Filed under: Software
TechCrunch, among other news outlets, reports that Adobe is cutting 680 employees as part of a restructuring plan. This is roughly 9 percent of the company’s workforce. The news comes on the heels of Electronic Arts’ decision to layoff 1,500 workers and a reduction of 600 from Adobe back in December. Adobe had purchased Omniture in September and reduced its workforce by 9 percent at that time.
The cost of restructuring for Adobe will total between $65 and $71 million, the TechCrunch article says.
The layoffs come just after Adobe announced that Flash Professional CS5 will be able to turn Flash projects into iPhone apps. The company has also recently released a version of its Photoshop.com Mobile app for the iPhone [iTunes link].
TUAWAdobe layoffs strike home, 680 to lose jobs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: iTS, Software, Freeware, iTunes, Deals, Music
We posted about Doubletwist earlier this year — it’s a pretty innovative music app (developed in part by Jon Lech Johansen, otherwise known as DVD Jon) that not only plays you play whatever you like, obviously, but even lets you share and send music off to anyone, even other people who don’t have the app itself. Now Doubletwist is stepping up even more closely to becoming an iTunes competitor: they’ve announced a partnership with the Amazon music store to sell music directly from within the app. No TVs or movies — just music, purchased directly within the app, and then able to be sent out to any devices or social networks as usual.
TechCrunch says the store’s simplicity is actually a selling point — iTunes has ballooned up to do way more than just sell music, and in Doubletwist it’s much more straightforward. Here’s the other bonus for Mac users: while we originally had to wait for an app release, the music store is currently only available on the Mac version of the software. A PC version is coming soon.
It’s doubtful Doubletwist will replace iTunes for many people, given all of the various things iTunes does for a Mac user. But then again, if you are using the Amazon MP3 store with any frequency, Doubletwist is probably worth a look: it’s a free download on the website.
Doubletwist introduces in-app music store powered by Amazon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Doubletwist introduces in-app music store powered by Amazon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Wireless, Bad Apple, iPhone, App Store
In the wake of TJ Luoma’s report earlier tonight that the two independent Google Voice applications have been removed from the App Store, Jason Kincaid at TechCrunch says that the official Google Voice app has also been given the shaft. He theorizes that, despite the official Apple line that the apps “duplicate features that come with the iPhone,” the real reason the apps were removed was because of squawking from AT&T.
While TechCrunch doesn’t offer any definitive proof that AT&T is behind the Google Voice blockage, they do cite GV Mobile developer Sean Kovacs’ point that Phil Schiller himself, who you may remember from Apple events like Macworld ‘09 and WWDC, personally approved the GV Mobile app last April. In fact, Kovacs says that Schiller called him to apologize for the delays in getting the app approved.
Given that high-level support for the app, it’s not hard to follow TechCrunch’s logic and set sights on AT&T when looking for reasons for its removal. While few people would argue that Apple’s app approval process is pretty broken right now, it’s hard to believe that an application that was approved by Apple’s VP of marketing was somehow magically unapproved because it “duplicates functionality.”
As TJ said in his post, it’s difficult to believe that Apple truly thinks users will be confused by an application that does the same thing as the built-in Phone app when they went out of their way to purchase and download it. Even setting that aside, it’s not at all clear exactly what functionality is supposedly being duplicated. If it’s the dialer, then that’s a poor excuse; lots of other approved apps include dialers, including Skype. If it’s the SMS functionality, again, poor excuse, as other apps provide SMS functionality as well.
It’s true that Google Voice isn’t necessarily as “scary” to AT&T as a true VoIP app like Skype, but some of the Google Voice functions that TechCrunch describes, like free SMS messages and cheaper long distance, certainly do sound like something that would rattle AT&T’s cage.
Take into consideration that Skype was approved because it will only work over Wi-Fi, even though there’s no technical reason it shouldn’t run over 3G. Look at how crippled SlingPlayer is compared to the same app on other phones. Now, Google Voice is dead in the water on the iPhone. What we have is a very clear and disturbing pattern. Applications that provide innovative solutions to users, but which fall outside the bounds of what a traditionally-minded telecommunications company like AT&T considers acceptable, are being either hobbled by arbitrary restrictions like Skype and Sling or blasted out of existence like Google Voice.
Whether it’s Apple’s fault or AT&T’s, it’s getting tiresome to see innovative applications like Skype or Google Voice constantly kicked to the curb or kneecapped. Are we headed for an App Store with nothing in it except fart apps? Those, at the very least, don’t duplicate any built-in iPhone functionality that I’ve heard of.
One more thing: who else thinks it’s ironic that a company started by a couple of guys who spent lots of time phone phreaking in a garage in the 1970s now kowtows to AT&T and kills apps that help people make cheaper calls?
TUAWIs AT&T behind the rejection and removal of Google Voice apps? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Audio, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review
In our discussions of radio apps for the iPhone we’ve briefly mentioned Stitcher, a great app for accessing a wide variety of audio programs on the go. In fact, Stitcher has been kind enough to add our TUAW Talkcast in the app and on their site (where you can stream via your browser). Stitcher is currently available for the iPhone and several of the latest BlackBerry models, although the Storm version is still pending. I’ve been using Stitcher 2 for a while, and if you’re a news junkie, you will be pleased.
Check the gallery for a screen-by-screen analysis, but here are some winning points for Stitcher:
- A large library of podcasts. Why listen via Stitcher? Well, you can get them on the go and you don’t have to download them.
- A library of headlines — posts read aloud from sites like TechCrunch and Macworld. It might seem silly to some, but for commuters it’s a great way to hear what your favorite sites are writing about.
- Even more content from people like NPR, MSNBC, Fox News, Slate, CNN, The Onion and many others.
- A “station” model like Pandora. The idea is to “stitch” together a station of the stuff you like. Maybe you like a little offbeat humor, a little financial news and then wind down with Engadget headlines. Stitcher can do that.
- Stitcher is also pretty good at recommending content, so it becomes a discovery tool (again, like Pandora). The pre-configured stations are excellent and grouped around content. One of note: Short Attention Span — all shows are under 3 minutes.
- You can choose to enable an account with Stitcher, providing a connected experience from the web to your iPhone.
- The app itself has a history feature (handy and underrated), an excellent search function and a way to favorite stations.
- Since Stitcher has a web presence, you’re also able to get alerts via email or SMS when fresh content arrives. You can set this for any station or broadcast.
Stitcher [iTunes link] is free, setting up an account is free, and all the content is free, so you won’t lose anything by trying it out. While you do, be sure to check out the TUAW Talkcast on Stitcher and Engadget’s headlines.
Gallery: Stitcher 2.0
TUAWStitcher 2.0, now with 100% more TUAW originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 May 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Rumors, Internet, Apple
TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington is reporting that rumors beginning to float around the blogosphere are stating that Apple is interested in purchasing Twitter for US$700 million in cash. Twitter, in case you’ve been off of the planet for the last two years, is the magical “social networking” tool that has you answer the question “What am I doing right now?” in 140 characters or less.
Twitter currently has more than 25 million users, and it is rumored that growth has been exploding since Oprah blessed the service with her presence in mid-April. However, despite the size and growth potential of Twitter, there’s simply no compelling reason for Apple to spend part of its huge cash reserves to purchase the company.
Google recently tried to purchase Twitter, but was turned down by Twitter’s CEO Evan Williams. Today’s rumor comes from a “normally reliable source” who told Arrington that “Apple is in late-stage negotiations to buy Twitter and is hoping to announce it at WWDC in June.”
Despite the popularity of Twitter, the service hasn’t figured out a way to make a profit, and is strictly powered by venture capital at this point. Can any TUAW readers think of a reason why Apple should buy Twitter? Leave us a comment!
TUAWRumor Watch: Apple to buy Twitter originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 05 May 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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