Path.com has a mobile app, so of course it has an API. Someone sniffed the traffic and discovered something naughty. And you know the answer-anything Wolframe Alpha? Find out why it really, really likes Apple’s Siri. Plus: Facebook gaming, Google Plus developers and 18 new APIs.
When Apple announced the API powered Siri feature, many started asking the same question we did when Siri was just an app mashup: where’s the Siri API? While Apple hasn’t added one, we now list a SIRI API, but it’s not the one you want to see.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in today’s Apple announcements is that the voice command feature, widely anticipated since the largest mashup acquisition ever, is keeping the name “Siri.” The newest version of Apple’s iOS for iPhone and iPad will include the features of the voice command iPhone app that some called the “ultimate mashup.”
Twitter has a popular iPhone app, but now some of its functionality is also built into Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 5. Tweeting a photo from the default camera app is now a tap away, as is tweeting a link from Mobile Safari. Tweeting is also built into the SDK, making it available via other applications without needing separate Twitter authentication.
Twitter shut off basic authentication in August. Yet, that did not put an end to sharing one’s password with other services. Mobile apps still request your credentials, as opposed to redirecting to Twitter as part of the “OAuth dance.” And the same was true with Apple’s Twitter integration. Why aren’t some playing by Twitter’s new rules?
Anyone using the Ping social network within Apple’s iTunes music store can now syndicate their activity to Twitter. Already many are sharing their music interests on the microblogging platform, such as via the #nowplaying hashtag. While Ping does not include what’s being played, it does syndicate purchases, comments, likes and status messages.
Based on a filing with the FTC, Robert Scoble is reporting that Apple bought Siri and its voice-driven personal assistant. The iPhone app, which we covered in February, uses over 35 APIs to find the exact data the user seeks. With a price rumored at $200M, this is by far the most paid for a mashup.
Remember newspapers? With Yahoo Entertainment’s iPad app, you might not need to for very much longer. You’ll find the lifestyle section (Dear Abby? It’s got that) and more in the mashup that stretches across several Yahoo teams. And the way it was put together may offer a glimpse into the future of APIs and preparing content for multiple devices.
Zillow has released an application for iPhone users that builds on their Zillow API, the Microsoft Virtual Earth API and the iPhone’s GPS capabilities. The Zillow iPhone app detects your location and shows data about nearby homes, including market values, photos, and which ones are for sale. It’s a great example of a mobile mashup application that uses multiple APIs in meaningful location-aware context.
In a clever move, Apple has leveraged the power of the Google Maps API (our Google Maps API Profile) to provide geotagging capabilities for iPhoto 2009, the latest version of its popular photo management software. Announced by Phil Schiller at MacWorld 2009, iPhoto 2009 is packed with several new features, including ‘Places’ which gives users the ability to easily assign geographic coordinates to their photos.
©ProgrammableWeb.com 2012. All rights reserved.
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
