I agree. As far as stagnation and lack of innovation it is interesting that we could claim that with the one phone that has single handedly revived innovation in the handset market (the US market anyway.) I want to see Android come online and give us the innovation AND the openness.
One question to remain though is if Android will attract as many developers. Apple's free tools for iPhone development are well polished compared to most others I've seen. Will Google put the time and energy into pushing out the same level of quality in their development tools? Unlikely I think.
I hope this trend ends soon. The screening of apps started not long ago and I think was a result of the amount of crap that Apple allowed to sell on the store. Between the numerous "flash light" apps and the infamous "I am Rich" app a lot of people were annoyed at the signal to noise ratio. Then there was "Netshare" which was pulled because it violated ATTs terms of service (luckily I got my copy early.)
My guess is that Apple responded to all this by making it some middle manager's responsibility to come up with a set of ground rules to "improve" the situation. He/she/the committe or whatever obviously went way overboard. As a potential iPhone developer it gives me the chills that you could spend months on a project just to have it rejected for a rediculous reason like the one here.
It's not just the "interesting" content unfortunately.
There's a BBQ restaurant nearby that I occasionally order to-go from. If I was out of the house and wanted to get something on the way home I would pull their webpage up on my iPhone and order after looking at the online menu. Well guess what happened a couple months ago? They had their website redesigned with flash and provided no alternate webpage for those of us without flash players.
The use of flash in this case provided nothing for the site other than some fancy animation when the page first opens. I emailed the admin but have had no luck getting access to the old site provided via the new main page:(
As has been pointed out by many people, Apple is a hardware company. Their software groups exist to help Apple sell more hardware by providing a complete and easy to use system. There is no reason for Apple to to prove that their OS is "really up to the battle" by allowing it to be installed on other's hardware.
This is far from a Troll. I work for a company that ships to multiple countries within Europe. The cost of translating user manuals is insane and takes far longer than you would think.
Speaking of paying the bills, I have always wondered what it costs to maintain a website like Slashdot. Does anyone know what the cost of webhosting a site this large might be?
And that is what we though where I work as well. Here's the deal, how professional are the janitors? How about maintenance workers that are on-site tmie to time. Can you really trust them? We also had issue with someone that was able to sneak into the building over lunch one day and wander off with people's belongings. Forget the people you actually work with, they probably are completely trustworthy. it's everyone else that can gain access to your building that you should worry about.
Actual innovation? But where does that stop? Is it OK for someone to use steroids in the Olympics? I would consider steroids to be as much of an innovation as an artifical limb. It's unfortunate that this person can not participate in the Olympics but I think most people would agree that his prosthetic limb puts him at an unfair advantage.
I have no clue if this will turn out to be enforceable or not. If it is then it will certainly fuel concerns we have heard before about using GPL'd software in commercial applications.
It's not about innovation, it's about implementation. If you are not going to implement the numerous great ideas that your research group develops and get those innovations into products then all those innovations might as well have never happened.
I do not understand why retailers can be sued. I would think that if patent voilations have been made all the blame should rest on the manufacturers not the stores that are unwittingly selling the devices.
It's hard to believe AT&T is handing Apple $18/month for the iPhone when to get an iPhone added to an existing AT&T plan you only haved to spend an extra $20/month.
Interesting theory. I flew through two airports in Sweden last summer and they had an interesting scheme. They have a "no mans land" taped off around baggage claim so that people couldn't get up right against the belt. You were only supposed to cross over the tape if you saw your bag. That way if you see your bag you are assured that you can actually get to it. A good idea I thought and I'm not sure why I haven't seen it elsewhere.
Although your points are correct the article is still total bullshit since Vista was released in January, 6 months prior to iPhone sale date. I doubt Apple could have had Leopard ready by the Vista release date if they wanted to. Well, at least if they wanted to release something that wasn't crap.
Actually I've found the virtual keyboard to be pretty good. I can type at a pretty good clip with it now. I wouldn't let that stop you from getting one.
Doubt it. AT&T already has a pay as you go option, assuming you don't have a PDA phone or iPhone. They may bump the price of the unlimited option but I highly doubt the unlimited plans will ever go way. After all, $20 for the iPhone data plan or $30 for a PDA plan is still highway robbery for such a slow link (assuming edge.)
I was in an embedded systems seminar hosted by Jack Ganssle (sp?) and he claimed that the eCos (embedded Configurable operating system) source code was some of the best code he had seen, especially given it's complexity.
I'm I the only one who thinks it's strange that all of a sudden there is a relatively large number of giant squid washing up on beaches? We've gone from barely hearing about them to every few months seeing a dead one appear on a beach.
Don't bet on it. Chip makers will make lower power 3G chips when they think they can get a return on the development investment. If the current status quo is considered acceptable then they will not push for it. Now we have Apple saying that you can not put your 3G chipset into the iPhone unless it is low power so I would believe that someone will or has put the time and effort into delivering such a solution to them.
Specific customer demand drives a lot in the electronic component industry. A lot of those customer specific solutions then get turned into catalog parts that other companies will be able to take advantage of. Component vendors are always looking for an "alpha" customer to help drive development.
Slashdot Mirror
I agree. As far as stagnation and lack of innovation it is interesting that we could claim that with the one phone that has single handedly revived innovation in the handset market (the US market anyway.) I want to see Android come online and give us the innovation AND the openness.
One question to remain though is if Android will attract as many developers. Apple's free tools for iPhone development are well polished compared to most others I've seen. Will Google put the time and energy into pushing out the same level of quality in their development tools? Unlikely I think.
I hope this trend ends soon. The screening of apps started not long ago and I think was a result of the amount of crap that Apple allowed to sell on the store. Between the numerous "flash light" apps and the infamous "I am Rich" app a lot of people were annoyed at the signal to noise ratio. Then there was "Netshare" which was pulled because it violated ATTs terms of service (luckily I got my copy early.)
My guess is that Apple responded to all this by making it some middle manager's responsibility to come up with a set of ground rules to "improve" the situation. He/she/the committe or whatever obviously went way overboard. As a potential iPhone developer it gives me the chills that you could spend months on a project just to have it rejected for a rediculous reason like the one here.
Reading those it is not apparent to me that they are due to WebKit issues. Are they?
It's not just the "interesting" content unfortunately.
There's a BBQ restaurant nearby that I occasionally order to-go from. If I was out of the house and wanted to get something on the way home I would pull their webpage up on my iPhone and order after looking at the online menu. Well guess what happened a couple months ago? They had their website redesigned with flash and provided no alternate webpage for those of us without flash players.
The use of flash in this case provided nothing for the site other than some fancy animation when the page first opens. I emailed the admin but have had no luck getting access to the old site provided via the new main page :(
I'd love to understand how the SIM causes dropped calls. Can you please explain?
As has been pointed out by many people, Apple is a hardware company. Their software groups exist to help Apple sell more hardware by providing a complete and easy to use system. There is no reason for Apple to to prove that their OS is "really up to the battle" by allowing it to be installed on other's hardware.
Is this a joke? Would you have untrained "doctors" able to prescribe narcotics? Over use antibiotics? Perform surgery?
This is far from a Troll. I work for a company that ships to multiple countries within Europe. The cost of translating user manuals is insane and takes far longer than you would think.
Speaking of paying the bills, I have always wondered what it costs to maintain a website like Slashdot. Does anyone know what the cost of webhosting a site this large might be?
Good point. Given that I would put my bet on one of the early calculators released in the early 1970s.
And that is what we though where I work as well. Here's the deal, how professional are the janitors? How about maintenance workers that are on-site tmie to time. Can you really trust them? We also had issue with someone that was able to sneak into the building over lunch one day and wander off with people's belongings. Forget the people you actually work with, they probably are completely trustworthy. it's everyone else that can gain access to your building that you should worry about.
Well guys, before you mod this guy "Flamebait" let us please consider that they just banned YouTube. His comment isn't that far off.
Actual innovation? But where does that stop? Is it OK for someone to use steroids in the Olympics? I would consider steroids to be as much of an innovation as an artifical limb. It's unfortunate that this person can not participate in the Olympics but I think most people would agree that his prosthetic limb puts him at an unfair advantage.
I have no clue if this will turn out to be enforceable or not. If it is then it will certainly fuel concerns we have heard before about using GPL'd software in commercial applications.
No, it wasn't. The fact that Apple actually DID NOT react this way supports the fact that it wasn't.
It's not about innovation, it's about implementation. If you are not going to implement the numerous great ideas that your research group develops and get those innovations into products then all those innovations might as well have never happened.
I do not understand why retailers can be sued. I would think that if patent voilations have been made all the blame should rest on the manufacturers not the stores that are unwittingly selling the devices.
It's hard to believe AT&T is handing Apple $18/month for the iPhone when to get an iPhone added to an existing AT&T plan you only haved to spend an extra $20/month.
Interesting theory. I flew through two airports in Sweden last summer and they had an interesting scheme. They have a "no mans land" taped off around baggage claim so that people couldn't get up right against the belt. You were only supposed to cross over the tape if you saw your bag. That way if you see your bag you are assured that you can actually get to it. A good idea I thought and I'm not sure why I haven't seen it elsewhere.
Although your points are correct the article is still total bullshit since Vista was released in January, 6 months prior to iPhone sale date. I doubt Apple could have had Leopard ready by the Vista release date if they wanted to. Well, at least if they wanted to release something that wasn't crap.
Actually I've found the virtual keyboard to be pretty good. I can type at a pretty good clip with it now. I wouldn't let that stop you from getting one.
Doubt it. AT&T already has a pay as you go option, assuming you don't have a PDA phone or iPhone. They may bump the price of the unlimited option but I highly doubt the unlimited plans will ever go way. After all, $20 for the iPhone data plan or $30 for a PDA plan is still highway robbery for such a slow link (assuming edge.)
I was in an embedded systems seminar hosted by Jack Ganssle (sp?) and he claimed that the eCos (embedded Configurable operating system) source code was some of the best code he had seen, especially given it's complexity.
I'm I the only one who thinks it's strange that all of a sudden there is a relatively large number of giant squid washing up on beaches? We've gone from barely hearing about them to every few months seeing a dead one appear on a beach.
Don't bet on it. Chip makers will make lower power 3G chips when they think they can get a return on the development investment. If the current status quo is considered acceptable then they will not push for it. Now we have Apple saying that you can not put your 3G chipset into the iPhone unless it is low power so I would believe that someone will or has put the time and effort into delivering such a solution to them.
Specific customer demand drives a lot in the electronic component industry. A lot of those customer specific solutions then get turned into catalog parts that other companies will be able to take advantage of. Component vendors are always looking for an "alpha" customer to help drive development.