Linked List: April 22, 2010

Thursday, 22 April 2010

Google and Adobe, Sitting in a Tree ★

Google VP of Android engineering Andy Rubin, in a weblog post for Adobe:

Google believes that developers should have their choice of tools and technologies to create applications. By supporting Adobe AIR on Android we hope that millions of creative designers and developers will be able to express themselves more freely when they create applications for Android devices. More broadly, AIR will foster rapid and continuous innovation across the mobile ecosystem.

Google is happy to be partnering with Adobe to bring the full web, great applications, and developer choice to the Android platform.

Translation: “We’re allied against iPhone OS.”

Technical Difficulties at the Supreme Court ★

Not exactly tech savvy:

At one point, Justice Anthony Kennedy asked what would happen if a text message was sent to an officer at the same time he was sending one to someone else.

“Does it say: ‘Your call is important to us, and we will get back to you?’” Kennedy asked.

Update: Lots of feedback from readers pointing out that most of these remarks were taken out of context. Having now read the actual transcript, I agree, and regret having linked to this.

Nokia Earnings Rise, But Disappoint Analysts ★

CNet:

“In Q1, Nokia delivered both year-on-year net sales and operating profit growth,” Chief Executive Officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a statement. “We continue to face tough competition with respect to the high end of our mobile device portfolio, as well as challenging market conditions on the infrastructure side.”

Wall Street’s reaction to the news: a 13 percent drop in Nokia’s stock.

Super Slow Motion Footage of the Apollo 11 Saturn V Launch ★

Great footage and wonderful narration by Mark Gray.

Peter Kafka on Hulu’s Purported $10/Month Subscription Plan ★

Peter Kafka:

Also, access to Hulu on the iPad seems a bit less valuable given that Disney’s ABC, one of Hulu’s owners, is already giving away free access to its shows via a very popular app. Industry sources says Hulu CEO Jason Kilar tried desperately to get ABC not to introduce its free app for this very reason.

But while Disney is a minority owner in Hulu, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is the largest individual shareholder in Disney. If you want to connect the dots on that one, you’ll be doing the same thing everyone else in TV Land is doing.

Letterman’s Top Ten Excuses of the Guy Who Lost the iPhone Prototype ★

“It must have fallen out of my iPants.”

The iPad DJ: Rana Sobhany ★

Apparently she didn’t get the memo that the iPad is not a creative tool, and is just for consumption. Very cool.

Technical Note TN2267: Video Decode Acceleration Framework Reference ★

New from Apple in Mac OS X 10.6.3:

The Video Decode Acceleration framework is a C programming interface providing low-level access to the H.264 decoding capabilities of compatible GPUs such as the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, GeForce 320M or GeForce GT 330M. It is intended for use by advanced developers who specifically need hardware accelerated decode of video frames.

This sounds exactly like what Adobe has been asking for — it should provide a big improvement to Flash Player H.264 playback. (Via Michael Tsai.)

Ryan Block on the Legality of Tech Leaks in General ★

Interesting perspective, but I’ll emphasize here that most leaks involve breaking contracts. There are ethical and legal issues with that, no argument. But what makes this Gizmodo/iPhone story unprecedented is that it involved their purchasing the actual unit. Not obtaining information but obtaining property.

Android Running on the iPhone ★

Incredible hack.