NutMac

Nothing dramatic, but the worst for me is the good old drop onto the parking lot.

Tomlinson's THX was mainly about consistent reproduction of sound (and later video) that filmmakers have envisioned. I suspect he will be involved with doing just that for iOS devices and Macs, as well as evolving audio standards (e.g., AAC) that Apple is a member of.

I agree that good productivity tools are worth whatever reasonable price they ask for. I have purchased many iOS apps to improve productivity and enjoyment of using iPhone and iPad. But $19.99/year + software cost for friggin' to do service? Granted, there are numerous alternatives and I will be voting with my dollar. But developers milking from from friggin' todo app rubs me the wrong way.

Frankly, I am baffled by high prices of all these to do apps. In case of Appigo's To Do, you first shell out $4.99 for the iPhone app. Got an iPad, another $4.99 for the iPad version. Want a Mac client too? There's a beta version, and I am quite sure it will be another $4.99. And want to sync all that over the cloud? $19.99/year.

I use both Kayak and TripIt, and while I find Kayak's My Trips web UI to be cleaner, I still depend on TripIt for following reasons:
1. Kayak HD (iPad) has only flight and hotel. No car, no trip planning.
2. TripIt has auto import for Gmail user. You don't have to forward confirmation email.
3. TripIt's API is used by many 3rd party apps.

That said, TripIt's UI is still a mess and both Kayak and TripIt lack flexible date itinerary still (e.g., saving a list of restaurants).

The free version had ads and Marco writes in his blog that an average free app brings in less than $3.50 in ad revenue at best (most faring much less). The blog I'd really worth a read.

After using Instapaper Free for nearly 1.5 years, I purchased Instapaper, my very first iOS app purchase. Although Marco claims low conversion rate from the free version, I would not have purchased Instapaper without trying out the free version first.

I think Marco can reduce cost further by reducing the need to use the website. Leverage Dropbox. And add more website-only features to the app, such as ability to rename articles. And website is far better at organizing articles (e.g., moving to folder), so close the gap by improving the app usability.

I am celebrating by hugging the tree.

Hopefully, OpenFeint can now focus on making their OpenFeint UI look half decent with the money. It may be the largest multi-mobile platform gaming network, but also the ugliest by far.

Given lack of good FaceBook client on iPad, it's a missed opportunity to not bring RockMelt to iPad first.