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Apple has changed section 3.3.2
Matt Drance found a change in Apple’s iPhone Developer Program License Agreement—in particular, section 3.3.2 that pissed off a lot of people. It used to read:
No interpreted code may be downloaded or used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Documented APIs and built-in interpreter(s).
Now it reads:
Unless otherwise approved by Apple in writing, no interpreted code may be downloaded or used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Documented APIs and built-in interpreter(s). Notwithstanding the foregoing, with Apple’s prior written consent, an Application may use embedded interpreted code in a limited way if such use is solely for providing minor features or functionality that are consistent with the intended and advertised purpose of the Application.
As Matt points out, this could open up the window for some of those that were really fucked over by this—game developers in particular.
(And no, this does not “open up the platform”, but it removes a fraction of what some of the critics were most pissed off about.)
— Apple Outsider » Hello, Lua.
Khoi VInh on Apple’s use of typography
Creating a beautiful display and patting yourself on the back for having good typography is disingenuous, I think. It’s a little like saying a high-definition television set makes for better television shows; an absurd claim at best.
— Subtraction.com: Better Screen, Same Typography.
Apple now owns a press
Once again, a post to even out the things a bit (which is not to say that I necessarily agree with everything Albert McMurry/SeoulBrother wrote):
The argument goes something like this: Apple ultimately controls the content available on the App Store therefor the App Store is evil.
It should read like this: Apple now owns a press.
— Apple as Censor – SeoulBrother.
Walled gardens as misguided metaphor
Neven Mrgan’s reaction to the term “walled garden” as something that can be described as despicably closed, when the benefits of having something that is closed and cared for can also be of immense beauty:
A software store is not an actual garden, not literally. But enough people have used this metaphor that it’s worth thinking for a second about what it’s actually supposed to mean.
I’m assuming we’re supposed to compare this approach to the freer alternatives such as community gardens and city parks. Ignoring for a moment the fact that these gardens are also regulated by serious restrictions on what one can and can’t do, it still puzzles me that the ‘walled garden’ is presented as an obviously undesirable structure.
Recommended reading for everyone that wants a nuanced view on the closed app store vs. open web discussion.
— The Walled Garden – Neven Mrgan’s tumbl.
On the Wired iPad app
It’s basically a bunch of stacks, images and xml-data and seems to be rather quickly thrown together:
“Perhaps the most interesting thing to note is that there’s not a whole lot here which can’t be implemented using HTML5. But frankly, I think Adobe’s got the right approach here. HTML5 and CSS are far from baggage free. It appears Adobe could offer faster, painless route electronic magazine creation for publishers, a more efficient solution in terms of CPU usage and page rendering, and most importantly, the capability of offering superior integration with native operating system functions.”
— From The Hip — Bundle Diving In The WIRED iPad App..
No wonder there’s a shortage on iPads
“So much for it being a niche product! Apple says it has sold two million iPads in 60 days since the launch of the tablet device. It sold the first million iPads in 28 days. It is hard to find some of the 3G enabled iPads in their retail stores. The pace of iPad sales is way ahead of the early results for iPhone, which took 74 days to sell the first million. According to some estimates, iPad is outselling the Mac itself.”
— GigaOm: Apple Selling Million iPads a Month.
Fred Wilson changed his mind about the iPad. After using it.
“So I’ve changed my mind about the iPad and tablet computers. In my initial review, I focused on capabilities. And tablets are stuck between the power and utility of the notebook and the size and features of a smartphone. But they also create a middle place in terms of usability. And that is what I missed in my first day with the iPad. It feels less like a computer than any computing device I’ve owned. It’s easy on me in a way that the other devices are not. So I’m now convinced that tablets will have an important place in our homes and our lives.”
— Fred Wilson: I’ve Changed My Mind About The iPad
Flash works on touch-based devices
Interesting to see how “Rollover Effects” and Hover states work on the Dell laptop. The reason why it won’t work on the iPad is the way it recognizes touch events (look at the double clicking – it resembles the way a mouse works, not how your finger works with the iPad/iPhone).
That being said, it is interesting to see them finally try to show Apple that the technology does work.
(I’d still like Flash to never be an option on the iPhone, though, but that might just be me…)
Link: http://theflashblog.com/?p=2027
/via Tony Hanna
Will it axe?
Niels Hartvig has posted a video of his iPhone being axed.
Literally.
(Well, if you want to walk the talk, this is how to do it. I’d still have sold it off, but that’s just me, I guess.)
What Apple really meant at the iPhone OS 4 preview event
They could easily just have said this:
- Multitasking = “let’s take quick context-changing and call it multitasking. Are you bitches happy now?”
- Preventing developers from compiling apps using “intermediary translation” tools = “Fuck you: Adobe, Unity 3D etc.”
- Folders = “Springboard will only get you this far, so let’s create something we’re trying to remove everywhere else.”
- Unified inbox = “We know it took a long time, but we just want you to tap tap tap that screen as much as possible.”
- Multiple Exchange-accounts = “Let’s please the enterprise customers.” (I’d have loved to have this while working at Vodafone, though)
- Game Center = “Fuck you: Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.”
- iAd = “Fuck you Google. Who likes to read text ads anyway?”
Apple is quickly becoming the fierce bitch of the tech world, and some people (in this case Niels Hartvig in particular) are taking this very seriously:
I’ll still buy Apple products, simply because there is nothing better, but their willingness to bitch slap everybody standing in their way is definitely not a route I’m happy they’re pursuing.