Published on
July 21, 2010 in
tech.
Today Skype released an update to their iPhone app that enables multitasking. Along with it, they announce via their “Big Blog” that they won’t be charging for Skype-to-Skype calls over 3G as had been announced at their previous update.
At Skype, we believe that better call quality and better availability which is achieved with an app capable of multitasking and/or making calls over 3G lead to increased call frequency and longer calls. We also believe that the mobile world is in a period of significant change, for example, with some operators starting to move to tiered pricing models.
In light of that, we no longer have plans to charge a supplement to make calls over 3G. We’re delighted to make it easier for you to talk for even longer and do even more together using Skype.
Sounds like a top to bottom clash of cultures and a divorce waiting to happen.
When an AT&T representative suggested to one of Jobs’ deputies that the Apple CEO wear a suit to meet with AT&T’s board of directors, he was told, “We’re Apple. We don’t wear suits. We don’t even own suits.”
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.
