Our little blue and green TUAW tipster birdie is chirpin' again, and this time the news could make both developers and consumers happy if everything pans out. From what we hear, evidence has been found that references to the ARM architecture appear in several of Leopard's standard include files, such as those found in the /usr/include/machine directory. Since ARM is the type of processor found in the iPhone but not in any Macs (for the most part, virtually any Mac still in service is likely running on PowerPC or the newer Intel processors), this is leading some to believe that these references are a sign that Leopard could usher in an update to Apple's Xcode development app, allowing Mac OS X developers access to the current holy grail of making true apps for the iPhone - apps that would be able to take advantage of things like synching data, storing files, RSS feeds and a whole lot more. Imagine being able to truly travel with, edit and create new Yojimbo notes (instead of simply view them with Webjimbo), bring your NetNewsWire feeds or do basic blogging with a mini-MarsEdit or ecto, and you have only seen the tip of the iceberg that is the iPhone's 3rd party app potential.

[Update: Adrian, Webjimbo's developer, set me straight in the comments that Webjimbo can in fact create and edit Yojimbo notes, bookmarks, archives and serials. This leads me to agree with Derik DeLong at MacUser: Webjimbo is indeed one of, if not the, coolest implementations of web 2.0 technology that integrates with a desktop app.]

Of course, for now this is merely speculation, but it's still speculation based on evidence whose existence is a bit puzzling. Fortunately, October is getting closer by the day, so we should have a clearer idea as to when a true iPhone SDK is coming. I simply hope that it's still a closely guarded question of when in Apple's eyes, instead of 'if.'

Along with all the Mac OS X-related announcements at WWDC today, Apple also announced a solution, of sorts, to the 3rd party apps conundrum surrounding the iPhone.

Since the device's announcement at Macworld '07 earlier this year, one of the largest questions everyone had for Apple was whether the company would allow 3rd parties to develop applications for it. After all, with such a powerful device and what is likely to be a very, very broad user base, not allowing users extend the functionality of the iPhone could be a significant - if not mortal - roadblock for the device. At one point, Apple VPs confirmed there would be no 3rd party apps, and even Steve Jobs himself confirmed that the iPhone would be a closed platform in the name of security and making sure users didn't take down the West Coast AT&T network because "some application messed up." As you can imagine, this comment was widely slammed, largely because plenty of other mobile phone platforms (Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, etc.) allow for 3rd party apps, and to this day no phone has reportedly knocked out any portion of a coastal network.

Still, users and developers saw through this bizarre smoke screen and still requested a more relevant and definitive answer as to whether the iPhone will allow 3rd party apps. Eventually, Jobs began to hint at the possibility, telling the community that Apple was 'considering the possibility.' Today, finally, Steve Jobs revealed Apple's plan for allowing 3rd party apps on the iPhone, and it surprisingly involves Safari and web 2.0/AJAX technologies.

Both on stage during today's WWDC keynote and in a press release issued this afternoon, it was revealed that the iPhone will allows 3rd party apps which:

look and behave just like the applications built into iPhone, and which can seamlessly access iPhone's services, including making a phone call, sending an email and displaying a location in Google Maps. Third-party applications created using Web 2.0 standards can extend iPhone's capabilities without compromising its reliability or security.

This is an interesting compromise for Apple, and one that has understandably been met with mixed fanfare. On the one hand, leveraging web technologies will allow both Mac OS X developers and web developers to easily get their apps onto the iPhone. This opens the door for a lot more people to get their apps and services on the iPhone since they won't have to learn the entirety of Mac OS X. Interestingly, this could have a serious effect on Safari's market share (or WebKit's share, depending on how you look at it), since Apple has now made their browser available for Windows and a hotly anticipated mobile device.

On the other hand, developers might understandably feel a bit constrained by the limitations of web technologies and not having full access to the iPhone's operating system like they do on a real Mac running Mac OS X. While Steve Jobs demonstrated some surprisingly powerful apps built to run in Safari on the iPhone, this doesn't mean every desktop app that users want a mobile counterpart for can sufficiently run in an environment that's limited by web 2.0 and AJAX.

Of course, it's still very early to tell; while the initial reaction to the iPhone 3rd party app compromise has been mixed, we'll all just have to wait and see what the 3rd parties can make of this system when the iPhone is released and the apps start (hopefully) rolling in.

One of the appeals of MacHeist that a few participating developers cited for their participation is residual sales. Things like upgrade licenses, extra plugins and add-ons can all be big boosts to a 3rd party developer's revenue, and some of MacHeist's participating devs have certainly hit the ground running. Yesterday I received my confirmation emails and licenses from RealMac Software (RapidWeaver) and Dave Watanabe (NewsFire), both with exclusive offers for MacHeist customers. First, RealMac Software is offering a 10% discount on theme packs, and Dave is offering a 'lifetime upgrade' add-on for NewsFire for a mere $11. We've also known from early on that John Casasanta has had a version 4.0 upgrade just around the corner for iClip, and MacroMates had an offer on the table since day 1 of at least 60% off an upgrade license to an upcoming version 2 release of TextMate.

It will be interesting to see how all this plays out for these 3rd party developers in the coming months. I know I'm already falling in love with TextMate, and even though I use WordPress, ecto and Dreamweaver for most of my website needs, RapidWeaver is tempting me with its sexy ease of use and purty themes. The 3rd party devs, it seems, have already made a revenue statistic out of me.

While the Mac community anxiously awaits a much-rumored and much-needed Finder update in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Simplehelp decided to survey the landscape of 3rd party alternatives for a temporary fix. A total of 10 Finder replacements are reviewed, with a chart that rounds up the basics, and plenty of screenshots to accompany each app.

While Path Finder is obviously one of the reigning kings of this genre, Simplehelp found some pretty unique - though not always functioning - takes on the file management paradigm, all with significant pros and cons to consider.

While I haven't put all these apps to the test recently, I've given many of them a spin at least in the last year or two, and I can't say I'm optimistic for a 3rd party's ability to replace the Finder any time soon. Apple seems pretty intent on locking down their (arguably aging) Finder, and it seems we're all stuck with it until those rumors of a revamp come true.