Published on
May 27, 2010 in
tech.
Barrons.com is reporting (h/t MacRumors) that Apple have allotted seven minutes of presentation time during Steve Jobs’s upcoming Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) to Microsoft. According to their sources, Microsoft will talk about native iPhone development using Visual Studio 2010. This would be shocking enough in and of itself given Apple’s recent headline grabbing stance on controlling native iPhone development and limiting it to their own XCode application and developers suite. To make it even more shocking is the idea that none other than Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer himself will deliver the presentation. This could prove to be one of the more interesting twists in the upcoming keynote on June 7.
On a side note, my unconfirmed, completely fictitious sources say that following Microsoft’s time, Adobe will be allotted 30 seconds during which CEO Shantanu Narayen, already fuming from the Microsoft announcement, will receive a swift kick in the crotch by Jobs.
Update: Microsoft has apparently shot this rumor down via its Twitter feed:
Steve Ballmer not speaking at Apple Dev Conf. Nor appearing on Dancing with the Stars. Nor riding in the Belmont. Just FYI.
Published on
May 24, 2010 in
tech.
Marco Arment on life with Verizon:
It’s easy to think that the grass is always greener away from AT&T, but keep in mind that these are cellular carriers: massive oligopolists that don’t give a s*** about us. Their phones are ARPU vending machines, first and foremost, not communication tools. Cellular carriers are only a small step above cable and phone companies in the contempt and disregard they show for their customers.
This sums up my thoughts on wireless phone companies. I don’t think I could have said it any better.
(h/t Daring Fireball)
Published on
April 29, 2010 in
tech.
Steve Jobs has published an open letter regarding his thoughts on Flash. This well-written outline of Apple’s relationship with Adobe lays out why Flash is not on any iPhone OS device. This sums it up pretty well:
Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short. – Steve Jobs
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber points out how the detail of the letter gives Adobe “little wiggle room” to respond. Michael Gartenburg (via Daring Fireball) makes the equally good point that Adobe’s only real play here is to respond with a version of Flash that runs favorably in a mobile touch environment.
A lot of talk from the blogs is about how this hinders developer’s choice when developing for the iPhone OS. This type of commentary drives me crazy. Developers can choose whether or not to developer for a given platform. If they don’t like the ground-rules, they can go play somewhere else. Logic dictates that if Apple drives away developers, fewer apps will be published, which makes the platform less attractive for consumers. The power of choice is still there.
The “problem” for developers is that the iPhone OS and it’s associated devices are the most sexy from a consumer perspective. So as a developer, here is your choice: do you stand on your principles (or lack of ability to evolve as a developer) and miss the market, or do you challenge yourself to learn something new? In the end, if lack of Flash is why you choose not to create an iPhone OS app or iPhone/iPod/iPad optimized experience in the browser, you probably weren’t committed enough the platform to make a great app in the first place.
In a strange mix of religion and technology, the Times is reporting on the Anglican parish of St. Lawrence Jewry in London holding a public “blessing of the smartphones.” Apparently picking up on the medieval “Plough Monday” tradition of blessing agricultural equipment, the Rev. Canon David Parrott allowed iPhones, BlackBerrys and laptops to be place on the altar for a special blessing.
This was Church 2.0. Behind him, the altar resembled a counter at PC World. Upon it, laid out like holy relics, were four smart phones, one Apple laptop and one Dell…
…Then, after another hymn, came the blessing of the smart phones. The Lord Mayor of London offered his BlackBerry to Canon Parrott, which was received with due reverence and placed upon the altar.
Then the congregation held their phones in the air, and Canon Parrott addressed the Almighty. “By your blessing, may these phones and computers, symbols of all the technology and communication in our daily lives, be a reminder to us that you are a God who communicates with us and who speaks by your Word. Amen.”
Despite my affinity for both Church and tech, I find all of this a bit bizarre.
Published on
September 25, 2009 in
tech.
For those who think AT&T had no blood on their hands regarding the Google Voice iPhone app, you might be right. That doesn’t mean they like the service though. Phonescoop is reporting that they have filed a complaint against Google for blocking certain numbers.
AT&T alleges that Google Voice blocks customers from calling certain numbers, thereby violating FCC regulations. AT&T likens the call-blocking to the call for net neutrality, and says that if phone companies need to all play by the same rules, then so do internet companies such as Google. Google Voice is a call-forwarding system that lets users give out one central phone number and have it ring other phone lines when called. It allows users to maintain some degree of privacy, as well as consolidate services. Google does block Voice customers from calling adult chat lines and some conference call systems due to the high fees levied by those services.
