AlterNote released on the Mac App Store

AlterNote – elegant minimalistic note taking app for Evernote – released on the Mac App Store (with introductory price of $4.99).

Check out review on MacStories:

This simplified version of Evernote is slick, quick and gets out of the way, while syncing flawlessly with my Evernote database. And all for just $5.

On the other hand this app is a great example of a demand for clean simple applications with well-defined functionality. I wonder if Evernote would buy it one day.

Introducing Windows, 10 Editions

In a blog post Microsoft announces variations in which Windows 10 will come:

As in the past, we will offer different Windows editions that are tailored for various device families and uses. These different editions address specific needs of our various customers, from consumers to small businesses to the largest enterprises.

I counted 9 of them so far:

• Windows 10 Home
• Windows 10 Mobile
• Windows 10 Pro
• Windows 10 Enterprise
• Windows 10 Education
• Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise
• Windows 10 IoT Core
• versions of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise for industry devices

Will Windows 10 come in 10 editions, when it is released?

Google, Microsoft, Facebook & Adobe’s iOS Apps

MacStories published an interesting piece with stats on how major non-game app developers maintain their apps in the iOS App Store. The article compares Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Facebook. The choice of companies for research is very interesting because

• Google maintains its own successful mobile platform
• Microsoft also maintains its own (although, not as successful) mobile platform and until recently was very reluctant with bringing their major apps to iOS
• Adobe has always had its traditional market and audience on desktops
• Facebook represents new-age service originated from the Web and cannot move forward without mobile.

Definitely worth checking out.

Threes vs. 2048 on Google Play

Threes, precursor and inspiration to popular game 2048, has been removed from Google Play because it used "2048" as a keyword. Jessica Conditt reporting for Engadget:

Google – probably a human there, not a robot – reinstated Threes after just a few hours offline and following a stream of articles and Twitter activity around its removal. Of course, 2048 remained live on Google Play the entire time, alongside a bunch of other Threes clones. This string of events highlights one of the biggest differences between Google and Apple, and how they approach their app stores.

TechArcade also has a nice rundown of the situation with an angle on apps and games clones in app stores:

Pretty much any search for any popular game will turn up something that probably has a trademark or copyright that's being used without permission. Again, things are not as bad as they once were, and the App Store's got its own game title tomfoolery going on. But this Threes situation is ignoring thousands of active violations of store rules, intellectual property, and just common decency, to nail a big-name tile without warning for a questionable violation.

Take down without warning or any upfront notice was the biggest problem here. Good that Threes is back.

Dropbox for iOS to get document editing functionality

New Dropbox app for iOS announced on their blog along with highlights for future versions:

In the next few weeks we’ll be adding the ability to create Microsoft Office docs right from the Dropbox iPhone and iPad apps, so you won’t have to wait until you’re at your computer to start a project or write down notes. The Word, Excel, or Powerpoint file you create will be saved into whatever Dropbox folder you were in when you tapped ‘Create document,’ so you can access it on any of your other devices or on the web.

This looks a lot like Google Drive's document creation/editing functionality, but for Dropbox it feels a little bit over the top. For many (myself included) Dropbox is desktop-first mobile-second service. It is nice to be able to access my files from anywhere and document previews come in very handy on mobile, but editing – not so much.

This scenario

The best part, though, is how these features work together. For example, when you’re meeting with a client to brainstorm ideas for an upcoming project, you can use the recents tab on your iPhone or iPad to quickly pull up your last project for reference. Then you can create a Word doc to take notes as you discuss. After the meeting, you can @mention your client in a comment, so they have the notes and can add anything you’ve missed. Then when you get back to your desk, you can turn that Word doc into a full project plan.

sounds compelling, but the difficulty is in making users to remember to go to Dropbox app, when they want to quicky start taking notes. Firing something like Byword or iA Writer, which open with a new document ready to take your input, and saving it to Dropbox after the meeting is a lot more natural.

Open-source clone of MineCraft

TrueCraft – clean-room implementation of Minecraft with a nostalgic sentiment:

I miss the old days of Minecraft, when it was a simple game. It was nearly perfect. Most of what Mojang has added since beta 1.7.3 is fluff, life support for a game that was “done” years ago. This is my attempt to get back to the original spirit of Minecraft, before there were things like the End, or all-in-one redstone devices, or village gift shops. A simple sandbox where you can build and explore and fight with your friends. I miss that.

Looks like it is not uncommon these days to create new applications as clones of some older apps, but with less features.

Chrome is still a battery hog on Mac

The native Safari made the new Retina machine look good: 13 hours and 18 minutes. Google’s Chrome, on the other hand, forced the laptop to tap out at 9 hours and 45 minutes.

Energy efficieny is important and often neglected attribute of an application. Even more so for application, which most of us would have open at any time.

I remember the times, when Chrome literally would make fan of my MacBook Air spin at full speed. Things improved since then, but I can see with a naked eye how Safari is much easier on the battery. Nevertheless, small (or not so small things) keep me on Chrome. ⌘-Shift-T to reopen last tab and rock solid developer tools to name a few.