Briefly: Apple growth, 9-year old iPhone dev, WebKit update

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's prospects for present and future growth land it on a Top 25 list, an iPhone app for kids authored by a 9-year old is gaining popularity on the App Store, and new animations could eventually make their way into Safari in this roundup of recent news.



Apple makes fastest growing tech list



Forbes has named Apple (AAPL) one of its 25 fastest-growing tech companies for the first time since the list began in 2003.



Apple ranks 14th with 20 percent projected growth on its earnings per share and 40 percent projected sales growth in the next three to five years.



To qualify, companies needed 12-month revenues of $25 million or more, annualized sales gains of at least 10 percent over the past five years, and a profit over the past 12 months.



List leader Illumina makes products and services for genetic analysis and research, while Google came in second. Salesforce.com, which Apple worked with to monetize the iPhone for business, was third.



Additionally, Apple partner Akamai and Genentech were 23rd and 25th, respectively.



Genentech chief executive Arthur Levinson serves on Apple's board of directors along with Google chief Eric Schmidt.



Nine-year-old crafts iPhone app



The creator of Doodle Kids, a finger painting app downloaded 4,000 times in two weeks from the App Store, is more than just a kid at heart. He hasn't even entered middle school.



Lim Ding Wen, 9, of Singapore, said he was just trying to give his siblings something to do.



"I wrote the program for my younger sisters, who like to draw," he told the BBC. "But I am happy that people like it."



Lim's father, Lim Thye Chean, is a chief technology officer at a Malaysian tech firm. He also writes iPhone applications, and the two like to compare statistics each night to see who has more downloads.







"Ding Wen is an above average boy with an interest in computers, especially Apple IIGS and Macs, likes to do programming, and that's it," the boy's father wrote on his website. "Doodle Kids is an extremely simple program that can be done by anybody. Everybody can program - if Ding Wen can, so can you."



Nonetheless, the younger Lim said the app took only a few days in Pascal to write, converting it from the original application he wrote on his computer.



In this photo posted by his father, Lim shows off the original program running on an iMac and the ported version for iPhone. | Courtesy RetroMacCast



Lim is working on another new app called Invader Wars. He is fluent in six programming languages and has been using computers since he was two years old, and he's completed more than 20 programming projects since age 7.



WebKit now supports CSS animations



The latest build of WebKit, which serves as the foundation of Apple's Safari browser, now support animations completely rendered in CSS, skipping the need to use JavaScript or Flash.



The feature uses keyframes to control the animations, according to a post on the WebKit blog.



"A keyframe defines the style that will be applied for that moment within the animation," the entry says. "The animation engines will smoothly interpolate style between the keyframes."



The technology is already built into Mobile Safari on the iPhone, meaning it will likely make it into the desktop version. To test it out, first download the latest nightly build of WebKit, then click to see falling leaves, bouncing box, and pulsing box, three demonstrations from the WebKit team.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Get in there Apple, put this kid on a retainer!
  • Reply 2 of 33
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I'm sure it's a fun toy, and good work for a 9-year old, but without Pantone support and color profiles it's useless for graphic designers.



    Yes, I'm kidding.
  • Reply 3 of 33
    nceencee Posts: 857member
    Mini Steve … sort of. My guess is in a few more years he'll be easily excited and might make a great speaker of Apple products.



    I wonder how he looks in Blue jeans and a Black turtleneck shirt



    Skip
  • Reply 4 of 33
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    the boy's father wrote on his website. "Doodle Kids is an extremely simple program that can be done by anybody. Everybody can program - if Ding Wen can, so can you."



    Way to support your kid! "You're not special, everyone can do it." I'm guessing he's just mad because his kid gets more downloads than he does.
  • Reply 5 of 33
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    The big question is whether or not Apple can keep this torrid growth. This quarter will certainly be a tell tale sign of how well it's really doing.



    Of course, either way, the stock will tank.

    (granted, it's on the uptick the last few days).
  • Reply 6 of 33
    jidojido Posts: 125member
    The demos do indeed work on the iPhone. Nice!
  • Reply 7 of 33
    esxxiesxxi Posts: 75member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gto65l View Post


    Way to support your kid! "You're not special, everyone can do it." I'm guessing he's just mad because his kid gets more downloads than he does.



    He's encouraging people to give coding a go, not dismissing what his kid has done.
  • Reply 8 of 33
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ncee View Post


    Mini Steve …



    To be Steve he would have to be a tyrannical, sociopathic and selfish, and not create the software himself but get others to create his vision under harsh, yet somehow rewarding, working conditions.



    Edit: Unless you meant Woz.
  • Reply 9 of 33
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gto65l View Post


    Way to support your kid! "You're not special, everyone can do it." I'm guessing he's just mad because his kid gets more downloads than he does.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by esXXI View Post


    He's encouraging people to give coding a go, not dismissing what his kid has done.



    Well, we also have to consider clutural differences. Bragging about your kid in public may fly well in some places (I know parents in the USA live for it) but modesty takes precedence in some cultures. I can't speak for Singapore, but I know many Asian cultures tend towards public modesty. That is not to say that the father does not give his son high praise--it might just be done in private.
  • Reply 10 of 33
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    The falling leaves animation works perfectly on the iPhone.
  • Reply 11 of 33
    A parent supporting a 9-year old creating a war game is very sad; it's precisely the kind of thing that is wrong with adults in this world.
  • Reply 12 of 33
    iq78iq78 Posts: 256member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by carloblackmore View Post


    A parent supporting a 9-year old creating a war game is very sad; it's precisely the kind of thing that is wrong with adults in this world.



    Give me a break.



    I'd like you to show me any evidence that any boy in any culture at any time in history hasn't been initially fascinated with combat of some sort. It's hard-wired and comes in very handy during necessary conflicts or competitive situations. It's likely the result of natural levels of testosterone and male brain development. It is one of the things that makes-the-world-go-around (or destroys it... either way... it is what it is.)
  • Reply 13 of 33
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    To be Steve he would have to be a tyrannical, sociopathic and selfish, and not create the software himself but get others to create his vision under harsh, yet somehow rewarding, working conditions.



    Edit: Unless you meant Woz.



    Woz hasn't done anything successful since work on the first apple computers.



    It's sad, really.
  • Reply 14 of 33
    Not to bust anyone bubbles, but how the heck do this kid is able to fluent in 6 programming languages and even write a app at the age of 9??? A child can even barely read or speak at the age of 2 and he starts using computer at the age of 2? Heck how old he started learning programming? 4 years old? Yikes, and I know in Asian country, esp Singapore, they tend to be very competitive in their education, so assuming he goes to school, where the heck he finds the time to program, do school work and other activities. I dunno, but I remain skeptical. If he master only 1 programming language and written a iPhone app at 9 then I believe, but 6???



    Not to be jealous or anything, just I find it hard to believe.
  • Reply 15 of 33
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post


    I'm sure it's a fun toy, and good work for a 9-year old, but without Pantone support and color profiles it's useless for graphic designers.



    Yes, I'm kidding.



    LMAO!
  • Reply 16 of 33
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wheelhot View Post


    Not to bust anyone bubbles, but how the heck do this kid is able to fluent in 6 programming languages and even write a app at the age of 9??? A child can even barely read or speak at the age of 2 and he starts using computer at the age of 2? Heck how old he started learning programming? 4 years old? Yikes, and I know in Asian country, esp Singapore, they tend to be very competitive in their education, so assuming he goes to school, where the heck he finds the time to program, do school work and other activities. I dunno, but I remain skeptical. If he master only 1 programming language and written a iPhone app at 9 then I believe, but 6???



    Not to be jealous or anything, just I find it hard to believe.



  • Reply 17 of 33
    zandroszandros Posts: 537member
    Am I not reading the article right, because the 5528.1 build of Safari 4 seems to be able to animate the leaves/boxes and it's several weeks old?
  • Reply 18 of 33
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wheelhot View Post


    Not to be jealous or anything, just I find it hard to believe.



    I was programming at his age. Even writing original stuff. You don't have to be Einstein.
  • Reply 19 of 33
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    Woz hasn't done anything successful since work on the first apple computers.



    It's sad, really.



    It is. While I am sure Jobs would have been successful in many other fields as I think it I'd his personality and that Woz would have never had the business accumen to make his PC a viable product, he was the catalyst. I do find it a bit odd that only after Apple's redmergence that Woz seems to be seeking the spotlight. Perhaps it only appears that way because the tech media is more interested in Apple's go-founder, but I don't think so.
  • Reply 20 of 33
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wheelhot View Post


    Not to bust anyone bubbles, but how the heck do this kid is able to fluent in 6 programming languages and even write a app at the age of 9??? A child can even barely read or speak at the age of 2 and he starts using computer at the age of 2? Heck how old he started learning programming? 4 years old? Yikes, and I know in Asian country, esp Singapore, they tend to be very competitive in their education, so assuming he goes to school, where the heck he finds the time to program, do school work and other activities. I dunno, but I remain skeptical. If he master only 1 programming language and written a iPhone app at 9 then I believe, but 6???



    Not to be jealous or anything, just I find it hard to believe.



    Not that far fetched, my twins started using a computer at about 2 & a half. They like to build train tracks on PBSKids.



    Computers came into my house when I was about 10 & I learned quickly how to use them through the motivation of games. It shouldn't be shocking that a kid starting at such a young age would grow up understanding the computers in a way that many of us never have. It's like language, earlier you start learning the better, your brain is able to absorb a lot more the younger you are.



    I doubt anyone pushed this kid to much to play with technology, especially considering they're using Macs.
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