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Educational app for iPhone debuts

updated 05:10 pm EDT, Fri July 6, 2007

This Day in History


MacKiev has released This Day in History the first in a series of planned educational iPhone software applications. The app is based on the widget of the same name from Software MacKiev's World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia, and shows a calendar page for each historical event that took place on a given day. The developer says "On July 6th, for example, it shows that John Paul Jones, the American naval hero, was born on this day in 1747.  Events that correspond to the current day in history are shown automatically each day." Other titles currently under development are an iPhone companion application to the company's 3D Weather Globe and Atlas that will display wind speed, barometric pressure, dew point and other weather conditions and World Book Trivia Challenge, with questions taken from the World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. This Day in History is available free of charge.


by MacNN Staff

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  1. LouZer

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    07/07, 08:34am | report spam | Reply |

    So...

    another person who's bought into Jobs' "web apps are iphone apps" argument...

  1. LouZer

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    07/07, 08:35am | report spam | Reply |

    oh

    and is it iPhone only? What, they don't like anyone who uses Firefox, IE, Opera, Safari, etc?

  1. vasic

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    07/07, 01:24pm | report spam | Reply |

    what a 'louzy' thought...

    Obviously, anyone who was not under a rock for the past six months should know by now that the only way you could deliver apps to iPhone would be through the web. Consequently, everyone knows that whatever is there on the web is available on the web for anyone with a (more-or-less) standard web browser.

    And finally, everyone realises that when someone announces an iPhone application, they mean a web-site that is formatted to fit iPhone's browser resolution and that will support functionality of iPhone's Safari.

    These web apps are sure to be useful to all of the (at least million at this point) iPhone users, while they wait for Apple to release (or at least approve) new native apps for the device.

  1. misc

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    07/08, 12:38am | report spam | Reply |

    ...

    Phones can get the internet nowadays? Hmm...

  1. LouZer

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    07/09, 07:27am | report spam | Reply |

    Re: what a louzy thought

    Obviously, anyone who was not under a rock for the past six months should know by now that the only way you could deliver apps to iPhone would be through the web.

    Putting apps on the web is not 'delivering apps to the iphone'. Its putting web pages on line and having people navigate to them.

    Consequently, everyone knows that whatever is there on the web is available on the web for anyone with a (more-or-less) standard web browser.

    No, whatever is on the web is not available to anyone. You just have to go to places with WMV files, or bank sites that work only with IE or Firefox (if that). YouTube's web site isn't available on the iPhone (no flash support).

    And finally, everyone realises that when someone announces an iPhone application, they mean a web-site that is formatted to fit iPhone's browser resolution and that will support functionality of iPhone's Safari.

    Exciting. But, again, only ifyou drink the kool-aid. As you say, its only a web-app. Its not an 'iphone app'! My complaint is just Apple's "We've got apps! Their web apps!" That's not apps. That's access to the internet.

    These web apps are sure to be useful to all of the (at least million at this point) iPhone users, while they wait for Apple to release (or at least approve) new native apps for the device.

    That's nice. But, again, not my point. And my second point is that, as you will probably slam those sites that are IE only, this apparently is iPhone only, which, for web apps, your browser should not matter.

  1. Smurfman

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    07/09, 08:44am | report spam | Reply |

    Re: louzer

    louzer said: "Exciting. But, again, only if you drink the kool-aid. As you say, its only a web-app. Its not an 'iphone app'! My complaint is just Apple's "We've got apps! Their web apps!" That's not apps. That's access to the internet."

    Hey Louzer... What kool-aid are YOU drinking?!? Web apps are not real apps?? There may not be a current way to place a button on the main iPhone screen to a web app, but that's the only difference at this point.

    What century are you in? Web apps (especially ones build around AJAX/Web 2.0) can be very robust. There are numerous web apps out there that rival traditional applications. I've even seen a nice video editor out on the web similar to iMovie.

    If a video editor similar to iMovie can be created as a web application, I believe almost anything can be created for the iPhone. Within the next 6-12 months, you'll see an explosion of high-end web apps for the iPhone. Just wait and see.

    What kinds of apps are you looking for, anyway??

  1. LouZer

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    07/09, 12:23pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: louzer

    Hey Louzer... What kool-aid are YOU drinking?!? Web apps are not real apps?? There may not be a current way to place a button on the main iPhone screen to a web app, but that's the only difference at this point.

    Sorry, I guess I see differences as being - Apps are only available when you have an internet connection - Can't store files locally/securely - In fact, no control over your data at all. Its up to you to trust the web-app itself, as well as the data hosting service, that your data is safe, secure, and backed up.

    What century are you in? Web apps (especially ones build around AJAX/Web 2.0) can be very robust. There are numerous web apps out there that rival traditional applications. I've even seen a nice video editor out on the web similar to iMovie.

    Ah, great, an on-line video editor, just what the world has strived for. And exactly how well does it work on a 35GB movie file?

    Web apps may look like 'real' apps, but they're still web pages, with the same wonderful limitations that web sites enjoy.

    They also require a larger amount of effort on the developer, for not only do they have to code the application, they have to serve said app, and provide the data back-end to store your data.

    And lest we forget the important world of the small developer. I've bought lots of shareware or apps from small developers, knowing that, even if the developer stopped supporting the app, the program still worked, and my data was safe. But how many people are going to be using my kick-a** web app at www.louzers-apps.com? Are you going to trust your data with me? And what happens when my financial ability to host the app evaporates, and one day you find out that the site is no longer accessible? Sure, you'll feel safe and secure using Google Apps and others from large companies, but what of the small, niche products?

    If a video editor similar to iMovie can be created as a web application, I believe almost anything can be created for the iPhone. Within the next 6-12 months, you'll see an explosion of high-end web apps for the iPhone. Just wait and see.

    But you missed a point. Again, what's this "for the iPhone" stuff? A web page is a web page, right? So how is it 'for the iphone'? If I'm not at my iPhone right now, can I not access my data? If I can, then its not an 'iPhone app', is it? And if I can't, then isn't it just the same as having a web app that only works in IE?

  1. Smurfman

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    07/09, 04:41pm | report spam | Reply |

    1st iPhone Dev Conf Rev

    It's a start of some cool things coming down the road for the iPhone:

    http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13549_7-9740750-30.html

  1. MrWizard

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    07/09, 05:54pm | report spam | Reply |

    At MacWorld in January

    MacKiev promised a new version of Weather globe 3d to folks who purchased the shipping version there -- they said it would ship in March, I'm still waiting… I am very disappointed in them. Not even an eamil saying "OOps, sorry". I'll think twice before recommending their products to my customers in the future.

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