Linked List: August 10, 2011

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

FTC Focuses Google Probe on Android, Web Search 

The WSJ:

Six weeks after serving Google with broad subpoenas, Federal Trade Commission lawyers, in conjunction with several state attorneys general, have been asking whether Google prevents smartphone manufacturers that use its Android operating system from using competitors’ services, these people said.

They also have inquired whether Google grants preferential placement on its website to its own products, such as Google’s “Places” business listings, its “Shopping results” and Google Finance services above most other results.

And they’re looking into allegations that Google unfairly takes information collected by rivals, such as reviews of local businesses, to use on its own specialized site and then demotes the rivals’ services in its search results, the people said.

But it’s open!

Nokia Exec: Android and iPhone Focus on Apps Is ‘Outdated’ 

VentureBeat talks to Chris Weber, Nokia’s U.S. president:

Weber called Android and the iOS phone platforms “outdated.” While Apple’s iPhone, and its underlying iOS operating system, set the standard for a modern user interface with “pinch and zoom,” Weber conceded, it also forces people to download multiple applications which they then have to navigate between. There’s a lot of touching involved as you press icons or buttons to activate application features. Android essentially “commoditized” this approach, Weber said.

Translation: We have no third-party developer support.

‘How to Count’ 

Steven Frank of Panic fame:

Programming for Mere Mortals is a series of books designed to introduce the concepts of programming from the ground up to a reader who has never written a line of code.

Unlike most programming books which aim to teach you a particular language or operating system, this series focuses on the core fundamentals that are common to programming any computer.

Great conversational tone. $2.99 for the Kindle edition or for a PDF.

Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader 

Amazon:

Today, Amazon.com announced Kindle Cloud Reader, its latest Kindle reading application that leverages HTML5 and enables customers to read Kindle books instantly using only their web browser - online or offline - with no downloading or installation required. As with all Kindle apps, Kindle Cloud Reader automatically synchronizes your Kindle library, as well as your last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights for all of your Kindle books, no matter how you choose to read them. Kindle Cloud Reader with its integrated touch optimized Kindle Store is available starting today for Safari on iPad, Safari on desktop and Chrome at www.amazon.com/cloudreader.

Conspicuously absent: Firefox and the iPhone. (What is Mozilla’s excuse for Firefox being so far behind Webkit in HTML5 offline web app support?)

Immediate consensus seems to be that this is Amazon’s response to Apple’s new rules, preventing them from linking to the Kindle store within the native iOS app.

I think Amazon had this in the works for a long time — a web-based Kindle reader has been around for a while, and it makes sense to improve it in these ways. But surely Apple’s new App Store rules for paid content have motivated Amazon to push harder in this direction.

MG Siegler writes:

The iPad version is especially good because the store is fully optimized for the device. And you can easily switch back and forth between the store and your own library. It feels like a native app, but it’s not. You can even swipe back and forth to move between pages (though it is a bit slow).

I wouldn’t go so far as to say it feels like a native app. Cloud Reader works great on the iPad by the standards of web apps, but the native Kindle iPad app is far more responsive, and has a far less cluttered interface simply because it isn’t surrounded by an extra layer of Safari UI chrome. The native app is more immersive. (You can eliminate the Safari UI chrome if you save Kindle Cloud Reader as a home screen web app, but even then it doesn’t feel as smooth as the native app.)