Daring Fireball discusses an article imagining how complicated iOS will get if it gets the split-screen, multi-app view that Windows 8 has.
But I think they’re completely missing the point of iOS 7’s apps owning the whole screen and living “behind” the status bar.
Apple is very slow and methodical. What I think this means is that
Apple already has “universal apps” that run on both iPhones and iPads, from a single binary. The user only has to buy an app once, and it will run on any iOS device they have. (Note that not all companies provide their apps this way, and I believe companies like Omni Group and others that sell their apps separately for the iPhone and iPad are desperately clinging to the past, but that’s the subject of another post.)
But why not take this a step further? Why not have apps that run on iPhones and iPads also run on Macs? Why bother having 2 App Stores, one for iOS and one for OS X? Microsoft is going down this route with their (future) plans to merge their Windows and Windows Phone stores. But how can Apple do something similar without running into the same problem Windows 8 has, which is making the desktop experience catered too much to a touch interface? How can Apple leverage their thousands of iOS developers and get them to be OS X developers?
There are several ways that Continue reading
The Verge has reported that Microsoft is planning on releasing OneNote for the Mac. While Evernote is certainly a target, I think there’s more to the story than that.
There are also rumors of iOS 8 containing a note-taking application. How this app differs from the built-in iOS Notes app is not clear, but it may have a lot to do with this acquisition by Apple: Continue reading
Sapphire screens have made a big splash in the rumor mill lately for the next generation of iPhones. All the stories I’ve read tout sapphire’s scratch resistance, shatter-resistance, and even caustic substance resistance as great for consumers–but what about the enterprise?
In the days of yore, Windows CE handhelds were available from some manufacturers as ‘hardened’ devices to withstand the rigors of factories, and use by field workers and healthcare workers. However, two things conspire against the availability of hardened devices in the age of iOS and Android: Continue reading
I will be giving a talk on enterprise iOS development for Windows Azure at the Modern Apps Live conference. This is held next month in Las Vegas.
The whole conference is about using Azure as a back end for apps written for iOS, Android, WinPhone8, Windows 8, and the Web (responsive design).
The talks are about the design and coding of Continue reading
Well, I finally finished the third installment of my blog post series “9 Steps to Enterprise Mobile Self-Actualization” on the Magenic.com web site.
If you’re looking for inspiration for your enterprise mobile strategy, and how to take your apps from blah (low ROI) to wow (high ROI), Continue reading
Whether you’re a CMO with business-focused teams reporting to you, or a technical manager or CIO with technical teams reporting to you—and you’re deciding which platforms to support for your internally-facing enterprise apps or externally-facing consumer apps—ask your teams this:
Why does Apple’s simulator only give you 5 device options (really just 3 distinct form factors), while Android’s emulator gives you over 20—and that’s just the popular ones?
As expected, some amazing news came out of Apple’s WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) this week. And while much of it was consumer-oriented, there was one particular new feature revealed that is of extreme importance to the enterprise*.
Buried deep on the iOS 7 Features page (http://www.apple.com/ios/ios7/features/), Apple talks about “enterprise single sign-on support”. Now, I don’t know about you, but for several of Magenic’s enterprise clients, this is the holy grail that they’ve been waiting for.
I’ll take a stab and presume that Apple is talking about Kerberos single sign-on (SSO), as that is the industry standard. And, whether it’s API-based or configuration profile-based, it could be the answer to many an IT executive’s dreams.
SSO has been in the enterprise for over a decade, but hasn’t made an official appearance on iOS or Android mobile devices, yet, other than a technology preview for Android from 3rd parties (i.e., not as part of the OS itself). Kerberos, it turns out, was never originally designed for mobile devices. Microsoft was first to market with a mobile Kerberos solution, when it shipped Windows Phone 8 with Kerberos support. iOS and Android lagged in this respect, so it’s good for enterprises to hear that iOS 7 now supports Kerberos for SSO.
For the enterprise, this may be the single most important new feature in iOS 7. The flat new user interface is garnering the most media attention, but enterprises know that connectivity rules supreme. Any mobile solution, whether BYOD or corporate-provided devices, must have a simple, user-friendly way for employees to connect to multiple networks and servers with a single sign-on.
*Unfortunately, Apple’s NDA for the iOS 7 beta means I can only discuss publicly available information. (If you provide me evidence of an Apple Developer Account, I’ll be glad to discuss more with you via my employer, Magenic.com.)
Lou Miranda 