ExtraBITS for 13 June 2011
News surrounding Apple dominated our extracurricular reading this week, along with Adam’s WWDC-related appearance on the Tech Night Owl Live and a wiki tracking Mac OS X Lion application compatibility. Apple continues to stand up for iOS developers against Lodsys, and the company backed down on its excessive in-app subscription requirements. On the video side, be sure to see Steve Jobs’s presentation about Apple’s proposed new campus in Cupertino, complete with a futuristic headquarters.
Adam Discusses WWDC Announcements on Tech Night Owl Live — Still pondering what all of Apple’s WWDC announcements mean, or at least what we think they mean given what we know before Apple actually releases Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, and iCloud? Listen in on Adam’s discussion with host Gene Steinberg on this week’s Tech Night Owl Live podcast.
Apple Moves to Intervene in Lodsys Patent Lawsuit — Over at Macworld, Lex Friedman reports on the latest in the ongoing Lodsys patent soap opera. At the end of May, Lodsys filed suit against seven developers, not including Apple, but Apple has now filed a motion to intervene in Lodsys’s lawsuit as a defendant. It seems clear that Apple is not about to let Mac and iOS developers swing in the breeze, and plans to use its legal might to ensure that developers remain confident that building on top of Apple platforms won’t expose them to patent lawsuits.
Apple Changes In-App Subscription Rules — An upcoming change in the App Store terms of service means that Apple won’t require publishers to offer in-app subscriptions to periodicals at the same or better price than are available elsewhere. As of 30 June 2011, publishers may charge any rate for a subscription in an app, or not offer subscriptions via in-app purchase at all. However, they still cannot provide a link to buy a subscription outside the app.
Lion Application Compatibility Wiki — RoaringApps is maintaining a wiki listing hundreds of Mac applications and what is currently known about their compatibility with Lion. Anyone can add entries to the list or modify existing information. Although the information is preliminary (and not all of it comes from official sources), it can serve as a useful guide for people preparing their disks for an upgrade to Lion next month.
Apple Wants to Build Circular ‘Spaceship’ Campus — If you think Apple’s design prowess is limited to its gadgets, here’s something to wrap your head around — 360 degrees of Apple architecture. In a presentation to the Cupertino City Council, Apple CEO Steve Jobs outlined plans for a circular headquarters that would house 12,000 employees and turn a large section of industrial office park into a new green campus.