Apple dumped so much information on developers and fans at Monday’s WWDC keynote that it’s no wonder that some other interesting news went by unnoticed. Here are some of the stories you might want to check out now that the keynote onslaught has lessened.
Apple Shifts TV Ads In-House as ChiatDay Rift Widens
I’ve been hearing whispers about this for the last six months or so, and now Bloomberg has released an official report along those lines: Apple’s moving its non-iPhone advertising in-house. ChiatDay and the Media Arts Lab still appear to be doing iPhone advertising for now, but who knows how long Apple plans to keep using third-parties? It’s a great way to double down on secrecy.
At Long Last, Apple iPhone Apps Will Have Access to Full-Speed Web Browsing
For several years now, Apple’s Safari app on iOS has had a leg up on other third-party browsers, as it was the only one that could take advantage of the company’s Nitro Javascript engine. With iOS 8, this restriction appears to have been lifted, allowing all third-party browsers to take advantage of faster render times and speeds.
After 14 years, the “Preview Kid” on OS X’s Preview icon is no more
OS X Yosemite’s upcoming UI redesign is trimming some venerable interface elements from the Mac operating system. (Sayonara, brushed metal!) Sadly, those trims include the kid from the Preview icon. In Yosemite, the child in the oversized collared shirt is no more, leaving only soothing waves in his wake. We’re sure he’ll have a good post-Apple-icon life, especially if it means he finally gets to change into some properly-fitting clothing.
Apple Begins Asking Developers to Turn On Family Sharing for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite Apps
Announced at the keynote, Apple’s new Family Sharing initiative will let up to six members of your family (who use the same credit card) share purchased apps, music, movies, and the like between their devices. But to keep content providers and creators happy, it looks as though this feature will actually be opt-in—so if you make an app or write music, you’ll need to pop into iTunes Connect and enable Family Sharing for your product.
Swift: Apple’s next-generation programming language 4 years in the making
Apple’s new programming language, Swift, took many a developer by surprise during its announcement at the WWDC keynote on Monday. But the company didn’t just pull Swift out thin air: the language has been in development for over four years. iMore’s Rene Ritchie has a great overview of the project’s origins.
And speaking of Swift, how easy is it to learn? So easy that a developer created a Flappy Bird clone in just four hours. Pretty crazy.
Author: Serenity Caldwell, Associate Editor
Serenity has been writing and talking and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, writes, acts, sings, and wears an assortment of hats.