Opinion Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

iPhone bug opens up stranger's life to the world

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Feb 1st, 2012)

Gizmodo has raised awareness a serious problem regarding an iMessage bug that, under the wrong circumstances, might result in your messages being seen by others, or you seeing someone else's messages. It's not a new issue; Ars Technica reported on it in December with stolen iPhones, and the problem ...

On the idea of a 7-inch Apple iPad

by Erica Sadun (Jan 10th, 2012)

There's been much debate over the idea of a 7-inch iPad from Apple. Today, our pals at MacObserver jumped into the mix with their take on things. The Kindle Fire, Ted Landau points out, offers "an e-reader with added iPad-like features for half the price of an iPad." Speaking as a happy ...

Why can't navigation apps be fun?

by Erica Sadun (Jan 6th, 2012)

With all the holidays, many of us TUAWians spent more time on the road over the past few weeks than we normally do. And when it comes to tech-savvy bloggers, more time on the road means more time with navigation apps. And more time with navigation apps made us ever more aware of our lingering ...

How Apple iBooks needs to compete with Amazon: Cross-platform support

by Erica Sadun (Jan 6th, 2012)

Amazon has trailblazed; Apple has followed. Apple's iBooks program currently allows authors to self-publish ebooks. Authors create their own business built around iTunes Connect, just as they do for self-published apps. So where does Apple have room to improve? What follows is one of several ...

10 days with iPhone 4S: a personal review

by Erica Sadun (Oct 24th, 2011)

Under normal circumstances, I would not be considered a target customer for the iPhone 4S. I bought the iPhone 4 on launch day. I was not up for renewal until late November. Because of work commitments (look for the upcoming "Taking Your iPhone 4S to the Max" co-written with fellow TUAW ...

5 iOS features that OS X needs

by Michael Grothaus (Oct 10th, 2011)

iOS 5 is set to launch this Wednesday and the beta testers I've talked to say it's a monumental leap forward. iOS 5 adds over 200 features to an already polished mobile operating system, which is arguably the best on the planet. As many Mac users know, Mac OS X Lion is no slouch either. ...

How iCloud works

by Erica Sadun (Oct 10th, 2011)

During a recent edition of TUAW TV Live, the question of how iCloud works in applications came up. After some internal consultation, we came to the conclusion that Apple has fully announced this feature and that its workings would not be considered confidential. In that spirit, here's an ...

You're the Pundit: Last chance to predict the hardware for tomorrow

by Erica Sadun (Oct 3rd, 2011)

When it comes to forecasting the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is tomorrow's hardware announcements. Update: Who won? During last night's Talkcast, the TUAW family was split over ...

What would a 4S mean to you?

by Erica Sadun (Sep 23rd, 2011)

I love my 3GS. I still use it on a daily basis as one of my primary dev units. It has a lovely PayGo SIM in it, with inexpensive data. It's an absolutely brilliant device and my love for my iPhone 4 does not diminish the 3GS's utility. I never bothered to purchase an iPhone 3G. Although I ...

You're the Pundit: When will iOS 5 debut?

by Erica Sadun (Sep 12th, 2011)

Other sites have rumors and speculation. We have the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is iOS 5. When exactly will this new firmware launch? So far, Apple has shipped seven iOS 5 betas. Will we see an eighth or ninth beta? Or is it time ...

In a post Steve Jobs world, we'll be OK

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Aug 25th, 2011)

When I heard that Steve Jobs had stepped down as CEO of Apple, I was on a remote section of U.S. Highway 15 in northern Pennsylvania on my way to Toronto. I found out via the device that Jobs put into my hand, even though he didn't sell it directly to me -- the iPhone. Some might be loathe to ...

Tim Cook: my first-person impression of Apple's new CEO

by Michael Grothaus (Aug 25th, 2011)

After yesterday's news, I was originally going to title this post "Relax. Apple's new CEO Tim Cook is gonna do just fine." I was going to push back on the conventional wisdom that nobody can lead Apple as Steve Jobs has with facts about how Tim Cook has stepped in multiple times to help Apple ...

Counterpoint: The iPad is the 'third device' I'd hoped for

by Chris Rawson (Aug 23rd, 2011)

"After years of watching the masses fawn over the iPad [...], I still can't ever imagine myself investing in one, let alone actually using one in place of a smartphone or laptop." So said Darren Murph on our sister site Engadget in a piece entitled, "Editorial: tablets aren't the 'third device' ...

Why Apple will produce iBooks/Newsstand for Mac

by Erica Sadun (Aug 5th, 2011)

We've been having a big difference of opinion here at TUAW central over this question: will Apple produce iBooks/Newsstand for OS X? I represent the "yay" side of the argument. I believe that not only will Apple produce iBooks for Mac, I think it will do so in a way that is well integrated with ...

OS X Lion Version control, the File menu, and me

by Erica Sadun (Jul 27th, 2011)

I love Lion's idea of consumer-grade version control, which Apple calls Auto Save and Versions. I'm just not particularly happy with its GUI. That's because it relies on a new vocabulary of menu choices and on users understanding what's going on under the hood. Take the save options for ...