Apple posts iOS 5 Beta; developer site a bit overwhelmed

Apple posted its first beta version of its new iOS 5 software for developers to work with. Unfortunately, the developer site has been overwhelmed and is not performing as it should.

Developers would probably be wise to wait a few hours before trying to access the site.

Once you get there, however, you will be required to sign a new agreement (assuming you haven't done so already) before downloading the beta. Needless to say, only developers who are registered with Apple and have paid the $99 per year fee will be able to access the beta.

In addition to the ten new features highlighted in the keynote presentation this morning the beta will also reveal more new features, some of which were hinted at in the keynote: AirPlay mirroring, a new iPad music app, a personal dictionary, endless prosperity (OK, we made up that last one).

As an Apple developer I had no luck making it all the way through the Apple developer site due to the glitchy performance so I can not update media app developers about the beta at this time, so best of luck downloading the beta.

Will 'Newsstand' only include media apps that use Apple's in-app subscription service? new feature part of iOS 5

One of the new features inside iOS 5 that was announced today by Apple was Newsstand, a bookshelf-like place within the App Store where readers can get find their favorite publications – assuming they are part of the App Store.

Newsstand is a beautiful, easy-to-organize bookshelf displaying the covers of all your newspaper and magazine subscriptions in one place. A new section of the App Store™ features just subscription titles, and allows users to quickly find the most popular newspapers and magazines in the world. If subscribed to, new issues appear in the Newsstand and are updated automatically in the background so you always have the latest issue and the most recent cover art. – Apple Press Release

Based on this description, it would appear that those apps that don't take advantage of the in-app subscription process might be excluded. But Apple has not announced much about the new features and it is possible that this might simply be an extension of the App Store itself, simply another way to feature newspapers and magazines.

TNM has been consistent in calling Apple out for not curating its news app portfolio in a more logical way – both to help readers find periodicals and to assist media companies get their apps in front of readers. In the past the App Store has had a promotional area called Newsstand, but no real formal, permanent place for daily newspapers and monthly magazines.

The new beta of iOS 5 is being released today, so it is only a matter of time before developers get a handle on all the new features inside the latest version of Apple's mobile OS, and with the public release not until the fall, there is still time for rules for Newsstand to be worked out.

"iOS 5 has some great new features, such as Notification Center, iMessage and Newsstand and we can’t wait to see what our developers do with its 1,500 new APIs,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO in one of the company's rare press releases. “Perhaps iOS 5’s paramount feature is that it’s built to seamlessly work with iCloud in the Post PC revolution that Apple is leading.”

Note: this post on the WSJ website is a rather snarky take on the new Newsstand feature, while this one from Peter Kafka dismisses Apple's new iCloud Match service. Maybe Apple should pull the app for The Daily and tell News Corp. call RIM the next time they want to launch an app.

Apple lays outs its new software offerings for developers at WWDC opening event; free iCloud service introduced

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, along with key Apple executives today introduced major new software updates for Mac operating system, as well as its mobile iOS. In addition, Apple took the wraps off its new iCloud system.

Received like the rock star he has become, Steve Jobs kicked off Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference at Moscone Center by letting participants know that today's event would be all about software. Phil Schiller, SVP WW Product Marketing, and Craig Federighi, VP OS X Software, kicked things off with a tour of Lion, Apple's latest version of the Mac OS.

According to the presentation, the newest version of the Mac OS X will contain 250 new features, ten of which were demoed at today's event:

1) multitouch gestures available through your Mac's trackpad, or track pad accessory; 2) Full screen apps; 3) Mission Control, retake on Expose; 4) updates to the Mac App Store bringing it right into Lion; 5) Launchpad, a way of allowing users to quickly access and launch apps; 6) Resume, a way from programs to relaunch where the user left off before quitting; 7) Auto Save controls; 8) Versions, a sort of Time Machine for documents where users can retrieve previous versions of their work; 9) Air Drop, a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi-based network, essentially Dropbox built into the Mac OS; 10) and finally, a new version of Mail, Apple's email management app that adds a "Conversations" view.

(The "Versions" feature could be very useful for reporters and editors who need to write drafts of stories on the fly and will need to archive past versions.)

The new OS will only costs users $29.99 and will be available exclusively through the Mac App Store, eliminating the ol' CD way of installing upgraded OS's. The launch dates for Lion is sometime in July.

During the preview of iOS 5, Steve Jobs mentioned that so far the company has sold more than 25 million iPads. Though this number is impressive, it may be below many sales estimates, including my own.

Steve Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone Software, walked developers through ten of the more than 200 updates to the Apple mobile operating system:

1) Notifications will be getting an updates UI through Notification Center that will let users access their notifications instantly and from any place without being disruptive; 2) Newsstand, a single place in the App Store that combines newspapers and magazines that allows for background loading of content; 3) Twitter integration into apps, though this may depth of integration may prove less than what many anticipated; 4) a new version of mobile Safari (sorry, still no Flash) that includes Safari Reader, a sort of built-in Instapaper/Read It Later, as well as a tabbed experience similar to the desktop version; 5) Reminders, a list generation feature for such things as grocery lists; 6) Camera updates that will now allow users to use volume up button to take pictures, as well as other in-app enhancements like grid lines for composing shots, built-in editing, and photo enhancements; 7) Mail will get an update that includes search and composition aid features, as well as a built-in dictionary that all apps will now be able to access; 8) PC Free, freeing up iOS devices from having to sync through their computers, a much requested features from those who are using their mobile devices in lieu of a home PC; 9) Game Center, which now has 50 million users, will get an update; and 10) iMessage, a new messaging system between iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod touch) which works on both 3G and WiFi and which will include deliver and read receipts – essentially BlackBerry Messenger for iOS devices.

Other features mentioned by not demoed include wireless AirPlay mirroring and WiFi syncing through iTunes. The developer "seed" will be available immediately and the ship dates is the fall, probably in line with the newest version of the iPhone.

One recurrent theme of the presentation was that Apple is adding features to its iOS that many developers have created apps for in the past – such as reading features, Reminders or the new camera features. Many developers won't happy that they are being edged out by Apple, but it is inevitable that Apple would want to incorporate popular features directly into its iOS platform.

Steve Jobs reserved the introduction of iCloud for himself. As Jobs described it, the problem solved by iCloud is syncing media such as music and photos between devices.

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Collectrium releases separate English and Dutch language apps for Amstel Gallery

Part two of two: dealing with multiple language requirements in tablet publishing. Here the developer has created separate apps.

While embedding different content for different audiences, such as English for the U.S. market and French for the French market, is an option for some publishers and developers, the other option is simply to launch separate apps for each market. This is the approach Collectrium has taken with its apps for the Amstel Gallery.

Collectrium is a New York-based company founded in 2009 by Boris Pevzner. The company has over a dozen mobile apps in the App Store, many of them universal apps that can be used on the iPad, as well.

Each is for a different gallery or art fair, such as SF Fine Art, or Olympia LIAF for the London International Fine Art Fair.

This weekend a couple of new apps launched for the Amstel Gallery:

Amstel Gallery Features established and emerging artists from The Netherlands, Belgium, UK and USA. We participate in international art fairs and in addition to our regular exhibition schedule, we host and organize special exhibitions in combination with the fashion world.

Amstel Gallery offers high-end contemporary art, that is accessible, affordable to all and defined by a great versatility. – from the app description.

One app is called aandeamstel (Aan de Amstel), and is the Dutch language equivalent of the English language app Amstel Gallery – both apps can be found in the U.S. Apple App Store.

Both apps are identical other than their languages. Both require you to create or sign into an account – a mechanism that would work very well for B2B apps, as well.

If there is a problem with the apps it is simply with the content itself. The artwork is presented in such a low resolution that it is difficult to actually judge the work presented. It appears that the artwork was probably scanned or photographed for presentation on mobile phone displays, but this simply doesn't work on the iPad's display.

None of Collectrium's other apps takes the approach of separate apps for separate languages. It is rather strange that the first one would be for an Amsterdam-based gallery since the Dutch are known as excellent speakers of English (one of the joys of visiting The Netherlands).

AA Mag tries to tackle the issue of languages with separate apps for different App Stores with mixed results

Part one of two: dealing with multiple language requirements in tablet publishing. Here the developer created one app with two languages.

It's a difficult question for a developer to answer: how do you deal with reaching readers using different languages? with different content within the same app, or with separate apps?

AA Mag, the digital magazine for the animation business in France does it with one app with the option to have delivered the English or French content. Designed by Alter Ego Medias, and developed by Onde M, both from Annecy, France, the app is free to download, and the content is free, as well.

(Annecy is in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France, and is the home of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Market, which is the subject of the digital magazine app.)

The language choice is to be found on the opening page of the app, but is, unfortunately, hidden from view unless one taps the screen. This design flaw is somewhat mitigated by the screenshot shown in the app description. Nonetheless, this should be visible right up from, otherwise readers may find themselves at a loss. (English is the default setting, so it is the French who are at a disadvantage.)

Of course, while the content can change to deliver the right language experience, the app's internal navigation commands should, as well. This is where this particular app falls down a bit. Navigating the library, or kiosk as it is called here, can be a bit difficult if you encounter the wrong language.

The digital magazine itself is delivered in small doses, 36 pages an issue, and the first issue was around 50MB, if I recall.

The navigation between pages is interesting: one swipes between pages but rather than seeing the pages move across the screen the pages instead pop in and out. It a bit of a different approach which I found a bit disconcerting, but I guess one could get used to this way of doing it.

Morning Brief: US accused by Canadian court of being enforcer for tech giant; Apple's WWDC kicks off today

A British Columbia Supreme Court judge accused Cisco and U.S. prosecutors of deceiving Canadian authorities in actions that led to the arrest of a whistleblower.

Justice Ronald McKinnon ruled that Peter Adekeye, a British computer entrepreneur and former for Cisco Systems employee will not be extradited following his arrest in Vancouver. According to the Vancouver Sun, Adekeye was arrested while testifying on May 20, 2010 before an American court hearing at the Wedgewood Hotel. He was arrested for supposedly not testifying, leading the Canadian judge to equate Adekeye's ordeal as something out of Jeosph Heller's novel Catch 22.

Adekeye was arrested after Canadian officials received information from U.S. authorities. Almost nothing in the U.S. attorney's letter was true," Adekeye's lawyer Marilyn Sandford said last week. But Canadian Justice Department lawyers argued that U.S. actions in the case were irrelevant, but in the end the judge disagreed stating that Adekeye's arrest was "shocking" and that "it is simply not done in a civilized jurisdiction that is bound by the rule of law."

Adekeye is suing Cisco over the issue of forced software updates and maintenance contracts, according to the Sun article.

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Apple CEO will be kicking off the Worldwide Developer Conference at 1pm EDT today by introducing the newest Mac OS, named Lion, as well a new version of its mobile and tablet operating system, iOS 5, and iCloud.

Meanwhile, Apple opened its seventh retail outlet in France, this one in Lyon located in the Lyon Part-Dieu shopping center. As usual large crowds gathered prior to the opening and press showed up to cover the event.

Videos uploaded to YouTube show long lines of customers in line waiting for the opening. In fact, lines extended from inside the shopping center clear out side into the rain that fell on the summer morning.

Apple employees were shown being applauded like rock stars as they showed up for work before the opening.

The new store follows the same design as all Apple Stores and uses iPads to provide information on products displayed in the store.