Linked List: August 11, 2011

Thursday, 11 August 2011

Android Fail English? That’s Unpossible. ★

Gregg Keizer, reporting for Computerworld:

In a motion filed with the ITC Wednesday, Google asked that Robert Stevenson, an expert hired by Microsoft, be barred from testifying about the Android source code at an upcoming hearing because Microsoft violated a confidentiality agreement struck between Microsoft, Motorola and Google.

According to Google, Microsoft did not ask permission before showing Stevenson the Android source code. […]

“The confidential source code improperly provided to Dr. Stevenson is highly proprietary source code that Google does not even share with its partners, such as Motorola,” Google said.

But it’s open!

Speaking of Tools ★

Mathew Ingram, GigaOm:

In the wake of the riots in London, the British government says it’s considering shutting down access to social networks — as well as Research In Motion’s BlackBerry messenger service — and is asking the companies involved to help. Prime Minister David Cameron said not only is his government considering banning individuals from social media if they are suspected of causing disorder, but it has asked Twitter and other providers to take down posts that are contributing to “unrest.”

Chinese Authorities Find 22 More Fake Apple Stores ★

Reuters:

Authorities in China’s southwestern city of Kunming have identified another 22 unauthorized Apple retailers weeks after a fake of the company’s store in the city sparked an international storm.

That’s twice the number of legitimate Microsoft stores.

A Taste From the Claim Chowder Hall of Fame ★

John C. Dvorak, in March 2007, “Apple Should Pull the Plug on the iPhone:

The problem here is that while Apple can play the fashion game as well as any company, there is no evidence that it can play it fast enough. These phones go in and out of style so fast that unless Apple has half a dozen variants in the pipeline, its phone, even if immediately successful, will be passé within 3 months.

There is no likelihood that Apple can be successful in a business this competitive.

Meanwhile, today, the best-selling and most-profitable phone in the world is the 14-month-old iPhone 4.

Wake Up, Indeed ★

Don Clark, reporting for the WSJ on Intel’s $300 million initiative to get PC makers to create MacBook Air-esque laptops:

Welch said Apple informed Intel that it better drastically slash its power consumption or would likely lose Apple’s business. “It was a real wake-up call to us,” he said.

Intel needed Apple to tell them that power consumption is a critical factor — maybe the critical factor — in mobile computing? Where have they been the last five years?

The App Store vs. Mobile Web Apps ★

Here’s Joe Wilcox, arguing that Amazon’s new Kindle Cloud Reader and Walmart’s Vudu video streaming site augur poorly for the future of Apple’s App Store. Wilcox’s argument is the most strident I could find, but he’s not alone.

But think about it this way: it’s Apple that has created the best, by far, platform for mobile web apps. It’s Apple that created the “Add to Home Screen” feature in Mobile Safari, which allows mobile apps to appear on the home screen as peers to App Store apps. Android doesn’t have that feature. Apple wants iOS devices to have a great mobile web app experience, in addition to the App Store.

With the case of media apps like commercial e-book readers and video streaming sites, it seems to me that you can argue that Apple has forced them to go web-based. E-book readers in particular — the “agency model” prevents e-booksellers from giving Apple a 30 percent cut.

Apple didn’t expect everyone to go along with the new “give us 30 percent of subscription and content revenue” rules. They expected some of these apps to switch to the mobile web. To Apple, being in the App Store is a privilege — not the whole ballgame.

Shenanigans ★

Episode 54 of America’s favorite podcast, The Talk Show, with yours truly and Dan Benjamin. Brought to you by BillMinder, Campaign Monitor, and EasyDNS.

The Last Rocket ★

New from Shaun Inman: an 8-bit puzzle platformer for iOS. $3 on the App Store.

Remember That Stolen iPhone 4 Prototype Gizmodo Bought? ★

Joshua Melvin, reporting for the San Jose Mercury News:

Two Bay Area men’s alleged scheme to sell a wayward iPhone 4 prototype to a scoop-hungry tech website was serious enough to draw misdemeanor charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday, but apparently too amateurish to warrant felonies.

But Gizmodo avoids charges:

However, no one associated with Gizmodo, which scored a huge scoop with its post detailing the new phone, will face charges. Pitt said it was clear Gizmodo planned to use constitutional protections of free speech to defend its involvement with the missing phone, and the DA’s office isn’t interested in a protracted fight.

“That, as you can easily see, is a huge can of worms,” he said.

So it’s not that there wasn’t a case to be made against Gizmodo for knowingly buying stolen property, but the DA doesn’t have the stomach for a high-profile fight about whether such actions are protected by the First Amendment.