iOS 5 has a possible ship date, though we’d guess it was picked with a dart and a calendar. Elsewhere, enjoy the rabid secrecy that kept the original iPad cloaked in mystery, hear one architectural critic take on Apple’s new campus, and read up on Amazon’s plans to potentially offer an all-you-can-eat book buffet. The remainders for Monday, September 12, 2011 mostly try to stick to the salad bar at the all-you-can-eat book buffet.
Apple to release iOS 5 GM to assemblers during week of Sept. 23 (AppleInsider)
And the release date pool for iOS 5 keeps growing. One analyst “revealed” (how mystical) to AppleInsider that the mobile update’s Golden Master (GM), or final version, is reportedly scheduled to go out to the device assemblers on September 30. Of course, if the analyst is wrong, I propose a public shaming. There’s got to be some risk, after all.
Here’s A Great Story About The Astonishing Lengths Apple Went Through To Keep The iPad Secret (Business Insider)
With a headline like that, you’re bound to click through, right? According to an anonymous developer, who claims to be one of the first to make an app for the iPad, Apple even took pictures of the wood-grain of the desk to which the iPad test unit was chained (at Apple’s own behest, of course). That way, the company could trace back any leaked pictures. The photos are coming from inside Ikea!
Critic’s Notebook: Apple’s new campus will be a retrograde cocoon (Los Angeles Times)
One architecture critic is not enamored with the plans for Apple’s new campus, describing it as “one very long hallway connecting endlessly with itself.” Duh. That’s how you make sure the secrets don’t get out!
Amazon in Talks to Launch Digital-Book Library (Wall Street Journal)
Might Amazon be creating a Netflix-style service for digital books, allowing users to simply pay an annual fee for access to a library of content? That’s what the Journal’s sources allege. The feature would reportedly be part of Amazon’s $79-per-year Prime service. But publishers are apparently worried that it would degrade the value of books. Just like those pesky libraries, letting you borrow books for free!
An Article of Faith for Marketers: Place No Faith in Articles (Wall Street Journal)
It’s not often I get to indulge my hobbies of technology and grammatical nitpicking in a single piece, but thanks to another Wall Street Journal piece, this one about the death of the article—”a” or “the”—in front of product names, here we are. Me, I’ve decided to follow in technology companies’ footsteps, so if you need me, I’ll be out back eating sandwich with glass of chocolate milk, enjoying sun and listening to song. Article is dead!
Product News:
TNT 1.4 – Version 1.4 of TNT’s iPhone app (and its newly released iPad app) can now stream full episodes of the network’s shows, though the apps require that you log in with your television provider. Free.