Tomorrow marks the kick off of WWDC 2010, Apple’s annual developer event, and despite all the leaks, rumors, intrigue and speculation, Steve Jobs is still promising that we “won’t be disappointed.” Top of the list of expected announcements is the fourth-generation iPhone, tentatively expected to be the iPhone HD, and SlashGear will be at the Jobs keynote tomorrow morning, Monday June 7th, to liveblog the whole event at http://live.slashgear.com/.
After the cut… iPhone HD, Safari 5 with lashings of HTML5, iPhone OS 4.0 and more!
The iPhone HD is tipped to have a higher resolution, 960 x 640 IPS display making for the crispest graphics on a smartphone to-date, together with a choice of black and white casings. It’s also expected to be slimmer and more squared off than the existing iPhone 3GS, with a higher resolution main camera – complete with 720p HD video recording and an LED flash for the first time – and a front-facing camera for video calls.
Of course, while that seems as good as locked in, there’s no shortage of other rumors to contend with. Steve Ballmer may not be on stage, but the persistent talk of a Verizon iPhone continues to circulate. Still, that’s not expected to arrive until later in 2010. Meanwhile there’s talk of Safari 5 making its debut – though sometime during WWDC, rather than necessarily at the keynote – complete with new RSS functionality, faster JavaScript, the addition of Bing Search to the options, improved HTML5 support and new developer tools. Considering HTML5 is already going to be a big part of the WWDC developer sessions, the new browser looks increasingly likely.
Finally, we’re expecting news on when exactly we can expect iPhone OS 4.0, bringing with it multitasking, background processes for certain key functionality like streaming audio and navigation, new media playback controls, file sharing and more. Full details on OS 4.0 here.
As always, our liveblog system is auto-updating thanks to some nifty push technology, so you’ll always see the latest news as it’s added and it won’t bog down your browser. We’ve also added in a push comments system this time around, so that readers can add their own feedback to the keynote. We’ll be kicking things off just before 10am PST tomorrow morning (1pm New York; 6pm London), Monday June 7th 2010, at http://live.slashgear.com/, so join us for all the news!
Feuds are nothing new no matter who is feuding be it the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s, VHS and Betamax, Blu-ray and HD DVD, or Flash and HTML5. Some feuds last decades, others are over in a few short years or months. Apple has decided to add a page to its website to promote the use of HTML 5 and web standards in general.
The theme of the page seems to be to stop the folks that like to say things like HTML5 is OK, but Flash can do this etcetera and so on. As you might expect the new page touts the open nature of HTML5 and Apple’s adherence to open standards in its products.
The page is also filled with demos that users can check out to see how well HTML5 works for things like photo and video rendering and more. It’s still interesting to me that Microsoft and Apple have both come done on the same side of this feud. It’s really no surprise though, Apple wants HTML5 to be the standards and Microsoft has Silverlight that competes directly with Flash.
If Apple thought Adobe would merely roll over and accept their recent snubs regarding Flash on the iPad and digital content, then they should probably think again. Adobe have officially announced their Digital Viewer Technology for Magazines – used in the recently-released Wired iPad magazine – a soon-to-be-released add on to the new InDesign CS5 app which will allow would-be publishers to quickly take digital content and package it as magazines.
As well as streamlining digital magazine production, the Digital Viewer app also promises to make in-magazine advertising more straightforward for publishers. Various screen-sizes will be supported, together with video, audio, animated infographics, 360-degree views and more; according to Adobe, the first multiplatform release of the Digital Viewer Technology will be toward the end of 2010.
Press Release:
Adobe Unveils Digital Viewer Technology for Magazines
Revolutionary WIRED Reader Application Delivered Through New Adobe Digital Publishing Technologies
SAN JOSE, Calif., — June 1, 2010 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) has unveiled a new digital viewer technology that enables print publishers to bring stunning digital versions of their magazines to life. This new publishing software was developed with input from Condé Nast’s WIRED magazine, a publication that recently debuted a digital edition for Apple iPad, utilizing the new digital viewer technology. WIRED’s June issue Reader application, now available through the Apple iTunes App Store, is built using Adobe’s digital viewer software.
“Adobe’s work with WIRED has resulted in a digital magazine format that creates an immersive experience, allowing a publication’s unique content, look and feel and advertising to stand out in the digital realm,” said David Burkett, vice president and general manager, Creative Solutions at Adobe. “We aim to make our digital viewer software available to all publishers soon and plan to deliver versions that work across multiple hardware platforms. It’s safe to say that if you are already working in InDesign CS5, you’ll be well on your way to producing a beautiful digital version of your publication.”
With engaging, interactive features and a fresh navigational metaphor, the WIRED Reader showcases the capabilities of Adobe’s new digital viewer technology, allowing readers to experience video content, slide-shows, 360 degree images and rotate content in vertical and horizontal modes. Designed by the award-winning print team, the WIRED Reader goes several steps further, taking advantage of the tablet form factor and enabling readers to explore magazine content using touch gestures, including a zoomed-out browse mode, to see the content of the issue at a glance. Readers are able to experience the design fidelity of a print magazine, with the dynamic interactivity of digital media.
The viewer technology also promises a new advertising paradigm. With the WIRED Reader major corporations are already using the new interactive features to deliver high-impact brand campaigns. These advertisements encourage readers to interact with each brand, integrate seamlessly with the content and keep readers within the magazine experience. Adopting this new digital magazine medium, publishers have the opportunity to expand their advertising inventory and by reaching readers in new ways, increase circulation and deliver incremental digital revenue.
“Our partnership with Adobe allowed us to re-imagine and rebuild a print issue into an amazing digital magazine experience on iPad,” said Thomas J. Wallace, editorial director of Condé Nast. “WIRED’s visionary execution of Adobe technology expands the potential of this new medium for all Condé Nast magazines. Our work with Adobe is just beginning. We expect to use this technology to deliver more of our publications over the coming months.”
Created with Adobe® InDesign® CS5 and additional Adobe publishing technologies, the WIRED Reader showcases how Adobe is enabling magazine and other publishers to deliver groundbreaking experiences across tablets, smartphones and other devices. Soon, the company plans to deliver software on Adobe Labs that will help publishers to transform InDesign CS5 layouts into compelling applications like WIRED Reader. Because this digital magazine solution integrates tightly with Adobe Creative Suite® 5, publishers can expect to leverage their existing workflow investments and designer skills.
The WIRED Reader can be downloaded from Apple iTunes App Store and costs US$4.99.
To learn more about the Adobe’s digital publishing platform for magazines, eBooks and newspapers go to: www.adobe.com/go/digitalpublishing
Mind you, it’s just a preview release, but Chris Smoak’s Smokescreen does exactly what it promises: enable Flash content to play on Apple’s iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. Kind of. Here’s how Smokescreen gets around using a Flash plugin as described by Simon Willison:
“It runs entirely in the browser, reads in SWF binaries, unzips them (in native JS), extracts images and embedded audio and turns them in to base64 encoded data:uris, then stitches the vector graphics back together as animated SVG.”
While it works fine with simple animated banner ads (uh, huzzah!?), we found that Smokescreened Flash content like video and games was impossibly slow when tested on our iPhone 3G. Still, it’s a start for this soon to be open sourced Flash player written in JavaScript. Check the video after the break for a demonstration or give it a go for yourselves by browsing over to the appropriate source link below.
You might’ve looked at that title a few times, thinking we made a typo. Well, we didn’t. Realease (real-ease) have just pulled the curtain off a brand new 10-inch tablet that runs on Linux, and is predominantly designed for all the developers out there that would like a more mobile way to design things. It’s got a few options to make any tablet fan out there happy, so let’s just dig right into it.
First and foremost, there’s going to be two options: the first, which will be available this August, is the 10-inch version is based on Freescale’s i.MX37 (ARM 11) processor; while another model features Freescale’s i.MX51 (ARM Cortex A8) processor. The entire Linux Operating System is, obviously, based on open source methodologies, so the tablet itself is open for interpretation, and is basically only limited to your development know-how. There is a very simple User Interface (UI) implanted on the device, which promotes HTML5-based applications.
You’ll find three USB connection ports, two of which are external and one’s tucked away inside. You’ll also find Ethernet connector, a microphone port, as well as a port for headphones. There’s an integrated webcam of unknown MP, and there’s an accelerometer as well. But, probably best of all, there’s a kickstand, too. As we mentioned, the Shogo tablet is designed for developers, so it doesn’t look like Realease has any plans to make it “widely” available, but we imagine that if you were really interested (and not necessarily a developer), you could get your hands on this bad boy later this year. No word on pricing quite yet. But check out the video, as one very enthusiastic man shows off the pretty new piece of tech.
Apple’s iPad is something of a powerhouse when it comes to videos, or at least that’s what Apple wants you to think of their tablet device. And, if you were to watch the antics of ABC and Netflix, then you might think that’s true. But, they’re not the only sources of video out there, and even if CBS and others are focusing on the transition to HTML5 themselves, there’s still some companies out there that believe Flash is still where the focus of the Internet is. For example, Time Warner and NBC dont’ feel the need to switch.
And, just to make sure that their point gets across, sources are saying that these two companies informed Apple directly that they don’t have any plans to transition to the Apple-friendly format. Both Time Warner and NBC are suggesting that reformatting would be expensive, and ultimately not worth it because Flash still dominates the Internet.
“Sources said several large media companies, including Time Warner and NBC Universal, told Apple they won’t retool their extensive video libraries to accommodate the iPad, arguing that such a reformatting would be expensive and not worth it because Flash dominates the Web.”
More to the point though, the article from the New York Post suggests that these companies, and probably others like it, are happy to wait for tablets from competitors such as HP and Dell. With a focus on Flash from these other tablets, it seems that these companies are betting they’ll be able to make a bigger push for supremacy than Apple has been making since the iPad’s announcement. Is Flash doomed? What do you think?
Adobe might be heaping the pressure onto Apple when it comes to Flash support on the iPad and iPhone, but they’re also looking to embrace HTML5 development. At Google I/O 2010 today, the company took to the stage to announce the HTML5 Pack for Dreamweaver CS5, an extension that allows for straightforward handling of HTML5 and CSS3 capabilities, as well as designing single pages that will be usable across multiple screen sizes, whether PC, smartphone or tablet.
Among the supported features are 2D/3D Transformations, Animations, Background and Border, Basic User Interface, Line Layout, Marquee, Media Queries, MultiColumn, Ruby, Text and Transitions. Meanwhile Adobe will be adding more features as the CSS3 and HTML5 standards are finalized.
Most impressive, perhaps, is the simplicity of HTML5 development with the new tools; Adobe basically created a webapp on-stage, complete with animations, all with a few clicks. The HTML5 Pack for Dreamweaver CS5 is a free download for registered users
Press Release:
Adobe Delivers HTML5 Support in Dreamweaver CS5
Immediate Availability of Adobe HTML5 Pack Announced at Google I/O
SAN FRANCISCO, May 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Adobe Systems Incorporated (ADBE 32.90, -0.38, -1.14%) today announced, at the Google I/O conference, a new HTML5 solution that is immediately available for Web designers and developers. The Adobe HTML5 Pack is an extension to Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, the latest version of the industry-leading HTML authoring tool for website design. This extension provides more creative options to Adobe Creative Suite 5 users — so they can more easily create, deliver and optimize compelling content consistently, across the widest array of screens, to maximize revenue streams and forward their businesses.
Availability of this HTML5 Pack extension is the direct result of positive customer feedback that began at Adobe MAX 2009 when the company first gave a sneak peek of the technology, and then again most recently following a post on the Adobe Design and Web blog, where additional HTML5 and CSS3 R&D investments were discussed. Underscoring its commitment to this emerging standard, Adobe has made its HTML5 Pack extension for Dreamweaver CS5 immediately available, as a free download, at http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/html5pack.html.
“Adobe prides itself on delivering industry-defining tools and being compatible with the most popular Web programming languages, formats, APIs and libraries,” said Lea Hickman, senior director, Creative Solutions at Adobe. “We continue to move forward to support the leading edge of work in HTML, enabling our customers to deliver creative content taking advantage of the latest in HTML capabilities.”
“One of Dreamweaver’s great strengths is its extensibility and it’s encouraging to see that Adobe has wasted no time in providing support for those parts of HTML 5 and CSS3 that are already supported by several browsers,” said David Powers, founder and developer, Foundation PHP. “By adding support through an extension, rather than hard-baking it into the core program, Dreamweaver should be able to keep pace with developments as the specifications and browsers evolve.”
The HTML5 Pack extension includes new code hinting for HTML5 and CSS3 capabilities to enable Dreamweaver users to easily make use of new HTML5 tags. The extension also includes WebKit engine updates and improvements to support video and audio in Dreamweaver CS5’s Live View. With new CSS3 capabilities users can more easily design multi-screen Web pages, with previews of how they will render across multiple browsers and devices. Additionally, the HTML5 Pack features HTML5 starter layouts to the New Document dialog box in Dreamweaver CS5, making it easier for users to accelerate their efforts to design and develop with the latest in emerging Web standards.
About Dreamweaver CS5
Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 is the latest release of the company’s award-winning authoring tool for designing and building websites. It delivers powerful new tools for PHP programmers supporting popular PHP-based content management systems like Drupal, Joomla and WordPress. Dreamweaver CS5 also delivers a powerful new inspect mode tool for CSS, while in Live View, so that designers can visualize complex interactions of styles for more efficient editing. Built-in support for Adobe BrowserLab is also new in Dreamweaver CS5, making it even easier and faster to test website designs across browsers and operating systems.
Pricing, Availability and System Requirements
The HTML5 Pack extension for Dreamweaver CS5 is available for both Mac OS X and Windows and can be downloaded for free from Adobe Labs at: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/html5pack.html.
Dreamweaver CS5 is available through the Adobe Store, Adobe Direct Sales, and Adobe Authorized Resellers for an estimated street price of $399 (US). Existing Macromedia Dreamweaver 8, GoLive, Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 or CS4 users can upgrade for an estimated street price of $199 (US). Dreamweaver CS5 is also included in Adobe Master Collection CS5, Adobe Design Premium CS5 as well as Adobe Web Premium CS5.
About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information — anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
(C) 2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Creative Suite and Dreamweaver are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Mac OS is a trademark of Apple. Windows is a registered is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Everything is eventual, and even through this discouraging blog post from Hulu on the state of HTML5 in relation to the video streaming service, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that we can all look forward to. (If you dislike Flash, and are hoping for HTML5 adoption, that is.) Today Hulu updated their video player today, and while some may have assumed it would ultimately be HTML5 ready, that’s not the case. And it might not be for a little while longer.
Hulu Vice President of Products, Eugene Wei, wanted to take some time after the launch of the new video player to discuss the company’s view on HTML5, and how it relates to Hulu as a whole. Basically, it boils down to the fact that the company does not believe HTML5 is ready for prime time: “As of now, it doesn’t yet meet all of our customers’ needs.” Pretty bold words, but he backs them up with explaining that Hulu isn’t just about streaming video; it also entails handling the reports for advertisers, as well as secure the video content.
There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, and Wei and company do not believe that HTML5 is ready for the spotlight quite yet. Wei did note that, while it may not happen soon, that it is perfectly plausible that some time in the future HTML5 could do all of the things the company needs it to do, and therefore be adopted. As of right now, though, it’s looking like Flash isn’t going anywhere.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs may not have much good to say about Flash, but Adobe are taking the high ground; well, assuming the high ground is an ad campaign across various high-profile sites that professes their love not only for Flash, Apple and HTML5, but for “Freedom Of Choice”. That campaign – which you can see, delivered in Flash naturally, on Adobe’s homepage – is supported by an open letter from founders Chuck Geschke and John Warnock in which they warn that Apple may have “taken a step that could undermine this next chapter of the web.”
In fact the whole letter is a thinly-veiled critique of Apple’s relatively closed-garden approach to developing, to functionality and to control.
“We believe that consumers should be able to freely access their favorite content and applications, regardless of what computer they have, what browser they like, or what device suits their needs. No company — no matter how big or how creative — should dictate what you can create, how you create it, or what you can experience on the web.” Adobe co-founders
Will Apple listen? It seems unlikely, and given the ongoing shift we’re seeing of websites changing their delivery methods to HTML5 and other Apple-friendly technologies – Scribd being a recent example – there’s a considerable shift to combat.
It’s looking more and more likely that Flash’s fate will be decided not by technical merit but by market dominance, and with the iPad dominating tablet sales this year it seems companies are content to abandon Adobe’s technology in favor of HTML5 simply to get a foot in the touchscreen door. Online document sharing site Scribd are the latest to jump ship, with CTO Jared Friedman bluntly stating “we are scrapping three years of Flash development and betting the company on HTML5.”
“We are scrapping three years of Flash development and betting the company on HTML5 because we believe HTML5 is a dramatically better reading experience than Flash. Now any document can become a Web page” Jared Friedman, CTO, Scribd
Scribd’s existing system embeds Flash viewers into a webpage, and obviously isn’t visible on the iPad’s browser or on smartphones that lack Flash support. The new HTML5 system, which has been a six month project for the company, will basically treat documents as webpages using bookmark tools to keep place, regular sharing tools to export contents or links via email, Facebook and Twitter, and support pinch-zooming on platforms like the iPad.
Scribd plan to switch on their HTML5 functionality from tomorrow, with an initial 200,000 documents available using the new system. Eventually, though, all documents will be offered via HTML5 rather than Flash. Friedman reckons 97-percent of browsers will be able to view the documents, since the text-related aspects of HTML5 are older and more widely-adopted.
If Apple thought Adobe would merely roll over and accept their recent snubs regarding Flash on the iPad and digital content, then they should probably think again. Adobe have 
Adobe might be 
