June 10, 2010 Posted by alan jones

You’d like to sell digital content? First, print and sign these contracts

You want to sell music, TV, movies or apps on iTunes Store? First you apply for an iTunes publisher account, and when you’re accepted, the manual labour begins. You might have thought you were entering a Brave New World of media as digital bits, but for now, it’s back to the Stone Age for you. Apple asks you to print out and sign a 70 page contract, in duplicate, for each geographic market... read more

May 23, 2010 Posted by alan jones

In defence of the iPad I don’t yet have

I’m still waiting for my iPad 3G and another iPad (just wifi) for Boy8 and MrsBigyahu. I’ve used several; I get it, they’re going to be huge. While I wait, I’m frustrated by friends complaining that they “don’t want a huge iPhone, without the phone” or “won’t be getting one because it doesn’t have a camera.” You’re not getting... read more

April 15, 2010 Posted by alan jones

No less than five completely unhelpful options from iCal

Just a small post but here it is: 1,233,522 seconds? 1,233,522 seconds? WTF? Quick, in your head, how many hours is 1,233,522 seconds? Anybody? I didn’t think so. I’ve seen iCal do some stupid things before but this about takes the cake. What’s worse is I don’t know what I did to deserve this or what I need to do to get my hourly reminders back. For Pete’s sake. Hey, Apple?... read more

November 18, 2009 Posted by alan jones

I don’t want more iPhone apps, I want better iPhone apps

Fred Wilson writes in The Power of Instant Approval that Apple is risking its lead in the smartphone app market by forcing app developers to wait on approval from Apple before publishing their apps on iTunes Store. It’s a growing industry concern — does Apple risk being overtaken by competitors? I think Apple understands the consumer relationship better than any competitor in the smartphone market... read more

June 24, 2009 Posted by alan jones

Presentation: how the iPhone changed my life

I’ll be presenting this short talk at an Optus event, hAPPlication, in Sydney, all about launching the iPhone GS and iPhone 3.0 to Optus customers and press. It’s 2:48am now and the event is happening this evening (oh my! I must go get some sleep now) but here’s the presentation… How the iPhone Changed My Life View more PDF documents from Alan Jones. And here’s the... read more

March 17, 2009 Posted by alan jones

iTunes 8.1 update fulfills my desire for “social music”

“With iTunes DJ, iPhone users that have Apple’s Remote application installed can request songs to be played. Users can also vote to control when songs are played. The DJ feature even has its own preferences, so you can send a welcome message to users and control whether voting is turned on or off. You can also require users to type in a password to access iTunes DJ’s features.”... read more

November 10, 2008 Posted by alan jones

HTC’s Android handset: the little droid that can’t

I’ve got no mobile clients at the moment but I’m a mobile geek so I’ve been watching with great interest to see what the market makes of the first handset to ship with Google’s Android mobile OS. I’m not surprised that it’s gotten a rave review by people who like to overclock their PC and a ho-hum review from people who just want something as easy to use as the iPhone... read more

September 4, 2008 Posted by alan

iPhone App-onomics and prospecting for gold

Thirty minutes after installing 2.01 on my iPhone 2G I had purchased and downloaded 21 new iPhone apps. The whole experience – from finding to buying to downloading and installing – was so quick and easy that my credit card barely warmed up as the money drained away. I had to force myself to stop before I blew it. It was clear there was going to be quite a market for iPhone apps. Later, I was... read more

March 26, 2008 Posted by alan

iTunes: when labels lose the plot

iTunes: when labels lose the plotOriginally uploaded by thatjonesboy It’s tough managing rights and markets and content on the interweb. The interweb aggregates so well that all your whack geographical or distribution-focused pricing policies, never intended to be seen together in the one place, may suddenly collide, such as in this case with a Phoenix album available for both $10.99 and $17.99... read more

February 21, 2008 Posted by alan

iTunes and iPhone and movie rentals: Awesomenicity!

iTunes and iPhone and movie rentals: Awesomenicity! Originally uploaded by thatjonesboy. Is "awesomenicity" a real word? It is now – now that I have a 16Gb iPhone and I can fit all my contacts, all my calendar, all the music I need, a selection of my best photos… and a MOVIE i rented from iTunes Store in ONE CLICK! There’s only two people on this earth who could make me take the... read more