It seems recently that Apple are becoming more and more like Microsoft.
Apple recently announced they are suing HTC for the use of multi-touch on their Android devices. Which resulted in Apple getting sued by the company that actually invented the technology.
This brings me onto this point, Apple, for years, has been the underdog to Microsoft, while they made some pretty good products, their prices were (and still are) completely ridiculous. But they were still doing there thing, and good on them for it. But now, Apple have gone very much mainstream, and for some reason, decided they wanted to play the same games as the big bully that came before.
Microsoft is famous for patent trolling, heck, they even patented the scrollbar (I'm not joking, look http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5973663.html) but it seems Apple have though "That looks like fun, lets do it too!". Here is a tip Apple, don't patent something you didn't invent, and then don't troll people because they're trying to implement technology that has been around since the late 80's.
The patent system is meant to help innovation and protect Intellectual Property, but Apple seems to have forgotten this, their IP's aren't theirs, it really annoys me that because Apple put something on their devices, they seem to think they own it.
Apple, you used to be cool, but now you're just like Microsoft.
Saturday 3 April 2010
It seems i'm becoming a Google fanboy.
But is that such a bad thing?
Recently a big divide has come about between the people who use Google's Android devices, and Apple's iWhatever products. It mainly consists of people like me, developer types, who heavily disagree with Apple's policy on openness and people who use the Apple devices who would rather a device 'just work'.
This all stems from reading an article earlier on Apple's 'locked down' system of doing business, wherein once you buy an Apple product, you're locked in. For example you buy a song on iTunes, that song is not yours, Apple still own it and can prevent you from playing that song any time they like, if they close down the iTunes store, you don't get any refunds, and you don't have any rights.
Where as it seems the opposite is true of Google, where everything is open, free, or if not free at least very cheap, even the songs bought off the built in Amazon store are DRM (I like that the blogger spellchecker doesn't even recognize DRM) free and playable on ANY device.
The same with the Android market, the only thing Google ask when you post an app is that it's not pornographic. Counter to this, Apple force developers to not only give 30% of all profits to Apple, but also 30% of any content that is sold or distributed through the app, leaving the BBC no choice but to cull its selection of apps for the iPhone app store.
This brings me neatly on to the app store EULA, which DEMANDS that developers sign an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) meaning that should they speak to anyone outside the developer network of any of the things they happen to be doing Apple will sue them.
Now I will say that the only reason Google has been able to do all of this so openly and free, is because they have very successfully sold Ads on their website, and embedded in others, which I don't agree with, but compared to Apple's methods, a mere drop in the ocean.
I sincerely hope that Google's methods continue, and they keep distributing high quality OSS, and now I hope they don't let me down doing something stupid...
If that happens I'll be getting one of the new Nokia linux phones next time.
Recently a big divide has come about between the people who use Google's Android devices, and Apple's iWhatever products. It mainly consists of people like me, developer types, who heavily disagree with Apple's policy on openness and people who use the Apple devices who would rather a device 'just work'.
This all stems from reading an article earlier on Apple's 'locked down' system of doing business, wherein once you buy an Apple product, you're locked in. For example you buy a song on iTunes, that song is not yours, Apple still own it and can prevent you from playing that song any time they like, if they close down the iTunes store, you don't get any refunds, and you don't have any rights.
Where as it seems the opposite is true of Google, where everything is open, free, or if not free at least very cheap, even the songs bought off the built in Amazon store are DRM (I like that the blogger spellchecker doesn't even recognize DRM) free and playable on ANY device.
The same with the Android market, the only thing Google ask when you post an app is that it's not pornographic. Counter to this, Apple force developers to not only give 30% of all profits to Apple, but also 30% of any content that is sold or distributed through the app, leaving the BBC no choice but to cull its selection of apps for the iPhone app store.
This brings me neatly on to the app store EULA, which DEMANDS that developers sign an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) meaning that should they speak to anyone outside the developer network of any of the things they happen to be doing Apple will sue them.
Now I will say that the only reason Google has been able to do all of this so openly and free, is because they have very successfully sold Ads on their website, and embedded in others, which I don't agree with, but compared to Apple's methods, a mere drop in the ocean.
I sincerely hope that Google's methods continue, and they keep distributing high quality OSS, and now I hope they don't let me down doing something stupid...
If that happens I'll be getting one of the new Nokia linux phones next time.
Thursday 1 April 2010
Living with the Nexus One
I recently took purchase of my new Google Nexus One, and i've been getting used to it for a while now.
The first thing I often hear about it is the battery life, and I must be honest I harboured my own fears on this as well, as I did when I got my G1, but i'm glad to say my fears were unfounded, the phone easily lasts 2 days with normal use of apps, phone calls and texts. Depending on what features are turned on/off battery life can increase dramatically.
The display is absolutely amazing, compared to the iPhone (It's oft compared rival) it's superb, 800x480 resolution, massively dwarfing the iPhones 480x320 on a 3.7 inch display means it's got awesome clarity, especially for reading etc. Couple that with the multitouch that HTC has been putting onto their new phones recently, and the usability is epic.
The browsing experience is excellent, as one would expect with Googles deep ties in the internet, the standard browser is no slouch, but with alternate browser options such as Dolphin and Opera Mini, it can be taken to a whole new level of speed, with Opera mini being the fastest by a long way, something the iPhone can only dream of keeping up with at this point in time (Until maybe they accept Opera Mini onto the app store). Couple the speed with the dolphin browsers gestures, and it's really onto a winner.
The Android market is absolutely superb, even if it's a great deal smaller than the iPhone app store, but there are still 25000 apps, compared to the app stores 110000 I think, even so, you're not wanting for applications to increase your productivity. Plus there are some really great apps, I personally endorse Zombie, Run! ;)
I love some of the really great built in stuff, such as the integrated voice commands that are everywhere, just say what you want and the phone can do an incredibly good job of figuring out what you said. It just makes life easier.
Recently I also rooted my phone, something which is practically impossible on the iPhone, which for me is a bit of a fail, either way, it was a very simple process, and I will say this, if you own any android phone, root it, it increases the potential of the phone by no small amount. Being able to run google navigation (a GPS app that costs $99 on the iPhone, ouch) outside america, is superb, and that's just the start.
Of course it has its drawbacks, for example on some apps, the phone can be a little bit sluggish, even with the snapdragon processor, but that's very rarely.
Another criticism I have is that the touch buttons on the bottom of the phone don't sometimes detect when they've been pressed.
But those are a couple of small flies in what is otherwise, some very pleasant ointment.
The first thing I often hear about it is the battery life, and I must be honest I harboured my own fears on this as well, as I did when I got my G1, but i'm glad to say my fears were unfounded, the phone easily lasts 2 days with normal use of apps, phone calls and texts. Depending on what features are turned on/off battery life can increase dramatically.
The display is absolutely amazing, compared to the iPhone (It's oft compared rival) it's superb, 800x480 resolution, massively dwarfing the iPhones 480x320 on a 3.7 inch display means it's got awesome clarity, especially for reading etc. Couple that with the multitouch that HTC has been putting onto their new phones recently, and the usability is epic.
The browsing experience is excellent, as one would expect with Googles deep ties in the internet, the standard browser is no slouch, but with alternate browser options such as Dolphin and Opera Mini, it can be taken to a whole new level of speed, with Opera mini being the fastest by a long way, something the iPhone can only dream of keeping up with at this point in time (Until maybe they accept Opera Mini onto the app store). Couple the speed with the dolphin browsers gestures, and it's really onto a winner.
The Android market is absolutely superb, even if it's a great deal smaller than the iPhone app store, but there are still 25000 apps, compared to the app stores 110000 I think, even so, you're not wanting for applications to increase your productivity. Plus there are some really great apps, I personally endorse Zombie, Run! ;)
I love some of the really great built in stuff, such as the integrated voice commands that are everywhere, just say what you want and the phone can do an incredibly good job of figuring out what you said. It just makes life easier.
Recently I also rooted my phone, something which is practically impossible on the iPhone, which for me is a bit of a fail, either way, it was a very simple process, and I will say this, if you own any android phone, root it, it increases the potential of the phone by no small amount. Being able to run google navigation (a GPS app that costs $99 on the iPhone, ouch) outside america, is superb, and that's just the start.
Of course it has its drawbacks, for example on some apps, the phone can be a little bit sluggish, even with the snapdragon processor, but that's very rarely.
Another criticism I have is that the touch buttons on the bottom of the phone don't sometimes detect when they've been pressed.
But those are a couple of small flies in what is otherwise, some very pleasant ointment.
Friday 26 March 2010
Reasons the iPad is fail (For me)
Well, Apple caved into the fans and developed a tablet, fan service is never good.
For me, the first fail is iTunes. iTunes is the blanket app Apple use to distribute all their stuff, be it apps, music, movies or whatever else they want to cram on, and naturally it's one of the worst apps for that sort of thing, not for distribution, i'm all for digi distribution, but the DRM is draconian and stupid, people don't want to rent their music, they want to own it. Sort of a blanket fail there, all of Apples i products have to use iTunes.
Second, multitasking. The iPad uses the iPhone OS, which is never a good start for a 'computer'. The keynote stated they wanted the iPad to take the place of netbooks. Now, if you want something to take the place of something else, then you have to make sure it's much better, and i'm sorry, but doing one thing at a time is not better, it's a massive step backwards.
Onto the 'best browsing experience ever'. This sentence is so laden with bullshit i'm surprised the words are visible. Here is a clue Apple, the best browser experience means all the features, and as many bells and whistles as you can fit, the lack of flash is a big problem here, if you want 'the best browsing experience ever' you have to be able to see the whole web, and the iPad happily leaves out full third of it. Now, they're trying to push HTML5, which is excellent and I can't fault them for that, but bullshitting in such a way is just a bait and switch.
"Do you want peripherals?" "Yes please! As many as possible!". The iPad, coming with practically nothing, being just a scaled up iPod touch, has already a plethora of add-ons and peripherals to make the device somewhat more useful, addressing camera concerns with an attachment, physical keyboards with an attachment, and other such things. Now, you create this lovely looking piece of hardware, and i'm not going to deny that the simplicity of the design makes it look jolly nice indeed, but there is a point when simplicity impacts usability. With most of their products it's not a massive issue, there are oft workarounds or the solution they provide is adequate, however, with the iPad, they just decided "Screw any form of usability, this looks great".
Another point I have to make is about external displays, the iPad has the ability to output onto a TV or PC (Personal Computer, not Microsoft mac fanboys, Linux exists too) monitor, however, while the iPads display is 1024x768 (Something dire in itself for a device of this size) but the output to anything is even lower than that, so which it can display 720p HD video, not a great feat in itself, it can't actually display the video in the original resolution, instead scaling it down to either 576p or 480p, both of which are standard definition.
Now for the clincher, the price, standard iPad, the bottom of the line is $500, now, what this will be in England we don't know, but it will scale perfectly to £500 no doubt. What do you get for that? Pretty much nothing, 16GB of storage and WiFi connectivity. The full package costs $829, with a 64GB hard drive, WiFi and 3G connectivity. So Apple, please explain why I would spend that much on your product, when I could get an equivalent netbook for £200 - £400 that CAN multitask, CAN output at 720p to anything, and doesn't need hundreds of peripherals to make it usable.
Apple could have done something quite special, instead they shat in a box, and now they're going to sell millions because people will buy anything with an Apple logo
For me, the first fail is iTunes. iTunes is the blanket app Apple use to distribute all their stuff, be it apps, music, movies or whatever else they want to cram on, and naturally it's one of the worst apps for that sort of thing, not for distribution, i'm all for digi distribution, but the DRM is draconian and stupid, people don't want to rent their music, they want to own it. Sort of a blanket fail there, all of Apples i products have to use iTunes.
Second, multitasking. The iPad uses the iPhone OS, which is never a good start for a 'computer'. The keynote stated they wanted the iPad to take the place of netbooks. Now, if you want something to take the place of something else, then you have to make sure it's much better, and i'm sorry, but doing one thing at a time is not better, it's a massive step backwards.
Onto the 'best browsing experience ever'. This sentence is so laden with bullshit i'm surprised the words are visible. Here is a clue Apple, the best browser experience means all the features, and as many bells and whistles as you can fit, the lack of flash is a big problem here, if you want 'the best browsing experience ever' you have to be able to see the whole web, and the iPad happily leaves out full third of it. Now, they're trying to push HTML5, which is excellent and I can't fault them for that, but bullshitting in such a way is just a bait and switch.
"Do you want peripherals?" "Yes please! As many as possible!". The iPad, coming with practically nothing, being just a scaled up iPod touch, has already a plethora of add-ons and peripherals to make the device somewhat more useful, addressing camera concerns with an attachment, physical keyboards with an attachment, and other such things. Now, you create this lovely looking piece of hardware, and i'm not going to deny that the simplicity of the design makes it look jolly nice indeed, but there is a point when simplicity impacts usability. With most of their products it's not a massive issue, there are oft workarounds or the solution they provide is adequate, however, with the iPad, they just decided "Screw any form of usability, this looks great".
Another point I have to make is about external displays, the iPad has the ability to output onto a TV or PC (Personal Computer, not Microsoft mac fanboys, Linux exists too) monitor, however, while the iPads display is 1024x768 (Something dire in itself for a device of this size) but the output to anything is even lower than that, so which it can display 720p HD video, not a great feat in itself, it can't actually display the video in the original resolution, instead scaling it down to either 576p or 480p, both of which are standard definition.
Now for the clincher, the price, standard iPad, the bottom of the line is $500, now, what this will be in England we don't know, but it will scale perfectly to £500 no doubt. What do you get for that? Pretty much nothing, 16GB of storage and WiFi connectivity. The full package costs $829, with a 64GB hard drive, WiFi and 3G connectivity. So Apple, please explain why I would spend that much on your product, when I could get an equivalent netbook for £200 - £400 that CAN multitask, CAN output at 720p to anything, and doesn't need hundreds of peripherals to make it usable.
Apple could have done something quite special, instead they shat in a box, and now they're going to sell millions because people will buy anything with an Apple logo
IE9 Gonna suck? Not so much actually.
So it was the news most web web developers have been waiting for, and it's not as bad as most of us were expecting.
When IE9 was announced in mid-2009 everyone got somewhat worried, all the tests showed it was still slower than all competing browsers, and HTML5 support was still non-existent.
But recently MS released the IE9 developer preview, and, I'm actually quite happy to report that all our fears have not been realized. For once MS has listened to the people who have to work with their browsers on a daily basis.
HTML5 support is pretty much complete, as well as CSS3, allowing all you designery folk to really let your hair down, and not have to worry about compatibility.
The speed tests even put it in front of Mozilla 3.6, and even the Acid3 score is 55/100, and before you say anything, IE8 crashes on the Acid3 test, so it's a gargantuan improvement.
The amount of effort that has gone in is incredible, for example, all rendering is now offloaded onto the GPU, meaning the processor can chill out, even when you're running some dapper flash animations.
Now all they need to do is incorporate webkit and it will be unstoppable.
When IE9 was announced in mid-2009 everyone got somewhat worried, all the tests showed it was still slower than all competing browsers, and HTML5 support was still non-existent.
But recently MS released the IE9 developer preview, and, I'm actually quite happy to report that all our fears have not been realized. For once MS has listened to the people who have to work with their browsers on a daily basis.
HTML5 support is pretty much complete, as well as CSS3, allowing all you designery folk to really let your hair down, and not have to worry about compatibility.
The speed tests even put it in front of Mozilla 3.6, and even the Acid3 score is 55/100, and before you say anything, IE8 crashes on the Acid3 test, so it's a gargantuan improvement.
The amount of effort that has gone in is incredible, for example, all rendering is now offloaded onto the GPU, meaning the processor can chill out, even when you're running some dapper flash animations.
Now all they need to do is incorporate webkit and it will be unstoppable.
Sunday 10 January 2010
Traditional Games, The last bastion.
There are few things I love in this world, and /tg/ on 4chan is one of them.
/tg/ Is the Traditional Games board on the image sharing site 4chan, and truly, 'tis the last bastion of hope in this world. Many things I love have gone or be stripped away, but /tg/ remains steadfast and my knowledge that hope remains in this world.
If you've never been, I suggest you take a look, if you're not a nerd, you'll hate it, if you're a furfag, you'll hate it (and rightly so, you don't deserve happiness), but if you understand what's going on in there, you'll have friends for life.
For /tg/
For the Imperium
Death to the Furfags
and Long live the emperor.
/tg/ Is the Traditional Games board on the image sharing site 4chan, and truly, 'tis the last bastion of hope in this world. Many things I love have gone or be stripped away, but /tg/ remains steadfast and my knowledge that hope remains in this world.
If you've never been, I suggest you take a look, if you're not a nerd, you'll hate it, if you're a furfag, you'll hate it (and rightly so, you don't deserve happiness), but if you understand what's going on in there, you'll have friends for life.
For /tg/
For the Imperium
Death to the Furfags
and Long live the emperor.
Friday 8 January 2010
Where is your god now?
Oh jeez, another god rant, here we go...
Recently some Jehovas witnesses came to the door, and I asked what compelling evidence they had for the existence of their particular brand of god, the man merely waved his arms and said "Look around you", weaksauce evidence my friend, most of our things are man-made, apart from the grass and the trees, everything else he gestured at was made by human hands.
But this is an important point that must be rebutted, religious types love to point to the lovely and beautiful stuff in the world and say "Look what god has created!", ignoring that in fact, the reality of nature is that it is brutal, and vicious, and violent, but they don't want to admit such things, because that would be an affront to their perfect view of God and his creations.
Only a short one, see, wasn't too bad was it?
Recently some Jehovas witnesses came to the door, and I asked what compelling evidence they had for the existence of their particular brand of god, the man merely waved his arms and said "Look around you", weaksauce evidence my friend, most of our things are man-made, apart from the grass and the trees, everything else he gestured at was made by human hands.
But this is an important point that must be rebutted, religious types love to point to the lovely and beautiful stuff in the world and say "Look what god has created!", ignoring that in fact, the reality of nature is that it is brutal, and vicious, and violent, but they don't want to admit such things, because that would be an affront to their perfect view of God and his creations.
Only a short one, see, wasn't too bad was it?
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