The Talk Show: Live From WWDC
7:00pm Tuesday • California Theatre
Tickets Available • Fun Will Be Had

Linked List: November 26, 2008

Wednesday, 26 November 2008

Dan Cornish:

In learning about development for the BlackBerry platforms, we have to create a build for each phone and each network. As a developer, I just can’t afford it. Most of my customers right now have BlackBerries. I think that in the next year or two they will have an iPhone. I am already hearing word that a few senior executives are asking the IT departments to check it out. We should be one of the first “Real” Enterprise developers who have a native iPhone application.

Like I wrote in May, RIM is screwed.

Speaking of App Store Violations ★

iTabla is a $155 (!) Indian music app for the iPhone. It’s a free download from the App Store, but times out after five minutes. To unlock it, you buy a registration code from the iTabla web site and enter the registration code they send you. How could this get approved? Maybe the App Store approval process is really just random — a coin toss or a consultation with Magic Eight Ball. (Via Cabel Sasser.)

Still Not Thankful for ZDNet ★

The Macalope on ZDNet’s Robin Harris, who asks whether the new MacBooks are a flop or fiasco.

Mazo, iPhone Amazon Client, Rejected by Amazon ★

That’s a first — a cool-looking iPhone app rejected by someone other than Apple. I didn’t know that you needed written permission from Amazon to use their AAWS APIs on a mobile platform. But why build the app before getting the go-ahead from Amazon, especially when Amazon’s policy regarding mobile clients is very clear?

Pogue Trashes the BlackBerry Storm ★

From the headline (“BlackBerry Storm Downgraded to a Depression”) straight through to the end, this is about as vicious a thrashing as I’ve ever seen from David Pogue. (Curious that his review didn’t hit until today — the embargo release for most of the major gadget press was last Friday.) E.g.:

In short, trying to navigate this thing isn’t just an exercise in frustration — it’s a marathon of frustration.

Now, I wouldn’t come down this hard on some product — especially one that was so eagerly anticipated, customers lined up at dawn on the day of its release — without getting a second, third and fourth opinion. And I’m telling you, there wasn’t a soul who tried this machine who wasn’t appalled, baffled or both.

And that’s before they discovered that the Storm doesn’t have Wi-Fi.

Deliciously scathing.

Google Admits to Using Undocumented iPhone APIs in Google Mobile ★

We knew this already, but it’s a little weird to see a Google spokesperson flatly admit it (rather than no-commenting) to CNet. On the other hand, they deny Erica Sadun’s charge that Google Mobile links to private frameworks (rather than the lesser infraction of using undocumented methods in public frameworks, which is what I wrote about).

I’m quite certain there are many apps in the App Store that are using undocumented APIs. Google Mobile is not alone in this regard. But I wonder if Apple would look the other way if it were Joe Developer, rather than Google, telling CNet that his app uses undocumented APIs for its flagship feature.

Microsoft’s Live Mesh Now Available for Mac OS X ★

I’ll be damned if I’ll be the guinea pig for it, but I’m curious to hear how well it works on the Mac. Just judging by the menu, it already looks confusing compared to Dropbox. (Why is “New Folder” a command?)

The Phillie Phanatic’s Hot Dog Launcher ★

A great Philadelphia tradition.

Bizarre Patent Suit Filed Against Apple Regarding iPhone’s Safari ★

Ian Paul, reporting for PC World:

That patent is for an invention that displays “on-line content reformatted from a webpage in a hypertext markup language (HTML) format into an extensible markup language (XML) format to generate a sister site.” This sister site is a simplified version of the original site that is then displayed on any number of devices—including cell phones, EMG says.

Now, it seems to me that this is a description of what every single mobile phone on the market does. Every mobile phone EXCEPT the iPhone, that is.

The Going Rate for Contract iPhone Developers ★

Raven Zachary:

The going rate for iPhone developers, at least the developers I know and trust, is $125/hour and up. I have some friends who are booked out at $200/hour for the next few months, although $125/hour seems to be the going rate in my network. At that rate, a full-time contract iPhone developer costs $5,000/week and it may take four to six weeks for an application to be developed.

New Web Site for The Criterion Collection ★

Lovely new web site. They’re introducing a new service where you can rent films online for $5, and, if you subsequently choose to buy that film on DVD or Blu-ray, you can put the $5 you spent to rent it toward the price of the disc. (Via Ryan Singer.)

QuickTime 7.5.7 Allows SD iTunes Playback Over DisplayPort ★

Seems to me that DRM-laden HD movies in general — not just Blu-ray in particular — are a “bag of hurt”.