The current situation is a case of collateral damage. They have to lock down the development environment to prevent SIM unlocking. Letting users have a few extra applications is not a concern to Apple -- losing monthly subsidies from AT&T, on the other hand, means lost revenue.
I suspect that there will eventually be a SDK and an Apple approved mechanism to get apps onto the phone (keep users happy and lessens the incentive to jailbreak and unlock.) Probably something like how podcasts are handled in iTunes.
Your suggestion for Control-C might work, but it fails when you consider Escape followed by D. The 0x1b 0x44 sequence won't be sent back to the application until after you click on a "Done" button. The same would be true for arrow keys.
Of course you could write your own keyboard that wasn't modal, but that's a lot of work, especially when you consider predictive completion.
The point of my article was not to be an in-depth discussion of a SSH client on the iPhone. It was meant as a way to initiate thought and discussion on how iPhone applications will be built. You're obviously not willing to think and take place in such a discussion.
Or not. Accord to www.macintouch.com, representatives on the floor at MacWorld Expo next to the glass case where the phones are on display (look only.), the phones are a closed platform.
That statement has been amended:
The only two iPhones at the show were under glass, and Apple representatives said it is a "closed platform", refusing even to identify the specific processor it uses, and there's apparently no developer kit for it, though "developers who want to do applications [for the iPhone] are welcome to contact Apple developer relations."
Probably a pay-to-play situation, but with the size of the market and the right product, it could easily be amortized.
The only restrictions on installing Mac OS X are a label on the box that says "Don't steal software." Windows XP and Vista require activation.
Considering that Apple is a hardware company, lost revenue from someone not paying for a license is not a huge issue. The same cannot be said for Microsoft -- they have negative hardware revenue (e.g. subsidies on Xbox and Zune devices) -- lost software revenue hurts their bottom line.
So what makes you think Apple would want a "DRM loving policy"?
My suggestion for the art team would be to establish someone as an art director. Someone that Mark trusts to implement his vision. And then have that art director give specific tasks to the designers that report to him.
It sounds like they're heading in that direction by giving Frank Stroep the title of "Artist in Chief". His task now is to tell people what he wants. And if you think it's easy being a hard ass when it comes to design & the people who do it, let me assure you IT IS NOT.
If this doesn't happen, they'll end up taking the "design by committee" approach. The result of this kind of process is something that no one loves -- a lowest common denominator. Sort of like when software is designed by a committee:-)
For what it's worth, I'm a principal in the company that did the Ubuntu work -- so I speak from experience about this stuff:-)
If the MacBook is going to be as innovative/different as everyone seems to think (widescreen, etc.) then why isn't there going to be a special event where they can tout it?
Even if it's a small one like they had for the mini and iPod HiFi introduction...
And if they are going to have one of these events, they need to give the press time to schedule it. Send out invites, etc.
The guys working on Q are working towards a virtualized environment.
The current version is an emulated environment based on QEMU. It's quite fast, but they have stated in the forums that they are working on a virtualizer kernel extension that will run at near native speeds (like VMWare does.)
For the work that I'm doing, it's VERY handy to have a copy of Windows 2000 Pro running IE 5, 5.5 and 6 on the Intel iMac. There are still rough edges during the install, but it's definitely a great piece of software with a very promising future.
The day that I don't have to enter an admin password to modify a file in one of the root directories is the day that I start worrying about security on my Mac.
Considering the number of open source components being used by Apple, "the guy in charge of security" is actually the entire community.
Sure, there are proprietary parts to the system which get exposed (iTunes, QuickTime, etc.) and are the responsibility of someone at Apple. But the major attack vectors against services, such as httpd (Apache) and inetd (BSD), are the responsibility of many different groups/people. And that's a good thing -- more eyeballs == more secure.
As far as attacks against the client are concerned: once you accept a Unix security model (with root access required for sensitive components) your choices are pretty clear. Go with the flow.
-ch
Ed Catmull is a part of the deal...
on
Disney Buys Pixar
·
· Score: 0, Redundant
While I agree that John Lasseter is an important part of the deal, he's only one part of the "Pixar Trinity".
A lot of the technical innovations behind Pixar's success are due to the efforts of Ed Catmull. Jobs made the deals, Lasseter made the stories, and Catmull made it work.
Guys like him will allow Disney to stay ahead of the competition.
Nice looking design, but it leaves out something important: the human interface.
Without a keyboard, mouse/pen, and display it's not going to be very useful. And until video signals can be delivered wirelessly, this will mean you'll have clutter.
This puts MSFT in an interesting position -- their official patch has to be tested on systems with the unofficial patch. Otherwise there's a possibility that the unofficial patch will break something in the official patch (or vice versa.)
With the unofficial patch already deployed on thousands (millions?) of machines, it would be a big deal if something went wrong.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe that's what I said in the original essay. Maybe you read it, too.
-ch
The current situation is a case of collateral damage. They have to lock down the development environment to prevent SIM unlocking. Letting users have a few extra applications is not a concern to Apple -- losing monthly subsidies from AT&T, on the other hand, means lost revenue.
I suspect that there will eventually be a SDK and an Apple approved mechanism to get apps onto the phone (keep users happy and lessens the incentive to jailbreak and unlock.) Probably something like how podcasts are handled in iTunes.
-ch
You've never used an iPhone, have you?
The keyboard is modal.
Your suggestion for Control-C might work, but it fails when you consider Escape followed by D. The 0x1b 0x44 sequence won't be sent back to the application until after you click on a "Done" button. The same would be true for arrow keys.
Of course you could write your own keyboard that wasn't modal, but that's a lot of work, especially when you consider predictive completion.
The point of my article was not to be an in-depth discussion of a SSH client on the iPhone. It was meant as a way to initiate thought and discussion on how iPhone applications will be built. You're obviously not willing to think and take place in such a discussion.
-ch
> I don't see anything in that article that describes problems with an SSH client
OK, explain to me how you're going to enter Control-C on the iPhone keyboard.
And when you're done with that, give me some insight on how you're going to copy & paste.
-ch
The hard part about developing apps for the iPhone is working with a completely new environment.
For example, here are some of the problems with building a SSH client for the iPhone:
http://furbo.org/2007/07/02/beyond-sweet/
-ch
Find an executive on this list: http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/
And send them a LETTER BY POST (1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014) explaining your problem.
In my experience, good things will happen. These people get shit done -- and they have assistants to specifically help out with exceptional issues.
-ch
That statement has been amended:
Probably a pay-to-play situation, but with the size of the market and the right product, it could easily be amortized.
-ch
Since this new device runs OSX, it's a great time for those of us with Mac development experience. A whole new (and huge) market for our products.
Likewise, there's a new incentive for Windows-only applications to get ported to OSX so they can run on the iPhone.
Personally, I think that the term "revolutionary" gets used way too much. But in the case of the iPhone, it seems appropriate.
-ch
-ch
The only restrictions on installing Mac OS X are a label on the box that says "Don't steal software." Windows XP and Vista require activation.
Considering that Apple is a hardware company, lost revenue from someone not paying for a license is not a huge issue. The same cannot be said for Microsoft -- they have negative hardware revenue (e.g. subsidies on Xbox and Zune devices) -- lost software revenue hurts their bottom line.
So what makes you think Apple would want a "DRM loving policy"?
-ch
The icons were professionally designed:
:-)
:-)
http://iconfactory.com/design/detail/ubuntu
By one guy. Working directly with Mark.
My suggestion for the art team would be to establish someone as an art director. Someone that Mark trusts to implement his vision. And then have that art director give specific tasks to the designers that report to him.
It sounds like they're heading in that direction by giving Frank Stroep the title of "Artist in Chief". His task now is to tell people what he wants. And if you think it's easy being a hard ass when it comes to design & the people who do it, let me assure you IT IS NOT.
If this doesn't happen, they'll end up taking the "design by committee" approach. The result of this kind of process is something that no one loves -- a lowest common denominator. Sort of like when software is designed by a committee
For what it's worth, I'm a principal in the company that did the Ubuntu work -- so I speak from experience about this stuff
-ch
For $15 per month, I can get FREE music?
I guess that means I'm getting FREE cable, water, gas, electricity, car, house, etc.
I feel so FREE!
-ch
Shouldn't "Pro MySQL" be spelled as "PostgreSQL"? :-)
-ch
And the good bits will be covered under NDA.
-ch
This video is a troll on the Mac community.
-ch
If the MacBook is going to be as innovative/different as everyone seems to think (widescreen, etc.) then why isn't there going to be a special event where they can tout it?
Even if it's a small one like they had for the mini and iPod HiFi introduction...
And if they are going to have one of these events, they need to give the press time to schedule it. Send out invites, etc.
-ch
And the really clever part: the negative space in the logo is an "X". As in Mac OS X.
Just like the arrow in the FedEx logo: once you see it (or have it pointed out to you), you never forget it.
I love it!
-ch
Just warming up for April Fool's Day.
Oh joy.
-ch
The guys working on Q are working towards a virtualized environment.
The current version is an emulated environment based on QEMU. It's quite fast, but they have stated in the forums that they are working on a virtualizer kernel extension that will run at near native speeds (like VMWare does.)
For the work that I'm doing, it's VERY handy to have a copy of Windows 2000 Pro running IE 5, 5.5 and 6 on the Intel iMac. There are still rough edges during the install, but it's definitely a great piece of software with a very promising future.
-ch
The day that I don't have to enter an admin password to modify a file in one of the root directories is the day that I start worrying about security on my Mac.
-ch
Considering the number of open source components being used by Apple, "the guy in charge of security" is actually the entire community.
Sure, there are proprietary parts to the system which get exposed (iTunes, QuickTime, etc.) and are the responsibility of someone at Apple. But the major attack vectors against services, such as httpd (Apache) and inetd (BSD), are the responsibility of many different groups/people. And that's a good thing -- more eyeballs == more secure.
As far as attacks against the client are concerned: once you accept a Unix security model (with root access required for sensitive components) your choices are pretty clear. Go with the flow.
-ch
While I agree that John Lasseter is an important part of the deal, he's only one part of the "Pixar Trinity".
A lot of the technical innovations behind Pixar's success are due to the efforts of Ed Catmull. Jobs made the deals, Lasseter made the stories, and Catmull made it work.
Guys like him will allow Disney to stay ahead of the competition.
-ch
Nice looking design, but it leaves out something important: the human interface.
Without a keyboard, mouse/pen, and display it's not going to be very useful. And until video signals can be delivered wirelessly, this will mean you'll have clutter.
-ch
And this is why Apple announces new products/services a couple of months before Christmas.
Microsoft, on the other hand, does it after the holiday season at CES.
Go figure.
-ch
This puts MSFT in an interesting position -- their official patch has to be tested on systems with the unofficial patch. Otherwise there's a possibility that the unofficial patch will break something in the official patch (or vice versa.)
With the unofficial patch already deployed on thousands (millions?) of machines, it would be a big deal if something went wrong.
God, I'd hate to be in Redmond right now...
-ch