Opinion
Apple Continues to Find Ways to Ruin the User Experience on iOS
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 | Opinion | No Comments
This is just stupid. The link they are banning doesn’t even TRY to bypass the rules, but because it POTENTIALLY could, the apps are being banned.
Apple is going about this the wrong way. Now, to buy a Kindle book, I’m forced to use Safari, instead of the much better user experience of just doing it in App. What they should do, if they are so concerned about bypassing the In App Purchase system, is only allow paid apps to bypass the In App Purchase system. That way they make money and make the experience better, instead of the opposite now.
Apple Allowed to Intervene in Lodsys Case
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 | Opinion | 2 Comments
This may be a bit of old news at this point, but its still great news. Apple can now offer a defense to those developers being attacked by Lodsys. Hopefully they can defeat them, and then Lodsys will be out of business.
A sad note to come out of this is that some developers caved and started paying Lodsys. I understand the logic (saving money), but its only a short term gain. If they fought and lost, they would pay regardless. But by paying, they only funding Lodsys to go after developers like me, and that hurts the whole industry. And they also set a precedence for other patent trolls to come after small developers. Sure, its only 1% now, but when there are 50 companies asking 1% because nobody fault, then that’s a huge problem.
The Mountain Lion Appears
Thursday, February 16th, 2012 | Opinion | Comments Off
Apple announced Mountain Lion today, the next version of Mac OS X (I’m going to refuse to drop the Mac for now). I’ll get to the actual OS in a bit, but there was a very interesting quote in Gruber’s post on ML when he asks about this pre-seeding to journalists way of releasing OS X:
That’s when Schiller tells me they’re doing some things differently now.
I like that. I like to see they aren’t just thinking WWSJD. Apple without Steve needs to set out on its on path, and this new way shows they are doing that. Remember, Steve didn’t want iTunes on Windows, which is what really let the iPod take off. He wasn’t perfect.
Okay, back to the OS. ML looks real intriguing. The notification center seems like one of those things that isn’t that exciting until you start using it. Its not like in iOS where the need for it was dire. In OS X, it really isn’t needed, but I but its going to be awesome. Same with Airplay- I bet this is going to get a lot of use in schools. The Messages app is pretty nice, and it will be great to finally have one place for all messages.
Of course the iCloud integration is the biggest change. Luckily the old way of interaction with files is still there, but being able to sync to iCloud and access it anywhere is going to be awesome. I wonder what the means for DropBox (who will still be on PCs). But I am excited to see how far document management has come since the iPad first came out. Remember that? Syncing with iTunes to get Pages documents over? This is going to be so much better.
Finally, GateKeeper is scary and cool at the same time. Now, there are three permission levels regarding launching apps on the Mac: only from the App Store, anywhere, and App Store plus signed apps. I think a lot of people are worried that the Mac will be locked down like the iOS, but I have a feeling that its going to go the other way. I’d love to see this migrate to iOS. I like Apple has this right.
I’m excited about Mountain Lion, and of course I’m excited to get SMART Utility up and running on it. Check out the next post for more info on that.
Volitans Software is Joining the SOPA and PIPA Protests
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 | Company News, Opinion | Comments Off
Volitans Software is joining the internet community’s protest of SOPA and PIPA. While we respect copyrights and intellectual property, these two bills will not protect them. Instead they will damage the internet. They are bad bills, and they need to be stopped. There are much better ways to protect copyrights.
Learn more at Wikipedia and Ars Technica.
Fare Thee Well, Steve
Thursday, August 25th, 2011 | Opinion | Comments Off
Steve Jobs resigned as CEO last night, news that was expected, but was nonetheless shocking. I have been a huge Apple fan since I was given my first Mac: a PowerBook 180- running at 33MHz, with 16 bit grayscale LCD, a 120MB HD, and 14MB of RAM. That Mac still runs (albeit with a fan on it). Its amazing how far Apple has come after that, from the doldrums of the Performa era, to the wonders of OSX, MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads. And what’s even more amazing, is that Steve has been the leading taking Apple into greatness.
For the short-term Apple will be fine. Steve may have had the vision, but he passed on his ideas to others, and many people under him who implemented the vision understand it. For the long-term, well that’s up in the air. If Steve did it right, then maybe Apple will be around for a long time.
For some great Steve Job stories, here are some links:
Hold the door (From the son/step-son of my former bosses at MacOutfitters, Judy and Jim)
And go to Folklore.org for some great stories about Steve and the rest of the Macintosh team.
WWDC: Lion, iOS, and iCloud, OH MY!
Monday, June 13th, 2011 | Opinion | Comments Off
Apple had their annual WWDC this week, and sweet fancy moses was there a lot of news and announcements. I found myself overwhelmed at all the new information, and what it meant personally and professionally.
Apple showed off another demo of Lion, and while there is not that much new information, its still nice to see the improvements. I’m really excited to run Lion full time, as I have been testing it part time. Versions and Autosave are going to be life savers. The new Mail is very usable. The interface looks better. Of course, there are some changes I don’t like (such as Spaces), but overall its very nice. Obviously I can’t talk about too much without breaking the NDA, but I do love it. Once big downside is its only available on the App Store. I hope that changes, I need a DVD. Read more about it from Ars Technica.
While we’ve already know about most of Lion’s features, we haven’t heard anything about iOS 5. And now that Apple has demoed it, I think we should be blown away. The notification system in previous versions was built when there wasn’t a push notification system- and only dealt with texts, voicemails, and missed calls. It was very scalable, so when the third part apps started using it, the usability was a nightmare: notifications took over, and if you missed one- too bad. The new system with a scrolling list on the lock screen and the pull down menu is a wonderful way to solve the scalability and usability problems. And after using it for a few days, I never want to go back.
Three more features I love: Apple also announced iMessage, which is basically free text messages between iOS devices. Time to finally stop paying outrageous prices for texts. iOS finally supports wireless syncing which means I don’t have to plug in all the time. And one other feature is the camera can now be accessed from the lock screen, and it can use the volume up button for a shutter button- both much needed functions. Read more about iOS 5 at Ars Technica.
So after blowing us away with that, Apple revealed iCloud. Wow, just wow. If it works as well as they say it will, its a game changer. iCloud will be the central store for all kinds of content, from music and movies to pictures and documents. Not only that, developers can use iCloud to sync data between devices. This has be unbelievable excited- especially because its free! Read more about iCloud at Ars Technica (yes again!)
Whew! That was a lot of new information coming out of Cupertino. Now we want for them to be releases to see how well they work in the wild. And we’ll look out for that elusive iPhone 5!
Apple Reverses Tough Subscription Requirements
Thursday, June 9th, 2011 | Opinion | Comments Off
Apple has finally relented and changed their policies on in-app subscriptions. Back in February, Apple announced in-app subscriptions, but along with the new API, the added some restrictions that could have forced some developers to leave the iOS App Store (such as Amazon’s Kindle). The two most pernicious ones were the price must be the same between in-app and out of app subscriptions (ie developers couldn’t charge a higher price to cover Apple’s cut), and that to offer the content developers must use the in-app purchase system (instead of not using it at all and charging subscribers on their website.
Apple has modified those restrictions. They no longer require the prices be the same, and they no longer require using the in-app subscription system. So developers can charge a higher price for the subscriptions. They also have the option of signing up subscribers on their website, and using that payment to send content to their iOS app. However, Apple will not let them have a BUY button in their app that takes them to the their website. I think that’s a fair compromise.
Even though I don’t have an app that is covered by the policies, I care about the iOS ecosystem. I found the subscription policies detrimental to that ecosystem, and I am glad Apple realized that as well. Another moral of this story is that complaining loudly, in the press, on blogs & websites, and to Apple can make them change their mind. In future, I hope we’ll here less of “They can do what they want to, so stop complaining because they’ll never change their mind.” That’s a good lesson to learn.
Unacceptable: New App Store Subscription Rules
Thursday, February 24th, 2011 | Opinion | Comments Off
Apple announced new subscription rules for apps that deal with content downloads (books, magazines, and newspapers). They require apps that want to offer in-app purchases to use Apple’s system, which has a cut of 30%, regardless if there is a website that the content can be purchased. And not only that, they require the prices be the same in both areas. I find this quite egregious. The payment required by Apple would heavily cut into publishers profits- maybe making it completely unprofitable. Those publishers then would have no incentive to allow in-app purchases on iOS devices. That is bad for users. Yes, Apple’s UI for purchases is great, but if there isn’t anything to buy, what’s the point. Marco makes some similar points in his article.
I see two ways this can be fixed. First, I agree with The Outsider, allow apps to charge more on iOS devices. Sorry, but if Apple wants its cut, that money has to come from somewhere, and that has to be the user. This is no different than buying Coke’s at DisneyLand- its more expensive because of Disney.
A second way would be to change the structure and prices. Normal in-app purchase for content that is ONLY to be used on iOS devices (ie think new levels for a game) is 30%. Apps that allow content to be used on multiple non-IOS devices (such as magazine subscriptions and e-book), MUST charge $10 or more for the app, but in-app purchases are only 5-10%. Remember- since Apple controls the store, they can enforce these rules.
I much prefer the second option, but either will do to solve this mess.
The Verizon iPhone
Thursday, February 10th, 2011 | Opinion | Comments Off
The Verizon iPhone is here. There is a lot of joyous cheers around the tech world. However, I am not as excited. I’m glad that more customers can see the joy of the iPhone, and hopefully by spreading out iPhone usage, the cell networks will be more usable.
But at least for me, ATT is a much better service were I live. Data is much faster on the ATT network. ATT’s network support simultaneous voice and data, which I use a fair amount (just yesterday in fact, checking email while one the phone). I also have a dislike of Verizon that goes back to their Bluetooth blocking in the early 2000′s. The prices are also the same, so for me there isn’t a reason to change.
However, its still a good thing to have more choice. Competition between the carriers will only serve to make the experience great for everyone, and cheaper.
iPad Review
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 | Opinion | Comments Off
I’ve had the iPad for almost a month now, and I’m still loving it. Its not any one thing it does that makes it so great, its a million little thing. The big screen makes everything easier to use. Browsing the web is so much better. Reading email is wonderful- especially in landscape mode with emails on the left and a message on the right. Using apps that were made for the iPad helps make the apps better: Twitteriffic, IMDB, MLB At Bat (AMAZING for a baseball fan like me), NetNewsWire, and Flight Control, among others. And everything is really fast- on top of everything else that makes the device.
But of course its not perfect. Even though its running iOS 3.2, its really a 1.0 version for the platform. I expect 4.1 to be much better. One thing I hope they improve is file sharing between devices. Its very clunky to transfer files and keep them up to day. I’d love to see better integration with at least MobileMe for transferring files. MacObserver has a good article about the less than stellar iPad file sharing.
I think that will be fixed in time though.