have many windows open, I need to switch between them quickly and efficiently. Exposé & Spaces handled this activity very well, but Mission Control brought window management to perfection. I like that the windows are divided by applications, which will definitely contribute to clarity.
In iOS 5, I was excited about Reminders. This is a classic "to-do" utility of which there are many. However, Reminders offers something extra – a reminder based on your location, not the time. Textbook example – call your wife after the meeting. But how do I know when the negotiation ends? I don't have to, just choose the address of the meeting building and I will be informed immediately after leaving it. Ingenious!
Peter Krajčir
Since I own an iPhone 4 and the new MacBook Pro 13″, I was especially looking forward to this year's WWDC. I was most interested in: the new iOS 5 and its changed notification system. Finally, the red rings on individual applications stop depressing me and informing me about what I missed. And their integration into the lock screen is also perfectly done. I can't wait for the sharp version to play with the team myself.
Mio
As an iOS fan, I couldn't be more pleased with the management than the new notifications, which turn the current solution into a non-existent service. Along with the expected multitasking gestures and GPS Reminder, it belongs to the mandatory equipment of every iOS toy.
The combination of iOS 5 and iCloud will be the ultimate thing that has already put several popular brands on their shoulders when it was announced.
Just one sentence about Mac OS X Lion: The lion is no longer the king of the animal kingdom.
If you need to invest your money, the acronym AAPL is a certainty today.
Note: If iTunes is in the cloud, will other iPods support this service? Will they have WiFi?
Matej Mudrik
It is clear to me that the topic that interested me is not discussed or addressed much in the Mac world. But I like FileVault2 and the possibility of sanboxing both pages and applications as a potential feature of Lion (which will be, but has not yet been particularly explored). This, in my opinion, is a very underrated feature that will help the Mac gain a lot of ground in the corporate world. It is not yet clear how it will work, how it really works, if it has preboot authorization, how it will be arranged inside the OS (I am not a developer, so take it from the point of view of an ordinary end user) - if it will be as secure as some hw encryption of USB drives, or just a slightly better FileValut, but in any case it is transparent, thanks to which it should not have been known at work. Sandboxing is a chapter by itself, but just the possibility that it will be at the system level is great. And a lot of joy for the elderly: it will be in Czech... although we'll see how good it is.
In connection with the fact that there will be no installation media (I don't know if it will be possible to create them), a second partition will "live" on the disk. The installation will be placed on it. I would be interested in how (and if at all) it will be handled, for example, replacing the HDD (automated), or whether FileVault2 itself will encrypt this partition as well, and whether Apple will allow "disabling" booting from other peripherals (i.e. USB, FireWire, eth, etc. ).
Jan Otčenášek
I was most curious about the iTunes cloud and the result exceeded my expectations. Scan your library, compare the results with the iTunes database, then upload only what was not matched and then just share everything between your devices. In addition, poor quality recordings will be replaced by iTunes. Ingenious. I just pray that it will finally work in the Czech Republic too!
Shourek Petr
I was most looking forward to the presentation of Lion. I was afraid of what pricing policy Apple would choose, but once again they proved that the system is not the main thing that sustains them, so CZK 500 for a new operating system is an absolutely unbeatable price. I was also quite interested in its new features, I'm curious to see how it will be installed and how it will pedal.
Another thing I'm really looking forward to is iOS 5 and especially the notification system, what they already have is really prehistoric, but it's proof of what the competition can do. If it weren't for Android, iOS would still be somewhere where it was before. Although he would have a lot of tricks, there would be no incentive to pick him up in other ways. And if it gets tougher, I'm not afraid to say that Android/WM will take the better part again. The winners will be only us, the customers.
Daniel Veselý
Hello, I personally was most interested in the information about using the volume buttons, as with many cameras, and the possibility of taking photos from the lockscreen. Since iPhone photos are mainly snapshots when you need to take a quick photo, I consider this solution to be the best improvement.
Martin Vodak
The iCloud service scores points for me. As an iPhone 4 and iPad 2 user, I will have easier access and sharing of photos, music and apps immediately after download. Thanks to this, I can slowly but surely throw my PC into the corner. I was also very surprised by the pricing policy in the App Store. If I downloaded a paid app before and didn't back it up to iTunes, I had to buy it again after deleting it. Now it is probably permanently credited to my account. It is a big step towards achieving completely wireless communication.
Robert Votruba
Definitely iOS 5. So far, apart from my iPad and iPod nano, I only have the old one iPhone 3G. But with the arrival of iOS 5, I definitely decided to buy an iPhone 4. Finally, new and much better notifications. I'm really looking forward to being able to write to all my iOS friends for free. Or that I won't need cables for synchronization anymore (I'm just waiting until I won't need them for charging either :-)). And I won't have to put the photos on the computer via cables, they will be put there by themselves via iCloud. But, I'm afraid I won't enjoy the holidays at all, I'll probably even look forward to them being over and this amazing iOS being released.
Michal Ždanský
We knew about the new operating system for Mac several months in advance from the first developer beta that Apple released, so my expectations related mainly to iOS 5, about which we knew practically nothing for sure. The "widgets" integrated into the Notification Center probably brought me the greatest joy. Although the first beta only offers two, weather and stocks, I hope that future iterations will include a calendar, and perhaps even the ability for developers to create their own.
The second thing that caught my eye is iMessage. At first, I looked at this new function rather skeptically, after all, there are several similar programs, moreover, cross-platform. However, the integration into the SMS application, when the phone automatically recognizes iOS 5 on the recipient's side and sends a push notification via the Internet instead of a classic message, is very pleasant and can save some crowns every month. Although I expected more evolution from iOS 5, I'm happy with the new features and I'm looking forward to the official release to enjoy them on my phone.
I quote: "I was also very surprised by the pricing policy in the App Store. If I downloaded a paid app before and didn't back it up to iTunes, I had to buy it again after deleting it. "
An already purchased application does not need to be purchased again, when re-downloading, the user is notified that he has already purchased the application and therefore has it FREE.
Only before that he has to click, or had to click, on the Buy button and then it tells him this, to be honest, after my first experience with Apple, I also thought this mistake.
It's really important to check their HT, where everything is, but I had no idea about them at the time and there are still a lot of myths and half-truths in the iTunes policy...
For example, that if I buy a new iPhone and collect data from the same PC, that 1 activation will disappear and that I can have a maximum of 5 iDevices. It's not true. I can have a maximum of 5 different computers with 1 iTunes account, but I can easily have 1000 iDevices from iPod, iPhone and iPad, and just like with 1 computer, it will still be 1 activation...
It's even so liberal, or is it a bug, that when I put my account on the iTunes application in her profile on the same computer, it didn't show my own activation, but it did show it when I changed the board.
And one more thing, when you complete 5 activations, don't worry, there will be a button to delete all activations and you can start over ;)
I know that a lot of people know this, but on the other hand, there are also problems with it in my area and people ask...
I wonder how iMessage will be when I'm abroad? Data roaming is "more than expensive" with operators, and if I send an SMS from my iOS 5 to another iOS 5, will a push notification be sent over the Internet instead of that SMS? I just hope that with data roaming turned off, iOS 5 devices will send SMS to each other and not "uncompromisingly" communicate over the Internet. It wouldn't be worth it!
If data roaming is disabled in the settings, then iMessage will not be able to use it and will send your message classically, i.e. as an SMS.
Flash decline? I don't notice that, rather the opposite.
The weather is not a widget, just a stand notification. I will have widgets in a year.
Hello. I called Apple customer support yesterday. Although it was in English, I still learned a lot of interesting things.
1) I asked about Mac OS X Lion. Can it be installed even on a completely empty disk? I was told that I could create an installation DVD after purchasing from the Mac App Store.
2) I asked if there was someone from the Czech Republic there so that we could make better arrangements. I was told that there is currently a lot of work to make all services in our native language operational. (I don't know if he meant iTunes etc.)
3) I asked about the availability of @me.com from the web environment. I was told that this would be possible and that I would get more information soon, and he referred me to his advisor, who immediately contacted me by email. He sent me everything I needed and said I would be kept informed.
Those are probably the most important points. However, the assistant was surprised by how the sellers in the Apple Premium Resseler stores treat us. (I described how it goes in our country and that it cannot be compared with, for example, England. He even apologized to me and said that we will also see our own Apple Store. He did not say when, only that we will see it. I think I was told quite essential information .The assistant was incredibly kind and spoke slow English.
iCloud - synchronization, e.g. 2Do
Getting the photo onto the iPod is a problem: either import it into Aperture and sync via iTunes, or via Drobbox or Evernote – it requires running the app on the iPod and loading the image. It takes a few seconds to get a photo to Nokia via Bluetooth (e.g. map, order, ticket, etc.)
From already known things: autosave and versions (we'll see how quickly they integrate third-party applications), filevault, Czech, preview in spotlight, mail (labels), the download window will probably no longer open by itself, inserting characters, group as folder, Mission control – hopefully
That Tom Balev:
In my opinion, iTunes Match will not legalize any music, and the fee is for the specified service, not for any legalization. If someone has some music illegally, nothing will change. It will be used illegally on computers and portable players, and no one from Apple is interested. For that fee, Apple will allow him to use this music in such ways (in the cloud) that iTunes / iCloud / Match are able to provide. The legality itself depends on the user. What are you?
well, for all you iTunes match fanatics out there, download wallets. the very name iTunes match implies that it is a service connected to iTunes. It is not available in CR or SR, so the function is lost indefinitely. About that, but don't be so sad. Apple did sign contracts with major publishers, but in the USA (!!!). even in the UK, the negotiations are far from over, so the rest of the world will have iTunes match at least half a year to a year later, just like the iTunes store arrived late.
to Steve JSF: it is and is not a license fee. Apple really had to pay licensing fees to publishers to make the service available. it's not only about iTunes match, but also about duplicating copies of music from iCloud, which even Jobs himself admitted is not very common, reps. apple is the first to allow such duplication of up to 10 copies. It wasn't for a buck, the details of the contract are not public (that is, not even the contract itself), but it's about a hundred million dollars. Apple also has a lot of cash, so it was rumored that they would buy Sony. according to everything, I'm really investing this money in iCloud, on the one hand for the construction of the data center, all related costs, and especially for licenses. So yes, the next fee of 25 dollars is not a license fee, but Apple thought that this is the only feasible fee for iCloud services that users will be willing to pay. Because yes, as the author actually wrote, if you place a friend's CD and rip it to iTunes, you have it there, but not legally (like when you download it via torrent). if apple scans your library and compares your library with the iTunes database based on ID3 tags, these MP3s are physically (!!) upgraded to 256kbps. so, if you have a 320, it's not much of an upgrade, but the point is that your mp3, although it will be the same, will be physically replaced by the official one. In addition, it will probably be registered in the iTunes store as official. that is the important thing that Jobs noted that the CD (that is, your) music will be upgraded to an official one. theoretically, if you look at the iTunes store, it will show that the song has been purchased. What's more, your ripped mp10 will not be copied to your other (max 3) devices, but the one from iTunes. that is, legally the same as if you had bought it. so yes, it's about legalizing pirated mp3s.
in my opinion, it's quite a hussar piece, not only on the part of Apple, but also on the part of the publishers. Music sales are dropping incredibly. However, they made a move, when at least some of the non-returnable money in the form of pirated music returned to them. The price policy is so drastic that for the price of 2 CDs you can theoretically legalize gigabytes of illegal music for a whole year. because even if you have a friend's original CD on loan, the moment you duplicate it, i.e. rip it to your library, the copy becomes illegal. The price is so drastic that it's almost a fortune, even for a kid. and millions of people will also use it for other things, such as playing the iOS library to sleep on the Mac and so on, but I don't know the details here, whether the same library will be able to be on multiple Macs and whether the library will be scanned on the Mac or also on iOS (according to everything is possible, yes, several iOS5 gadgets indicate absolute independence, including the iTunes library.
As for the number of songs that iTunes Match doesn't match, yes, these will be just a copy backed up in the cloud and will therefore be, if pirated, still pirated, if legally ripped from your own CD, then legal. nothing changes here.
but all this is a utopia for us at least 2 years away
stouravy offtopic etc. iTunes Match. I would probably avoid the associated illegal mp3 or illegal music downloads. Czech rep. has strange laws, but let's leave that aside. In CR, it is better to 1. buy a twice cheaper CD on Amazon 2. download it. 3. to rip. I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I know, downloading mp3s from WWW pages on the Internet is completely legal in CR and we pay copyright fees for it. These fees should somehow cover the possibility of using the music from the purchased media on other devices. Nothing piratey about it! I have a hifi system and a collection of original CDs, but I have converted them to 320 kbit mp3 so that I can have them in an iP4 and can stream them to computers via Airports all over the apartment, and I also have the mp3s from the Internet. I think the iTunes Match fee (that is, only the part intended for publishers) is equivalent to our fee in CR??? use of copyright work in their system?
I don't really understand the illegal downloading of music. Downloading music and movies is legal in CR :), so I don't see what you're trying to do. Only the one who uploads it has a problem :/
in CR and SR probably yes, but I don't know how it is with the legislation in the USA. in any case, I don't think that if you download mp3s just as you want, it's completely illegal from a legal point of view. but I'm on a thin line here. the bottom line is that iTunes match will fully legalize them for you. so not only downloaded music, but also burned CDs. that is, even if there may not be any penalty for it, that copy is not legal on the level of the purchased copy. iTM puts them on the same level, and according to everything, even in the iTunes store, the song in question will appear as "purchased" with all the benefits associated with it (booklet, etc.)