When Jason Kincaid tried out the iPhone app online music streaming startup Grooveshark built and showed off in July 2009, he wrote that it was great but that he “wouldn’t expect this to pop up in the App Store any time soon”. He was right on both counts. Grooveshark now says it has given up on its ambitions to get approved for the official App Store, claiming that Apple has been “ritually rejecting” the app for “primary selfish reasons”. We’ve heard that song before.
When Jason Kincaid tried out the iPhone app online music streaming startup Grooveshark built and showed off in July 2009, he wrote that it was great but that he “wouldn’t expect this to pop up in the App Store any time soon”. He was right on both counts.
Grooveshark now says it has given up on its ambitions to get approved for the official App Store, claiming that Apple has been “ritually rejecting” the app for “primary selfish reasons”. We’ve heard that song before.
The startup says it spent many months developing the iPhone application, and on occasion went months without a hearing a peep out of Cupertino.
Denied access to the App Store, Grooveshark decided to head underground and is today releasing the app on Cydia, enabling people who have jailbroken their iPhone and iPod touch devices to enjoy it – and it is actually pretty cool.
Much like Spotify – who, for the record, has seen its iPhone app approved by Apple – premium aka VIP users of Grooveshark can use the app to search for tracks within a gigantic catalog of music at lightning speed and instantly stream them from the device. Playlists, favorites and whatnot are completely synced, so the experience for paying Grooveshark users who happen to have a jailbroken device are now able to basically get the exact same experience on their iPhone or iPod touch than using the recently revamped Web application.
The app also enables you to make tracks and entire playlists available offline, so you can enjoy the music even without the need to be connected.
All in all, it’s simply a great application that many would love to have to their iPhones, I’m sure.
At the very least, for those people there now exists an option to get it installed on there, despite Apple. Or they can just go out and buy any rival device that runs Android, or go get a Blackberry, or purchase a recent Palm phone …
When Seesmicdebuted its Twitter clients for Android and BlackBerry devices back in November, we wrote that the two apps were probably the strongest offerings out there for each mobile device. Seesmic just updated its Android app, bringing it closer to the the Twitter apps for the iPhone. Today, Seesmic is rolling out a powerful new version of its BlackBerry app. The new version includes support for multi-accounts, Ping.fm integration (Seesmic acquired Ping.fm earlier this year) and the ability to choose your photo uploading size. So if you have more than one Twitter account, you can set Seesmic to remember all of your accounts, and easily switch between them. You can also cross-post messages between different accounts at the same time. The app allows you to set up default account which will be generated each time you open Seesmic for BlackBerry. You can add up to ten accounts with the new feature.
When Seesmicdebuted its Twitter clients for Android and BlackBerry devices back in November, we wrote that the two apps were probably the strongest offerings out there for each mobile device. Seesmic just updated its Android app, bringing it closer to the the Twitter apps for the iPhone. Today, Seesmic is rolling out a powerful new version of its BlackBerry app.
The new version includes support for multi-accounts, Ping.fm integration (Seesmic acquired Ping.fm earlier this year) and the ability to choose your photo uploading size. So if you have more than one Twitter account, you can set Seesmic to remember all of your accounts, and easily switch between them. You can also cross-post messages between different accounts at the same time. The app allows you to set up default account which will be generated each time you open Seesmic for BlackBerry. You can add up to ten accounts with the new feature.
Ping.gm integration allows for you to post your updates to 50 social networks at the same time. In order to engage the feature, you’ll need to start a Ping.fm account. Seesmic for BlackBerry also includes the ability to share pictures through Tweetphoto now. You’ll still be able to post photos with yFrog, which was the photo app the client launched with, but Tweetphoto is now the default. And now you can also select the size of the photos you wish to post. You’ll be given the choice of opting between small, medium or large images.
Sessmic made updates to its BlackBerry client in December but multi-account and Ping.fm support is huge for the client. This latest update should make Seesmic’s client the most feature-rich app out there. Of course BlackBerry has launched the private beta of its Twitter app which is missing a few key features and has been receiving mediocre reviews.
TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington is an investor in Seesmic but I am not.
I have no idea what this game is called since the page on Nintendo.co.jp is made up of images (hence Google translate is useless) but an upcoming Japanese DSiWare title features a clever system of motion-controlled 3D dioramas that allow you to change the view’s perspective by tilting the DSi. It’s actually kind of hard [...]
I have no idea what this game is called since the page on Nintendo.co.jp is made up of images (hence Google translate is useless) but an upcoming Japanese DSiWare title features a clever system of motion-controlled 3D dioramas that allow you to change the view’s perspective by tilting the DSi. It’s actually kind of hard to explain, so I recommend watching the video above to really get the gist of the game’s mechanics.
But here’s the really slick part. The DSi doesn’t have motion controls or a built-in gyro, and since this game will be available for download via the DSiWare online store, that functionality won’t be added through a cartridge. So I have to assume the DSi’s camera is being used to track the person playing the game, and 3D motion is being extrapolated from that. Looking at the video it’s not as flawless as it would be with dedicated hardware, but it’s still pretty impressive. So here’s to hoping the game eventually becomes available in North America and the rest of the world.
Since Facebook started on a college campus, it makes sense that they celebrate kegs. But did you know they actually have a Facebook application dedicated to the keg in their office? And they like to have fun with it. While Keg Presence isn’t an official Facebook app, it was created and is maintained by Facebook employees. So what does it do? The app is a steady stream of information about what’s going on with the Facebook keg. For example, Keg Presence sends out notices to let users (other Facebook employees) know what type of beer is in the keg. And when the keg is empty, it posts pictures of BevMo, where Facebook employees apparently go to refill it.
Since Facebook started on a college campus, it makes sense that they celebrate kegs. But did you know they actually have a Facebook application dedicated to the keg in their office? And they like to have fun with it.
While Keg Presence isn’t an official Facebook app, it was created and is maintained by Facebook employees. So what does it do? The app is a steady stream of information about what’s going on with the Facebook keg. For example, Keg Presence sends out notices to let users (other Facebook employees) know what type of beer is in the keg. And when the keg is empty, it posts pictures of BevMo, where Facebook employees apparently go to refill it.
Anyway, the application isn’t new, it has been around since sometime last year, but a humorous update from Keg Presence was recently brought to our attention. Announcing the “launch” of Keg Presence 2.0, one Facebook employee jokingly named it “Facebook Buzz”:
At Facebook we move fast and have already launched Keg Presence 2.0 which we have named Facebook Buzz.
80-some Facebook employees gave the update a thumbs up “like.”
This is of course in reference to Google Buzz, the recently launched social stream feature that now resides inside of Gmail. Following its launch, much was made of Buzz as a potential “_____ killer,” including, naturally, Facebook. The social network doesn’t seem too worried though if their response is a keg application.
Update: As former Facebooker Ryan Merket notes in the comments:
You forgot one key part of Keg Presence. Employees swipe their RFID badge when they get there, which snaps a photo of them pouring their beer and updates their Facebook status.
By Andrew Liszewski Believe it or not this inflatable contraption from Taylor Gifts is actually designed to eliminate neck pain. You wrap it around your neck and then go to town with the handheld pump until it’s inflated enough to relieve pressure caused by pinch nerves, tension headaches and osteoarthritis. On one hand $19.98 seems like [...]
By Andrew Liszewski
Believe it or not this inflatable contraption from Taylor Gifts is actually designed to eliminate neck pain. You wrap it around your neck and then go to town with the handheld pump until it’s inflated enough to relieve pressure caused by pinch nerves, tension headaches and osteoarthritis. On one hand $19.98 seems like a steal for a product that promises to reduce neck pain, but on the other hand the “If you have pre-existing conditions consult a medical professional before using this device” warning makes me pretty confident it isn’t exactly endorsed by any medical group not run by Dr. Nick Riviera.
Idling in the CrunchGear chatroom the other day, John says to me, that’s John Biggs, he says, “Why don’t you interview that guy from Toothpaste for Dinner?” I says to John “Why?” and John says “He seems like a nice guy.” Who am I to argue with John? Plus, the guy from Toothpaste for Dinner lives in Columbus, which is where I live, so I sent the guy an email. We had a little back and forth, and he introduced me to his wife, Natalie Dee, so I interviewed her, too. They are, in fact, nice people, and I really enjoyed interviewing them. I hope you enjoy reading my interview.Idling in the CrunchGear chatroom the other day, John says to me, that’s John Biggs, he says, “Why don’t you interview that guy from Toothpaste for Dinner?” I says to John “Why?” and John says “He seems like a nice guy.” Who am I to argue with John? Plus, the guy from Toothpaste for Dinner lives in Columbus, which is where I live, so I sent the guy an email. We had a little back and forth, and he introduced me to his wife, Natalie Dee, so I interviewed her, too. They are, in fact, nice people, and I really enjoyed interviewing them. I hope you enjoy reading my interview.
Remember that whole porn crackdown that nobody cares about anymore? Wonder why it happened? It wasn’t the money. It wasn’t hypocritical. It wasn’t about defending the rights of women to browse the app store unflustered. It was about image. Here’s Gruber’s cogent and true argument:
I think what Apple was getting squeamish about wasn’t the sexy apps themselves, but the cheesiness that the sexy apps (and their prominence in best selling lists) was bestowing upon the general feel and vibe of the App Store. One thing I wasn’t aware of before the recent crackdown was the degree to which these apps were seeping into various non-entertainment categories. E.g., like half the “new” apps in the “productivity” category featured imagery of large-breasted bikini-clad women.
These apps were shut down temporarily. They will be back, and the ban wasn’t about not offending our sainted mothers. It was about making a retail experience that people want to visit and, like Chef Ramsay shutting down Casa Roma rather than serve the rest of the night’s meals in a haphazard, sloppy way, Apple decided to shut things down and make their decisions. This, in turn, forces Apple management to make a decision.Remember that whole porn crackdown that nobody cares about anymore? Wonder why it happened? It wasn’t the money. It wasn’t hypocritical. It wasn’t about defending the rights of women to browse the app store unflustered. It was about image. Here’s Gruber’s cogent and true argument:
I think what Apple was getting squeamish about wasn’t the sexy apps themselves, but the cheesiness that the sexy apps (and their prominence in best selling lists) was bestowing upon the general feel and vibe of the App Store. One thing I wasn’t aware of before the recent crackdown was the degree to which these apps were seeping into various non-entertainment categories. E.g., like half the “new” apps in the “productivity” category featured imagery of large-breasted bikini-clad women.
These apps were shut down temporarily. They will be back, and the ban wasn’t about not offending our sainted mothers. It was about making a retail experience that people want to visit and, like Chef Ramsay shutting down Casa Roma rather than serve the rest of the night’s meals in a haphazard, sloppy way, Apple decided to shut things down and make their decisions. This, in turn, forces Apple management to make a decision.
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber wrote what I thought was a good response to my post about Apple’s App Store sexy app policy. While I noted that one of the reasons Apple’s policy was silly was because each iPhone contains two apps, iTunes and Safari (both made by Apple), that grant users access to content much worse than the kind of stuff now being banned from the App Store, he comes back to say that maybe the idea isn’t to remove this content from the iPhone itself, but rather just from the actual App Store. My first reaction to this was the humorous thought that both iTunes and Safari would be banned from the App Store had they not been included by default on every iPhone. But that actually lead to a more interesting thought that a few other posts around the web back up today: Safari is the iPhone’s peephole.
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber wrote what I thought was a good response to my post about Apple’s App Store sexy app policy. While I noted that one of the reasons Apple’s policy was silly was because each iPhone contains two apps, iTunes and Safari (both made by Apple), that grant users access to content much worse than the kind of stuff now being banned from the App Store, he comes back to say that maybe the idea isn’t to remove this content from the iPhone itself, but rather just from the actual App Store.
My first reaction to this was the humorous thought that both iTunes and Safari would be banned from the App Store had they not been included by default on every iPhone. But that actually lead to a more interesting thought that a few other posts around the web back up today: Safari is the iPhone’s peephole.
What I mean is that Apple very tightly controls nearly every aspect of the iPhone (and really, all products). While they undoubtedly have both selfish (app revenues) and unselfish (protection) reasons for doing this, this type of suffocating control should be enough to make users walk away. But it’s not. And a big reason may be Safari.
Think about it: you can’t have porn on your iPhone — but actually, you can. You just have to go through Safari. You can’t have Google Voice on your iPhone — but actually, you can. You just have to go through Safari. Other Google Apps? Same thing.
Sure, it’s not as easy or as nice as if there were a native app experience, but it’s doable. And as HTML5 continues to mature, it will be more and more doable. In fact, over the past few months I’ve encountered a number of web apps on the iPhone that are increasingly impressive. One is the Google Buzz app, which is better than Google Buzz on the desktop because it uses HTML5 to access your location through your phone.
Remember, when the iPhone first launched in 2007, no native third-party apps were allowed. All Apple said at the time was that if you wanted to make an app, it had to be a web app. The problem was that the HTML5 was basically non-existant at the time, and the older HTML/JavaScript/CSS combination simply wasn’t ideal for developers or users. So Apple shuffled (though native apps may have been the plan all along, who knows), and made third-party native apps the norm with the launch of the iPhone SDK.
Unfortunately, as we’ve all become well aware, there’s a price for this native development: you have to play by Apple’s rules. But, at the same time, Apple never said you still couldn’t work outside the App Store ecosystem and make any sort of web app you desired. Again, essentially, they made Safari a loophole — or, as I’ve been calling it, a peephole.
The best counter-argument is perhaps that, given Apple’s desire for control, they’re always going to prefer their wholly owned proprietary platforms — native iPhone and Mac apps — over the web, and will eventually come to see the web as a threat. I don’t think Apple sees it that way, though. There is always going to be a lowest common denominator platform. That used to be Windows. Now it’s the web. Apple doesn’t build lowest common denominator platforms. Before, when Windows was the LCD, Apple was in a hard place because they were locked out of that platform: their platform was at odds with it. Now, with the web as the LCD, Apple has it both ways: their platforms gracefully coexist with it. Apple isn’t a web company, but the web might be the best thing that ever happened to them.
So with the web, Apple is giving both developers and users a way to still operate outside the system. And again, that method will keep improving as HTML5 does.
In fact, I’m surprised that Apple doesn’t play this up more in response to the criticisms of the App Store. If I were them, I’d simply say something like, “We made the App Store to provide our customers with the best guaranteed experience on their device. If you’d like an app that we don’t allow, that’s fine, you’ll just have to access it through the web on the device.”
The first part essentially is their line, but the second part they probably won’t say because then they’ll worry customers will start associating the web apps with Apple itself. But again, that was the initial idea behind the first iPhone, so if they thought it was going to work at one time, they should be comfortable with it now.
Another post today on Silicon Alley Insider notes that Apple is stacking the deck against its rivals like Amazon for digital goods because you can’t buy them within native iPhone (and soon iPad) apps. For example, with the Amazon Kindle app, you have to go to the web to purchase a new e-book.
But again, it’s not that you flat out cannot buy the book, you just have to go to the web to do it. And you can do that on the iPhone, through Safari. It’s a little more complicated, but it’s manageable.
Ideally, would Apple like to all the most popular web apps ported over to native apps available in the App Store? Provided they adhere to their guidelines, of course. At the same time, are they ever going to remove Safari from the iPhone and make all developers do native apps? No way. It would be suicide to do so. And Apple must know that.
You cannot remove the safety net just because you think not falling is better than falling.
Instead, Apple will focus on making a platform for developers that allows them to create a better tailored experience for users, provided they follow their rules. We see this with apps like Facebook, Pandora, and a number of Twitter apps. Each is better than their respective web app (well, except that you can’t run Pandora in the background, but that may change — soon). And each are among the most popular apps on the device.
Meanwhile, I’m using Google Voice, Buzz, and Gmail on my phone — I’m just using them through Safari. I thought it would bug me, but it really doesn’t because HTML5 is getting so good.
Is Apple still hypocritical in not allowing some sexy apps but allowing others? Yes. And it’s particularly bad because they initially didn’t allow them, then they did, now they’ve taken them away again. And it’s sad that this is destroying some businesses (no matter what you think of the content). But you still could get this content through the web using Safari. It sucks for the developers that they can’t as easily charge for it, but end users obviously won’t care about that. And those are the people buying iPhones.
The iPhone may be a closed door, but there is a peephole, Safari. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for on the device, you might want to look through it.
By Andrew Liszewski Even though standing in long lines at the airport can quickly suck your soul away, it’s at least a few minutes where you’re not working. Or at least it was a few minutes, because thanks to this rolling luggage trolley that converts into a miniature office, you’ll be expected to spend every free [...]
By Andrew Liszewski
Even though standing in long lines at the airport can quickly suck your soul away, it’s at least a few minutes where you’re not working. Or at least it was a few minutes, because thanks to this rolling luggage trolley that converts into a miniature office, you’ll be expected to spend every free moment you have toiling away.
It weighs about 10 1/2 pounds, but is able to support up to 20 pounds, and has a large enough surface to hold a 17-inch laptop. It folds down small enough to fit in most overhead storage compartments, and will set you back $129.95 from Comfort Home. The only question I have is what exactly is that woman in the product shot sitting on?
Hulu investor Providence Equity Partners is pumping $50 million into a new online video company set up by Chinese Internet search giant Baidu. The news comes roughly 7 weeks after Baidu confirmed plans to established a new independent company to provide licensed, advertising-supported online video content to Chinese Internet users.
Hulu investor Providence Equity Partners is pumping $50 million into a new online video company set up by Chinese Internet search giant Baidu.
The news comes roughly 7 weeks after Baidu confirmed plans to established a new independent company to provide licensed, advertising-supported online video content to Chinese Internet users.
Although it isn’t yet explicitly confirming that the name of the new company will be Qiyi in the press release about the investment, Baidu says it has registered the domain name qiyi.com for the venture.
Reuters broke the news about a possible forthcoming investment by Providence Equity Partners in the new venture on January 5, citing local news sources who reported that the new joint venture company had received about $60 million in private equity funds, with Baidu investing about $10 million into the firm.
If those reports were accurate, that means Qiyi only has Baidu and Providence as its backers for now. Baidu has also said that it will continue to maintain majority ownership in Qiyi.
According to eMarketer, China will have 518 million Internet users in 2010. The size of the country’s online video market was approximately 162 million yuan ($23.73 million) in Q3 2009, according to data from research firm Analysys International, and analysts expect sales to triple in the coming years.
Update: more context on the space is available here (via comments).
Baidu stresses that it will work with regulators to ensure the “lawful distribution” of professionally produced media and entertainment content on the Internet.
Qiyi (www.qiyi.com) is an independent operated video website created by the world’s largest Chinese search engine Baidu Inc(BIDU.O). Qiyi intends to be a high-definition online video platform, offering the latest, the most complete, and most professional high-quality licensed content to users for free.
Under the premise of orientating correct public opinions and strictly executing the government policy and regulation, Qiyi provides diversified licensed video content and launches various channels for hit TV shows, movies, documentaries, cartoons, music, variety shows, etc., to fulfill the increasing needs from the users and to enriches customers’ cultural life.
According to the customer-oriented principle of Baidu, Qiyi aspires to reach the highest satisfaction of customers, and strives for perfection of exclusive content, reasonable products and viewing experience.
Meanwhile, Qiyi will strictly abide by copyright laws and administrative regulations, to take copyright protection measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of copyright holders. Qiyi copyright of all content through legitimate channels such as procurement obtained.
Qiyi adopts meanwhile a series of measures to protect the legal rights of content providers and follows strictly the copyright-related laws and regulations. All videos on Qiyi are from legal channels.
Qiyi makes profit from advertisers on the websites and will also committed to developing other profit models supported by both of the users and the advertisers. The licensed online videos are totally free for internet users.
Qiyi keeps making efforts in the future operations to be the favorite video viewing platform of Chinese internet users’, and meanwhile to spread the advanced socialism culture by undertaking its social responsibility as an outstanding corporate citizen. Qiyi is playing a positive role in developing a harmonious society.
It’s just like Hulu, only with governmental censorship!
When Jason Kincaid tried out the iPhone app online music streaming startup Grooveshark built and showed off in July 2009, he wrote that it was great but that he “wouldn’t expect this to pop up in the App Store any time soon”. He was right on both counts. Grooveshark now says it has given up on its ambitions to get approved for the official App Store, claiming that Apple has been “ritually rejecting” the app for “primary selfish reasons”. We’ve heard that song before. 
When 
Since Facebook started on a college campus, it makes sense that they celebrate kegs. But did you know they actually have a Facebook application dedicated to the keg in their office? And they like to have fun with it. While 
Since Facebook started on a college campus, it makes sense that they celebrate kegs. But did you know they actually have a Facebook application dedicated to the keg in their office? And they like to have fun with it.
Idling in the CrunchGear chatroom the other day, John says to me, that’s John Biggs, he says, “Why don’t you interview that guy from 
Remember that whole porn crackdown that nobody cares about anymore? Wonder why it happened? It wasn’t the money. It wasn’t hypocritical. It wasn’t about defending the rights of women to browse the app store unflustered. It was about image. Here’s 
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber wrote what I thought was 
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber wrote what I thought was 
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