Really, what "impact" exactly would you have expected by now? If someone was hired last June, it would stand to reason that the impact of hiring that person wouldn't be realized until the update that's still to come this summer. Yes, we all agree that notifications are poorly handled in iOS as compared to other OSs. It's also something that's fairly trivial to remedy. Seeing as though Apple has hired the person responsible for what is currently the best notification system implementation, I suggest to you that you relax and wait to see what iOS 5 has to offer. If notifications are not improved in iOS 5, then you have every right to complain about what "impact" this person may or may not have had. Until then, keep your expectations in check.
Well, whoop be damn doo!..., But who the hell gave you the stripes to roam this forum.. You suggest I "relax"?. You feel quite self-important, dont you kid?
Quite simply, if the rumor is true, then Dillinger is unlikely to have had the impact we thought he would have in terms of a new notification system being available for release soon.
If true, new notifications aren't ready until iOS 6. At this point, I would assume that the features for 5 are pretty much set in stone. Also, how would they do it? Notifications at the top and you tap it? Nope, that scrolls to the top of a page/email/SMS. Pinch to zoom like gesture? Nope. Using more than two fingers isn't optimal on the small screen of an iPhone. Swipe a few times to the left past spotlight? A bit cumbersome. I can only guess a swipe from the bottom.
I am willing to bet some functionality will be lost, like certain home button options when they included "multitasking". I am sure they'll get it done, but it will resemble something like a competitor's.
I'm assuming that Apple is taking its time so that the iPhone and iPad implementations can be near-identical yet take advantage of iPad's extra space. Apple is almost never first with a feature (e.g. copy and paste) but it's extremely tight and elegant when they get there...
I'm imagining:
1) Similar to webOS, a small bar slides in underneath the dock. There's enough spacing between the app icon rows that they can compress to make room (similar to when making a phone call or tethering).
2) If there's one notification, the app icon shows up with a preview of the notification. For example, it will show the Messages icon and "JOHN SMITH: Hey, when are we gonna meet up for..."
3) If there's more than one, perhaps only the icons will show up in a row, with badge numbers indicating numerous notifications.
4) Swiping up will bring up a larger preview panel, similar to an iOS folder or an OS X Stack. (Ooh! Imagine a "Fan"-style stack flying up!)
5) Tapping on a preview will launch the full application. Swiping right to left will dismiss it. Remaining notifications collapse to occupy the remaining space.
That's how I'm imagining it. Both webOS and Honeycomb seem to do this fairly similarly, because it makes sense to do it this way! If Apple can do it with a little bit of OS X flair, that would be great!
I would think Apple can figure out a notification system without buying a small app company this late in the game. The fact that they hired a WebOS UI engineer last summer points to the iOS notification shoe dropping with 5.0. If anything at this point it's just about small tweaks (I really, really hope).
For now I'm using LockInfo, Notified and BiteSMS to cope with the notification disaster that is iOS. Apple should buy those developers IMHO.
No-brainer. Acquire Boxcar (Or whoever), revamp iOS Push Notifications and integrate the new system into OS X Lion as a first-party stand-in for Growl and into Me.com with HTML5. The Apple ecosystem then has Unified Push Notifications, another feather in the OS X/iOS/MobileMe DesktopClass/Mobile/Cloud system's cap.
And, honestly, the only part of iOS that I think actually needs any significant improvement is the Notifications. Sure there are other things that would be ice, but at this stage, apart from the fairly basic Notifications system, there are no longer any glaring problems in my eyes.
I don't buy it. iOS 5 should be launching in June/July and acquiring and integrating Boxcar into iOS requires more time.
And even if it is possible, the integration will be hacky at best. Apple needs to rethink how notification should be done and implement it deep in the iOS layer. Not some service that runs on top of everything.
I don't buy it. iOS 5 should be launching in June/July and acquiring and integrating Boxcar into iOS requires more time.
And even if it is possible, the integration will be hacky at best. Apple needs to rethink how notification should be done and implement it deep in the iOS layer. Not some service that runs on top of everything.
They might buy a developer to get around IP issues. For example, AirPrint support for Mac and Windows printers was rumored to have been pulled because there were IP issues that it conflicted with. So, they might possibly buy the developer just to own the IP but not actually use any of their implementation.
If true, this really sucks. Was hoping this Dellinger character would have had some impact by now. The current notification systems is an absolute joke when compared with ANY other major mobile OS, including Symbian that has just been tossed aside.
In two months are we going to read that Apple had started to look for speech recognition specialists?
Anyway, hope it's all just a lousy rumor.
Buying a developer at this stage doesn't necessarily mean Apple hasn't gotten around to change the notification system yet. They could have made their version which is very similar to another product out there, and decide to purchase the original developer just to avoid any potential legal issue.
Edit: obviously posting without looking at what's already posted.
this rumor seems suspect, at least with the Boxcar business -- realizing that Boxcar must use the existing notification framework currently. I'm not sure what value add they would provide. Now perhaps some of the solutions available for jailbroken devices could prove interesting...
It is interesting that two rumors just started floating around.
1) smaller iPhone for $200
2) Apple acquiring developer to work on notification system
I think these two rumors are connected.
I believe Apple is working on an iWatch(a.k.a. iPhone nano).
The iPhone nano is not a contract free iPhone, but an iPhone accessory.
The primary purpose of the iPhone nano is to serve as a unobtrusive notification system.
The Sony Ericsson LiveView is already such a device for Android phones.
It is cheap and is not an Insanely Great Experience?.
Taking this probably an extra step to far but isn't it interesting that both the two rumors of:
1) smaller iPhone for $200
2) Apple acquiring developer to work on notification system
Both rumors pop up right after HP shows off the Veer and they also made a big deal of the notification system in WebOS in their announcement the other day?
I don't use Boxcar, but it appears to be a way of setting up notifications for various servcies like Twitter and Facebook, with a few customizations such as individual sound alerts and a "view notifications" page.
It doesn't look to be a real reworking of notifications front-end UI, however, unless I'm missing something. It looks to primarily use the existing frameworks-- badges, sounds and pop-ups-- so I'm not sure what the point of acquiring them would be.
In general I would be surprised if Apple felt the need to purchase a developer to rework notifications, at this point. It's not like they don't have some pretty good designers working for them, maniacally focused on the iPhone. The rumor makes it sound like they just sort of overlooked the whole notifications thing till just recently and went "Shit! We need to overhaul this pronto, better buy someone up who's already figured it out!" Given the frequently noted hiring of the Palm notifications guy, we know that isn't true, and it's a little hard to believe that whatever work they've been doing just sort of hit a dead-end, or something.
Sadly I can not get it to work. Have gmail forward to the address provided. The only time Boxcar notified me is when gmail send verify code. After that. Zilch notification.
Hope Apple can do better than this.
edit: it's notified me now. With sender and title, not full message. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
This style of notification system would be a great addition to a cloud service like mobile.me. You could decide what notifications to send to what devices based on apps and time of day. Like turning off Facebook notifications at night while asleep but still allowing SMS from a whitelist of contacts. Also adding NFC or bluetooth detection to give Blue Phone Elite functionality to iDevices and the mac wold be cool as well.
I guess notifications are a big part of mobile OSes. Something they couldn't get for "free" from OS X, so they're not ahead of the game on this, unlike most other things. They will probably have to struggle through several iterations before getting it right.
iOS needs a reimagined notification system and a file browser added with wireless-ducument-sync with your Mac. Ensuring your latest iWork files are identical on both platforms. So then you can actually do a little work on your iPad while on the move and it will actually be worth it. Files would still remain inside apps. The iOS file browser would be in addition.
iOS needs a reimagined notification system and a file browser added with wireless-ducument-sync with your Mac. Ensuring your latest iWork files are identical on both platforms. So then you can actually do a little work on your iPad while on the move and it will actually be worth it. Files would still remain inside apps. The iOS file browser would be in addition.
That's all for now. Do it.
I agree. Sort of.
The annual update of iOS tends to fix the area-of-maximum-suckage.
For me, there are three stand-out areas which could benefit from improvement.
a) File management. I want a more rational way to move data. To and from my iDevice wirelessly.
b) Notifications. I want to see a stack of chronological events. Not unlike a twitter stream.
c) Syncing. I don't want to physically tether my iPad to get podcasts, and files.
I think both a) and c) could be solved by a DropBox-type cloud-based file soup. The file soup needs to be accessible by every app, much like photos are now. But apps would only see files that were relevant to it.
I think the idea that Apple would need to buy Boxcar to solve notification seems a bit absurd.
Comments
1) smaller iPhone for $200
2) Apple acquiring developer to work on notification system
I think these two rumors are connected.
I believe Apple is working on an iWatch(a.k.a. iPhone nano).
The iPhone nano is not a contract free iPhone, but an iPhone accessory.
The primary purpose of the iPhone nano is to serve as a unobtrusive notification system.
The Sony Ericsson LiveView is already such a device for Android phones.
It is cheap and is not an Insanely Great Experience?.
Really, what "impact" exactly would you have expected by now? If someone was hired last June, it would stand to reason that the impact of hiring that person wouldn't be realized until the update that's still to come this summer. Yes, we all agree that notifications are poorly handled in iOS as compared to other OSs. It's also something that's fairly trivial to remedy. Seeing as though Apple has hired the person responsible for what is currently the best notification system implementation, I suggest to you that you relax and wait to see what iOS 5 has to offer. If notifications are not improved in iOS 5, then you have every right to complain about what "impact" this person may or may not have had. Until then, keep your expectations in check.
Well, whoop be damn doo!..., But who the hell gave you the stripes to roam this forum.. You suggest I "relax"?. You feel quite self-important, dont you kid?
Quite simply, if the rumor is true, then Dillinger is unlikely to have had the impact we thought he would have in terms of a new notification system being available for release soon.
If true, new notifications aren't ready until iOS 6. At this point, I would assume that the features for 5 are pretty much set in stone. Also, how would they do it? Notifications at the top and you tap it? Nope, that scrolls to the top of a page/email/SMS. Pinch to zoom like gesture? Nope. Using more than two fingers isn't optimal on the small screen of an iPhone. Swipe a few times to the left past spotlight? A bit cumbersome. I can only guess a swipe from the bottom.
I am willing to bet some functionality will be lost, like certain home button options when they included "multitasking". I am sure they'll get it done, but it will resemble something like a competitor's.
I'm assuming that Apple is taking its time so that the iPhone and iPad implementations can be near-identical yet take advantage of iPad's extra space. Apple is almost never first with a feature (e.g. copy and paste) but it's extremely tight and elegant when they get there...
I'm imagining:
1) Similar to webOS, a small bar slides in underneath the dock. There's enough spacing between the app icon rows that they can compress to make room (similar to when making a phone call or tethering).
2) If there's one notification, the app icon shows up with a preview of the notification. For example, it will show the Messages icon and "JOHN SMITH: Hey, when are we gonna meet up for..."
3) If there's more than one, perhaps only the icons will show up in a row, with badge numbers indicating numerous notifications.
4) Swiping up will bring up a larger preview panel, similar to an iOS folder or an OS X Stack. (Ooh! Imagine a "Fan"-style stack flying up!)
5) Tapping on a preview will launch the full application. Swiping right to left will dismiss it. Remaining notifications collapse to occupy the remaining space.
That's how I'm imagining it. Both webOS and Honeycomb seem to do this fairly similarly, because it makes sense to do it this way! If Apple can do it with a little bit of OS X flair, that would be great!
For now I'm using LockInfo, Notified and BiteSMS to cope with the notification disaster that is iOS. Apple should buy those developers IMHO.
And, honestly, the only part of iOS that I think actually needs any significant improvement is the Notifications. Sure there are other things that would be ice, but at this stage, apart from the fairly basic Notifications system, there are no longer any glaring problems in my eyes.
And even if it is possible, the integration will be hacky at best. Apple needs to rethink how notification should be done and implement it deep in the iOS layer. Not some service that runs on top of everything.
I don't buy it. iOS 5 should be launching in June/July and acquiring and integrating Boxcar into iOS requires more time.
And even if it is possible, the integration will be hacky at best. Apple needs to rethink how notification should be done and implement it deep in the iOS layer. Not some service that runs on top of everything.
They might buy a developer to get around IP issues. For example, AirPrint support for Mac and Windows printers was rumored to have been pulled because there were IP issues that it conflicted with. So, they might possibly buy the developer just to own the IP but not actually use any of their implementation.
If true, this really sucks. Was hoping this Dellinger character would have had some impact by now. The current notification systems is an absolute joke when compared with ANY other major mobile OS, including Symbian that has just been tossed aside.
In two months are we going to read that Apple had started to look for speech recognition specialists?
Anyway, hope it's all just a lousy rumor.
Buying a developer at this stage doesn't necessarily mean Apple hasn't gotten around to change the notification system yet. They could have made their version which is very similar to another product out there, and decide to purchase the original developer just to avoid any potential legal issue.
Edit: obviously posting without looking at what's already posted.
It is interesting that two rumors just started floating around.
1) smaller iPhone for $200
2) Apple acquiring developer to work on notification system
I think these two rumors are connected.
I believe Apple is working on an iWatch(a.k.a. iPhone nano).
The iPhone nano is not a contract free iPhone, but an iPhone accessory.
The primary purpose of the iPhone nano is to serve as a unobtrusive notification system.
The Sony Ericsson LiveView is already such a device for Android phones.
It is cheap and is not an Insanely Great Experience?.
Taking this probably an extra step to far but isn't it interesting that both the two rumors of:
1) smaller iPhone for $200
2) Apple acquiring developer to work on notification system
Both rumors pop up right after HP shows off the Veer and they also made a big deal of the notification system in WebOS in their announcement the other day?
It doesn't look to be a real reworking of notifications front-end UI, however, unless I'm missing something. It looks to primarily use the existing frameworks-- badges, sounds and pop-ups-- so I'm not sure what the point of acquiring them would be.
In general I would be surprised if Apple felt the need to purchase a developer to rework notifications, at this point. It's not like they don't have some pretty good designers working for them, maniacally focused on the iPhone. The rumor makes it sound like they just sort of overlooked the whole notifications thing till just recently and went "Shit! We need to overhaul this pronto, better buy someone up who's already figured it out!" Given the frequently noted hiring of the Palm notifications guy, we know that isn't true, and it's a little hard to believe that whatever work they've been doing just sort of hit a dead-end, or something.
Hope Apple can do better than this.
edit: it's notified me now. With sender and title, not full message. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
I have no problems at all. I see a number against Messages, Emails. What more do I want ?
This is simplicity and the Apple way. I can't see why it needs any updating.
Can they hurry up about it, notifications are a laughing stock in iOS. Did you see the HP TouchPad notifications? it looked like Growl, very slick.
I hate Growl.
That's all for now. Do it.
iOS needs a reimagined notification system and a file browser added with wireless-ducument-sync with your Mac. Ensuring your latest iWork files are identical on both platforms. So then you can actually do a little work on your iPad while on the move and it will actually be worth it. Files would still remain inside apps. The iOS file browser would be in addition.
That's all for now. Do it.
I agree. Sort of.
The annual update of iOS tends to fix the area-of-maximum-suckage.
For me, there are three stand-out areas which could benefit from improvement.
a) File management. I want a more rational way to move data. To and from my iDevice wirelessly.
b) Notifications. I want to see a stack of chronological events. Not unlike a twitter stream.
c) Syncing. I don't want to physically tether my iPad to get podcasts, and files.
I think both a) and c) could be solved by a DropBox-type cloud-based file soup. The file soup needs to be accessible by every app, much like photos are now. But apps would only see files that were relevant to it.
I think the idea that Apple would need to buy Boxcar to solve notification seems a bit absurd.
C.