The iPhone won't redefine the industry, but if it really can bring together what has become a fragmented set of mobile features (phone + web browsing / maps / PDA features), coupled with video/iPod functionality, into an easy-to-use interface, it will give Apple a good foothold in the market.
I'll hold out for an iPhone nano which does all of the above minus the video (who really needs it at this screen size?) in a truly pocketable package.
I started with a ZX81 and its 1kb of RAM, little flush keys and built-in BASIC. Moved up (or should I say 'was moved' - I was five years old) - to a ZX Spectrum when that came out. Ahh, the white-knuckle action of Arcadia! The blistering platform mayhem of Horace and the Spiders (by Psion no less)! I spent many a late night (sometimes not retiring until 8pm) hammering away at the rubber keys, navigating some hideous pixellated sprite.
Damn I can still hear the staticky 'eeeeeee-ktsch' of the tape drive now.
Modern computing seems so flat, routine and devoid of character by comparison. What happened?
I posted some tips on backpacking / blogging in a similar discussion here a few years back that you might find useful. Although clearly some of the apps I mentioned there are now well out of date...
Is there a phone that is just a phone? Designed to have a respectable life span for the phone itself and the battery? A phone that isn't also a camera, PDA, and now web surfing device. Just a phone.
I'm excited about cool mobile hand held devices, but sometimes people just need a reliable phone.
Oh, but are there any phone currently that synchronize with gmail and the Google calendar?
The Nokia 6300 ticks all the boxes for core functionalities (including camera) and does it all in a pretty, small package with decent battery life. You can use Gmail for mobile to read your Gmail (go to gmail.com/app on your mobile to download the app) and Goosync to sync with your Google Calandar.
What were the issues at the table that kept us from an agreement? Was it money? No. Was it a royalty on every Apple phone? No. Was it an exchange for Cisco products or services? No.
Fundamentally we wanted an open approach. We hoped our products could interoperate in the future. In our view, the network provides the basis to make this happen--it provides the foundation of innovation that allows converged devices to deliver the services that consumers want. Our goal was to take that to the next level by facilitating collaboration with Apple. And we wanted to make sure to differentiate the brands in a way that could work for both companies and not confuse people, since our products combine both web access and voice telephony. That's it. Openness and clarity.
Looks like Cisco knew that had something of high value to Apple and tried to use it to leapfrog into a collaboration with them, sharing the iPhone brand. Apple (understandably) didn't want to play ball, and that's why they're at loggerheads right now.
FWIW Renoise has a very dedicated group of developers and a really vibrant community around it, as well as very solid documentation. I really recommend it. (I'm a paying user, not part of the Renoise team.)
Google Calendar Reviewed in PC World...
on
Google Calendar
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Google Calendar has been pretty slow for me this morning, and not all options are always saving correctly, but I guess it will take them a few more days to iron out the bugs and get used to the user load. Seriously neat is the ability to quickly add an entry by typing 'dinner with Chris next Thursday 5pm'.
I don't see any Gmail integration yet, like the ability to identify mails that mention appointments and ask you if you'd like them put into the calendar. But it's mentioned on the features page so I'm sure it will be there soon.
I've also been playing with Google Pages. It's slick in the way that we expect Google products to be slick. But hey, it's just an AJAX page editor. The fact that it saves your work on the fly is nice, and I find the design intuitive despite what some people have posted here, but this doesn't cover any new ground functionally - it doesn't *change how you work* - like Gmail did with its conversations feature and built-in Google search for email (which has essentially made the clerical task of sorting email redundant).
I'm also querying the target market here. Gmail has replaced local email clients for many, and there's a even a debate about whether it could be employed for business use (remember it's spawned a hosted Gmail offering). In its current form, what business need is Page Creator going to serve? It's hardly an all-singing all-dancing CMS, and it's clearly targeted squarely at the newbie base, so it won't stick with the tech thought leaders and won't really gain traction like Gmail has.
Before I get the 'if it doesn't suit you, don't use it' responses or 'if it means my grandmother can have a homepage that's all that's important': I'm not saying that Pages is no good, but haven't we come to expect more from Google? Unless it's massively developed, beyond the Geocities crowd it's just going to be a toy.
I've been using GMail mobile (in the UK) since it was announced Friday. It works very well indeed, and the interface is probably the best I've seen - much simpler than many mobile Java email clients.
One gripe on my Nokia 6230 is that I need to enter my login details at each step - to access the inbox, then to reply, etc. This doesn't happen with my friend that uses O2 (I'm on Vodafone), and I've checked all the cookie and security settings on my phone. I raised this issue with Google and got an immediate response - the phone and network are currently unsupported by Gmail mobile. Does anyone have any similar experiences and suggested workarounds?
I have heard three reports this morning of a shooting at the business centre of Canary Wharf, possibly of a potential suicide bomber. The adjacent buildings have apparently now been evacuated.
The news sites aren't bringing anything up on this. Does anyone have any more info?
Google also started implementing POP access for Gmail today (my account has it enabled already). There's no IMAP yet, and we know there were ways of doingthis before, but it's an interesting direction for Google to take. As stated in the article, they don't intend to start charging for POP access or mail forwarding in the future. So how can Gmail's ad-based business model continue to be viable when its users can read their mail from external clients and via external addresses?
More than that, there is even a disclaimer on the bottom left of the page, with a link to the real site:
This is not the official site of Congessman Chris Van Hollen, just in case you can't tell. His official site can be found at: www.house.gov/vanhollen.
There's nothing wrong with this site. Registering the domain was a cheap tactic, but it shouldn't sway most educated people who will always search for both sides of the argument.
Last night I attended a talk by Richard Stallman entitled The Danger of Software Patents in Luxembourg. He made a convincing case as to how the patent system when applied to software ideas was poorly executed (a legal mess, scope defined too widely, etc.) He concluded that the patents system on software ideas stifled innovation and hurt Joe Developer while making "the Mega-corporations" (his word) richer. (I won't list his arguments because I'm sure you're all familar with them.)
I accept that the patents system as it stands is far from optimal, or even fair. But could someone please clarify this for me: how could it be an alternative to abolish patents on software ideas altogether when this would remove the financial incentive for someone to protect their software invention? We'd all like to live in a world where financial gain meant less than it does, but is it really a realistic option? What IS the alternative without making the patent system even more cryptic and complex? What am I missing here?
I just don't understand why someone would move 12 years of their life into the data warehouse of someone you don't control.
You're right. Re-read Brad Templeton's privacy concerns over Gmail and the prospect of storing the "12 years of your life into the data warehouse of someone you don't control" becomes rather dubious.
However, from a purely technical standpoint there are some real advantages to chucking your mail archives into Gmail. The search feature is second to none (who even needs labels?), the interface beats any webmail (Squirrelmail? come on!) or IMAP reader hands-down, and the conversations feature is a real bonus (Mark Lyon informs me that GMail automatically makes conversations from the messages as they are uploaded with his Gmail loader).
The bottom line is, I don't know whether to upload all my old mail to Gmail yet, and for me the jury's still out until the geeks and the lawyers agree.
Telecomms and PR Expert Ben Silverman has a very interesting analysis on PR Fuel of Google's PR gaffs (and the resultant harsh media treatment) of the company around IPO time. Choice quotes:
Whether it was a questionable interview with Playboy by company founders that almost derailed the IPO or the failure to properly account for stock options, Google's missteps have been high-profile and surprisingly amateurish. Google's brand with consumers has not suffered as a result, but in the media, the company's respect level is at an all-time low.
--
The PR people at Google, I have no doubt, are well aware of the challenges they face in going from a privately-held company to a publicly-held company. Up until a few months ago, I had faith that the company could handle these challenges without much fanfare or problems. But in light of recent events, I'm more skeptical about how the company conducts itself with the media and public at-large. Perhaps Google was just too perfect for its own good.
Taking the weblog example to the extreme, you could use TypePad to write a weblog entry; Flickr to store your photos; store some mp3s (for an mp3 blog) on your ISP-hosted shell account; your events calendar on Upcoming; use iCal to update your personal calendar (which is then stored on your.Mac account); use GMail for email; use TypeKey or Flickr's authentication system to handle identity; outsource your storage/backups to Google or Akamai; you let Feedburner "listen" for new content from all those sources, transform/aggregate/filter it all, and publish it to your Web space; and you manage all this on the Web at each individual Web site or with a Watson-ish desktop client.
Why does this have to be a publicity stunt? The article says that this is U2's first album in nearly four years. I can imagine it would be seen as sufficiently hot property for someone to steal it.
Where is the improvement to Google's blogging tool? From what I can see (I haven't grabbed it yet) Picasa looks very similar to Apple's iPhoto or any other photo management software.
If Picasa includes the ability to create online photo galleries, linked to a user's Blogger account so he can publish them on his blog, then it would be quite neat. Otherwise, I don't see what this announcement has to do with blogging tools.
This story reminds me of two final-year students in my old CompSci class (at London). They broke into the department's system and read the mail of the lecturers for months, distributing grades to their friends before they were released and generally messing around with the system while covering their tracks.
Just after their final exams, they got caught, and after a short investigation their degrees were annulled. I remember how odd it was at our graduation ceremony when we were all walking around with our families in our caps and gowns, and these two guys showed up alone wearing shorts and T-shirts, just to say goodbye to their friends.
So they wasted three years of study for a little hacking. I often wonder where they are now.
Existing Gmail users: Get over to this site and vote for the Gmail features that you want to see! The more votes the better, and the GMail team might actually be listening to it.
(Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the site, I just want to make sure Gmail trounces Yahoo features-wise.)
Slashdot Mirror
The iPhone won't redefine the industry, but if it really can bring together what has become a fragmented set of mobile features (phone + web browsing / maps / PDA features), coupled with video/iPod functionality, into an easy-to-use interface, it will give Apple a good foothold in the market.
I'll hold out for an iPhone nano which does all of the above minus the video (who really needs it at this screen size?) in a truly pocketable package.
I started with a ZX81 and its 1kb of RAM, little flush keys and built-in BASIC. Moved up (or should I say 'was moved' - I was five years old) - to a ZX Spectrum when that came out. Ahh, the white-knuckle action of Arcadia! The blistering platform mayhem of Horace and the Spiders (by Psion no less)! I spent many a late night (sometimes not retiring until 8pm) hammering away at the rubber keys, navigating some hideous pixellated sprite.
Damn I can still hear the staticky 'eeeeeee-ktsch' of the tape drive now.
Modern computing seems so flat, routine and devoid of character by comparison. What happened?
I posted some tips on backpacking / blogging in a similar discussion here a few years back that you might find useful. Although clearly some of the apps I mentioned there are now well out of date...
Is there a phone that is just a phone? Designed to have a respectable life span for the phone itself and the battery? A phone that isn't also a camera, PDA, and now web surfing device. Just a phone.
I'm excited about cool mobile hand held devices, but sometimes people just need a reliable phone.
Oh, but are there any phone currently that synchronize with gmail and the Google calendar?
The Nokia 6300 ticks all the boxes for core functionalities (including camera) and does it all in a pretty, small package with decent battery life. You can use Gmail for mobile to read your Gmail (go to gmail.com/app on your mobile to download the app) and Goosync to sync with your Google Calandar.
Cisco's General Counsel has penned an answer to that:
What were the issues at the table that kept us from an agreement? Was it money? No. Was it a royalty on every Apple phone? No. Was it an exchange for Cisco products or services? No.
Fundamentally we wanted an open approach. We hoped our products could interoperate in the future. In our view, the network provides the basis to make this happen--it provides the foundation of innovation that allows converged devices to deliver the services that consumers want. Our goal was to take that to the next level by facilitating collaboration with Apple. And we wanted to make sure to differentiate the brands in a way that could work for both companies and not confuse people, since our products combine both web access and voice telephony. That's it. Openness and clarity.
Looks like Cisco knew that had something of high value to Apple and tried to use it to leapfrog into a collaboration with them, sharing the iPhone brand. Apple (understandably) didn't want to play ball, and that's why they're at loggerheads right now.
Not AFAIK. What's scary about that?
FWIW Renoise has a very dedicated group of developers and a really vibrant community around it, as well as very solid documentation. I really recommend it. (I'm a paying user, not part of the Renoise team.)
Google Calendar has been pretty slow for me this morning, and not all options are always saving correctly, but I guess it will take them a few more days to iron out the bugs and get used to the user load. Seriously neat is the ability to quickly add an entry by typing 'dinner with Chris next Thursday 5pm'.
I don't see any Gmail integration yet, like the ability to identify mails that mention appointments and ask you if you'd like them put into the calendar. But it's mentioned on the features page so I'm sure it will be there soon.
I'm also querying the target market here. Gmail has replaced local email clients for many, and there's a even a debate about whether it could be employed for business use (remember it's spawned a hosted Gmail offering). In its current form, what business need is Page Creator going to serve? It's hardly an all-singing all-dancing CMS, and it's clearly targeted squarely at the newbie base, so it won't stick with the tech thought leaders and won't really gain traction like Gmail has.
Before I get the 'if it doesn't suit you, don't use it' responses or 'if it means my grandmother can have a homepage that's all that's important': I'm not saying that Pages is no good, but haven't we come to expect more from Google? Unless it's massively developed, beyond the Geocities crowd it's just going to be a toy.
This demo of 3D sound out of two speakers still blows me away: http://www.holophonic.ch/archivio/testaudio/Cereni %20-%20Holophonic.mp3
One gripe on my Nokia 6230 is that I need to enter my login details at each step - to access the inbox, then to reply, etc. This doesn't happen with my friend that uses O2 (I'm on Vodafone), and I've checked all the cookie and security settings on my phone. I raised this issue with Google and got an immediate response - the phone and network are currently unsupported by Gmail mobile. Does anyone have any similar experiences and suggested workarounds?
I for one think that much of Slashdot's charm lies in the spelling mistakes made by its editorrs you insensitive clod!
FYI you can download this award-winning documentary for free on archive.org. Essential viewing to understand another side to the debate.
I have heard three reports this morning of a shooting at the business centre of Canary Wharf, possibly of a potential suicide bomber. The adjacent buildings have apparently now been evacuated.
The news sites aren't bringing anything up on this. Does anyone have any more info?
Google also started implementing
POP access for Gmail today (my account has it enabled already). There's no IMAP yet, and we know there were ways of doing this before, but it's an interesting direction for Google to take. As stated in the article, they don't intend to start charging for POP access or mail forwarding in the future. So how can Gmail's ad-based business model continue to be viable when its users can read their mail from external clients and via external addresses?
More than that, there is even a disclaimer on the bottom left of the page, with a link to the real site:
This is not the official site of Congessman Chris Van Hollen, just in case you can't tell. His official site can be found at: www.house.gov/vanhollen.
There's nothing wrong with this site. Registering the domain was a cheap tactic, but it shouldn't sway most educated people who will always search for both sides of the argument.
Last night I attended a talk by Richard Stallman entitled The Danger of Software Patents in Luxembourg. He made a convincing case as to how the patent system when applied to software ideas was poorly executed (a legal mess, scope defined too widely, etc.) He concluded that the patents system on software ideas stifled innovation and hurt Joe Developer while making "the Mega-corporations" (his word) richer. (I won't list his arguments because I'm sure you're all familar with them.)
I accept that the patents system as it stands is far from optimal, or even fair. But could someone please clarify this for me: how could it be an alternative to abolish patents on software ideas altogether when this would remove the financial incentive for someone to protect their software invention? We'd all like to live in a world where financial gain meant less than it does, but is it really a realistic option? What IS the alternative without making the patent system even more cryptic and complex? What am I missing here?
Does this utility check for mail at given intervals, or does it get alerted to new mail whenever it arrives (the promise of IMAP IDLE)?
I hope it's the latter, but I have a feeling it's not smart enough for that.
I just don't understand why someone would move 12 years of their life into the data warehouse of someone you don't control.
You're right. Re-read Brad Templeton's privacy concerns over Gmail and the prospect of storing the "12 years of your life into the data warehouse of someone you don't control" becomes rather dubious.
However, from a purely technical standpoint there are some real advantages to chucking your mail archives into Gmail. The search feature is second to none (who even needs labels?), the interface beats any webmail (Squirrelmail? come on!) or IMAP reader hands-down, and the conversations feature is a real bonus (Mark Lyon informs me that GMail automatically makes conversations from the messages as they are uploaded with his Gmail loader).
The bottom line is, I don't know whether to upload all my old mail to Gmail yet, and for me the jury's still out until the geeks and the lawyers agree.
Telecomms and PR Expert Ben Silverman has a very interesting analysis on PR Fuel of Google's PR gaffs (and the resultant harsh media treatment) of the company around IPO time. Choice quotes:
Whether it was a questionable interview with Playboy by company founders that almost derailed the IPO or the failure to properly account for stock options, Google's missteps have been high-profile and surprisingly amateurish. Google's brand with consumers has not suffered as a result, but in the media, the company's respect level is at an all-time low.
--
The PR people at Google, I have no doubt, are well aware of the challenges they face in going from a privately-held company to a publicly-held company. Up until a few months ago, I had faith that the company could handle these challenges without much fanfare or problems. But in light of recent events, I'm more skeptical about how the company conducts itself with the media and public at-large. Perhaps Google was just too perfect for its own good.
There's a very interesting post on kottke.org that discusses online applications in relation to weblogs. I quote:
.Mac account); use GMail for email; use TypeKey or Flickr's authentication system to handle identity; outsource your storage/backups to Google or Akamai; you let Feedburner "listen" for new content from all those sources,
Taking the weblog example to the extreme, you could use TypePad to write a weblog entry; Flickr to store your photos; store some mp3s (for an mp3 blog) on your ISP-hosted shell account; your events calendar on Upcoming; use iCal to update your personal calendar (which is then stored on your
transform/aggregate/filter it all, and publish it to your Web space; and you manage all this on the Web at each individual Web site or with a Watson-ish desktop client.
Why does this have to be a publicity stunt? The article says that this is U2's first album in nearly four years. I can imagine it would be seen as sufficiently hot property for someone to steal it.
Where is the improvement to Google's blogging tool? From what I can see (I haven't grabbed it yet) Picasa looks very similar to Apple's iPhoto or any other photo management software.
If Picasa includes the ability to create online photo galleries, linked to a user's Blogger account so he can publish them on his blog, then it would be quite neat. Otherwise, I don't see what this announcement has to do with blogging tools.
This story reminds me of two final-year students in my old CompSci class (at London). They broke into the department's system and read the mail of the lecturers for months, distributing grades to their friends before they were released and generally messing around with the system while covering their tracks.
Just after their final exams, they got caught, and after a short investigation their degrees were annulled. I remember how odd it was at our graduation ceremony when we were all walking around with our families in our caps and gowns, and these two guys showed up alone wearing shorts and T-shirts, just to say goodbye to their friends.
So they wasted three years of study for a little hacking. I often wonder where they are now.
Existing Gmail users: Get over to this site and vote for the Gmail features that you want to see! The more votes the better, and the GMail team might actually be listening to it.
(Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the site, I just want to make sure Gmail trounces Yahoo features-wise.)