Next week, Apple is hosting WWDC, its annual conference for the developers who write software for Apple products. Monday at 10 Pacific, Steve Jobs will give a keynote address. Although Apple typically keeps the content of keynote addresses secret, this year Apple announced that it will discuss (1) iOS 5, the next version of the iPhone / iPad operating system, (2) iCloud, presumably an online storage option that you can use with your iPhone, iPad and your computer, and (3) Lion, the next version of the Mac operating system. Much of the iPhone and iPad-related articles from this past week were just speculation on what Apple will announce, but other than those predictions I ran across the following news items of note form the past week:
- I've seen several CLEs, and many other events, over the past few months in which an iPad or iPhone was a free giveaway to one lucky participant. According to Philip Elmer-DeWitt of Fortune, Apple is now trying to stop these promotions as a violation of Apple policies, presumably based on the fear that these free giveaways diminish the Apple brand.
- In April I reviewed Google Authenticator, a method of verifying particular computers, iPads, iPhones, etc. that are authorized to use your Google account. The idea is that even if a bad guy gets your Gmail password, he cannot access your Gmail account from another computer until that computer is authenticated. Underscoring the reason to use this free service, Amir Efrati and Siobhan Gorman of the Wall Street Journal reported this week on an announcement by Google that bad guys in China recently hacked into many Gmail accounts, including accounts of some prominent individuals. Google noted that those using the Google Authenticator service were protected. To be honest, Google Authenticator can be a little tricky when you initially set it up, but there is a good reason for you to do so. If you use Google services, check out my article from April.
- The federal government has typically been very conservative on the use of technology, with BlackBerries typically approved but not other smartphones. But as I have noted in the past, even President Obama now uses an iPad, and many congressman use iPhones or iPads. Michael Rosenwald of the Washington Post reported on the increasing acceptance of iPhones and iPads by the federal government.
- If someone e-mails you a ZIP file, how do you open it on an iPhone or iPad? Tom Mighell reminds us on his iPad4Lawyer site that you can use the great GoodReader app to unzip the files. My review of GoodReader from last month is here. I consider it an essential app on my iPad.
- I've written in the past about expensive apps for the iPhone. The most that Apple allows someone to charge for an app is $999.99, and I've noted in the past that one such app is BarMax, a bar review course. David Murphy of PC Magazine writes about BarMax and two other $999.99 apps.
- Last week, Amazon promoted its MP3 download service by selling the new Lady Gaga album for only 99¢. Ed Christman of Bilboard reports that Amazon sold about 440,000 copies at that price, and since Amazon made up the difference, the promotion to spread awareness for purchasing MP3s from Amazon is estimated to have cost Amazon a few million dollars. But what struck me as really interesting is that even with this promotion, iTunes still sold about 200,000 copies of the album at full price according to Billboard. Amazon all but gave the album away for free, and that many people still bought the album from iTunes? Wow. For what it is worth, I buy my music from both Amazon and iTunes. iTunes tends to be my default store, but I'll often look to see if something is cheaper on Amazon and if so I'll get it there.
- Macworld offers some useful tips for those who travel with the iPhone or iPad.
- And finally, Adam Rosen of Cult of Mac reports on an app developed by the University of Iowa that lets students learn all sorts of information about what is happening at the school, and the app even includes a feature that lets students see which washing machines and dryers in their dorms are available — and for those which are not available how long before the cycle is finished. Too funny, but now that I think about it, an app that I certainly would have used as a college freshman. Best of all (ahem) I see that the app is a free download for anyone, so if you are really bored at work today, you can launch the app and find out how many washers are free to use in Burge South, the third floor of Mayflower, or the Slater Basement. Click here to get University of Iowa (free):
