January 2008 Archives

The 1.1.3 iPhone and iPod touch update includes a new feature called WebClip that allows users to save a graphical bookmark on their home screens. Tapping an icon on the home screen is a lot faster than loading Safari and browsing through a hierarchy of bookmarks!

One great thing about WebClips is that they can be added to web sites with very little effort. Simply create a 57x57 pixel graphic with your logo and upload it to your web server (you can optionally override the location and filename by adding a link element to the head element of your web page). More details can be found on the iPhone Dev Center web site.

Go ahead and give it a shot! Start Safari on your iPhone/touch, tap the '+' icon on the bottom of the screen, tap 'Add to Home Screen', tap the 'Add' button. Done!

The iPhone software version 1.1.3 that Apple released last week after the keynote address is one of the largest updates to date. Not only does it fix bugs, it also adds new features! Is there anything more exciting to iPhone users (and blog authors) than an update that includes new features? I think not. Which new features made it in to the release, what has been fixed, does it break third party applications, does it brick hacked phones?

Updates that appear in this release include:

Many questions have been raised concerning the Apple TV, a product Steve Jobs described as a "hobby" at the All Things Digital conference. Jobs continued to explain "A lot of people have tried and failed to make that a business". This was viewed by many as a hint to the likely demise of the much admired product.

Recently rumors have started to emerge that suggest a strong future for the Apple TV. At the top of the list is movie rentals. AppleInsider posted recently confirmed details about $2-6 movie rentals coming to iTunes 7.6 at Macworld. It seems logical that you would also be able to stream, sync, or purchase the same movies from your Apple TV. Rentals of inexpensive, new release, DVD quality movies would surely help sell Apple TV's.

I have never been one to establish new year's resolutions, but that might be what is needed to get me writing more frequently. What is the problem you ask? Well, it all boils down to the goals I set for myself when starting AppleHound.

The most difficult goal was to make a concerted effort to post unique content. The world does not need another copy and paste Apple news blog. This was surprisingly easy at first thanks to the iPhone, but became more difficult during slow news days/weeks/months. Also, it takes a lot more time to create posts that are not a simple rehash of the days news. I am not going to abandon this goal entirely but will bend it a little more this year.

So my resolution this year is to create a blogging schedule and post on a wider range of subjects. I may also pursue individuals who have shown an interest in contributing to AppleHound.

We thank you for visiting AppleHound, and wish you a wonderful 2008!

iPhone Confetti Wallpaper: