By John Gruber

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Skype Mobile for Android Now Works Over WiFi, But Still Verizon-Only ★

Android is open, but more open on Verizon.

Wednesday, 1 September 2010

Put Up or Shut Up ★

Roger Ebert:

Our political immune system has only one antibody, and that is the truth.

Roku vs. Apple TV ★

If you’re mainly interested in Netflix streaming, I can’t see buying one of these over an Apple TV. Am I missing something?

Roku does have other content, like, for example, MLB.tv. And the Apple TV doesn’t have an API for an App Store. But: what if Apple opens up AirPlay to iPhone and iPad apps? Then the iPhone/iPad MLB At Bat app could stream video to the Apple TV.

The Talk Show #6: Today’s Apple Event ★

Recorded this afternoon, soon after the end of today’s Apple event, Dan Benjamin and I discuss each of the big announcements. Lots to talk about.

This episode was sponsored by Instapaper. If you’re not using Instapaper, shame on you.

Free Demo Version of Epic Citadel ★

This is the game Epic demoed during today’s event. Impressive as hell.

New iPod Touch Tech Specs ★

From Apple’s tech specs for the cameras:

Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; still photos (960 × 720) with back camera.

So it’s not the same camera as the iPhone 4. It does do still photos, but they’re under one megapixel in resolution. Not surprising, though — there’s way less room in the thin frame of the Touch.

Claim Chowder: Engadget and iTV ★

Josh Topolsky, three weeks ago:

Oh, and there’s one more thing — Apple will be officially changing the name of the device to iTV, abandoning the current moniker in favor of something a little more in line with its current iOfferings.

Not so much.

Furthermore, the device will be getting apps and presumably an App Store entry, though it’s unclear if there will be cross-pollination between iPad and iPhone / iPod touch offerings and new Apple TV applications

Not so much there, either. The device is running iOS, though, trust me. So it’s possible that some sort of SDK is coming in the future. But I’m not going to hold my breath. Judging from the demo today, I think the fact that it’s running iOS under the hood is just an implementation detail.

An iPhone App Developer’s Diary ★

Joshua Benton, on developing the Nieman Journalism Lab’s free iPhone app using TapLynx.

Stay 1.0 ★

Clever $15 utility for Mac OS X from Cordless Dog:

If you’re fastidious about keeping your windows tidy, Stay is for you. Stay ensures that your windows are always where you want them to be, even as you connect and disconnect displays.

Arnold Kim on Workarounds for Watching Apple’s Live Video Stream ★

Arnold Kim:

For non-supported readers who are desperate to watch the stream close to live, it seems likely that you will be able to watch it — at least in stops and starts. The HTTP Live Stream protocol is based on very standard technologies. The stream is simply provided in an MPEG2 playlist (m3u file) that is added to as the stream continues. These standard playlists will load in VLC for both Mac and Windows.

‘The Wilderness Downtown’ ★

Technically fascinating, emotionally moving interactive “video” by Chris Milk for Arcade Fire’s new single, “We Used to Wait”. All HTML5, not a lick of Flash; try it in Chrome or Safari 5. Nice write-up about it here at the Chome Experiments site.

HTTP Live Streaming Spec at IETF ★

There are some raised eyebrows today regarding Apple’s claim that their live streaming for today’s event is “based on open standards”, but only available for Mac OS X 10.6 and iOS users. It’s a damn shame that Windows users can’t watch it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an open standard. Maybe “proposed open standard” would be more apt, though.

Lots of speculation from readers via email, by the way, that the live streaming of the event is going to be part of the event itself — that Apple is going to announce high-fidelity live video streaming as a major new feature for Apple TV, Macs, and iOS devices.

Update: Email from a self-described “IETF weenie”:

http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-pantos-http-live-streaming-04 is not a proposed open standard. At the top of the document, it says “Intended status: Informational”. That means that the IETF will have no control over the content; only the authors do. This is actually a pretty important distinction.

Worth Watching Again: Kevin Tofel’s Demo of Flash on a Nexus One ★

Same video I linked to from Ian Betteridge yesterday, but, watching it again today, what I notice isn’t just the appalling video frame rate (“seconds per frame, not frames per second”, as Tofel says), but also how drastically Flash content affects scrolling and touch events in the browser itself. Even before any Flash content is loaded, these web pages scroll with jaggy animation, and touch events don’t register immediately. Unresponsive scrolling and taps are unacceptable.

Back When Apple Previously Streamed Video From an Announcement ★

July 2002:

Approximately 50,000 people used QuickTime® to watch Apple’s July 17 live webcast of Steve Jobs’ Macworld New York 2002 keynote, which was simulcast in both QuickTime 5 and QuickTime 6.

Going to be a lot more than 50,000 today.

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Apple to Provide Live Video Streaming of Tomorrow’s Event ★

How many years has it been since Apple has tried this? If it holds up — a big “if”, considering Apple’s previous live-streaming efforts — there goes the live-blogging racket.

Bloomberg: New Apple TV Tomorrow ★

Ronald Grover and Peter Burrows, reporting for Bloomberg:

Apple Inc., preparing to announce a new set-top box that delivers TV to consumers, will include movies from Netflix Inc., according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

But is the Netflix integration built into the system, or, is it an app?

Just How Bad Is Flash on Android? ★

Ian Betteridge:

What does this demonstrate? Simply that the idea that Apple could simply magically put Flash on the iPad (which runs a processor in the same class as the Nexus One) is fantasy. Ignoring the broader reasons for Apple wanting to keep Flash off its platform, it’s clear that Flash is simply too processor-intensive to work properly on mobile-class processors as currently specified.

Pointing at the TV ★

Hans Gerwitz on the tricky user-interaction problems posed by an iOS-based Apple TV.

Put This On, Episode 3: Work ★

Best episode yet. More “Nerd Boyfriend” segments, please.

NYT: ‘Army Revises Training to Deal With Unfit Recruits’ ★

“Oh that’s right, Private Pyle, don’t make any fucking effort to get to the top of the fucking obstacle. If God would have wanted you up there he would have miracled your ass up there by now, wouldn’t he?”

Martin Scorsese Attends Free iMovie Demonstration at Apple Store ★

With most Onion stories, 90 percent of the joke is in the headline. With this one, it’s in the photo.

Palm Previews WebOS 2.0 Details ★

Looks like some great improvements. The “Just Type” feature sounds like LaunchBar or Quicksilver.

AutoCAD Returns to the Mac, Along With iOS Viewer Apps ★

Everything is coming up Milhouse.

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Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Intel Buys Infineon’s Wireless Unit ★

The future is mobile.

Oxford English Dictionary ‘Will Not Be Printed Again’ ★

Alastair Jamieson, reporting for The Telegraph:

Simon Winchester, author of ‘The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary’, said the switch towards online formats was “prescient”. He said: “Until six months ago I was clinging to the idea that printed books would likely last for ever. Since the arrival of the iPad I am now wholly convinced otherwise.”

The Oatmeal: ‘This Is How I Feel About Buying Apps’ ★

A classic.

Monday, 30 August 2010

Last Call on DF T-Shirts ★

Tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, I’m going to pull the plug on this round of new t-shirts. Order now if you want one, because we’re only going to print as many shirts as there are orders. This is your last chance to order a DF t-shirt for at least the next few months.

And where by “we”, I mean my friend Brian Jaramillo, who handles the screen-printing and shipping for all DF shirt orders. (Brian is the guy who prints great shirts like Andy Versus Apple and Exploded iPhone.)

Thom Holwerda on Apple’s Stance on Jailbreaking ★

Thom Holwerda:

Apple fought hard to maintain jailbreaking as an illegal activity, and now Gruber is seriously arguing that all this was, well, just a joke? Didn’t happen? A figment of our collective imagination? I guess we’re seeing revisionist history in the making here. Fascinating.

I didn’t say Apple doesn’t have a stance regarding jailbreaking. But judging by their actions to date, they’re treating it as nuisance, not a significant problem. The context for all this, recall, is Colin Gibbs’s argument that Apple is wasting significant effort fighting jailbreaking. They might, someday. That wouldn’t surprise me in the least. But they haven’t to date.

The Talk Show, Episode #5 ★

This is actually last week’s show, but we didn’t record it until over the weekend and so it didn’t hit the airwaves until today. We’re still set for a show this week, after Wednesday’s Apple event. You should subscribe to the show’s podcast RSS feed, and you’ll stay up to date automatically.

The show is sponsored by Battery Go Plus, a neat little battery management iPhone app from 9magnets.

Bing App for Android ★

Andy Chu, from Microsoft’s Bing for Mobile team:

Today we are happy to announce the first official Bing for Mobile Android App available to Verizon customers. You can now download the free Bing App from your Verizon Wireless Android phones’ Marketplace.

Does that mean there’s no Bing app for Android users on AT&T? Or anywhere outside the U.S.?

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Monday, 30 August 2010

Nope ★

“Chpwn” — a young developer of apps for jailbroken iPhones — says I’m wrong that Apple is not fighting jailbreaking:

If that was actually how Apple felt, they would not block downgrading to 4.0.1. They would continue to sign the SHSH hashes required for a downgrade. Their SHSH system — which prevents any unapproved firmware installation — is direct proof that they are strongly against jailbreaking. There is not other benefit to the server-side firmware signing mechanism they are using except preventing us from freeing our phones. […]

I also want to point out that a jailbroken 4.0.1 with saurik’s PDF fix is no less secure than 4.0.2 from Apple.

It’s not about jailbreaking. It’s about security and support. Once 4.0.2 was released, it became the only supported version of iOS 4. Apple isn’t going to support downgrading to an older version of the OS with known security vulnerabilities. And they’re certainly not going to support or trust a fix for the vulnerability from a jailbreak developer.

Put another way: I know that many App Store developers wish that Apple were “fighting jailbreaking”, because App Store piracy depends upon it.

‘Color, Photos, and One Fuzzy Little Boy in a Field’ ★

Merlin Mann, on old color photographs:

When done well, these images help repudiate the implicit modern reading that pre-color photography realistically captured the simple but alien lives of people who were neither as complex, interesting, nor sophisticated as we CMYK people are.

Apple Isn’t ‘Fighting’ Jailbreaking ★

Colin Gibbs, in a piece headlined “Why Apple Should End Its Fight Against iPhone Jailbreaking”:

The Register reported last week that Apple is looking to fire back at iPhone jailbreakers with an application to patent a system designed to identify the “hacking, jailbreaking, unlocking or removal of a SIM card” from a phone so the device can be located and its data erased. The company has released a new firmware update for the sole purpose of patching a hole that was being used to jailbreak handsets running iOS 4 as well, according to the group of developers that created the first iPhone 4 jailbreak.

As I write in my weekly column over at GigaOM Pro, it makes no sense for Apple to pour efforts to these kinds of things; allowing jailbreaking — even implicitly — could actually help move iPhones off the shelves.

A few points. First, patent applications aren’t necessarily indicative of actual product plans. Apple files for patents on any idea or design deemed patentable, whether they intend to actually bring it to market or not. Second, the point of such a system as described in the patent depends on your perspective. If you want to jailbreak your iPhone, then yes, such a system would seem like “anti jailbreaking”. But if you don’t want to jailbreak your iPhone, such a system would be a useful security feature — reassurance that your device’s OS has not been tampered with by malware.

Last, Apple isn’t “fighting” jailbreaking. They simply don’t support it. iOS 4.0.2 fixed a serious security vulnerability. By arguing that Apple shouldn’t have bothered doing so, Gibbs is implicitly arguing that Apple shouldn’t fix security vulnerabilities. It’s that simple. A more apt headline for Gibbs’s piece would be “Apple Shouldn’t Fix Security Vulnerabilities in iOS”.

Boston Globe Tailors Print Edition for Three Remaining Subscribers ★

News you can use.

More on the TechCrunch/JooJoo Ruling ★

Nilay Patel:

The court didn’t buy most of those arguments and dismissed everything but the breach of fiduciary duty claim in this latest ruling, which is both a significant loss and a significant win for TechCrunch: breach of fiduciary duty has always struck us as TechCrunch’s strongest argument, and the court’s now effectively ruled that Fusion Garage and TechCrunch were indeed involved in a joint business venture with legal obligations to protect each others’ interests. That’s not a bad position from which to proceed — although TechCrunch now has to prove that Fusion Garage actually violated its duty by releasing the Joojoo on its own, which is a whole new fight.

Other analysis of the ruling: Hank Williams says I’ve got it all wrong, and there’s a good thread on Hacker News. As Patel points out, though, perhaps the most curious aspect of the suit is that anyone is willing to pay for it — the JooJoo has been a total, utter bust. Surely this suit is costing more to litigate than the JooJoo has generated in revenue (let alone profits, which I’m guessing are non-existent).

Building a Nation of Know-Nothings ★

Timothy Egan:

Take a look at Tuesday night’s box score in the baseball game between New York and Toronto. The Yankees won, 11-5. Now look at the weather summary, showing a high of 71 for New York. The score and temperature are not subject to debate.

Yet a president’s birthday or whether he was even in the White House on the day TARP was passed are apparently open questions. A growing segment of the party poised to take control of Congress has bought into denial of the basic truths of Barack Obama’s life. What’s more, this astonishing level of willful ignorance has come about largely by design, and has been aided by a press afraid to call out the primary architects of the lies.

As the saying goes, you’re entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts. I’m not so sure, though, that all the conservatives professing to believe that Obama is a Muslim, or wasn’t born a U.S. citizen, or any of these other fabrications, truly believe them. I think they know they’re spreading lies. See, for example, this story of a confrontation in an Oklahoma Starbucks.

Sunday, 29 August 2010

CrunchPad Denial of Preliminary Injunction ★

Mike Arrington gets smacked around in the first round of his lawsuit over the JooJoo/CrunchPad. In short: TechCrunch didn’t get much in writing regarding their “partnership” with Fusion Garage to develop the product, and, well, they should have. Curiously, I’ve seen no coverage of this decision on TechCrunch.

(Thanks to DF reader James Grimmelmann for posting the document.)

Sentence of the Year? ★

DigiTime:

Sources from upstream component makers believe the device is aiming to compete against Apple’s reportedly upcoming 7-inch iPad.

How about competing against the bestselling iPad that, you know, actually exists?

iPads Now Shipping Within 24 Hours ★

AppleInsider:

After struggling to meet consumer demand for the iPad since it launched in April, estimated shipping times for new online orders have improved to within 24 hours, suggesting any production problems have been resolved.

This Is Not a Recovery ★

Deep pessimism from Paul Krugman.

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