Archive for June 3rd, 2014

Apple WWDC 2014 Keynote

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014

Obviously this post is a day late, as Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off yesterday, but because my hosting provider (GoDaddy) was down yesterday, both my domain and blog were unavailable… 🙁 Also, I have not been too happy with the speed of my site lately (especially last night LoL), so I got in touch with GoDaddy today and decided to make some changes to my hosting plan. That means that my domain(s) will be unavailable for a day or so from tomorrow around noon, just so you know. 🙂

So much for website practicalities…As an Apple fanboy and geek interested in tech news, I did not miss Tim Cook’s Keynote speech yesterday, kicking off Apple’s yearly Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

There was no news on any new iPhone, iWatch, Apple TV, or any other hardware goodies; this Keynote speech was all about software and it was a LOT! Very interesting to see that Mac OS X and iOS are closing in on each other providing some extremely useful features for those using Mac computers *and* iDevices! 🙂

  • Mac OS X 10.10 preview. The follow-up to Mavericks will be called Yosemite and will be released (for free!) this fall. The highlights: OS X redesigned and refined with a fresh modern translucent look, clearer controls that are smarter and easier to understand streamlined toolbars that put the focus on your content without compromising functionality, enhanced apps such as Safari, Mail and Messages. For instance in Mail: Markup allows you to quickly fill out and sign forms and even annotate images and PDFs from within the application, Mail Drop allows you to easily send large videos, images or files up to 5GB (!). Notification Center will be improved and will have widgets support, Spotlight on steroids; an ‘in your face’ search box which provides more than just local results, the web based results on keywords seem to be a first take on Google, dismissing them as the default search method. iCloud Drive is a seamless integration of cloud storage in OS X and iOS which might make me use DropBox only for sharing with non-Apple friends (there are less and less of those as many are switching 🙂 ) and it might even lower my use of BitTorrent Sync as that one is a tad techy and by far not well integrated in iOS. ‘Continuity’ is making Mac and iOS devices even better companions. Handoff especially is nifty; when your iPhone or iPad is near your Mac, it lets you start an activity on one device and pass it to the other (start writing an email on your iPhone and finish it on your Mac for instance(. Instant Hotspot makes using your iPhone’s hotspot as easy as connecting to a Wi-Fi network, and…*both* SMS and MMS messages that previously only appeared on your iPhone will appear in Messages on all your devices. You can even send SMS or MMS messages directly from your Mac and make or receive iPhone calls using your Mac as a speakerphone!
  • iOS 8 is set to be the biggest iOS release since the launch of the App Store, and delivers a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience. Highlights: iCloud Photo Library which will allow you to enjoy your photos and videos more easily across your devices; new Messages features to easily share voice, video or photos with just a swipe; and an entirely new Health app that gives you a clear overview of your health and fitness data all in one place. Predictive typing for Apple’s QuickType keyboard, Family Sharing, the easiest way to share purchases, photos and calendars within the same household, and iCloud Drive as mentioned above in OS X Yosemite, a super easy way tostore files and access them from anywhere
  • iOS 8 SDK with over 4,000 new APIs for developers, bringing the biggest release since the origination of the App Store and giving developers the ability to create amazing new apps like never before. iOS 8 allows developers to further customize the user experience with major extensibility features like Notification Center widgets and third-party keyboards; and introduces robust frameworks such as HealthKit and HomeKit. iOS 8 also includes Metal, a new graphics technology that maximizes the performance of the A7 chip and Swift, a powerful new programming language.

 

If you dare, check out the complete Keynote speech video, if you are less of a crazy geek, the 10 minute summary below will give you a nice overview. 🙂

 

QOTD June 3 2014

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014

Howard Thurman: “Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive… then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”