App Demos

With the launch of iPhone 3G and the App Store for iPhone/iPod Touch programs last Friday, I've been spending a lot of my time at the App Store checking out what developers have come up with. The App Store is a subsection of the iTunes Store for music, movies, and TV shows. You may have to update to version 7.7 first in order to see it.

Even though apps in the App Store have a review and 5-stars rating system like all other things sold on iTunes, along with screenshots of the action, I don't really get a good sense of how the app really behaves. Some apps have YouTube videos at their developer's website, but YouTube is the worst place to host your video if you want to give a high-quality impression.

If you're curious or skeptical about how cool the apps really are, you NEED to check out the keynote video from the Apple Worldwide Developer's conference earlier this year. Several developers went on stage to show off their programs, and, even after playing with some apps already in the last couple days, I was still amazed by what their apps could do.

To check it out, you'll need iTunes and a high speed connection. Follow this iTunes Store link and download "WWDC 2008 Keynote Address" (click Get Episode). It's a little over 1GB due to its length and great quality, so you'll need some time and patience. About 21 minutes in the demos begin. Skip to that point if you want to avoid the programming stuff.

Don't worry, it's all free for you to watch.

EDIT: if you don't have iTunes, you can click this link to view in your browser. Either way, you need Quicktime. I never understood why Windows users seem to want to avoid quicktime. It's as prevalent (or more) than Windows Media on the internet. Just get it.

Hopefully I'll have time to write more about the new toys that I got... iPod Touch software 2.0 plus tons of new apps.