Every thing he asked for is on Android, with possibly the exception of streaming Netflix movies (he didn't actually say that, but I'm assuming that's what he meant.) I would guess that is on the way soon.
Well, it's not like I want to have fun managing my mail in queue in my phone, so yes, I do am talking about streaming. Same goes to Hulu. Netflix said they will be releasing a version for some specific Android models sometime this year, but it wont be available for all devices due to encryption issues. For some it may not be a big deal, but for me Netflix and gaming are huge reasons to own an iPhone.
It's cool to know the other apps from the mentioned networks do are available, though.
Air Play is an Apple-specific protocol. The DLNA spec (based on UPnP AV) does all that and much more. It's also supported by around 8000 devices including Xbox, PS3 and many TVs, all major platforms, and a huge list of software.
Sorry but the two things look like entirely different beasts.
Looking at this video demo of DLNA, it seems it just shares the video that is stored within the phone to the TV, basically turns your device into a media server the client can browse through.
Air Play is not exactly that way, instead it streams the video with the Apple TV acting more like a TV antenna than a media center. You can compare looking at this video.
The two look very different in nature.
From what I read, despite being apple designed, it seems it's rather open, or at least open enough for others to do their own implementations without Apple suing the hell out of them. I got this from the wikipedia:
Several third-party AirPlay clients are available that allow sources other than iTunes to connect to AirPlay-enabled speakers. The list of such clients includes Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil for Mac OS X and Windows, axStream (formerly oAEP) for Windows, JustePort for Windows, and raop_play for Linux. PulseAudio (the sound system now used by default on the majority of desktop Linux distributions), also has support allowing virtually any Linux audio application to use AirPlay devices.
This may also mean some one may be able to make their own implantation for Android devices, but unless whoever makes it does it open source, it would require everyone to reinvent the wheel while iOS developers just call an API.
But I'll remove one mention and add one Broken Sword plus a Broken Sword 2 and a Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Square Enix's Chaos Rings and Final Fantasy I and II. That should make up for my redundancy on Infinity Blade. But seriously... it is one hell of a game.
I'm not sure if you were just being super sarcastic and my sarcasm detector is a bit off, but Hulu and Netflix have both announced that their apps will be out in the next few months. American Express does in fact have an Android app. It is called American Express For Android. I began at the end of your list and started working my way back, but before I got bored I found TED, CNN, and NPR apps.
Well, the Hulu and Netflix aps are not out. I recal both stating for years they were working on a "coming soon" app for the iPhone so I don't hold my breath on either now. Specially since Netflix made public they are having DRM issues, seems Google has no security scheme in place and each manufacturer has created their own (or none at all.) For contractual agreements with the providers they must secure their streams and Netflix noted they will be forced to start their rollouts for specific models, not for the platform as a whole. Given the content providers are almost all in the same boat, I would not be shocked if Hulu is on the same grounds.
The American Express I tried to look at their website, was not able to find anything on it, despite them making it easy to find note on the iPhone one. I will stand corrected there.
You do have a point about games unfortunately. There was a Plants Vs Zombies port/clone that got pulled from the market, although there is supposedly a real version from Popcap that will be out during the summer. Plants Vs. Zombie is really sort of an exception. The quality/amount of android games is somewhat disappointing.
As a gaming platform, the biggest issue Android has is that it's being treated as well as the Macintosh vs the PC: only very successful titles end up getting ported, and a long time after they have been on the other platform.
That's a weekend hack of some public data calls + the GPS lookup. Why can't I have that as a feature of an app called "Weather"? I want heroic, high quality apps that are light and fast and mostly don't suck. And I'd pay for them. But instead I have features federated around to a dozen weather apps, very few reliable brands of mobile apps, and devs wondering why they can't seem to make money selling 1/12th of a software solution anonymously.
Who said the app does not have full features? It has plenty of reporting tools, access to street cameras and video, active maps, detailed forecast reports, etc. However, I don't have to spend my full day looking at the stupid app, I have better things to do with my time (like play Angry Birds without ads.) The main reason I paid for this one is because it was full featured AND didn't need my constant nagging to tell me if a blizzard is coming my way (something I need since I don't watch TV nor listen to radio.)
This is one thing I got to give MS, despite the horrible Windows Phone 7 marketing campaign, I do agree with the idea of making their phone quick to look at to get the info you need out of it so you can put it away as quick as you can.
As far as I can see, American Express has not made an Android version of their app.
PBS, ABC Player, ABC News, TED Mobile, CNN app and the NPR app are some I am not sure about, but you can check the android store and let me know if any is there.
As for games, sorry but there are a LOT of games for the iOS that are not available for Android and very few the other way arround. Most of the Android games that are not available for the iOS tend to be copycats of popular iOS games. But lets talk about big names: Dead Space, Infinity Blade, World of Goo, Plants Vz Zombies, Infinity Blade, Rage, Call of Duty: Zombies, and many more. Better question ends being: What games are available for the Android that are not available for the iOS?
As a consumer, I don't want apps I must use a lot, I want apps I can use quick and get results out off. One example is a weather app I purchased called Weather Alert USA. I don't ever open it, but it will give me a system notification if there is a weather alert for my area (or any area I tell it to alert me about.) Such an app would never be able to survive based on ads.
For me, "heavily used", is only a feature in video games and media players, and those to don't really click with games, at least not for me.
Well, Apps I can't live without on my iPhone, there is the American Express app, that I think is not available for Android, I'd have to put up with their mobile web site.
I can't live without my dear Netflix.
There is Air Video, an app that allows me to stream video over the internet from my computer. There may be similar alternatives for the Android. I know for one there is ZumoCast, not out yet but it was just purchased by Motorola and likely will go either Android only or at least make it into the Android market. Then again, it may become a Motorola only app.
There are a lot of games, too many to count.
PBS, ABC Player, ABC News, TED Mobile, CNN app and the NPR app are some I may live without but really rather not. Not sure if any of these are available for the Android.
Not essential but I love my 8mm Vintage Camera, would dislike departing with it.
That's without going into actual OS features, although at first I thought the new Apple TV was a stupid gimmick (other than being useful as a Netflix player, but I had an XBox for that,) I am now in love with it due to Air Play. Now, yea, that's just an OS feature, but now any app that uses video of any type will be able to stream the video to the TV completely wirelessly. That's something I wont be able to do with any app in the Android [right now.] To be fair, though, 3rd party apps wont be doing it ether for the iPhone until 4.3 is out (but it's not too far off.)
As a developer, I would like to be shown what makes it so obvious. Every developer I have asked says similar, if you cant get an application that's heavily used you wont be making much money in the Android platform, and then you will very likely make most that money through advertisement.
I honestly want to see actual analysis that show that developing for Android is really an obvious money making path. I am very aware that there is no certain success in any platform. Seeing comparisons of cross-platform titles and showing the Android equivalent making more money would be the best example. Maybe the web is full of Apple Fanboi propaganda, but I just cant find any success stories in the Android Market that rival the iOS equivalents.
"Developers have a hard time, but consumers are happy."
Make an app for the iPhone and Android and you'll quickly find that developing for the iPhone is much easier than Android. There are a few variables in the hardware on Apple products and hundreds of variables with Android based hardware.
Doubt he meant its hard to develop. As a developer, it is inherently harder to get your app in the App Store, than it is to get it in Android's Marketplace. Mind you, this is not a huge negative, but it is true that its harder. Just as it's harder to walk around the block than to ride a Segway. That being noted, I have worked for a few computer consulting groups, as a software developer, for about 10 years now. The App Store approval process is nowhere near as annoying as any decent company's Q&A department. I have sometimes worked on code that did not ship out until a year later due to Q&A scrutiny. A typo would not let things go through, the color of an icon can make things get rejected. Changes in client mindset, etc. At least Apple has a rather well defined list of things they look at.
Steve Jobs is not necessarily a creator. He is just a visionary. He may toss around something like "you know what would be cool? Something to manage music in the mac", toss that ball to his hand picked team and they would invent iTunes. Then he would say "you know what would be cool? A device for people to take this music with them on the road." Then toss that ball to a team and they come up with the iPod (and many other things that he rejected.)
There is another thing Steve Jobs is darn good at: he is one hell of a public relations face. He is so good you would think he is a hypnotist.
So yea, Apple can live without Jobs, and I think Cook may be just as good at picking people and rejecting the bad ideas. My only worry is that Cook is nowhere near the charismatic pr face that Jobs is. Apple needs a replacement for that face, and that replacement does not have to fill the CEO shoes. Just some one that will stand on stage and put up a show. Heck, hire Simbad, he can do it, if you ask me!
I love this post, thanks for sharing it. I also wish well for Honeycomb, after all, Android has been the best thing to happen to iOS. Without Android, iOS would never had done many things it's now doing. Competition is always good. Unfortunately, even once out, it will take a while for Honeycomb app market to catch up. They will be over a year behind and they wont be catching up on day one by just being there.
Enterprise can get a Corporate Developer License that allows them to write any software they want for their own devices. At that point, the tablet can do whatever they want it to do, those deployments within the company are not subject to App Store policy. I have not worked with it, either, but I think they added some remote pushing of updates for in-house apps at some point, maybe with or a bit before OS4 came out.
By pure nature of the device they can control what software gets installed since they don't have to give the employees the password needed to download anything from the App Store. There also are a few MS Office alternatives in the App Store.
Not sure about AD integration, though, other than Exchange support (from what I understand remote wipe included) and free Mobile Me locate/lock/delete capabilities. There are rumors Mobile Me will get much better this year, perhaps that's how they plan to expand it.
[Most] large companies love standardization. Every company I have worked for picks exactly one model of laptop and desktop from HP and sticks to buying that same model for anyone that needs the devices until the model gets discontinued or the need for faster machines come (and at that point everyone gets replacements to retain the standardization.)
As long as the tablet meets the minimum requirements, I think Apple has the upper hand thanks to that precise hardware standardization. I can see large companies getting annoyed if they start deployment of, let's say, HTC tablets and they get discontinued within 6 months in favor of newer hardware, forcing the enterprise to fragment their install base.
I, personally, think WebOS tablets can have a lot of potential (just potential though, just like a gun without bullets has a lot of killing potential, they have to put those bullets in the chamgbers!) Android will have to come with more locking down capabilities, so IT can make sure only what they want in the device gets into them. Microsoft could have a fighting chance if they opened their eyes and adapted Windows Phone 7's OS into a Tablet world, and offered native network/Exchange/SQL management tools.
Another reason I think WebOS tablets can have a lot of potential is due to their PC manufacturing background. Phone manufacturers have a tendency of changing models too often and killing support for older devices. Enterprise customers will likely want products with longer model lifetime. Dell may have a chance if Microsoft wakes up and morphs WinPhone7 fast into a tablet OS. I don't trust their [Dell's] specific success with Android devices, due to some unexplainable gut feeling.
Depends how it's handled, although most the things I will bring up can also be achieved with an Android tablet (with proper Tablet version, until Honeycomb comes out, the iPad is the only real option.)
Here are a few examples: A corporation can get a corporate apple development license, this means they can write and load any proprietary software they may need into the device. This can range from simple data entry applications with business focus to server management and security administration clients. A big conception between Apple critics is that the iOS is extremely closed and Apple wont let anyone do anything with it. This is not a concern for enterprise since the Enterprise Developer license is only $500/year (nothing for a small company) and allows internal application deployment across all the company devices. No Apple approval involved. Your boss can give you all the porn you want (under the risk of being taken to court under a sexual harassment case but that's a different story.) Apple's device lock-down also means companies can make sure the device they provide their employees does not get misused as users only can install from the company repository and not download games from the App Store, after all, Apple does not allow downloads of even free games without signing into the App Store with a password, and an enterprise is very likely to lock the device to their own account through Parental Controls. Android Openess may be a weakness in that department.
The iPad also has support for blue-tooth keyboards and Apple's Office contender is available for the device, plus a few others like Documents To Go and Quick Office. It is much more viable than a laptop in a fast-moving office. Example: Mike is working on a presentation on his desk, with a blue-tooth keyboard to do fast typing and a copy of Apple's PowerPoint alternative. He can then just stand up from his desk, leaving the keyboard behind and run to the presentation room. In this presentation room, he meets with another 10 (or whatever) managers with similar situations. Here, he uses his iPad to stream via Air Play his presentation into a projector hooked to an Apple TV receiver. As soon as he is done the next employee moves in with his iPad and takes over the projector without bothering with cabling switching.
Another situation, a project manager sits with his boss in a one-to-one meeting and he takes his iPad, again, leaving the keyboard behind without bothering to unhook or un-dock a heavy laptop. At the meeting he is asked for some information and he quickly access it without having to go back to his desktop or be forced to carry a laptop. In a fast moving office environment, dragging laptops left and right is not viable. An iPad (or any well done tablet) can stay on without draining any battery and back in action with the click of a button. A laptop requires, in the best case, to be sleeping and closed, then opened up, accommodate in your lap, and type a password to log in. Worst case may require to wake from hibernation or even a full boot.
I seen people pass iPads around a table, specially to show everyone some important email. Requires much less foresight than printing emails you think may be important.
In a warehouse, the iPad is just a bliss. No warehouse depends on laptops for anything. [Almost] every advanced warehouse has bulky devices designed for "quick inventory management" (you may had seen them in the hands of UPS delivery guys) or hand held PDA/BarCode Scanner hybrid devices. Both tend to be heavily specialized and still force the employees to deal with desktops set up throughout the warehouse. Off course, others just use paper and a clipboard. Tablets can drastically streamline this and open the door for much much more due to their flexibility.
IT staff can also use tablets for very effective remote server management. From simplistic VNC/RDP clients to dedicated management tools, amazing things can be achieved while stuck far from work or home if equipped with a 3G ready tablet.
IANAL, but from what I understand, by breaking the GPL, the owner of the copyright can demand some form of retroactive compensation. Worst part is the way the code was acquired. It appears the developer decompiled code, perhaps thinking that would go around agreeing to the GPL. Issue is just that, by not agreeing to it, he never had the legal right to use it. I am not sure what the legal repercussions are for this but I do know it results in copyright violations.
In the eyes of any Google advocate, this may weaken the GPL, after all, if it can lead to illegal FOSS, it may generate a feel it is counterproductive.
Already replied to another post, but they DID distribute it [stopped but did] to other developers [and anyone that cared to download the entire codebase.] It was not meant for end user distribution, does not mean it did not end up in any handsets either', but it was distributed.
The ones listed in TFA. You can refer to it if you want the names, but I will quote one block from there:
I did find one odd thing about the first 7 files. Sun published those files on its web site to help developers debug and test their own code. For some reason, the Android or Harmony developer who was using them decompiled and rebuilt them instead of just using the ones from Sun. Later an Apache license got incorrectly pasted to the top of the files, perhaps by some automated script. The solution to this earth shattering conspiracy? Replace them with the original files from Sun which have the correct comments. Or just delete them. After all, they’re not shipped with Android.
See, it may be true its not shipped, but the writer of the article in question does admit the license was altered and tries to dismiss it as an irrelevant action that may have been done by an automated script.
How it happened is not significant (though nor is it unimportant.) The result was an illegal change of licensing, enough to open the doors for rightful legal action. As much as I may dislike Oracle, they were given solid legal recourse by that [assumed by the article's writter, not confirmed by Google] automated script.
Unlike the writer suggests, the solution to this is not just removing the files or restoring the original license notes. The fact is that the code was already distributed with an altered licensing and Google may be ordered to report how many copies of the files were distributed. Additional audits may require to find if the code made it into any device distributions and how many copies did so, not to mention how many developers may had done branches of said code for internal testing without complying with GPL licensing requirements due to thinking the license they were provided under was rightfully the Apache license.
Most people don't criticize MS for their stance for a number of reasons, first off the Xbox live marketplace is pretty open and the other fact is that it is their services you are accessing and it is their right to choose to allow you on there or not.
This one line destroys the entire argument and declares it all a double standard.
Note: I am OK with some one bringing forward a good argument, but that argument must not make excuses for others that do the same. The App Store is not that closed, nor is the XBox Live store that open. Try to make a pornographic game and get it into the XBox live market. Try to make a movie streaming app and put it there, and don't say "the machine is for games" because many households use it quite often only for movie streaming through Netflix.
Apple has some rules of what will not be allowed into the app store, yes. Just as Microsoft does for the XBox marketplace, and neither allows you to download software from other sources. You either are against both, at the same level, in favor of both, or simply holding a personal grudge against Apple in question. The last one would not fade away even if they made the thing wide open.
Don't want to make this too long, but one final note: Apple does not advertise the iPad as a laptop replacement that will do anything anyone would ever want to do in a laptop. It is marketed as something that will do anything most people DO with a laptop. Heck, as a programmer, I have found my laptop never gets used anymore. All the things that you could imagine I'd be able to do in a laptop beyond what the iPad can do, I still disliked to do there and would do in my desktop. But that's just me. Truth is the iPad CAN replace a laptop for many home users that just open their laptops to browse the web, look at facebook and read email.
Oh and one last thing:
And "a few groups" working on jailbreaks? The Wii has a thriving homebrew scene with many, many applications and creative programs.
Yes, a few groups working on jailbreaks. Working on jailbreaks means working on jailbreaks. Working on homebrew is working on homebrew. See the difference, and perhaps now see why my use of the word "few"? On that note, the iPhone has also "a few" jail-breaking groups and a bucket-load of people selling and distributing their products through Cyidia, Rock and others.
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Every thing he asked for is on Android, with possibly the exception of streaming Netflix movies (he didn't actually say that, but I'm assuming that's what he meant.) I would guess that is on the way soon.
Well, it's not like I want to have fun managing my mail in queue in my phone, so yes, I do am talking about streaming. Same goes to Hulu. Netflix said they will be releasing a version for some specific Android models sometime this year, but it wont be available for all devices due to encryption issues. For some it may not be a big deal, but for me Netflix and gaming are huge reasons to own an iPhone.
It's cool to know the other apps from the mentioned networks do are available, though.
Air Play is an Apple-specific protocol. The DLNA spec (based on UPnP AV) does all that and much more. It's also supported by around 8000 devices including Xbox, PS3 and many TVs, all major platforms, and a huge list of software.
Sorry but the two things look like entirely different beasts.
Looking at this video demo of DLNA, it seems it just shares the video that is stored within the phone to the TV, basically turns your device into a media server the client can browse through.
Air Play is not exactly that way, instead it streams the video with the Apple TV acting more like a TV antenna than a media center. You can compare looking at this video.
The two look very different in nature.
From what I read, despite being apple designed, it seems it's rather open, or at least open enough for others to do their own implementations without Apple suing the hell out of them. I got this from the wikipedia:
Several third-party AirPlay clients are available that allow sources other than iTunes to connect to AirPlay-enabled speakers. The list of such clients includes Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil for Mac OS X and Windows, axStream (formerly oAEP) for Windows, JustePort for Windows, and raop_play for Linux. PulseAudio (the sound system now used by default on the majority of desktop Linux distributions), also has support allowing virtually any Linux audio application to use AirPlay devices.
This may also mean some one may be able to make their own implantation for Android devices, but unless whoever makes it does it open source, it would require everyone to reinvent the wheel while iOS developers just call an API.
As many times as the same question is asked (and I see it)?
It deserves infinite mentions :P
But I'll remove one mention and add one Broken Sword plus a Broken Sword 2 and a Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Square Enix's Chaos Rings and Final Fantasy I and II. That should make up for my redundancy on Infinity Blade. But seriously... it is one hell of a game.
I'm not sure if you were just being super sarcastic and my sarcasm detector is a bit off, but Hulu and Netflix have both announced that their apps will be out in the next few months. American Express does in fact have an Android app. It is called American Express For Android. I began at the end of your list and started working my way back, but before I got bored I found TED, CNN, and NPR apps.
Well, the Hulu and Netflix aps are not out. I recal both stating for years they were working on a "coming soon" app for the iPhone so I don't hold my breath on either now. Specially since Netflix made public they are having DRM issues, seems Google has no security scheme in place and each manufacturer has created their own (or none at all.) For contractual agreements with the providers they must secure their streams and Netflix noted they will be forced to start their rollouts for specific models, not for the platform as a whole. Given the content providers are almost all in the same boat, I would not be shocked if Hulu is on the same grounds.
The American Express I tried to look at their website, was not able to find anything on it, despite them making it easy to find note on the iPhone one. I will stand corrected there.
You do have a point about games unfortunately. There was a Plants Vs Zombies port/clone that got pulled from the market, although there is supposedly a real version from Popcap that will be out during the summer. Plants Vs. Zombie is really sort of an exception. The quality/amount of android games is somewhat disappointing.
As a gaming platform, the biggest issue Android has is that it's being treated as well as the Macintosh vs the PC: only very successful titles end up getting ported, and a long time after they have been on the other platform.
That's a weekend hack of some public data calls + the GPS lookup. Why can't I have that as a feature of an app called "Weather"? I want heroic, high quality apps that are light and fast and mostly don't suck. And I'd pay for them. But instead I have features federated around to a dozen weather apps, very few reliable brands of mobile apps, and devs wondering why they can't seem to make money selling 1/12th of a software solution anonymously.
Who said the app does not have full features? It has plenty of reporting tools, access to street cameras and video, active maps, detailed forecast reports, etc. However, I don't have to spend my full day looking at the stupid app, I have better things to do with my time (like play Angry Birds without ads.) The main reason I paid for this one is because it was full featured AND didn't need my constant nagging to tell me if a blizzard is coming my way (something I need since I don't watch TV nor listen to radio.)
This is one thing I got to give MS, despite the horrible Windows Phone 7 marketing campaign, I do agree with the idea of making their phone quick to look at to get the info you need out of it so you can put it away as quick as you can.
Netflix? Hulu Plus?
As far as I can see, American Express has not made an Android version of their app.
PBS, ABC Player, ABC News, TED Mobile, CNN app and the NPR app are some I am not sure about, but you can check the android store and let me know if any is there.
As for games, sorry but there are a LOT of games for the iOS that are not available for Android and very few the other way arround. Most of the Android games that are not available for the iOS tend to be copycats of popular iOS games. But lets talk about big names: Dead Space, Infinity Blade, World of Goo, Plants Vz Zombies, Infinity Blade, Rage, Call of Duty: Zombies, and many more. Better question ends being: What games are available for the Android that are not available for the iOS?
As a consumer, I don't want apps I must use a lot, I want apps I can use quick and get results out off. One example is a weather app I purchased called Weather Alert USA. I don't ever open it, but it will give me a system notification if there is a weather alert for my area (or any area I tell it to alert me about.) Such an app would never be able to survive based on ads.
For me, "heavily used", is only a feature in video games and media players, and those to don't really click with games, at least not for me.
Well, Apps I can't live without on my iPhone, there is the American Express app, that I think is not available for Android, I'd have to put up with their mobile web site.
I can't live without my dear Netflix.
There is Air Video, an app that allows me to stream video over the internet from my computer. There may be similar alternatives for the Android. I know for one there is ZumoCast, not out yet but it was just purchased by Motorola and likely will go either Android only or at least make it into the Android market. Then again, it may become a Motorola only app.
There are a lot of games, too many to count.
PBS, ABC Player, ABC News, TED Mobile, CNN app and the NPR app are some I may live without but really rather not. Not sure if any of these are available for the Android.
Not essential but I love my 8mm Vintage Camera, would dislike departing with it.
That's without going into actual OS features, although at first I thought the new Apple TV was a stupid gimmick (other than being useful as a Netflix player, but I had an XBox for that,) I am now in love with it due to Air Play. Now, yea, that's just an OS feature, but now any app that uses video of any type will be able to stream the video to the TV completely wirelessly. That's something I wont be able to do with any app in the Android [right now.] To be fair, though, 3rd party apps wont be doing it ether for the iPhone until 4.3 is out (but it's not too far off.)
Obviously there's money to be made
As a developer, I would like to be shown what makes it so obvious. Every developer I have asked says similar, if you cant get an application that's heavily used you wont be making much money in the Android platform, and then you will very likely make most that money through advertisement.
I honestly want to see actual analysis that show that developing for Android is really an obvious money making path. I am very aware that there is no certain success in any platform. Seeing comparisons of cross-platform titles and showing the Android equivalent making more money would be the best example. Maybe the web is full of Apple Fanboi propaganda, but I just cant find any success stories in the Android Market that rival the iOS equivalents.
"Developers have a hard time, but consumers are happy."
Make an app for the iPhone and Android and you'll quickly find that developing for the iPhone is much easier than Android. There are a few variables in the hardware on Apple products and hundreds of variables with Android based hardware.
Doubt he meant its hard to develop. As a developer, it is inherently harder to get your app in the App Store, than it is to get it in Android's Marketplace. Mind you, this is not a huge negative, but it is true that its harder. Just as it's harder to walk around the block than to ride a Segway. That being noted, I have worked for a few computer consulting groups, as a software developer, for about 10 years now. The App Store approval process is nowhere near as annoying as any decent company's Q&A department. I have sometimes worked on code that did not ship out until a year later due to Q&A scrutiny. A typo would not let things go through, the color of an icon can make things get rejected. Changes in client mindset, etc. At least Apple has a rather well defined list of things they look at.
Steve Jobs is not necessarily a creator. He is just a visionary. He may toss around something like "you know what would be cool? Something to manage music in the mac", toss that ball to his hand picked team and they would invent iTunes. Then he would say "you know what would be cool? A device for people to take this music with them on the road." Then toss that ball to a team and they come up with the iPod (and many other things that he rejected.)
There is another thing Steve Jobs is darn good at: he is one hell of a public relations face. He is so good you would think he is a hypnotist.
So yea, Apple can live without Jobs, and I think Cook may be just as good at picking people and rejecting the bad ideas. My only worry is that Cook is nowhere near the charismatic pr face that Jobs is. Apple needs a replacement for that face, and that replacement does not have to fill the CEO shoes. Just some one that will stand on stage and put up a show. Heck, hire Simbad, he can do it, if you ask me!
Bah, that N900 is too techy, so trendy it's no longer trendy. The true cool phone is the Jitterbug Senior Phone!!! THAT'S yells exclusivity!
I love this post, thanks for sharing it. I also wish well for Honeycomb, after all, Android has been the best thing to happen to iOS. Without Android, iOS would never had done many things it's now doing. Competition is always good. Unfortunately, even once out, it will take a while for Honeycomb app market to catch up. They will be over a year behind and they wont be catching up on day one by just being there.
They can say it, but wont make it realistic. Apple was open on the reason: they never sold very well. That already is not true with the iPad.
Enterprise can get a Corporate Developer License that allows them to write any software they want for their own devices. At that point, the tablet can do whatever they want it to do, those deployments within the company are not subject to App Store policy. I have not worked with it, either, but I think they added some remote pushing of updates for in-house apps at some point, maybe with or a bit before OS4 came out.
By pure nature of the device they can control what software gets installed since they don't have to give the employees the password needed to download anything from the App Store. There also are a few MS Office alternatives in the App Store.
Not sure about AD integration, though, other than Exchange support (from what I understand remote wipe included) and free Mobile Me locate/lock/delete capabilities. There are rumors Mobile Me will get much better this year, perhaps that's how they plan to expand it.
[Most] large companies love standardization. Every company I have worked for picks exactly one model of laptop and desktop from HP and sticks to buying that same model for anyone that needs the devices until the model gets discontinued or the need for faster machines come (and at that point everyone gets replacements to retain the standardization.)
As long as the tablet meets the minimum requirements, I think Apple has the upper hand thanks to that precise hardware standardization. I can see large companies getting annoyed if they start deployment of, let's say, HTC tablets and they get discontinued within 6 months in favor of newer hardware, forcing the enterprise to fragment their install base.
I, personally, think WebOS tablets can have a lot of potential (just potential though, just like a gun without bullets has a lot of killing potential, they have to put those bullets in the chamgbers!) Android will have to come with more locking down capabilities, so IT can make sure only what they want in the device gets into them. Microsoft could have a fighting chance if they opened their eyes and adapted Windows Phone 7's OS into a Tablet world, and offered native network/Exchange/SQL management tools.
Another reason I think WebOS tablets can have a lot of potential is due to their PC manufacturing background. Phone manufacturers have a tendency of changing models too often and killing support for older devices. Enterprise customers will likely want products with longer model lifetime. Dell may have a chance if Microsoft wakes up and morphs WinPhone7 fast into a tablet OS. I don't trust their [Dell's] specific success with Android devices, due to some unexplainable gut feeling.
Depends how it's handled, although most the things I will bring up can also be achieved with an Android tablet (with proper Tablet version, until Honeycomb comes out, the iPad is the only real option.)
Here are a few examples: A corporation can get a corporate apple development license, this means they can write and load any proprietary software they may need into the device. This can range from simple data entry applications with business focus to server management and security administration clients. A big conception between Apple critics is that the iOS is extremely closed and Apple wont let anyone do anything with it. This is not a concern for enterprise since the Enterprise Developer license is only $500/year (nothing for a small company) and allows internal application deployment across all the company devices. No Apple approval involved. Your boss can give you all the porn you want (under the risk of being taken to court under a sexual harassment case but that's a different story.) Apple's device lock-down also means companies can make sure the device they provide their employees does not get misused as users only can install from the company repository and not download games from the App Store, after all, Apple does not allow downloads of even free games without signing into the App Store with a password, and an enterprise is very likely to lock the device to their own account through Parental Controls. Android Openess may be a weakness in that department.
The iPad also has support for blue-tooth keyboards and Apple's Office contender is available for the device, plus a few others like Documents To Go and Quick Office. It is much more viable than a laptop in a fast-moving office. Example: Mike is working on a presentation on his desk, with a blue-tooth keyboard to do fast typing and a copy of Apple's PowerPoint alternative. He can then just stand up from his desk, leaving the keyboard behind and run to the presentation room. In this presentation room, he meets with another 10 (or whatever) managers with similar situations. Here, he uses his iPad to stream via Air Play his presentation into a projector hooked to an Apple TV receiver. As soon as he is done the next employee moves in with his iPad and takes over the projector without bothering with cabling switching.
Another situation, a project manager sits with his boss in a one-to-one meeting and he takes his iPad, again, leaving the keyboard behind without bothering to unhook or un-dock a heavy laptop. At the meeting he is asked for some information and he quickly access it without having to go back to his desktop or be forced to carry a laptop. In a fast moving office environment, dragging laptops left and right is not viable. An iPad (or any well done tablet) can stay on without draining any battery and back in action with the click of a button. A laptop requires, in the best case, to be sleeping and closed, then opened up, accommodate in your lap, and type a password to log in. Worst case may require to wake from hibernation or even a full boot.
I seen people pass iPads around a table, specially to show everyone some important email. Requires much less foresight than printing emails you think may be important.
In a warehouse, the iPad is just a bliss. No warehouse depends on laptops for anything. [Almost] every advanced warehouse has bulky devices designed for "quick inventory management" (you may had seen them in the hands of UPS delivery guys) or hand held PDA/BarCode Scanner hybrid devices. Both tend to be heavily specialized and still force the employees to deal with desktops set up throughout the warehouse. Off course, others just use paper and a clipboard. Tablets can drastically streamline this and open the door for much much more due to their flexibility.
IT staff can also use tablets for very effective remote server management. From simplistic VNC/RDP clients to dedicated management tools, amazing things can be achieved while stuck far from work or home if equipped with a 3G ready tablet.
As I stated at
IANAL, but from what I understand, by breaking the GPL, the owner of the copyright can demand some form of retroactive compensation. Worst part is the way the code was acquired. It appears the developer decompiled code, perhaps thinking that would go around agreeing to the GPL. Issue is just that, by not agreeing to it, he never had the legal right to use it. I am not sure what the legal repercussions are for this but I do know it results in copyright violations.
In the eyes of any Google advocate, this may weaken the GPL, after all, if it can lead to illegal FOSS, it may generate a feel it is counterproductive.
Already replied to another post, but they DID distribute it [stopped but did] to other developers [and anyone that cared to download the entire codebase.] It was not meant for end user distribution, does not mean it did not end up in any handsets either', but it was distributed.
The ones listed in TFA. You can refer to it if you want the names, but I will quote one block from there:
I did find one odd thing about the first 7 files. Sun published those files on its web site to help developers debug and test their own code. For some reason, the Android or Harmony developer who was using them decompiled and rebuilt them instead of just using the ones from Sun. Later an Apache license got incorrectly pasted to the top of the files, perhaps by some automated script. The solution to this earth shattering conspiracy? Replace them with the original files from Sun which have the correct comments. Or just delete them. After all, they’re not shipped with Android.
See, it may be true its not shipped, but the writer of the article in question does admit the license was altered and tries to dismiss it as an irrelevant action that may have been done by an automated script.
How it happened is not significant (though nor is it unimportant.) The result was an illegal change of licensing, enough to open the doors for rightful legal action. As much as I may dislike Oracle, they were given solid legal recourse by that [assumed by the article's writter, not confirmed by Google] automated script.
Unlike the writer suggests, the solution to this is not just removing the files or restoring the original license notes. The fact is that the code was already distributed with an altered licensing and Google may be ordered to report how many copies of the files were distributed. Additional audits may require to find if the code made it into any device distributions and how many copies did so, not to mention how many developers may had done branches of said code for internal testing without complying with GPL licensing requirements due to thinking the license they were provided under was rightfully the Apache license.
They still are guilty of replacing GPL license notices with an Incompatible Apache one.
BTW, I'm disappointed at not seeing that list of remote app kills and apps that apple only allow certain users to install and refuse to others.
Most people don't criticize MS for their stance for a number of reasons, first off the Xbox live marketplace is pretty open and the other fact is that it is their services you are accessing and it is their right to choose to allow you on there or not.
This one line destroys the entire argument and declares it all a double standard.
Note: I am OK with some one bringing forward a good argument, but that argument must not make excuses for others that do the same. The App Store is not that closed, nor is the XBox Live store that open. Try to make a pornographic game and get it into the XBox live market. Try to make a movie streaming app and put it there, and don't say "the machine is for games" because many households use it quite often only for movie streaming through Netflix.
Apple has some rules of what will not be allowed into the app store, yes. Just as Microsoft does for the XBox marketplace, and neither allows you to download software from other sources. You either are against both, at the same level, in favor of both, or simply holding a personal grudge against Apple in question. The last one would not fade away even if they made the thing wide open.
Don't want to make this too long, but one final note: Apple does not advertise the iPad as a laptop replacement that will do anything anyone would ever want to do in a laptop. It is marketed as something that will do anything most people DO with a laptop. Heck, as a programmer, I have found my laptop never gets used anymore. All the things that you could imagine I'd be able to do in a laptop beyond what the iPad can do, I still disliked to do there and would do in my desktop. But that's just me. Truth is the iPad CAN replace a laptop for many home users that just open their laptops to browse the web, look at facebook and read email. Oh and one last thing:
And "a few groups" working on jailbreaks? The Wii has a thriving homebrew scene with many, many applications and creative programs.
Yes, a few groups working on jailbreaks. Working on jailbreaks means working on jailbreaks. Working on homebrew is working on homebrew. See the difference, and perhaps now see why my use of the word "few"? On that note, the iPhone has also "a few" jail-breaking groups and a bucket-load of people selling and distributing their products through Cyidia, Rock and others.
They know their target audience has no interest in seeing naked women.
They know their target audience gets easy access to the real thing. :P