Category: Software

There’s no doubt that cloud computing is a growing trend. All you have to look at is the popularity of netbooks to see that many people nowadays will be quite happy with a computing device that gives them access to the web, and not much else.

I’m certainly part of this trend, as I write this story I have the following web-based applications open on my Mac:

• Twitter
• Google Reader
• Evernote
• Google Calendar
• Remember The Milk
• Gmail
• Facebook
• WordPress
• Socialcast
• Lexulous

What surprises me isn’t how many web apps I’m accessing, but how few native Mac applications I am using to access these services. I am using Tweetie to access Twitter, Evernote has it’s own native Mac application and I use BusyCal to access Google Calendar. Apart from that, all of these web services are being accessed either via Safari (Facebook and Lexulous), or via Site Specific Browsers (SSBs), which means I’m using the naked, if you will, web interface for the application.

Two years ago I never would have done this. I actually wrote a whole blog post, on a now defunct blog, about how I eschewed web-based applications in favor of native Mac apps because I wanted a Mac-like experience. As such I used Mail.app to get my email, NetNewsWire for RSS feeds, Omni Focus for tasks, etc. Nowadays I use web-based apps for all those functions.

There were several factors that led me to this place. First of all web based apps have become better in terms of user experience, in some cases even exceeding, in my opinion, the user experience of the native Mac alternative, for example Gmail versus Mail. Although Google’s web apps aren’t particularly pretty, they are well thought out, and some other web apps are almost elegant, like Remember the Milk.

The iPhone has also been a driving force towards web-based applications because they are more likely to offer the ability to easily synchronize over the air. For example, I would love to use Things as my main task manager, but the simple reality is that I never remember to go through the rigamarole of synchronizing via Wi-Fi. If I can’t sync over the air with my iPhone, then I don’t want to use it on my Mac.

Probably the most important driving force, however, has been features. Google Reader is an excellent example of this. I recently went over several native Google Reader clients for the Mac, but despite this range of choices, I’m still using a site specific browser to access Google Reader. Why? Because none of these applications offer the feature set that the actual website does, and I actually use all of those features. I’ve faced similar problems with native Mac apps that purport to give you access to Facebook or WordPress.

The reality is that many web applications have reached the point of complexity that building a third-party client for them becomes very difficult, especially on the desktop where users will demand feature parity, or something close to it. Unless a company is building their own client, such as Evernote, or the service is exceedingly simple, such as Twitter, desktop clients are constantly going to be playing a losing game of catchup.

What all this means for users like myself is that more and more of my computing experience is moving away from the Mac and to the web (subscription required). I love the Mac, I love the combination of stability, elegance, ease of use and power Apple’s computers offer me, but I have to admit that I’m taking less advantage of the platform than I have in the past, and unless something drastic changes, that trend is only going to continue.

Apple doesn’t seem to be making aggressive moves towards building better support for web applications into the operating system, and this may be a dangerous mistake. Someday in the not to distant future something approaching 100 percent of the average user’s computing is going to move online, and when that happens Apple may find itself flat footed in a new world, and I may find myself looking for a computing platform better suited for my actual use.

Ten days after updating the Apple TV’s software to version 3.0, Apple has released version 3.0.1 along with an alarming warning about users’ content “temporarily” disappearing.

From the uninformative and unintentionally hilarious support document, if you are running Apple TV 3.0 and “all of your movies, TV shows, and songs appear to be missing” or “all of your movies, TV shows, and songs appear to be present,” you should update to version 3.0.1 immediately.

In a letter to unlucky Apple TV users, the Apple TV team (at least those that still have jobs) gave instructions for updating.

1. Reboot your Apple TV (unplug the power cord and plug it back in)
2. Select Settings > General from the main menu
3. Select Update Software
4. Select Download and Install

After a restart, the problem of disappearing content should be solved. That’s the good news. The bad news is there are still a number of problems with the 3.x software.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Apple 2.0 beat me to the Apple Support Forum and found 10,000 page views for the missing content discussion, as well as continuing complaints after updating to the latest version. Reported problems include the Apple TV no longer syncing with iTunes, surround sound problems, new purchases not showing up, as well as performance issues.

It appears Apple’s “hobby,” as the Apple TV has been described by company executives, could use a little more developer attention, not to mention a purpose besides being an iTunes Store kiosk.

Once upon a time, iTunes did exactly what it sounded like it should do: play music. It was the digital jukebox for your mac, Rip, Mix, Burn, remember that?

Looking at the sidebar in iTunes now, I’ve got Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, iTunes U, Audiobooks, Applications, and Radio, and that’s just the main library. Next is the iTunes Store and a “Purchased” smart list, the Genius feature, iTunes DJ and (finally) my custom Smart Playlists. That’s a lot to pack into one application, especially considering that many of the features have nothing to do with each other. There are very few times when I’m wanting to watch a movie that I care to look through my music collection. Music and video are two different functions, and in my opinion, deserve two different apps.

Actually, I’d like to see Apple release an entire “iApps Suite,” separating out audio, video, and applications. Strip Movies and TV Shows out of iTunes and integrate them into a new “iVideo” app, or something similarly named. Hide the video content from the iTunes store in iTunes and create a link for an iVideo store inside the new video app.

Similarly, I’d like to see Apple break out the App Store into it’s own dedicated application. Leave the functionality exactly as it is now and simply move it into its own app. There are many times that I’ve got iTunes open, most of the time just to listen to music, and have no interest whatsoever in my collection of apps.

Maybe my desire for Apple to break apart iTunes is because of my background in Unix, and the Unix philosophy for writing applications that “do one thing, and do it very well.” Or, maybe it’s because the direction iTunes has taken doesn’t seem very “Mac like.” Take the bundled applications for example. Mail, iCal, and Address Book are very often lumped together in the same app. Thunderbird (with the lightning extension) does this, as do Outlook and Lotus Notes. Apple sees sending and receiving mail, calendaring, and storing information about contacts as three separate functions, and wrote three separate apps to handle it. The iLife suite is another great example of separating applications that do different things. iPhoto ties into iWeb, Garageband, iMovie, and iDVD, but they are still separate apps for separate purposes.

I thought for a while that audio, video, and apps were all lumped together in iTunes to make it easier to sync to iPods and iPhones. But, iCal, Address Book, and iPhoto have no problem syncing their data. iPhoto will, by default, open when you plug-in an iPod touch or an iPhone, but Address Book and iCal sync silently, if configured to do so in iTunes. If iTunes were to be separated into different apps, perhaps the iSync utilities role could be expanded to handle what is synced where. That almost sounds like the job of a system preference to me.

Now I think that the three functions of iTunes are tied together because of the iTunes store. Since Apple used the same distribution model that had been successful with music for movies and TV shows, adding the functionality to iTunes and the iTunes Store offered the path of least resistance. Similarly, when it needed to build another store for applications, Apple built it on top of what was already successful.

I don’t see Apple changing directions with iTunes any time soon. If it were to create three apps out of the one iTunes, it would have to create them for Windows as well. I don’t have access to the source code, but knowing what I do about programming and development, I can’t imagine that would be an easy task. Perhaps this is a third-party opportunity for some ambitious indie devs out there? Or, maybe, just maybe, if we get the right people’s attention, a conversation might start that leads to some real change.

Security firm Symantec is warning computer users about a new Mac-specific Trojan that deletes files on the user’s hard drive, according to Techworld.com. It has dubbed the piece of malware “OSX.Loosemaque,” and uploaded a YouTube video of how it goes about its nefarious purpose.

Basically, it’s a Space Invader clone wherein when you kill an alien, a file in your home folder is deleted. It looks like it’s evil — and designed to perform such a task without the knowledge of the Mac owner on which the program resides. But it isn’t. It’s an art project that clearly advertises its purpose and nature to all who would wish to use it.

The game, dubbed Lose/Lose, is the brainchild of Zach Gage, who created the program as part of an online art installation and released it for public download in September. It’s intended purpose is not to dupe unsuspecting gamers, but to pose questions about the relationship between killing in video games and real-life moral issues. Gage says as much in a statement on his web site:

By way of exploring what it means to kill in a video-game, Lose/Lose broaches bigger questions. As technology grows, our understanding of it diminishes, yet, at the same time, it becomes increasingly important in our lives.

Even if a user were to download the game from a different, less well-intentioned place, the game itself warns users right when it opens, stating that “Killing in Lose/Lose will likely result in files on your hard drive being deleted. You have been warned.” Of course, that doesn’t mean that an intelligent programmer couldn’t remove or change said message, and redistribute the game themselves with the intent of causing harm.

That’s what Symantec’s worried about, and why the firm decided to issue its warning about the so-called Trojan. Of course, the company took the opportunity to recommend installing security software as a means to protect against this kind of dangerous artistic expression, seeing as that’s the business it’s in.

Should you worry about this game or threats derived from it? Not unless you are one of the slim few whose retro Mac gaming addiction is so acute that you feel the need to hunt around the digital frontier in suspicious and shady locations looking for independent games of questionable quality and without any sort of legit distribution channels. Or if you happen to be a devoted patron of the arts, and therefore can’t resist the urge to download software you know full well will harm your computer and destroy your files, all for the sake of the artistic effect it has. In either case, anti-virus software won’t help.

Hot on the heels of the release of VMWare Fusion 3, the folks at Parallels have released Parallels Desktop 5, matching the features of VMWare Fusion 3 and adding some new ones to boot. You can get a quick overview of the newest features in the Parallels press release.

Parallels Desktop 5 costs $79.99 for the full package, or $49.99 to upgrade from either Parallels Desktop 3 or 4. Parallels is also offering a free upgrade key for those who bought Parallels 4 after Oct. 1. This is also valid for Parallels 4 purchases up until Dec. 31. Customers must retrieve this before Jan. 15, 2010.

Besides the obvious two features, fully supporting Snow Leopard and Windows 7, some of the awesome new features are best shown in screenshots.

Finally we have the Aero interface! This works in all view modes, not just full screen.

When in fullscreen mode, you can now configure a HotCorner to easily switch back to the OS X side with just your mouse.

The new Crystal View is a modified Coherence view, hiding all icons in the Dock and the OS X Parallels menu bar, moving access to menu items and a newly created folder icon in the Dock containing all your windows shortcuts.

The new MacLook feature automatically installs a custom Windows Theme (similar to those offered by products such as StarDocks’ Window Blinds) giving all your windows applications an OS X look and feel.

If you combine MacLook with Coherence View or Crystal View, the lines between native OS and virtual OS become even more blurred.

More importantly than all of that, its super fast. For me, it’s much much faster than VMWare Fusion 3. For the last few months, I’ve been in the closed beta program for Parallels 5, and the lack of communication and new builds had made us a bit weary. Sure enough, yesterday it released version 5 with none of the testers having a clue, and there are some new features we’d never seen (such as MacLook, multi-gesture support and Crystal view).

When VMWare Fusion 3 was released, I downloaded the trial and was impressed at how easy it was to migrate a copy of my Parallels Windows 7 VM over to Fusion. I wasn’t as impressed, however, at the sluggish performance of VMWare Fusion 3 when the VM loaded up. Running MS Access 2007 and Visual Studio windows became lethargic. The same operations under Parallels 5 just flew along with no issues. It’s important to note that I had the same basic VM configuration across both (1.5GB RAM, 1 CPU allocated), using Windows 7 Professional 64-bit edition. Your mileage may vary, as this was most certainly not a scientific comparison study.

Parallels has also published a video of Parallels Desktop 5 in action.

Liz at NewTeeVee has the scoop and a preview of the future of live sports (or at least basketball) on your iPhone.

The NBA is launching a new iPhone app that will let you watch live NBA games wherever you are (class, work, bathroom…you get the idea). To access the 40+ live games that will be made available each week, you’ll need to shell out $39.99 for the season to get an NBA League Pass Mobile subscription.

The app has some snazzy features like DVR, on-demand access, and push alerts. To get the complete low-down, including a slew of screenshots, read the full post over at NewTeeVee.

Apple recently introduced two new formats, iTunes LP and iTunes Extras, which deliver additional content to album and movie purchases, respectively. Apple also only just updated the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions agreement, and AppleInsider spotted some key changes in that document that point to an upcoming Apple TV update that will support the new formats.

It seems inevitable that the new bonus material featured in LP and Extra releases, which includes things like photos, videos, mini-documentaries and commentary, would become accessible on Apple’s home theater device, but this is the first official confirmation that it is in fact on the way. It would seem to suggest that we’ll see the update sooner rather than later, too.

Both iTunes LP and iTunes Extras are based on the TuneKit JavaScript format, which uses HTML, CSS and other open web standards. It’s designed for a 1280×720 pixel resolution, which fits perfectly with HD TV sets and the HD output resolution of the Apple TV.

While it may not come as a surprise, a new major update for the Apple TV firmware would be the first big one since the “Take Two” 2.0 update that came at Macworld Expo in January 2008. Other things expected to arrive with it include Quicktime X and the HTTP Live Streaming protocol, both of which were recently introduced as features of OS X Snow Leopard.

It sounds like it’s shaping up to be a decent little upgrade for Apple’s main foray into the living room, but it doesn’t really sound like anything that’s going to turn heads among people who are on the fence about buying the device. Apple has recently taken some steps to increase Apple TV sales, including getting rid of the 40 GB model altogether and dropping the price of the 160 GB version. Which is great, but there’s still a lot more Apple should be doing to make the device viable.

Like the Mac mini, the Apple TV seems to be lagging behind other Apple offerings in terms of the tech behind it and its software capabilities. Many new TVs coming to market now offer built-in functionality comparable to a lot of what Apple TV brings to the table, beyond access to the iTunes Store and all of its associated content. And HD-capable nettops from companies like Asus offer a fully functional home theater PC at a comparable price, with better storage options and more.

A software update is great, but Apple needs to do more than just what’s expected to breathe some life back into its least exciting device.

I’ve been playing around with Google Quick Search Box lately and am especially enjoying this services plugin from Martin Kuhl which lets you activate and pass input to OS X services right from within QSB.

One snag though has been that services created through the new Automator template included in Snow Leopard leave out some vital bits that limit integration. Luckily, a handy application from Waffle Software called ThisService makes creating proper services that integrate seamlessly with QSB a lot easier than you might think.

Being able to extend the functionality of QSB with OS X services really opens up a lot of possibilities. Grab text or files in QSB and pass them on to your services to do whatever you want with them, like creating a new To Do item in iCal. I’ve been focused recently on replicating functionality that I lost when I made the switch over from Quicksilver and I think that this improved service integration will get me about 90 percent of the way there.

The bad news is that this means I need to whip up a bunch of custom services for myself. The good news is that ThisService makes that task very easy. Just give it a script (AppleScript will do, but if you’re more comfortable with other scripting languages you can use those), define the type and name of your service and click Create Service. ThisService handles all the fiddly Cocoa bits and spits out a completed service into your ~/Library/Services directory where QSB will see it and serve it up as an available action when appropriate.

Actually writing your AppleScript will likely be the most complicated part, which is why ThisServices comes bundled with some handy starter scripts to put you on the right path. They also make a number of example scripts and services available for download from their site. The scripts don’t need to be complicated. For example, here is the one I use for adding To Do items in iCal:

on process(input)
tell application "iCal"
tell calendar "work"
make new todo at end with properties {summary:input}
end tell
end tell
end process

If you wanted to get fancy you could pass additional properties like the due date, priority, etc., but just getting a new item into the list is all I need.

Once you have your service setup accessing them through Quick Search Box is as easy as can be. Because showing seems to be more useful than describing, below is a quick little video clip of the To Do service in action. What kind of services would you like to have? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The advent of the cloud over the past few years has meant that a lot of the tasks that we were used to doing on our Mac have now moved to the web. This brings with it a host of issues, from data ownership to reliability of services (see recent Sidekick fiasco) and whether the web can deliver a Mac-like experience.

Putting all that aside, however, a more mundane problem is managing all of those sites and getting to them quickly and easily. Individual apps conveniently come with their own icon on your dock, web apps do not, forcing you to dig through the myriad of open tabs in your browser to find the app you need.If you’ve truly made the jump to cloud computing there is, thankfully, a better way: site specific browsers (SSBs). The basic idea is simple: Create a separate web browser, complete with its own icon on the dock, to browse to a single site. We’ve covered an excellent example of a site specific browser here on TAB in the past, Mailplane, which is used to access Gmail’s online interface.

The beauty of an SSB is not only do you get the bonus of neatly having your own icon for a single web application, but it also allows that site to integrate with OS X more completely. For example you can have things like address book access and dock badges, all things that Mailplane does for Gmail.

That’s great if you use Gmail, but what about all the other great web-based applications out there? Although there are not specific SSBs for things like Twitter, Google Calendar, Remember The Milk and other web services, there are two different programs that will let you take any web site and turn it into a site specific browser: Fluid and Prism. The major difference between the two is that Fluid uses Webkit to power its SSBs, while Prism uses the Gecko browser base that runs Firefox.

Aside from these underlying technologies, the two programs offer remarkably similar functionality. Simply enter a web address, choose an icon (or just use the site favicon), and voila, a new program based on that site will be created for you. What’s more, each browser can accept various scripts to add functionality like a dock icon and even Growl notifications. You can even make an SSB your default email or RSS program.

In many ways SSBs may represent the future of computing. Just look at Google’s upcoming Chrome OS, where the browser is the operating system. In such a situation it makes no sense to continue using the outdated system of web pages and browser bookmarks. When a website is a program unto itself you can argue that it deserves to be treated as one at the operating system level.

If you’re the CEO of TomTom or Garmin, you may want to sit down for this. Google is working on a turn-by-turn navigation app that it will be offering for free on Android 2.0 handsets. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s working with Apple to bring it to the App Store, too.

But hey, maybe it isn’t so bad for you, GPS industry. Maybe people will still want to pay way too much for single-purpose devices instead of installing a free app on the cell phone they already have, that works with the Google Maps and Google Search they already use.

According to CNET’s Tom Krazit, Google’s new app, appropriately dubbed Google Maps Navigation, was demoed Tuesday for reporters, and will be officially announced sometime today. The Google demo had the app running on an unidentified black Motorola Android 2.0 phone, believed to be the upcoming Droid device.

The good news for us Apple faithful is that Google announced at the event that it is working with Apple on bringing the game-changing software to the iPhone platform. The words “working with” are well chosen, because Maps Navigation requires a slightly different approach than the standard App Store approval process, since it won’t be a standalone application, but will instead work directly out of the built-in Google Maps app.

Direct Google Maps integration means that the new navigation app will be uniquely positioned among its competitors to deliver some really cool features, including Google Search for nearby points of interest (POI). Google Street View will also play a part, allowing you to see the actual street at upcoming turning points along your trip route, so that you’ll recognize exactly where you should turn. That should eliminate a lot of confusion in dense, layered urban areas where freeways and streets overlap, and many route divergences and convergences are subtle.

The version for Android 2.0 demoed also had a feature that recognized when the device was placed in a cradle or cupholder, and enlarged on-screen buttons to make it easier to work with while driving. The only feature not mentioned that is already present in many other GPS devices and apps is voice guidance, but even if not currently present, it’ll probably make an appearance down the road.

While I can’t see why Apple would reject or hamstring the introduction of this exciting, new feature, we’ve seen in the past that the relationship between it and Google can be tricky. I think Cupertino will realize, though, that in this case, the ability to market built-in, free-of-charge navigation is a great way to move more hardware, even if Navigon and TomTom won’t be too pleased with the decision.

Last week, Apple announced the Magic Mouse, which is its new standard pointing device, complete with Bluetooth connectivity and multitouch gesture support. I promptly called my local Apple store, and a staff member told me they weren’t in stock and to try back again later in the week. I did, and again, no luck. It’s now been over a week, and no stores seem to have stocked them yet.

One staff member at the flagship Toronto store said that the delay was due to software incompatibility, and that the mice would be available following an update release from Apple. Late yesterday, we received said update, which makes the Magic Mouse compatible with Mac OS X Leopard, includes a driver for 10.6.1. OS X 10.6.2, which is coming soon, and is said to support it out of the box.

Both the 10.5.8 and 10.6.1 update descriptions say nothing beyond that they allow you to “take advantage of your Magic Mouse special features.” They don’t even explicitly say anything about multitouch, but what other special features could they be talking about? The Snow Leopard driver is nearly double the size of the Leopard one, at 64MB vs. 36MB. Both have to be downloaded from Apple’s support site, and won’t show up in your update menu unless you actually have the Magic Mouse already.

Which brings me to my second point: Does anyone actually have the Magic Mouse already? I mean, besides those early adopters of the new iMac model, with which it ships. I know for a fact us TAB staffers are finding it hard to get our hands on one (short of trying out the store display models), both through Apple’s brick-and-mortar retail stores and its online counterpart.

All Apple stores seem to have them on display, but I’ve yet to run across one that actually has them for sale when you ask. As I mentioned above, the Toronto Eaton Centre Apple store employee seemed to think it had to do with Apple getting the necessary software out so that it wasn’t selling unsupported hardware, but they hadn’t even received a shipment yet — they weren’t just holding off on actual sales.

Is it just me, or is this the most poorly executed product launch Apple’s had since the iPhone 3G and iPhone OS 2.0 were introduced? It seems like the Magic Mouse was rushed out to meet a deadline that centered around the iMac and new unibody plastic MacBook, despite the fact that the software backend wasn’t actually ready for release.

The resulting delay could affect sales. I know my initial fervor about the Magic Mouse has been tempered now that I’ve been able to think about it. My current pointing device needs are more than met, and unlike with the iPhone, delayed availability is weakening my desire to own a Magic Mouse, rather than strengthening it.

Two Spanish Apple sites are reporting that the latest build of Apple’s upcoming update to its Mac OS X Snow Leopard software contains references to as-yet unreleased new models of MacBook Pro.

Build 10C531 lists “MacBook Pro 6,1” and “MacBook Pro 6,2”, an indication of major revisions of the MacBook Pro lineup. The current family of MacBook Pro’s range from 5,1 to 5,5.

Last week’s introduction of refreshed iMacs brought Intel’s new Core i5 and i7 (Nehalem) processors to Apple’s most popular desktop machines, but the refreshed product lineup didn’t include any new MacBook Pros. Applesana suggests that the new MacBook Pro models will likely feature quad core processors based on Intel’s Arrandale architecture which brings i5/i7 technology to a more power-efficient mobile chip.

The last time Apple refreshed the MacBook Pro line was in early June at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Hefty Update

10.6.2 is a significant update to Snow Leopard, bringing a raft of bug fixes and performance improvements to existing functionality. Nothing has been said about new features, however, the user guide for Apple’s new Magic Mouse makes the following reference to Mac OS X 10.6.2:

To use your Apple Magic Mouse and its full range of features, update your Mac to Mac OS X version 10.5.8 or later and install the Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0; or update to Mac OS X version 10.6.2 or later.

Apple’s developers have been working hard. For those keeping count, this is 10.6.2’s fourth developer build in less than a month. The first, 10C514f, was seeded on Oct. 5. Only four days later, on Oct. 9, Apple produced build 10C519f. Developers were treated to build 10C527f just one week after that. And finally, 10C531 brings us to today.

At nearly 500MB, 10.6.2 is a hefty update, addressing an equally hefty assortment of bugs and issues affecting Snow Leopard. Most notably, this update is expected to fix a serious bug that can result in users losing all their personal data. MacRumor’s Doctor Q lists other fixes.

The seed is said to contain dozens of minor bug fixes and performance improvements in these areas: Address Book, AppleScript, AppleScriptObjC, ATS, ColorSync, Component Manager, Core Animation, Core Audio, Core Chinese Engine, Core Data, Core Graphics, Core Text, File Manager, Garbage Collection, Graphic drivers, Help Viewer, ImageKit, IOHIDFamily, Networking, NS Image, OpenCL, OpenGL, OSA, QT Kit, Speech Recognition, Sync Services, and Xtype.

There is no indication yet as to when 10.6.2 will be released, though the speed at which these builds are being developed — and the urgent need for that data-wiping bug fix — mean we probably won’t be waiting much longer.

Newspapers and magazines — the entire news print industry to be honest — have been suffering a long and torturous decline for much of the last decade as more of us turn to the Internet and electronic devices to get (increasingly personalized) news and other content. While publishers have generally been slow to adapt to shifting delivery platforms, change is — finally — afoot. Publishing supergiant Condé Nast is now taking its first tentative steps to embracing the digital realm with a series of iPhone apps designed to deliver its most popular titles electronically.

Adage reports that the first title will be GQ magazine, released this December in the app store and priced at $2.99 (the regular print edition of the magazine costs as much as $4.99).

Adage’s Nat Ives writes:

The new app platform could help the company squeeze circulation and real ad revenue from digital. Because the apps will include all the editorial and ads that the print editions do, the Audit Bureau of Circulations will consider the apps to be paid circulation just like newsstand sales and subscriber copies. That’s important because advertisers only want to pay for ad space in issues that the audit bureau defines as paid.

So the digital edition of GQ will be identical to its dead-tree counterpart, but cost appreciably less. It might also offer compelling extra content and rich media at (and this is so very important to publishers) little-to-no extra cost. After all, an embedded video is an impossibility in a printed magazine, and a digital edition offers unlimited virtual column-inches for expanded editorial.

Condé hasn’t completely abandoned its old methods for generating profits. Indeed, it’s relying on the fact its digital issues will be counted as paid editions because print ads command higher rates than online ads.

Size Matters

So, will you buy GQ on your iPhone? I suspect there won’t be too many people who do. Seasoned iPhone users are keenly aware that the device’s form factor makes for a dissatisfying reading experience of even modest duration. The iPhone is hardly the most comfortable platform for reading anything more than email. Sure, apps like Stanza and Instapaper make reading on the iPhone far more fluid and tolerable than, say, reading lengthy web pages in Safari. But they can’t change the fact that you’re still peering at tiny text on a 3.5 inch screen. Only the most dedicated of readers will suffer such eye-strain-inducing limitations, all the while dreaming of something just as light, just as thin, but much larger. Y’know… a tablet.

This is something Condé Nast understands very well. Its upcoming app isn’t about bringing its various print publications to the iPhone — it’s about the timely positioning of its product to take advantage of the upcoming tablet.

Says Sarah Chubb, President of Condé Nast Digital:

This iPhone is just one platform. We plan to be, and generally try to be, anywhere our consumers are.

We think that the minute Apple is ready, if they ever are, to announce that they’re going forward with a tablet, that we’ll be ahead of everybody.

I can’t say I’m a GQ reader, but that’s not meant as a judgement against that particular title. I just don’t buy newspapers or magazines. Practically no one I know my age (or younger) does. It’s not hard to see why; these days, most people enjoy regular, inexpensive access to the Internet. Services like Twitter and RSS feeds ensure we get only the news and content we want to read, when we want to read it — and what’s more, it’s usually free.

$2.99 is too much for a magazine that exists only as pixels on a (small) screen. 99 cents seems far more appealing and most likely would shift more (virtual) copies. It’s more appropriate, too, since the traditional resource, print and distribution costs associated with a dead-tree publication don’t apply in the digital realm. Perhaps when Condé Nast’s printed magazines have finally gone the way of the Dodo, its digital issues will hit that magic sub-dollar price.

In the meantime, I’m excited Condé is doing this. No, not because I’m about to start buying GQ. I’m excited because I know it’s only a matter of time before other big print titles start appearing on digital devices. (And not just watered-down content portals like the New York Times.) It’s already happening, albeit quietly, behind closed doors. A few months ago word got out that Time was in talks with other publishers, collaborating on e-reader standards. Around the same time, it was reported Apple was negotiating content deals with several media companies “rooted in print.” And while we’re still waiting for Apple’s tablet to arrive, e-readers are cropping up all over the place, jostling for a position in what is sure to become a massive new market.

Print is dead. But, at long last, Digital Print is here to replace it, and it’s just around the corner. That’s welcome news for an ailing publishing industry finally starting to take electronic platforms seriously.

Tell us in the comments if the new age of digital publishing is going to get you reading newspapers, and whether you think Apple’s gonna object to some of GQ’s more, um, “adult” front covers!