Jean-Louis Gassée:
>The notion that the iOS platform will lose to Android “the way Mac OS lost to Windows” ignores history and disregards facts such as the growth of the iPhone and iPad.
An insightful post and well worth the read.
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Jean-Louis Gassée: >The notion that the iOS platform will lose to Android “the way Mac OS lost to Windows” ignores history and disregards facts such as the growth of the iPhone and iPad. An insightful post and well worth the read.
Jean-Louis Gassée:
>The notion that the iOS platform will lose to Android “the way Mac OS lost to Windows” ignores history and disregards facts such as the growth of the iPhone and iPad.
An insightful post and well worth the read.
Grandview is a fullscreen writing app like you have never seen before. Yes, you can customize colors and fonts — but you only get to see one word at a time as you type. That is one word, fullscreen, while you type. The experience is a bit trippy at first — after a few times…
Grandview is a fullscreen writing app like you have never seen before. Yes, you can customize colors and fonts — but you only get to see one word at a time as you type. That is one word, fullscreen, while you type. The experience is a bit trippy at first — after a few times through you start to see just why the developer wrote this app.
It’s not something that will make you focus better, or write better — it is a very unique app that is loads of fun to use. I have been testing the app for quite sometime now and have to say that I really do enjoy it — not for every writing moment — there are times though when it feels like the right tool for the job.
The app is available in the [app store](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grandview/id432436025?mt=12) for $4.99 (my copy was provided free), or you can hit the main link and see a video of the app in action and give a 7 day trial copy a go. I really recommend you give the trial a go, it’s pretty fun.
Justin Williams has a nice take on why Apple won’t be losing its lead in tablets anytime soon. The bottom line is that too many companies are shipping incomplete products with the promise of updates that will fix all the problems to come later — except that those updates are not shipping. It reminds me…
Justin Williams has a nice take on why Apple won’t be losing its lead in tablets anytime soon. The bottom line is that too many companies are shipping incomplete products with the promise of updates that will fix all the problems to come later — except that those updates are not shipping.
It reminds me of photographers that snap a picture, look at it and realize it isn’t very good — then go on to state: “Umm, I’ll fix it in Photoshop later.” Except that “fixing” a photo in Photoshop takes just about as much talent as creating a great photograph to begin with would — often it takes even more talent in my book.
“We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.” — President Obama
Jonah Leher: >Although we’re only starting to grasp how the insides of buildings influence the insides of the mind, it’s possible to begin prescribing different kinds of spaces for different tasks. If we’re performing a job that requires accuracy and focus (say, copy editing a manuscript), we should seek out confined spaces with a red…
Jonah Leher:
>Although we’re only starting to grasp how the insides of buildings influence the insides of the mind, it’s possible to begin prescribing different kinds of spaces for different tasks. If we’re performing a job that requires accuracy and focus (say, copy editing a manuscript), we should seek out confined spaces with a red color scheme. But for tasks that require a little bit of creativity, we seem to benefit from high ceilings, lots of windows and bright blue walls that match the sky.
Something to keep in mind when choosing your workspace — especially for those of us with [home offices](http://www.flickr.com/photos/showngo/5192693338/).
Justin Williams on the reported Motorola Xoom sales number: >250,000 is not a number to sneeze at. In fact, it’s more than I thought they’d sell in the three months of the device’s existence. What I am more curious about is how happy customers are with the purchase. That will be the true test.
Justin Williams on the reported Motorola Xoom sales number:
>250,000 is not a number to sneeze at. In fact, it’s more than I thought they’d sell in the three months of the device’s existence. What I am more curious about is how happy customers are with the purchase.
That will be the true test.
I have been told that people don’t think I should link to obvious link bait posts, I can see why. Instead of causing a direct link, how about I provide [this link](http://swizec.com/blog/ubuntu-better-for-app-management-than-apple/swizec/1672) to the post and we go on to dissecting this load of drivel. Some guy that goes by the handle “Swizec” posted an…
I have been told that people don’t think I should link to obvious link bait posts, I can see why. Instead of causing a direct link, how about I provide [this link](http://swizec.com/blog/ubuntu-better-for-app-management-than-apple/swizec/1672) to the post and we go on to dissecting this load of drivel.
Some guy that goes by the handle “Swizec” posted an article titled: “Ubuntu’s app management better than Apple’s”. Obviously this grabbed my attention and caused me to read the post — after all it has been a while since I was last using Ubuntu and I was curious to hear about the improvements made to the OS.
>But what I wanted to talk about today was how a bunch of opensource geeks have managed to beat the paragon of usability and App Stores and all things shiny and awesome when it comes to managing apps, installing software and so on.
Clearly from the the article title he is meaning Apple — meaning Ubuntu has created a better App Store interface than Apple has. At this point I am incredibly excited and I want to hear more, because I don’t think the current App Store for Mac OS X is quite up to par.
Next “Swizec” breaks down the 15 steps he identifies one needing to do before getting a new app on a Mac or Windows box — 15 steps, you have got to be kidding me. What he seems to forget is that we have Google, type in one line, read the article and download the app — that’s pretty straight forward and far less than the 15 crazy steps he takes. But, I will agree that it is not always easy to find a good app. I took way more that 15 steps to find a good seating chart app when I was planning our wedding, but I digress.
He then lists 9 steps for the average “package manager”. Now having used linux for a while I know what a package manager is, but I would guess that 90% (probably more) of computer users don’t. So then really steps 4 and 7 must be confusing for people when they have to `apt-get` something — do you know what that means? ((Yes I know what it means.))
>The most notable difference is that suddenly you have this authoritative source of applications where everything is available in a single place. Sure, if you have specific needs you might still have to visit a website or two, three, four, five to get the specific version of the package you need just in case the one your distro offers is too old … but all in all, the process is much nicer.
No the most notable difference is actually the fact that only command prompt geeks know what you are talking about at this point. The most notable difference is that my mom couldn’t download an app using this method — hell our average high schooler probably couldn’t either.
Me: “No, Mom, listen you need to go look on Google for version X of the package because the distro you have is too old.”
My Mom: “…can you come over and do that?”
>Recently Apple has done some improvements and became more like Linux with its variety of App Stores, the one on iOS works pretty well, the one on MacOS is … well it’s just a dash bit strange to be honest.
Wait… what? Macs are more like Linux — no, my friend, you simply have that backwards.
>It doesn’t feel right. It isn’t tightly integrated into the OS itself, it doesn’t really offer anything to make me want to use it.
Now I buy that, the Mac App Store was clearly intended for 10.7, not 10.6.
>Another big issue with the App Store that I have is that it only works for Apps. What about all the other software I need on my computer?
Wait, now we are arguing the semantics of what an “app” is? Let me explain, it is the same as software. You’re welcome.
He then devolves the conversation into a plethora of screenshots from Ubuntu and Mac OS X 10.6 with the apparent point being that in the App launcher folder on Ubuntu you are also recommended apps that are similar. Meaning you are shown ads in the app launcher in Ubuntu — perhaps that’s just the way I view it, but most people turn off Genius recommendations in iTunes for a reason.
Then we get his conclusion, which states:
>All in all, I think Ubuntu has made a great leap to making the whole experience of using third party software much much easier on the palate.
Agreed, but that’s not what you said the whole time — your posit is that it *is* better than everything else, not that it simply made the experience easier.
>There’s still a long way to go and a bunch of geeks are already complaining that the whole interface sucks, but they keep forgetting just how much it sucks for everybody else who isn’t using linux. We’re just spoiled.
Keep the above in mind for later.
>Of course there is still a long way to go and the new interface does have its issues. There’s also a big chance that cometh MacOS 10.7 everything might change. The App Store was meant for the new version after all and the fact we’re even allowed to use it already is supposed to be a grace of the Gods and so on.
Or just Apple pushing out a new product, either way I agree that it seemed rushed out to 10.6. This statement though is a “hedging my bets” statement, whereby he is trying to make sure that everyone knows that what he started off by saying is 100% fact, is now only a vague opinion — you need to own and article like this.
>We’ll see, I really hope they come even close to Ubuntu Natty Narwhal because my laptop is (and always will be) running a Mac OS.
Remember that passage I asked you to keep in mind — read it again, now. So life sucks for everyone not using linux and the new App Store is better than Apple’s, but alas he will always be running Mac OS even though he knows it to be crap compared to Ubuntu. Does this confuse anyone else?
The title sets that the writer believes that Ubuntu has created a better App Management system than Apple. He then explains in detail why he believes that to be the case. Then, in the **conclusion**, he says that linux users are now “spoiled”, yet he will always use Mac OS. It’s not like he can’t boot Ubuntu on his Mac, he can (for free), but no he is choosing what he just got done explaining to be inferior. Odd.
Eric Jackson: >The features you touted last night for your new phones were better battery life, a better browser, and better graphics for gaming. Is someone going to buy a BlackBerry over an iPhone or Android phone because of your improved browser? Is that what has been holding them back? Also, for your games: I…
Eric Jackson:
>The features you touted last night for your new phones were better battery life, a better browser, and better graphics for gaming. Is someone going to buy a BlackBerry over an iPhone or Android phone because of your improved browser? Is that what has been holding them back? Also, for your games: I thought your PlayBook just ships with Tetris. Are there going to be any other games I can play on the new BlackBerries that use your improved graphics?
Martin Adamek: >What has happened? In the last update of the app I introduced new ads provided by AirPush. These ads are not visible as part of the app, instead they appear in notification bar. They will appear max once a day and are easily cancelable (as any kind of notification). This update has started…
Martin Adamek:
>What has happened? In the last update of the app I introduced new ads provided by AirPush. These ads are not visible as part of the app, instead they appear in notification bar. They will appear max once a day and are easily cancelable (as any kind of notification). This update has started the wave of negative user comments and 1-star ratings.
and:
>Guys you are right, this can’t be compared. TV ads are there only during the show, while push ads appear anytime, even while you do not use the app. I completely missed this point.
Stay classy Android.
Dave Barth, Product Manager for Google Maps back in 2009: >It takes almost zero effort on your part — just turn on Google Maps for mobile before starting your car — and the more people that participate, the better the resulting traffic reports get for everybody. That is significantly more than zero effort — especially for…
Dave Barth, Product Manager for Google Maps back in 2009:
>It takes almost zero effort on your part — just turn on Google Maps for mobile before starting your car — and the more people that participate, the better the resulting traffic reports get for everybody.
That is significantly more than zero effort — especially for your battery life. I imagine this is what Apple wants to make better, making it so that users don’t have to take any additional steps by providing historical analysis instead of real-time crowdsourcing of the data.
Ethan Kaplan: >Chasing business models in one media with business models of fundamentally different media is a recipe for disaster. I see this happening continually with newspapers and magazines and the iPad, and I see it happening with the music subscription services. It’s applying an associative fallacy to things that are disparate, and history is…
Ethan Kaplan:
>Chasing business models in one media with business models of fundamentally different media is a recipe for disaster. I see this happening continually with newspapers and magazines and the iPad, and I see it happening with the music subscription services. It’s applying an associative fallacy to things that are disparate, and history is littered with the fatalities of these collisions.
37signals (I believe this is excerpted from a Jason Fried interview): >Slow time is “Maybe it takes two or three days to have this conversation. And we do it over periods of 15 minutes here, two minutes there, four minutes there.” And that’s fine. It doesn’t need to happen all at once. Unless it’s really,…
37signals (I believe this is excerpted from a Jason Fried interview):
>Slow time is “Maybe it takes two or three days to have this conversation. And we do it over periods of 15 minutes here, two minutes there, four minutes there.” And that’s fine. It doesn’t need to happen all at once. Unless it’s really, incredibly, truly urgent. (Which most things aren’t. They’re made out to be that way, but they really aren’t that important.)
Read the parenthetical again.
Apple said this in the [iPhone location database Q&A](http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/04/27location_qa.html): >Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years. The above could mean a lot of different things, a lot of different stupid things such…
Apple said this in the [iPhone location database Q&A](http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/04/27location_qa.html):
>Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.
The above could mean a lot of different things, a lot of different stupid things such as:
– Apple is going to try and replace Google Maps.
– Apple is going to build turn-by-turn navigation.
– Apple is going to build a car.
– Apple is going to save the world.
Personally I don’t think it means any of the above things, I think Apple wants to fix this:

Collecting a massive amount of historical traffic data doesn’t make a ton of sense for providing real-time traffic information. That information could be crowd sourced real-time, but that would require users opting-in and a lot of computational power on servers somewhere else — plus why do that when most states have sensors built into the roadways to provide the same data?
No, I think Apple is more likely to use this historical data to improve the accuracy of the drive time to different locations. A database that massive with that much traffic information should be able to provide a good statistical analysis of how long it takes to get from point A to point B on Tuesday at 10am. Essentially it would seem that the database being built could say that on Monday’s from 6am-8am I5 through Seattle is 20 minutes slower than it is on Friday’s at the same time. Thus allowing Apple to say that with no traffic your route takes 39 minutes, but if you left right now it will take you (on average) 59 minutes — that is a powerful feature.
Google Maps will already show you how long something can take “with traffic”, but it won’t tell you how it is determining what “with traffic” means and most of the times I find it wildly inaccurate. Now imagine a database built off of actual data and based on the current day and time that you are traveling. I imagine that would be far superior to what we currently have.
Especially so if that database could take into account sporting events and allocate time for that traffic, but now I am dreaming.
Apple’s statement also said “the next couple of years” — which I read to mean, iOS 6 (possibly iOS 5). I tend to lean towards iOS 5, otherwise I think Apple would not have asked itself that question in the Q&A they wrote — this was a warning shot over the bows of its competitors, and I think Apple is going to be counting faster than its competitors think.
[Updated: 4.29.11 at 9:02 AM]
It is, of course, not lost on me that this could mean data traffic and not road traffic. However the wording makes it sound like the latter and not the former.
Dr. Drang: >Not only is there going to be variation from one phone to another, there’ll be variation from place to place on the same phone. If someone does go out a measure a few white iPhones and finds them to be several (not just a few) thousandths of an inch thicker than black iPhones,…
Dr. Drang:
>Not only is there going to be variation from one phone to another, there’ll be variation from place to place on the same phone. If someone does go out a measure a few white iPhones and finds them to be several (not just a few) thousandths of an inch thicker than black iPhones, I’ll be convinced there’s a difference.
He also shows that his black iPhone 4 is thicker than his son’s black iPhone 4 **and** how one should photograph these things. But this makes the most sense:
>Wait. Before I do that, let me digress and say that the best way to prove a difference in thickness is to measure the goddamn thicknesses. But perhaps this is too technical a solution for a “marketing guy.”
Exactly.
Drew Houston the cofounder and CEO of Dropbox: >Relatively early on we brought a handful of people off the street (literally) for our first round of usability tests. Most of them had trouble even getting through the installer: for example, zero of the five people noticed that we had a tray icon (our most important…
Drew Houston the cofounder and CEO of Dropbox:
>Relatively early on we brought a handful of people off the street (literally) for our first round of usability tests. Most of them had trouble even getting through the installer: for example, zero of the five people noticed that we had a tray icon (our most important UI element), and more than one person tried clicking the screenshots in the tour. This was a mortifying experience for us, causing us to add a Giant Ass Blue Bouncing Arrow pointing to the tray icon during install, and to tweak the coloring of the screenshots to distinguish them from your OS chrome. Forcing these people through some kind of folder mapping scheme would have been a colossal train wreck.
His entire response is great and worth the read for anybody thinking about usability issues.
[Dr. Drang](http://www.leancrew.com/all-this/2011/04/weather-or-not/) whipped up a neat little python script that you can place on a web server to grab weather info in mobile Safari (and Safari for that matter). I forked the project over on GitHub and styled the layout a bit. Check out the demo [here](http://b3nbrooks.com/cgi-bin/weather.cgi). ((Be sure to add it to your homescreen…
[Dr. Drang](http://www.leancrew.com/all-this/2011/04/weather-or-not/) whipped up a neat little python script that you can place on a web server to grab weather info in mobile Safari (and Safari for that matter). I forked the project over on GitHub and styled the layout a bit. Check out the demo [here](http://b3nbrooks.com/cgi-bin/weather.cgi). ((Be sure to add it to your homescreen so you can see the great icon I whipped up for it.))
You can’t change the location because it is hard coded, but you should be able to get it working on your web server.
*Note: I am not saying this is better than My-Cast, but it is interesting what you can put together in a short period of time.*
WeatherSpark: > WeatherSpark is a new type of weather website, with interactive weather graphs that allow you to pan and zoom through the entire history of any weather station on earth. This is Flash only, but that aside it is a massive amount of data they give you. Not my thing, but pretty information heavy.…
WeatherSpark:
> WeatherSpark is a new type of weather website, with interactive weather graphs that allow you to pan and zoom through the entire history of any weather station on earth.
This is Flash only, but that aside it is a massive amount of data they give you. Not my thing, but pretty information heavy.
Elle Luna: >It was 5:30AM, my goals were completed, and I didn’t need to leave for work for another 3 hours. >This was the instant that my experiment was a success. Having 3 hours in the morning to do nothing. Planning for nothing. Making time out of my day to have just three hours to…
Elle Luna:
>It was 5:30AM, my goals were completed, and I didn’t need to leave for work for another 3 hours.
>This was the instant that my experiment was a success. Having 3 hours in the morning to do nothing. Planning for nothing. Making time out of my day to have just three hours to myself. That was a revolutionary idea for me.
It really is the best feeling when you have that time to yourself — I prefer it in the morning and wake up at 5:30a, even Twitter is quiet at that time. My Wife on the other hand prefers it in the late hours of the night, between 12a-3a.
You don’t just have to get up early, but if you can be awake at a time when your house is quiet and you can think — that’s when you find the magic.
Greg DeVore: >The creators of Garageband for iPad didn’t care about what their software could do. They cared about what people could do with their software. The end result of which is smiles. Lots of smiles. Go ahead and try not to smile when the iPad, or other software, does something that you find “magical”.
Greg DeVore:
>The creators of Garageband for iPad didn’t care about what their software could do. They cared about what people could do with their software.
The end result of which is smiles. Lots of smiles. Go ahead and try not to smile when the iPad, or other software, does something that you find “magical”.
“But since they had never used those features, they didn’t know how much they wanted them.” — Marco Arment Marco is talking about why he pulled the free version of Instapaper, but I think the above quote applies to so much in life. Like food, until you try it you have no idea how much…
Marco is talking about why he pulled the free version of Instapaper, but I think the above quote applies to so much in life. Like food, until you try it you have no idea how much you may like it (or hate it). ((My wife will probably get a kick out of me saying this — given that I am a very, well, picky eater.))