» ‘Golden gate’
Rene Ritchie on the lack of gold iPhones:
We haven’t heard of non-Apple retailers having many, if any gold stock either.
The Verizon store I went to didn’t get any and by the time I arrived they only had space metal gray. I didn’t get the full story, but the couple next to me was getting a Galaxy S4 because they couldn’t get a gold or white iPhone in the capacity they wanted at either the Apple Store or Verizon and they wanted a phone today.
If you’re curious (or even if you’re not), I got a 16 GB gray iPhone 5s. I got a 4 GB original iPhone so I’m used to paring down my stuff to fit.
It’s the little things
Dan Wineman just posted this tip:
Got iOS 7? Try swiping right-to-left in Messages.
If you were to read the writing of certain jerks, jackasses, dillholes, what have you, about iOS 7 you’d think the only differences were cosmetic. But last night my wife was asking if she should update and I noted it’s quite different but there are so many little improvements it’s completely worth it.
For example, I use the timer feature every day for various reasons but mostly cooking. Now the lock screen displays the amount of time left on a timer. It’s a little thing, but it’s of huge value to me because I use it every day. Same with the flashlight. Siri. Being able to search on any page.
In a device you have on you all the time, a device you use all the time, the little things add up. Is iOS 7 perfect? No. (They never did fix that awful Newsstand icon.) But it’s definitely a winner to me.
» iOS 7 Adoption Already As High As 35%
TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington:
Predicting adoption based on the current rate, Mixpanel says iOS 7 could exceed iOS 6 activity on its network by this time tomorrow. Android, by comparison, still sees Jelly Bean (all versions) accounting for only 57 percent of traffic on the Mixpanel network, a full 450 days after the first version’s launch.
I couldn’t settle on just one snarky comment so you’ll have to make your own.
» Begin
Finally someone has created a to-do app for the iPhone.
That’s a joke, of course, but the truth of the matter is I’m still looking for the perfect to-do app and Begin is a nice shot at scratching this perennial itch. From Ben Brooks and Kyle Rosenbluth, Begin is pretty darn close to the to-do app that I would make were I make-enabled. Pull down to create a task, swipe right to complete, swipe left to send to tomorrow, hold and move to reorder. It’ll also give you a daily reminder of your tasks. That’s the basic gist. The interface is nice and iOS 7-y thanks to David Lanham of The Iconfactory.
The only difference in my imaginary app is that unfinished tasks from yesterday would roll over to today. In Begin you pull up to see unfinished tasks and swipe to move them to today. Still, I quite like it and I’m giving it a shot for managing my day-to-day tasks.
Just 99 cents in the App Store.
A feature both boring and horrifying
Here’s Anton Wahlman writing for The Street with his reaction to the iPhone 5s:
Fingerprint sensor? You mean the same thing I got on my Dell laptop in 2007? And on the Motorola Atrix Android smartphone in January 2011?
It’s yesterday’s technology! So, naturally, we need to freak out about it.
Writing for CNet, Charlie Osborne says:
iPhone fingerprint scanner sparks privacy worries
Only Nixon can go to China and only Apple can release a product that is both old hat and controversially cutting edge.
The difference, of course, is that people will actually use the fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5s. So I am interested in discussion on how safe it is. This mostly just highlights how ridiculous Wahlman’s faux yawning is.
» Cubed Podcast
A new podcast featuring Ben Bajarin, Benedict Evans and Ben Thompson. I’ve listened to the first episode and it’s terrific analysis. Just what I’d expect from these three.
» ‘Why a disembodied finger can’t be used to unlock the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s’
Turns out it’s because a disembodied finger doesn’t have a soul.
» A closer look at Elementary OS
Over at Macworld, I take a closer look at Elementary OS and like what I see. Not more than the Mac, but I like it.
» Sponsor: Booking.com
My thanks to Booking.com for sponsoring the Very Nice Web Site RSS feed this week. Here’s a testimonial from one of their happy employees.
Forgive the cliche, but coming to work for Booking.com has been one of the best decisions. Within a week of arriving to the Netherlands, I had already created two UI experiments and pushed code to the live site. It was intimidating and thrilling at the same time. Those feelings haven’t left. I’m constantly humbled by the more than 300 super intelligent colleagues of 51+ nationalities! I learn every day. If there’s a day I don’t? It means I wasn’t in the office.
The warmth and acceptance of new hires is brilliant. I was invited for chess, football, drinks, and even knitting, within a fortnight. Friday after work drinks can easily evolve into an adventure anytime. There’s always something to do in this city. And at Booking.com, there’s always someone who’s willing to join in. The many parties are just something that has to be experienced. Come join and I’ll show you around!
» ‘M is for Mystery’
Horace Dediu:
The M7 and the Touch ID are like research projects whose actual value will be realized at some future time, in probably different contexts.
Building for the future?! They should be running around reacting to the present!