Apple and multitasking on iPad: an essential feature despised

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• So far we have not been able to enjoy a true multitasking on iPad, can keep several windows open simultaneously on the screen. 

• The best example of true multitasking is found in Windows 8, which can work with two applications simultaneously and share features.

Today all the blogosphere related to the Apple's world has boomed. Why? Nothing more and nothing less than a delicious rumor from 9to5Mac, where apparently all analysts agree that to point at the next developer conference will witness a new feature in iOS 8: true multitasking for iPad. If so, this would be a milestone in the history of the company, which always opted for a formula so far has been obsolete compared to their rivals.

Towards a true multitasking

The best productivity tool in the day. A statement that is not mine, but rather have heard the many members of Apple repeatedly. With the iPad as the primary device in professional and educational settings, it is certain that the Cupertino company boasts that its tablet is versatile and able to tackle virtually any challenge. With thousands of apps in the App Store and most advanced mobile operating system, it appears that there is room for improvement but nothing further from reality. In post-PC era, if there is something naturally impossible to run a mobile device user, it is multitasking.

Although in iOS 7 has greatly improved the management of applications, especially the visual design of it, we are still far from that users seek. The 9.7 inch screen is more than enough to allow to open multiple applications simultaneously in the same window. Maybe not so much to a similar management OS X or Windows PC desktop, because this is a mobile device. Something equivalent to what we can find in Windows 8. Thus have seen some users as Sam Beckett, who have published their own ideas of how it should be multitasking on iPad with the release of iOS 8.



We will have to wait until the WWDC 2014 to see if we will actually see a real multitasking on the iPad or are simply rumors, although it is clear that the inclusion of this feature in our iPad would have more fans than detractors.

The MacBook variety, many options for choice

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Now that you have begun the round of renovations to the MacBook Air, will begin to do a special on the options we have in the two great ranges of Mac computers, laptops and desktops. To do this we will review the MacBook family, the Air and Pro in its different variants and Desktops iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro, and a small final detail with the Apple Cinema Display, which promises this year.

Like the MacBook Air was the first to update, let's start with laptop variety. And although we already know what will bring the MacBook Air this year, perhaps Apple has an ace up his sleeve and can introduce surprises even within the family. And of course, its big brother, the MacBook pro insurance to be renewed.

And what we have now in the MacBook variety?

Right now we have the Air and Pro Series. The first is focused directly to portability, the second to the performance. Each mode has its use and consider that Apple has a very well defined range. But in reality, the MacBook are what keep the Mac family.

The MacBook Air

The variety of the MacBook Air has been renovated this Tuesday. The update has been minimal, just a new generation of Intel processors get more clock speed, from 1.3 to 1.6 prior to the current 1.4 to 1.7 (GHz). No other changes apart from a decrease in prices.

The MacBook Pro

We have a 13-inch model without retina display and other variations in sizes 13 and 15 inch retina display. This is a performance-oriented notebook. It has plenty of power and a huge array of possibilities.

The MacBook Pro is about to be renewed, now takes 186 days without renewal. Probably during the developer conference see an update to the MacBook Pro range, so if you are thinking about buying one might be better to wait. 

If you do not need the ultra-portability of the MacBook Air, we will always have the MacBook Pro, which will give us more power. Yes, this is a high performance laptop that will serve for almost any task. Their price range is very wide and allow us to play with almost any possible configuration when suit our needs.

Acompli. Mail and Calendars productivity center for iOS

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There are already many postal operators we've seen for iOS Appleismo go through, all with the intention of wanting to move the email into the era of mobile short messages and in which we find ourselves. And almost all have completed or acquired by someone or having a rather shy success. Now comes accompli wanting to break that tradition by merging the client emails and calendars in a single application.

Accompli is divided into four sections easily accessible from a bottom bar interface: email, calendar, attachments and agenda. Thus we can consult timetables and book related messages inviting phonebook contacts without switching applications, saving many screen taps.



We also have some useful features which we have to respond quickly to short post, as the ability to share our location by integrating an interactive map in the message. 

Accompli is completely free, and an option to consider if our work requires us to look at our inbox and our agenda constantly. Works with Exchange and Google accounts. Additionally you can add optional premium services for businesses and more professional users.

iPhone: Workflow for Multi-Device Design

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Hi. I read a very interesting article RedTech. I leave here:

We’ve been seeing a lot of articles lately about the change happening in web and interactive design.

Here at redtech we’ve been grappling with many of the same issues. Since we develop mobile apps using HTML5 and PhoneGap, our goal is to build once and deliver across all platforms. The reality is very different, and one key problem for us is grappling with multiple screen resolutions.

For today’s article, I’m going to walk through our workflow for designing towards multiple screen resolutions. This is meant to be very hands on, or tactical. There’s no over-arching design philosophy here, but just some practical tips for getting the job done efficiently.

The Problem

Today’s mobile devices come in a wide array of shapes and sizes. Our current list of target screen sizes has 18 different resolutions across 6 different aspect ratios. Gone are the days when “mobile” meant the 320×480 iPhone resolution. Even there, you have three possible resolutions, 320×480, 640×960, and 640×1136.

Different versions of the iPhone have different screen resolutions – 320×480, 640×960, and 640×1136.

The Strategy

We’re going to assume that we’re building a native app in HTML5, so no desktops. Also, the design will be in landscape mode. That said, you should be able to apply this to any mobile design project.

1. Design in Illustrator
If you’re an old Photoshop hand, this is going to be hard for you. Still, you need to be working in a vector based medium as much as possible. Vector assets will scale cleanly from 320px wide to 1536. Don’t waste your life re-doing the same layout over and over again in different resolutions.

2. Design to Aspect Ratio
Depending on your background, this may be a new concept for you. Since a “pixel” has become a relative concept, there’s no reason to lock your design into a finite set of square dots on the screen. What really matters is the aspect ratio, or the relationship between the width and the height of the screen.

By designing to aspect ratio you can target more devices with the same design. For example, here’s a list of devices that all use 16:9 aspect ratio:
iPhone 5 – 640 x1136
Microsoft Phone 8 (720) – 720×1280
Android Tablet – 768×1366

By designing to the 16:9 aspect ratio you can target all these devices with the same layout.

Different screen resoutions on different devices still have the same screen resolution.

3. Plan to Adapt
Rather than create all new layouts for each aspect ratio, decide which elements of your design will change in a taller layout, and tweak the design for that scenario. For example, if you added the iPhone 4 to our list from above, it has a 3:2 aspect ratio, so it’s shorter than the iPhone 5. Now it’s time to borrow a trick from the pre HD days of video production and add some “safe zones” to your design template. This can just be a guide to let you know where the 3:2 cutoff is.

Now while you’re designing, you can make sure that all the key content appears within the 3:2 window, or you can define parts of the design that move or scale on the smaller screen.

This isn’t an easy thing to make a rule about. It depends a lot on what your app looks like and what the requirements are. Use your best judgment. Our point here is to try as much as possible to not re-design and entire layout for one or two devices.

4. Target a few Key Resolutions
When you get to the production, you’ll have to save out files in bitmap formats. (At least until SVG becomes viable.) Since we can use media queries in CSS to re-size images, we can create images at the largest possible resolution and scale them down for presentation on smaller screens.

This presents a performance issue, since an iPhone 3 will choke and die if you try to give it a 1536×2048 background image meant for an iPad with retina display.

Our solution is to create artwork that targets our 3 most popular resolutions:
480 pixels wide – Android Phone/Windows Phone
960 pixels wide – iPhone 4 +
1536 pixels wide – iPad Retina display

Any screen that is 480 pixels wide or less will the the 480 set. Between 480 and 960, and will get the 960 set and so on.

5. Output Multiple Sizes Quickly
This last tip is purely a how to. Illustrator’s File > Save for Web command has a nice feature that let’s you scale the output of your images as you save them. Take advantage of this feature and web slices to speed up your production process.


Wrapping it Up

This is all, of course, a work in progress. The mobile landscape changes very quickly, and everyone in the industry is trying to answer the same questions. To help you get started, we’ve created a free Illustrator template for you to use. If you find this useful, or if you have something to add to it, let us know about it by commenting below.