Linked List: August 12, 2010

Thursday, 12 August 2010

Oracle Sues Google Over Use of Java in Android ★

MarketWatch:

Oracle Corp. said Thursday it has filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Google Inc., alleging that the Internet search giant infringed on intellectual property related to the Java software that Oracle acquired when it purchased Sun Microsystems Inc.

Hmm. Makes no sense to me, but the story is light on technical details. Google sure is picking up enemies, though.

Update: Tom Krazit has a copy of Oracle’s complaint and the patent numbers they claim Google is violating.

David Pogue Gets an Advance Look at Google App Inventor ★

David Pogue:

But one thing’s for sure: App Inventor has been overhyped to the skies.

I don’t understand why Google starts hyping products so long before they’re ready to ship.

Id Demos Impressive ‘Rage’ on the iPhone ★

Mike Fahey:

Carmack’s demonstration, using the id Tech 5 engine, could possibly be the most impressive tech we’ve seen on the iPhone. Running on the iPhone 4 but easily run on the 3GS, the visuals indeed rivaled anything from the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox, and might even be able to give a few current-gen titles a run for their money.

Droid 2 and BlackBerry Torch Are on Sale ★

David Goldman:

There were no lines to speak of for the Droid 2 and Torch. Calls to a handful of Best Buy locations, Verizon stores and AT&T stores showed that stock of the new devices was generally plentiful.

Times for iPad ★

Technically, Times is a feed reader, but in use (and I’ve been using it for a few days) it feels more like a personal newspaper — which is exactly how it’s billed. I’d say it’s very competitive with Flipboard. The level of panache and elegance in Times’s UI is astounding.

Unsuck It ★

New from Mule Design: business jargon to plain English translator.

Voice Actions for Android ★

Intriguing new voice-recognition features for Android 2.2. The voice recognition takes place on Google servers, not the phone. It seems to me that the Google iPhone app is just as accurate at recognizing these commands — it’s just that it (the current Google iPhone app) interprets everything as a search query, rather than recognizing certain terms as commands.

Dave Caolo on the Best Keyboard Ever Made ★

Dave Caolo has been using the same Apple Extended Keyboard II for 20 years:

First is the sound. That lovely wooden-stick-on-a-hollow-log “thonk” that announces each keystroke is yet to be duplicated. It’s satisfying in a way that affirms your productivity. Much like the jackhammer operator feels content at the end of a noisy day’s work, I feel that I got much accomplished with all that thonking and clacking.

I’m on my second.

Also, with an iMate ADB-to-USB adaptor and the Camera Connection Kit, it works with the iPad.

‘A Phone Tracker Spy’, iPhone App With Hundreds of Seemingly-Fraudulent Five-Star Ratings ★

This is a rather bizarre $1 iPhone app. At a glance purports to allow you to “locate any cell phone in the world, on any network, anywhere in the world”. Enter a phone number, wait, and it shows you where the phone is on a map.

Now, of course, this isn’t technically possible. And the developer’s description of the app starts with “For entertainment purposes only” — the only indication given that the app is a gag. Most people don’t read descriptions closely, and the app is categorized in the App Store under “Utilities”, so, unsurprisingly, the comments are filled with angry people who consider themselves ripped off for having bought it. People are buying it because they think it does what it says.

But here’s the really odd part: If you view the app info in iTunes (as opposed to the web), you can see that the app has an average rating of 3.5 stars, including 532 five-star ratings. But if you sort the customer reviews by “most favorable”, all but two (both of which were left in the last 24 hours) are one-star reviews. It would appear that someone has figured out a scam to rack up fraudulent five-star ratings.

The Talk Show #3 ★

Yours truly and Dan Benjamin, talking about nerdy shit like the Verizon iPhone rumors and the cultural differences between Android and iPhone developers. Sponsored by MailChimp.

HTML5 Boilerplate ★

Paul Irish and Divya Manian:

HTML5 Boilerplate is the professional badass’s base HTML/CSS/JS template for a fast, robust and future-proof site.

Peter Cohen on the Apple TV ‘Losing’ 1080p Playback ★

Peter Cohen:

There’s only one problem.

The Apple TV never had support for 1080i or 1080p video.

I know that many of you will do a double-take, and will immediately fire up your flatscreen TV to check. And you’ll find that your Apple TV says it knows you’re on a 1080i device. I know that’s one of the first things I changed when I set up my Apple TV.

But check the specs on Apple’s own Web site to confirm. The Apple TV simply does not output 1080p or 1080i video. It never has.

I see what he means; Topolsky’s headline at Engadget could be misread to mean that the new Apple TV’s — purported — lack of 1080 playback is a regression from the existing shipping model. It’s not. It’s a regression from a previous rumor regarding the next-gen model.

What Happened to Yahoo ★

Paul Graham on why Yahoo fizzled out in the ’90s. Astute. Regarding their stance toward Microsoft:

It’s hard for anyone much younger than me to understand the fear Microsoft still inspired in 1995. Imagine a company with several times the power Google has now, but way meaner.